Political Humor

We don't have cable TV anymore (we only had network stations to begin with) so we've been watching our TV online.
Mark and I found two hilarious clips last night from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

The Daily Show clip (3 min) is about President Bush, and probably is the funniest I've seen in a while. Jon Stewart says, "He's ADORABLE!"

The Colbert Report clip (6 min) is an interview with a feminist author, Ariel Levy, who is pushing back against "Raunch Culture," (I'm really interested in her book) but Colbert makes the interview amusing. (rated PG-13)

In the wake of the VP announcements, I thought it appropriate to put up a little political and feminist humor.
(and what do you think of Miss Alaska as McCain's VP? She's not bringing any electoral votes with her. She was in the city council 2 years ago! A little strange, I think.)

Why I Love Arizona in August

As crazy as it sounds, tonight I really loved Arizona in August.
After dinner, Mark and I took the kids down the street to the community pool. It was empty, so we had the place to ourselves. The weather has been muggy and rainy (the thunder woke me up last night) but still really warm.
The water was cool, though, and that's pleasant since it's been bath temperature for the last few months.
After a nice dip in the pool, we spent some time in the jacuzzi. When I was nice and toasty, I relcined on a lounge chair and watched the clouds float by in the breeze. At first it was a little chilly, but as my skin dried, it was aboslutely PERFECT!
The temperature, the sky, the sunset, my kids and Mark playing happily in the background.

I can't believe this is only our second trip to the community pool this summer.
We have to do this more often!

Parenting Styles

I'm the full-time parent. And, obviously, Mark is the one with a great relationship with our little toadlets. He's the patient, full-of love and long suffering father.

And I love it.

So, here's a typical evening out with the children, like tonight at a friend's birthday picnic.

Me greeting Hostess: "Happy Birthday! It's so good to see you! Thanks for inviting us . . . ." (continues to talk for 10 minutes)

Mark: (carrying Fin, dragging Asher, and hollering after Jaxon) "Jess, do you want to sit over there?"

Me: "Sure honey, just a sec. " (continues chatting)

Mark: (finds a place to sit, corrals children, eyes table for possible foods that children will actually eat)

Me: (joining family) "Are you guys ready to eat?"

Mark and Me: (go to table and get food)

Mark: (sits down and gives a plate of food to Asher, helps Finley eat some watermelon, looks for Jaxon who's off playing on the hammock)

Me: "mmm, this sandwich is delicious. I think the salad turned out pretty well."

Mark: "Did you get any food for Jaxon?"

Me: (frowning) "Uh, no." (continues eating)

Mark: (returns to table to get food for himself.) (upon return) "Jess, what is Finley eating? Did you give that to him?"

Me: (confused) "What? Oh, yeah, I think Asher did" (continues to visit with friends)

Mark: (looking for Jaxon) "Well, I think Jaxon's going to skip dinner tonight"

(continues for 1 hour)

Mark: (exhausted) "I think it's time to go"

Me: (disappointed) "Already?"

Mark: "Yes. I'll get the kids, you get the stuff."

Me: "Well, there's not that much stuff, let's go together."

(we get to the van, and get home)

Me: "Where's the salad bowl? Did we forget it?"

Mark: "I guess. You were supposed to get the stuff."

Me: "Crap. I love that salad bowl."

The End.

And I wonder why Mark doesn't like to go places with the kids!?

In (late) honor of our Anniversary

August 10th was our 8th wedding anniversary and I wanted to celebrate it with a then/now post.

Then: Lots of cuddling, laying in bed just enjoying being near each other.
Now: At 10PM she says, "Have we even bumped into each other oday?"

Then: No TV, no online distractions (like blogging), we played cards, read the newspaper, visited with neighbors.
Now: We sit side by side on different computers for 3 hours each night, speaking rarely, or by instant message.

