Ode to Blue Cross/Blue Shield

Illnesses, Sicknesses, Maladies, Oh My!

2008: The year of the Insurance Card. It's gotten a workout from our family that's for sure. Here are some things for which, as a whole, we are indebted to BC/BS--we couldn't have survived this without you!

Pre-natal visits, bronchitis, skin rash, stuffed-up noses, dental check-ups, Bells Palsy diagnosis, fillings, crowns, an MRI, a CAT scan, one broken arm requiring one urgent care visit, one pediatrician visit, the emergency room, and two appointments with a specialist, an eye condition, two labor visits, one delivery:), post-partum visits, more stuffed-up noses, coughs, goopy eyes, eczema and asthma, laryngitis, newborn weight checks, 2-year check up, 1-month check-up, and a scratched cornea...and a partridge in a pear tree (not covered by insurance).

Thank you, Lord, for our health and well-being--despite all these minor maladies, we feel healthy and blessed and protected!

My Own Personal Book Club

In My Spare Time...
(WARNING: the following post contains no information about my sons...you have my permission to lose interest at any moment:))
Spare time--yeah, right. Well, I do steal some time everyday to read a little bit. Here's what I've been reading:
*A Million Little Pieces by James Frey--I know, I'm several years behind Oprah's book club. I surprised myself by reading this one all the way to the end despite the awful language and content...glad I did.
*Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes--My neighbor couldn't sell this at her yard sale, so she gave it to me because I was heading to the beach. Now I now why it wouldn't sell...
*Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs-- Great story about girls for girls. Fun to read and makes me want to pick up knitting again--yes, I used to knit back in the day...where is that scarf???
*My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult--Easy to read, difficult to swallow, great ending. I think I saw that the movie will be out this summer; I'm going to go ahead and predict that it won't be as good as the book.
*The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory--Interesting, historical, creative (non)fiction about the Boleyn family of King Henry's court. Exciting read (excepting the middle couple-hundred pages).
*Life of Pi (currently reading) by Yann Martel--Recommend to me by a friend. The novel starts with a good storytelling cadence, then reads like a dense religious text, then picks up again with the story. I'm about half-way through it, and I'm enjoying the story.
*The Holy Bible (currently reading) by God--can't put it down;)
*Certain Girls (on deck) by Jennifer Weiner--can't wait to pick it up. Weiner is one of my favorite authors--always funny and clever.

Back in Time (Jack reverts to Babyhood)

When Sam arrived, Jackson was very curious about him--and all of his accessories. Here are some of the fun things that Jackson discovered: jumping in Sam's bouncy seat is a lot of fun--why would Sam just lie in there???; snatching and running off with Sam's pacifiers, sucking on them before Mom and Dad can get them back is a cool game; and he fits perfectly and comfortably into Sam's Moses basket (bottom picture).

When we swaddle Sam (I always say, "It's time to wrap you up, little man"), Jackson yells "Nooooo! Wrap it out, Mom! Wrap it out!" and demands to be wrapped as well (right picture--Jackson "wrapped out.")

My sister was in town this past week with my 2-year-old niece and 7-month-old nephew. One afternoon, she brought Lucas (the baby) down from his nap. Within a few minutes, I noticed Jack was not downstairs with us (believe me, with four kids under the age of twenty-six-months you lose one now and again). I walked up the stairs calling his name and found him in the guest bedroom, in Lucas's pack-n-play with Lucas's pacifier in his mouth and Lucas's blanket pulled over him (top picture). My little baby!

By the way, Paul Reiser (of Mad About You fame) wrote a book called, Babyhood. I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever had kids.

One-month check-up

Sam goes to the Doctor

Last Thursday, Sam got a clean bill of health from our family doctor, Dr. Wrinkle. The boys and I tried out our new stroller, walking to the doctor's office. Sam weighed a whopping 8 lbs. 12 oz.--over 2 lbs. more than when we brought him home from the hospital!

He's in the 10th-25th percentile for most of his stats--still a little nugget--but growing! On our way home, we got to see two fire trucks responding to a fire, which was quite a treat for Jack; the firefighters even waved at him!

Sam is now sleeping 5+ hours at a time when I put him down at night! Hallelujah!