Winter Break Week!

Here's an old concept in New England: the public schools get TWO spring breaks: one in February, one in April. (Now you know why we go to school through the end of June, here.)

I think maybe because winters are so long here, they like to give people the chance to vacation away where it's warm, or vacation to somewhere where there's really good skiing. They have resorts here, of course, but no huge mountains.

(Now that I've offended all the New England skiers, I'll backpedal a bit with "Your national parks are beautiful--great hiking trails everywhere! Cross-country skiers have it made, too! It's even fine to learn to downhill ski here. It's just not the Rockies.")

So, for those of us who do NOT plan big, expensive vacations to Carribbean waters, we stay in town for the week. (Frank, of course, does not get the week off. He works, same as every week. A thousand thanks for that, Frank.)

To give us all some variety, I put on my Activities Director hat. One day we played indoor mini golf, another day we went to Disney on Ice. We also visited Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), and tonight we'll try Rock Climbing at a rock climbing gym.

Here are a few pics from the ICA, the INSTITUTE of CONTEMPORARY ART. It's right on Boston Harbor, and some of the top floor even hangs out over the water.




From the top floor, you can see the bridge and the skyline. Yesterday it was clear and sunny--really pretty. (The long, skinny picture is from the ICA website , and the boat/bridge picture is mine.)

Teresa and Kara tried their hands at creating contemporary art: see Teresa's mound of flowers on a base, and then here at home she let Komodo explore the artwork.

P.S. Just got back from the Rock Climbing Gym--awesome! The kids have so much energy, they could probably have stayed longer and longer. Me? I'm beat! I think everybody had fun. Friday night is "Family Night" and they cut rates a little for you. Here's a picture from their website:

Well, it's Friday! (After a week of Saturdays, that doesn't mean that much.) Have a happy weekend! Kari

No Snow for Us, Knock-on-Wood

Hola!

After reading about the frenzy the D.C./Virginia/Maryland area was in this weekend, it is with more than a little relief that I tell you that it missed us. We were too far north for THAT storm! It's been sunny and clear in Massachusetts for a few days now.

Our consultation with David's doctor was Thursday. We had lots more questions for him, and he answered them all. He was almost offended when I asked "Would you have your son have this same surgery?" He gave a very quick "OF COURSE--do you think I'd recommend something I wouldn't do on my own kids?" Made me chuckle a little.


This doctor has done over 1000 of these surgeries. Not that he still counts, he tells us! It's just that for the first 5 years you DO have to count, and report on your surgeries, to get into some National Association or other. He just knows that his numbers have not gone down from those first five years, so he can estimate.

The good part is that David's curve is very basic, and "simple." And he has good bone structure: plenty of room on each spine segment to attach the rods to the sides of his spine. They'll go in the back, which is "quickest recovery," as opposed to going in from the side.

He'll spend 5-7 days in the hospital. After 1 day, they have him sitting up. After 2-3 days, he is standing and walking around. By 5 days or so, he'll be walking up stairs. That's the criteria for going home: to be able to walk up stairs by yourself.


He'll go in to give blood for himself (should he need it during the surgery) tomorrow, and then it's quiet for a couple of weeks.

Then a pre-op day the first week of March, and the surgery will be March 8.

Now you know the calendar!

Onward to Monday--have a great week, Kari

Red Letter Day

Hola!

It's January 31st! YESSSS!!!!!!! Last year and this, January 31st is a Red Letter Day. (BTW, 'Red Letter Day' is a term from as early as 1490, referring to when church festivals were written on the calendar in RED. More recently, it simply means "a special day.")

Of course it is (Frank's sis) Dana's birthday, a Red Letter Day in itself: Happy Birthday, Dana!

But otherwise, it marks the fabulous fact that:...(drumroll please) We Have Made It Through January!!!!!!!!!

That is a VERY big deal. It means the BULK of winter is behind us now. December and January can be tough in New England! From what I read, MANY states have had some weird and harsh weather this month. But now, January is over.

