Ten Years with Dad's Liver

There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said. Thank God that Anthony has done so well with the left lobe of Mark's liver (said it...at least a million times!). Thank God that Mark has not experienced any complications himself (said it!). Thank God for the wonderful doctors, nurses, aides, techs who have taken care of Anthony over the years (said it!). Thank God for our family who supported us and who keep on supporting us (said it!). Thank God for our friends who have stood  by us and walked this crazy transplant journey with us (said it!). So now I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

2004

2005 

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Daniel, Chapter 3: 89-90
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his love is everlasting.
Bless the Lord, the God of gods, all who fear him, give praise and thanks to him, for his love is everlasting!

Family Photos

Camping

Mark and Anthony left today to go camping with the Istrouma Council with the Boy Scouts of America. The camp is at Avondale in Clinton, LA.

Anthony was practically quivering with excitement when they left - and was pretty impatient that they had to return home 20 minutes later because they forgot a few things.

I think Mark was looking forward to this just as much as Anthony was! He talks a lot about when he was in Boy Scouts and I know he's going to love carrying on this tradition with Anthony (and maybe Benjamin).

I have no desire to go camping. Ever. I'm sure at some point, with two boys, I'll get roped into it. But the idea of no shower for two days, questionable toilet facilities and the possibility of not brushing my teeth? No. Thank. You.

So instead, Benjamin and I will spend the weekend together, eagerly anticipating Daddy and Brother's return on Sunday morning.

I hope there will be tons of pictures to share!

On Parenting

I get a couple of magazines dedicated to parenting. One of the articles I recently read was about "Parenting Jealousy" where mothers are feeling jealous of their husbands because the husbands are connecting with their kids.

Skkkkrrrrrch. Wha...? JEALOUS? Because the dad is being a DAD?!?!?

Oh, my.

Then later in this same article, they quote a recent study that shows that the average American father spends 21.9 hours per week with his children. Twenty-one point nine. Hours. As in, less than one day's worth of hours.

So I thought, let me add up Mark's time with Anthony.

Monday through Friday, he's awake with Anthony from six to seven AM. Then again from five to nine PM. That's five hours per day. So we're up to twenty already.

Saturday and Sunday, he's with Anthony from six AM to nine PM (on average; there are weekends where Anthony spends the day with one or the other set of grandparents). That's fifteen hours per day. So that's thirty on the weekends.

So, Mark is an above average parent (we knew this already, though, from previous posts, right?) based on the time alone that he spends with Anthony (let's just say for the sake of argument that where Anthony is, there is Benjamin).

During the waking (or witching, whichever you prefer) hours with Anthony, Mark will have breakfast and dinner with Anthony during the week, with lunch thrown in on weekends. He will bathe Anthony and play with him. He will drive him to soccer games and encourage him from the sidelines. He brushes his teeth and reads his night time book to him.

I'm sad for all of the children who don't have fathers like Mark.

Twenty-one point nine hours, indeed.

And on the jealousy thing: I think that is pathetic.

There are things Mark is better at as a parent than I am. But there are things that I am better at, too. As long as we realize that, and play to each others strengths (instead of harping on each other's weaknesses as we are sometimes guilty of), we are really effective as parents.

Am I jealous that Mark has an infinite amount of patience at the dinner table when Anthony is refusing to eat something? Not at all. Sometimes I am the more patient parent, too.

Balance. Cooperation. Mutual Respect. Love.

Those are the keys to being good, effective parents, I think.

What helps YOU be a better parent?

Why My Husband Rocks

I'm a lucky gal.

Did you know that life is more hectic when there are two kids to coordinate and get ready? I'm sure no one else knows that. :)

But since we've brought Benjamin into our lives - well...life has gotten more hectic. Mornings seem like rush, rush, rush (and I'm not usually there to coordinate it) and evenings seem like they fly by. Anthony needs to have his pre-breakfast (a pop-tart or slice of raisin bread), medicine needs to be taken, teeth need to be brushed, a uniform needs to be put on (undershirt, shirt, shorts, shirts tucked in, belt put on), hair needs to be brushed, the stuffed-animal-of-the-day needs to be chosen, shoes need to be found and put on...

Benjamin needs to have his juice bottle and a regular bottle, diaper needs to be changed, he needs to be dressed, burped, held...

