Green Green, It's Green They Say

Anyone who gets the song reference gets MAD props from me!!!

We have been 'greening' our home somewhat. While Dad was having all of his issues, we were getting new HVAC and blown insulation. We did an energy audit through Home Green Home, which is affiliated with the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and have been making some of the changes they suggested. We completely replaced the HVAC system and put in a zonal system with heat pump. Now we can control the upstairs and downstairs separately and account for what rooms we use the most. The excitement occurred when one of the workers fell through the ceiling outside of Alex's room, while working in the attic. He ended up being all right, and we now have a brand new attic access in the hallway.

It was quite the hole!


In addition to that, we got blown cellulose insulation in the basement and attic. This all will help with the draftiness of the house and bring down our energy bills. It doesn't hurt either that will be get tax breaks and potentially money back from the state of MO. The next step is the windows, which will likely be from Serious Windows in Bloomington, IL. So far, we are happy with what has been done. It is nice to wake up to a warm house for once :)

Let's Catch Up

Dad is home now. He had a bunch of tests, several hospital gaffes, and no answers. The hospital took too long to test for a stroke, so all evidence was gone. He has a history of TIAs and they do not leave evidence for long. Neither hospital listened or read his medical history to know he has a history of this. Both folks are beyond frustrated with Christian Hospital and will not go back. It brought back memories from another hospital from our family past... Now Dad's legs are weaker again and he is having more trouble walking. Like Mom said, he cannot go through this each time he has a chemo treatment, it is unacceptable.

He has an MRI on the 28th to chekc out 'Floyd' and will more then likely have another round of TACE the first of April.

Lots has happened!!

That is a slight understatement! Dad made it through his TACE proceedure on Thursday and came home to my house Friday afternoon. I inisted they stay an additional 24 hours in STL just in case there was an issue, they would be here. Saturday afternoon Dad got up to use the bathroom and could not stand up. He had no strength/control of his legs. He was taken via ambulance to Christian Hospital where he currently lies. So far, they haven't found anything wrong. Tomorrow he gets an MRI to see if he had a mini-stroke and also to see if "Floyd", his tumor, has spread to his spine. As of tonight, Sunday, he is running a low grade fevor, but in good spirits. It has been frustrating not knowing what is going on and being at a hospital that doesn't seem to take what is going on seriously. The major concern is that if he gets home and this happens again, there isn't anyone there to help him or to call 911. They are more then an hour away from any hospital that could care for him in his condition.

So, more stress for everyone involved. Dad is 'supposed' to have an MRI at Barnes at the end of March to see if "Floyd" has shrunken any and if not, he will undergo another round of TACE. Not much to do but PRAY!!

TACE, TACE, baby!

So, here's the deal with Dad. He is going in for TACE treatment this Thursday, the 24th at Barnes Jewish. Find out more info on TACE here: http://www.medicinenet.com/liver_cancer/page10.htm

Surgery to remove the tumor is not an option, given the size of the tumor and Dad's previous history. Even the TACE right now is risky. There is no prognosis yet and no plan for on-going treatment, although there will be before he is discharged from the hospital. Not much else to say, other then to PRAY!! Light candles, make offerings, and just PRAY. Dad is not doing well mentally with everything that is going on and would appriciate notes/cards/phone calls. Leave a comment or email myself or my Mother if you need the phone number.

If anyone need something to do this Thursday, come hang out with Mom and I at Barnes.

Alex Update

I've been thinking lately and I figured out that I haven't updated on Alex for a while, other then pictures. He is 34 3/4 inches, almost three feet, tall and roughly 30lbs. Still small for his age, but he has no motor/developmental delays. He loves all things trains and dinosaurs. He is actually identifying several dinosaurs by name. He got a kitchen last fall and he enjoys 'cooking' with his 'recipes'. His imagination and pretending have really taken flight. I tend to crack up when he walks through the house with a book over his head or carrying the Swiffer and singing Alleluia, (what Irish mother wouldn't want a priest for a son?). He can count to 20 and knows the Alphabet and can recognize all the letters. We are working on identifying the sounds of the letters. He is also quite polite and uses, 'please and thank you,' consistently.

Occasionally we get to grocery shop at Trader Joes in Brentwood. They have child sized shopping carts that Alex LOVES to push. He actually picks out his own items to put in the cart. Not just grabbing things from the shelves mind you, he studies the shelf and then makes a choice of what to pick up. Thing such as mixed nuts, macaroni and cheese, and balsamic vinegar have made it into his cart. He claims we, "NEED," these things, though I tend to differ.

I have also come to the conclusion that the "Terrible Twos," are complete BS. Alex is almost three and hasn't been better. All and all we are just biding our time here until we can start playing outside without wearing 5 layers of clothes and boots.

Lots of Pics!

As promised, several new pics!!

He insisted on a picture with each individual strand of beads ;)

Us playing in the snow.



First time finger painting. Thanks to Grandma Barbara for a wonderful Christmas gift!!

Snow and...

...lots of ice. According to Channel 5 it has stopped snowing. Yeah, not so much. It is still snowing here. We had ice all day Monday and ice alternating with snow all day today. Now it is just snowing lightly with a light breeze. Tomorrow is supposed to be windy and super cold. I am hoping none of our tree limbs come down, or at least not hit the fence when they fall.

So if you know me, you know I LOVE snow!! The winters here in MO are much different then up north, mainly it doesn't get that cold here and it doesn't snow every year. This tends to cause my body some discomfort, as my head tells me that 42 degrees in January is NOT NORMAL. Call me crazy, but I miss the consistent cold of the winter. It is that cold that kills the germs and makes the spring allergy season much less miserable. Last winter here was a dream in that respect. CONSISTENT COLD!! This winter hasn't been that bad either, minus the 40+ degree days we had last week. Not 'cool' STL, not cool.

Check out the other new post. I PROMISE to have some new pics up. No pics from this storm; Alex is sick with a cold and I don't want him going out.