Evyn, the basketball player turned drama queen

Evyn and Reed recently finished out their very first basketball season. It was a great experience for both. It was so great that they both cried after the end of season celebration. They both had such wonderful coaches and great kids on their teams that I really could not blame them for being upset. This was a very organized and well put together organization and we look forward to next season.

Until then, Evyn is taking Creative Drama, a class that could not be more perfect for our drama queen. She has natural dramatic tendencies that we believe were handed down from our Aunt Suzanne, the original family drama queen. Needless to say, the drama class is a big hit.

The rest of Evyn's spare time is spent learning about reptiles, snakes, amphibians, crocodiles - you name it, she is into it. She sits at the computer watching video clips from Gator Land, Jaws and Claws and anything from National Geographic. Being the little artist that she is, she is always drawing and coloring pictures of all of the creatures she reads about. She then makes poster boards full of information and pictures. Lucky for her, her teacher allows her to bring her projects in to share with the class. She really cannot get enough of the stuff. Here is is, hard at work:

Spring Kick Off, A Day Trip to D.C.

It all started with watching and trying to photograph the Super Moon on Saturday. The kids were very interested in the fact that another Super Moon would not light up our night sky again for another 18 years. Reed will be 24 and Evyn will be 26. That is really hard to imagine and was fun for us to talk about, so we made it a point to watch the moon rise and it did not disappoint.

It was Holly's weekend to work, the weather was decent enough and my weekend work was manageable. Evyn suggested a trip to Washington D.C. so we planned it Saturday evening while they ate dinner. They each chose a museum of interest and agreed that they would both like to see the Washington Monument. I located a parking garage in the vicinity (even printed a coupon from the internet) and we had a blast. My Blackberry's navigation program guided us around the streets of D.C.

A few times I chuckled to myself. I felt like I was traveling with Do.ra and her cousin Dieg.o, except that my Do.ra was actually Reed and Evyn was Dieg.o. Let me explain for those not as familiar with theses two characters. Do.ra spends a whole lot of time going from point A to point B. This always involves a singing/talking map who guides her through different things, passing by other things and eventually getting to her point of interest. Reed was very much interested in how we would get to The Air and Space Museum once we left the Washington Monument. I told him we would walk through the National Mall, pass the Carousel and the sunken sculpture garden and then the museum was across the street on the right. This is what Dora is all about, following the directions that her map gives her. Once she reaches her destination, there is a song - We did it/Lo hicimos! - everyone is happy, end of show. This was totally Reed and I. I guess that makes me the map.

In case you do not know about Die.go, he is an animal rescuer. His missions involve locating an animal and getting it back to its mom/proper habitat and educating his viewers on the different animals he encounters. This is Evyn. She chose to go see the National Aquarium since she is obsessed with reptiles and amphibians right now. It just happened to be reptile day at the National Aquarium, which was a nice surprise for her once we arrived and realized that we were visiting on the perfect day. There was an alligator specialist there giving a talk in front of the gator habitat and Evyn's face was full of awe and amazement, especially when she realized that the gators were going to get a snack, and she was able to witness, in person, a gator eating a cricket. For a girl who spends her spare time at home looking at websites related to gators and lizards and snakes, watching videos (Jaws and Claws on Aminal Planet)and making informative guides and posters, this was h.u.g.e. fun. Although Evyn did not get to directly interact with the gators or return them to their proper habitat like Die.go would, she enjoyed the National Aquarium just as intensely as I imagine Die.go would. She bought a stuffed croc and carried it around D.C. with us, making sure she could see everything that Evyn saw and consistently correcting me if I referred to her croc as a gator. There is a difference, ya know.

Since the Washington Monument was very close to the aquarium, my little explorers picnicked on its grounds. We people watched, enjoyed the spring day and did a lot of walking and learning. They had so much fun that I am sure we will be exploring D.C. again very soon. The spontaneous excursion to Washington D.C. was a success all the way around. Lo Hicimos!


Tired legs.

The Adoption Bear

As my parents clean out their house in preparation for a move, many trinkets from my childhood are surfacing. This is the house that I grew up in. This is where I left some things behind when I left home. There are some things I never took with me because I knew they would always be safe right there in Richardson, Texas where I left them.

My mom recently came to visit and brought a couple of things from my old closet that she knew I wanted to have. One thing was a white teddy bear with blue plaid trim. This bear was not something I slept with every night when I was a little girl. It is not worn from being dragged around because I was a teenager when I got it. It is in the exact condition as when it was given to me 20.5 years ago. It is a bear that came along with some really intense feelings. It is the bear that was given to me by my social worker when she visited me in the hospital when my first was born. It was almost as if she gave me the bear in exchange for my signature on a line stating that the adoption agency had my permission to transport my baby from the hospital to the adoption agency where he would wait for me to permanently relinquish my rights to him and for his adoptive family to come get him.

I hated that teddy bear, but I loved it just as much as I hated it. I wanted that bear and never wanted anything to happen to it. I wanted my baby back even more. I'm sure the bear made his way into my bed and tried to comfort me during that time when I came home from the hospital empty-handed and full of raging emotions, but I really cannot remember anything more than crying and crying. What I do remember is one day putting the bear into a little cubby-like shelf in my closet and deciding that it was the perfect place for him. I saw him every time I opened my closet door. He was always there to remind me, but I did not need his reminding. The hole in me, the emptiness was my reminder. I hated that bear but not enough to toss him out. I just wanted him to live in that cubby, a innocent prisoner.

Now, the bear has found a new life in a new place, much like I did 19 years ago. Several days ago, when my mother pulled him out of her suitcase to show me what she brought, my heart skipped a beat. My bear is no longer a prisoner in the cubby hole in my old closet where I placed him 20 years ago. He is still a reminder of my pain, but he is now being snuggled and loved by an eight year old. Before handing my bear off to my daughter, I made it clear that he was to be kept safe and away from the dogs. She has no idea how much that bear that I loved and hated simultaneously means to me. I hope she keeps him safe. Just like the bear is no longer a prisoner in my childhood closet, I am no longer a prisoner to my pain.

Reed's Advice

Here is a conversation between Reed and Grandpa:

Reed: Grandpa, you want me to tell you how not to be sick?

Grandpa: Sure, how do I do that?

Reed: Stay healthy.

The things doctors say about us

I work as a medical transcriptionist and have been doing this since Evyn was a baby. I work from home and opted for this way of life, which sometimes feels like a form of torture, so I could stay home with my babies. Now that my babies are not babies, I would love to get back out there and use my brain again, interact with people and truly enjoy what I am doing instead of handcuffing myself to my desk day after day, but that is really beside the point.

As a medical transcriptionist, I type up people's medical reports. Whatever the doctor says, I type. Most of the time it is the same old thing, but some of the time I find myself laughing at what these doctors are saying about their patients. Some of the comments are so entertaining that I have a "funny quotes" file where I will save these quotes just for the heck of it. I decided to share my funny quotes file from 2010 with you. There is no identifying information about the doctor or the patient, so I figured it would be okay to do so. Here ya go:

~NOTE: We discussed politics a little bit. He is a die-hard democrat. He left the other practice because they kept showing Fox News on all of their TVs, and he had trouble with the Christians there.

~He denies any problems, though he is really a medical wreck.

~She is high on a fiber diet.

~He is a fellow that likes to, I think, ignore things.

~She is the sweetest gal, but she is built like a bowling ball. She must weight 300 pounds with one extremity.

~Injection therapy is a little bit of a problem with him since he is on Plavix and he really does not want anything to do with putting needles into his penis.

~He is a patient I remember because he talks a lot and he does not listen to what you say but the bottom line is….