And in the midst of all of that, Mark has to find time to get himself ready for work.

Where am I? Usually at work. I try to help as much as I can the night before by getting pre-breakfast ready, laying out the uniform, preparing the juice bottle, making sure Ben's diaper bag is packed, etc...but the morning rush is on Mark's shoulders 90% of the time.

And if that's not enough for him to do, I sometimes have to work on weekends, too. So when it should be Mark's time to relax he's still going, going, going with the kids.

Case in point: yesterday.

5:00am: Mommy's up and off to work...

Later that Morning: Anthony has two soccer "games" (pictures will be posted, I promise) in the morning. Then home for lunch and nap time.

Afternoon: Snack, and then Mommy's finally home. Mark gives Anthony a quick bath to clean him up and almost immediately after, we left for Church.

Evening: Back home, Mark cooks dinner. Steak fajitas. De-li-ci-ous. Dinner's over, where's Mommy? Relaxing in the bathtub. Does Daddy grumble and mumble over this? Nope - he's in the den with the kids, watching the LSU game.

Bedtime: Mark brushes Anthony's teeth and reads a bedtime story. Mommy sings and talks to Anthony about his day. Daddy lays with Anthony again until he's asleep (or close to it).

10:30pm: Mark gives Ben a bottle before we go to sleep.

3:30am: Mark gets up to feed Ben again.

5:00am: Mommy's up and off to work again...

Oh, and if I'm not working the morning shift, then I'm working the evening shift (2:00pm-10:30pm) which means that Mark has to do all of the evening stuff on his own, plus deal with Anthony who is sometimes inconsolable because I'm not there to sing to him.

My husband rocks. And I don't think I tell him that often enough.

Seven Years

It hasn't always been easy, but it's always been worth it. I love you, Mark!

Blessed Silence

The scene:

Maw Maw Peck, Maw Maw, Anthony and I are in the den at our house, discussing what we're going to do for dinner (read: what we're going to order).

Anthony: I want macaroni!

Me: We're having macaroni for lunch tomorrow.

Anthony: I. WANT. MACARONI. TONIGHT.

Me: Mommy's going to need your help tomorrow to make the macaroni, OK?

Anthony (stomping off towards his room): I'm going into my room!

Anthony (at the door to his room): I'm not talking to you!

SLAM! The door is closed.

Silence in the den. Then quiet laughter.

Maw Maw and I: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

The silent treatment lasted about 3 minutes. It was blessed while it lasted.

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In other news, Anthony had a fever Monday and Tuesday, which earned him a couple of days at Spa Nana. He returned to school on Thursday, which is when I became sick. A trip to my doctor proved that I have Strep throat. Hopefully 10 days of Amoxicillin will cure me. If Anthony had strep, he spontaneously got over it. Yes. My immunosuppressed child kicked some Group A strep butt, and I can't. Hmph. OK. Not that I want Anthony to be sick, and not me...but can ANYONE explain that to me???

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In more news, our microwave bit the dust yesterday, and we had to buy a new one. Who knew that microwave/oven vent combos were so damned expensive? OUCH. Ah, well. My new microwave is all shiny and pretty and bloody. Wait. Whaaaaa? Well, Mark sliced his finger open while he and my dad were installing the new microwave. He was probably centimeters away from needing stitches, and he was none too happy with me when I suggested he put a little rubbing alcohol on the cut. I didn't have any hydrogen peroxide, and I wanted the cut disinfected. I've never seen Mark go from so white to so red to so white in the face! The thumb is wrapped well, thanks to my MAD skillz as a trauma nurse (haha). It's going to scar, but it will heal without stitches. I give team Mark-PawPaw an A+ on their project.

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Grandpa came back from his three-week stay in India today. We'll see him, Nana, and Parrain for lunch tomorrow. Anthony has talked of little else today. He's READY to see his Grandpa.

Question and Answer

Anthony, what makes you love Daddy?

"Because he likes to play with me and because he loves me."

Tell me about Daddy. What is a Daddy?

"He is a adult. He's a boy. He goes to his work so he can make some money. And he spanks, sometimes. But that's OK 'cause he loves me. And he reads books to me at night, and doesn't let the Nibbly Bugs bite me. And he gives me Pop Tarts and brings me to school."

