Geyercats--"Tails" from Longmont, CO

2004-05-04T20:52:00.000-06:00

Two weeks gone already?
Gracie is doing well and has become a wonderful part of our family. I will admit that it is sometimes scary when I realize there are three little people to keep track of...Fortunately, Gracie doesn't stray too far from where I have set her down.

Oh, here she is again looking for a little snack...that would explain how I'm spending most of my day.

2004-04-04T15:07:00.000-06:00

Noisy backyard!

We are under attack from a variety of birds and squirrels this afternoon. The backyard is quite busy and noisy. The girls are enjoying the yard again, doing bubbles, kicking a ball around and discussing the various daffodils and plants that are showing up. Madeline is quite enamored with eating the leaves from my lemon balm plant.

Drolma spent the night with "her Amy" and will return home this evening. Madeline, Lewis and I went to church for Palm Sunday. Madeline was especially pleased to have a palm to wave about. Then she thought it looked like a big pen or crayon and attempted to write with it on her bulletin.

16 days to go!

2004-03-30T16:07:00.000-07:00

Watering the flowers...
Since April showers haven't arrived yet, the girls are outside watering my flower beds. They'll be completely soaked when they come in. Fortunately, it's about 70 degrees or so here, so I think they'll avoid pneumonia.

I'm a little sad about my gardens this year because I recently learned that the man who taught me to garden, Bill Corbett, died last July. Some of you might remember that Lewis and I worked with Bill on his Friendship Garden project--a memorial to his wife Frances. They were both lovely and amazing people who built an incredible "underground" house on her family's farmland. Their vegetable gardens and fruit trees were amazing (I tasted my first persimmon there from one of their trees.) and the herb garden was like an encyclopedia. Is there anything more delightful that watching something grow and helping it along? Bill and Frances are together again in their garden and I am grateful to have spent time there with them, too.

Girls are back inside in fresh and dry clothes eating some oatmeal, almond and chocolate chip cookies that they helped me make. "Dewishus," Madeline raves. It's still hard to be home on this faux "bed rest" business, but I sure am enjoying my family and the time to do things with them.

2004-03-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!Well, I am home, but there's no jiggety jig or much else going on! Thrilled to be out of the hospital and hope that the next time I'm in I return home in short order with a nice, fat, healthy baby. Thanks again to all of our friends and family who visited, called, brought food and gifts and helped us through!

2004-03-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

Three more things...
1. Thanks to Mike, Jackie, Evan and Riley for the wonderful box o' treats that arrived today--especially the LUCKY CHARMS! They ARE magically delicious and a perfect treat for St. Patty's Day!
2. Thank you to Wanda for the lovely bag o' manicure stuff that also arrived today! I did manage to reach my feet today. The results aren't salon quality, but if I don't put my glasses on, it doesn't look too bad.
3. Finally, I can't let St. Patrick's Day pass without *singing* my favorite Irish song. This one goes out to Judy K and the hope that one day we'll resurrect the "Kegs and Eggs" event and horrify our children. Here goes:

Oh, McTavish is dead and his brother don't know it,
His brother is dead and McTavish don't know it,
They're both lyin' dead in the very same bed
And neither one knows that the other is dead.

2004-03-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

As much as a sack of sugar...
According to my ultrasound on Tuesday, the baby was 4.9 lbs--nearly as much as a bag of sugar. I think Matthew/Gracie is probably now well over the 5-mark since the wonderful Chocolate/Grand Marnier milk shake my friends Janella and Marty brought me yesterday...All signs point toward me going home on Tuesday for a few more weeks of bedrest.

Mary continues to be a wonderful help to us all. The girls are doing pretty well, though I wonder if Drolma isn't feeling a little blue lately. I think it must be funny for her to see me here and remember her own time at Shriner's. She's going to go to a special Tibetan school on Saturday. I think this will be a great help for her. I hope to find something special for Madeline to do this summer and we're looking into pre-schools for her for this fall. (And thinking we have a deadline for potty training that will come a little bit sooner than kindergarten.)

That's what I know. CAN'T wait to get home, lose this IV thingie and eat food from our own kitchen. Why must the word "cafeteria" be synonymous with "instant mashed potatoes?" A conundrum for the ages?

2004-03-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

Spa Retreat--Day Three
Thanks to all of my lovely visitors and bringers of non-hospital meals! So far, so good. The baby continues to show a strong heartbeat during my three-times daily monitoring session and seems to enjoy my visits to the therapy pool. There I have learned that I'm one of the healthiest gals here and have stopped talking much about my woes. Even at 32 weeks, our little one will certainly be happy and healthy in short order. Not the case for all of the little ones who arrive here.

Madeline, Mary Geyer and Lewis came to see me Friday morning. Madeline is especially enamored with my special bed and the remote for the TV. At each channel, she stopped and said, "Mommy, I'll watch this now." Each channel was "watched" for all of 30 seconds. With more than 50 to scroll through, this activity took up a nice part of her time with us.

My mother-in-law, Mary, now a candidate for sainthood, has taken on the added challenge of trying to potty train Madeline. See the silver lining in this hospital stay for me!? I'm thrilled and plan to get some of Mary's DNA for cloning purposes.

Thanks for all of your calls and e-mails. Remember, I'm looking for more good jokes--keeps the nurses thinking I'm cute and funny.

