The Aquabats! Part Deux! Electric Bugaloo!

We saw The Aquabats again last night. Simon did me so proud. He's always pretty tired lately, what with the chemo. So it was kind of a crap shoot how he would be. We waited in line outside for about an hour and he was limp and all but asleep. I did not have high expectations.

We managed to get on the guest list for the meet & greet, thanks to some awesome friends. When we went in they played Doing Science and Showtime. Then we went to meet them. Simon just wanted to sit off to the side, but I wouldn't let him. The first we met was Bones. Luckily everyone knew Simon on sight because I'm never sure what to say. Everyone signed his cape and we thanked everyone for the song. We announced he was having his last chemo the next day and I guess we were overheard because some stranger that was there bought Simon the coloring book and told him to "fight the good fight".   Crash was totes adorbs and asked if we could do a picture. I asked if we could do a big group shot since the last one didn't come out so well. Of course they indulged.

Then the most amazing thing happened. Simon climbed out of my arms and had a few Team Simon wristbands and went from Aquabat to Aquabat handing them out. It was the most adorable thing I ever saw. What a huge deal!

Meeting The MCBC was interesting. I told him about my inlaws knowing him way back in the day. He totally remembers my husband's brothers and said he remembers my husband being born. He said his dad and my father in law were good friends. It felt like a feat to sort of blow his mind.



We were invited back stage to do the picture. We waited for a couple of minutes and caught MCBC sans mask and dome. Simon was very curious and looked around as much as he could. We took several pictures but he still wouldn't smile. Finally MCBC got him to smile by tickling him. The only way I could tell is because Simon was hiding his mouth so they couldn't see his huge smile.

While we waited for the opening band, Simon did some Simon stuff, marching around and crazy dancing. He also knew now where The Aquabats were and really wanted to go back and see them again, pointing at the door. I think if we ever do get to see them again he'll do even better. Luckily they had some seats in the back because Simon did not want to get up close. I had no interest in Emily's Army and was glad when they were done.

The Aquabats played a lot of older stuff, like pre FEOD, which is a fairly old album.  There was a group of "punks" "dancing" in a circle but there were also lots of kids. The chicken man came out throwing chicken and a big inflatable dinosaur  tried to get him but MCBC chased him away which Simon cracked a smile at. He made it through the entire thing even though he was so tired.

Round 2

Maybe I should have written sooner. But I haven't yet, so here goes.

The beast has returned. The monster. (As an aside he only a couple of days started to be able to say monster instead of monter.)  The cancer. In his brain this time. He is starting his second round of chemo tonight.

Why did this have to happen?  Why couldn't Dr. Thompson catch me in the hall and quickly tell me what I already knew, that Simon is perfect?  And why does Dr. Thompson have to move away now that everything is getting scary?  I'm literally in tears over it.

He called me about a year ago when I was on a drive for work which was really just an excuse to have my mental breakdown in the privacy of my own car. He asked how I was and I lost it, sobbing nearly uncontrollably. He empathized with me and talked me off a ledge. And then there was the time last chemo when he told his room full of students that Simon is very dear to him.

When we brought Simon to the ER last month, it was the early hours of a Sunday morning when we were told there was an abnormality in his brain. All any doctor could do from that point until Tuesday(?) evening when I finally saw Dr. Thompson is frown and tell me they're sorry and everyone is talking about what to do. Nobody could tell me he had a chance. All I could take from their sorrys is they were sorry my son was going to die. All I kept saying to everyone is I want to see Dr. Thompson.

Once I did I immediately felt better. Simon's cancer is so incredibly rare it's hard to know what will happen but he did say more or less that Simon has a fighting chance. His tumor is inoperable now, but we'll get it down to size with some chemo and possibly radiation.


He has his next MRI in about 3 weeks. That will be the scariest piece of news I may ever receive. Even the news of cancer isn't as scary.  This will tell us if the chemo is working. Bad news will destroy all hope, at least for the short term. And our real doc won't be there. So help me if it's bad news and all I get is a frown and "I'm sorry" I shall not be responsible for my actions.

I think most of the time I'm in denial of the gravity of the situation. I don't think I could survive if I thought my son may not make it to kindergarten. But at night when I rock him I sometimes almost can't put him down because I feel like someday I may wish for just five more minutes with him. Just one more minute. And curse myself for not appreciating what I had.

Chicks & Guns

There is a family that lives across the courtyard from us that has a girl about 6 years old.  She's taken quite a shine to Simon.  He doesn't get to play with kids too much, sadly, so when The Girl is out playing with some boys that live next door, he's very intrigued.  He wants to go see his "friend".  That's what he calls her.  He doesn't use her name.  She's outside quite a bit so we run into her when we go for our evening stroll.  This is after bath time in hopes of seeing Venus or the moon or some other such thing.  So, Simon is in his jammies and I carry him around.

Tonight we went to take out some trash.  He said he wanted to "see his friend."  I said we'd be back after we took out the trash.  When we came back I asked if he wanted to say hi to her.
Simon: "No."
Me: "Do you just want to sit here and watch her?"
Simon: "Yes."