IN OTHER NEWS. You may remember that David just got braces, including an obnoxious "bite plate,"that literally keeps his molars from meeting in the back. Amazingly, he can eat almost anything now. I don't know how. His teeth still don't meet in the back, for chewing. But he's learned to make it work, wearing that "bite plate." It will be Teresa's turn, in 10 more days.

DIGITAL FRAME. I finally set up my Christmas Present: Frank got us a digital frame. We can watch a running slide show of 35 photos. Awesome!

MRI. (These are Internet photos, not David, but it may as WELL be him. Exact same set-up. David did not wear socks. I sat in a hard rocking chair off to the right.)

I sat in the room while David lay perfectly still for a torturous 45 minutes Friday, for Pete's sake! (I have no idea how smaller children do that--they must have to sleep through it.) Both of us received ear plugs to dull the constant pounding that went on almost the WHOLE TIME. It's a pretty amazingly huge machine, and all I could think was, "that piece of equipment costs more than my house!" Frank chuckled when I said that. In actuality -- I looked it up -- those machines can cost anywhere from $1-$3 million. (WAY less than our house...ok, just kidding)

We will meet with his orthopedic surgeon this coming week, to pummel him with questions.

RUBIK's CUBE. David figured out this puzzle, and likes to compete with himself, on how fast he can solve it. This has made Teresa interested in it, so she has been practicing, too. Some toys are indeed timeless.

Seems like there's been lots of weird weather across the country lately, and hopefully all the supplies and money being collected for Haiti will actually get there and do some good.

Have a good first-week-of-February, Kari

Braces 'R' Us

Hello and Happy Sunday again--

Each week I wonder where the week went...these days it's doctors, dentists, and orthodontist appointments!

Last July we started the process of choosing an orthodontist...David and Teresa are the lucky recipients of this service right now.

David got braces last Tuesday. Go ahead, groan...such memories, for those of us who have had them. Bonus points for those of us (myself included) who have had them twice. Ouch.

The top teeth have a funky close overbite that would make them pop OFF the lower front braces. So for the first 3-4 months, he gets an ADDITIONAL retainer thing that keeps his teeth from closing together all the way. This makes it nearly impossible for him to EAT.

So basically, he is learning to talk and eat again. Let's all think of soft things to eat, shall we?

Mashed potatoes

Yogurt

jello

soft bread

cheese

cottage cheese

bananas

Ice cream

If you can think of any other good, soft foods, please let us know. Right now he's eating very s-l-o-w-l-y, too. (Finally, somebody in the family eats slower than Frank!)

Teresa will get spacers this week, then in 2 more weeks, the braces get put on.

Happy Last-Week-Of-January!

David's Spine

Hi!

I'm giving an update on David's back--some people ask how he's doing wearing the brace, so thank you for thinking of him. I also have 2 friends whose kids have scoliosis, so maybe if this information can be helpful to them, or a time comes when they ask for specifics, I can send them to this post.

David has been wearing the brace for about 8 months now. He wears it about 17 hours a day: when he sleeps, and when he's at school. He takes it off after school and puts it back on again before bed. He also has PT exercises to strengthen the muscles. The idea is that as he grows, by wearing the brace his back will grow more UP than more curved.

The curve in his spine is pretty severe. They recommend wearing a brace if the curve is about 25% to 45%, give or take. Last year his curve was about 42%.

Yesterday, we had another x-ray taken, and his curve has actually grown a little worse. I'm including the x-rays--even my untrained eye can see that it's a little worse. Some people find x-rays interesting. You can click on it to enlarge it.

The doctor now recommends surgery. (Gasp, choke, don't worry: I am FULLY aware of how awful that sounds!) He's looking at 5 vertebrae, that are the farthest from the "center line" he drew. Those can be pulled in to the center with bolts and rods, then those vertebrae heal for 6 months, into one piece. David asked about how that affects mobility, and the doctor said given the location of these vertebrae, it would be slightly limiting on twisting side to side, but generally kids don't notice it that much. Our doctor does 50 to 80 of these surgeries year at Children's Hospital in Boston, and he only works on children.

