A Good Night Sleep ...

Thursday was a better day after 5 or so hours of sleep. No more headache. I had to rush to work for a 7 am meeting, but that is nothing new. This is a picture of Alexandra on her pull-horse as seen by Liana. Actually they are Liana's first pictures from her perspective. The doll is about 6 inches big and Liana calls her "Axandra". So she is taken everywhere right now.

Tuesday Visit:

These other pictures were taken on Tuesday, during my trip with Thai, my cousin's wife. She adores babies and I was worried that she would gobble her up. But as you can see Alexandra loved the touch time as we couldn't pick her up but Thai could at least touch her feet, toes, fingers, etc.

Thursday Night Visit:

Thursday was a good visit day. We arrived late but the nurses were very busy. So I was able to hold Ali in a kangaroo hold. That's where you hold on to them and jump up and down, making sure you keep both ankles next to each other. Similar to a potato sack race. Just kidding. Kangaroo hold is no more than putting the baby inside your shirt so they can feel your skin and gather the heat from your body. Alexandra got too cozy as her 28ml of milk was being digested. She didn't really have any signs of breathing issues as she did previously during feeding time. I was able to give her a pacifier in the beginning. At times she would put both hands down and lift her head to see who was holding her. Despite the tight fit under my shirt she managed a few times to look me in the eyes. Well one day I can use this line if she gets out of control: "I remember when you use to fit under my shirt, all calm and cute. I don't like guys that ride motorcycles and were in the military. I don't care how nice he is!"

I held her for almost 2 hours. She was cozy and we were sad to return her to her bed but Jeanette needed to pump and it was almost Friday. Ali is just over 3 lbs 3 oz, growing strong everyday.

This is a picture of Amanda's butterfly. One of 5 monarch butterfly's that we grew from a larvae into their crystalis stage then they hatched from the cocoon the other day. We will release them on Saturday so they can enjoy the flowers and star fruit in the back yard. Have a great weekend.

Need Editor ...

I am looking for a part time editor who can help me with not only grammar checks but factual checks. It seems I made an error with names (not faces) as I mentioned Angie as our "Parent Impostor" in the Operation Escape on Monday. When in fact it was Gloria (G-L-O-R-I-A as sung by Van Morrison). Angie did nothing. Not a thing. Nada. So please don't hold that against her. But, all thanks, credit and support goes to Gloria (G-L-O-R-I-A as sung by Van Morrison). If you are unsure what song I am referring to, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_(Them_song))

I am unable to give an update as I didn't go to the hospital yesterday evening. I had a headache which was on the edge of a migraine that didn't turn into a migraine until I got home. Amanda's roller skates, b00-hooing, protests, me arriving late, 2.5 hour meeting, Liana starving, butterfly's flying who needed food, eating late ... yada yada ... led me to not leaving, sleeping early. Hopefully I can get the pictures down from the camera when Jeanette and I go tonight since Abuelo will be with the girls (no need for a clandestine operation tonight).

One-third of workers play hooky

A co-worker read this article in CNN News and told me my list was better.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/01/26/cb.playing.hooky/index.html
I started the list some 5 years ago when I kept over-hearing some ludicrous reasons for not working. Almost all of these items listed are factual reasons, most not admitted during the fact but after the fact, for not working or leaving early:

1. I can't make in to work today; I ate bad sushi last night.
2. I am unable to work from home since my domain password has to be renewed from the network.
3. I accidentally drank a beer at lunch that activated a health condition that keeps me from working in the afternoon.
4. I am stuck in the elevator and can't get out ... HELP!!!
5. I emailed yesterday that I would be sick today. Maybe the Spam filter deleted my email?
6. I have a cable installation appointment at home today.
7. I have Federal and Civil jury during this week.
8. I couldn't call in sick due to phone technicalities/defects (dam VOIP router).
9. I am too tired from building my child's 800 piece play set.
10. I was locked out of the network after trying to log in three times, so I will rest for the next 8 hours until my access is restored.
11. I went to the midnight showing of Star Wars with the other geeks.
12. I couldn't access the building due to the nearby construction blocking off access.
13. I can't work efficiently due to my laptop being sick with a virus.
14. I am at Macy's purchasing slacks so I am not violating the new company dress code.
15. I am stuck at home waiting for a pickup.
16. I am unable to work today due to a head trauma associated with a failed black belt karate move I attempted to perform against my cinder block instructor.
17. Hurricane Ivan, Dennis, Emily, David, Andrew, etc. is too near for me to work today.
18. I went to lunch and ordered the special which had an hour prep time on top of the usual 30 minute wait, not enough time left in the afternoon to work.
19. I drank very HOT Cuban coffee too fast, must go home to heal burnt throat.
20. Paint and glue fumes from nearby office construction has given be a blinding headache.
21. I spent all night in line waiting for the newest Harry Potter novel.
22. I had to go to emergency room when the bottom of the door was jammed into my big toe while I was trying to open it.
23. I have to study for my 3rd attempt at my CCNE course or I will have to reimburse the company for all expenses accrued.
24. I have a 5 day reservist function that I must attend.
25. I submitted my days off request to my previous manager before the recent org change.
26. I am working from home until my computer is reformatted due to the slight administration removal of the “everyone” group that has access to my computer.
27. I am unsure where and whom I report to due to the latest undisclosed organization change.
28. I cannot find a parking space. Even the non-parking spaces are taken, must work remotely.
29. I accidentally ate food fried in peanut oil and I am highly allergic to peanuts.
30. My living area had a water main leak which forced me to change my place of living.
31. Some fast-and-furious thief stole the hood of my car.
32. I broke my leg while playing a basketball game sponsored by the company.
33. I received 4 bills from AT&T for a phone, cell phone and broadband service that I never purchased. I needed to spend the rest of the day as a private investigator realizing that I am a victim of identity fraud.
34. I tore a large gap in my pants while moving a server.
35. Someone jumped in front of a train, had to wait for the tracks to clear.
36. I am at home celebrating my boss being fired.
37. The metro train broke down while in transit, had to sit and wait for repair.
38. My daughter was born 2 months early and I need to extend my Christmas vacation another week (this was my last entry).

I Want ...

Tuesday was the day filled with I wants ...

• Amanda boohoo-ing "I want a different cereal. I don't want Frosted Flakes ..." The sobs went on early in the morning. Luckily I wasn't present to add to the fire of abuse. My usual response to the boo-hoo's: "If you would have TALKED to me before the fake sobs and whining, maybe I could help. But I don't give in to terrorism and crying." I always get the HUH look when I give the hardcore Bush terrorism stance. "But if I give into the crying crap instead of communicating, you will always drop the tears to get your way."


• I want MILK ... was the shouts from the hospital as Alexandra used the last bottle during the 3pm feeding. So I had to deliver 2 unfrozen bottles and 30 more frozen bottles before the 9pm feeding. Ali is now over 3lbs! She hit the 3 pounds mark yesterday evening and is now going over. If we turn her skin a golden brown we can almost sell her off as a Publix chicken (mojo based I prefer). I think they weigh in at 3 pounds.


• I want food! was Liana's cry as I greeted them at the van when they arrived in the evening. It seems she slept during lunch time and didn't have any real snack and she was STARVING. Luckily I had dinner on the table just before they got home. She ran in "Wash de hands, me washing" and then running to the table on her toes trying to see what was on the plate. I had orange chicken (one of the dinners we received), beans and rice, carrots and spaghetti. I know she shoveled in a few spoons of beans before shouting "Pray! We pray first." And Jeanette didn't even get her shoes off before that happened.


