Max wants some more "hot."

Max is very interested in coffee cups.  He thinks they are called "hot."  And he asks for them by name.

"Hat" is another one of his favorite words.  I think he understands the subtle difference in the sounds.

He rarely gets to hold coffee cups ... because he might do something like this!  Max is pretty much a constant danger to himself nowadays, and he's fast!

He prefers coffee cups, even to soda cans!  Here he tells you what they are called.

Other than coffee cups, dream toys for Max include anything that is large, long, tall and can be wielded like a weapon ...

... and he always chooses the most dangerous spots to play!  (Here is Buddy's tornado shelter.)

He enjoys roughhousing with Gabe.

Here he is with his "hot."  He is most definitely a little boy!!

Making Way Big, and a way-big hair experiment.

This is Way Big, one of Gabe's favorite Ben 10 aliens.  They have never made a full-sized Way Big toy ...

Gabe said, "Mom, can you make me a Way Big toy right now?"  So we pulled out the bake clay and sculpted a Way Big, who looks a little Gumby-esque.  Here's Gabe smiling, and to the left you can sort of see Way Big baking under the oven light.

Then I started mixing up something nasty and green.  This is my new hair dye, made from natural henna with no chemicals.

Gabe said, "Mom, it smells awful, like a terrible disaster."  It does smell like seaweed.  Or maybe grass.  Or green tea.  Marijuana?

It was supposed to sit and "cure" for 1-3 hours.  Well, it sat for 4 or 5.  Here's Joe, daring to take a look and a sniff.

Gabe took Max on a long ride around the living room in a box.

Here's my lovely "before" hair color ... or colors.  I've been too scared to use chemicals to get it highlighted again.

Gabe watched in amusement as I walked around with stinky mud on my head.

I didn't do a strand test for the color ... just decided to wing it and see what happened.

Here's what happened.  Hmmm ... Not sure if I like it or not.  It may be close enough to my real color, though, that it won't show when the roots grow out.

Finishing up Way Big.

Done!

Good night!

Max's shot, and playing tag.

Max had has DTaP shot today!  So far this is a non-event.  He looked mildly concerned as he was getting the injection, but since then has been no crankier than usual ...

It rained again today.  Gabe was mad, because the weather man had promised no rain for 5 days!  But he still hasn't been struck by lightning or mowed down by a tornado.

Here's Brian with his usual agitated look.  Brian, you should see the frowning Mii we made of you on the Wii!

Dad made this face because I remarked that he was always frowning too!

The kids entertained themselves with a game of tag this evening.

It was some kind of a duck-duck-goose variation.

No frowns here!

Upcoming.

Today we had a visit from a new friend, a local lady who is also a BRCA1 carrier and going through the same issues!  She brought her two little boys who played with Gabe and Joe.  (But I don't want to take pictures of someone I just met, and besides, she doesn't like people to know about her gene ...)

Upcoming for Buster:  He needs to go to the vet for heartworm medicine, a shot, and to get fixed.  We were going to take him in for the first two things today, but couldn't find a leash!  So we'll buy a new one and take him next week.

Upcoming for Max:  Little does he know, he has an appointment for a shot tomorrow.  Max has had exactly one immunization.  I've read way too much about vaccines and always freak out and cancel his appointments.  The one vax he had was DTaP.  Tomorrow he will have another DTaP, since I have heard about a pertussis epidemic.  That is, if I don't freak and cancel again.

Upcoming for Gabe:  For his third grade year Gabe will be attending a little program on Wednesdays.  I will also be doing a co-op with some other moms where I will teach Spanish and multiculturalism.  We may also join another homeschool group.  Soccer starts again in October.  It should be a fun year!  Right now he is enjoying the summer.  (I was going to say "carefree days of summer," but he's too worried about tornadoes for that to be applicable.)

Upcoming for Dan:  He starts his new job at UHD on August 16th.  He'll have a week off between jobs!  His new boss selected a team of great, easy-going people, some of whom Dan already knows.  He'll also have a much shorter commute.  We are looking forward to these changes!

Upcoming for Mom and Dad:  They may take a trip somewhere during Dan's week off.  Oregon?  We'll see!

