Nearly Time

Home stretch on the moving process.  Mom-in-law arrives tonight to take Malcolm duty.  She'll be flying up to NY with him Friday morning, so he won't have to sit thru the drive to NY.  That's way too long in a carseat for a 2.5 year old, yes?  We'll be leaving here with the Uhaul, car and dogs on Saturday morning, and arriving into Rochester in mid-to-late afternoon (depending on how far we get the first day of driving.)

Packing is nearly complete.  The bare essentials will go to the apartment with us (email me for apartment address, if you like).  The rest goes into storage at my in-laws in Buffalo, where it will stay until we buy a house (hopefully this fall).  We'll have a week to settle in, then I start my new job on the 8th of June.

Happy Adventuring, David!

My brother-in-law, David, began a tremendous adventure last Wednesday.  He will spend the next several months hiking the Appalachian Trail. 

 It starts here in Georgia, and stretches all the way to Maine.  He has until October 15th to reach the northern end, as parts of the trail close around then for early snows.

Hikers carry a pack with everything they'll need for the journey, such as:  tent, sleeping bag, water purification system, fishing line, some food (he'll get more along the way), etc.  At the trail office, hikers sign in before they begin their journey, and include their pack weight.  The other names we saw in the book had pack weights ranging from 48 to 34 pounds.  David's pack weighed only 26 pounds, and that with "more food than I really need to carry," according to David.  When I saw the other pack weights in the book, I started to worry.  But the reaction of the lady who keeps the book led me to believe that David's pack was brilliant -- the others, quite oversized!

It is tradition among many hikers to collect a small pebble at the start of the trail, and carry it with them all along their travels, and place it at the other end.  Here is David's rock:

Our thoughts are with you, David!

We hope you will enjoy every moment of this amazing experience!

Smile!

Happy Mother's Day

To all the mothers in my life, I wish you a happy, peaceful and relaxing Mother's Day.  With each passing year as a mother myself, I grow to appreciate, with more depth and understanding, the love and sacrifice of these amazing women, in whose loving footsteps I am so honored to follow.

Here's a special shout out to my closest Moms . . . .

My Mother  . . .

My Mother-in-Law . . .

My Grandma Jin (Mom's mom) . . . 

My Grammy (Dad's mom, who passed away many years ago) . . . 

Malcolm's Birthmom . . . 

Back In School

I'm happy to report that after four days of high fever, and one day of recovery, Malcolm is feeling himself again, and back in school today.  He was mostly better yesterday, but an extra day at home to recoup seemed in order, despite the raging cabin fever (his and mine)!

As is the way of these things, Matthew's home now, with a fever.  Out of courtesy for him, I'm skipping the packing today, so that he can rest and heal in peace and quiet.

Moving Date, and All That Jazz

A few more details, nailed down . . . We'll be moving back up to Rochester the weekend of May 30th.  My official start date will be June 8th, so that gives me a week to help us settle in.  Of course, where we'll be settling into is still unknown . . . .

Happily, I will still be able to join my family for our reunion in late June, despite the new job.  So double hooray!  More soon!

Sick Baby!

Day four of the Fever Than Never Ends . . . Malcolm's been sporting a high fever since Friday morning.  Started at 101, and soon found cruising altitude at 104.  It even hit 105 at one point (which was a little scary.)  An advil/tylenol regime has helped us keep it from getting too high, mostly leaving him at the 102 range for all of friday, and saturday, and sunday, and monday. .  .  .  .  .  UGH!  Poor baby!  He's pretty miserable.  Too tired to play, too sick to sleep.

We spent this morning with our pediatrician.  I have to take a moment here, to share how incredibly stickin' proud I am of Malcolm, who conquered his fears with great courage.  We pulled into the peds office parking lot; I'm pretty sure he remembered the place (he got a booster shot at his last visit) and started whimpering.  "No bear," he begged, seeing the panda bear logo on the side of the building.  When I parked the car, he shook his head, and told me "Mommy, drive car!"  Clearly he didn't want to stay.  When I got him out of his carseat, he looked at me with tears sliding down his cheeks.  "Momma, please all done?"

And yet, when it came time to see the doctor, he held still, opened up and said "Ahhhh," sat quietly while she listened to his heart, took deep breaths while she listened to his lungs, and even held still for the dreaded ear check.  He did try to convince her to skip that step, saying "No ears.  No, thank you, Doctor."

Malcolm bravely survived his sick visit to the doctor, and we were declared fit to return home.  Random viral nasty (NOT swine flu!), and we can expect a few more days of it.  We should have one fun day together at home, however, once the crudlies are over, as his school has a "24 hour fever free before returning" policy.  So, likely sick tomorrow, but better wednesday, and hopefully back to school on Thursday.  I guess I won't be getting much packing done this week.  I do seem to be getting lots of snuggles, though, and those are always sweet.  I just wish he were well enough to enjoy them, too.