Oh, my.  I had to sit with him and help him watch a girl.  I do realize I'm making more of a thing of it than it was. It was a bit odd, but he's got a bit of a fear of social situations which I more than understand, so I try to be patient with him and help him feel comfortable.

But, I'm not so sure I dig him making friends with The Girl.  Most of her play involves toy guns and she aimed one at me tonight.  The husband and I have made it very clear to Simon that no guns or shooting toys are to ever be aimed at a person.  I know he's a boy and makes shooting noises when he holds a stick and makes cars fight, but I do want to set some limits and living in a gun-crazed state makes me nervous.  I told her that we don't point guns at people and had to talk to Simon again about how just because she does something doesn't mean it's okay with me and Daddy.

The whole situation also brought something to mind.  My show now is Modern Family and there is a mother and son on there that reminds me of how I will be (and how I am).  I'll let another blogger recap the situation.  I've searched high and low for video of this scene and can't.  But as a mother of a son who knows it's going to be hard to let go, it's priceless.  You can read about it here. 

In the premier episode last week, Manny is studying with a girl he has a crush on. She comes to his house where Manny's doting hot Columbian Mama Gloria (Sofia Vergara) makes the kids chocolate milk. The young girl with whom Manny is smitten says that they always add salt to chocolate milk at her home. Gloria, threatened by another 'woman' in Manny's life,  says she doesn't like it that way.  Of course, when she tries it without the two in the room, she really loves it.

I've posted lots of reviews and recipes that call for salt and chocolate. Salt gives chocolate a certain pop, and I think you'll find it very refreshing in chocolate milk. Just don't add too much. A pinch will do.

The Modern Family Chocolate Milk with Salt Showdown:
Gloria: So how is it going?
Manny: Great, Kelly's moving her stuff into my notebook.
Gloria: This is sudden.
Kelly: It just felt right. Oh, you know what you should do, put a pinch of salt in the chocolate milk, it really brings out the flavor.
Gloria: Salt is for the popcorn.
Manny: Sounds good.
Gloria: You wouldn't like it.
Kelly: Maybe we should let Manny decide.
Gloria: Okay, here's the salt. We'll see what he likes.
Manny tries both:
Manny: Wow! It's great! Try it, Mom.
Gloria: I don't care for it. - See more at: http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2010/09/national-chocolate-milk-day-chocolate.html#sthash.EV9Pl9rj.dpuf

In the premier episode last week, Manny is studying with a girl he has a crush on. She comes to his house where Manny's doting hot Columbian Mama Gloria (Sofia Vergara) makes the kids chocolate milk. The young girl with whom Manny is smitten says that they always add salt to chocolate milk at her home. Gloria, threatened by another 'woman' in Manny's life,  says she doesn't like it that way.  Of course, when she tries it without the two in the room, she really loves it.

I've posted lots of reviews and recipes that call for salt and chocolate. Salt gives chocolate a certain pop, and I think you'll find it very refreshing in chocolate milk. Just don't add too much. A pinch will do.

The Modern Family Chocolate Milk with Salt Showdown:
Gloria: So how is it going?
Manny: Great, Kelly's moving her stuff into my notebook.
Gloria: This is sudden.
Kelly: It just felt right. Oh, you know what you should do, put a pinch of salt in the chocolate milk, it really brings out the flavor.
Gloria: Salt is for the popcorn.
Manny: Sounds good.
Gloria: You wouldn't like it.
Kelly: Maybe we should let Manny decide.
Gloria: Okay, here's the salt. We'll see what he likes.
Manny tries both:
Manny: Wow! It's great! Try it, Mom.
Gloria: I don't care for it. - See more at: http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2010/09/national-chocolate-milk-day-chocolate.html#sthash.EV9Pl9rj.dpuf

In the premier episode last week, Manny is studying with a girl he has a crush on. She comes to his house where Manny's doting hot Columbian Mama Gloria (Sofia Vergara) makes the kids chocolate milk. The young girl with whom Manny is smitten says that they always add salt to chocolate milk at her home. Gloria, threatened by another 'woman' in Manny's life,  says she doesn't like it that way.  Of course, when she tries it without the two in the room, she really loves it.

I've posted lots of reviews and recipes that call for salt and chocolate. Salt gives chocolate a certain pop, and I think you'll find it very refreshing in chocolate milk. Just don't add too much. A pinch will do.

The Modern Family Chocolate Milk with Salt Showdown:
Gloria: So how is it going?
Manny: Great, Kelly's moving her stuff into my notebook.
Gloria: This is sudden.
Kelly: It just felt right. Oh, you know what you should do, put a pinch of salt in the chocolate milk, it really brings out the flavor.
Gloria: Salt is for the popcorn.
Manny: Sounds good.
Gloria: You wouldn't like it.
Kelly: Maybe we should let Manny decide.
Gloria: Okay, here's the salt. We'll see what he likes.
Manny tries both:
Manny: Wow! It's great! Try it, Mom.
Gloria: I don't care for it. - See more at: http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2010/09/national-chocolate-milk-day-chocolate.html#sthash.EV9Pl9rj.dpuf

In the premier episode last week, Manny is studying with a girl he has a crush on. She comes to his house where Manny's doting hot Columbian Mama Gloria (Sofia Vergara) makes the kids chocolate milk. The young girl with whom Manny is smitten says that they always add salt to chocolate milk at her home. Gloria, threatened by another 'woman' in Manny's life,  says she doesn't like it that way.  Of course, when she tries it without the two in the room, she really loves it.