2004-03-10T22:48:00.001-07:00

Greetings from another hospital bed...I'm at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Hosp. in Denver now for the next two weeks or so...not happy about all of the sittin' around I'll be doing, but I know it's the best thing for me and the little doodle. So another test of my ability to take it easy and to make some lemonade out of these lemons. I do get to go into a pool twice a day and I'm not strapped to anything. They may even let me make a break down to the lobby to the cart with the guy who makes lattes. There's hope in every dark corner. Right?

Already so grateful to have had friends and family come by--especially Mary Geyer, my mother-in-law. She's catching a plane tomorrow to help with the girls and the house and to keep Lewis from filling the backyard with big trucks. Apparently my lesson for this year is all about learning to ask for and accepting help from people...

More soon. What else do I have to do?

Want to call? My direct line is 303 839 7386 or my cell at 303.478.4126.
Bring jokes!

2004-03-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

2004-03-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Day Spa...
Well, that's my PR spin on having to spend some time at Longmont United this week...so far, so good. I think I'll be working primarily from home from now on, which is just fine!

More interesting, I think, is the fabulous pumpkin pie I had for lunch today. The rest of the "room service" menu is consistently dreadful, but my nurse recommended the pie and I'm glad I followed orders. If I'm here for dinner, I'm having pie. (This is the kind of spa that lets you customize your own diet.)

Drolma continues to do so well. She's thrilled to be back in school with her pal, Giovanna. Mrs. Cook returns today from a two-day absence. I know Drolma misses her though she was quite polite about the substitue.

Madeline is busy as ever. She painted a remarkable likeness of an apple on Sunday. Of course, it's proudly displayed on the fridge and she's quite pleased to be reminded of her accomplishment.

More soon!

2004-02-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Busy day on Frontier Place!
The "blind" guy came today so after nearly a year with our new windows (and siding) we finally have new blinds on the south-facing windows. Not a great news bit, I know, but for me a major victory. Those paper shades weren't intended to last this long. Wonder if the neighbors will be disappointed or elated because they won't be getting glimpses of the Geyer family in their jammies any longer?

Drolma is still enjoying her swingy new haircut and has returned to embellishing with as many clips and other hair accessories. She is excited about returning to school on March 1. Next step will be a visit to the eye doctor (next Thursday). Her friend from Sunday School, Alissa, wears glasses and I suspect that Drolma will choose a pair like hers. By the way, Madeline calls Alissa "My Wissa."

I'm off for my regular check in with the OB this afternoon. Down to three-week intervals for these visits for a while, then two and one. Just about 11 weeks to go before we know just who's coming to dinner (and breakfast, lunch and 2 a.m. snacks).

2004-02-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

Cleaned up Drolma!
Last night Drolma was able to shower and wash her hair after nearly a month and a half. She was very happy about this adventure and we managed just fine. Today is the Valentine's Day party at school. We'll be swinging by for that event, with Madeline in tow. She declared yesterday that she "loves Mrs. Cook." So do we.

Glad to be home from my short trip to Vermont. Took three planes and two shuttles, but I managed to get in about three hours earlier than I expected. This week I leave for Iowa on Sunday night and will be back on Tuesday. I expect I'll be returning to VT in March as well as making some trips to South and maybe North Carolina. Got to get all of my client visits in before the baby comes.

Not too late to start a pool on the baby's due date. I'm "pushing" for April 30.

2004-02-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

We're getting ready for Drolma's return tomorrow! She'll likely have a walker to use for a while, but I think just getting back to familiar territory will help her make another leap in her recovery. Huge thanks to Jeannie for making her third trip out to CA and bringing Drolma home to us!

We're finally having some winter here. It has been snowing since Tuesday night. Lewis and Madeline are out right now shoveling the walks and feeding the hungry birds. The jays really prefer the cat food we leave outside for Cookie and Stealth (and the raccoons). The flickers are pleased to have new suet. The squirrels are always grateful for more sunflower seeds.

Lewis was surprised with the night off last evening. We took Madeline to Sakura (sushi place). They have some specially rigged chopsticks just for kids. Madeline was very good at using them to eat her "noo-doos" and discovered they also make interestiong hair ornaments.

I received the Wilkes alumni magazine this week (I know I didn't graduate from that university, but it seems like I was there long enough to have earned a degree or two.) and was very sad to learn that our friend Col. Bill Corbett died last July. It had been about five years since we were able to visit him. I'm sorry that we didn't make the time to do so more often. I imagine that he and Frances are enjoying their time together again and making some beautiful gardens...

That's what I know. More soon!

2004-01-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

2004-01-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

Try this to see a photo from our recent posting to Snapfish. I'm not finding a way to show photos here yet, just text.

2004-01-21T17:06:00.000-07:00

I'm still figuring this out and didn't like the first "sub-head" so let's see what this does.

2004-01-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

I'm back to blogging and hoping that this will be a good resource for friends and family to keep up with news about Lewis, Madeline, Drolma, new baby and me.

A lot of our energy is focused on Drolma, our Tibetan foster child, and her next surgery at Shriners Hospital in Los Angeles. Scoliosis is an awful thing and the treatment for advanced cases seems archaic, but is provind effective. With two weeks of constant traction, Drolma's spine has straightened by 50%! Thanks, of course, to her surgeon Dr. Rick Bowen.

Meanwhile, Madeline is just as cute as can be and full of thoughts, words and ideas about what to do (or eat) next. "How about candy for breakfast, Mommy? Let's have m's, m's, m's, OK?"

And "Baby Wiggles" continues to grow nicely and busily, too! Lewis and I have settled on some names, but have no plans to preview them...or you could choose to believe that we are going with either:
Cleopatra Clementine
or
Horatio Aloysius
(surely we'll figure out how to spell it by the time he gets here)