it's joel's birthday

We had a surprise party for him last night. This was Maku’s first surprise party so the concept was new to him. He was so excited that everyone was in on the fun and got into position whenever the doorbell rang: Elaine by the piano, ready to play Happy Birthday, Jin by the door with the birthday hat, Dave crouched in the corner ready to give anyone a heart attack and Maku in the middle of the room ready to scream surprise at an unsuspecting Uncle Joel.
Two false alarms and half an hour later, Papa Joel arrived. Maku missed everything, he had to go potty.

surprise guests

Look, duckies!

Watch your hands, Maku!

a little bit of growing up

I know, enough is enough, I’ve earned my “Purple Owie Award” but I still sleep on the couch and that entitles me to one more I'm-owie-post, especially with a view like this from the end of my makeshift bed. Two little ones wiggling and giggling--filled with joy and delight--yet underneath those smiles I know they feel scared and confused. I’ve shaken their sense of comfort and security and I'm finding it so hard to recover from that.
As I hold their feet to make sure they don’t kick the stitches on my tummy Snow’s feel a little longer and Maku’s just a little rougher; they’ve grown this week, their little hearts, and their little feet.

shifting back to normal

Recovery went a bit faster than I thought it would. I was hoping to miss the kitchen and the laundry room a bit longer. Everything's been calling me, the fabric in the craft room, the dust on the bookshelves and, of course, the world outside. It's time to go out and play once again!

Thank you for your prayers and well wishes. Enjoy the long weekend and I'll see you back here on Tuesday.

a girl and her dress

My sister Elaine did a little shopping the night before my operation. She got me a pre-op dress, a post-op one, and a party-like-you-never-lost-an-ovary dress. The first two outfits simply beat the look and comfort of what I was going for with my dark gray sweats; no elastic, no zippers, they just slide right on.
I was a little nervous coming and very achy going but always managed to feel cute in my pretty green dress, until I saw my reflection on the building outside. I was so pale and ugly and bloated; eeekkk! just add that to my list of things that suck. (^0^)

pre-surgery stuff

It seems like I was cooking and cleaning most of the day and I still have a long list of things to do. The rest of the week will be pretty much uneventful. Surgery sucks. Recovery sucks even more. Healing is such a slow and painful process, although I am looking forward to sleeping -- a lot.

I'll be posting mostly photos for the next few days. Some old ones and some new. Maybe I’ll find some photos of myself, which are rather rare, so don’t count on that.

Maku

I love watching Maku ride his scooter. He rides it with so much passion, energy and grace; it is just so beautiful to see. He "kicks" the ground with such intensity and forcefulness that it somehow invigorates me.

He got his first scooter for his second birthday and the moment he laid his eyes on it he grabbed the handlebars and pushed off. Since then it's been a fast and furious ride.

Go, Maku!!!