Times up on singlehood

Mighty Mo and I have survived almost two weeks without mommy around. I know that eventually people adjust to life without a spouse to help out, but damn. I really don't do much to keep the house up on a day to day basis, its just the roles that we have carved out for ourselves and our marriage. I don't cook, I don't do laundry, Mistress takes Mighty Mo to all his therapy's, appointments, practices, and school. I am folding it all in but of course Uncle Murphy through three or four work altering deadlines at me while she was gone. Eventually all this new stress built up in me and I have been running around on a short fuse all the time.

Oh, please do not think I have taken any aggression or frustration out on Mighty Mo. Kids a champ. And empathetic like no other. Lately, I have taken to apologizing to him at night for feeling like we are rushing around and I am releasing steam by cursing the clock. He forgives me every time. Scary how that kid understands people.

Which by the way, no matter how many times it happens, it still freaks me out a bit when people stop in their tracks in front of him and feel compelled to talk to him. It happened again this week at the store. We passed this person a couple times in the aisles and each time she looked at Mighty Mo in a quizzical way, like when she saw him she was trying to remember something. Sure enough, at another passing she stopped in front of him. He looked up at her like he was expecting it and she bent down. It never seems to fail that when this happens I am somehow about ten feet way from him. He could be holding my hand or laying under the cart the whole time and the first time I notice he is off to the side, someone is talking to him.

After a few minutes, she stands up, smiles very brightly, touches his shoulder and walks away. Never saw her again. Now you may think I am making this up, but this situation happens really often. Like the kids a Buddha or something.

Well at least I kept him alive until his mom and sister get back from their trip.

Splish Splash

No not a swim workout post. Hmm, when was the last time I was in a pool. Oh well.

Uncharacteristically for Phoenix, we are getting quite a bit of rain this week. On the way home with the Mighty Mo we ran the water through the wheels so it created great big rooster tails. This took us many blocks out of the way. But it was fun. As we pulled onto our block we drove by our park and I noticed that the flood plain was already running high. So I stopped the car so we could watch a cascade come from the drain ditch into the park area.

Mighty Mo not used to seeing a flowing 'creek' in the city was very amused. We touched the rocks, we studied how the water jumped over obstacles. We got rained on. As we walked down to the water the water was pooling I remarked that we normally run through this area when we play but tonight it's filling up with water. He looks at me and smiles, "Daddy, lets run through the water."

Okay, freeze.

We are already standing in the rain. I just got done giving a very big presentation and my normally relaxed work wear was replaced today with slacks, dress shirt and dress shoes. How long did it take me to grab his hand and plow through calf deep water? About tens seconds less than it took you to read this paragraph.

Charge!

Mighty Mo and I laughed our butts off running through the water as it swirled and splashed around us. We. Got. Soaked. It was great.

As we pulled into the garage, we stripped off our shoes and turned them upside down. It seemed as full glasses of water were coming from them. My slacks, a dirty, soaking mess. The dress shoes may not be saved but who cares. Moments like this, in this city are far to rare. Plus it may be one of those very strange things that six year old boys remember doing with their dads as they get older.

A Mo Update

Haven't done one of these in a while so thought I 'd add a picture of both kids. A trip to the eye doctor discovered Mo needs glasses. He picked out some very stylish, (read: expensive glass frames).

In all things Mo there is humor. So here is his eye appointment. His school teaches words and letters a bit differently so he wasn't able to use the normal eye chart. Not to weird for the office to deal with, so they upload the symbols. The assistant asks, "What do you see? (On this line is a teddy bear and a man). Mo begins to tell this elaborate story about a dragon chasing a man and the man hides in a cave but the dragon breathes fire into the cave, the man runs out and the dragon eats him. This goes on a couple more times until the assistant levels the room and mommy explains how the test works.

In the end, he needs the glasses.

Its been over 100 degrees the last several days so we have been spending a lot of time in the backyard pool. Getting it ready for summer mostly but getting in several hours of playing. Mo loves to swim, not the best at it but he sure does try hard. Mistress and Mae haven't been in yet but that will happen this week.

Mo, Mae, DanBear

Roughing it

A regular occurrence at my house is I will come home, grab Mo and head out back to see if I can start a fire. Not a simple: newspaper, lighter fluid, matches, type. More the matches and lighters are forbidden and I have to use things I find in the backyard. On Friday with strong winds, Mistress was betting against me but I started a fire in about ten seconds.

My Godfather is my longest and most prolific camping partner. He is doing an overnight in Sequoia National with his best friend Gordy this past weekend. Gordy is also a long time camping/fishing partner of mine.

I had the camping Jones and due to the fire I started so did Mo. So we camped out in the backyard Saturday night. I set up the tent, we put our sleeping bags in it, decided we would roast marshmallows and that the dog is really a cheetah and we didn't want him to eat us at night.

Mistress put a time limit on Mo. She figured he would be back in his bed by 2am. I refused to believe. As we sat around the fire, eating chicken kabobs, I lit my alcohol stove and made Mountain House, mac & cheese, which was well received. Then Mo and I zipped ourselves in the tent and I read some stories from the Book of Virtue by Bill Bennet and asleep we went.

At 1:30am it was 45 degrees and Mo woke up freezing. I asked if he wanted to go in and he looked at me like I was crazy. So I went inside and grabbed a thick fleece blanket and a beanie for his head and we slept until sunrise.