• I want to take a dump in peace! I actually had an hour, HOUR, 60 minutes of silence when I got home since Jeanette was at the hospital and then picked up the girls at Abuela's. My only thought ... quiet time, dam ... better make the most of this. Just as I started to read a magazine the phone rings ... "shit!" came out from both ends just as the ring started (I didn't just write that did I?). I ignored the ring thinking if I get up quickly, ruin the moment, it will be some dam solicitation and more shit would come out of my mouth. So I ignored the sounds as best I could but, the silence was ruined. Sorry Kenny I will call you back.


• I want a TV that works. After I got home from my evening visit of Alexandra with Thai (my cousin's wife) I went to the room, changed and put on the TV. It was actually before 11pm so maybe I could see 30 minutes of something before I fall asleep. Well our bedroom TV flakes in and out as a thin line instead of a picture (horizontal issues). It usually stays this way for about 15 minutes before the picture comes on. Then it can return to the same horizontal line state at any time. This issue occured two days after I donated our extra TV in the office since I had no use for it. Go figure. So soon I will snag a thin 19" HD unit for a $200 range. I remember when TV's had a horizontal and vertical hold that would fix this issue...

Operation Escape ...

The plan was simple ... leave for an evening as a couple to visit Alexandra after the girls went down, get an imposter parent to send Liana back to bed if need be, then head back home before the clock strikes 11pm. Planning a simple mission of escape and switch seems easy but there will be obstacles. Our first one started early in the morning or really Sunday evening when Jeanette told her parents of the mission.

"Por que! Why do you want a friend to watch the girls when we can?" We in English meant Abuelo. Which is fine but we need to give family a break from the constant issues. Which during any given day can be one or ten. Jeanette planned the escape using her "Familia" friends, coordinated by Alexandra's Madrina, we had imposter mother's lined up for at least two extractions this week. All know the girls, the situation, and are experienced mothers. We even debriefed Amanda before bed. We showed her pictures of the imposters and gave her a quick briefing on what to do if the Liana alert sounded.

"If she cries, calm her down. If she starts throwing shit, duck. If she starts screaming, go under the covers and call her name. IF by any chance, she really gets out of control, Yell the word "Bacon, three times to get her attention ... then try and calm her down."

The now 6 year old memorized the name ... "Gloria" and the picture ... and the day they met face-to-face. Amanda whispered her words of acceptance during bathtime "Shh. I think Liana wont notice." I just shook my head. Never, I repeat, NEVER say any word you don't want Liana to hear or she will nag you until she gets something out of you.

The mission changed while I was making dinner and Jeanette was getting pastries for the NICU nurses (it was Alexandra's 1 month after birth celebration). Alex was coming by after work. Most of you might already know the Pacheco family but they live in Georgia now, eating peaches and talking with a lisp "Hoe-Law Ya'all" (that's southern cuban for Hello everyone). Alex work is nearby and he was able to stop, see the girls (Padrino to Liana) and meet us at the hospital to see Alexandra.

I quickly added another plate to the table and got the girls fed. Jeanette got another batch of pastries for Alex, knowing the rare delicacies are not sold north of Latin America (Miami). Alex came in, gave the girls a hug, gave them gifts, ate dinner and was off before bath time. That was a quick touch down and take off in the Latin world. But it was perfect. The girls opened up, we talked had fun and Liana loved her little doll she called "Axandra" close enough to her real name. Issues started to arise ... Abuela did not like the Operation Escape plans, they were flawed. Someone, was going to watch our children, what will Liana do, how will they behave, what if, what if ... the list went on. Another phone call "When should I be by?". My response "Talk to the mission coordinator." Never, I repeat never assume responsibilities or talk to anyone when you do not have complete authority. I was not in charge of this mission, Jeanette was. I cannot and will not talk on her behalf, or assume what should or will happen. That is mission control central. I was just a puppet. 15 minutes later, another call, from another informant "So, when should I be there? Mother said to come asap." Dam, our cover is blown. She dropped the Mother name. Was this planned well enough, did we have a change already. I stuck to the plan and spoke what I knew "No, no need to come. We have our imposter. No need to make the trip."

"Mother will not like that answer ..." I grabbed a napkin, sweat started to form on my brow, was it the stir frying or the situation at hand? I did what I was trained to do ... push all blame on the mission coordinator "I am only doing what I was instructed to do ... abort any movement to this area." I set the phone down and looked over at Jeanette. She knew what the call was. But luckily our cover was not blown. Liana was arguing with Amanda over the dolls current feeding "Juice", "NO Milk!", "No Juice. Axandra drink Juice now. NO milk!" spouted Liana as she pushes Amanda's milk bottle away.

Bathtime and bedtime came and went. Our imposter was waiting outside just before the drop time 8:45. Angie was early, waiting outside until we called her in. Now rule #1 during this operation was minimal talk. Our mice have ears and Liana's are very good during the initial sleep stage. She can hear a bag of chips opening, a SpongeBob episode starting, a computer game playing. Any noise of value carries and she will get up for water, bathroom, kiss, hug, whatever her little mind can scrounge an the moment. Crap, Amanda had to go to the bathroom. One area we didn't cover. "Me go, Me go too" I could hear her cry in the dark. But Mission Coordinator covered that one during book time by changing her diaper while standing. Not an easy task but one that paid dividends as she said "Liana, you already had a change, no need to get up."

After a couple brief minutes we gave Gloria an update "Bathroom, there, TV there, girls sleep there ... bye." We scampered out the door with our communicators both on knowing a call meant the operation failed. I called Alex, who was at a nearby hotel. He was already en-route to the hospital. We all met at the doors near 9pm. So far so good. We all arived and another issue came up. "How do we all get in? They only allow two at a time?" That was the mission coordinators worry. I replied that we will be ok. Just give them the pastries, go to Alexandra, spend a few minutes then leave to pump. That was another issue handled with care. Jeanette's pump time was at 9 so she planned on a traveling pump. Which works in the same theory as military planes that refuel while in flight. Just hook up the pump at a remote setting. She brought her tubes and containers and would do so in the NICU. We held our ground at the security desk. We were seasoned visitors and we did not balk at the sign of 3 visitors. We made small talk and kept the excuse ready to be used, but not needed as we made our way toward the NICU. All of us arrived, before anything was done to Alexandra as the nurse "Nadia" was busy (that name always brings to mind the hot girl from American Pie). The NICU was very busy, too many parents our cover was blown ... but we stuck to the plan "I will just change her diaper, take her temperature then go pump." and Nadia had no issues while Alex and I watched Alexandra stir.

Alexandra gained a bit more weight and is now at 2lbs 14 ounces. All signs going well. Her feeding is at 27ml every 3 hours. She was cozy and doing ok for the entire visit. All bodies left the hospital just before 11 as we all knew so far all was going well, why risk a blown operation. We made it home just after 11. All was quiet. Our imposter mother was doing well, no signs of movement, no issues. We breathed calmly as all went well without too many issues. We knew we had to deal with our debreifing interrogation tomorrow, the "how could you" and "why" issues but it went as we hoped it would and as it may another day. Thanks to all who helped.

My Bubble and thoughts ...

This is my home that keeps me warm.


This is my oldest sister visiting me while I was sleeping. She wanted to hold me but I already had my food and touch time so she will have to wait for another day. I overheard the doctor telling me I have a few more weeks at the hospital until I can go home. Amanda wants me home for Valentines day (what's that?) but I think I will be there a week or so later. I also heard them also say they got me some clothes ... hopefully something nice and cozy. I am currenly weighing 2 lbs 13 ounces. The mad scientist said I need another pound or two until I am done. Am I a turkey? Is this an oven? I hope not. At times I feel my parents holding me. Then other times people just jam a tube down my throat and fill me with milk. Which by the way is yummy and warm but why the tube? I want to drink it. I also get a bath every couple days. Or is that a butter baste? I hope not. I think I am in a submarine. All I hear ALL day is "beep. B-E-E-P. BEEEP. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP." quite annoying. Some say this girl named Liana will change my view on the beeping. Can't be any worse then "BEEP" all day and night. Gotta run. Check back later for more news...

