Lukey-Luke Turns One.....

I don't know when I started calling that sweet baby Lukey-Luke instead of his real name. I generally do that with names. (I once had a student named Shane, and I started calling him "Shaney Waney." Instead of being insulted, he started putting that on his papers when he turned them in.)

Back to Lukey-Luke.

Can you believe this is the same little boy I wrote about last October, when he came into the world weighing all of 1 pound 15 ounces?

His parents are some of my favorite people. I hope their next year is MUCH less stressful than the past one has been.

Happy birthday, Lukey-Luke!

Casey Cagle's Charity Ride.....

Casey Cagle is our Lieutenant Governor, and he is an avid cyclist. He also sponsors several charities, one of which strives to combat childhood obesity.

It isn't a huge ride (yet), only in its second year, but it is only 20 minutes from my house, so I was eager to ride it. It gets old driving two hours or more to ride a bike 50 to 60 miles.

Today's ride had options of 20-something (we never pay attention to that one), 50, 66, or 100 miles. We knew we wouldn't be riding the century, since that's what we did just LAST Saturday. I was sort of leaning toward the 50-miler, using the excuse (?) that I had to go to Lukey-Luke's birthday party at 4:00. I succumbed to peer pressure, however, and went along with Rozmo and Rita on the 66-mile ride (which turned out to be only 65, and I was glad). Rita was her ever-cheerful, upbeat, happy self, and once again I resisted the urge to tell her to put a sock in it.

It was VERY, VERY, VERY chilly at the beginning. So chilly that when the route started off on some nice downhills, I whined, "I don't WANT to go downhill!" Naturally those words came back to haunt me at the end of the ride, when we had to go back up those very same hills.

The Lieutenant Governor was trying to ride with multiple groups today, and we saw him at the first rest stop. Rozmo (the only person I know who could get away with such things), said to him, "You lied to me! You said it was only hilly at the beginning!"

I told her, "Yeah, but he didn't say how long the beginning WAS."

Then Rozmo proceeded to tell our state's second-in-command that he had nice legs and that he might want to consider shaving them. (In her defense, she did NOT tell him, although she said it to me, that he had a nice butt.)

The route went right by the subdivision where Lukey-Luke and his parents live, and I was tempted to just stay there and tell Hubby to meet me there for the birthday party. But there was the whole shower/clean clothes/make-up/hair thing to consider, so I pedaled on.

I would be happy to do this ride again, particularly since it is so close to home. If they have it at the same time of year every time, it will just be a crap shoot regarding the weather. It could be 40 degrees, or it could be 80. That's just the way it goes in the South.

By the way, I didn't get many good pictures of Baby Luke at his birthday party. He was sleepy and overwhelmed with all the goings-on, and many people were jockeying to take pictures. So I stayed out of the way for the most part, but I will see if any are worthy of posting tomorrow.

Lukey Luke.....

I've been meaning to post photos of Baby Luke for the longest time. First I had to make sure it was okay with his daddy for me to share photos of his son publicly. Then I kept forgetting. Then I had this tooth thing that wouldn't let me have a coherent thought for about a decade.

For those of you who don't remember, Luke is the son of one of my co-workers. He was born on October 23, 2011, approximately two and a half months before his due date. 

Luke is over 10 pounds now, and he's thriving.

He doesn't look like he used to weigh 1 pound 15 ounces, does he?

Just when I had decided I would FINALLY post an update about Luke, his uncle made a video and put it on YouTube. His daddy again gave me permission to post it here. It's kind of long (8 minutes), but it's the sweetest thing ever. It does a good job of showing the progression of Luke's growth. (It also shows his crusty uncle has a tender side, which I NEVER would have guessed!)

Some Updates.....

I realized I haven't updated you lately on several ongoing situations. You may not be waiting with bated breath for these updates, but it gives me something to write about other than the fact that I have to go fold a load of laundry. You're welcome.