He continued to play in the tent long into the afternoon on Sunday and then as we took the tent down and cleaned up our area I taught him how to Leave No Trace, including cleaning the fire pit.

He went to bed early on Sunday, in his own bed. Happy, warm and wiped out. Camping sure is hard.

There's treasure everywhere.

Mighty Mo football

Mighty Mo's flag football team is the only undefeated 3-0 team in the league. Trust me its not all offense and its not all defense. There is quite a bit of luck and humor in this thing at this age.

I was lucky enough to catch my first sunburn of the year. It was 90 degrees today. Youch. I haven't gotten into the habit of sunscreen yet.

We rushed home as our first guest pulled up to our "Meet Mae" open house. While the traffic was about half of what was expected there was twice as many kids and us parents had a great time sitting around the table passing the baby around. Well the wives passed the baby around and the guys talked about upcoming training. Mae did great, drinking, cooing and flaying about in a pretty polka-dotted frilly spring dress.

Over but not done?

Today was supposed to be the day that baby Mae announced her presence to the world. Technically it still may happen but Mistress was told at her appointment this morning that they will not induce her. The pregnancy is going very well and I suppose in this instance they want the baby to stay in as long a possible. After the appointment she went to get a special massage from a friend to help relax her and push some of the building fluids around. So this pregnancy is not done yet.

I got a call today from Mighty Mo's doctor who did the sigmoidoscopy last week. The biopsy came back negative for colitis. Negative. Not there. No presence. Gone. Zero. Nada. HALLELUJAH. This is a condition that we were told was lifelong. The doctor is surprised and happy. So are we.

Tomorrow will be the first day since the day he was born that he will take no prescription medication. He will have to take an over the counter liquid to lubricate his bowels but we don't need a script for it. For now, it is OVER.


Its been 5 years and 10 months that I have prayed daily for this happen. I have often said and written that, "If someone can hold onto a dream for five years it will become a reality, but most people can't hold onto a dream for five minutes." This is an affirmation of something powerful.

You can dismiss me all you want, but those that have met Mo know, they have seen that he has a light that other people do not have. He has a gravity that pulls people towards him in a way that I have seen only one other person have and he used that power for selfish, narcissistic reasons. Mo so far has only used it for good. People he has never met, touch him like a Buddha in restaurants. People come buy and whisper kindness in his ear. We have walked by big tough guys full of bravado and importance, completely light up and interact with him when he gets close. Its infectious. Now with a clean bill of health I wonder how he will amaze me next.

Rest, Recovery and Peace of mind.

Exactly one week ago I was given the yellow light for training. Today my morning HR is +8 beats over baseline requiring me to take a mandatory rest day from training. This is expected and a part of my recovery system. I am sure after a day of no exercise and full sleep I can get back to it tomorrow.

This blog is not just about my training. It's as much a life journal as a training journal. Some other issues I am dealing with this week and probably contributed to some elevated HR stress--

No one had heard from a training partner since New Years. This is someone who has no family here and was proactive in communicating with us. I finally drove by his house at 11pm last night and found him home, fine. Admonishments ensued but glad he is okay. I really thought I'd find him face down in the tub.

My grandmother will most likely pass this week. She has had a long life and the last few years have been marred with health issues. My mom is back east to help her family as best she can. She is super strong, I think stronger than I could be if I was in her place. This will be the second family member to pass in as many months.

Mo had a trip to the cardiologist today at Phoenix Childrens hospital. His two other doctors recommended it after seeing some high numbers in recent results. Everything went very well. He is doing great. It was concluded that his genetics and medical condition contributed to the numbers and by looking at a bigger picture he is in good shape with no follow ups needed. At the end of the month he will have his annual sigmoidoscopy to review his colitis. It has worsened over the last year, however the issues of his low immune symptoms (pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, and the itinerant steroids and antibiotics) has dropped dramatically so we are blessed in that regard.

A Mighty Mo video

Here is a video I put together using photos from Mighty Mo's first season of flag football.

A Daddy First

On Tuesday night Mo and I went for our first father-son jog together. We put on our shoes, he made sure they were tight. He wore one of my running lights strapped to his arm and I a headlamp to guide our way.

Our course was a simple and straight quarter mile jog in the dark down to a stop sign and then come back. At first Mo charged ahead but my quiet, "Slow down" every few steps got us in perfect sync. His little sneakers slapping flat footed on the asphalt as he sped up and slowed down not sure how far we would go. We walked once each direction, just to catch our breaths. Constant encouragement was his motivation to run farther than he'd ever run before.

As we got within a few houses of our own, our Christmas lights created the perfect finish line. "Alright Mo, run your heart out and beat daddy home." He tucked his chin against his chest and pumped his little arms and slapped his almost boy sized shoes on the ground. It always seems his feet move faster than his body. He say's he beat me to the driveway, I told him a bug flew into my eye and I couldn't see who won. But notice how watery they are?

The red on his cheeks, the twinkle in his eyes, the absolute glee in his smile, proved a powerful spell on me. I have never been able to run with a smile on my face. Running is something I love more than almost anything and yet my energy is drawn to places other than the muscles that make my mouth curve up. I am glad Mo does not have that problem.

I gave him a big hug and another high five. I told him that running like that is what Dr. Jeff and daddy do when they practice triathlon. He reminded me I am still 'sick' so he would have to run with Dr. Jeff for me. Could I please call him and set that up.

