Creature (Not) Comforts

First off, we lived with a SALAMANDER for a whole day!!!! Ick, gross, yuck, etc. Yesterday afternoon I walked into the kitchen and my mind barely registered that there was something on the floor before it ran under the stove. Mr. Awesome saw a black salamander by the garage yesterday so that's why we're calling it a "salamander" and not "gross lizard thing that wanted to eat my toes." Anyway, just before Mr. Awesome got home from work today, I saw it in the living room and staked it out. As soon as Mr. Awesome walked in the door, I screamed, "It's there." He grabbed whatever garden tool you use to kill these type things and we talked over the various ways you can trap a salamander. We created a barrier to the kitchen and the rest of the living room and then Mr. Awesome proceeded to whack the ever-living crap out of the thing. I guess it would have been humorous to the outsider: Mr. Awesome was chasing and hacking at the very fast little booger; in spite of myself, I screamed a couple of times; Toser was laughing his butt off; and poor Tater was crying. In the end, the salamander was "relocated" and we are (I am) breathing a little easier tonight. And really, I'm not all that squeamish about these type things as long as they're outside where they belong. Bleh. (I know. We should have really relocated it instead of "relocating" it but we live next to a State Park and there are plenty of them around. I don't think he will be missed that much in the salamander population.)

So, outside of the creature adventure, we've had a pretty good week. It's hot as heck here but we're keeping the house dark and cool and staying comfortable. Tater has been off the vent twice, once for 20 minutes and once for 30 minutes, and is now tolerating his Passy-Muir Valve (PMV-a speech and swallowing device for trach patients). He hated his PMV up until Friday when he made a liar out of me and decided it's not such a bad thing after all. I was telling the Speech Therapist how much he hates it and how he just coughs and cries when we put it on him as she was putting it on Friday and guess what. No crying, no coughing, nothing but sweet sounds from the Tater. Such a booger. Now he's wearing it all the time with no problems. This kid is definitely on his own schedule and agenda. And he loves his new voice. He's been chattering all afternoon.

Toser is still being sweet and 3 at the same time. He loves to make Tater laugh and will do anything to do so. He's also having a hard time following simple directions so I go from wanting to swallow him whole because of the sweetness to wanting to swallow him whole to get a few minutes peace. He's also a booger. We have a house of boogers. Anyway, Toser's total boy and our house is covered in cars and trains and there's always some kind of potty talk going on.

This weekend we got to see a ton of people: Saturday morning, Mr. Awesome's college friend, A.N, his wife, C, and their daughter M, stopped by. We haven't seen M since she was a baby and she is now 6 so that was really neat. She was very excited about seeing the Hannah Montana movie on TV that night so I hope she had fun watching it. After they left, Toser and I went to Tru-Man's 1 year-old birthday party where there had to be at least 50 people. And then after naps, we went to BR and J's house for J's birthday party where we got to see the Happy family who were in town from GA (always a pleasure, Happy family-we need to see you more often). BR and J are great hosts who made sure everyone had fun. And then yesterday, CC, TC, LJ and CC's parents came up to the pool where we had lunch and roasted in the hot, blazing sun. It was a great social weekend and we're not used to that so we're worn flat out. So, I'm going to bed y'all. Take care til next time.

I wonder if we can play CDs on it?

3 posts in 3 days... whoa. What's wrong here?!

This was too funny not to share. We went to our neighborhood pool tonight to grill out and have dinner. We try to go as often as possible because it's a gorgeous, laid back setting and we really enjoy it there. Tonight as we were leaving, I put Tater in his stroller and hung his vent on the back. The vent was facing a group next to us (who was having a LOT of fun). This guy comes running over, excitedly asking, "Is that a CD player that hangs on the stroller?" OMG. I laughed in the poor guy's face. I couldn't help it. I usually politely explain what the vent is but, seriously, how much do you have to drink to think a ventilator is a CD player?! In his defense, he acted embarrassed and said, "Well, it says 'DISC'." (When any part of the vent becomes loose, the vent alarms and flashes, 'DISC,' as in disconnected.) So, I can see where he could be coming from,-BUT the vent is kind of big and definitely not CD player-ish. It was dark, though, and I feel bad for laughing so hard. I tried to find the guy before we left so I could apologize for embarrassing him but he must have run away. Man, I needed that laugh tonight. CD player!! HA!

Moanster

I can't believe I "got for" to mention how Toser says "moanster," as in, "there's a Moanster in my closet." We crack up every time. My mom says he enunciates like a Canadian so maybe he's not Southern country, he's just foreign. We do have a greater proportion of Canadians in our city than most Southern cities because it's the Hockey Capital of the South -but it's also the Space Capital of the South so maybe he'll be a Canadian rocket scientist who just happened to be born and raised in the South.

Tater's visit in Birmingham went as well as it could. All of the doctors were shocked at how big the chunk is and how much stronger he is now. He went all lower lip on the vent doctor and made everyone laugh at how pitiful he can get in 30 seconds. The kid is a pro with the lower lip.

No huge changes from any of the doctors but we can start tiny trials off the vent (10-15 minutes at a time). Nate's going to need the vent for a while so we know this isn't the beginning of anything huge but even if we're able to take a walk around the neighborhood without the vent we will all be very happy. It's kind of hard to explain but Tater's on the lowest vent settings possible so there really aren't too many changes they can make in that regard. The only thing to do is just take him off to see how he acts. We'll probably get him weaned for longer periods just in time for cold and flu season and see all that go out the window. But this is a teeny tiny step in the right direction. What the direction is we still don't know but it seems to be a good one for now.
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Yesterday was also my favorite niece's birthday. I tried to make it her 10th but apparently it was her 11th. Hmmph. She's not supposed to be that old. Anyway, it wasn't the best of birthdays for her because she got braces yesterday morning and she was in a lot of pain last night but hopefully she's feeling better today. WE LOVE YOU BANNA! Smile big! Happy Birthday! (And don't break your neck on your new Heely's.)