The Very Best Dada, EVER!

Today was the Halloween program at Katrina’s preschool. Therefore, I had to get her dressed 45 minutes before the event. As I was getting Katrina’s accessories in place for her Glinda costume, Katrina said, “Mama, where is my magic wand?”

(Gulp) “Oh, Katrina, I am so so Sorry, but I forgot to bring it!”

Katrina: “Then I will never, never be Glinda!”

I felt horrible. Katrina, I’m sure felt even more horrible. She was angry, sad, and just plain miserable. It was already too late for me to call Brad, since he was already on his way to the school. Reasoning with Katrina simply didn’t help, and neither did the hugs.

When Brad arrived, my look of desperation moved Brad into action. Since talking and hugging Katrina didn’t seem to be helping, he took the aluminum foil that was left over from someone’s treat, and immediately broke a hanger in half. Within a minute, he had constructed a magical ball wand. There just wasn’t enough time to form it into a star like the one at home. So Brad explained that princesses have all sorts of different wands. With a couple minutes of convincing, Katrina finally entered the classroom so that the program could begin.

It was obvious that Katrina was disturbed about her wand, as she hardly participated in the songs and movements at first. Half way through the program, she finally let loose and began singing and participating in the motions.

At home, I once again apologized for my forgetfulness. Then Katrina enthusiastically said (regarding her new wand), “I will NEVER use another wand again!” Dada is our hero!

(Comment from the old site:)

Yay, Brad!!! By the way

Submitted by Ami Peltier (not verified) on Thu, 11/01/2007 - 12:54pm.

Yay, Brad!!!

By the way — poor Allan. I can’t believe you made Allan Annoying one of your tags! LOL

Big Al!

I took Allan to see Dr Kendall for a recheck on his jaundice yesterday. When the medical technician took his weight, I was surprised to learn that Allan had gained 24 oz. since his appointment 14 days prior! The “norm” is gaining about an ounce a day. Apparently like our other children, Allan does not fall into the category of normal when it comes to weight gain. He was up to 8 lbs, 5.3 oz!

Since Allan was still looking about the same hue of yellow, Dr Kendall ordered a stat bilirubin. Luckily the labs showed that he most likely has a case of breastfeeding jaundice; no big deal. We’ll recheck in 2 weeks.

Dr. Randy Pausch: “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”

Dr. Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that has metastasized to his liver and spleen. In August, he was given an estimate of three to six months of healthy living left.

The video of his last lecture, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”, from September 18 is an hour and 25 minutes long, but it is worth it. I watched it a few days ago and I still haven’t stopped thinking about things he said in the lecture. It’s poignant, informative, and entertaining.

I highly recommend it.

(Comments from old site:)

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

Submitted by Sara Gold (not verified) on Mon, 10/29/2007 - 2:10pm.

Some lessons from Randy Pausch’s last lecture that especially moved me:

1. Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.
2. Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
3. Never lose the child-like wonder.
4. If we do something which is pioneering, we will get arrows in the back. But at the end of the day, a whole lot of people will have a whole lot of fun.
5. Be good at something; it makes you valuable.
6. If you live your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, and the dreams will come to you.

Check out the tribute quiz on the lecture at www.mystudiyo.com : you can add your own questions at the end of the quiz. http://www.mystudiyo.com/activity.php?act=558

My Beaumont Hospital Brownie

After every delivery, I have enjoyed the savory sensation of eating the Beaumont Hospital Brownie. So, when I became pregnant for a third time, I couldn’t help but look forward to this tasty treat. Unfortunately, they ran out of brownies on Sunday, so I had to wait an ENTIRE DAY for a new batch. I was a little disappointed to find that the recipe had changed a bit, as there was no longer a frosting topping on the brownie. So, I saved it to take home and put a huge glob of chocolate frosting on it when I got home yesterday. Yum!

BIG NEWS!!!!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that it’s been 20 MINUTES, and our son is STILL SLEEPING in his bassinet up in our room! This is incredible news since neither Katrina nor Elena were fond of sleeping alone, and as a result the bassinet was more of a diaper storage aid than anything else.

Everyone keep your fingers crossed! :)

Baby #3: Allan Patrick Town

Allan Patrick Town was born at 3:51 a.m. at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI. He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 20 3/4 inches in length.

Thinking we were in for the long haul when I discovered I was only 2.5cm dilated at 11 or 11:30p.m. (? I think), we set out to walk the various halls at Beaumont at midnight. We met Brad’s parents and my mom there as they had started driving from Stevensville at about 9:30pm. Of course my mom seemed to be taking it harder than I was during our walking extravanganza. I guess I’d feel the same if my daughters were in labor.