Then: "Hey, let's go see a movie tonight." "Yeah!" Cost $2 (the dollar movies)
Now: He says, "Hey, let's go see a movie." She says, "No, we're booked this month, let's try October." Cost $20 babysitters, $20 movie, $5 gas.

Then: She asks, "Are you interested in getting busy tonight?" He answers, "Again? Didn't we do that earlier today?"
Now: He asks, "Are you interested in getting busy tonight?" She answers, "Again? Didn't we do that last week?"

Then: He says, "Let's go on a road trip!"
Now: He says, "Let's never visit friends or family because we don't like to sleep in the same room as our children."

Then: Our conversations were full of inside jokes.
Now: Our conversations are full of content, but always interrupted.

Then: We thought we were happy.
Now: We know we are happy.

Then: At restaurant, she says, "Honey, I'm not very hungry. I'll just eat a little of what you order." "Okay, he says. We'll share."
Now: At restaurant, she says, "Honey, I'm not very hungry. I'll just eat a little of what you order." "No way. Order your own food."

Blazing Steeds on the Hemophilia 5K Walk-a-thon

Mark and I have started a team for the Hemophilia 5K Walk-a-thon (held Sunday Sept 28, in Phoenix).
We're recruiting people to join our team, get a t-shirt, and support the cause.

If you're interested, go to the Blazing Steeds fundraising page (isn't that a great name? I came up with it myself :)

I haven't written about our hemophilia story, but I thought this would be a good place for those who've never heard it (or as a refresher for those who have).

Jaxon and Asher have severe hemophilia A. They are missing the genetic code that makes a protein essential for clotting blood. (It's called Factor 8 because it's the 8th in a clotting cascade. Without every domino, the process fails). So, their bodies don't make this protein at all, so their blood doesn't clot.
At all.
So in 2002, our first baby boy, Jaxon was circumcised, and it didn't stop bleeding for 24 hours. Diagnosis was one thing, but understanding the treatment was another.

Everyone reassured us that our baby would be fine. But, they said, he could have spontaneous bleeding (not from trauma) in his joints, organs, or muscles. Even in his brain. And, since he was a baby, we'd never know. So, of course Jaxon had colic, and when he would cry for long bouts, we would wonder if he was bleeding. We were never confident.

Jaxon had a lot of bruises, but not all of the problems other parents of children with hemophilia had. He didn't have bleeds in his forearms from banging his arms on the high chair tray. He didn't bleed while teething, and we never got reported to CPS for a child with too much bruising.

After he started walking he stopped abruptly and cried in pain. After a few hours, we suspected a bleed in his left hip. We treated him with the very expensive, but very safe and effective medication called factor (it's a synthetic factor 8 protein) and his symptoms disappeared.

After this first bleed, our hematologist medical team recommended a port-a-cath as a way to access deliver the factor into Jaxon's blood without having to find a vein every time. Jaxon then began prophylaxis, or preventative treatment.

The port-a-cath required surgery, and it was difficult to let them put my baby under the knife at 13 months old. But, we have been so glad that we did. Now age 6, Jaxon still has his port and gets his infusions 3 times a week. He has only had a handful of bleeds ever since.

After his diagnosis, we did genetic testing and determined that I am a carrier for hemophilia and that my mother was not, which means that it was a genetic mutation that occurred when I was created. So, since one of my X's is affected, I have a 1 in 4 chance of having a son that has hemophilia (and the same chances for having a girl that is a carrier).

When I was pregnant with Asher, I had an amnio and learned that he, too, would have hemophilia. It was a difficult time, but we have been so blessed with Jaxon's health that we weren't as scared as we were when Jaxon was born.

Everything went well with Asher until he got a big goose-egg on his head. Although it wasn't a brain bleed, it was on his head, so it was a concern. After we treated it, we decided to place a port in his little 8 month old body. That was so scary. But, he did great, just like his brother.