Friday is Here!

Our First Lesson is on Peering ...

I realize most of you don't understand telecommunications, Internet architecture, or common terms such as Public and Private Peering. You are in luck this is your first class on the subject. By connecting to Terremark's Internet Exchange you can choose to establish either Public or Private Peering arrangements. When choosing Public Peering, VLAN connections to peers are established without using dedicated circuits. Your data is securely carried by the VLAN shared only by you and your peering or transit partners. For Private Peering, Terremark has a fully-redundant Exchange Point Platform which provides you with the flexibility and functionality you need to more rapidly and cost-effectively perform a variety of key carrier functions. I like drawings as they help visualize the terms, concepts, and architecture.


Peering in Your World ...

You must be asking yourself ... am I at the right site? What does this have to do with Alexandra? Why on earth did I just read that worthless crap? Think of Public Peering no more than a circle of friends who all know other people. Now, I have an issue. My daughter is in the NICU. Well other's have either had the issue, know of someone at the hospital, or have a friend that as one or both of the mentioned items. Then they share that information with us, which in then helps us immediately such as, nurse "A" knows our name and child already from friend "B". Or we mention we know Doctor "C" and then they (hospital staff) opens up to us. That my friends in Peering, but in the Telecommunications field Friends, Doctors, Nurses are really, Amazon sites, PayPal, Advertising Agencies, and Google's combining information, sharing resources, for a common goal. Some pretty powerful stuff that happens in a box. So keep up the Peering phone calls, as they have all helped us more than one way or another.


Three Days Before Alexandra ...


My nephew Richard was married to Renee. The white specks are not dust to all you Floridians but snow flakes as well as the white on the ground, that's "collected snow". Since our winter just ended this week (actually 3 days of 35-45 degree mornings) I thought it was symbolic to show you what it looks like when you live in a freezer or Chicago for example. I also found out that Renee and Alexandra share the same birth date, December 26th. Them and my sister have the "Holiday Birthdays" when most ignore or forget them, or combine gifts for the occasion. At least I know I can send Ali to either of you for advise whenever she complains about that issue. Renee should now be in California on base. She is in the Navy, training as a sonar tech for submarines. I adore submarine and the technology. "Das Boot" is one of my favorite movies and book. We have a couple submariners who work at my company. Especially in the telecommunication field and cryptography fields. Rich on the other hand will probably join her at some time. He is a Reserve Navy Corpsman, who are in fact the best people to have nearby when the "it-shay its-hay e-thay an-fay" (that's Pig Latin). I have a few Corpsman stories to tell one day ...
To decipher go to: http://users.snowcrest.net/donnelly/piglatin.html


I have pictures from the last couple days but Jeanette has the camera. So I will do a massive upload this weekend.

Bath Time for All

Tuesday morning was a good day for both Alexandra and Mommy. Jessica Ward (a hybrid of her two cousin’s name by coincidence) was the nurse who gave them both some touch time and news updates. Her weight is at 2lbs 11 ounces. She has been desat-ing, or not breathing well during her feeding times. What that means is Ali tends to deoxygenate herself (exhale) as much as she needs to. But instead of the nose tube (nasal canula) she will get a small hose of oxygen in front of her if her respiratory rate goes lower than 50. What does that mean in English … no sé. Actually it means that when Ali goes home with us she will have a respiratory monitor during feeding and bed time to ensure she breaths when she needs to. What does that mean in English … she may be a blond, not able to walk and chew gum at the same time until we train her. So we may have to nick name her “oxygen” to go with her mother’s nickname (by some) as “helium”. Which then means Liana’s nickname (if we continue the theme) is “fire”, Amanda’s nickname “Hydrogen” and mine if deduced from the other items would be “Hindenburg”.

Go to this site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg to see how I deduced that metaphor.
If you are unsure what a metaphor is go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor

My turn to see Alexandra came after the “witching hour”. The time when we try to get the girls to bed at 8, which turns into 8:30 due to extra activities such as:

• SpongeBob episode we like (usually my fault)
• I can’t get myself dressed (Amanda)
• No … 1 more minute please (Liana in bath
• Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the bathwater is toooooo HOT (usually my issue as I test it with my hand and always say “NO ITS NOT” … take after my mother)
• My booboo hurts and I reply “I don’t see anything”, that argument ensues for a while
• Gotta find a book routine
• I don’t want that pajama struggle
• Clean up NOW time
• De-tangle cob-web-hair.

I ran out of the house and made it to the hospital just after 9, and the nurse Jessica was prepping Ali for a house change. That meant I was able to bath her, hold her, and change diaper.

Alexandra enjoyed the bath until I had to use the soapy water to scrape off the tape. Premie's have a bath process, which is head first using a damp cloth. Then the trunk using a soapy cloth. Head and hair with a soapy cloth, then feet and bottom. Bathing her with my arms in the holes was hard but keeping her from exposure to the cold air was important (the bubble is temperature controlled according to her body temp). After her bath I was able to hold her during her feedings. She is currently getting 25ml of milk every 4 hours (which converts to .85 ounces or .00555 Imperial gallons for all you Brits). They use a plastic syringe with a tube that goes into her mouth to her belly. A machine slowly induces the milk over a controlled period of time (30 minutes). When I bathed her she was free of tubes, constantly licking her lips, moving her tongue since the feeding tube was out. During her feeding the baby girl next to us had a few nurses and a doctor studying her vitals. It was hard to see the baby's parents endure the struggle their child was on. Health of a small baby can usually be determined by size and amount of equipment surrounding the baby. In Alexandra's case is seems like she has an ipod around her. She has a couple wires and one monitor. The other baby girl has a 1980's like audio system setup (not to be comical). A lot of wires, equipment, sounds and attention to her activity. After about 30 minutes holding her the nurse was ready to put her in her new bubble and the other baby girl was about to get an x-ray.


The design of the bubble carts for a NICU baby have a lot of details. I observed the technician put the x-ray tablet inside a tray under the baby. Usually adults or children have to contort themselves standing to receive one, or laying down and the machine moves over the body. For a NICU baby they just position the baby, in this case on her back for an x-ray of the lungs. Then a mobile machine comes by with a long neck (like a giraffe) and they position the rays over the intended area (much like a dentist). Minutes later the technician sends the results over the network to the doctors in the same room. They can then determine what results or needs the child has based on medicine or the condition.

The evening ended as I took the above picture of Ali on her side sleeping after a meal. She is now filling out, adding weight (no change in two days) and growing. If anyone wishes to see her, usually during the evenings with me or day time with Jeanette, email me in advance. We can easily meet you at the hospital and then escort you to her room. My visits tend to be under an hour but you could spend less time if you wish.

Home Sweet Mess

Saturday evening we moved back into our home. Two weeks away and the house was a mess with Christmas decorations up, the tree, and assorted items about from our hasty move. We were like a M.A.S.H. unit for the past 2 months. We had our Disney trip in early December. Then Christmas, which turned into an emergency hospital stay. Which then turned into giving birth, moving to another hospital. And followed by moving in with Jeanette's parents. Luckily our suite cases were still out from the Disney trip, which allowed for quick packing for each event. Amanda asked me when I was going to go to bed while I was putting her down on Sunday and I said "Monday." She gave me the Huh look. "Yes, we need to put all the decorations away, box up the tree, move furniture, clean, then I need to get ready for Monday. So it will be after midnight."