What about Grandpa?

"He goes to Michigan. He always plays with me. He finds things. Like the raccoon!"

OK. Tell me about Paw Paw.

"Paw Paw goes to work. And he has a new bathtub. He hides the cups for me! And he comes to my house to swim."

Anything else about Daddy?

"He gived me his liver 'cause mine was sick."

There you have it folks. Question and Answer about the three most important men in Anthony's life.

Happy Father's Day!

Six Years

Six years ago today, I walked into a Circle K to buy some ice. It was crowded, and I waited patiently (ahem) in line. When I got to the front, the tired-looking, elderly cashier asked, "Are you headed to the Jazz Fest, too?" I gave her a weird look: my hair was twisted in an elaborate updo, and I had a veil flowing off the back of my head. I think she got the idea when she reached across the counter, grabbed my hands and said, "Be happy. That is the only advice you need."

A lot of things have happened in six short years. Mark and I have changed, grown, adjusted. It's not always been rainbows and sunshine, like I had imagined it would be.

But overall, in these six years, I have been happy more often than not.

How do you do this again..........

Laurie has added me to her blog so that I can write up a post when I feel like it. Although, this is not my first post some of you may remember my post from last year when Laurie was on her "mini-vacation".

Anyway, some of you may noticed the "new" banner on the bottom left of Laurie's blog that appeared a few weeks ago. It's for a group called Child's Play.





I asked Laurie to add it a few weeks ago; I have no connection to them and thought it would be nice if we added it. They coordinate with hospitals around the country and even some around the world in order to collect donations for movies, video games, and video game systems. Anthony was way too young to use/ask for any of these when he was enduring his stints in and out of the hospitals, but Laurie and I can remember seeing all of the other kids that did ask for them during their stays.

They are linked up with one of the two hospitals we USED to frequent (knock on wood) - Univ. of Neb. Omaha. It would be nice if they hooked up with Children's in New Orleans, but they already have Tulane's Children's Hospital.

In the past three years, they have received over $1 million in donations. You can give a direct monetary donation or find your hospital/a hospital you know of and look at the listing of things they would like to receive.

Cheeseburger, Anyone?

SOMEONE was teasing SOMEONE ELSE about getting to go eat a delicious cheeseburger at SOMEONE ELSE'S favorite burger joint with SOMEONE'S daddy today. SOMEONE ELSE did not appreciate my, er, SOMEONE'S humor about it all:

"You're evil."

"I am not!"

"Your mother is evil."

"No! She's a gr-irl!"

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Hmph!"

"HMPH!"

"hmph."

This Alone Made my Marriage Worth It...

Listening to Mark read Anthony the Cajun Night Before Christmas book. Mark rolls his eyes when I attempt a Cajun accent (I can get it going good sometimes!), so to hear him trip along trying to read the book authentically, well...that just made my entire marriage worth it!

"Mo fas'er and fas'er
De gator dey came
He whistle and holler
An' call dem by name:
'Ha, Gaston!
Ha, Tiboy,
Ha, Pierre an' Alcee!
Gee, Ninette,
Gee, Suzette!
Celeste an' Renee!'"

You have to love a man who will read a book to his child, even when he dislikes the book itself.

Guys weekend!!!!

In Laurie's absence I will attempt to post.

Since Laurie is off having a girls weekend vacation, Anthony and I decided to call this weekend a guys weekend.

We started today off by lounging around and eating breakfast.....in the living room!! The horror!! We had a tasty course of chocolate Pop Tarts with a showing of Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.


(Watching the breakfast entertainment.)

After breakfast, we went where most guys would go on Saturday, Home Depot. I needed some stuff for the backyard anway.

As we were leaving, Anthony decided he was getting hungry. I asked him if he wanted a cheeseburger for lunch. I received a the look of "Did you really ask me that question?" followed by a resounding "Yes".

I ordered my usual order: two double cheeseburgers and a medium fry. (Cheaper than the single double cheeseburger value meal minus the drink.) Now I wasn't expecting him to eat the whole sandwich, but he did eat about 60% of it. And I had to "suffer" by eating the rest of it.



I am not really surprised with how much he ate. The kid normally would pack away a regular cheeseburger and most, if not all, of a small fry.

