Yummy Oreo Cookie

What is Love?

What is Love?, originally uploaded by Blue Ryder.

Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me...no more..

He Loves Me..He Loves Me..

Ryder took a tumble tonight- he fell down a flight of steps (I'd guess about 7 or 8 hardwood steps), and got a big old raspberry on his forehead. He bounced right back, and aside from a little whining, nothing is out of the ordinary. We all heard the fall, and V and I presumed that there would be a 50/50 chance that it would be either Iz or Ryder. It was Ryder. We went running to them, and as my husband is scooping him up off of the floor, I'm moving his hair from side to side looking for any open wounds. He's all good, but- now's a good time to probably take him home for bed. We say our goodbyes to those visiting from Cali...made P cry a little...and head home.

I guess all the adrenaline and the sadness of P and A leaving hit me all at once, because as I'm sitting in the backseat of the car with Ryder, with my head right next to him on the car seat, the tears start to really fall. I mean, I was tearing before, but now they just flowed. I kept looking at my son with the light of the street lamps flying by, thinking about how much worse it could have been, and how lucky lucky lucky I am to have him. Not just today, but every day. And as I'm caught up in my own little moment thinking about him and staring at him, he looked at me, and must have seen the tears in my eyes, cause I swear....he touched my face with his little hands and played with my tears. And he wiped them away.

And it's with that, that I know that he loves me.

Who's Ready for Christmas???

Who's Ready for Christmas???, originally uploaded by Blue Ryder.

A Peek Into My Pod

A Peek Into My Pod, originally uploaded by Blue Ryder.

See the headphone? That's me working with the Man in the Basement.

Christmas Cubicle Land

Christmas Cubicle Land, originally uploaded by Blue Ryder.

I'm on the left! If you have the capabilities to email me a picture of your workspace, do it! We'd all love to see where you work! Send to yoblueryder@gmail.com!

This is where I do research work for Malaria in Africa. What do you do?

Ryder has RAD

Since starting school, Ryder has been sick for four straight months. Tons of coughing, lots of runny nose gooeyness, lots of antibiotics, and fused nerve endings on my part. I've diagnosed him with everything from leukemia to cystic fibrosis. Yes, I'm way dramatic, but it's innate and I can't turn it off. Sorry.

We finally went to see a specialist for his lungs today. A special pulmonologist. We made the appointment two months ago. That's how hard it is to get in!! Hard core. A DC Children's Pulmonologist. The big guns. We're not goofing off here. She asked all of the usual questions, and some that I had never thought of. I had been so resistant to the diagnosis of asthma, like our primary care physician had suggested, and treated him for 2 months ago. My only thought was, "what does this doc know? He's only wheezed once, and never again!". The pulmonologist looked at me and bluntly said, "you don't have to wheeze to have reactive airway disease (RAD)".

OK, so now I'm confused. Isn't RAD and asthma the same thing?

Yes, and no.

The insurance companies treat them the same. They code them the same. But, they're different. With asthma, you are born with it. It's in the genetics. With RAD, there is something else going on that causes your lungs to constrict, and you acquire it. With asthma, you are likely to be treated for it for a lifetime. With RAD, you will most likely grow out of it. Since Ryder started school, it's likely that he started off with a nasty viral infection, and it just didn't get better because every week he kept getting exposed to it. Pretty soon, his lungs will develop RAD to fight the very thing that is making him weak. Only to make him weaker. It really is a wonder that he's still breathing.

So, my little boy will start taking a puffer once a day through the winter. JOY. It's an inhaled steroid, so it will only make him stronger. Superboy. And you know, it could be worse. I'm happy that we've come to a conclusion. Sometimes all it takes is someone to shake me so I'll listen. And, it also takes a walk through the halls of a DC Children's outpatient clinic to realize that what your son has, is small potatoes compared to the other specialities housed in the building. We walked past Neurology. Cardiology. Oncology. Gastroenterology. Ear, Nose, and Throat specialists. Oral-Maxillofacial surgery. Physical Therapy. It really could be worse.

And when we got home, he climbed up on his truck, and fell right off- slamming the back of his head on the hard wood. And instantly fell asleep. COMA! HEAD INJURY! DON'T LET HIM SLEEP! CHECK HIS PUPILS! He's sleeping now while I write this, and no doubt I will go in there and pinch him a little bit, just to make sure he responds. Jesus. Having a kid is tough.

So, now- I'd like to take a moment and thank all of Ryder's classmates:

They're sure lucky they're cute.

Elf Yourself

Elf Yourself was rated FOUR Bees in US Magazine's Buzz-o-meter! I can TOTALLY see why.