Luckily for us their moods were pretty good since Monday was a holiday and they received an unusual surprise that evening. Jeanette was gabbing on the phone during our trip home that evening talking to Ani. Who asked Amanda what she wanted for her birthday. Amanda responded "a webkinz elephant." Ok, that was the wish, not too complicated. Minutes after the conversation Ani appears at the door bearing gifts. She gave Amanda her webkinz elephant and Liana received a cute powder blue hippo. Now the stuffed items are cute but they don't end there. Each pet has a tag with a coded number on it. So the child/parent logs on to the Webkinz site and they get their stuffed animal in a virtual world. Huh? An animated version of the pet allows the child to play games, feed, care, interact, create, educate and play inside a virtual world. Huh? Hard to describe past that so I added a link with a quick overview. This concept is very viral. Huh? This technology is mainstream, as a lot of toys and/or products have "virtual worlds" Huh? One of my projects at work is to test, analyze and contribute to a huge Lego virtual world. Without releasing an Top Secret information (no shit, I signed more documents to protect their information than I had to for the Department of Defense) Lego has a world for each product line and you interact with other toys, people, environments, etc. It is very fun allowing kids to get educated along with having fun. So that evening Amanda was able to login to the Webkinz site and play some games. She was very amazed on how Ani was able to get her items within moments but, lets just say Ani is resourceful and thinks outside the box ;-)

What is a virtual Webkinz? Take a tour: http://www.webkinz.com/SWF/TOUR/siteTour.html

Alexandra Update:

Sunday we did see Alexandra. This day we had to do the one at a time visit, where I stayed outside the hospital with the girls and ducks and then swapped after an hour. Lucky for us the day was perfect, in the 70's and I had a stash of food and candy to keep the natives calm when the ducks got boring. Next time I will have to bring my remote control airplane to keep busy. In Ali's mouth is a pacifier, that evil vile invention to keep kids quiet and destroy their teeth in the future to allow another booming business to grow ... orthodontists. At least that's Jeanette's perspective. For Alexandra, she needs a pacifier to learn the sucking trait, so in a few weeks she can get milk off tap, instead of the college syphon method (hence the tube in her moth now, that goes strait to the belly).

Sunday ended well, even if it was Monday morning since I was able to sleep in my own bed.

The Weekend of Changes

In order to catch up I need to combine the weekend. Jeanette called first thing on Saturday morning to find out how Ali was doing since our horrific visit that evening. She gave the nurses a scare as her breathing and heart rate fell for a few seconds. When they rushed to her they found out she had taken a HUGE dump, which caused her vitals to stop while she pushed the crap out of her system. All I could picture was a person dropping a grenade down a hole, jumping to the side, yelling "Fire in the hole!" ... then shit flying everywhere as the nurses grab their heads. I guess that might have been another of the "issues" she had last night. Blood transfusion, increase food (24ml), dam IV dangling from her hand like a cleaver, couldn't sleep, etc. That made us feel a bit better about the events and what to expect on our Saturday visit.

Build-a-Bear Day!

First thing out of Amanda's mouth was "so when is Tia coming to take me to Build-a-Bear?". My response at 8:00 was, "Need coffee.."

"So when will she be here, huh, in a little bit, should we get ready, what should I get, I saw this ...blah, blah, blah, blah blah...." was all I heard after her machine gun questions. I kept oozing toward the kitchen as I searched for the needed items to begin the day. As I grinded the beans, which sounds like nails in a jar. I looked over my shoulder and saw Amanda's lips moving but I couldn't hear a thing coming out of her mouth. Until I stopped "And what should I get the Bear, Penguin, Tiger, or ...." Uh oh, question time, better start grinding more ... I made a fine dust out of the beans just to avoid the machine gun Build-a-Fricken-Bear-Banter-get-out-of-the-house-with-Tia-day-to-shop. Amanda has her mouther's mouth with gabing. When she's talking to friends she has to speak a million-miles-a-minute just to get all of the words, stories out before time elapses. Luckily Liana is on my wave-length. "Papi coffee ..."

"Yes, Liana. I just started brewing the pot."

"Papieee... coffeeeeee please."
"Yes Liana, it just started brewing."

"Papi, Papiiii. Coffee?"

"Y-E-S. Two minutes." and I walk away to escape the badgering repetitive question. Just as I close and lock the bathroom door. "Papiieeeeee (why are you ignoring me sound) Coffeeeeeeee!" as she beats on the door. Holly crap. I felt like I was in a zombie movie. One kid still bantering about the Build-a-Bear and the other beating on the door asking for coffee. Ahhh. Luckily I came prepared for the morning. I gave Liana her coffee with sausage and an egg. She sat in the living room drinking (her three tablespoons of java) and eating her sausage and eggs. She was happy. Now the other. "Daddy, when will Tia be here? When ..."

"Stopppp! Please Amanda, quite asking me. Lets call Tia. It's after 8. She should be up (thinking, she will be now). Lets call and find out when she will get here." After a while Tia shows up and the Build-a-Bear-Indian-like-call-for-rain-dance ensues throughout the house as they get all lathered up with excitement for the shopping event of the decade. So the plan: Get them to the mall. Get us to the hospital so we can see Alexandra for 12:30 touch time.

And they are off! Everyone parts ways and we get to the hospital with a needed supply of milk. They ran out and needed to feed her then. Luckily I added about 30 bottles of milk, one of them from the last pumping session was not frozen (both milk wells providing well). The nurse was awesome as she was happy to see us with milk and ready for touch time.

This was Ali's first picture in better state after her dump. Kinda reminds me of myself after a good movement.

These pictures are me taking her temperature under her arm.

Jeanette was able to hold her for an hour or so. Alexandra was doing great. Her heart rate and breathing was well and the nurse explained that we should be holding her every day. For her needs and ours. Timing is usually the key. It is hard to get to the hospital on the 4 times a day 15 minute window they have during the shift changes, kid issues, events, activites, etc. Nurses play a huge part as we have found all to be nice but some more helpfull than others and others have different priorities. As I looked around the NICU I saw them attending the very needy kids that were either not doing well, have a bad day, or sadly enough, hanging onto life by a thread. Each child was like a boat in the water. Some could or could not handle the waters, weather, or had issues with their vessel all together and the nurses and doctors were trying to bale out the boat to keep them afloat. Alexandra put her hand on her mother's cross seconds after she was cozy on her chest as she held it for the entire time.

More items for the weekend but running out of time:

• Moving back to home
• Getting the kids back on schedule
• Oh Shit Sharky ...
• Ants, ants dam ants
• Christmas decorations
• Surprise visitor with gifts
• My bed ...
• Not a Manic Monday ...

When will Friday End?

This day I was able to sleep in late, until 6am. I was able to work from home in the early part, then go to the store and find a replacement for Sharky. Sharky is our beta fish, who just had his 1st birthday after Thanksgiving. All was going well with him, until the Dolphins playoff game. I was at home cleaning his tank and I poured in too much of the water cleaning liquid (to get rid of the alkaline). Needless to say Abuelo found him dead the next day. I was sad since all was going too well with him. Goldie our first pet fish died while in transit to "bring your pet too school day". I used a thick freezer bag to transport her to the school and it seems she was bruised too bad on that day last year. Jeanette had to show up to school with a bathtub mat that looked like a fish. Oh boy what a story that was. All the kids had their puppies, fish, etc. and my Mom comes with a bathtub mat that looks like Nemo. I did find a fish that was blue with red. A bit bigger but close enough (or so I thought).

