California McMillans

 Christmas 2011 was great.  Tyler got these Kre-o blocks (lego wannabe's) and Heidi ended up assembling most of the piece.  Kira accessorizing her dollies  Sometimes Scott is so endearing as an older brother.  Here, he is showing Kira how to assemble her dollies.  The kiddos working on their Christmas projects.  You can't tell, but E-maxx is on the table and I was replacing the chassis, skid plate, steering turnbuckles and posts.    Scott got a huge lot of hot wheels track from craigslist and I showed him what my cousins and I used to do.  We used to hang out at Grandpa McMillan's on conference Saturday and run the cars down the stairs.  The best was the bus, because it could launch all the way to the fireplace.  I'm proud of Scott's piano progress.  Kira has been talking a lot lately.  And we can understand her.  Today, she asked for "leche."  Yessss! Tyler got a razor from Craigslist and he's stoked!  Also,

Kira looking cute in her Christmas dress  Mr. T showing us his open bite.  Heidi decided it was time to give up the binky.  Scott at his first piano recital at Eskaton lodge.  He played Jolly Old St. Nicholas and We Three Kings. I was pleased.  His piano teacher, Trish Heidi making friends with the residents  Classic Tyler.  You better watch out, man, a bird's gonna land on that lower lip! A vid of half of Scott's performance

I got my post-op x-ray yesterday, after 10.5 weeks of recovery.  I have been using a cane and I felt good about my progress, so I was pretty confident the x-ray would look good.  Since I read x-rays, I asked to see my own.  The tech refused, and I was like, "I gotta see it."  Finally, she relented and I had a look.  I said, "See?  No evidence of heterotopic ossification.  It looks good."  So I emailed my doctor, and I almost told him what my findings were.  But I just said that I was pleased.  He concurred.  So I am free to do full weight-bearing!  Yesssssss!  Eh, I pretty much already knew that.  I'm still a little wobbly, so I might use the cane here and there.  When I ride my bike, though, the leg feels good.  Solid. 

Upon cleaning the van with Heidi, Scott and Kira: Tyler:  Daddy, can I come inside?  Because the garage is really freaking me out. Me:  Oh? Tyler:  Yeah.  It's freaking me out.  So can I come inside a little bit, for six minutes? Me:  Yes, sir.

Scott has been taking piano lessons for a few months and is doing quite well.  My mom brought me the old Suzuki books from which I studied as a youth, and today, Scott had his first Suzuki lesson with me.  We did "Pepperoni Pizza," as I remember Rick teaching me 28 years ago.  Scott did well and I was pleased.  When we were done, he said with a scowl, "Now can I play with your iPhone?"

Tyler was in the hospital from Sunday to Tuesday night.  The surgery was supposed to be on Friday, but they moved it to Wednesday.  He was on milrinone to give his heart a little rest prior to surgery.  The good news was his echo looked much better this stay than in August when they cancelled his surgery due to his heart function.  So Tony was really pleased with how his increase in meds helped his heart over the past couple of months. Tyler did pretty good.  His IV's kept failing which was a pain.  I was not on my A game during his first IV attempt when I let two different people poke him before asking for the best.  The resident told me she was confident in herself and would try one more time.  I politely said that I believed her but wanted to know who the best was.  Luckily the charge nurse came in who I LOVE, heard our conversation and immediately got an attending cardiologist and anesthesiologist. They reminded me this was a training hospital and I needed to be firm. My only

I was all ready for Tyler's surgery tomorrow.  Then Heidi called to say that something came up in the surgeon's life and he couldn't do the surgery.  So the surgery is canceled.  Weh.  Bah.  Phooey.  Daaaaaaaa!  Heidi and Tyler are on their way home.  I am quite disappointed because last time we were all ready, they postponed it.  There have to be good explanations and reasons for all of this but hearing this news agitated me. I feel like standing up on a soapbox and ranting, but I'm in healthcare too and I don't have all the answers anyway.  I just feel like we're getting a big run-around that's becoming inconvenient.  But I am glad to see Heidi and Tyler again.  Since I can't ride my motorcycle to UCSF, getting out there is a timely deal.  I actually considered getting a collapsible cane, putting it in my backpack and riding the VFR to UCSF. What would my orthopedic surgeon say?  He'd say no.  Then I'd ask, "What would you do if your k

Yes, they have moved Tyler's Fontan from Friday to Wednesday.  I'm glad about this because that means two more days for him to recover before Christmas.  Heck, he may be feeling good for Thanksgiving!  Eh, we'll see. 