By 2 a.m. I was ready to return to the unit. I was dilated to 4cm/100%effaced/-2 station. Upon admission at 2:30 or so (once again, I have no idea of exact times), I was ready to shower in order to help ease the pressure. There was no time. Dr Hakim’s exam showed that I was 8-9cm. After a few of those contractions I was ready to begin pushing. Except for a small charlie horse(should have eaten that banana!) and totally forgetting how to push (you’d think I’d be a pro by now!), it wasn’t too bad. Brad’s coaching and Amy H. RN’s reminders helped A LOT!

As was expected, I’m having trouble sleeping due to the frequent visits by staff, and occasional grunts from Allan. He made me a bit nervous because he was choking on some left-over amniotic fluid. I suctioned him, and he was alright for a while. Then it started again, and VOILA!—-he coughed up a huge amount. I think he feels better now. Hopefully he won’t need to be deleed (suctioned out with a long tube) like Katrina needed to multiple times for 2 days after her birth.

Allan’s cries are a lot different than the kitten-like howls that Katrina and Elena had after delivery. He appears pretty content now that he has eaten and ridden himself of the mucous.

I think Allan has copper-colored hair at this point with a touch of blonde as well. Oh, and his body is really as soft as velvet! I feel bad touching him with my sandpaper-like fingers.

I think now that the boys are sleeping, I will follow suit. I can’t wait to introduce the girls to their new baby brother.

(Comments from old site:)

HOORAY!

Submitted by Keri (not verified) on Sun, 09/23/2007 - 7:44pm.

Congrats! We are so happy someone other than us finally had a boy! WOOHOO! Glad it is going so well. Keep the pics coming!

Allan Patrick

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 09/23/2007 - 7:45pm.

Congratulations to all of you! Welcome, Allan!

Jamie Lynch

Baby Allan

Submitted by The Hoef Family (not verified) on Mon, 09/24/2007 - 5:14am.

Congratulations and we are so glad to have a new baby boy in the neighborhood all the boys will be so excited to show him how to play baseball, etc. (ok maybe in a few months).MH

Congrats!

Submitted by Rob (not verified) on Mon, 09/24/2007 - 10:17am.

Now Robby will have a little sidekick when terrorizing his sisters and cousins :)

YEAH

Submitted by Juanita (not verified) on Mon, 09/24/2007 - 11:43am.

We are soooo happy for you. He looks wonderful. Have fun with his plumbing. Remember to cover him up.

Love, Juanita, Carmen, and Family

New blocks: "Google Custom Search" and "Recent pictures"

I’ve added two new blocks to the site.

• “Google Custom Search” should make searching for information on this site a little easier.
• “Recent pictures” will always show the latest pictures we’ve uploaded to SmugMug.

Updated list of my favorite charities

Charity Navigator, called by some the Consumer Reports of the non-profit world, has added the ability to share lists of charities. I’ve updated my list of favorite charities there.

Updated March 7, 2008: There are four charities I might consider that are not listed at Charity Navigator. They include:

• Sesame Workshop
• Consumers Union
• Michigan Radio
• Michigan Fallen Heroes Memorial

Wireless access at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak

When Elena was born two years ago, Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak was considering providing a wireless network for patients, friends, and family, but it wasn’t yet available. There was a wireless network that had a name I’ve since forgotten that suggested it’d be for such purposes, but I couldn’t get it to work.

We all went to a class at the hospital today, a class to help Katrina and Elena understand more about having a younger sibling (and to prepare us for having another child, too). Using Helen’s iPhone I confirmed that there’s now an open wireless network there. Opening a browser window redirected me to a page asking for my first and last name and email address. Since I wasn’t actually going to use it, I called it quits at that point, but I was encouraged.

So, after Baby #3 is born, be on the lookout for up-to-the-minute baby coverage straight from the hospital. We’re just nineteen days away from the due date!

Free month of Netflix and $18 rebate for first-time Netflix customers

From Netflix:

We’re offering you a special opportunity to give your friends and family one month of Netflix service for FREE - that’s twice the length of our regular free trial!

When they redeem their free trial, you’ll get a bonus rental (up to 5 bonus vouchers per member) at no additional charge. This limited time offer expires 9/30/2007 so forward this email today.

The link in the message: http://www.netflix.com/Default?mqso=80015519&nfso=63176618

You might be able to combine this with the $18 rebate through FatWallet.