Thursday, December 20, 2007

The guys are sick

Taipan and Yuta are sick. It's sad. Taipan hasn't been feeling well since Tuesday. He's been saying his belly hurts, and hasn't had much of an appetite at all. I think he might be on the upswing, or so we hope.

Yuta might have the same bug - he's also got stomach issues and has no appetite and very little energy. Somehow he managed to take care of the kids for about four hours today so I could finish some work before heading out on vacation.

So far Taisim is ok. And so am I, though I'm pretty tired.

Hopefully everyone will be healthy for the holidays!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Gabrielle's Gift

I didn't want this to get lost in the last post, so I'm calling it out separately. A friend of mine is starting an organization called Gabrielle's Gift, inspired by the daughter of a friend of ours. Our friend's daughter, Gabrielle, has been diagnosed with Niemann-Pick Type C Disease.

NP-C is a
genetic, pediatric, neurodegenerative disorder. It is responsible for the build-up of cholesterol in cells, resulting in eventual damage to the nervous system. This metabolic disorder leads to a series of neurological problems that are ultimately fatal.

Yuta and I have offered to help out with a website - Gabrielle's Gift. Right now the web pages are just a simple blog. As things progress, we may move to something more robust.

Check out the site - it's still under development. Some links aren't working. Some content is missing. Eventually we'll be selling bracelets to raise money to support Gabrielle's family and fund research for Niemann-Pick. Janet is working on getting the non-profit status, and we'll need that before bracelets can be sold. Stay tuned for details.

What the heck are we up to?

So, what are we up to that we've done no blogging over the past month or two? The simple answer is that I don't really know. The more truthful answer is more complex than that. Partially it's that I've been busy with work, and I usually post blogs while I'm working. Or I used to post after the kids were asleep. And we used to post when we had pictures to share. And my mind is scattered lately.

The biggest new thing in our lives is a crazy, new schedule. Taisim is a real night owl lately. And we've consciously tried to let go of dictating when the kids go to bed. It feels good to give the kids control over that. It's nice that I have more time with the kids after I get off of work. It's a big challenging to have to get up and work in the morning after a late night with the kids. And some mornings Taipan is upset that he can't get cuddles from me when he wakes up because I'm already working.

I've also been talking to a former co-worker about a potential job opportunity in Portland, Oregon. Thinking about that, considering the possibilities and figuring out with Yuta the best thing for us to do. When things like this come up I tend to get paralyzed while imagining everything we'd need to do if we moved across the country, and imagining how things would go if we moved. And I get nothing else done. So, I've been very wound up in the potential of going to Portland for a job interview. It's been on my mind a lot, but I haven't felt comfortable writing about it. Now I do, so maybe I'll blog more :)

The kids are doing great. Taipan is really enjoying the xBox & the Wii. We have some pictures from the past few weeks - I'll give Yuta a nudge to post some.

The next couple of weeks will be exciting. I've got 2.5 more days of work, then beginning Friday I'm off until after New Year.

Oh, and we didn't get holiday cards done this year. I guess there's still time for a New Year's card, but I'm not holding out much hope for that.