Beautiful Hat

A few weeks ago, I ended a post with a request for leads on getting a hat which said "Survivor" on the front. A couple faithful readers gave me some ideas where to get one, but one particularly generous friend offered to make me one! After discussing (via email) exactly what I wanted, she set about trying to fit the bill. She went far, far, above and beyond what I expected. It is now my go-to hat.

I took this photo of myself as soon as I got it out of the package!

Capt. Adorable took this photo of me wearing the green side out.

Image modified to hide a child's face. Pony tail sticking out the back.

I love the color (well, the colors, actually, seeing as it is reversible), the fit, the fact that I can have my pony tail stick out the back, and the feel of the fabric. I've been wearing it at home, on the go, and especially while sailing.

You can never have too many hats or sunglasses, apparently.

The rest of my family loves it too!

CT Results From August 25

Sorry I have not posted this here. I guess posting it on Face Book made me forget about my blog. (Bad Rose!) Anyhow, yeah, had another CT scan on August 25 (Wednesday). It was clear again. Next CT scan in 4 months (December 29). Funny how the sentence "your scan is clear," is immediately followed by the sentence, "but we expect this type of cancer to reoccur." Clearly they don't consider me out of danger. No permission to relax yet.

But I am lucky, oh so lucky. Last night I rose from the fog of sleep to visit the bathroom and gazed at a bright clear full moon through the skylight and felt amazed at the beautiful light. A peaceful moment to see and appreciate beauty. I am so very lucky..

Too Boring

The last two weeks have been full of wonderful adventures for my son. First there was the week in Tennessee, then we came home, had a few super fun play dates, and then the other grandparents and an uncle or two showed up. Grandpa (FIL), Lita (his wife), and their son (Uncle Green, since that's his favorite color) arrived on a Wednesday evening and left on Sunday afternoon. In between we did so many things I may have forgotten them all!

Wednesday was Uncle Green's 21st birthday and we celebrated by going to a crabs place. Captain Adorable likes crab but more than eating crab, he likes to use the wooden mallets to pound on their shells. He takes the big ones from the discard bucket and smashes them to smithereens. Lita hand fed him several tasty morsels, and would have given him more, but he really was more interested in the hammering (plus he had had dinner already because traffic made them a little later than expected).

On Thursday all of us except Grandpa, who was hostage to his work, went to the water park at a big amusement park close by. It was a lot of fun! The adults (except Lita, who preferred not to) got to go on the big rides and all adults got to spend time with the little guy in the area where he can go on all the slides (except one). He kept going and going and going until in the end he was almost robotic.

On Friday we went out on the boat for an dinner/sunset/moonlight sail. It was fascinating and beautiful as always. We almost got run over by a cargo ship (ok, a bit of an exaggeration but for real, it was a bit scary!!!), and as usual the task of avoiding the crab pots at night is annoying, but we all came back in one piece. We didn't get home until ten till one in the morning.

On Saturday the other uncle joined the family party in time for frozen yogurt after lunch. Then we split up into two parties. Captain Obvious, his father, and his two brothers went out on the boat again, while Lita, Captain Adorable and I went shopping. We wanted to buy a few games (Go Fish and Old Maid), which we got, and we also got some books and clothes for Captain Adorable. Also an alphabet board game which, much to my surprise, he actually enjoys. We went to bed before ten. The boaters didn't get in until 2:30! So glad I did not go! I would have been even more exhausted than I was the next day.

On Sunday we all went to brunch. I think we got to the restaurant at 1:30 or so...anyhow, it was delicious and a good way to say goodbye to everyone. They all took off after lunch. The captains and I went home and took a long nap. :) Goodness knows we needed it!

Yesterday was full or errands and then an ice cream social at the neighborhood playground. Today we had a nice play date with some neighborhood kids at the same playground. There were rockets and a remote controlled car and Captain Adorable climbed in a pine tree till he was higher than the basket ball goal twice. Once they all left, we gather oak tree bark and pine needles to boil down to make natural dye for home made play dough. At home we started working on boiling everything down. Captain Adorable announced, "I wish Oma and Opa and Grandpa and Lita would come back. You are too boring."

Sigh. ;)

Another Trip To Baltimore

Yesterday Capt. Adorable and I went to Port Discovery, a wonderful children's museum in Baltimore. I've probably mentioned it on this blog before, sorry if I am repeating myself. Anyhow, this visit was an extra adventure because we took the light rail up with some friends and walked through downtown to get to Port Discovery. The museum itself was wonderful fun, as always, but when we left and walked down to the Inner Harbor we had a great time as well. There was an Army ship (who knew?!) docked there and my friend, who was in the Navy for four years, suggested we go aboard for a tour. It was very interesting, especially to my little captain, who asked several questions (through me, seeing as he was too shy to ask loudly enough to make himself heard, nor would the warrant officer have responded to his raised hand), such as "why are there black curtains on the windows of the crew's mess," and "what are these grooves in the deck for?" 

After the tour was over our friend treated us to Rita's (a local flavored ice treat--you can get custard also but we did not), and then we sat down by the William Sondheim fountain. Of course the boys wanted to run and play in the fountain (there were tons of other kids doing the same thing) and so eventually, the mommies agreed. Capt. Adorable did pretty well at not putting his whole body into the fountain (we had no bathing suits or towels and goodness knows we can't just strip them down, let them have fun and then put their clothes back on for the trip home). Of course he ended up wet, but that was ok (it was in the 90s...). Then we got to ride back on the light rail also, so the trip was really fun and took All Day! :)

Today it is raining, raining...we're going to the library for a group playdate in the community room.

August 25 is my next CT scan.

"I Can Handle It"

Last week the captains and I went to Tennessee to visit Oma and Opa. We got to get dirty helping with the straw bale house and we stayed cool in the wonderful little above ground pool Opa bought and set up just for our visit. Captain Adorable loved it because it was shallow enough for him to walk around in it with his head and shoulders above water. He got very confident, even going beneath the water deep enough to retrieve Oma's ring (as a game).

We arrived on Sunday night and on Tuesday morning, Captain Obvious and I left on our first ever night away as a couple since our darling son was born! We went to Asheville, NC and had a nice time being adults together. :)

While we were gone, Capt. Adorable had a wonderful time with Oma and Opa. He did all the same fun stuff as always, nothing remarkable, except for the fact that he was stung by a wasp. When they wanted to take him inside and look at the wound and apply ream and all the rest, he declined and told them, "I can handle it." Opa was also stung, on the face no less. Later Capt. Adorable told us all that he was stung by a father wasp and Opa was stung by a mother wasp and the wasp that stung him (Capt. Adorable) was much stronger than the one that stung Opa.

A New Skill Mastered

This morning at the playground, Captain Adorable mastered a new skill. :) So fascinating and exciting to see it all just work out for him! There was another boy sliding down the fireman's pole (or whatever that thing is called) and I encouraged Capt. Adorable to try it out also. He watched the other boy (very close in age) do it and heard the boy's dad explaining to him how to do it. He tried it once, then said he was scared and ran off. Then he came back, did it once with my help, and then, BLAMMO, he did it by himself. Over and over and over and over and over....