After working from home and getting the fish ready I head to school for Amanda's huge cookie, milk and ice cream party at school. Amanda wanted a large chocolate chip cookie for her class party. So instead of slapping $50 for a 28" cookie at the nearby rip-off the customer cookie joint, I went to BJ's the day before and bought the dough for $7 and we put it on a pan and baked it. I usually charge $50 and hour for my contracting services so I guess this cookie costs more when you put in my labor.

The cookie monster feasitval at school ended around 2:30 and I had to run back to work (downtown) for two meetings. Right when I walked through the front doors, everyone was heading into the meeting room so I made it right in time for back-to-back meetings. Then I find out my current boss has a new position/priority and I will probably have a new VP in charge of me. After the next couple hours I race home for pizza night and then back to work at 9pm for a change management that I needed to perform on our intranet servers while the company is off the systems. Then I get back and Jeanette and I head off to the hospital to see Alexandra (which was around 11pm).

This was one of our worse visits so far. Ali was not looking too good. She had an IV in her hand from an earlier blood transfusion and she had blood all over her head, arm, hand, sleep area, etc. The nurse was busy so Jeanette had to bite her lip. It seems she had a minor leak on her bandage that then got dabled all over. This picture is after her getting cleaned up. Alexandra was very restless and uncomfortable during the whole visit. We stayed for a while but felt helpless as there was very little we could do to comfort her or us. Needless to say we left having the same feeling that she needed more.

A Day of Celebrations

Today marks Alexandra's 33rd week of life, 6-7 weeks ahead of the normal birthing schedule. Today also marks Amanda's 6th year birthday. So I was able to visit the hospital on the way home, and then celebrate Amanda's birthday with a low-key family dinner. Now the hard part is to tell the others what low-key means. No birthday cake.

"Que? No cake? Por Que????"

"Amanda is making her own. She wants cupcakes."

"Oh, so you want us to get cupcakes?"

"NO. We are making cupcakes for her birthday."
"So, you want an ice cream cake?"

"NO! We are making cupcakes."

"Ok, I will bring her something."

UGHHH. Now I know how Charlie Brown feels. These are the pictures of us decorating the cupcakes the day after we baked them. I had to let them make the mess. No fun having your parents make them. And they got to taste and decorate. Somehow Liana didn't grasp the concept of decorate and not eat. So I had to let her decorate the one's she ate. Lucky for us she wasn't too hungry and she ate slowly. All in all the cupcakes instead of cake option came out well and we had plenty left over and it was what the birthday girl wanted.

Build-A-Bear won present of the night oscars. Amanda at first thought her pack of mini-Chiklets from her Gabu (Godfather Butt, which is his last name. His first name is Harry, really it is John. Butt (pun intended) his father wanted to name him Harry and his sister Sandy, Butt his mom forbid it.). Amanda was too excited that she could pick out a skeleton/skin of a bear, put stuffing in him, and get outfits. The gift card gave her the power. So all night I had to hear the "Build-a-Bear" tales. That lasted for two days until her Tia would take her to the store for the grand event.

Something is in the Oven ...

... and it smells like cookies and cupcakes!
Amanda's 6th birthday is tomorrow and we are baking mini cupcakes for her family celebration and a large cookie for her class celebration on Friday. The girls like to bake as they can enjoy making a mess, taste testing, taste testing, trying, sampling, making a mess and eating the treats when they are warm. I am also training them to cook, clean and prepare food for my future as a hands-free parent who will only cook spuradicly (in theory at least). Liana was funny as she had her radar on after dinner time. I was talking to Amanda at the table (Liana was finished so she went to another room). Everytime I said the word cupcakes she would come running in full speed yelling ... "cupcakes, Cupcakes, CUPcakes, CUPCAKES, CUPCAKES NOW?!" I had to calm her down to listen that we weren't ready to start them. That issue lasted 15 minutes until we did make them. Then the "Me lick. Me LICK, LICK, TRY, PLEEEEASE!" Finally I gave her a whisk to lick and she looked like a puppy knawing on a bone.

Friends from the Past Popping up Left and Right
A childhood friend Kevin Brisolara from Roselle, IL moved to Washington state a while ago and is a landscape photographer. He has some incredible scenes, which seem more like artwork than actual places. That description just tells the anal rententive details he puts into his work. I remember when we were kids Kevin use to sort his 3 liter bottles of change by type, date and mint location. He was very anal but that obsession has paid dividends through his work:
http://www.majesticlandscapesphotography.com/

Rick (Freddie, Richard) is back!
I received an email from him last weekend. Oh-MY-God! That is what my parents are saying after that statement. Only a few know who I am refering to (Andy, Jen, Kenny). Rick and I went to Martin High School together for at least a year. But we also worked at McDonalds together. Then we joined the Marine Corps together, went to boot camp together. Got into trouble together, etc, etc, etc. I can't post the stories, some wont believe most of the stories, and I am unsure if we were the people in the stories. Rick currently is a cop in Austin, Texas with 4 boys and a girl! I am glad he popped up after my clearance was processed. If his name was dropped in the "circle of friends" the agency would have had a field day questioning him. Anyhow, I owe him a long phone call to catch up.

A Call from Roselle ...
Ed called and left a message on the weekend as well. A neighbor of ours back in the 80's (Bill Stratton) died from a brain tumor. I remember him but from 25 years ago but my older siblings might recall his name. I called him quickly as I had to give him an update and get the news. I owe his parents a call. Mrs. Jean gave us a beautiful quilt for Amanda way back when and Alexandra is currently using it to keep the light out of her bubble. When I say gave I meant hand made, hand stitched, sewn together. The old fashion way, with a tag that says "Made by Tony Jean". When I went to see Ali today I moved the quilt so I could see her face and she moved her hands over her eyes to cover the light. Then I put the quilt down and she moved them down again. So, I did it again and I think she got pissed at me and started to squirm to turn away. "Can't you see I am trying to sleep?" She will learn to say that from Liana who always shouts in a teenage voice "WHAT!" when you call her name. She will be tasting the pine-nutty sent of palmolive soap in her mouth one day soon. What I fear is her grabbing the soap on her own when she knows she deserves it. Ali is now up to 20ml of milk every 4 hours and they removed one of her lines as well.

A Crazy Tuesday

Why do soap operas seem so fake?

I usually get stuck around the 10 time frame watching General Hospital in the background during a pumping session. That is Jeanette's program umbilical that she had since a teenager. The show where half the characters are on the dark side of the law and the other half know it and love the danger but don't want to be part of it. The more I see it the more I dislike it, not for the sappy undeclared love each of them have for each other. Nor the friends swapping or predictability. Most have jobs but never work. It dawned on me when I looked over one evening, just before I was going to make a smart ass comment about Sunny not being too bright. Whenever they have conversations (90% of the time) they are doing nothing but looking at each other, within arms reach, and they do nothing but talk while looking at each other. No one is picking up an item. No attention diversions. No reading and listening. Just face-to-face conversations. What kind of unrealistic crap is that?

Early Pumping Issues

I received a call after the usual 8 am update "The pump is not working. Its broken." So we go through the obvious steps to resuscitate any appliance. Unplug, reset, try another outlet, kick, drop, etc. Nothing worked and the well was going to burst if a replacement isn't done soon. But a work to Kendall to Mercy to Kendall to work in the early morning hours was impossible. So Jeanette called and nearby friend and John was able to come to the rescue. He lives nearby and was able to pick her up, endure the ear bleeding update stories and return her for a nice long wait outside until Abuela could open the front door to let them in. A 90 minute trip could have turned out to be a half day event for me.

