A Great Morning with Sawyer

I LOVED my morning! I woke up early and headed up to Broomfield to watch 3-year old Sawyer participate in a soccer game. As soon as his team had a snack break, he ran toward Allen and then gave me two huge hugs! I know hugs aren't a big deal, but this kid isn't wildly affectionate, so this was big news in Auntie-land!It was so fun to watch Sawyer on the field. He's clearly one of the youngest on his team - he's a little slower and not as agile as his teammates - but he's getting the hang of the sport and he clearly loves playing with the other kids.

After the game, he and I walked with Allen back to the car and he offered me his gloved-hand so my hands wouldn't get cold. Love the chivarly!

We stopped at their house for a few minutes so Sawyer could change his clothes and open his Easter presents from Mom and I. Mom bought him Lacrosse sticks, which didn't seem to hold too much interest, as well as five Jack & Annie books, which were huge hits! He loves these little chapter books about the adventures of two kids, so Mom filled him up with his own collection.While I was at the house, I saw Walker for the first time, but he was super fussy, so I held him for about 30 seconds before Allen and Jocelyn took him and settled him down. I'm choosing not to count this as my first meeting!

Allen, Sawyer and I then headed off to brunch, which was so fun. On the way to the restaurant I asked Sawyer to tell me all about the Jack and Annie books (they sound adorable) and what he liked the most about Walker - "When he's calm." - and what he liked the least - "Nothing. I love all of him." So cute!

At the breakfast table, I asked him what he had learned at school this week, and so began a five-minute conversation about space.He told me all about the planets - Jupiter is the biggest and Saturn has rings - and that man had walked on the moon. He then explained that it was a race between countries to see who would reach the moon first and he proudly announced, "We Won!" I asked him who won and he replied, "the United States. We took an American flag to the moon and when the man walked on the moon he put the flag down so that everyone would know that we won." That pretty much sums up the space race!

After brunch, we went back to Allen's house and Sawyer and I marched directly upstairs for quiet time. I had started to read his Jack and Annie book at brunch and he got me to agree to read four chapters. But, before quiet time, he had to give me a quick tour of his bedroom...he loves his superhero decals...and then snuggle into his bed to read three chapters of his book. When I finally said goodbye, he snuggled right onto my lap, put his head on my shoulder and let me rock him back and forth for about 5 minutes. Pure heaven for an Aunt!!

I asked when I could come back to play and was told "Friday." It's a plan!

Snow??

Someone needs to tell the Big Man upstairs that it's April 30! I woke this morning to a thin blanket of snow on Mom's lawn. This is wrong, wrong, wrong.

It's Spring - daffodils, tulips, linen. No more snow!

Say What??

I'm back in Denver this weekend to check on Mom's progress with her recovery. Aunt Mary flew in last Sunday and spent the week with her and I think she made good progress over the past five days. She seems to be a bit peppier and more alert.

This morning, after coming home from taking Mary to the airport, I came into the family room eating a piece of Romano's pizza that Mom had ordered last night. Here's our conversation:

"You know, I couldn't eat that pizza last night. It was too hot."

"Yes, you're right. The pepperoni is a little spicy."

"Oh, is it the pepperoni? I was concerned that Romano's had hired too many Mexicans and they were starting to put hot sauce in the pizza sauce."

SAY WHAT???

Ladies and Gentlemen, Liz is BACK! The drugs are wearing off and these little gems will start flowing again!

The Royal Wedding

Call me ridiculous. Call me silly. Call me a romantic. I don't care! At 2a.m. this morning - three hours after I arrived in Denver from Philadelphia - I woke up and settled in to watch Prince William marry his college sweetheart, Kate Middleton.I remember Mom and Dad waking me up in 1981 to watch Prince William's parents, Diana and Charles, marry at St. Paul's Cathedral. That is a totally magical memory - it was just the three of us in our pajamas with mugs of hot chocolate - so I had to show up to see their son marry this morning.

Susan called me at 3:10 a.m. and she and I sat together and watched the event unfold. Eventually Mom and Aunt Mary joined in watching and the four of together commented on the fashion. Such as the dress! It's beautiful - simple, yet stunning.I loved Susan't observation that Kate Middleton "is wearing a weird headband." I had to inform the little darling that this is a royal wedding, and as such, that "weird headband" is a diamond tiara! What a peasant!

