Getting dual haircuts on Monday. Ben's faces are just so funny. He often does this one when he is uncertain. He says he's a "BIIIG sharkie!" and shows us his teeth - I guess. That's what we surmise he is doing.

So Sam is still sick with a cough, ear fullness, etc. Took him to doc finally today – he’s been sick since Jan 27 (his birthday – on the Big Island). Hard to tell if it’s one virus waxing and waning, or trading viruses around school. Lots of kids have had to go to the hospital with pneumonia so I decided to go have a look before the weekend. I do not particularly enjoy hanging out in urgent care or the ER. They did a chest xray – very interesting for all of us. Sam did GREAT holding still, holding his arms up, holding his breath, etc. (Picture Ben and I in a corner snuggled under a heavy lead apron during all of this.) Then to the tech’s desk (Kimberly at Kbay ROCKS!) to show us the images. We found his heart, his ribs (counting 10 above diaphragm is good – means they got a good view), esophagus, shoulder bones. He was really interested in his spine since he fell at a playground a few months ago and knocked his wind out. I guess he still had concerns about his spine. He was happy to see it all there, stacked nicely. Then we spotted a big black oval in his stomach – an air bubble! You know what that was? A burp…or hiccups! He had the hiccups all day. That’s my guess. Then to the pharmacy to wait and wait and wait for some meds (just OTC stuff, nothing “GOOD”). I declined the bronchodilator – not sure why that is all the rage now. He is having no trouble saturating his blood with O2 and the cough is productive. I can do chest PT if needed. No dilator, thanks – I guess I’m old school. So we did a mini hike in the little garden near pharmacy, found some seedlings sprouting into trees, a snail shell, and some coral. Managed to keep ourselves busy for at least half an hour. On our way home I stopped to get the boys some snacks. Sam opted for Oreos – he’s sick, so ok. We did compare labels later with Ben’s animal crackers to see which was the best bet – fat, sugar, calories. So I mentioned to Sam that his Oreos had 270 calories and 11 g of fat. He replied, “So…I will burn that off in four and a half hours.” I said “Huh?” He repeated it. Then I realized what he’d done! He’d remembered approx 60 cal/hr (that’s what an adult burns just sitting around running your body – basic metabolic processes – if I remember correctly). So that is exactly right – if resting he’d burn that in about 4 1/2 hours. Amazing. I was literally stunned. Thumped the steering wheel and hooted for him! That brain sure works well even when full of crud. After all that I managed to really bang up my leg (forgot to get me a snack) trying to rescue a frisbee from the roof. We went to the beach park with footballs and bouncy ball and played around, then Bob’s for dinner and shave ice for sick boys. They had a very good time. Finally, we wrapped up the evening with a meeting with Octopus (my little stuffed friend Dave bought me last weekend at Sea Life Park). I love the octopus – so smart and quiet. A real observer. They both love for me to make Octopus talk – the boys enjoy reporting in to Octopus on their day, doing a recap. Octopus asks if they’ve made their mom nuts or were they pretty good. That sort of thing. He also sniffs their feet to see if they’ve had a good day. If totally disgusting, brown and stinky he does foot-fives (not high-fives) with the boys. Then they romp and off to bath. I like Octopus. Very sage, that guy.

Dave got word today that it looks pretty solid we’ll be moving in June or July. We think. No orders yet but we will continue making prep so we are ready to fly into action. Come visit soon!