There's treasure everywhere. There surely is.

A winsome lesson

Now that Mo-Mann plays football he has a couple of coaches. He has been very attentive and energetic to their instruction, which is why so far this year he is the only kid on the team that hasn't run laps for goofing off in practice. Watching him out there give me a great sense of pride, we never expected him to be able to do these kinds of things with the medical issues we dealt with earlier in his short life.

Between plays at a practice not long ago, the coach pulled Mo aside and started giving my son direction. Up to that point, I or my father were the only men in his life who had done this with him. I wanted to know what was being said. I wanted to listen to what this man was telling my son without a blood relative being around. Now the coach is a good guy, I know it wasn't weird. It was him educating my son on flag football. I saw Mo looking at him real intently, nod his head up and down a couple of times, put his mouth piece back in and sprint to the huddle.

Not having any memory's of my past to relate to, I have a hard time with little things like this. I don't remember having coaches give me praise or getting in my face for a mistake. I don't remember a mentor from my youth. It makes it impossible to cue into those emotions and thus I am creating new ties with my son, through his eyes. I am always taken by surprise at the lack of relation I have to being a child.

Two boys at last practice burst into tears because they didn't catch a football on a routine play. They're five and six years old. Talk about pressure. The coach tried having Mo run with the ball and to keep away from the defense. he ran so far out of bounds he was interrupting other practices, he was very serious that no one would touch his flags and in turn made all the parents laugh at his dedication. Though not a much as when he hiked the ball and then turned around and ripped the running backs flags off. The coach just laughed and looked at my son and said, "Mo...well at least you squared up and grabbed both flags Mo. Next time do that when your on defense, not offense."

I have been helping out a practice too. Mostly with the defense. I don't have much of a clue what I am doing, but right now it's just fundamentals. Like Mo told me, "Daddy, when someone has the ball, you get that flag!" Substitute flag for, "Terrorist bastard that needs a hole in em' that God didn't make" and I can translate flag football defensive strategy.

Have Fun. I am.

A new frontier

For the last year Mistress and I have been trying to get Mighty Mo to learn how to pedal a bike. He never took to trikes or big wheels. When we presented him with opportunity's to ride bigger bikes with training wheels at toy stores he always complained that it was too hard and showed disinterest after a few moments. He would always remark how cool the bikes his size looked, just never wanted to take the next big step.

Over the weekend I had to go to a bike shop to get some work done on a cleat. The screws need to be torqued out. Mo took an interest in the bikes and actually pedaled around the store on one of the built girl frames. When we went to Walmart next, I told him he could look at the bikes and sure enough he found a bike he liked to look at. Then he liked to ride it. Then he liked daddy to buy it.

I'm a sucker for my son. As we walked out of the store, he proudly pushed his new 'speedbike' with a ear to ear grin. He got quite the remarks about how cool it looked and how proud he looked.

Mo for his part took to riding his training wheeled new bike like a duck to water. Every day he rides down to the park to do laps around the playground equipment. Each lap is about 200 yards. I jog beside him giving pointers and grabbing him if he gets to wobbly or off kilter. He has a perfect pace for my HR so I get in about 30 minutes of running each night and don't feel like a dweeb for my pace. At least my body's not dying at that pace. We take breaks and kung fu fight in the sand. Play Star Wars on the equipment. Then when we run out of water we head back home.

The return of photos?

Mighty Mo asked and asked and asked all week if he could reach his hand in the peanut butter jar and eat with his hands. Mistress did not expect him to be so....exuberant. I expected no less.

Topper, our Red Fox Lab, did in fact pounce mightily on the Mo and cleaned his face amongst the giggles.
Summer is officially here.

Have Fun.

Activism?

I came home tired last night to an exaggerated Mighty Mo proclaiming loudly in the kitchen to Mistress and the dog that at school, "Pokie Bugs are dying and we have to build hospitals to save them!" By the obvious look on the dog and the mom, this 5 year old (on April 24th) had been on his soap box for quite some time on the issue. Quite literally since he has a step-up box to reach the counter.

I scooped him up for his shower and he went at it with me, pledging all the money from his piggy bank and all the loose change on the counter tops. He reminded me that, "A Mann protects the weak." (part of his prayers)

From my questions I have found out that Pokie Bugs are:

• Not class pets
• They are outside by the fence on the playground
• They are dying!!!!!!
• When they die they become bones and skin
• Mistress and I absolute had to to stop their dying by building Pokie Bug hospitals.

Mistress called me this morning to let me know she has witnessed the graveyard of Pokie Bugs. They are not really bugs, their some kind of weed and as the weather heats up they are releasing their spores, turning brown and dying. The husk and stalk are the skin and bones.

Mistress took the opportunity to tell him that they are not bugs but plants and when they die they are sending seeds to grow somewhere else. This seems to have made him feel better now that he can use his money for toys and not hospitals.

No son you don't have to use your money for building hospitals, mommy and daddy are doing that for you already. You just keep that imagination going and keep your nose to the bugs.

FREEDOM

We are all back home now. Mo is tired and been asleep since before we even pulled up. Mistress and he have both been taking a nap. After all the hospital food, she demanded steaks and salad for dinner. Like all returns from the hospital, I bought a bottle of champagne.