Kate's sister, Pippa. I LOVE this dress!I thought the mothers and grandmother also looked terrific!Here's her reception dress - I love this too!Some of the guests also looked outstanding. I loved these looks:.And then there was the dreadful. What on earth were Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice thinking? They look like Cinderella's ugly stepsisters next to Kate Middleton!Does Princess Anne ever look like she isn't riding broom handle? Put a bloody smile on your face! How could she think this awful patterned purple disaster would work??Awful.The whole wedding went off without a hitch, and it was such fun to sit and watch with the ladies of my family.

Romantic Treasures

While I've been home helping Mom, I saw this collection of old letters on top of her television. They're letters between my Mom and Dad in 1965, as well as a couple of letters from my Grandma Shelden to my Mom. How fun are these?I haven't read any of them, but I love the old look and feel of them. They're definitely treasures to hold on to!

Mom's Post-Surgery Recovery

Mom had her surgery on Monday and everything went well, which is a big relief to Susan, Allen and I. Susan was in Denver from Saturday to Wednesday and took responsibility for standing guard while Mom was in surgery and then while she was recovering for the first 48 hours.

Unfortunately, Mom developed a couple of minor complications - pneumonia and a decline in her oxygen levels - so that required her to stay in the hospital two days longer than anticipated. When I arrived on Thursday morning, she was still in the hospital and wasn't doing great. She was very drowsy and loopy on the pain meds and had a hard time moving around her bed. She was also hooked up to an oxygen tank that will now be her best friend for the near future.

We decided on Thursday afternoon to go ahead and discharge her from the hospital because there wasn't anything they could do for her that we couldn't do at home. So, on Thursday afternoon, she rustled herself out of bed and we made our way back to Littleton with the trusty oxygen tank.

A couple hours after we arrived home, the home-healthcare company came and delivered six oxygen tanks and an oxygen converter that plugs into the wall and delivers a constant stream of oxygen. Poor Mom has this oxygen tube up her nose and a 50-foot cord connecting her to the wall unit. The good part is that we don't have to wheel around an oxygen tank, so that makes life a little easier. However, she constantly has to drag this 50-foot cord with her whereever she goes.

It's now Saturday, and we've been home for 36 hours. While she's still definitely recovering - she slept 22 hours yesterday - she's doing surprisingly well, I think. She's getting herself up and off the couch and bed; she's showering on her own; she's making her own tea and snacks; and she's walking around the perimeter of the house for a little exercise. She's much stronger than she was on Wednesday, so that's progress!

I'm scheduled to leave tomorrow evening, but I'm coming back on Thursday night to check on her again. Allen, Susan and I were all a little nervous about leaving her with this oxygen situation, especially going up and down the stairs, so we've arranged for Aunt Mary to come in from Canada to sit with her from Sunday night to Friday morning. I think we're all breathing a sigh of relief that someone will be with her for 24 hours while she's in the second week of recovery. Hopefully, by next weekend, she'll feel a little perkier.

Baby Johnson

During last weekend in New York, Julianna told us of the possibility that a baby would soon be available for adoption. Her good friend, Sarah, has a sister named Valerie, who is pregnant with her sixth child. Valerie is a very sad case - she lives on the streets; has a history of alcohol and drugs; and is just this side of mentally competant. This baby is her sixth child with the same man, but all of her children have been placed for adoption within the family. Sarah has one son and Sarah's brother, Ryan, has the other four children. Both Sarah and Ryan, as well as their other siblings, are unable to take the sixth child, so they've looked to Cody and Julianna as possible parents.

When Juju was telling us about the baby, she was saying that she and Cody had a lot to discuss in the next four to six weeks before the baby's arrival. The timing is simply terrible - Cody's in Saudi Arabia and she's in the states to put their Park City house on the market - but they very much want a second child, and as the saying goes, "there's no good time to get pregnant" or in this case "there's no good time to adopt a baby."

Well, what she thought would be four to six weeks turned into 24 hours. Valerie delivered a healthy six pound, six ounce boy on Monday, April 11.Julianna immediately went into overdrive and the past several days have been a whirlwind of activity for the Johnsons and all of their friends. I've been busy coordinating flights, hotel reservations, free apartments, free cars, pack-n-plays, meals, you name it over the past few days.

