Owen is two!

2!
2!
2!


Hip
hip
hurrah!
Owen is two today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OWEN!!!

Sears Portrait Studio

These are not my favorite expressions, but Owen is giving Zoe a cute look. Owen is no longer cooperative in a photo shoot. He touches everything including the camera. Zoe on the other hand is very cooperative. She makes these funny grimaces.

Oh well, it's more important to have pictures than not.

Medically challenged

Yesterday, I went for a full physical exam. Owen was born almost two years ago. So, it has been a while since I've had the full Monty based upon my whole body, not just the reproductive organs, or my most recent urgent problems like pneumonia, or a broken arm.

Why do they make you wear those flimsy paper gowns? Why do they bother with the paper sheet? How difficult or expensive is it to provide fabric gowns or sheets? I'm not very modest after having been through IVF five times and having been on full bed rest for weeks at a TEACHING hospital. I have a large-sized fabric gown from one of my long stays in the hospital. (I don't know how or why it made it home -- a souvenir???) Next time I'm going to bring it and use it. Either that or wear it on Halloween--very scary.

After waiting since December for this appointment, I get roughly 12 minutes with my doctor. It goes something like this: How are you doing? You should take calcium supplements. What drugs are you taking? (Didn't you prescribe them???) Please get undressed, hang out naked, wait forever (still naked except for the now sweaty, partially-shredded paper gown). The doctor reappears...pokes, prods...spread em...sorry if this is cold. Get dressed and then jabbed for a tetanus shot. OUCH. You must come back for blood work when you are fasting. Pay $30.

The only good news is that I've lost 15 pounds since my last doctor's appointment in December. I'm pretty surprised at that. It's because I've been too sick to eat.

Valentine's day

Zoe was very excited about Valentine's Day. She woke up excited unlike her frequently grumpy, sleepy head.

She said she was going to wish each person she saw a Happy Valentine's Day. Her cheery attitude did rub off on me. We both dressed in red. Naturally, she wore it from head to toe. I wore a red sweater.

She came home with a bag of loot--candy, valentines and trinkets. I'm very jealous of the moms and dads who have the time and capacity to make home-made valentines. They are so much better than the crap in the stores. Still, it's just not possible. Maybe next year?

Bob and I are both sick with head colds. Not very romantic for Valentine's Day. We've been married a LONG LONG time.

He's a sweetie and I should appreciate him more. He even gave me a heart shaped box of Godiva chocolates. I think he is going to eat them all....

Benjamin's grave marker

Today, my mother-in-law very generously offered to pay for a marker for Benjamin's gravesite. I was touched and sad at the same time. I had to try very hard not to cry. I will go to my grave sad over losing him.

Grief is like granite. It should be permanently marked.