Ear surgery is behind us. Sort of.
The procedure was successful. Our little man is recovering. He had multiple skin grafts from abdomen, thigh, and skull.
He had an incision on his skull to vascularize the ear implant. He was a real trooper and I'm just overwhelmed with emotions. I love Corbin more than words can express. God is good.

T minus three days

It's Thursday, July 7th. Sunday, the 10th we board the plane to California.
It is still not sinking in fully. We're going across the country in three days. Three days later Corbin will be rolled into the anesthesia department and I might just crawl out of my skin. I'm hoping to tame the anxiety with books and a "teach yourself to knit" kit. Yes, I will be attempting it. Again.
Lately we've been squeezing every bit of summer fun out of this fleeting summer that we can. We have made several trips to Mema's pool. Corbin even put his face in with goggles on this past Monday!! That is true progress as he was reluctant to even get his face wet in the pre-swimming shower at swim lessons just a few weeks ago. He has had a blast with his bicycle, tricycle, sand box, and swimming pool this summer. I am sitting here thinking that it has flown by, but in remembering everything we've done since Memorial Day, it has been a pretty packed month of fun. We have settled into a little routine of twice-weekly trips to the reservoir trail. He rides his tricycle (with big off road tires) around the lake and then hops into the jogging stroller so that I can jog around it. That makes a total of just a little more than 4 miles. We spread out a blanket near the geese and have a picnic. Corbin likes to share crackers and goldfish with the geese and ducks. When we aren't chilling on the back deck in the sand box or riding circles in the cul de sac, we can be found on regional adventures;)
I have gotten a little braver as Corbin gets older. We went to the beach by ourselves and camping. The camping trip was so refreshing and evoked such fond memories of Blowing Rock and Boone. As I hiked the trail around Price Lake with Corbin on my back I couldn't help remember countless climbing trips with my Dad and sister, family camping/hiking trips, grueling road bike rides on the parkway, training runs with my ASU teammates. I LOVE western North Carolina. It holds a special place in my heart. I hope to be able to share it and enjoy it more with Corbin. After all, how bad is a three hour car ride when you get to see spectacularly gentle mountains fading into the blue horizon.

First of all, we miss Daddy. We really wish he could have been at the beach with us. For one thing, he's much better at making Corbin feel secure out in the ocean. And for second, he looks handsome in swim trunks and makes my heart thump. And third, he's just a fun guy to have at the beach because he likes to relax. In honor of Matty Patty, we made some sand art.










This little guy worked very hard on sifting sand, finding sea shells, and building castles. I was overwhelmingly delighted at how much he loved the beach. It was the perfect temperature- upper 80s with a fantastic breeze. Corbin didn't turn that scary shade of purple that I'm so accustomed to when he's playing outside in Pinehurst. We were able to stay out for about 2.5 hours in the morning and then about another 1.5 hours in the evening. We went for a stroller run this morning on the beach and saw a very big jellyfish stranded on the sand. It was so entertaining to field Corbin's questions. "Mama, is that fish just going to stay there in the sand? Why doesn't he get back in the ocean? Did a wave put him here? Does he have legs?" Though I'm never engaging my brain much in our conversations, I'm totally engaging my heart. It's so amazing to have a little buddy to chat with all day long. It's comical, no doubt, that we speak about potties, electrical boxes, fire hydrants, Chili Cat, and other such shenanigans ALL DAY LONG.

Motivational slump. That is how I'm describing my state of mind lately. I have had NO desire to do any blogging. No desire to follow through with resolutions (by the way, probably the last year I will make any). BUT, I have been taming my inner beast. What I mean is I have been tackling my restless nature over the past few weeks- meditating, doing Yoga practice a little more regularly, giving in to the whims of my heart and mind. For instance, I just did not feel like running today. And so, I didn't. I took a nap instead. I sat on a park bench at the reservoir after Corbin rode his tricycle (TWICE) around the lake. I contemplated the geese. I stared at the water. I enjoyed doing nothing. I enjoyed doing nothing?! For the past decade I have berated myself in my own head for not being/doing more. I should write a book. I should be more musical. I NEED to learn to sew or knit. Wouldn't it be cooler if I could speak Italian? Spanish is boring. I never should have dropped out of pre Med studies. So, for the first time. I am recognizing that we generally, as humans, do exactly what we are inclined to want to do. I enjoy playing with Corbin, running, cooking meals that take a while to prepare, reading, surfing the net, tending to potted plants, stretching, and drinking wine. Yep. That's it. If I feel so inclined any time soon to add anything else to my life, I will. Now THAT, my friends, is progress.
So, for the newest Corbin update- he continues to be so inquisitive. "Why" is his favorite word. I don't mind answering it. I like that he asks questions. He also has a better memory than I do, and he corrects me all the time. I will remember a clip from Sesame Street but ascribe it to some other kids' show, and he'll just look at me and sigh, "you said it wrong , Mama. That was not from Grover. It was Cat in the Hat."
Way to keep me on my toes, buddy. Maybe together we can keep Alzheimer's at bay. He has shown interest lately in my friends' babies. When we had the pleasure of playing with Nathan twice last week, Corbin would help me with the chores. He grabbed the baby wipes when I was changing Nathan and he encouraged Nathan to eat his barbecue chicken so that the two of them could enjoy a strawberry cupcake after dinner. :) So sweet! He also rubbed Micah's feet and gave Micah Chili Cat when we babysat sweet little 3 and a half month old Micah. I love watching Corbin develop compassion and tenderness. He asked me if his transformer was going to scare Micah before he brought it out to play with it. He didn't want the baby to cry. If only Corbin could always be so sweet. There have definitely been days lately where he says hurtful things and I have to remind myself that he's just 3... i.e. - on Mother's Day he told me he was ready to get a new mom that had my hair and my voice, but that was new. I guess I had stuck him in timeout too much that day. He redeemed himself though when I picked him up from "school" Friday and he gave me a hug and said, "I love you mama. Let's go home and play." Melted my heart. Right there.