Now it is time for Anthony's nap. I have to go unload the car before it starts to rain.

Laurie will be back with her usual blogging tommorrow.

Why I Hate My Husband OR He's So Corny

Mark and I love to go to the fresh produce stand near our house and buy our fruits and veggies there. Not only is it MUCH cheaper, we're supporting the Louisiana farmers by doing it.

Yesterday we bought 10 potatoes (potato soup) and 6 ears of corn (Mark wants to try his hand at a creamy corn soup recipe he found).

After he shucked the corn, he came inside to cut it off the cob. And this is the conversation we had.

Me: You're going to get corn everywhere. I'm going to have to clean it up. (Mark laughing). It's not funny, Mark!

Mark: What, you don't think it's corny?

Me: GROAN. I'm so not acknowledging you. You're going to have to sweep it up. I'm not doing it.

Mark: Who are you to give me orders? A Colonel?

Me: Double groan. I'm still so not acknowledging you.

Mark: Why aren't you a"maize"d at my jokes?

Me: I can't even look at you.

Mark: I thought you would be all ears!

Me: I want a divorce.

Priceless

I had a long post in mind to tell you just how terrible my high school reunion was last night. But I t think this might sum it up nicely.

Stale finger sandwiches, cold fried catfish, sour stuffed mushrooms, 8 drink tickets for beer you hate: $100/couple
Beautiful dress that you've (thankfully) worn for other occasions: $95
Shoes that hurt so bad your feet bled when you got home: $21
Seeing that good ole BSHS education put to use on your husband's name tage:

PRICELESS

Dear Mark,

Every day I tell Anthony what a good son he is, and how much I love him. I don't feel that I tell you that enough. Well, not that you're a good son (which you are), but that you're a good dad. I always knew that you would be, but thinking it and watching it are two totally different things. And I like the watching it better.

You're so patient with Anthony. When he won't finish his dinner, but we know he's still hungry, you'll just wait him out. I've gotten up from the table and started washing dishes and you're just sitting there talking to him and waiting. And before I know it, you've brought his (mostly) cleaned plate.

You'll let Anthony splash and play in the bathtub for hours. He's having fun? That's all you care about. He loves bathtime with you (except for last night and that was just a fluke). Again, the patience comes into play.

I love watching him run to the back door when you get home from work. It's so cute that he tells me in the morning, "Daddy go work. Make money." You said that to him once, and now he's on it. Whatever you say or do, Anthony's right there copying you. He sits like you, walks like you, talks like you...it's so cute to see you both sitting in your chair, and before he gets comfortable Anthony has to check to see how you're sitting. Then he sits. Have you noticed him doing that? I have.

Your face, the first time you saw Anthony, is something I will never forget. You try to be all "macho" and not cry or express too much emotion on the surface. That was all off the day Anthony was born. When you held him the first time, your eyes said to me, "How is it possible that he's MINE?" It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.

Of course, singing your praises wouldn't be complete without mentioning Anthony's transplant. And I know how embarrassed you get when I talk about it...but here goes. What you did for Anthony goes above what any parent should have to do for their child, but would do no matter what. You being nervous about the surgery doesn't change the fact that you did it, and it doesn't diminish the act, either. The first question out of your mouth after you woke up, in pain and doped on meds was, "How did Anthony do?" That was your only concern at that point.

Mark, there are so many more things I love about you as a father. It would take years to list them all. But those are some of my top favorites and I wanted to let you know that I think you are the best father that Anthony could have ever asked for.

Love, Laurie

Can You Feel The Love Tonight.....

This past Saturday, Anthony wasn't feeling too hot in the morning. He was coughing so much, and so hard, that he would cough himself into throwing up. To keep him calm (and still), we decided to watch The Lion King. Anthony gravitated from where Mark was laying on the couch to where I was sitting in a chair so we could snuggle. I caught a cute picture of Mark and Anthony together, and I'm titling it "Mufasa and Simba".



I'm going to take Anthony to day care today. Please pray for me...he's going to cry and I'm not going to like that.

Engaging

Last night, Mark and I had the pleasure to attend the engagement party of Mark's best friend, Neel, and his wonderful fiancee, Hina. Some of you may remember Neel as Mark's best man in our wedding five years ago. Neel recently moved back home to finish his residency at a nearby hospital, and Hina is finishing her last year in med school. They will be married next summer.

