Blog Hop: A Truth, A Tip and A Photo

Truth:  I'm not sure what truth to share here.  Do you want facts about Down syndrome?  Here's one: 30-50% of individuals with Down syndrome have a congenital heart defect.  Ben has a moderately-sized ASD - an atrial septal defect.  It's a hole between the two upper chambers of his heart, and we will probably eventually have it surgically corrected.  When Ben was born, I worried more about his heart than anything else.

Tip:  Join a local group.  When Ben was first born, I didn't know anyone near me who had a child with Down syndrome.  I found a lot of information and helpful advice on the internet, but I felt very isolated from the people around me.  Now I know several great families in my town (and even in my neighborhood!) who have children with Down syndrome.  We go to playdates and birthday parties together.  We share advice about doctors, therapists, schools, etc.  I love that my kids will grow up knowing people of all ages who have Down syndrome.

Photo:  Ben likes to help with the laundry.

A Few Days Without Daddy

My husband has been out of town for a few days.

He doesn't travel often, so when he does, the kids and I bumble around a bit.  We miss him.  

This week, we have eaten lots of chicken nuggets and fries, frozen pizza, popcorn and M&Ms.  The kids also ate fruit, but I'm honestly not sure if they've even seen a vegetable since Tuesday.

On Wednesday, I took them to school ... late.  I was overly ambitious when I made breakfast - scrambled eggs and toast.  By the time we got to school, the teachers and crossing guards had left their posts and there were no other cars at all in the dropoff lane.  Oops.

Wednesday afternoon, Ben had to see the ENT before I pre-registered him at the hospital for ear tube surgery.

Thursday, Ben had surgery to put tubes in his ears.  The procedure itself was simple and short, but I was still nervous.  Anesthesia!  Fortunately, my friend Beckie came to hang out with us at the hospital.  And Ben was a rock star.  In and out, mostly happy.  The nurses kept saying how cute he is.

We picked up lunch for the big kids and met them at school.  They both enjoyed showing Ben off to their classmates.  Evan's class know Ben pretty well; they have seen him at school for programs for the last 3.5 years.  Corrie's classmates got to meet him for the first time.  Ben basically spends his time at school crawling or walking around the gym surrounded by a dozen other kids, who are all trying to give him a high five or throw him a ball or something.  He's quite popular.

Our other daddy-less activities included: two Star Wars movie nights and the Run or Dye 5K.  (And a couple of facetime chats with Daddy, Gamma, Papa and Auntie Jen).

Originally, I thought I would run the 5K with Evan.  He loves to run, and I didn't think he would have any trouble doing 3.5 miles.  However, I didn't realize that Emmett wouldn't be there to watch the other kids ... and then I did absolutely no training after one initial run with Evan in early December.

So ... I walked with Corrie and Ben.  Evan ran ahead and finally walked us for the last kilometer or so.  




Evan felt that dodging the color would demonstrate how fast he was, so he tried to avoid the dye as much as possible.  The blue guys got him the most.

Corrie got lots of color.  After our first dye-ing experience, she sighed, "Mom, I got a LOT of color thrown at me.  It's because I'm so adorable."  No self-confidence problems here.  

Ben ended up with more color than the rest of us.  Every time we went through a color station, the volunteers would squeal, "A baby!" and gently throw color at him.  It occurred to me during bath time after the race that I might should have protected Ben a little bit more.  He wasn't bothered at all, but his ears are still tinted blue and yellow.  Maybe it wasn't a good idea to throw powdered dye at someone who just got tubes put in.  Live and learn.

All in all, we survived pretty well without Dad.  We failed on healthy eating and boy did I get impatient at bedtime, but we did manage to navigate one surgical procedure AND a 5K run/walk.  I'm satisfied.

Thankfully, Emmett arrived home this morning, and we have been relishing his attention all day long.  He has danced with Corrie around the living room, listened to Evan recap the latest Minecraft adventures, and shared his dinner with Ben.  We watched football and napped on the couch.  All is right with the world.