They took guardianship of the baby on Friday, but they have a long legal process ahead of them. As of today, Valerie has been institutionalized for 30 days because a judge has not deemed her mentally fit to make a decision about adoption. While this is unfortunate for Valerie, it's especially unfortunate for Juju and Cody. The judge's decision means they need to stay in Virginia and will not receive an adoption consent for at least 30 days. In the meantime, Cody needs to leave for Saudi Arabia this coming Sunday as he has no vacation time with his new job. I think Juju is doing all that she can not to freak out about being left in Virginia with a 2-year old and a 2-week old.Over the weekend, they stayed at Susan's, while Susan was in Denver. Jill and I did our best to try to make everything as easy as possible, including provide play time with Louie and hands-on care of the little guy (whom they haven't named since he may not stay with them). He's a sweet little baby...I almost can't believe how tiny he is...who I held multiple times over Saturday and Sunday.Tonight, Aunt Chappy hit the apartment and taught Louie all about rolling and throwing balls. She even threw in a little anatomy lesson, which Louie did not think was funny!I'm heading back to Pittbsurgh tomorrow morning, and I feel terrible leaving her behind. I'm heading to Denver this weekend to care for Mom, otherwise, I'd be chipping in somehow.

Hopefully, this will all evolve as smoothly as possible, given the restrictions and conditions around Valerie. It'd be so fun to see my friends continue to build their sweet family!

Stay tuned...

Requesting One "New Dad"

Susan is in Denver this week to help Mom post-surgery and to see the two littlest members of the Shelden Clan.

As a treat for Sawyer, she and Allen took him to a Colorado Rockies baseball game, where he had his first taste of cotton candy...a treat that he decided he liked...a lot! As cute as this little guy is, apparently he has a bit of a "streak" in him. In the midst of some discipline from Allen recently, Sawyer announced to Allen that he wants "a new Dad that doesn't make me follow the rules and lets me make bad choices. I want a Dad who doesn't do his job."

Hilarious!

One Month Old!

No, that's not a baseball mitt my new nephew is holding. That's just his hand!

Here's Walker on his 1 month birthday. Is it just me or does this kid look like he's already big enough to hold a football?!?

Continental Airlines is the Hero of the Day!

Over the past four years, I've become a bit notorious for cutting my airport runs close. I usually leave my house or office exactly one hour from the plane's departure time, which USUALLY gives me plenty of time to park, get through security and still be the first one boarding.

Except today.

Julianna and I headed out of the city together and took the NJ Transit train to Newark Airport. We both thought that if we headed to the train station at 3pm for our 5:30pm flights, we'd be fine. And in theory, we would have been. Except for the following details:

- Upon arriving at the airport with 12 minutes to spare before the 45-minute cut-off, Julianna went to American Airlines and I went to US Air. After waiting in ilne for ten minutes, I discovered through trial and error that my flight wasn't on US Air, but rather on Continental. Minor panic.

- After a quick goodbye to Juju, I rushed over to the Continental ticket desk, where I was checked in by a friendly employee and told to take my luggage to the security screener. Then he looked at my ticket and said, "Wait, you need to be in Terminal A." Not a problem, except I'm in Terminal C and I now have 30 minutes until my flight leaves. Increasing panic.

- I miss the airtrain by seconds and have to wait 4 minutes. Doesn't sound like a long time but when you're still on the wrong side of the TSA screening process with 26 minutes to spare, it's an eternity.

- Train finally dumps me at Terminal A, where I dump my bag with a Continental agent and then run down to the security line. It's at least a 45 minute wait. Major panic.

- Go back up and find a Continental agent, who takes gracious pity on me. When discovering that I've checked a bag, he makes it his mission to get me on my flight. He escorts me through the Airline Employees Only line and allows me to bypass no less than 300 people. Phew. His parting words: "You're at Gate 85...it's at the end." It's now 5:13 and my flight's at 5:29. Awesome.

- Get through security with little issue and then begin the long hustle to Gate 85 only to discover the gate door has been shut. "#$($#*(&!)~&#($&(%!!!" is what I thought. But, I didn't say it, so kudos to me! It's now 5:18.

- I run to the window to see if the jetbridge is still connected to the plane...I will not be above banging on the gate's door.

- A Continental flight attendant is standing there and offers to see if I'm at the right gate. Sure enough, at that moment comes the final boarding announcement at a gate down the escalator and around the corner. Again, I think "&#$#*$&#(#$&!!!"