Upcoming for me:  I've decided to see Dr. Lu as soon as I can for a second opinion.  Also, do you see how awful my hair looks?  That's because I quit dying it when I started worrying about cancer.  So I am going to try to dye it myself with natural henna.  Soon I will blog about this disaster waiting to happen.  I already tried to quit using shampoo and use baking soda and vinegar instead ... I smelled like a science fair volcano for awhile.  I don't use much makeup, and I finally perfected the use of aluminum-free deodorant.  (Baking soda is the key!)  More beauty "don'ts" to follow.

Quote of the night at our house:  "Gabe, if you make that Saturn-Uranus joke one more time, you're not getting an allowance next week."

The Ovaries Guy: more to think (worry) about.

Well, I had decided I preferred to do all this BRCA stuff through MD Anderson, the slow-moving giant.  They are world-renowned, and I feel good being there, for the most part.  I also feel like I'm making a difference being part of their research studies, to help others with this mutation!  BUT, they have been slow as molasses and still haven't granted me an appointment to see their gynecologic oncologist.  And timing is crucial here because when Dan switches jobs we'll be on COBRA with a real high deductible for 90 days.  So I kept my appointment with Dr. Dinh at Methodist today.

Dr. Dinh wants to take my ovaries out.  Like, now.  Well, now is a little too soon for me.  As far as I can tell, the risk increase between 35 and 40 is very small, and I have a little baby to take care of.  Aside from that I'm worried about my bones, my cardiovascular health, and my quality of life.

He was recommended to me by Aunt Susie (Hi, Aunt Susie!).  She said, "He's funny.  He likes to laugh."  That made me almost smile, then stop myself.  I'm not quite sure if I want the guy who castrates me to be a big laugher.  Maybe it's just me, or maybe I'd take this more lightly if I were older.  But I'm still welling up with tears thinking about never having another child.  When he mentioned something about wanting my ovaries "in a jar," it just wasn't real funny to me.

The least I wanted from this guy was an exam and a pap, and I got that.  The most I wanted was a thoughtful conversation about the pros and cons of having my ovaries out now vs. waiting a year or two or three, and I didn't get that.  I think his answer would have been the same for me, being BRCA1+, regardless of what age I came in:  He is ready to take my ovaries out.  He said, "Well, you know, to a guy with a hammer, everything looks like a nail."  True, but that is a cop-out.  He said, "Call me when you're ready."

I asked about getting an ultrasound, and he said okay.  But he also warned me that if a cyst showed up it might look like cancer ... and then I will wind up getting an oophorectomy anyway.  He said, "You know, it can happen when you're ovulating ..." I told him, "No, I'm not ovulating right now."  (Because of the breastfeeding, I'm not having periods.)  So, do cysts just form when you're ovulating?  I couldn't seem to convince the guy that I really am not ovulating, at all.  Anyway, if I do get a false positive, that would be crappy for us, financially, because of the above-mentioned health insurance situation.

Max fell asleep on the way out of the building and slept most of the way home.

Gabe and Daddy got packages this evening.  Joe announced to us, "The U.E. Pess man is here!"  (U.E. Pess is what he keeps calling UPS!)

Max is having fun playing in the yard with everyone as I'm writing.

Now I've got to decide what to do with the two little self-destruct buttons in my abdomen.  They have been good to me, but my body can't protect them.  I think I'll get a second opinion on this when I can ... I am hindered by insurance issues and slow-moving institutions.

Lights out, and canned beans for dinner.

Max woke up from his nap today to a loud thunderclap, and the lights went out!  Here he is, wondering what was going on!

He usually likes to play in the rain, but I couldn't let him go out in the thunder and lightning.

Here's Daddy and the Blue Menace.  Daddy was looking for the phone number of the power company to report the outage, and Gabe was telling me that I owe him $20.  (A couple of nights ago he was worried that the power would go off.  I told him it wasn't going to, and I was so sure of it that I'd give him $20 if it did.  Well, that arrangement was just for the night, and not for the rest of Gabe's life!)

Here's Mom, still trying to find the number of the power company.  Usually our power comes back on quickly.  During Hurricane Ike, when many people lost power for weeks, ours was back on within about 12 hours!  (I've heard that this is because we are on the same power grid as the fire department, but I'm not sure of it.)

The power was off from 3:30 till 5:30, during the time that dinner is usually prepared and eaten.  So despite the appetizing menu I had proposed earlier today, this is what we had.  Yuck!

When the power came back on, the older boys went back to their lazy vegging on Grandma and Buddy's couch, watching Madagascar ...

... while the baby boys stepped out to get wet!

Hope I won't be arguing with Gabe all night about the 20 bucks.  Wish me luck.