I've posted lots of reviews and recipes that call for salt and chocolate. Salt gives chocolate a certain pop, and I think you'll find it very refreshing in chocolate milk. Just don't add too much. A pinch will do.

The Modern Family Chocolate Milk with Salt Showdown:
Gloria: So how is it going?
Manny: Great, Kelly's moving her stuff into my notebook.
Gloria: This is sudden.
Kelly: It just felt right. Oh, you know what you should do, put a pinch of salt in the chocolate milk, it really brings out the flavor.
Gloria: Salt is for the popcorn.
Manny: Sounds good.
Gloria: You wouldn't like it.
Kelly: Maybe we should let Manny decide.
Gloria: Okay, here's the salt. We'll see what he likes.
Manny tries both:
Manny: Wow! It's great! Try it, Mom.
Gloria: I don't care for it. - See more at: http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2010/09/national-chocolate-milk-day-chocolate.html#sthash.EV9Pl9rj.dpuf

On Second Thought.....

Maybe his wish is to meet Iron Man.  Hmmmm...  Of course, I'd come along to supervise.

Downey and the kid.

Too Old

I've been trying to teach Simon that he's two years old for a while.  Sometimes I wonder how much he learns, but most of the time I chalk it up for he's too busy for my rules, man.  Ain't got time to be my trained pony.  Anyway, it's starting to kind of sink in.  Except if I ask him how old he is, he says "Too old!"  I think he's leaving out the "years".  He knows he's going to be three very soon.  But he only gets two candles on his cake for some reason.  And I'm going to be 3 on my next birthday.  Daddy will also be too old.

Make A Wish

Tomorrow Make A Wish comes to meet Simon.  I'm excited for him.  I'm not sure what to expect, though.  I know my dream is for him to meet these guys:

 And ride in this:

I know they're not Tom Cruise or Brangelina, or whoever the kids are into now, but still, I figure mostly these kids of wishes are for the bald-headed, got-3-months-to-live type kids, which he ain't.  I figure three-year-old former cancer patients with excellent prognoses are more in the "Hope your wish is a night a Chuck E. Cheese, kid!" realm.  Still, a mama can and will dream. 

A Good Day

Lately it seems my Saturdays with Simon haven't gone terribly well.  They've been turning into Battles of Will... not fun.  Not the way I want to spend my one day with my boy.  Sometimes I feel like a single parent that only sees him every few weeks and I gotta pack ALL THE FUN into one day and treat him to whatever I can think of. 

Today was different.  We didn't get a lot of time together.  We both took something like four hour naps and woke up around 2:30 this afternoon.  Then we had some lunch and after an hour of working on him to get him ready to go out to the store we were off.  He was really upset about leaving certain toys behind and was crying so hard, begging to be picked up from the cart.  I'm all about picking up my boy when he needs a hug, but I also have fallen for that one too many times in the store.  It typically results in me holding him by the collar talking to him through gritted teeth. 

We were almost done so I talked him into going to see the dog.  Every time he goes to Target we take him to the wall of TV's to see the commercial with the dog.  Sometimes I feel like I must look like a horrible mother parking him in front of those TV's but there really is a reason.  I feel like I have to justify it to everyone around me.  "Really, he just wants to see the dog.  Honest."

Then we passed the dollar corner with all the whatnot. He found a little stuffed bear with a heart that he fell in love with.  It's kinda shoddy looking, but man, he picked it up and hugged it and kissed it and loved on it.  So he came home with us.  So did a little foam airplane for throwing.  We had some good fun throwing it around the living room.  It's perfect because he can throw it to his heart's content and not hurt anything.

Then, miracle of miracles, he actually ate dinner!  I made tortellini and got out one of his new divided plates.  One spot had tortellini, another had sauce for dipping, and man oh man, the third had PEAS!  He was so flippin excited about those peas.    He ate everything up.  Then we sat on the couch and watched a bit of a movie.  I had my popcorn, he had more peas.  He kept snuggling with me. 

He was silly after his bath, jumping around off his bed.  I tried to take a picture to send Daddy since he was at work.  I got a decent one and was texting it to Daddy and asked Simon what he wants me to tell him.  Simon made his L for Love sign.  My heart almost broke from the sweet.

After I put him to bed I heard him sorta starting to cry and whimper.  I didn't want it to turn into a big thing so I went in to check on him.  He couldn't find Frog.  So we searched all his blankets and found him.  I tucked him back in and kissed him.  He said, "Please turn out the light."  Then my heart did break from the sweet.

Hi, Daddy!