Alexandra Visits:

Amanda, Jeanette and Abuelo were able to visit during the afternoon. Amanda stood and held her hand (or was it Ali held Amanda's hand) for about an hour while Mom changed diaper twice (Ali peed on her the first time) and took her temperature. She is now weighing a few ounces more and taking 15ml instead of the 12ml yesterday. Jeanette was able to probe the nurse for about an hour of questions as she was a friend of a friend of a friend who had a dog that was named after the teacher they both had years ago. Technically the "Latin Underground" can have multiple fibers of connections, doesn't matter how many, how elaborate, or ridiculous, once they have at least 5 degrees of someone in common a bond of help is usually extended. I have witnessed this fact many times, and I don't argue or turn down a connection, just accept it. Anyways all I know is that NO ONE will be able to touch Alexandra once out of the hospital unless they scrub with soap prior. The biggest risk for her is everyone else at least for the first few months as she will not be able to fight off normal bacteria we take for granted. That means Amanda will be kicked out of the van door at school and asked to join a friend to class instead of the normal parental walk to and from class. Also, Liana will have to have a waterless soap dispenser attached to her back with a tube over her shoulder so she can clean her hands every 15 minutes or if she gets within 5 feet of Ali. I can make the soap dispenser with a backpack animal but I will have to figure out the distance detector.

My Crazy Issue

I had a quick 20 minute visit on the way home from work. Alexandra was sleeping after her touch time with Amanda and peeing in Mom. Not much movement. She looked good and is getting larger. I had to run to get 5lbs of cookie dough at BJ's for Amanda's large birthday cookie for class on Friday. I had an incident going back to the house that describes a Miami driver, lets call the person Asshole-A. Well I was trying to take a left before the corner of 72nd and 117th, which has 2 miles of traffic heading west. A suicidal turn but the other exit is worse so I waited behind a car turn left as well. Then a car driven by Asshole-A pulled on my left and tried to turn left in front next to me. Yes, Asshole-A in the "coming in" lane. Occasionally, Asshole-B drivers turn left from the right turn lane (which was open), but this driver had the balls to go out an entrance and force themselves into traffic. Lucky for me the west bound traffic was not letting the person out, despite Asshole-A's attempts to move into the road. Now Asshole-A was at a stop and I had to roll down the window to feel the breeze. Lucky for me I had plenty of change in my car (mostly pennies) so I grabbed a few and threw them at the car. Pling-Pling-Pling-Plong (the nickel). "Hey back UP Asshole!" Asshole-A ignoring me. Another handfull of coins ... Pling-Plang (quarter), Pling - Ding (windshield hit). "Yeah YOU asshole backup!!" in my drill instructor-like bellowing voice. Ahh, now the good part. Someone was trying to enter and Asshole-A was blocking the way. Well that person couldn't move in and Asshole-A still refused to put the car in reverse and backup 40 feet. Now I looked to my left at the west bound traffic and Asshole-A was blocking the entire lane since the other person couldn't enter or leave. Honking ensued and other cars behind me started to give their input. Well I actually had a break in traffic and I left. I doubt Asshole-A got out since a car was in front of them and three other cars behind me. I really couldn't believe the issue. And no this wasn't the first time it happened. But I can say it only happens in Miami. I will not get on my idiots driving banter as you already endured a small incident that most of us have seen one way or another. All I know is I don't put up with the shit and will not hesitate to say something. Especially when people park in front of Publix instead of a parking slot like the normal people. Now that one happened a couple months ago when I had both girls by myself. I was getting cash from the teller and a large pickup truck parks in front of the door and two large young kids get out and then their father a 6' something large chested dickhead (call him Asshole-B) gets out, walks to the door and puts on his vehicle alarm. I look behind him and see 4 open parking spaces just on the other side, about 20 feet away. "Hey, there are plenty spot behind you!" He looks at me like I am a piece of shit he could step on (and could if he got a clean shot). "Are you talking to me?!"

"Yes, as you can see" me pointing behind his large mellon head "there are." So he walks away as if I never said a word. Then Amanda asks me "Why is that man so rude and parks where he shouldn't?" My comments were "There are many people in this world that will do as they please no matter what is wrong, since most ignore it and leave them alone." Amanda's comment "That's sad."

"No Amanda" as I am now walking past him as he picks up an item "What's sad Amanda is that his children will learn from him and follow his lead. That is the sad part." I knew he heard me and I was waiting for a response. I memorized his tag number just in case something ensued. But Asshole-B was not seen again during the rest of the Publix visit. I bet if I didn't have the girls with me he would have done more than ignore me. Not sure if that was good or bad...

Saturday Night Live Skits I would love to see:

• A Sam Kinneson impersonation - what if he was a Legal Professor instead of a comedian. "Uh, why are you here taking your first class to become an attorney?" As he paces the large class, tapping his pointing stick on his other hand. In his sweet kind voice "You, preeety young teenage girl, why are you here?" "I want to uphold the law and defend the innocent from injustice like my Daddy." He then walks toward the center of the room "Wrong!!! You want to make MONEY, filthy gobs of the green shit. You want to LIE, STEAL, and CHEAT people from M-O-N-E-Y! You lying sweet young tart, but if you call me Daddy I will ...."
  
• How Things were really invented skit: an old Japanese man picks of a green glob, smells it. Examines it. Looks at the crap his wife just served him. Then smears some of it on the fish. Smells it again. Then gives it to his friend. "Try", ugh the friend doesn't want to eat the bad smelling fish. "Me not try, you!" "No smell" "I smell nothing" he hesitate and then he tastes it. His eyes swell, mouth opens, breaths deep, takes a sip of sake. "DAM, That's good!" And that was how (and why) wasabi was invented.

Another Manic Monday

I wish it were a Sunday, that's my fun day. The I don't have to run day...

Yeah, you know the song. Too bad my bed room voice is just a yawn and a good night.

Work was hectic, two additional projects that need to be done "immediately". One is for the Peace Corps, I have a tiny part of the big puzzle. I am amazed at how many government jobs we have now, which is good for us as they are long term, large contracts. Did you know the Library of Congress is the worlds largest collection of literature and information? Our company and facilities, stores, manages and secures (yes hacked every day) the entire site for the government. Take a look at the site http://www.loc.gov/index.html

Tons of great resources for kids and adults. Ok, lets forget about my Intranet redesign/migration, database clone and implement, Virtual Tour project, and presentation due today.

Jeanette calls me at 4:01, right when I was ending a meeting. Then on my desk phone, then again on my cell. Knowing I usually leave around 3:59 to 4:01. "Oh, so you are working late today I gather (which happens every leap year)."

"Uh, (looking at my watch) yeah, 4:04 you are right, working late again. Why?"
Late is a concept that we take for granted since in my terms it is an hour or less (as I tend to work at home and on the road-blackberry, a concept some can't gather).

"Well, I just found out touch time is at 6. Can you come pick me up. I will leave Liana with my Mom, and Amanda will be home at 5:30 from ballet. BUT you have to get here by 5:30 so we can get at the hospital on time. SOOOO, when are you leaving!?"

Thinking ... hmmm, I really gotta use the bathroom, a process that has been on hold for two meetings already. The current conversation already has me strapped at the desk and it's 4:10. "Ok, I think I can get out of here in 10 minutes, drive like a madman (more like a snail on US1 from downtown arena to the Falls). I should be there ..."

So we do it but I insist I don't go in the house since Liana will go nutz if I show my face and leave. She already gave me an issue during bath time: "Me no touch Alexandra. Me want to touch." and she said it in her sad tone. So we have to plan around the trauma that she can't see her at all other than pictures.

Needless to say we got to Ali early, before 5:30. And we both were able to touch and at least give her a caring hand. She is filling out more and more each day. I would love to show the pictures but my dam MacBook Pro does not work well with my Canon Rebel XT camera. Canon doesn't have the application drivers. I tried a VMWare work around with a Windows installation but the computer still has issues. So, I will do so soon.