• My mother-in-law is doing well, although she is not able to walk very well. She has a motorized scooter, and she has asked Hubby (and sometimes me) to come and help her walk around her living room and dining room with her walker every day. I don't mind doing it, but her ultimate goal is to be able to drive again. Mother. Of. All. That. Is. Holy. We don't want her to drive, and right now she doesn't even have the leg strength to go out TO her car. But we don't want to take that big step of taking her car keys away either. I feel that will kill whatever dignity she has left. I'm not sure what the answer is. She even suggested to Hubby that he could come down there and help her in the car. I understand she doesn't want to be isolated and trapped in that house, but if she doesn't have the strength to walk on her own, who's to say she will have the reaction time required to operate a car? Shudder.
• Baby Luke is thriving, and his daddy is learning to get by on a lot less sleep. (Tee hee.) He's up over nine pounds and has a sweet little grin. They still haven't taken him out in public, except for trips to doctors and therapists, and I can't wait to see him in person. He's a cutie, and I am thankful for the miracles of modern medicine that this little guy has grown from 1 pound 15 ounces to where he is today.
• I got a new crown (next to the OTHER new crown) on the tooth that was giving me so much trouble, and while I was afraid it had all been for naught, it FINALLY stopped hurting. I still have only a temporary and will get the permanent crown next Wednesday. The date for my regular cleaning? Next Thursday. And no, they can't be combined into one appointment, thanks for asking. I will have been at my dentist's office more in a single month than I usually go in two and a half years. But the pain is gone, so I am eternally grateful for that. I don't remember the last time I CRIED in the dentist's chair, but I'm pretty sure it was before I started driving. I will, however, be happy when I can chew gum again. Although I typically only chew gum in the car, because I'm one of those people who should NEVER chew gum in public.
• I hit a weight plateau back in the summer, and not only have I NOT been able to break through it, I've allowed about 5 pounds to creep back on. I wanted to lose 15 more pounds, not turn them into 20 more to lose. I need to track my calories again, because that's what works. And stay away from roasted peanuts. They are my crack, and I can't stop once I get started.
• I'm almost finished with my latest crochet project because it's for someone who may still be reading my blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise. No, it isn't you. Or you. Or you. But it might be you. If you think you might have reason to expect an unexpected gift, it's probably for you. If it isn't, then your surprise will be NOT getting a crocheted gift.
• I'm reading a fabulous book that is 852 pages long, and I already know I'm going to be disappointed with the ending. Not the WAY it ends, just that it will be over. Luckily I believe it's part one of a trilogy. Review forthcoming.

Update on Baby Luke.....

I haven't updated my readers (all four of you - thank you for your loyalty!) lately about Baby Luke, mainly out of respect for his parents and not wanting to violate their privacy.

As many of you know, Luke is the son of one of my co-workers, born prematurely on October 23rd. His due date wasn't until January 4th. He weighed 1 pound 15 ounces and was able to breathe on his own from the very beginning.

Luke progressed very well and went home almost two weeks ago, much earlier than anticipated. His dad came back to work and reported on Luke's status every day. Luke gained weight steadily and was weighing in at almost five pounds when school dismissed for Christmas Break.

We got word on Monday of this week that Luke was back in the hospital and had been transferred to Scottish Rite in Atlanta. He has an infection of some sort and while he is responding well to antibiotics, doctors are having trouble finding the source of the infection. Cancer has been ruled out, much to everyone's relief, but in the meantime Luke has developed an upper respiratory infection on top of what he was already battling. In addition, doctors have known for about a week that he has a hernia that will require surgery in the next few months.

Luke was moved out of ICU this afternoon and into a regular room, but he will remain hospitalized at least through the weekend. Fortunately he won't remember that he spent his very first Christmas in such a sucky place. I mean being in the hospital in general, not the specific one where he is being treated. If I had a sick baby I could wish for no better place for him or her to be than Scottish Rite.

Please keep Luke and his mama and daddy in your thoughts. I'm sure the parents and grandparents are exhausted and frustrated with the uncertainty. This is probably not how they envisioned spending Christmas this year, or any year.

Suddenly my problems aren't so bad.

Updates.....

A couple of updates....

Mother-in-law is doing better. The doctor cleared her to start putting weight on the arm she broke, so she can (almost) get herself up and down. She has managed to get herself in her scooter and get around her house a little bit. Yay! The biggest problems remaining currently are her inability to sleep in her own bed and her inability to pull her pants back up when she goes to the bathroom. I wondered aloud to Hubby tonight if she would ever let me know not to come to her house at 6:00 AM every day (including weekends and holidays), and he said, "Nah. You're in it for life." Or something like that. But at least she's progressing.

Baby Luke is progressing as well. He is probably going to be in the hospital for AT LEAST another 8 weeks, but he has been able to breathe on his own, he has been able to suck on a pacifier, and he has been able to digest some food. Not steak and potatoes, you understand, but he has been able to keep down what they have given him. His mom's blood pressure is still elevated, so they are keeping her in the hospital for now. I think the hardest thing for her is yet to come: The day she has to walk out of the hospital and leave Baby Luke behind.

