My Luke is turning 10 next week.... "Double digits" as he proudly announces. Time is moving WAY too fast and from time to time he will throw out a timeline comment about how he will only be with us for 8 more years... When he says things like this I literally stop in my tracks and grab my heart feeling as though it could instantaneously combust...
So, what does a mom do when her son continues to grow at lightning speed? She throws watching "classic boy movies" into the "Camp Intentional" plan...before he is too old to appreciate these or identify with them. He is at the perfect age for these movies...and they are a refreshing break from all the technological gadgets our kids are fixated with these days.
So, through the summer we will be watching "Oldie but Goody" movies. So far we have seen the 1968 version of Tom Sawyer, Swiss Family Robinson, and Old Yeller is on the list for tonight. But, I need your help..... what are some classics that you loved watching as a kid? If you would please leave me your ideas in the comment section to add to our movie viewing repertoire, I would love it, love it!!
One of the nice things about watching the "oldies" is they are easily found on Netflix and we as a family can watch as many movies as we want for our monthly subscription of $7.99... Don't have access to Netflix on your TV?.... Below is a video showing you how you can access it, by using Boxee Box by D-Link (yes this is yours truly in this video.... my friends Steve and Mason were working on this for D-Link and asked if I would help them) Do you remember Lucy from the I Love Lucy series doing the Vitameatavegamin commercial? Ummm yeah, kinda felt like that, with LOTS of bloopers in the taking!) ;) ....if you look close you can see that "Raising Reid" comes up on one of the TV shots... (because you can also access the internet on your TV through Boxee Box) If you watch the video be sure to pause my music down below first...
Today I took Reid to his annual check up for his heart.... he has had two heart surgeries in his little 4 year old life. One at 7 1/2 months and the other just before he turned 2.
The last surgery was to fix his leaking mitral valve...it had been repaired with the original surgery along with 2 holes in his heart but the valve was continuing to leak moderate to severely so needed another repair. For those of you that followed us through that repair you may remember that it was a bit touch and go and the threat loomed that a third surgery would be necessary to replace that valve altogether since the leakage continued to be severe shortly after surgery....
However, his last echocardiogram a year ago looked good with only mild to moderate amounts of mitral valve regurgitation and we were given the ok to now see the cardiologist once a year. Well, our year was up and for some reason I was particularly nervous this morning as I watched the technician measure different things on the screen during the echocardiogram and as I saw red and blue pumping through his valves, I worried that what she was seeing and measuring was indicating too much of a blood flow in the wrong direction. It's hard watching something and not knowing what the heck you are looking at... The only types of ultrasounds I like to look at are the ones where your Dr. tells you ... "See that little sac there, that's your baby growing big and strong" ....or "It looks like you are having a boy" lol!
...I held my breath as the Dr. came in to report out the results, waiting for a ball to drop, but the only thing that was dropped were the words, "I am pleasantly surprised that this echo actually looks even better than the one last year with now only trace to mild amounts of leakage...AND I am really pleased with his growth as Reid went from the 25-50th percentile on the Down syndrome growth chart to the 50-75th percentile". Could you hear me audibly exhale?.. umm, yes I do believe you could!! Yahooo... such good, good news!
So, needless to say a healthy heart makes for a happy mom today!!
I am blessed to be married to an incredibly loving and kindhearted man, Toby, and I am a mom to 2 boys...I am in the chapter of my life that involves baseball games, homework, playdates, diapers, and dump trucks. It is simply the best! With every part of my being I love being "Mom" and have learned the depth at which my heart can go when our youngest son was born with Down syndrome. This blog was created to connect with other families on this same journey that an extra 21st chromosome presents. Join me as I journal about Down syndrome, life, and raising Reid and his big brother Luke.
