Kai receives URGENT CARE!

Sunday Sept 30, 2007
I had just returned from dropping Greg off at Midway airport, and wanted to catch up on sleep since I was up at 5:30 am. I had fed Kai and his cousin Cohen breakfast and retired to the bedroom. I was about to fall asleep when I heard a thud and the familiar cry coming from Kai.

I tried to ignore it, thinking it was just another minor incident when Adira brought him into the room. Kai was spitting up blood and I could see he had a bloody mouth. Kai had stepped on a toy and slipped falling forward, hitting his face on the hard floor. I thought perhaps it was a cut lip or he had bitten his tongue again, but I could not find the source of all that blood. I just happened to look under his top lip and to my surprise saw this gash about 3mm in diameter. It wouldn't have been so bad but there was a gaping hole and the thin line of skin that connects the gum to the lip was severed.

I woke my sister up, the nurse, and she immediately told me to take him to ER- he may need stitches or at least antibiotics. Kai took off and started to play with Cohen just as soon as I stopped the bleeding.

I asked about Urgent Care instead, in hope that the wait wouldn't be as long as it usually would be for an ER visit- plus he wasn't an emergency case. Luck would have it, the Ingalls Flossmoor Hospital just built a new urgent care branch, and it was a 5-min. drive away.
Kai was not happy with my trying to put ice on his mouth, and while we were waiting to be seen- I noticed a red bump forming on his forehead between his eyes. Great. Another injury. But he appeared to be perfectly fine but was more solemn with thumb in mouth. I worried that he quietly sat on my lap, which was unusual for his typical hyperactive self.

So other than being asked by 4 different medical people how the injury occurred, Kai was given another ice pack and had his first "anal" temperature taken. My sister Cheri distracted him with a blown up glove to help get the job done. The tactic worked very well. Temp was normal as was his O2 saturation and pulse. Kai had a hospital band secured to his wrist, which he immediately tried to pull off (and eventually succeeded).

In a few moments, Dr. Meeks evaluated him and I was pleased to hear from her that Kai did not require stitches as it should naturally heal. And his head was fine. However, I would have to give him antibiotics for the next 5 days and make sure he was not becoming irritable (from the head trauma) but I thought to myself, Kai is usually irritable anyway- so what difference?
Anyway, to make a long story short. Kai is doing well and played all day for 5 hours at the Patriot Park in Homewood, IL. with his cousins. We played volleyball, soccer, Frisbee, football, flew a kite, blew soap bubbles, and stuffed our faces, and even fell into mud.

Cohen and Kai viewing us from up high

Kai tosses a huge Frisbee.

Kai and Cohen dig a trench.

Which Kai got soaked from!

Hope hangs out with her new ballerina socks, a gift from Kai.

I thought I'd do a nice thing and change her wet diaper, and she surprises me by shooting pee at me and gets my hand wet. Kai saw that and exclaimed"Yuck!"

Tia Arleen and baby Hope. Mama Cheri joins us and we just had to make faces for Hope to remember our silliness when she is much older.

Nana shares her Capri-Sun drink with Kai, who greedily chugs it all down.

Daddy Greg learns all about this hours later after the incident (remember he was still up in the air and unavailable for the next 4-hours). He knew eventually Kai would make it to the hospital, (due to his extreme nature) he just didn't think it would happen this soon.

~

I was just glad it was all over and the day turned out to be a good one after all. There was a lot of laughter that day. By the way, when Cheri was helping Kai out with a bath, he peed on the bathroom floor, which she ended up standing in. Hey what goes around, comes around, yes? ahha

A day at the orchard for mom's bday.

It's already early morning and we still weren't in bed after the party. Cheri was so tired she wore her pajama pants under her dress with a zip jacket over it. I laughed because she didn't realize she looked like a Middle Eastern woman, which inspired me to paint a red dot on her forehead with lipstick. I was surprised she easily allowed me, but then again she had a few glasses of wine also...


Little did she know that lipstick was long-lasting. She didn't have cold creme to remove it, so she spent the next several minutes trying to remove it with a toothbrush, only to make a red smear between her eyes... and I wasn't about to give her my creme. I was having too much fun watching her, as you will...



The following morning I dress Hope in her Paris-style outfit of leopard print and maryjane socks. Isn't she adorable? There is still a lot of room for her to grow into it, as she will fit well into it by this winter. I just couldn't pass on getting her this outfit. Cheri thinks I need to get a baby girl...what do you think Greg?