He recommends doing it sooner than later, since in the last 8 months David's back has grown more curved...by waiting, it's more likely that it will grow even further away, and then you're looking at doing surgery to pull in more vertebrae. Maybe 6, or even 7, instead of 5.

If you know anything at all about how Frank and I do things, you'll remember that we research to the point of RIDICULOUS. We don't jump into things, so don't think we are doing anything blindly. I have made an appointment for an MRI for David the week after next, then our doctor can examine that, and give his analysis and answer more questions that Frank and I have.

Just a heads up, that it's probably coming, and just to keep David in your prayers! He's so even-keeled, he didn't even get upset about the prospect of surgery and a hospital stay. He said he would prefer to do it before summer, so he can heal and maybe participate in cross-country again in the fall.

(And by the way, we don't need anybody's horror stories right now! Just like when a woman is pregnant, everybody has some awful story to tell--ha! We prefer to keep things as positive as we can, for everybody's sake.)

We'll keep you posted. Kari

Just a Smattering

Let's see...this week! Sometimes it's hard to keep track of them...all the days run together.

SUNDAY LESSON. I taught the Relief Society lesson this week. That's the women's organization of the church. Lesson #1 from the Gospel Principles book was "Our Heavenly Father." I do love the comments from the sisters in our ward (congregation) -- such a wide range of knowledge and experiences lead to some very thought-provoking discussions.

RELIGION POLL. There was a very interesting article this week on a Gallup poll taken by Pew Research. Pew does quite a few surveys on religion. This article is entitled, "How religious is your state?" You can click on the title to go to the article. Check out how religious is YOUR state!

Four main questions they asked were "How important is religion in your life?" "Do you attend church services weekly?" "Do you pray at least once a day?" and "Do you believe in God with absolute certainty?" The map at the bottom is also interesting: the most and least religious states seem to be grouped a little, geographically. Just interesting food for thought.

SKIING: BRRR! Yesterday we took the kids to the same ski resort we went to last year, Wachusett Mountain. It was cold: 15-20 degrees all day! They seemed to remember how, and get more comfortable with it, as the day went on. And even though it was cold, they came home saying they had a good time. (SUCCESS!) I didn't take the camera this time but here are some from last year: the resort, and the kids still look about the same.

DENTIST APPOINTMENTS. This week we ALL went to the dentist! Clean teeth, and thankfully no cavities. And just a "think about it" on my old, old filling that takes up half my tooth...my dentist recommends a crown, of course with a smile. (Cha-ching! Does anyone ELSE hear cash flowing from my bank account into my mouth?)

Just a smattering of the week. Hope yours was safe and inspirational, in one way or another! Kari

Snake Names and Holiday Cheer

We had some great snake name suggestions!

But "Scruffy" and "Fluffy" and "Digger" and some of those others sound like dogs and cats. So they were out. (Sorry.)

Last Sunday, we had dinner with Frank's cousin Amelia and her family in Providence. Sean, Teresa's 2nd cousin, came up with "Komodo." It's the brand name on Sean's new skateboard, actually. It is also the name of one of the 17,000 islands in Indonesia: home of the Komodo Dragon. (Thanks, Sean! Your name suggestion wins!)

Teresa's snake is now known as "Komodo," with middle name "Geoff," specifically spelled with a "G." (Long story on the middle name...one of those RANDOM things that are so popular in middle school and high school?) Of course you can click these pictures to enlarge. Here is Teresa with Komodo...

And another shot of Komodo resting snugly inside her sweatshirt sleeve. (Go ahead, enlarge that one: it's kind of a fun picture--I won't call it "cute" because it's a snake and all, but it is a fun picture :) )

NEW HOLIDAY DRINK. We were introduced to a fun drink at a Christmas party, and it only comes out in December for the holidays! Sierra Mist makes Cranberry Splash. Here are David and Kara showing you our newfound soda.

Otherwise, here's a "Happy New Year" to everybody! We're off to the neighbor's house, with our Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash and these pretzel/M&M treats I made last year (recipe in a December blog post in 2008).

We will walk down the street, in the fresh 2-inches of snow we got this afternoon.

Love, US :)