Paige's Poems

These poems were in Paige's backpack today as all the work she's done in 2nd grade has been coming home in big bunches. I LOVE them and wanted to share. Here they are exactly as written, spelling too:

Paige

Funny, nice, thoughtful, creative

sister of Josh and Ally

Lover of soccer and ice cream

who fears bees and jelly fish

who needs rest

who gives help

who would like to see France

Resident of 13 windmill Rd

Tetro

Favorite Food Poetry from

by: Paige Tetro

Steamers, Steamers, Steamers,

buttery, Steamers,

Scrumptsious, Steamers,

fishy, mushy, hot, Steamers

Last of all, best of all,

delicious, Steamers

White Bread

So at my Uncle's funeral, well afterwards at the "party" or whatever you call it when people come and eat my mother's cousin (whom shall luckily remain nameless) came over to where my sister and I were sitting with our families and friends. She started talking to my sister first and I assumed it was the general "How are you? Isn't this sad? How old are your kids now?" conversation. Although I could see Sally making a face at her while she spoke so I leaned over to Tracy and nudged her and said "I wonder what is going on there? Look at Sally's face." Well next she came to me and said that my sister and I have such pretty faces and if we stop eating white bread the rest of it will follow. I looked wide-eyed over to Sally who nodded wide-eyed back as if to say "Yes, this is really happening." The cousin, who is at least in her upper 60s or maybe even in her early 70s went on to tell me that she got up to 190 pounds (big woo) and when she stopped eating white bread (which isn't good for you by the way, it does bad things to your system, get some nice multigrain bread at Stop & Shop, it tastes very good, but don't eat it every day, do every other day) she went back to being thin (which she has been all her life). And now that she's not slapping butter or peanut butter on white bread every night she has been able to stay thin. This of course didn't stop her from going to the dessert table.

When she walked away I took most of my enormous roll and shoved it all into my mouth like a 10 year old. And then I proceeded to have 12 beers (light of course!) over the course of the rest of the day and blab that story to as many family members as I could. I mean seriously, does she think that what I needed when my beloved uncle died was advice on how I could be less fat? I guess she gestured around her stomach to Sally and said something like "This...isn't doing anyone any good." Except for at a Weight Watchers meeting or perhaps if someone came crying to you about not being able to lose weight I cannot imagine a time when this would have been appropriate. But that moment was maybe the least appropriate of all.

Now I don't feel bad about not calling her back last year when she called to say congratulations on having Ally.

First Place...Times Two!

Paige came in first in both Military and Basic marching for her age group at the big baton competition today. We're so proud of her!! Here are a few pics from her team event, individual events and the trophies.

ITP

Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
Translated in parts as "we don't know why" "blood platelets" "with bruising" This is what we now know that Ally has. It came upon her quickly. On Monday when we came home from Florida the pictures I took show that she had no bruising. By Wednesday night she had so many we called the doctor. Some were swollen big and hard from the pooled blood underneath. We probably didn't explain the situation with enough severity to the doctor, focusing on the hard swollen bruises which they said would go down with time. By Thursday we were afraid to take her out of the house. Some of the parents at Paige's soccer practice asked if we'd had her blood tested and we just went into full on panic. Not sure if bruises were an emergency or if they'd say that we should have just gone to our doctor's office in the morning, we finally decided that we were willing to pay the copay for our peace of mind. So we dropped the 2 older kids off with Chris' parents and headed for Johnson Memorial since it was the closest and we figured they were less likely than a city hospital to report us for abuse. They took one look at her and sent us to Children's Hospital in Hartford.

At Children's they examined her, took some blood and after a few nerve wracking hours determined that she has ITP. The hematologist explained that sometimes after a child has a cold or virus their immune system gets all out of whack and starts viewing the blood platelets as a foreign substance and attacks and destroys them. A normal platelet count is 350,000. Ally's was less than 5,000 and that's just as small as their machine could count. The level that constitutes an emergency is lower than 10,000 so things were pretty scary. At that level the body basically can't clot so any cut might not heal and the real fear was a bump on the head that would cause an intracranial bleed. He also said that there is growing evidence to suggest that the MMR vaccine might also cause this. And Ally just had hers on April 9th. Since it is a live measles vaccine the body starts to fight it off and then goes nuts fighting itself. So when the time comes she won't be able to have her booster shot. Most likely she's already immunized from the first time and since everyone else is there is virtually no place in this country to get the measles. If she had the booster her ITP could come back.