You would think I am happy and yet somehow I am a bit hollow inside. Melancholy. The last few weeks have been extremely hard on the whole family; each with our own personal, emotional, intellectual and physical struggles. As we were driving home I wished we could all just go away somewhere for a few days and hide. Disneyland. Mexico. Someplace. Anyplace.

Last night after a full day of being at the hospital I came home falling asleep at the wheel. I wanted nothing more than to have a beer, watch a little tv and hit the sack early. Instead I rode my trainer for four hours and celebrated my sticktoitiveness with a salad. I splurged and used light ranch instead of my usual vinaigrette.

The best I can do in all this is try to put Mo back on some sort of routine and get him ready for school again in a couple of days, he still needs some time to recover. I'll get a massage for Mistress to work the kinks out from lousy chairs, cramped quarters and poor posture. As for myself...I skipped an 18 mile run today. A rare day off before ironman. I also bought a book. I will find something better once they have returned to normal and all this is once again just another trip to the hospital for Mo and not the latest testament to a son with severe challenges to his health.

Thank you all of you who gave us calls and emails wishing a speedy recovery. They obviously did the trick.

Mo Phine

I gotta give the boy credit. It took a mom, a grandma and two large nurses to hold him down and put that IV in. Where was dad? Dad was pacing in the hallway squeezing a stress ball for ten minutes while his son screamed like a banshee behind the curtain.

This photo is after the morphine was put into his system. He was pretty punchy and had Mistress and grandma dabbing tears of joy and laughter at his nonsensical comments and the return of his long lost sense of humor.

Mighty Mo is in pretty serious shape. He has lost ten pounds or 20% of his body weight. As I mentioned in earlier posts he has been throwing up fresh blood since the surgery a week ago, most recently at the decision point of going to the ER. He has taken in less than 50 calories in the last eight days. He was drinking water during the week but we.re not surprised when the doctor said he was in a seriously dehydrated condition. The picture doesn't show it but he skin was very yellow. His throat is still a bit green from the surgery and lab results are being done to see what his blood and cultures looked like. Mistress was finally glad to speak with a doctor that didn't make her feel like an idiot. I guess today with the way he was acting we felt a turn had been made. Probably a turn to manic madness and not the general well being we were expecting.

Mighty Mo has been admitted for the next day at least. Mistress is staying the night with him and I am at home. I have a rather.....uncomfortable relationship with hospitals, as you might imagine and it drives me absolutely batty being in one either as the patient or the parent/spouse. I will go back in the morning and do what I can.

I have been reading Mo and Mistress the emails that come in, he takes some comfort in them, Mistress more so. I am reminded that this is one of those times, yet again, when people are amazed at how sick Mo is when all they see is how happy he is and how he immediately pulls people towards him. When he just a baby and we were dealing with all his issues, we thought it was us, that we were bad parents. That we willed or wanted all these 'auto-immune', colitis symptoms to be true, when visually he had so much gravitas. But once the visual acuity tests were done and the true testing commenced, we were validated. That and the one foot thick medical file he has at his primary doctors office.

Mo is the pride and joy of my life. He is stronger than me. When I see his condition on a daily and hourly basis and feel sorry for him, it is him that lifts me up. Those that have been around him often or met him once, remember him long afterwards. He pulls people to him like none other I have seen. He is a true light in this world. Today morphine made him normal. Soon enough the energy will be his alone again.

Mo No Go

We have pushed past the roughest parts and Mo is starting to come around, so no hospital as it stands. The coughing is gone, the sniffer is working, the ears are getting better. Still not eating after 8 days but he will crack on that soon enough. He says his throat hurts whenever he tries to eat, but at this point based on his activity level, this could be a manipulative 4 year old ploy to get attention. Who knows?

So no more, "You gotta eat," or "Do you want to eat this?" We are priming the house for a food rich environment. A beautiful smelling pizza for dinner tonight will flood the home with flavorful scents to grumble the belly. We are going to have a quarter of it with very little sauce and toppings so if he does eat his stomach won't be destroyed. Desert will be fudge brownies. Again if he does eat it will be a very small amount. Boxes of apple juice are already placed around the house for access and whatever snacking is being done is done right in front of him without offering a bite.

This sucks that he is in rough shape. Thankfully the amount of water he has consumed has not deteriorated him any more than he is. He is much smaller now having lost by our estimation about ten pounds or 20% of his body weight. The baby fat and chunk he got from all the drugs has for the most part been erased. His shoulders and waist and noticeably slimmer. The chubby, cherub face is still there, just waiting for the smile to return.

But... every now and then, you get what seems to be sincere moaning and a cry fest of not feeling well and true physical distress. Without food or any pain medication this is expected. I'd expect it from me. I am sure the weakness from no food and the ear infections and whatever physical recovery he still has from his operations is not helping his normally cheerful mood.

SNAFU

Mistress stayed home with Mo today 'cause he has been having such a rough go of it, especially mornings. He did take some meds today, that makes 3 of 10 he's taken since the operation.

Yesterday when he flipped out and threw up (bloody), just at the insistence he take some med's Mistress called for an appointment today. She called me while leaving the the doctors office. He has lost 12% of his body weight, 6 pounds total and he has a double ear infection.

The next 24 hours are critical. He needs to eat something, take all his med's, and drink 40 oz of water or most likely he will be admitted after the tomorrow consult. I suppose he should have gone in today, but we have hope it will turn around, plus it's and extra 24 hours to prevent another grand of bills as he will most likely be in for a couple days.

