Insert Witty Title Here

Only 18 days until my Mom arrives! She will be staying with us for six weeks and I cannot even express how much I'm looking forward to that! My mom and I are so close, and we do have our disagreements, but we have a lot of fun together. It will be amazing to have someone else in the house and we have a few plans for some fun activities.

The days go by, all looking the same. I have to look at a calendar every morning to know what day of the week it is. As boring and frustrating as that can be sometimes, we are healthy, happy (most of the time), and finding ways to have fun. DJ is having a blast on the deck with his water table and bubbles. On days that are not too hot and humid, or the air quality isn't so poor (the joys of living in a very overpopulated area), we take walks or I take DJ out to ride his bike.

I haven't been taking many pictures lately, as our days are the same. Once my mom gets here and we do some traveling, I will have more to share. Confirmed adventures include: Baltimore Inner Harbor, Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home), and Washington DC. I am hoping to spend at least a day on the coast, experiencing a real Atlantic Coast Beach. It all depends on weather and cost. Those gas prices are insane!

Reflections on Father's Day

Father's Day has always been my least favorite day of the year. My dad left shortly before I was born, for reasons I still don't know. Even though he lived close, I never saw him, never spoke to him. I was teased by classmates as a child for not having a dad. It was always a painful subject for me. A little less than 3 years ago, I finally got up the nerve and called him at work. He used to be a police officer, so he was easy to find. I didn't know what to expect, but I had to try. He was very receptive and agreed to meet. Meeting my father for the first time was and continues to be a surreal experience. We are alike in so many ways. We look a lot alike, but it goes beyond that. We have similar mannerisms, similar likes and dislikes, similar quirks and fears. So bizarre. (Photo taken 10 September 2005)

Our relationship is still relatively non-existent. It's awkward to try and develop that after so long, but we get along fine and we do email from time to time. I email him to wish him a happy birthday, merry christmas, but I just can't bring myself to wish him a Happy Father's Day. He may be my father biologically and we may share a lot of characteristics, but he is still a stranger to me.

DJ does not have a father. That line of his birth certificate is blank. He knows what a dad is, sort of, what he has learned from TV, seeing other families. I can't help but feel that pain I grew up with, all over again. I have discussed the topic at length with his mom. She grew up with a dad and I know their relationship is strained somewhat, she just can't grasp what her child is missing. I am not, by any means, advocating her going on a wild dad hunt just to provide that for him. I just can't help but feel like he deserves better.

The best I can do for him is teach him about our Holy Father. The one amazing dad that will never let us down.

Baby Birds and Bubble Machines

Has anyone noticed that I'm terrible with titles? Oh well.

Our townhouse (basically a rowhouse, there are 8 houses in our row, I believe) has a nice deck out back. We have no yard to speak of, but the deck is suitable as a place for DJ to have a small pool or something similar. The maintenance needed on the deck is now complete, which means we can use it now! Woo Hoo!

Anyway, the previous tenants left a hanging planter hanging on the deck. Recently, I noticed a Mourning Dove had built a nest in the planter. As I watched the bird for a few days, I realized he/she must have eggs, as they did not leave the nest for anything. Well, sometime during the night or first thing this morning, the eggs hatched. Mourning Doves traditionally lay two eggs at a time, up to three times a year. I was able to stand on the step-ladder and view the babies. They are a lot bigger than I expected and kinda fluffy. It's pretty cool.

With our deck now available for use and having done a lot of research, I decided against a pool. There are a few reasons, but if we decide we want to swim, the city has a nice pool we can use.

DJ has gone crazy over bubbles lately, but hasn't quite gotten the hang of blowing them. So, we found a cheap, but realiable (according to reviews) bubble machine. I think the only downside is that you eventually run out of bubble solution and have to buy more. Not unexpected. In any event, DJ had a blast.

At one point, DJ carefully closed his hands over a bubble and yelled "I caught one, I caught one! See!" and slowly opened his hands. Of course, the bubble hand popped. The look of shock on his face was priceless.

I also found a little water table, that will be a nice toy on the warmer days. It is put together, but we will wait to use it, as we are expecting another couple days of thunderstorms.

Has anyone noticed I ramble? Oh well.

Tested

I am feeling very tested as a pseudo-parent these days. DJ seems to be doing better, health-wise. He is eating and drinking lots. The heat/humidity here is just insane and due to several days close to 100 degrees, the air quality is very poor. This combined with DJ being sick over the weekend, we have been staying indoors. For the first time ever, since I started taking care of DJ, I feel trapped. There are things I would like to do, errands I would like to run, but I don't feel that I can subject him to the heat, as he doesn't tolerate it well, so we just stay home.

On top of that, and I'm sure it is partially due to the brief, but somewhat traumatizing illness, DJ has been very emotional. He cries at the drop of a hat, for no reason. I think part of it is because of his mom being gone, and that's completely understandable, and I'm sure some of it is just part of his age. I just don't feel like there is anything I can do. I give him tons of reassurance and love, but it's just not enough.

Like I said, I feel very tested. I will admit that some days, I feel like giving up. His grandparents would take him, but there are reasons his mom doesn't want that. I'm really the only stable thing DJ has had in his life. I'm the only one who hasn't come and gone. I can't just abandon him, because things feel tough right now. They will get better.

