Not always funny

This morning's conversation:

Shane: Where is your Mommy?
Me: She isn't alive anymore.
[quiet]
S: Why did she die?
M: She got a disease and couldn't get better.
[quiet]
S: Your Daddy got a disease too, right?
M: Yes
[quiet]
S: When you are a Grandma are you going to get a disease?
M: I will do everything I can not to Honey.
S: When I am a Mommy your are going to be a Grandma, right?
M: Yes my Darling.

Happy Birthday Monkey Boy

Happiest Birthday to our sweet boy who thinks everything is a jungle gym (including his Mommy), loves bananas, and is a big fan of the Wiggles and peek-a-boo.

SIDENOTE: He also love Play Dough - big problem with Play Dough and 2-year olds, they put it up their nose! Worth had to hold Gray down while I took the tweezers to his nostril last weekend. NOT good birthday fun. We love you darling boy.

Click picture for Easter pics.
Easter was great! Pop-Pop (Lee) and Me-Maw (Rose) came to visit and the kids had a blast. We hadn’t been able to visit in a while so in two days we covered Christmas, Easter, Shane’s birthday and Gray’s birthday. The Sparkman’s know how to pack-it in! We are all about the quality!

We attended an Easter egg hunt on Gray’s birthday. We were very late because of naps but the people took pity on us and gave us a candy bonanza. They gave Rose two BAGS of candy and she made sure they got it all. That night we had a mini-party and a Cookie Monster cake. Easter morning the giant bunny stopped at our place and the kids hunted eggs in the freezing sunshine – the hunt was short. Needless to say, by Sunday night they were worn out and full of sugar!

Click picture to see party pics.
Then on Monday, Worth and I took Elmo cupcakes to Gray’s school. Shane goes to the same school and since I made 35 Elmo cupcakes and there were only 9 kids in Gray’s class, Shane’s class got some too. I am quite sure the school hates me now considering how much food coloring it took to get the frosting red. Let me just say, between blue Cookie Monster cake and red Elmo cupcakes Gray has had some colorful diapers – I know, thanks for sharing – right?

On Tuesday we returned to Arkansas Children’s Hospital to get Gray’s swallow study done. The speech pathologist gave him an F-. She said in her 15 years there he was the worst she had seen. What that means for Gray is that every liquid he swallows, he aspirates. So when he swallows a lot of the liquid goes into his lungs - they were shocked he has never had pneumonia. This is probably what causes all his rasping and hopefully he doesn’t have asthma. The bad side is he MIGHT have minor lung damage and he can’t drink any liquids, all his drinks have to be thickened. This first meal after the hospital, we put a thickener in and he took a drink, scrunched up his little face and said “Donlike it” and spit it out. We are learning a lot and becoming inventive on how to thicken the liquids. The first days he has been drinking much but it is getting better. We will return to Children’s soon for an MRI to check to see what can be done to help him. Hopefully, he will outgrow this by the time he is 8. It wasn’t good news at all, but being at Children’s makes you realize how lucky you are and things could be MUCH worse. Gray’s condition is worrisome but not life threaten and treatable.

I also want to say how great Arkansas Children’s Hospital is. They are WAY understaffed and are in WAY too small a space, but everyone there is great to work with.

Another busy weekend ahead with a visit from Grandma and a birthday party for Shane to attend. Maybe we will even venture to (dare I say it) Chuck E. Cheese's for small party for Gray.

Lifelong best friends

Shane told me this morning that Gray and her played in my tummy before they came out. They played patty-cake and that was all because there wasn't any toys in there ... or food.

Glad to know that about the toys, that would be worrysome.

Planet Earth

I must insist that anyone reading this blog (hopefully, many more that that but...) start watching Planet Earth. It is a series that Discovery Channel is airing: it took 6 years to film it and it is the most beautiful thing I have ever watched. It will make you appreciate the magnificent place we live and I hope make you feel the urgency I feel to protect it.

When I was about 10, I was having a girlfriend over the spend the night. Dad came back and interupted us and told me I had to come watch something on PBS (a death sentence to a 10-year-old). I whinned but he would not relent. Dad didn't make my friend come watch but I had to go for an hour and watch The Miracle of Life. I am sure I was mad the whole time, and this was in the days before it was common to record and watch later. But looking back I really respect my Dad for making me watch "that kind of stuff" all my life. PBS became a major part of my life growing up, of course it was one of only 3 stations we got but even if we would have had the hundreds of today I know Dad would have made it a priority to watch this kind of programming with me.

Now that I am the parent I know my kids will suffer the same fate as I. They will be forced to watch The Miracle of Life, Cosmos, and now Planet Earth - and I am sure many others. Thank you Dad for helping me appreciate life and the beauty that is science. I will remember you every time I pass this on to my kids.