So we were admitted to a room and she was given a drug in her IV and monitored for reaction. The drug was not without it's own side effects. There was fear of kidney failure among other things. But she seems to be doing fine. It is the same type of drug given to mothers with an RH incompatiblity in pregnancy. How it works is that the red blood cells (which she has plenty of) give themselves up as decoys to the immune system so the platlets have a chance to grow in numbers. It should work for 30 days and by then her body should be able to take care of itself. But her platelet count might not be back to normal for 6 months.

We left the hospital around 3pm on Friday. Ally had her platelets checked on Saturday and they had risen to 25,000! So she's getting better and has had no more bruising. They expect the platelets to rise and fall as they gradually increase so she'll have to have her blood taken and tested probably weekly for 3 months. At least we're off to a good start.

Detective Taggart is That You?

You bet it is!
Dad met up with John Ashton at a golf tournament at the course next to where he lives and then we all met him for beers. Very cool! Lots of stories and memories of the guys as juvenile delinquents stealing cars and getting into trouble. Also he took out my mom and said he could see from the resemblance that I was her daughter. Very cool. More stories when I see you all in person.

And we're off!

Headed to lovely Estero Florida in a few hours. Packing the car, getting the snacks and surprises ready. So exciting! Can't wait!!

The Woogeyman

Well, I won't be doing any laundry today. I watched the Woogeyman episode of Charmed. Pheobe is always afraid of the basement and then she learns that her childhood story of the Woogeyman is actually real and the story that Grams used to tell to make it go away is actually a spell. Its a "shadow" of evil. And we all know my well documented fear of the basement and this house's track record with shadows and evil. Wonderful. I had a lot to get done today and now I'm going to be jumpy all day. In case you ever need it here is the spell...

I am light

I am one too strong to fight

Return to dark where shadows dwell

You cannot have this Halliwell

Go away and leave my site

And take with you this endless night.

I've kept it memorized just in case. I'm pretty sure you can substitute "dwell" and "Halliwell" with a word that rhymes with your last name.

Comic Relief

We all need a good laugh. Here are some funny Joshua stories;

1. On an episode of Blue's Clues Steve was teaching the steps to take when you get frustrated. While tucking Joshua in a few weeks ago he held up his "Blue" stuffed animal and said "This Blue is frust-er-ated" Then he proceeded to tell Blue what he should do: "Stop. S-ink (think). And put some cheese on it." I can't stop laughing even now while I type. When I asked Paige what the real steps were she said "Stop, breathe and think."

2. Then one night he caught me changing into my pajamas and was really craning his neck to get a glimpse. "You don't have a penis Mommy?" No, Joshua, I don't. "Is it at the store?" I think because we always say we have to get some more at the store when we run out of things that he just assumed mine had gone away and I needed to get a new one. Every now and then he'll ask me again to make sure I still don't have one. Almost in disbelief. I should probably reassure him that his isn't going away, I just didn't have one to start with.

Something has to be done

Why is it that I can buy a bathing suit in February in Connecticut when it is all of 5 degrees outside, but if you're looking for mittens for a child you're SOL??? I mean god forbid some kid loses or outgrows mittens during a winter. But hey, want to buy something that you won't need for another 4 months? We've got it in every conceivable color and style! Grrrrr!!!

How old are you really?

Chris found this site and it gives you your "real age." You go through this questionnaire (and yes, you have to register) but then it factors all these things like your general health, family history, diet, etc and tells you how old you really are. When its finished they send you an email telling you how you could be younger. For me, most of it was taking vitamins and increasing my intake of things like calcium and folic acid would fend off diseases. Chris found out that he needs to drink 1 glass of red wine a day. Ok! So anyway, my calendar age is 36.3 (36 and 3 months) but my "real age" is 38.8. I'm off by about 2 1/2 years. Which frankly I think is pretty good considering I eat like crap and never exercise. Chris' real age is like 36 so he's 2 years older too. How old are you? Find out: http://www.realage.com/reg/regvar/st1.aspx?mod=LONGFORM

The Club

Man when Shonda Rhimes gets it right she really gets it right. In tonight's episode of Grey's Anatomy after George's dad dies Christina goes to meet him outside. Even though they have not been speaking, even though there are people closer to him and he appeared to want to be alone, Christina went. And she said something like this, "There's a club. A Dead Dad's club. And you don't get to be in it until you're in it. Sure you might sympathize and feel sorry for someone but until you feel that loss you really can't know how it feels. George, I'm really sorry that you are part of the club." If you didn't see the show she then admits that her own father died when she was 9. His reply is that he doesn't know how to exist in a world where his father doesn't. And she says something like , "Yeah...that never goes away."