Tyler, Heidi and I went to UCSF Sunday afternoon.  We got a suite in 7 East, like old times, and a lot of things had changed.  First, they don't let you ride the regular elevators to the 6th or 7th floors.  They don't let you use the stairs, either.  Second, there were many different pieces of equipment and color schemes.  I was fascinated by the vein finder, which I discovered, upon scrutiny, was a broad band laser.  It adequately showed the veins in Tyler's hand, but the people still struggled to get a valid IV and had to do five attempts. Poor Tyler was screaming, "I don't want a shot!  Take it out!  I WANNA GO HOME!"  Eventually he calmed down and the milrinone began pumping.  He watched some DVD's and then it was time for bed. 

Tyler goes to UCSF tomorrow for a second attempt at the Fontan.  He will be placed on Milrinone and have the Fontan on Friday.  Pray for our little man.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband and best friend Danny.  Danny worked the entire day at UOP on the day of his birthday.  Before you feel bad, he was so excited to finally be able to work a whole day after surgery. Perhaps the best present is to be back to work. His colleagues brought him out to lunch and he said he had a GREAT day. The following day, we opened presents and had some friends over to surprise Danny.  He was surprised and we had a great time with new friends from Brentwood and old friends from Walnut Creek.  One of my best friends recently moved to Sacramento and she was able to come with her adorable family which was so much fun! 33 has been a great year for Danny full of good changes.  Top 5 blessings of the year: 1. Work.  Danny continues to love being a dentist and teaching at the school.  When you are first married you just want any job.  As you mature as a couple you want nothing more for your spouse to find a love and fulfillment in what they do each day

We had a nephew and niece born September 20th who are both so cute!  Danny's sister, Michelle, had an adorable little boy, Brockton, who is a true Olson...just as cute as big sis and bro.  David, Danny's brother and his wife Juliann, adopted a precious little girl, Clarissa.  David and Juliann have been waiting for years to welcome a little baby into their lives and we are thrilled for their dream to become a reality.  Clarissa is a true testament of the power of miracles and miracle of adoption.  I was excited when Juliann told me she was going to post about her precious girl on her blog so I could share this wonderful news.  Thank you to all who have prayed for David and Juliann during this journey.  Brockton and Clarissa are precious and we can't wait to make it to Utah as soon as our lives calm down to snuggle (Heidi) or throw in the air (Danny) these little ones.

Heidi, Kira, and I went to Mi Pueblo in Pittsburg for dinner since Grandma had the boys.  I drove the swagger wagon for the first time since my surgery and it was great being behind the wheel again.  Good old swagger wagon. At Mi Pueblo, we ordered some tacos al pastor and some tacos con carne asada, as well as a burrito with carne al pastor.  It was the best burrito we had ever had.  Mmmm, Mi Pueblo.  The next day, I tried to make some carne al pastor and it wasn't the same.  My beans were still good, though.  I'm also into making my own tortillas and Scott helped roll them out.  It took about twice as long, but I'm glad he's into doing things himself.

Me:  Kira, me das ese toalla? (Will you give me that towel?) She gives me the towel. Me:  Gracias.  Sabes que significa eso?  (Thank you.  Do you know what that means?) Kira:  Thank you. The spanish experiment is working!

Tyler:  Mommy, my tummy hurts. Mommy:  Oh, then no candy today. Tyler:  My tummy doesn't hurt anymore. [laughter] Tyler:  Stop it!  I'm not your friend anymore!

