Jan. 27: Now if that isn’t an inspiring title for a post, I don’t know what is! But as I think back over the last week, my take-home sense is one of ordinary regular-ness. It’s nice to hit a stride every once in a while where things at work and things at home are all chugging along at a steady pace.
On Friday, Andrew and I took a little trip over to Olbrich Gardens where Andrew always has a blast looking at the koi and walking up and down the stairs. Today, Mom and Andrew and I went to Oconomowoc to attend my Aunt Julie’s husband Kevin’s father’s memorial service. Bryan has been pretty swamped at work recently, but he’s pretty committed to seeing projects work well even if it means putting extra evenings in.
We got several household projects fixed this week. Our garbage disposal is now working for the first time in over a year. We got components of our garage door replaced, so now the garage door opener works again, and Igor (the white car) got a major set of repairs made. After all these fixes, I’m feeling a relieved sense that everything we own isn’t falling apart.
Pictures of the last week are in the gallery including some photos of a housewarming party we attended for my co-worker, Sara and her husband, Sean. What a lovely place they have!
Baby Winter Party
Jan. 21: Last night we had a great time spending a few hours with our Happy Bambino baby friends. The kids are all getting so big, and it was amazing (if a bit overwhelming) to watch them all buzzing about the party. The acoustics were that of a happy (and sometimes sad) group of 18 to 19 month-olds. Thanks to Denise, Nate, and Jaya for opening their home for the party. I am so happy and grateful to have such a wonderful group of parents and kids as my friends.
Some photos of the event are in the gallery.
Snow Day!
Jan. 21: I’m watching snowflakes drift lazily through the air outside our house. The pine trees look like they belong in a gingerbread scene, and the maples are etched in a pure line of white. I just love snow!
Andrew is better from his fever last week, and we are having a fun-filled weekend together. Uncle Joe (or as Andrew calls him “Doe!”) left to go back to college this morning. We sure have had a fun time with him over the last month. Then around noon today we “played” outdoors in the snow while Dada shoveled. It’s pretty hard to walk in snow with all these puffy clothes on! I put pictures in the gallery from our weekend.
Waiting
On January 11 – exactly one year after Mom’s wonderfully successful surgery, she received word that her blood counts indicate that the pancreatic cancer is reasserting itself. CA 19.9 is a
Mom has a CT scan scheduled for Wednesday, and she has a doctor’s appointment with her oncologist, Dr. Michael Frontiera on Thursday.
** NOTE: I did not publish this note until after my mom’s passing. The tumor marker CA 19.9 is not really a diagnostic tool, and Mom chose not to share with almost everyone that the number was going up.
She told me while the two of us were shopping the after Christmas sales at JC Penny’s. After telling me, she asked if I wanted to go to the JC Penny’s photo studio to get a photo of the two of us. My heart broke. And I declined the photo offer. And hugged I her and told her it would be alright. And then we continued shopping.
Young Andrew is starting to feel better
Jan. 16: It’s been a sick weekend in the Dotzour home. The fever Andrew started running on Friday got worse over the weekend. We kept him dosed up on medicine (or “meh sin” as he calls it), and we watched videos nearly constantly as this activity was one of the only that didn’t result in anguished tantrums. While he was sick, reading books, playing with toys, doing puzzles, or just sitting on the floor together could instantly turn bad if the book wasn’t held just so or the puzzle piece wouldn’t fit in fast enough. I think that being sick just took away his tolerance for things not going according to his (private) plan.
So I now have Animals are Beautiful People nearly committed to memory. Fortunately it doesn’t seem that his illness was anything more than a relatively benign virus. And Andrew is certainly on the upswing today. We’re playing with his Ark as I type:) What a relief it is to have him feeling better! Photos of sick Andrew in various reclined positions are in the gallery.
Fist illness of the winter
Jan. 13: The weather may not feel a lot like winter, but I think we’ve hit our first winter virus. Andrew started running a fever yesterday, and he woke up this morning feeling like a very sick boy. Fortunately, thanks to the magic of Tylenol, he’s up and running around the house now. He just found three pacifiers under his bed, so he has one in his mouth and one in each hand. He was just playing with his piggy bank, and he has been distributing the trucks from his Granny Lu-made book. Now he has climbed up on the rocking chair to read some books. Pictures of the last week are in the gallery.
The last week, he has decided to alter out bedtime routine a bit. Instead of reading him three books, he now wants to read them himself. So he climbs up into the rocking chair (all by himself!) and reads himself three books while I sit on the floor nearby. Then I pick him up and set him in bed. He is definitely getting some serious ideas about how he wants things done!
Mom and I went boot shopping on Thursday night, and while we had a fun time together, I was unable to find any good brown knee-high boots…except a great pair of Frey boots, but that’s a bit out of my range!
I think with Andrew being under the weather that we’ll be sticking pretty close to home this weekend. Hope your (perhaps 3-day) weekend is good!
~Althea
Back from Jack’s
Jan. 7: We just returned back from Jack’s house this afternoon. What a laughter-filled couple of days we have had! Terry couldn’t attend this trip, but Maretta and Kyle drove down from St. Paul. Mom, Joe, and Michael joined the Dotzours, and we caravaned to Jack’s together in our van. The weather was very-nearly balmy, and we enjoyed several fun hikes including a long hike on Jack’s land and a trip over to Pike’s Peak in Iowa. We ate yummy food, played lots of games (poker with Bryan’s new chips and Trivial Pursuit), and all had fun entertaining Andrew. Plus we got to see loads of Bald Eagles (at least six including one sitting and bathing for a long time on a log in the river in front of Jack’s house).
Thanks to Jack for hosting a lovely, restorative weekend for our family! Many photos of our revelery are in the gallery.
Off to Jack’s
Jan. 4: After 15 days of vacation, I went back to work on Wednesday. I wasn’t sure how it would feel to return to the world of the working after such a long and wonderful vacation at home with my little boy, but I’m pleased to report that we’re all doing very well. It helps to be returning to a job that I enjoy so much!
This weekend, we’re heading out to Jack’s with my family. There’s no snow, so instead of skiing, we’ll be hoping to do some hiking. I’ve got Andrew’s backpack in the van and ready to go. Have a good one!
Happy New Year!
Jan 1: We had a nice time this year…ushering out 2006 and welcoming 2007. Bryan, Andrew, and I spent the evening with Sarah and Wes. We played games, sang along with Kareoke Revolution, and generally had a really nice time. We have spent many of the last eight new years together, and it’s a fun night to spend with good friends.
On New Years Day, I got to meet Heather and Michael’s new puppy, Pippin. Photos of Pippin and of Andrew doing cute things are in the gallery.
Blast from the past
Jan. 1: I sit here on New Year’s Day eve, going through the files on my laptop. I ran across a couple old websites that I thought I might post here for general entertainment. The first is a website I made in 1999 just as I was about to graduate from college. I put together a site documenting all my favorite toys from the ’80s. You can find it at bryanandalthea.dotzour.com/toys.
(note that for complete authenticity, I left all spelling errors for your reading pleasure.)
The other site that I’ve uploaded is a website (zour.com) that Bryan and I used when we first moved to Ann Arbor. It covers 2000 and 2001. Some of the links may not work, but there are some pretty cute pictures of the kitties when they were small. Enjoy!