- I tear down the stairs and practically run over a grandmother and make it to the ticket agent huffing and puffing. Literally. My hair is now every which way; my crap is piled in my hands because I grabbed it off the security belt and didn't put it back in my bag; and I'm sweating in places I didn't know I had sweat glands!

- I walk outside to walk on to the plane and what do I see being loaded by the baggage handlers? My checked luggage!!!! How in hell that bag made it to the plane I'll never know, but as I walked onto the exceedingly full plane (it's exceedingly full when you're the last one to board) with sweat dripping down my face and back, I committed to the following:

1. Double check which airline you're flying!
2. Account for the fact that not every airport is as small as Pittsburgh or as efficient as a non-hub airport, like National.

-

Yayas Take New York

After an almost 18-month absence, I finally went to New York again with Amber, Chappy and Juju, who is state-side for a few weekends from her new home in Saudi Arabia. It was so fun to be back together with my friends - it's been a long time since we'd been to the Big Apple together. Our weekend was quick, but we packed a lot in - food, laughter and shows!
Amber and I arrived together early Friday afternoon and immediately hit Red Stone pizzeria, which is across the street from our hotel. I don't know if the pizza was ultra good or if we were just starving, but it was delicious!! After a quick lunch, she and I headed over to 30 Rockefeller Center, where we watched a tapping of the Jimmy Fallon Show, which was so much fun. !!Amber is a huge fan of Jimmy Fallon, so she was really excited to see him. I have to say, he's adorable. When he popped onto stage, he was immediately "on" and he delivered a great show. His guests were Uma Thurman, Anthony Andrews (comedian) and a chef with a new hot restaurant in Harlem. The guests were a lot of fun and Jimmy provided a lot of laughs.After the show, Amber and I headed back home - the Marriott, of course - where we connected with Juju. It was so fun to see our Middle Eastern friend sans abaya! The three of us headed over to the Upper West Side, where we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Pomodoro. We all ordered our usual caesar salad and chicken with goat cheese in a sherry wine sauce...yum! Dinner was delicious!

We jumped a cab to head back to the hotel, when I was hit with "the boo" as Cody calls it. One minute you don't have to go to the bathroom, and the next you do...immediately. Fortunately, our cab ride was only 15 blocks, but I was deep breathing by the time we hit our hotel. When the driver hit the brakes, I flew out of the car and ran down the lobby steps to the public bathroom. Not a good scene!

Chappy arrived around 11:00 and immediately had us all laughing. That girl loves a stage, even if it is only at the foot of two double beds!

On Saturday, we woke up and fulfilled Amber's one dream..to eat at Max Brenners Chocolate Cafe. It's a very fun restaurant at Broadway and 13th that puts chocolate on absolutely everything. Even with our omelets, we all had a small side dish of melted chocolate. Nothing wrong with that!

We shopped around the downtown area for just a little bit, before grabbing a cab to head to midtown, where we went to see a play called Good People, starring Frances McDormand and Jill's friend, Tate Donovan. It'd been a while since I saw a non-musical show in New York, so it was a nice change of pace and I really enjoyed the play. There was a lot of language - why does there always have to be a lot of coarse language?? - but the story and acting were very good.

Afterward, we loitered around a bit and met Tate, who was very nice. We were real groupies as we posed with him outside of the stage door. Later that night we went to the new musical, "Catch Me If You Can." The girls loved it; I thought it was ok. We had amazing seats within the first 6 rows, which was great. The singing and dancing were amazing and the lead, who plays Frank Abignale, was excellent. I just didn't get a lot of zing out of the musical numbers. The most amazing part of the show were the female dancers...their six-pack abs were to-die-for. They must NEVER eat! Even though the show won't make my Top 10 Broadway Show list, it was still loads of fun to spend time at the theater with my peeps. The best part of NYC is walking around and taking in all the sights and sounds. Thank goodness for Jill, who a) used her camera, and b) knows how to take good evening shots! After slowly packing up our hotel room, we ended our trip on Sunday morning our usual way - more food! We went to Cafe Lalo on the Upper West Side, which serves the most amazing steamed eggs with goat cheese. I don't know how they do it, but that place delivers every time!

After brunch, we walked about 8 blocks before jumping a cab to get...more food! A trip to NYC isn't complete without a stop at Rice to Richese in Nolita, so we thought a $20 cab ride made complete sense! We all made our purchases and then headed back uptown for our departures. I always hate saying goodbye to my friends after a fun weekend getaway, but I always look forward to our next adventure!