He's 2 1/2 now and hasn't had any joint or muscle bleeds that we know of. He has had some trauma (like when he sliced his head open on the minivan) and we've treated for those incidents.

So, we have been very blessed, or very lucky, but still wonder what the future of hemophilia holds for our children. Some possibilities are inhibitors, where the body attacks the factor 8 protein as a foreign object.
At best, hemophilia is inconvenient. At worst, it is deadly. Both boys wear medicalert bracelets on their ankles as a safeguard. We have to discuss these issues with teachers, babysitters, friends and family to make them aware of our children's special needs.

So far, our children's lives have been nearly normal, and that may or may not continue. They can play most sports, provided they infuse beforehand. (with the exceptions of football, boxing, and hockey) They will not be able to go away from home without parents until they can learn to self-infuse, which will probably be around age 9 or 10. Their ports will come out eventually (they usually only last for a year or 2 in cancer patients) and they will begin to infuse peripherally, through their veins.

We anticipate the future with much hope and continue to look forward to a cure, which is really not that far out of reach.
We just need a little luck and a lot of support.

Baby Fin, part 2

With Grandpa, on the swing at my grandparents house.

Because I can't fit all the pictures in one post. Crazy, isn't it?

Um, can we guess that he didn't get in the laundry hamper on his own?

So cute, turned 9 months old, and decided he was DONE breastfeeding.

Living it up with brothers on the couch.

Funny Fin

The last in my three-part series about things I love and want to remember about my children.

I was actually worried about finding things to remember about Finley because he's still so small, doesn't move much, doesn't talk, etc. But, the first weekend in August we had our annual hemophilia conference for Arizona and he was in nanny care for most of the time. It was amazing to see how the nannies responded to him. It helped me realize I take for granted many wonderful things about him.
Mr. Square-Face
With cheeks the size of golf-balls, and with as much storage as a chipmunk's, Finley gets the most comments about them. One of the nannies said, "I could suck on those cheeks all day." True, dat. Because his cheeks are so big, it makes his face almost square.
The best part about Fin's cheeks is when he smiles. Somehow the muscles in his face have grown strong enough to lift the mass of flesh that hangs on either side of his mouth into a brilliant, enthusiastic smile. His smile takes up 90% of his face, and most of his body, too. It's not captured adequately in pictures, but everyone who met him kept commenting on his smile.

Little Birdy
When he gets excited, baby Fin will start flapping his arms and legs like a bird. I swear he wants to fly up into my arms and just sit perched while I cart him around, like his very own tree.

Bottle Lover
Breastfeeding has been a love-hate thing for me. With Jaxon, he finished nursing at 9 months, Asher was 14 months and I only weaned him because I was pregnant with Fin. So, despite his similarities to Jaxon, I was still surprised that an occasional supplemental bottle of formula became Finley's favorite thing. When he sees us shaking it up, he starts to flap and pant. Unlike when I try to nurse him and he throws his head back and cries, or worse, bites me with his 5 teeth.
So, he's a bottle baby now. He weaned himself at exactly 9 months and that's fine with me. (but, I do miss the extra 500 calories I could eat every day!)

Part of the Fun
Of course babies like to see what's going on. Fin is no different, but I was surprised this weekend to see how happy he was. He's been pretty grumpy the last few weeks, and I've realized, he just loves to watch the action. Seeing other children playing, or people talking is just delightful to him. He's thrilled by everyone that looks at him, that smiles or waves. He soaks it all in and reflects a light that's totally visible through his eyes.

Long Gone
When Mark and I went to Sunstone last week, we missed our kids so much. When Finley saw me, he looked blank for a second, then got a huge grin on his face. When I picked him up, he wouldn't stop grabbing my face, my nose, eyes, cheeks. I think he wanted to make sure I was really there.

Here's great-grandpa Starkey with Fin on our trip to Utah in July.

Here's Fin practicing his V-ups. He'll sit like this indefinitely, sill someone helps him sit up.

I-Rack