Mom and her sister Rosa came over and we all headed to Hobart, Indiana for the County Line Orchard. Out in the middle of nowhere we enjoyed ourselves riding a tractor to the corn maize-maze.

Mom and Auntie Rosa on a tractor ride.

The map of the corn maize, which actually spelled the County Line Orchard.

We found only 3 numbered trail questionnaires in the corn maize on the map before we became thirsty, and had to find our way out...

The cousins begin to wrestle.

...and then later make-up.

Cohen has been acting like a big brother to Kai, making sure he stays on the trail.

A. Rosa, Cohen, mom, Arleen, Kai, Greg and Adira stand on top of the bridge to overlook this massive field. I could see how easy it is to get lost in this 7-foot crop of corn.

Hope sucks on her readily available pacifier.

My sister Cheri (aka Charlie's Angel) and her kids Hope, Adira, and Cohen.

Goofy me stands between A. Rosa and mom. Don't ask what I'm doing? Posing like a chicken, I presume?

Kai finds an electric car and tries to make a quick getaway only to find the batteries have died.

We make it back to the entrance and go see the bee display.

Kai observes bees making honey.

Greg wheels a couple pumpkins around.

Kai and Cohen find hijack a bus!

My brother Eric and his girlfriend Dawn finally make it after an hour of being lost. And I run into an old highschool friend, Wendy Pong with her husband and 3 kids! She is still the same old Wendy, but not as shy and more outspoken (as I told her, and she replied "bullsh**!"). I hadn't seen her since I was about 20 years old (that was almost 20 years ago! OUCH)

Then we drove back to Illinois and went to Pappa Deaux Restaurant in Arlington Heights to have a seafood dinner while musicians played New Orleans style music. Mom had her birthday all over again.

Unfortunately, by the time we got our food it was already way past Kai's bedtime. He was literally climbing the table, throwing food, and crying. Greg took him outside for fresh air. At first, Greg had Kai appear through the window (by himself) at nana, which caused her to jump- then cousin Adira started to run out the room to retrieve him thinking that Kai had escaped.

Nana Doreen's 60th Surprise birthday

September 28, 2007 Friday
My Family: Left to right: Arleen, Cheri, Fredi, Doreen (aka Mom and Nana), Eric, and Derek.

Today was my mother's 60th surprise birthday and just like with any other party, some last minute stuff had to be done. Both cars were fully loaded with food and decorations and lastly, we secured all 4 children for the drive to the Orland Park Civic Center in Illinois. Just when we were 2 blocks down the road, I realized I forgot my tripod and had to retrieve it. I couldn't imagine having my niece Adira carry my flash unit around at the party...



(pictures are from the Orland Park Civic Center website)

While the buffet table was prepped, and table decorations were set out- I somehow got stuck hanging white Xmas icicle lights. This meant I had to untangle 8 strands of lights and test it to see if it was operational. I then clambered up a ladder and hoped I would not fall with Kai and Cohen running around below. At one time, Kai took to climbing the ladder also.
~
After some frustration the hall was aglow and I quickly dressed (thank goodness my face was already made up!) and started to prepare my camera equipment. Greg got Kai dressed in a cute blue tie, borrowed from his twin buddy Lukas, and looked pretty dapper standing next to daddy Greg who was in a suit. Kai then took off to run with the other children present.

As people filed in for the party, I heard Greg tell Kai to put the beer bottle back, followed by a loud crash! Kai had thrown the bottle into the cooler which shattered into pieces on the other unopened bottles! People were picking glass shards out...
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I resumed my camera set up. I had tested my gear, was fully set to go, when my brother Eric had announced Mom was walking into the facility. Just then I heard another loud CRASH! And I whipped around to see my tripod with my expensive flash unit had been knocked over and glass was everywhere...and I saw red...who else would be at the base of the unit, with big eyes and a shocked look, followed by a loud wail? Only KAI !!! Someone grabbed him before I did, because I wanted to spank him...
~
I quickly reassembled my flash unit, and saw that the flash filament was still intact hoping it was still functional, and just as soon as I got into position- Mom walks through the door with her sister Auntie Rosa and my older of brothers Fredi.
~
Thank goodness I was able to get those precious facial expressions at that moment, and all through the night!


