I was so excited to tell you all the great news, I forgot to tell you the other good news. Dr. Lo got my stomophagus to 18 mm! That means it is 3 mm ABOVE what we were shooting for! A normal esophagus is 15 to 25 mm and I am smack dab in the middle! Now how cool is that? AND I had my first salad!!! Greens never tasted so yummy, but I think next time I want a greek salad or one with lots of tomatoes! * happy sigh*  Am I sounding too much like an alien again? Cause if I am, I am at the point where I really don't mind.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Art by Liz Lemon Swindle Copyright.

Quite a few thing to write about today.

#1 still no PET scan results.

#2 'Nother procedure scheduled for this upcoming Tuesday. I really hope this will be the last one. Not that I don't love balloon animals, or even Dr. Lo and his staff...I'm just sayin'....

#3 Cary and I have made the conscious decision to be the least festive house on the block. We are opting for the "hope that bare Christmas tree that has sat in our living room  for two weeks gets at least ornaments thrown on it" look. It works for us.

#4 If I had a hypothetical friend who was nervous because that hypothetical person thinks I "found out" this person was hypothetically gay, I would have three things to say. Hypothetically.   A-hem...First, I lived in West Hollywood.  My gaydar is as tuned as they come.  I already knew.  Second, I understand the need for discretion in a conservative climate, but if this hypothetical friend thinks for one second I would even care I would be heartbroken. And finally, I would hope that this hypothetical person would finally learn that I pick those I love based on what is in their heart and how amazing they are, not who they choose to spend their life with. 'Nuff said.

#5 Cary and I just celebrated our 12th anniversary together.  We actually CHOSE to watch a sunset together ~ and it was actually romantic!!! How weird was that? We even went on a real date and everything. It.was.awesome. We found an a.mazing Greek restaurant near Ynez and Jefferson in Temecula called, imagine this, The Greek Place.  If you are close you gotta check it out.

#6 still no stitching Delores back in, Ben had the flu the day we went up to LA, so we could not in good conscious ask someone to watch him. Poor baby made the trip with us and waited in the car during the PET scan. I just couldn't ask him to wait several MORE hours while I was in the ER.

#7 Ben had his kindergarten program yesterday. He was WONDERFUL.  We were singing on the way home and he told me I was singing Jingle Bells all wrong. I was supposed to go "one horse SOAPS and SWAYS.". We have been singing it that way ever since. It is much more fun.

#8 Cary and I have finally figured out a cheap labor source to keep our house clean (ish).  We pay the kids wages to do different chores (Oh we are brilliant). Twenty-five cents to unload a dishwasher has never been more worth it. We always used to say we would never pay our kids to do chores because that is part of being a family. We also used to say we would never let the TV babysit our kids. Or allow them to have candy. Or bathe in the same water as the kid before. Or pass a holiday without putting up decorations so our kids would always remember it how festive it was. Or my favorite, never ALLOW our kids to get cavities. Need I go on at this point? We have learned that we should never say never. It is just dangerous. Like throwing down the gauntlet to God.

It fell! I promise!!!!!

I ATE PUMPKIN PIE TODAY!!!!! I also had mashed potatoes, candied yams, green beans and hummus!OK so it was a tiny bite of each before I got full, but I love Thanksgiving and I love love love Dr Lo!

*happy and contented sigh*

First off, another balloon party dilation happened yesterday.

When I was there in prep, I was trying to decide if knowing the nurses so well that I was asking :

.....about Danielle's pregnant daughter, or why Achilles wasn't at work today, or if Michelle wouldn't mind if we called Ron from the IV team this time cause my veins were being mean to me today, or if Mike was finished with his traveling nurse assignment, or where Mariella gets her hair clips 'cause they always match her scrubs.......

was this a good thing or a bad thing?   hmmmm...

Anywhoo, Dr. Lo got ye ol' stomophagus to 14 millimeters. The magic number we are shooting for is 15, so we are almost there. The tissue had grown back to a point it was before the last dilation, so he was pretty aggressive this time, actually removing scar tissue and injecting me with steroids so the tissue wouldn't grow back as fast. He really is an amazing doctor.  I also got a new medication to basically "shellac" the lining to help it heal faster and smooth it out a bit. I am so very happy that after 2 days of a clear liquid diet, I get to finally have some real food. Well, soft foods like mashed taters, canned fruit or veggies, etc. Still no salad, but we are getting there. I am thankful for that.  I am also thankful Nathan said "Mom I am really kinda sick of pizza.".

The kids have been eating that pretty solid for the past year with Cary doing the single dad thing and all. Poor hubby reached the "sick of it" stage back around last April. To his credit he stuck to it...and stuck to it pretty darn well I might add. This has been a hard year on him. On all of us really, but we emerged from the other side a with a few more gray hairs (OK a lot more gray hairs, but that is what L'Oreal is for...), but we DID emerge.

I know I have been belly aching a lot these past few blogs, but I really do have so much to be grateful for. I just need to take the time to understand that.

In fact, for the last past 5 months Cary and I have been trying our darnest to figure out a thank you gift for Dr. Soukiasian. "Thanks for saving my life, here's some golf balls." just doesn't seem to cut it.  We have searched high and low, even asking his nurse for suggestions to his interests. We are still at square one.

How can ANYTHING convey to him  that I am here because of his skill and Gods grace?  I get to see my children grow, play fetch with the dog and throw water balloons. I get to hold my babies when they cry and comfort them when they are scared. I get to watch them wrestle and giggle at their antics.

I get to fly kites with them.











How do you even begin to say thank you for that? Somehow even a nice fruit basket seems a bit trite.

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