Alexandra was warm and cozy in her nest. She has more hair than I do. Jeanette held the feeding bottle which is attached to a tube in her throat. She had 15ml in less than a couple minutes. I was able to change her diaper. She is soo tiny but not as fragile as we might think. Back in the Amanda days I had a fear of babies being fragile but Amanda was dropped a few times and I don't think she has suffered any other than being a clone of her Abuela (JK on all of her dropping). We stayed about an hour and took some great pictures. Her breathing is less erratic. More 40-80 than the 30-100+ pace.

I had some great responses and a ton more to cover this week. Previews of the topics to come:

• Oh shit Sharky ...
• Why are soap opera's so fake?
• Old friends popping up left and right
• Great SNL skit ideas
• The week long Princess Amadala's birthday requests (Amanda turns 6 on Thursday).
• Cookies and milk for the monsters
• When will Friday end
• Moving back home

Two Hours at a Time

Alexandra update first then story

Ali is now at 2.65 lbs, drinking 15ml of milk every 4 hours. Breathing less erractic while resting on her belly. I will be at the hospital after work today so I can update this later tonight if anything changes (usually for the good).

Currently on weekends our lives revolve around two hour increments. Every 2 hours Jeanette has to pump for milk. When we had Liana or Amanda during the "milking years" we just stopped and attached them discreetly, never really worrying too much about when and where. But now that Alexandria really needs real milk, not formula (better to digest, more protein, antibiotics, healthier for premie, etc) Jeanette has to pump on a schedule using a machine that needs to have an outlet. We talked about putting in the van with a dc converter but then we have a milk storage/cleaning equipment issue. So most of our day has to be planned around a 2 hour intervals where we have to be at home to pump. Now I understand what a vampire must go through when they need blood and/or avoid day light. Here is a small example of our Sunday in two hour intervals.

• 9 am - Wake up around 8, walk around like zombies, feed kids pop tarts (echos of the issues I hear: "but mine is burnt, I want cereal instead, juice no milk, milk no juice."). Drink coffee after giving Liana hers (yes she loves her 2 ounces of java on the weekend).


• 11 am - Get ready for mass, pump just before. I get the girls ready while I take a 2 minute shower/dump and no shave. Gotta cut corners just to get to mass 15 minutes late and we only have a 2 mile drive ... go figure.


• 1 pm - ARRG (like Charlie Brown says) Liana needs a nap! Amanda doesn't want one. Plan on leaving the two girls at Heidi's for "day with the kids" while we head home to pack up the Christmas tree, ornaments, and decorations. I run out to Publix to get food for the week while Jeanette puts the girls down for a nap. I realized the 30 people waiting at the deli would put me over the pumping time - to leave house issue.


• 3pm - Return from Publix, planned to drop girls off at Heidi's but Jeanette and Liana are sleeping on the sofa. We also need to get to hospital for 4pm touch time but miss our window. Abuela wishes to join, kids need to get the hell out so they can play and so I can get to the house. Jeanette pumps after 3 when I take the girls to Heidi's (2 hours later than planned) then both sisters take Abuela to hospital to see Alexandra. We had to make sure we had all pumping items packed for external use at our real house.


• 5pm - I get to house. Dam computer isn't working as my external usb connection flaked out. Intermittent Internet connection. Printed a handful of Ali pictures for family. Started to get house cleaned up. Jeanette gets to house after 5 "I gotta pump ... " running in scenario.


• 7pm - Put one out of 7 boxes of decorations away. Made a small dent. We realized it will take two efforts to get the house normal. We collected some needed crap and then got ready to leave to get kids. Had to pump before we left. Left milk at real house to freeze to avoid spoiling issue.


• 9pm - Left Heidi and Tony's house, had dinner without too many "kid" interruptions. Got home just after 9 for the "need to pump" issue. But we had to put the kids down, get crap out of van and get organized.


• 11pm - Last pumping for Jeanette (sounds like an oil well update) but I went to bed around 11:30, after emails, what's for Amanda's lunch, school, etc. This had to be the only day I can recall that I haven't seen Ali due to splitting our resources.

The Day of Smiles

The weekend finally hit after my first long week of work. I haven't had a five day work week since early December.

I took the 3 girls to the hospital to see Alexandra for her 4pm touch-time. We made it on time but I took Liana on a stroll around the hospital lake to enjoy the weather and let Lee sleep for a while. Jeanette took Amanda to see Ali and we would swap so she could be with Liana while I went. When I took Amanda in to see Alexandra and she was wide awake looking for us as we talked to her. For a moment she turned her head to see us, then gave us a huge grin that we both saw and went "Ahhhh". Her smile was a greeting that made us both happier. So with that in mind I list a handful of smiles from the day I had or observed:

• Sleeping for 7 hours straight, then Liana getting into bed and falling asleep allowing me to get 30 more minutes! No Papi, feed me, cartoons, just snuggled and slept (I thought she was sick at first)
• Petshop's toys at the Falls ... Amanda says "Now we have three places to get them, Toys R Us, Target and the Falls."
• The girls getting a simple helium balloon. Which in fact was the only gift we gave Amanda when she turned 1 and the best $4 gift I ever gave anyone. They continue to get amazed by a simple blown up item. I brought home two latex gloves from the hospital a while ago and blew them up. Dam things were around for days. I called them a balloon with utters.
• Liana watching the ducks in a pond at the hospital
• Gum, gum and more gum. Which make Jeanette frown as she feels the girls teeth will fall out with every chew.
• Spending 2 hours walking around the Falls outdoor mall on a perfect winter day (mid 70's)
• Getting to Publix for a sub and only waiting 3 minutes! Very rare, happened only one other time in my life and that was when the Bears went to the Super bowl

Gravity Boots?

Do you own a pair of Gravity Boots we can borrow?

If so we will use them along with our rented hospital grade Medela milking machine to help Jeanette produce the demanded supply of milk Alexandra needs. All we do is turn her upside down and start milking, let gravity help. The only issue is keeping Jeanette near an outlet so when the machine is hooked up it will work while upside down.  This may even reduce her phone time (if she doesn't use her new headset that is). Alexandra is now drinking 4ml of milk an hour, per hour, every hour, all day! Technically that is not that much milk but for a person that never produced a lot pumping it is.

Here are some Dallas Cowboy jokes a coworker passed around to our Cowboy nuts.

Q. The Texas State Police are cracking down on speeders heading into Dallas.
A. For the first offense, they give you 2 Dallas Cowboy tickets. If you get stopped a second time, they make you use them.

Q. What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
A. The Dallas Cowboys

Q. What do the Dallas Cowboys and Dr.Billy Graham have in common?
A. They both can make 70,000 people stand up and yell "Jesus Christ".

Q. How do you keep a Dallas Cowboy out of your yard?
A. Put up a goal post.

Q. What do you call a Dallas Cowboy with a new Super Bowl ring?
A. A thief.

Q. What's the difference between the Dallas Cowboys and a dollar bill?
A. You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill!

Q. How many Dallas Cowboys does it take to win a Super Bowl?
A. Nobody remembers and we can't seem to find out!

Q. What do the Cowboys and a possums have in common?
A. Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!

FYI, the Gravity Boot request is a joke, if you didn't already figure the humor part out.