The engagement ceremony was the most interesting and neatest thing I have witnessed in a long time. I have rarely attended a ceremony that wasn't Catholic, so to see a traditional Hindu ceremony was amazing. It was beautiful and sweet. The translations of the prayers, chants and verses made my heart melt.

Here are some pictures from the ceremony and party afterwards. Many of Neel and Hina's family members did traditional dances as part of the entertainment, and Mark was honored to give a short toast to Neel and Hina.



Seated: Neel's brother, father, and mother; Hina and Neel; Hina's sister. Kneeling: a friend of Neel's family (officiant) and Hina's parents:






Neel and his brother:


And then, my favorite part of the night: Mark dancing! Mark and his friends danced a traditional Hindu dance where you dance in an oval, and hit your sticks against your partner's. It was so cool (and I'm just not coordinated to do that), and the rhythm of the music was catching. You just couldn't stand still while watching the dance.




Needless to say, we had a wonderful time!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! We'll head home this morning so I can see my baby.

Love, Laurie

Party On!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, MIA !!!!

Thankfully, Anthony's fever only lasted through Monday afternoon, and it was a low one at that. He's been back to day care since Tuesday and is enjoying his 2 year old classroom. It's a smaller group of kids, and he's one of the youngest in there! It's funny to see him in the classroom now, because all of the kids he's with look so much older and that makes him look like a little baby again! In the toddler class, he was the "big kid" and looked it! Many of the kids in his 2 year old class are talking, some in full sentences. I'm glad he's getting exposure to kids talking and using language often. I hope it will help with his own speech.

Mark's got a fever today, so he's in bed dosed up on Tylenol. Here's hoping I'm not next!

Hope to see you all on Sunday!

Love, Laurie, Mark and Anthony

Coming up in Anthony-land:
Thursday: day care and NANA AND GRANDPA COME BACK TODAY!!!
Friday: a day at home with Speech Therapy in the morning
Saturday: Mia's birthday party
Sunday: Anthony turns TWO! Oh, and his party, too. :)
Monday: Anthony gets his booster flu shot :(

A Quiet Afternoon

It's a quiet afternoon here at work. I'm alone in the office this week as my boss is on a cruise and my coworker is in Bay St. Louis. It's usually nice to be alone for a while in the office. I can catch up on my filing and stuff. But I've got no filing to do! I'm sitting here begging the phone to ring so I'll have something to do! Ah...only two more days of this!

Anthony has been home from Day Care so far this week. I think he got a little stomach bug and shared it with Mark. Anthony and I spent the day with Mark's mom on Monday. Mark was home sick and I didn't want to expose Anthony any more than he already had been. Anthony spent Monday night, all day Tuesday, Tuesday night and all day today with my parents. I can't wait to see that little face this afternoon when Mama brings him to me! I miss him!

Anthony's ear infections are cleared up. There is still a little (not infected) fluid in his left ear, so I will bring him back to the pediatrician on June 3rd for a quick look. I really am hoping the fluid will have resolved itself by that point. Another ear infection means more antibiotics. And more antibiotics means more diarrhea. I can't take another turn of that so soon!

I'm hoping to take Anthony back to Day Care again tomorrow. He did manage to complete a full week last week, but that's the only one he's done in the four weeks there! I'm sure the director thinks Anthony's either a really sick child or that I'm making this up!

My dad's 60th birthday is Friday! He was really surprised to see (almost) all of his brothers and sisters in Atlanta this past weekend! We're having another gathering here on Sunday to celebrate again. Trust us Cajuns to extend the partying as long as possible!

Not much is happening in our little world. I'm holding out for July 4th! We'll go to my uncle's house in Heath, TX for an extended weekend visit. We love Dallas, and always enjoy visiting with my aunt and uncle. C'mon July!

Well, thanks for checking in on us.

Love, Laurie, Mark and Anthony

Coming up in Anthony-land:
Friday: Paw Paw's birthday!
Saturday: Maybe a visit to Mark's grandmother in Thibodaux?
Sunday: Paw Paw's Birthday party!
Monday and beyond: Stay tuned!