I tried to describe this picture to Hubby, but I kept getting choked up and couldn't finish. I finally asked Luke's daddy to send it to me so I could show Hubby just how tiny Luke is. The new daddy came to school today, and he said he could put his wedding ring around Luke's foot. It's impossible for me to wrap my head around the idea that a baby can be that tiny.

Hubby is fully immersed in at least his second childhood. After almost a year of euphoria caused by being debt-free, he has purchased this new toy.

While I don't tell him what to do (and he doesn't tell ME what to do or not to do), I did say to him SORT OF JOKINGLY, "You don't need anything with 140 mph on the speedometer."

His response?

"I will not go any faster than 130."

I am headed to Florida after school tomorrow for a dual purpose: #1 - To see my Sweet Girl, whom I haven't seen since June; and #2 - To attend the Georgia-Florida football game, formerly known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. More on that tomorrow or Saturday.

We Interrupt this Blog Post.....

I crossed another item off my 50 Things to Do list today, and I have the video, sore muscles, bruises, and  battered ego to prove it. It will have to wait until tomorrow night, though, as more pressing (and important - are those the same thing?) news is to be shared first.

Baby Luke was born at 8:13 this morning, all whopping 1 pound and 15 ounces and 13 inches of him. Incredibly, he did NOT have to be put on a ventilator (yet) and is doing quite well. Mom is doing well too, but since she had a Caesarean section and I was at the hospital just four hours post-delivery, I didn't get to see her. Dad is AMAZINGLY calm and is doing an incredible job of managing the circus that is her family, his family, friends, and co-workers at the hospital.

Luke's daddy showed us a picture of nothing but his hand holding the tiny one of Luke, and that image is burned in my mind. I'll have to see if he will share it with me.

Luke's grandmother told us at the hospital to go home and look up the Bible verse Luke 1:15 (because that's how much he weighed). 

I find modern medicine just incredible.

My Heart Hurts and Not Just from Holding My Breath....

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about how thrilled I was to finish another crochet, a baby blanket for Baby Luke. Luke has no other choice but to be completely adorable, because both of his parents are.

Luke's daddy came to us fresh out of college, the only male (at that time) on a staff of cynical (at least in  one **ahem** case), female, veteran, very-much-set-in-our-ways educators. He had just completed his student teaching in a traditional classroom, teaching computer applications and other business courses, and then we threw him in a NON-traditional setting and pretty much said, "You'll figure it out as you go."

And figure it out he has. He has grown into a caring educator, a flexible colleague, and a firm but fair disciplinarian. The fact that he and I spend hours discussing baseball and football is just a bonus. He's a year older than my Sweet Girl, but he feels much more like an equal.

Yes, that is an affected pose.

He's just a good guy. And he married a good girl.

They are young but responsible, already completing their six-year specialist degrees (an educator's certificate that lands between the masters degree and a doctorate here in Georgia), planning carefully, fiscally sound. In other words, more mature than I can ever hope to be.

And now they are faced with an enormous, gigantic, stupendous, overwhelming challenge.

I won't go into all the medical terminology, mainly because I've already forgotten a lot of it, but Baby Luke, due January 4th, may be born very soon. As in the next two weeks. Mom's blood pressure skyrocketed and protein appeared in her urine, classic signs of preeclampsia. Her condition has already set Luke's growth back by about three weeks. Doctors say if she does not improve, then Baby Luke will be better off OUT than IN the womb. They feared they would have to go ahead and do a Caesarean section last Wednesday night, but mom's condition has stabilized somewhat. Doctors estimate Luke weighs about 750 grams right now, which is about 1.65 pounds.

Tiny.

Scary tiny.

I didn't get to see mom in the hospital today, but I visited with the daddy-to-be for a long time. He is calmer than his nature dictates, especially considering the circumstances, and he's WAY smarter about pregnancy and babies and medical conditions than he was this time last week.

Hospital personnel gave him a tour of the NICU, showed him a preemie baby born at about the same stage as Luke (he said it wasn't as scary as he thought it would be, further evidence that he's beyond his years), and they gave him a preemie diaper. He showed it to me, and it looked like a freakin' mini-pad - emphasis on MINI.

Mom is doing better, but the situation is literally day-by-day. They don't know at the beginning of each day if they will become parents that day.

If you could spare some prayers or warm thoughts or incantations or whatever you turn to in times of trouble for this family, I would consider it a personal favor.