Is that Corbin on a "carnival" ride? Yes! I had a date with my little man Saturday morning to the Spring Fest street fair in downtown Southern Pines. He had a great time, but kept telling me how hot he was. Poor guy is as heat intolerant as his daddy. I, on the other hand, did not mind the weather at all. Bring on the sunshine! We bought some tickets and rode this generic version of the teacup ride. It was literally called something like Bucket of Fun. I'm not joking. Then Corbin went through a fun house for kiddos. The slide at the end was hilariously fast and his facial expression assured me we would not be having the argument about him wanting to do it again but mama not having enough tickets. I immediately flashed back to Aunt Gaycie and Uncle John tricking me into riding the Grizzly at Kings Dominion one summer. "No problem. Just stand in line with us. You don't want to ride, that's fine. We understand you're scared. When we get up to the roller coaster car, just step on through to the other side." Unfortunately when we got up there the ride attendant told me that I had to ride! I'm still not sure if he was joking or if my aunt and uncle put him up to it?? Either way, I cried most of the ride. So pitiful. I was unwilling to admit at the end that it was actually fun. I rode all roller coasters from that day forth. Hopefully Corbin will go through the next fun house we encounter. Next he wanted to get in the bouncy house. Can I just say that these things totally gross me out?! I swallowed the phobia and allowed him to play on one condition: his socks remained on his feet. After witnessing one kid with toenails caked with dirt and another girl's slimy feet being pulled out of her crocs before entering, I just knew I couldn't let him go in sockless. Imagine the fungus! Imagine the crud! Imagine...No. Don't. ANYWAY, we shared an ice cream and a lemonade in front of the dunking booth. Corbin kept saying, "Why is that lady getting dumped into a fish tank?" He is just the best little companion to have around. So much unintentional comedy. I can't possibly keep up with it all on this blog.
The jumpy house reminded me a lot of the book club book we just finished- Water for Elephants. I found myself staring at the carnival workers. I secretly wondered if they had drama behind the scenes in their caravan of trucks and RVs. It's not quite as intriguing without a train.
Can anybody in the blogger.com world tell me how to insert photos midway through a post? I don't want all the photos to be lumped together before the text. I'm too impatient to fish around for the solution. I just want somebody to tell me what to do. How's that for lazy?
Well, friends, it's Sunday night and to borrow one of my moother-in-law's favorite expressions: I'm turning into a pumpkin.

We're climbing trees, folks! He is growing at such a rapid rate now. I want to tell the universe to put the brakes on. Matt leaves again very soon and I am sorry to report that I believe he is still in a lot of pain with his back. We have enjoyed having him here, but I wish he could have found more relief. The giant needle used to inject steroids into his back yesterday has left him very tender. Tension always amps up right before a separation. You'd think after YEARS of this that we'd be pros at taming those emotions. Anyway, back to the boy. A few hilarious comments to share. Among this week's best-
1. As we were driving to Corbin's "school" Monday morning I was listening to Frank Sinatra on satellite radio. Corbin yelled from the backseat, "is that Santa Claus on your radio?!"
2.When C invited me into the bathroom to inspect his poop yesterday, he declared while flushing- "that brown poop goes down the sewer pipe manhole, mama"
3.Tucking him into bed tonight he said, referring to himself as a robot,: " This robot sure does miss his mommy when she goes to work, but he gets happy when she comes home."

It's perfect to be in love. I don't say it enough- my two boys are pretty awesome. Matt does so many responsible, caring, loving things for me that I often overlook. I'd say finding this new rental house and doing the majority of the move details (rental truck, planting a few shrubs, dumping off trash and recycling boxes) tops his recent list. It's good to stop and be thankful. For an unknown reason (hormones?) I am grumpy today. Absolutely unacceptable. I'm blogging this to document what a stinker I can be and to remind myself that I am blessed. I have a precious preschooler and a charming man in my house.