Happy Holidays (music: Bach Partita played by Natalie)

Make a slideshow!

Max had surgery

As you know, Max has had this mysterious swollen lymph node under his right jaw for months now. After three rounds of antibiotics we finally had a large mass surgically removed, biopsied, and sent to a lab for a thorough analysis. The good news is that the biopsy came back negative for lymphoma and additional masses were discovered and removed as well. We are waiting to find out if another condition may be causing these lymph node masses. There are not the type that just get big and then go away. Max had a drainage tube attached to his neck so he stayed the night. We got back tonight and are packing like crazy to head up to Oregon!
Max once we got to our room. So tired and in pain. :(


The tube collecting the drainage from his neck.


Max didn't like me taking his picture.


Cuddle bugs


All better today! He woke up happy.

Thanks for all the prayers and kind words.

Grandma May

She visited from Brazil recently and send me this picture. She is amazing.

Halloween

I love my sister

These last year has been so special to me especially because Sian and I have grown closer than ever. We took a trip together to New York to celebrate our cousin, Lauren's wedding. We had a blast. A very special memory.

My boys rock!

New York!

Angels in the morning

I love waking up to this....

Go Ducks

Love seeing the Ducks in the Bay Area!

iphone heaven

I am enjoying mine. Especially since I bought it for $200 less than a lot of people!

Favorite Past Time

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Check out my Slide Show!

The Cuteness that is Max

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Bad Blogger!!! Bad, Bad, BLOGGER!

I know, it has been too long. There has been so much going on. First of all, poor Max has been suffering from a grossly enlarged lymph node on his neck for about a month or so. He has seen the doctor every week and the very best pediatric surgeon a couple of times. They have ruled out Leukemia but not Lymphoma. The chances that it is Lymphoma is very small and they are leaning towards an a-typical bacterial infection but we won't know until he finishes his extensive antibiotic treatment and a possible biopsy. It is scary but we are hopeful that it is nothing. He is still cheerful as can be and has been such a sport with all the tests including blood draws, chest x-ray and ultrasound. The good news is that there are no other worrying symptoms. The bad news is that Max has some of the worst diaper rash I have ever seen thanks to the antibiotics. You can see the lymph node in this picture. It is actually bigger than this.




Ethan has started pre-k and is loving it! He just passed his green belt test in Wushu and is now in the int/adv class. It is much more challenging and we love watching his progression.

I am teaching a lot more; close to 30 students now. I took the first concert series off with the Palo Alto Philharmonic to concentrate on Max and Ethan. Hopefully I will be able to play the next series. In the Spring I will be performing a concerto with the Santa Teresa Wind Ensemble which should be fun.

Shayne has been busy at work. This Marvel project has been a real but exciting.

Mom and Dad are arriving this week as is my Grandmother from Brazil. Should be a busy week. I will post some video and photos.

They are growing up too fast

Brothers

Just kidding....here's the real thing...

Funny Video from Birthday Party

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

"Thing's First Birthday Party"

Oregon Trip Slide Show #1

Happy Family

Happy 1st Birthday Thing!!!

One Year AGO......

My baby is almost one. I can't believe it. One year ago I went into labor while watching The Devil Wears Prada. It was supposed to be my "last hurrah" with the girls. It was memorable, that's for sure.

Ratatouille and the b*tch

Sorry guys for the language, but trust me, it is the only word appropriate to describe the horrible woman sitting next to me at the movies.

Thanks to our Alaska Airlines Visa card, we were given 4 free tickets and 4 free popcorn/soda passes for a preview screening of Ratatouille. First of all, this movie is fantastic; at least what I was able to see of it.

To set up the scenario that would later become hell, let me first describe the setting of this movie premiere: a huge crowd of eager children and adults anticipating a visual feast for the eyes, hopped up on sugar and caffeine. In other words, and excited and loud crowd; certainly louder than a mumbling baby.

Thing was, as usual, on his best behavior. He was a little tired and wanted to nurse a lot during the movie, but in no way was crying or fussing. About one third of the way through the movie after Hulk passed the Thing back to me, the woman next to me exclaims in a rather loud voice, "Your baby is annoying. What were you thinking bringing a baby to a movie. That is incredibly rude and inconsiderate for the people around you. I would appreciate you moving to the front row where you won't disturb myself or all those around you. Thank you for moving." HELLO???? WHAT????? I was so taken aback that my reply was simply, "excuse me?" I was shaking with anger and anxiety. I wanted to cry because I have never had someone talk to me in such a frank and rude manner, especially about my child. Thing must have felt my anxiety because he then began to fuss. I got up and the woman says with a smug look on her face, "Finally." I spent the rest of the movie upset and carrying a 20+ pound baby around missing the movie and missing out of a wonderful family memory. Should I have ignored her? Probably. But anyone that knows me knows how sensitive I can be. I was pretty shaken up. Apparently, the Hulk expressed his deep disgust to this woman thanking her for ruining our family outing and suggesting not attending a kids movie in the future if children bother her so much. I can understand people being annoyed if A: they had paid for their ticket B: if the movie was a serious, adult film with an intricate plot and compelling dialogue C: if the baby was screaming and crying and obviously unhappy about being in a movie theater.

Oh well, c'est la vie!

Saab Story :(

We began our drive to Oregon on Tuesday stopping in San Francisco to drop off my flute and watcht the premiere of Ratatouille - see the story of the theater biatch. On Wednesday we made it all the way to exciting Weed, California when the turbo charger on our Saab 9-5 wagon went out. Smoke was pooring out the exhaust and the car dies in the middle of no-where on highway 97. At least the weather was mild, it was daylight, the scenery was gorgeous with Mt. Shasta as the backdrop, and we actually had cell-phone reception. After 3 hours of waiting, a friendly tow-druck driver named Fred arrived with a comfortable dual-cab Dodge Ram truck and trailer to tow us all the way to Portland....yes, PORTLAND!!! And since we were under warranty, Saab foot the bill. But, first, we had to pick up Fred's delightful and very talkative wife, Dixie in Yreka. We could not have asked for better service and company on such a long and could-have-been horrible ride. The kids and I were dropped off in Eugene while the Hulk was taken to the Portland Saab dealership. We were so lucky. God was certainly looking out for us. Our car should be done on Tuesday and God-willing, safe to drive home. I love my Saab SO MUCH. But talk about a pain in the tush when something goes wrong. But man, the drive is SO NICE.

Finally!

Thing will be one on July 1st and he is finally taking an interest in food. He chewed on a piece of bread and ate a couple noodles and peas. Forget about mushed up food. He wants to feed himself and use his teeth.

Slight resemblance???

Happy Father's Day, Sweetie!

Balloons are fun, too!

The Tunnel is FUN!!!

Why a new blog?

Due to "you know who's" semi-celebrity in the game world, creepy people have been emailing him about the kids and me. We will now have code names so we can keep this blog public.

Code Names....

The "Hulk"

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

The "Thing"

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

And, "Spiderman"

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

I am Elektra! Oooo Laa Laa!

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos
Don't my abs look fantastic for having two children via c-section???