The Longest Day

I never got to see Alexandra on my usual 5pm time coming home since I had to see my Pulmonologist for my 6 month check up. Which is really a 2 hour waste to get my 3 month prescription for my new insurance. As a kid I thought I had hay fever but really I am allergic to Cats (level 4), Dogs (level 2), Dust (level 3), Pine (level 2), Peanut Butter (level 4), Mameluke pollen (level 2), and more. So I tell the doctor about my stupid "vertigo" episode a few months ago where my whole life for a couple days was a spinning carousel, standing, sitting and especially laying down. To make a long story short I had NO signs after various tests of vertigo so I assumed it was my Allegra D medicine that keeps my allergies down that caused the dizziness since on the warning label it says "May cause dizziness on some lab rats".


My doctor yesterday gave me the puzzled look that I was an idiot (the same look I give when someone asks me what a right-click is). All he kept telling me was "Stay away from peanuts". But I was dizzy "Stay AWAY from peanuts" and then after the vertigo test "STAY away FROM peanuts" and then when the blood result was negative "STAY a-WAY from Pea" YEAH I get the message. You think I digested a stupid nut that then made me dizzy. "NO. They will KILL you. That's what I am saying". His words were just that, blunt like a mace on the head. He didn't warm the words up, put them in a package with a bow ... "THEY will KILL you, as they did another patient I had last year."

So I payed my $25 deductible to hear that a small nut (not one in a car) can kill me. So if you see me with a Snickers bar, feel free to tackle me as if I had a revolver, inserting a bullet, spinning the chamber.

On the way home I didn't see Ali and got to the in-laws around 5:30. The house looked like crap. Inside all of the girl's toys, possessions, etc. were ALL over. Then I get hit in the private area as Liana runs up and hugs me with a head butt yelling "Pop-eee" (that's a Latin Popi, short for Papa, Dad, etc. for all us gringos). Then after looking around Amanda was a zombie watching a cartoon and Mommy was a zombie reading her eyelids. So I pull out the firefighter hat and try to find the largest blaze and deal with that issue before I get to the wildfire,sporadic crap on the floor in the living room issue. Then I remember my CTO's word's of wisdom about family life "Play zone defense, not man-to-man and things will be easier". So I take off the fireman hat and put on my pads ... what offensive package are the girls in ... Mommy tired, can't sleep, Amanda zoned on the TV, Liana ... needs attention, house looks like hell, need dinner, kids tired, cranky, irritable, Abuelo trying to work in office, Abuela in bedroom. That's the standard 2 tight end, 2 receivers and a halfback package. So I deal with Liana who had the ball and got her attention diverted while I then dealt with the 2 tight ends (Amanda and Mommy) to see what I needed to do for dinner. The two receivers were out of the play, not even blocking which was good. And during the next 3 hours here where the issues I had to deal with while protecting the end zone:

• Dinner: Abuela made spaghetti for Amanda. Liana will eat the picadillo from Abuelo yesterday. I will eat both. Jeanette will eat whatever I give her (including the salad she didn't expect).


• Popi Gum: Liana's badgering for gum and/or candy. Then snack, food or any "comida". Points to mouth like Baby Huey "I'm hungry" look.


• Bed Time: both kids were exhausted from the late bowling night an no naps.


• Eating: food but no one interested in current dinner menu


• Boredom: Liana needed to expend energy and was getting irritable with her current mess making means of gaining attention.


• Sled Time: Amanda pushed Liana around the house on my car's booster seat, which does look and act like a sled when on tile. "Faster, Faster!" was all Liana could say while being pushed by a laughing Amanda. I actually got some video of this event.


• Slide on Steps: The girls decided to make a slide on the foyer steps using the padded play mats. After I watched their antics of sliding down, I re-engineered the slope for ease of use and more speed. Abuelos didn't like the sport too much. My comment "you are lucky they are girls"


• Fort: Girls wanted to make a fort out of the same play mats. So I engineered a cube large enough to enclose them both with a door. Then the search for a flashlight and pillows ensued.


• Where's Dumbo: Amanda couldn't find her Dumbo who was crucial to her rem sleep. After she searched all the same rooms with me more than twice. I told her between sobs to look where you haven't. Found Dumbo in kitchen on chair.


• Bath time: Give girls a bath, decided the two at once was easier than one at a time. Biggest issue who's the sap to go first and get out first. Always an argument.


• Brush teeth: Getting them to do it is hard due to distractions. They both brush well and do so without help but stopping the search for Dumbo, water, books, flashlight, etc. gets tedious.


• Bedtime: My word for get to sleep I need to relax. Another laboring task to get both at the same time down on the bed so we can start the bed time story and book argument.


• Story time: What is read, who picks, what was promised or read previously, what time it is, how good they are, who is crankiest. All those go into my database to then give me the best quickest story/book to read.


• Tia shows up: An unexpected visit (from anyone) wreaks havoc as they have to hug, talk, play and ignore the entire evening project plan (no one gets it).


• Mommy Feeling Sick: The last item - Beba's flan put Jeanette over the edge wanting to puke. I had visions of the December Disney food poisoning episode of her blow projectile chunks all over the living room ... must change defense and clean living room.


• Clean Mess: Moved all toys, crap, clothes, etc. to Dinning room table so kids couldn't reach and so cleaning lady can clean living room floor tomorrow. Placed all lose items in one bag, all items I deemed trash in trash. The girls know my rule "If I think it's trash, it is. If it's out and gone I threw it out." Which makes Liana stick her whole body in the trash to flush out some bead, necklace or crayon I disposed of earlier.

We had a great interuption when we were eating. Some of our parent friends from Amanda's class got together and got us a week of dinners from Dream Dinner. Which are premade frozen meals you microwave or bake. That will make our lives a bit easier, not having to worry about grocieries or "what's for dinner" on some days.

I actually got to relax around 10'ish when Jeanette surfaced from her sickness stating she wanted to see Alexandra. I advised her it was windy, raining, we are tired, you look awful, you need rest more than you need to visit. So after back and forth disagreement banter I get her to settle for: Call the nurse and check on her status. If anything bothers you I will get in the car and take you there. OK, she makes the call next to me. I hear: "Ok, yeah, she's good. Ahh gained a bit, doing well breathing, Yeah, awe that's cute. OK, so she's sleeping, no touch time. Well thanks for your update, have a good night."
I mentally relax as the season premier of Damage is about to begin. I get excited, thinking I may actually like this FX program like I did the Shield and start a new weekly program, which I rarely ever do. "OK, lets go." I look at her like she's on crack asking for a twenty spot. "Huh? Didn't the nurse just tell you all is well and quiet on the Ali front?"
"Yep, I want to see her now!" as she got up with energy and vigor, not looking like a zombie. "If you don't take me someone will." I mentally listed the someone down to her Dad, who for most of his life with kids had been a taxi driver at will.
"OK, I will take you." No argument, no talk, just got the shoes and took her out. She had the mother talk and drive that told me a boulder wouldn't stop her from going and she wasn't going to sleep well unless she saw her every day she was in the hospital. No matter what.
That is the hard part about all of this, NICU work on the parent end. You feel helpless that someone else has your child and the least you can and should do is see them. Not just the child but the nurses and doctors who are doing nothing but keeping you child alive so you can take them home as if they had a normal birth. Some may never get that joy. Others will but may have issues. So I guess, leaving the house was a wise choice. It is so easy to do nothing.
We returned, happier than when we left. Ali was fine, cute and breathing. All was well as I looked at the tv and the last statement I remember was "We hope you enjoyed the commercial free season premier of Damage." I thought to myself, yes I did.
So I gathered my crap and went to bed, thinking I had to do something tomorrow other than send an email. Hence this blog and long entry. Not a normal one but a start. This is actually a test for work as I am designing and implementing a new version of our intranet. Bloging is one of the new features I need to get better at so I am testing and eating my own dog food. I remember looking at the clock 12:01 Thursday just began and I leave you with the last image I remember before falling asleep...