What a bunch-o-suckers!! OK, OK. The dogs are cute.

A Soundtrack...

So, the Man in the Basement and I have been furiously and lovingly working on something (we've been working on it randomly since 2005). We're not sure yet if it's for you, or for our own amusement. I'm thinking its purely for our own amusement, cause some of you may not have any interest in this:



Well, I can tell you that the Man in the Basement probably doesn't have any interest in it either, and he's probably gagging at the thought of me following one of his well appointed songs with Xanadu. But I can't help it. WHY WHY WHY?? Eh. Maybe it's the nostalgic barrettes in her hair at the end. I had a ton of those. Not to mention the leg warmers.

And come on dude. Who didn't LOVE to go rollerskating??

What We'll Look Like After the Holidays....

This would be the big chief, of course.
This would be Beefcake, cause it's a Corgy. Of course.

This would be me. Cause he looks like Blue.

And this would be YOU.

Merry Christmas, Seed (Man in the Basement)!

Love, Beefcake.

Gentlemen!

The party's over!!!! Jessica Alba is pregnant!!

Home Improvement

As the holidays draw near, any self-respecting home owner would pee their pants when they suddenly realize that their house is a mess, and then frantically rattle off grand ideas to get their home in order. My husband and I are not exempt from that first sentence. Some people buy a massive tree. Some people buy new dinnerware and place settings for a gorgeous, "well-thought-out" Christmas dinner. Some people buy new furniture and decorate the house with candles and tinsel to bring on the festiveness. We like to fool around in the kitchen. NOO, not like that- you're dirty.

With the Sherpa and the baby coming to stay, the usual onslaught of crackheads almost always convene at our house for eats, drinks, poker, baby googling, and just plain riff raff. Some people call rushing for a fraternity or a sorority "hell week", well- I like to call the week between Christmas and New Year's "hell week". Everyone and their mother's brother wants to catch a glimpse of the Sherpa, and they come traipsing through the house, and eat all of our food, and jam themselves in here like they've never seen a dark, wiry, freakishly strong, and short Sherpa ever before. This year will be madness, only because the Sherpa has given birth to a baby. And the baby has lived to be 5 months old. Surely, something to see.

Anyway, last year my husband and I decided that new kitchen counters would be nice to replace the cheap plastic counters that ruined the look of our kitchen. We got that done the weekend right before Christmas, and once the dust settled, WOW- what a difference. Well, this year..we suddenly decided today that we needed nicer cabinets to go with the new, nicer, butcher block counter tops. So, we bought a shit load of bead board, trim, and some paint, and we rolled up our sleeves just this morning to get it done. Why hadn't we thought about this all summer long? Who knows. Maybe I spent one too many days at the pool with Ryder. First things first, you know? And who doesn't like to work under pressure??

So far, its coming along just dandy. Let's just say it's our own "Design on a Dime". When we're done with this, we will have upgraded our kitchen, thereby increasing the value of the house, all for $500 bucks. If any of you have ever been in the market for cabinet refacing, or just replacing your kitchen cabinetry in general, you would know that it costs ALOT. I mean, in the thousands. If you include the butcher block counter tops, all spent in our kitchen will have been $1300 bucks. Not bad. You do need some elbow grease, an incredibly handy husband (whom, oddly, turns me on with a pencil stuck behind his ear), and serious time management skills to get the job done. But when it's all up, you will be really proud of your weekend accomplishment.

"Before" picture:

"After" pictures will be forthcoming. In the meantime, enjoy this one:

Happy Birthday Beefcake!!!!!!!!

"Almost heaven, West Virginia

Blue ridge mountains, Shenandoah river..

Life is old there, older than the trees..

Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze..

Country roads, take me hooommeeee...

To the place, I be-long!!

WEST VIRGINIA

mountain mommmmaaaa

Take me home, country roads!

All my memries, gather round her...

Miners lady, stranger to blue water..

Dark and dusty, painted on the sky..

Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye!

Country roads, take me hooommmmeee

To the place, I be-long!

WEST VIRGINIA!!!

mountain mommmaaaaaaaaaaa...

Take me home, country roads!

I hear her voice, in the mornin hours she calls to me!

The radio reminds me of my home far a-way!

And drivin down the road I get a feeling

That I should have been home yesterday, yesterdaaaayyyyyyyy!

Country roads, take me home....

To the place, I be-long!

WEST VIRGINIA!

mountain mommmmmaaaaaaa!

Take me home, country roads!!!!"

-John Denver

West Virginia...

Bold, Beautiful.

(I saw that on a West Virginia license plate. Laughed my ass off. A little.)

Happy Birthday mountain mama.