There is no joy in writing this and not sure how to end it. But its not an end, its a situation that is normal for us, Mo has conditions that make him medically different than other kids. You'd normally never know it though.

Are we there yet?

So many levels to that question this Friday. Top Three?

1. Is this surgery going to work for Mo?
2. Will I go crazy during the 30+ hour 190 mile Ragnar Relay with five others in a Suburban?
3. How will the EvoTri vote end?

The doctors convinced each other and then Mistress that this surgery is going to be a good thing for Mo. He is having his tonsils and adenoids removed and scraping and restructuring his sinuses. Its a long painful procedure that will have him recovering for over a week. The debate was how individually the procedures are 'routine' but when done all at once and considering he has zero immune system without drugs it is considered experimental. This does nothing for his more dangerous colitis issue.

Ragnar will be a long day for me. I don't sleep well when traveling. I haven't met three of the six in my vehicle before. Its one thing to have a kick ass 7 mile run workout but when you repeat it every 6 hours and then just sit in a car seat for the time in between and not getting normal food, who knows what will happen. I do look forward to this race. It was my idea for us to do it. I think it will be one of those very memorable races of my life. Gee, maybe us bloggers should do one next year. Only need twelve per team and there all over the country.

I have really been stumping for EvoTri votes this week. In some regards I am glad it is a week of voting as it takes time to plan and execute such a campaign. But not knowing what place I'm in or how anyone else is doing, it can make you think to much about it in a unhealthy way. I always tend to look at it as I am in the back of the pack, don't take anything for granted, obstacles will come up, just work as hard as I can to finish strong. Gee, maybe a life lesson there. Believe it or not the part that I dwell on the most right now is that regardless of the outcome I won't be able to do a proper thank you or congratulatory post until the end of the weekend; after the relay, after taking a turn with Mo and after my century ride on Sunday.

No matter how it ends, though I hope and prefer it ends well for me, I am so humbled and appreciative of all the people that took the time to vote for me and send the messages out. I received so many emails from people saying, "Hey Comm's, heres a response from so and so about voting for you."

Have Fun.

Photo Essay

I've got some of my own life in action photos to put up but for today this will do.

Mo loves this dragon on the carousel at the mall down the street. Mistress was able to wrangle a lifetime free pass, which saves us about five bucks a month in tokens.

Long time Mo viewers know he loves his preppy polo shirts. Here he is showing his new hat.

The long awaited Wolf photo from AG tryouts. There were 1000's of people there and he was a very nice guy. A great representative of the show. Mo was feeling pretty sick and we were on our way out. The guy in the background (left) is of course smiling and staring at the M-Dot on my calf which made it look bigger than Wolfs. And I am also hunched down a bit so Mo would fit into the photo, Wolf is not 6'8"

Being Big

Mighty Mo has been going to the doctors a lot lately. On Monday he had two appointments. The second appointment was a 'poke'. That is Mo verbalizing an appointment that is needle based, either getting a shot or having blood drawn. Mistress and staff still have to do the distractions that all of us need, but he has had so many poke appointments in his life that he just lays his arm out and waits for the lollipop when he is done. In this regard he is years ahead of children his age and quite a few adults as well, myself included. I hate needles. But for him their is nary a tear shed anymore.

The first appointment was a final consult on a surgery to have his tonsils and adenoids removed at the same time. Apparently when done together its a major deal. He has been on progressively stronger antibiotics for the last two months for sinus, throat and lung infections that have not gone away. Over the last 72 hours we have been fighting off a nasty cough turning into bronchitis. In essence his immune level is nil, much like a few years back when many of you might remember he was sequestered for several months from being around school aged children.

Now they are hoping by doing both operations at once, they can boost his immune system in recovery when he is out of school anyway.

As always, on the positive side, he appears to be a cherub of God. He officially is signed up for kindergarten. He played non-stop over the weekend. At one point he and Mistress were in a parking lot and had to get past two redneck hillbillys who were smoking, eating and drinking in the car parked next to theirs. The rednecks leered a bit at them, not bothering to close their doors or give them any space. But Mighty Mo just walked right up, (wearing the exact outfit in photo right) and started charming them. Within a few moments, they had put out their smokes, picked up their liter, closed their doors, laughed jovially and smiled widely as Mo said goodbye to each by name.

The kids got a gravity that just pulls people towards him. I can't describe it. Some blogger saw it a dinner for the PF Chang marathon, where Mo was actually being quite shy at the table. Apparently at some point he put out some kind of vibe to a table of senior citizens and when they left they all just walked by and rubbed his head or touched his shoulder with broad grins on their face. Most not even saying a word, others whispering in his ear. It was almost reverence.

Merry Christmas to All

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'" Luke 2:8-14 KJV

On Christmas morning at our house we are celebrating the birthday of Baby Jesus. Mo thought it was very important that we have a birthday cake for him. So he made one, almost all by himself. Mistress helped but all the labor was done by him. Then before he took all his medicines before bed, only four of them at night, we gathered around and sang Happy Birthday to baby Jesus.
I am also debuting not one but two holiday M-dot's. Hope you like them.