Tyler has had a change of attitude.  Previously, he would wake up with a scowl and growl, "Where's my iPhone?"  And he would complain, whine, and scream all day, despite having the iphone. About three days ago, he suddenly turned into a sweet, charming young man.  We are unsure of the reasons behind the change but are really enjoying them.  This morning, he bathed with Kira.  He said, "Kira went poopy in my bed." "Oh really?" "Yes, a big dump."  That's my boy.  A cupcake Tyler decorated at Erin's birthday party  Kira at Scott's soccer game Scott scored a goal and this was the first soccer game I went to.      How am I doing?  All things considered--specifically, my left PAO--I am well.  Still, I have a lot of pain down to my kneecap in the form of paresthesia.  Why don't I take pain meds?  Because they were making me psycho:  aggression, anxiety, and nightmares.  So I don't take anything.  Also, the

I have been asked what these are.  They are called Skippy Pets brought to you by a nice man named Skip.  My sister got 6 of them for Paisley's birthday and they were sooo much fun.  They are motorized animals that sing while you ride.  They go forward, back, around and around.  I need a couple of these for my backyard!

Danny is doing awesome!  He might not totally agree with that statement as he can't walk, but all in all, is doing great! Today we dropped off Scott and headed to the store, library and post office.  He survived it!  Amazing!  He is totally off his pain meds.  It will not surprise his surgeon since he thinks Danny is a little crazy and has a high pain threshold after his last surgery.  I will never forget when Danny was cleared to do whatever with his hip, he decided to ride his bicycle to his first therapy appt.  I think the therapist only had him come in 1 more time. As for the rest of us.  We need to take lessons from Danny.  I thought Kira was teething all last week.  She had a little fever and diarrhea but worst of all would wake up and be in pain.  Not just a little, but a lot.  Like not allow you to hold her, throw her tiny body on the floor and roll around screaming.   It was hard.  I realized how lucky we have been with her.  When she is not herself for a week I w

I was a great parent until I had kids.  I fought and fought to keep the kids well-rounded instead of glued to their media devices.  For a while, it was the Nintendo DS.  Well, we solved that by giving them back to grandma.  Now the boys are addicted to the iphones.  I can't really entertain them with my physical limitations, so I just give the iphones to the boys to keep them occupied so I can have some peace and quiet.  Except that it's not quiet.  They turn up the volume all the way on these obnoxious games. Then I gave Tyler some headphones.  It was nice for about two minutes, but Tyler didn't hold out.  I said, "Either you wear your headphones or you go to another room."  That worked and I was able to take a nap.

Tyler:  Daddy, can you download me a new game on your iphone? Me:  No, you have enough. Tyler:  I'll give you candy! Me:  Really? Tyler:  Yes, I'll give you chocolate chips! Me:  Okay, go get them. Then he got distracted and then it was time for the bath.  No chocolate chips for me.

When Danny and I were in the hospital, my parents took the boys to the pumpkin patch.  From the looks of it they had a lot of fun!

My mom got diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) 4 years ago.  The week Tyler was born.  She has done really well and been more or less asystematic with occasional shingles and such from a weak immune system. She was able to live a relatively normal life.   About two months ago she had horrible back pain and was diagnosed with a herniated disc which has improved with time. And two weeks ago she started having double vision.  After seeing specialists, they decided to do a spinal tap to see  if her leukemia was present in the cerebrospinal fluid.  It was present  which is pretty rare and doesn't have a great prognosis without treatment.  So tomorrow my mom will be going into surgery to get a permanent catheter placed in a canal in her brain to start chemo on Monday.   This internet describes it better:  People who have leukemia in their cerebrospinal fluid, or who are at high risk of having leukemic cells migrate to the spinal fluid, receive chemotherapy dire

My sister's beautiful daughter, Paisley, turned 1 this weekend and we had a great time celebrating.  My sister threw a very special birthday party at my parents.  She is beautiful and we love her so much!!  Happy Birthday Paisley!  Grandma and Pop of course threw the best party followed by a second party that night for the Porshe club.