Mom was in a daze- people were hugging her left and right. I was blinding her with my flash and when I finally lowered my camera- I said, "Hi Mom!" which she gave me a puzzled look, and Greg and Kai hugged her. It was then she realized I had flown in for this event- and she just about cried. She asked when did I arrive? And why didn't I let her know? (Mom- it was a surprise, part of the deal you know?) You see, I had told her we would not be able to afford to fly out as we would have to pay Kai's way when he turned two. And we probably wouldn't see each other for a couple of years. I had also mailed her a birthday card a week ago regretting that we wouldn't be there to celebrate her birthday (officially the following day and just to throw her off). She scolded me...that's my Mom!
~

The whole time, my mother thought she would be attending this fundraising event with Fredi. He would be our only excuse to get her dressed up for a night out, as he is the dancer in the family. Any other sibling would have made her suspicious as of why she should get nicely made up.

~

We were worried the plan would go askew, as Fredi had to fly out last minute on a business trip to Mexico. I worried that if he didn't return in time, the family would be incomplete, and Mom would not feel 100% happiness. You see, we are Mom's assets- she loves to have us around everywhere we go, and she shows the pride she has with us. So it would have been a flop, had Fredi not returned in time. But that's old news now!

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In addition, we thought she was suspicious because we found she had called off work today. She said she was feeling depressed and did not want her co-workers to wish her a happy birthday. Little did she know!

~

My mother is really intuitive and I asked her if she had any idea whatsoever. She said it was "God's honest truth" she did not know, and pointed out she would not lie to God. So amazingly no one spilled the beans.

~
Time came to do our mother-sibling dance. Fredi made this terrific slide show dubbed with a music mix of songs that each of us wanted to dedicate to mom. The songs reminded us of her. Mine was Twist and Shout by the Beatles, as she always liked to shake to that with dad when I was a kid. After my 2-minute dance, the next older sibling would cut in with a rose and dance with her for the next couple minutes. During the whole time she couldn't peel her eyes from the projected pictures while dancing, laughing, and crying...

~

Click here to hear the music mix: http://pages.ripco.com/~bones/sibdance.mp3

Later the grandchildren approached her, each with a rose, while the Disney "Wish Upon a Star" played...

With everyone dancing, eating and drinking, I ran around with my camera taking tons of pictures. Kai often found me amongst the crowd and would cling to my leg making picture-taking arduous.

Near the end of the night, I gave a speech. I thanked everyone for attending this special occasion and announced that Mom really wasn't 60 years old but would be 61 tomorrow- and the reason why we couldn't throw this party last year was due to her battle with colon cancer (which she was in so much pain and was emaciated) and because of this would not enjoy her party then.

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I also announced (with my voice cracking and my eyes swelling with tears) that we were so close to losing our mother. I showed them I had been saving a medal for her that I obtained as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society a couple of years ago, hoping for the right moment to give it to her. I ended the speech with great news that about a week ago she had seen her doctor who, after giving mom a series of tests, told her that she was CANCER-FREE! Her lymph nodes were not affected and the cancer had not spread! Her next follow-up would be in 3 years!

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I took the medal off from around my neck and beckoned mom to receive it. It was a bronze medal that hung on a purple ribbon, with "Survivor" written on it, and it hung beautifully around her neck. Cheers and clapping followed- and my mom gave her speech. She worked hard and deserved this moment.

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What perfect timing to get this news before her birthday party???

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I found out later that I had not lost my skills as a Thespian. I remembered hating my English teacher demanding that I "articulate" my words and finally got it right when I surprised her when I took first place amongst 25 other high schools in a speech competition. Well, tonight it paid off again- I discovered I had made some guests cry, and in particular I made a man cry...Now that's what I call an achievement! ha ha.

Mom danced the night away. We had a great DJ that could do back flips and handstands. And my sister's husband Matthew made a great performance dancing like Michael Jackson- that really got Mom to laugh, especially when Mark came up and tucked a dollar bill into his pants! I could tell mom really enjoyed herself by the expressions on her face by looking at all the pictures taken. I love the faces she makes when she really gets into dancing !!!

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The food was great, Cheri did a great job organizing it and getting the invites out and Derek's girlfriend Jen did a great job with the hall decorations (maybe you should be a wedding coordinator as a side gig?) And everyone did a great job making the party a hit. Thanks everyone!

~

Click here to see a music slide show that I made... http://amoreimages.com/Doreen60th/

Kai Runs Flight Operations His Way

Sometimes flying with Kai can be a difficult and challenging thing, that is to keep him entertained. It was really nice that SWA let Kai run around in the kitchen and hide-out.

Afterwards, Kai was too pooped to walk through the airport...