On Christmas morning our family has a special breakfast tradition started by my grandmother over 40 years ago. Mistress and I started our own family tradition about five years ago for dinner. Instead of the typical ham or turkey, a rehash of Thanksgiving, we started a Hawaiian luau, to honor my family's heritage. Yes you see a white leg above, but I am half Hawaiian on my fathers side. Mistress has learned to cook a pig in the Hawaiian style using my grandmothers recipes and we add pot stickers, exotic tropical fruit salad, beer battered coconut prawns, chicken lettuce wraps, coconut pudding, lomi salmon, among other south pacific cuisine rotated in and out each year. It's quite a feast. Enough to feed 3 Hawaiians or 15 howly's.

Merry Christmas my fine, fine friends. Merry Christmas to you all. You have no idea how much you have risen me up and given me hope and fellowship when I have needed it most.

Of course he's sick

Mistress called from leaving the doctors. Mo has pneumonia, ear infection, sinus infection. Of course it was hard to hear her over the growling and roaring Mo was doing doing from the back seat with his animal puppets. Even his primary doctor reports as she can't help giggling from his antics in the office and his politeness with the nurses, "He is the happiest, sickest kid I see. His lungs are so full of fluid he shouldn't be upright, let alone flirting with my staff and playing with me."

Through all his illnesses and medical expenses we truly are blessed with a boy who has the best attitude in the world. You would never ever really know how bad it is. Part of the routine this weekend is mandatory nebulizing every three hours for 72 hours. At least at this age he can hold or will wear the mask himself during the day.

After our Christmas party last night, Mistress crawled into his bed and snuggled him through a couple treatments which he mostly slept through. He cried through the first one because he legs also hurt so while Mistress helped Mo and gave him soft touches to calm him down, I held a warm water bag on his legs. Mo has growing pains which I believe are still scientifically debated but almost every mother can attest too, and he has grown two inches in the last month so that is why he will cry and say his legs hurt. He's been complaining of them off and on for a couple years. Also explains why we have had to buy him all new pants and shoes in the last month.

I had to skip a 90 min ride yesterday. Had planned on it after getting home from the dinner, yes at midnight, but after helping with Mo I just wanted to sleep. Today and tomorrow's workouts should be on track.

Tonight I was invited to a private party through my triathlon store, Tribe Multisport, to this little bar downtown. I plan on going but I still have my concussion headaches about 5 days a week in the evenings and its still a hard to drive at night with all the lights hitting my eyes. So I may not go and also to help with Mo at level in this weekend at home.

Merry Christmas

new photos

Mo and Mistress on the farm of our family friends outside Seattle. Mo spent the night and got to play with the chickens and eat blackberry's off the vine.

Mo at swim practice. Notice the speedo? He doesn't like board shorts.

He doesn't like his hair spiky but for some reason on picture day at school he wanted it spiky.

Mo-mentum

On Monday, Mighty Mo started at a private school that goes from pre-K to 8th grade and has about 500 students. We are hoping that he will stay here until he goes to high school which starts in the 9th grade.

On Wednesday Mistress dropped Mo off for his third day of school at this new place. She was unable to get a hug or kiss from Mo because multiple groups of kids started rushing up yelling, "MO" and pulling him away to play with their group before class.

A bit disappointed she went to the office to sign him in and she was approached by teachers of all grade levels introducing themselves saying what a great kid Mo is and that they really like him, each giving a different anecdote about him.

Teachers up through the 7th grade have interacted with Mo during the first two days of a new school year?

Its surprising this has happened at such a bigger school but we saw the same thing at his last pre-school and really this is par for the course for his whole life. People are drawn to him with a gravity that I have never seen. His ability to interact with all groups and do so with such nice manners, his new teacher says he is the most polite kid in the class, is a blessing in our lives.

Go Mo!

Vacation was a success

Overall we did really well with each other and now that we finally made it home we can marvel in our ability as intense individuals to come together as a family for such an long period of time.

For the entire six days we travel together Mighty Mo only had about 45 minutes total of fussy four year old behavior. He turned out to be a tremendously fun travel companion which has really allowed Mistress and I to contemplate more trips as a family.

We all ended up being really tired after Disneyland so we elected to forgo the San Diego zoo and play in the pool at the hotel and do some shopping at the mall. Oh yeah and we got to have dinner at Hooter. Yummy wings.

We still have two weeks to use the passes to other Sand Diego parks so we may take a quick overnight back there for the zoo or wildlife park.

As we were driving home, Mistress told me our next vacation should be something more active. I started to laugh because that is all I want my vacations to be and she quickly amended with, "Oh there has to be hotel rooms for sure."

Here are some shots from SeaWorld.

Mo in the stands for Cirque de Mer a water based Cirque de Soleil

Shamu flying high at his signature show. Perhaps because I was so tired from the trip but I was quite emotional for this show. Anheiser-Busch who owns SeaWorld was very patriotic to our soldiers and veterans during this show.

At Cirque de Mer, Mo wouldn't stop pulling us close and hugging us.
Turned out to make a good and quite rare full family photo.

Disneyland Day 2

Well another great day and really it was Mistress who stepped up big time. By the time we got to the park the Finding Nemo submarine ride was already a two hour wait. No thanks. So we went to Space Mountain which many consider the best ride in the park. Mo and I had a good time but Mistress, sitting alone in the back was crying her eyes out when we got done, goose bumps, sweat. A wreck. She was motherly enough to make sure Mo was good when we were done then with shaky legs went for sun and terra firma.