I have said most of those words myself. When my mother died I thought of all the people before me without parents and thought, man this is one group I don't want to be a part of...Cindy Hall, John Link, Kim MacDowell. I didn't want to be in that club! And when people lost their parents after me and I would go to the services they inevitably say "It sucks" or something like it. And my response is always the same. "I know. I know it sucks. I just wish you didn't have to know." I said it to Kim Hanjack and my cousin Nate. Probably to Kim and/or Johnny Clark. My friend Heather. Because I know when their parents died they thought of me and said "Man, Suzie Tetro. That is a club I didn't want to be in." And now they know. They know exactly what I felt. They're part of the club. And it never goes away.

Welcome Ryan Jay!

My new adorable nephew was born this morning at 1:37 am! He's 8lbs 15 oz and 20 inches. Very sweet and snuggly! Congrats to Sally, who was a trooper through it all. And to new Dad, Steve and new big brother Zachary! Can't wait to spend more time with him.

Birds Nests

Spend all your time waiting
for that second chance
for a break that would make it okay
there's always one reason
to feel not good enough
and it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
oh beautiful release
memory seeps from my veins
let me be empty
and weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight

in the arms of an angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort there

so tired of the straight line
and everywhere you turn
there's vultures and thieves at your back
and the storm keeps on twisting
you keep on building the lie
that you make up for all that you lack
it don't make no difference
escaping one last time
it's easier to believe in this sweet madness oh
this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees

in the arms of an angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort there
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort here

~Angel, Sarah McLachlan

Christmas in July?

Or have we all been transported to the south somewhere? It is currently 41 degrees at my house. Yesterday I had 5 windows open in the house. And Sunday we had a high of 57 degrees! What is going on?? No wonder I don't feel like it's Christmas! Its like the Heat Miser has gained control for a year. Now, I realize if I was bundling my baby up in the snow or slipping on the ice in the driveway I'd be complaining about that too. But come on, forget White Christmas, it's supposed to be 50 degrees on the 25th! Just weird. Just wrong. This is New England, not North Carolina.

And while I'm ranting, I think those blow up lawn decorations look weird when not inflated. Like someone deflated Santa and left his shell in a heap on their lawn. Or that people just have a bunch of crap scattered on their front lawn. Just seems odd to me.

Sad

Peter Boyle died. Sad.

She's on the move!

Ally is crawling! Just now, crossed the room to get Joshua's new Thomas train. Go Ally!

Welcome Noah Anthony!

Nephew Noah Anthony Bell was born yesterday at 5:45 am. He has lots of dark hair and dark eyes. He weighed in at 8 lbs and measured 20.5 inches. Mother, father, big brother and big sisters are all doing well. Congratulations!

I hate people

Apparently I've said that before.
So I'm in Wal-mart yesterday in a ridiculous hurry as always. I needed formula and tights for Ally. And of course I bought more than that and now have like 45 minutes to get the kids dressed, pick up Chris and shoot across town to the church for the free family photo. As I plop all my stuff on the counter the lady says "Do you want to get this here?" I purse my lips together, raise my eyebrows in my best you're a fucking idiot stare and nod slowly saying "Why wouldn't I?" I mean what about my demeanor says I want to pack up all three kids and my stuff and move to another register? Was it shooing Paige away from all the register items, or swatting Joshy out of my purse or bouncing Ally to stop the crying? "Oh, um, I don't know" she mumbles. So then we continue on with the ringing up. She makes some comment about Ally being cute. Thanks I say, barely paying attention. Then she says "What happened to all her hair?" I'm sorry? She just doesn't have any yet. What happened to all your manners I wanted to say. And really had to restrain myself to not say it. But frankly I was in too much of a hurry and she still had a lot of ringing to do, I didn't have time to get into it with her. What is the matter with people anyway?!? Seriously. This is a 6 month old baby. What happened to her hair you say? What has happened to society I say.

Love this weather

Nope, not being sarcastic. I actually do. I guess it's the melancholy in me. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't want it to rain and be dreary all the time. But that white overcast sky, maybe with a little drizzly rain says fall in New England to me. Its often the weather of Thanksgiving so it makes me excited for that. And the yellow trees look just as beautiful framed by the white sky as they do with sun bouncing off them. Yep, I like a good dreary fall day every now and then. That's why I'm nuts I guess.

Happy Birthday Sue!

Welcome to the other side of 35! Its not that bad here, really. And look at all of us over here: me, Jeff, Scott, Becky, David, Joel, Melissa, Dave. You're in good company. Hope you have a great day and don't worry too much about the number.