Heat and Hospitals

DJ woke up looking pale this morning and was very emotional. I gave him some breakfast (fruit loops), of which he ate maybe 5 loops. Anyone who knows this kid, knows he can seriously pack the food away, so I was concerned. He said he would rather have a waffle, so I tossed one in the toaster. Yes, I realize I am the worst pseudo-mom in terms of cooking, but he does have a balanced diet and looooooves his veggies! In any event, he didn't even take a full bite of waffle, before he began puking. I won't go into gory details, but it was bad. DJ hasn't thrown up since he was just a baby, and while I know what to do, I still freaked out a little. I called Todd. I know, we're getting divorced, but we are still friends and he's a medic for gosh sakes. He calmed me down and I gave DJ some small sips of water. Not too long after, that came back too. Today was the hottest day so far this year, at 95, with a heat index well over 100 degrees. I was very concerned that with the heat (our A/C doesn't work well), and DJ not keeping down even water, he would get dehydrated very quickly. Todd said I should take him to the ER and I called over there and the nurse agreed. So, I packed DJ into the car, with a bowl and towel and drove the 45 minutes to the Naval Hospital in Bethesda. We got checked in pretty quickly and he just laid there on the bed, pretty mellow (another very off-behavior for a generally hyper kid). The doctor came in and poked around, we waited awhile longer and they gave him some anti-nausea medicine and had him try to drink pedialite. He kept that down and we were sent home. It's just a virus. I was pretty sure it would be, I just didn't want to take chances, with the heat and everything.

We have been home for a few hours, DJ has had lots of fluids and some crackers and seems to be doing alright, but still pretty subdued. I'm going to put him in the bathtub in a few minutes, get his teeth brushed and flossed, read a goodnight story, and send him off to sleep. I'm sure he's exhausted. I know I am! Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that whatever he had he keeps to himself.

I happened to have my camera with me, so here is a picture of the poor little guy...

Update: When I put DJ to bed, he asked for a nightlight. We put one in his room the first week we moved here, to help him settle in, but otherwise, he hasn't had one since he was a baby. I think today may have traumatized him a little. Extra hugs and cuddles for him!

I just went in to check on him and he is out cold (well, out hot? Even with the AC and celing fans, its pretty hot), so hopefully he will get some good rest tonight and feel great tomorrow.

Update 6/8: DJ woke up feeling better today. He is a little weak, but asking to eat and drink everything in sight. Just one of those icky 24 hour bugs, I guess.

Playdate, part dos

The forecast predicted sun and 88 today. We woke up to very overcast skies and about 65. It looked as though it might rain, but by the time we left to drive to the park, it was still very overcast, but no rain. It ended up being perfect weather, very cloudy and around 72. I didn't have to slather DJ in sunscreen, that makes his skin break out, and the moms weren't roasting sitting there. With the pleasant weather, the one hour playdate turned into two. The boys were great, running, chasing, falling, creating all sorts of mischief. Connor's mom and I had a nice time talking. I couldn't have asked for better. Plus, the library is on the way home from the park, so I got to drop off my books, without taking an extra trip and using up gas!

Sorry if this seems scattered, my brain is elsewhere this evening. A lot on my mind. Maybe ramblings for a later blog...

Storms and Playdates

If you don't follow the news or maybe if you live on the west coast and they didn't cover it, we had a series of very bad storms here yesterday. If you want to get technical, we have had quite a few storms lately. I believe, going into yesterday's first storm, we were on our fourth tornado watch since I moved here. Anyway, I knew a storm was predicted, but the day had been fine. Out of nowhere, it got very dark, there was rumble of thunder and thus began the most terrifying 40 minutes of my life. I have done my research and my sister lives in Kansas, so I know what to do in the event of a tornado. I was prepared. Over-prepared, really. I just expected some rain and wind and thunder. I have never seen weather like I saw in those 40 minutes. Never. This storm moved at 60 knots, the winds in excess of 65mph, with torrential rain, over 3000 lightning strikes in the region in less than an hour. I got DJ downstairs in the basement. Our basement is our rec room/play room, so its not a hardship to be down there. I turned on the news and we weren't in a tornado watch, it was a warning. There were very active rotations of air in the clouds. Our laundry room is built into the ground and I have no doubt we would come out of a tornado just fine, but it is still completely terrifying and I found myself panicking. Eventually, the storm quieted and the sun came out, like nothing had happened. There were a few broken tree branches, but everything was okay. After the storm passed through this area, it headed toward the Chesapeake, where a tornado touched down, doing some damage, but no death or injuries. Later last night, we had another powerful storm come through, which brought another tornado warning, but again, we came out of it just fine. I believe there were 4 confirmed tornadoes in the region, but the closest was an hour from us. I don't know that having been through this now, I will be any less scared the next time, but we did make it through. Tornadoes and Hurricanes...blech...where are my Earthquakes and Volcanoes?! :-)

On another note, DJ has a playdate tomorrow morning with his best friend from Preschool. We are meeting up at this great park near our house for about an hour. It was expected to be very hot this weekend 93-95 degrees, with excess humidity, so we are meeting up early. Yay for playdates and grown-up interaction!!!