She dismissed the Matterhorn but Mo and I had a good time there and then we all went to watch the Jedi University skit when kids in the audience get to fight Darth Vader and Darth Maul. It was fun for Mo to watch and to my thankfulness he was not chosen to fight Vader. He and I fight with all types of swords at home and I was afraid he would either bull rush Vader or turn around and join the dark side since Lord Vader is his favorite character.

The second spot Mistress proved herself today was California Adventures. Mistress is terribly afraid of heights. In the National Park challenge area people walk around a rope bridge three stories over the ground. We did not really know this at the time. Mo and I each took her hand and we soothingly took her across the first bridge. Then she saw the second and cursed out loud in front of some kids. Then once across there was only three more bridges and she went across them all with Mo and I holding her hands the whole way.

There was a bouldering area for kids and Mo got to work his way across. I asked if I could do the harder route and went across that. I spent ten minutes trying to tie two routes together that staff said was impossible. I doubt it. They just haven't had the right person do it yet. The right shoes, a guy in good climbing shape and it will be done.

Mo Fu with lightsaber

Copping a squat at California Adbentures

2nd entry for Mo & Daddy annual photo

The Intrepid Age Grouper working a difficult route

Disneyland Day 1

Well it was a day of days that is for sure. Both Mistress and Mo had a wonderful time. Mistress expecting adult type rides of swoops and drops and adrenalized rushes was pleasantly surprised to find the rides well...childlike in enthusiasm.

First, I would like to comment on one of those insufferable comments I cringe hearing from people who rarely exercise, "I walked like 20 miles today." Well I wore my Polar HR foot pod today and we were on site for 7hrs. 12min. and we walked all over the park taking over a dozen rides. I walked 5.12 miles. I would say that is comparative to the average family in the park. So while my feet are certainly a bit tired from standing in line for several minutes at a time and walking around the park in general, I did not however walk '20 miles' or '10 miles' or any nonsensical distance like that.

It was hard to judge the likes and dislikes of a 4 year old boy. Pirates was fun, a bit dark. The haunted mansion elevator really freaked him out. He did really well at Star Tours when I really thought the motion would make him scared. He refused a couple of rides but thats fine. He really liked the Teacups and according to him, "Mo and daddy go much fas', Mommy!"

The B&W was in line at Peter Pans Flight the longest wait of the day (40 min.) for a 5 minute ride, but I felt it was a must ride for both of them. Mo and I since the week he was born and each year since have had a photo taken in one of those photo kiosks that draws the photo out and put it on the wall. Well the mall took it out this year. Now I decided that I would hang a photo of Mo and I doing something memorable and this is my first attempt this year. If a better photo comes up I will use that one.

It was a bit hot but we found seats for the parade and waited 15 minutes for it to start. The photo at right is him waiting those last few minutes. He really like the costumess and as luck would have it we sat right in front of where all the floats stop to do a song and dance number. Apparently they only do that just two spots and we just lucked out.

I would be remiss if I didn't get misty eyed at a couple of points today. Being able to share this day with my son and my wife was special. Each of them have done something so completely Americana in origin.


This final picture was taken on Main Street in one of the many shops. I looked for Disney DVD's to increase my personal collection and got skunked out. I thought that would have been a given.

Tonight we go out for dinner and tomorrow hit three or four more of the main attraction rides then chill out doing whatever we want.

Are we there yet?

Well Google maps certainly made our day interesting turning a 5.5 hour drive into 7.5 on top of the 2 hours spent at outlet malls, restaurants and gas stations. After 9 hours on the road and the last two completely turned around thanks to Cal-trans building a new interchange and my poor Mistress who could find where we were on a map but not how to go anywhere, I pulled over at a Starbucks leaned over my hood and plotted out my course using the techniques that made me such a tracking stud in the infantry. This skill was always to the consternation of other units and leaders who couldn't find their way on a golf course with a caddy and map.

We finally got settled in around 9:30pm and I have scouted out some possible runs in the morning but its already midnight and I have been averaging little sleep and rest the last two days. I am sure the first day at Disneyland will be a walk fest anyway so we will see how I feel about running at five or six o'clock in the morning.

I will say this for our first day of vacation. We all got along and Mo did freaking awesome as a travel companion. He had us laughing and talking the whole way. I think on every vacation there needs to be a word or phrase that makes everyone laugh, these are usually completely useless outside of the the fishing trip or hiking trip or outside the group dynamic. Well Mo has been watching the first live action Scooby Doo movie a lot and there is a scene where Scooby and Shaggy have a burp and fart contest. One of the retorts from Scooby is, "Your mother eats cat poop."

Well lets just say I can not stop my 4 year old from saying 'poop' a 100 times today but Mistress certainly does not want any mother in this family being maligned that way so it is now, "You eat cat poop." Feel free to try that with your spouse or child next time you're having a conversation and see where it goes.

As we headed into the Morongo Casino area, Mo looked at all the rocks and mountains and asked if there were dinosaurs that lived out there. Of course Mistress says no and about a minute later I look off the freeway and see a huge T-Rex. So I pull over and sure enough there is a dinosaur park with four story dinosaurs. The Brontosaurus has a decent dinosaur store in its belly and the owner was very cool. He asked if I was military due to my studly physique and high & tight haircut that is unchanged in two decades and we conversed about each others exploits for a few moments. He opened the T-Rex for us and waiving the fee allowed the three of us to climb all the way up into the mouth.

Mo was agog as he always wanted to be eaten by a T-Rex. Almost shaking he was so excited. I snapped lots of photos but here are the two best so far.

Mo finally in the mouth of a T-Rex.

Mo couldn't believe how tall these guys were.
They look so small on Land Before Time DVD's

As I ran Mo to the bathroom, Mistress went back to the store to buy the dinosaur shoes we got for him, (heres a link) and the owner totally comped us with all sorts of DVD's and dinosaur trinkets thanks to Mo's utter politeness and sincerity about loving dinosaurs and as a thank you to me for my time in service. I was very moved by his generosity.

Tomorrow, ahem...Today we storm the Disney Castles.

Happy Birthday Mighty Mo

The final push came at sunrise. As my son took his first gasps of air, the window in our hospital room was suddenly awash in a brilliant ray of sunrise coming over a mountain. As if ordained by God.

The last four years have been a tribulation period for our son. Between his illnesses and injuries one would think this boy was destined for a hard life. The glory though is that this boy is a Light for others. From the day he was born Mo has pulled people towards him with a gravity that is supernatural. People of both sexes and regardless of age are captured by him and want to reach out and touch him or be a part of his world. He is like a Little Buddha in that regard.

When he is in the hospital, which has been a while thank God, nurses and aids would go out of their ways to come to his room. Before shift, after shift, breaks; all wanted to be a part of this happy, loving boy.

Doctors are perplexed when they attempt to match his behavior with his conditions. Many times we are told he is too sick to sit or stand, let alone be playful and engaging and bringing joy to others in much less dire straights.

Often we are told he is an old soul or he is understanding and empathetic beyond his years. Teachers tell us he asks questions well beyond his years and comprehension to know about. I don't know about all that. All I know is that I am living my lost youth through his eyes and its a blessing to behold. Among all the boyheadedness any son can have with a father, he has taught me about grace in ways I didn't understand.

Happy 4th Birthday Mighty Mo.

In a landslide

In a completely one sided poll, T-Rex Mo or Dino Mo wins easily. On Monday I will debut the cropped and enhanced photo.

One friend who voted over my shoulder yesterday during a get together says that even though the other photo's might look nicer, their not the Mo he knows. And he is right.

You people sure know how to pick substance over style.

Viewers Choice

I don't have the effort for a fancy schmancy poll so just tell me picture you like best for Mighty Mo's new avatar.

Cowboy Mo

Business Mo aka bank manager

Nascar Mo

It was a fun night

Its not often that Mo and I get to spend a decent weeknight together to hang out. After his doctor appointment because he was such a good boy for the most part, we went to TMNT. This is his first kids meal at the movies. Didn't care much for the Icee but dug the corn tray which I knew because he chows off of my bag. By the way he is 41 inches tall and 42 pounds.

I whipped out my camera and he was not happy, "Daaaaddy, noooooo. Don't take picture." He was actually walking towards me when this was taken which is why he looks like that. Two female workers walked by and thought it was cute I was taking his picture and made some cooing noises so he did flirt with them.

And by flirting I mean he leaned his head forward, closed his eyes, opened his mouth, waggled his tongue and growled like a dinosaur. Its a signature move for a almost 4 year old.

A Mighty Mo Update

Well results are back on two separate tests. First off Mighty Mo does not have a sinus problem, they are quite fine, the doctor says. This means no removing tonsils or adenoids.

It does mean yet another test, the dreaded environmental allergy tests. Mo has been tested for food allergy's but in the one time we tried to have him tested for airborne and contact allergies he had such a virulent reaction it was called off right away. So we have always known he is allergic 'to air' just not specifically what the allergies were, but with the nebulizer treatments he was already getting which combated that it didn't make sense to go through the testing again based on the first tests reactions until he was a bit older. Well, he is older now.

The surgical consult on Monday was for a umbilical hernia he had at birth that mandated a four year check up. He was still showing symptoms of it but the specialist assured us that every thing felt and looked normal except for some adhesion issues around his boy part. He was, you guessed it, prescribed a topical cream that should take care of that. I told Mistress that Mo's on more medications that Anna Nicole and the doctor practically fell off his stool.

Mo was scared and nervous this time, he didn't want the doctor poke him and hurt him so he decided to hide under the chair grasping it like a Lemur when the doctor asked him to get up on the table. But Mo did great with all the poking and prodding so I took him to see TMNT (ninja turtles) while Mistress went home to relax.

We had a great time and afterwards hit the Toy R Us so he could get Leonardo's swords. Yes I spoil my kid. Would you think otherwise with the way I buy Shiny Things?

Tuesday is a rare 'get out of the office day' for me. I am traveling across town to audit one of my clubs. Just like the good ole days; I so much auditing clubs than auditing payrolls. To much ass sitting and not enough ass chewing. At least Nytro enjoys my chair job; she seems to like the fact she can ridicule me at will with online instant messaging. If things work out right, I may try to skip down the street to the Seattle Mariners Spring Training Center to see if there's a game I can watch a few innings of. It is literally a mile away, but with traffic it would be faster to run there so I might just combine a couple of outdoor activities. Spring training is over rated but to sit outdoors for a few innings on a beautiful day is a wonderful thing.