so much to update!

my sister got married this weekend! ian and i were supposed to be there but i was flying NW (strike and mechanical problems) and was bumped to delta. but they had mechanical problems too and basically ian and i were in the airport for a few hours going back and forth and i pushed a little bit too much physically and triggered a little flare up. ended up plopping myself on the ground in the middle of the airport with ian on my lap, feeding him M&Ms while we waited for tom to come and pick us up. so didn't make it to karen and scott's wedding. but by all accounts it was a wonderful, special day. hopefully i'll see more pictures and hear more soon. the first pic is karen and elizabeth, my niece.

i spent a few days in bed and was feeling better until today but now am a little under the weather again. spent the afternoon in bed and will rest as much as i can this week since we're planning a trip to charlotte this weekend and i want to be energetic for that, and i start my new job next week! this second pic is karen and scott in the courtyard where they got married. isn't it beautiful?! and in the first pic, don't they both look amazing?! elizabeth is adorable!

other big update.. i've been trying for several months to get set up with doctors here. it's insanely impossible! i used to go to the clinic at my medical school. despite the fact that i was a patient there for years, as well as a medical student there, and know several of the doctors there, because i was gone for 3 years for residency i'm considered a new patient and there isn't anyone taking new patients. i've been calling a few times a month since may, trying to get in with someone. it's impossible! the rheumatologist is at the same clinic, at my medical school. i was able tog et in with her because my seattle rheumy called her sent all my records, etc. the new dr agreed to see me in july, which was when the seattle dr wanted me seen. despite telling her she'd get me in in july, her scheduler offered me september 15 as the earliest available. i've called several times to see if there was anything sooner but there isn't. she also can only see me on wednesdays, which is a clinic day for me, too, so not a good day! anyway, i've had a lot of pain lately and have been taking my pain pills every night. dr gorman said it was ok to take them every night and it's such a relief for me to have the relief from pain in the evenings so i can sleep. anyway, i'm going to run out in a few days. what a bummer! so i called today to see if the new dr would write me a prescription to tide me over until the appointment. the receptionist gave me a really hard time about it until i gave up. this sucks. i'm a doctor myself, and i feel so helpless to get the care i need!

anyway, i called this family dr that tom's sister's friend sees. and they're getting me in on monday, miracle of miracles! and i made an appointment with a rheumatologist out by where i work. screw MCV (my med school)! it doesn't matter if this new dr is the most brilliant rheumatologist on earth, it's no good to me if i can't get in to see her!

oh dear, so sorry for the lack of updates! i will get better at this when i get into a routine, i promise!

there hasn't actually been much ti update. tom and i have both been running around like made things getting stuff done. my todo list keeps accumulating as fast as i get stuff done. but i think we're making progress finally!

i took some photos downstairs last week. it actually is looking a bit better now because we've unpacked a bit more and put some pictures up, but this at least gives you an idea of how the place is looking!

the downstairs is open plan, in a circle. you step from the front door into a small hall and this is the living room in front of you:

looking back from the other side of the living room:

looking back into the hall:

moving further around the circle, we turned the other oend of the long room that is the living room into a (teeny) dining room:

now the kitchen, looking right:

and left:

then the office (it's looking much better now than when i took this):

hope you enjoyed the tour! the only pic i have so far of upstairs is the "virtual closet" that tom and i spent last week making. see we only have one teeny closet between the two of us, and one dresser. so tom got those, and we made this for me. it's designed for walk-in closets but we just put it up at one end of the bedroom! it's functional!

mum or karen, if you're reading this, ian and i are coming on thursday afternoon, something like 3:30 pm. i'll have his carseat. i haven't rented a car yet, wasn't sure if i should or not. we'll have ian's carseat. i'll call you both tomorrow to touch base. karen you must be getting excited!!! i certainly am!

oh dear. i'm in "too sick to get out of bed but in too much pain to sleep" mode. i hope it goes away soon! *pity party*

wow, this week flew by!

we found a new school for ian. he was actually doing well at the other one, but tom and i both had misgivings about it so i looked around and found this awesome one really close to us. the coolest thing is that they have a teaching philosophy that matches ours. they have an amazing mission statement. they're about allowing each child to explore and learn in their own unique style and at their own pace. the teachers seem nice and the kids are calm and nice. it's much quieter than the other school, and the ratio is better. they don't yell at the kids. i think it's going to be great! he starts on monday.

heidi (tom's sister) moved to a new apartment today. now she's just a block away, instead of the other end of the city. and ian met a friend! there's a 3 year old boy across the street! his mom brought him over to say hello yesterday. we're all very excited for them! they're the only two kids in the neighborhood!

i've been tapering down my prednisone and yesterday was my first day off it. it's going well! i've only been off prednisone for 4 months since getting sick in april 2004. hopefully i can stay off it for longer this time!

more pics from today. we went to the park, fed the ducks & geese, and played on the playground.

and one more of the mini:

it's here! it's the prettiest car i've ever seen!

good news..  the mini is in the US and should be here soon!  i can't get the photo to upload right now but i'll add it later.

just a super-quick update. sorry they're few and far between at the moment. i haven't had much time and when i do have time, like in the evenings after ian goes to bed, i'm usually too under the weather to write. i've been doing well for the most part, just the usual, and it hits me hard in the evenings. my neck has been particularly bad, which is uncomfortable. but enough with the complaints!

our carpet got laid today and the hardwood floors will be done wednesday. the carpet isn't anything exciting. it's berber (how do you spell that?) and we picked it because it was pretty cheap.. but it's nice to have the old yukky carpet gone! ian starts his new school tomorrow. he's excited but i'm nervous. i hope he likes it and doesn't feel lonely without his familiar friends and teachers. i have tons to do tomorrow. need to get tickets to austin! and none of my cobra stuff has come and it's almost the end of the month so i need to call and figure out what's going on with that. and we never got reimbursed for the wheelchair even though we paid out of pocket and the insurance company sent them a check for over $4,000 over a month ago. and more unpacking. need to dig out my desk.. it's buried under boxes at the moment!

lots of updates as of yesterday.. our stuff is supposed to come today (!), as is the subaru. the floors won't be installed until next monday. nothing seems to have been done when promised!

i visited the hospital daycare yesterday morning. no car, but our friend nate gave me a ride. it was very disappointing. yukky, small, dirty, institutional place. concrete outside with lame play equipment. tiny room with linoleum and barely any toys. yuk. so i came home and made several more phone calls. visited a place called skipwith academy. it's in a big old mansion. it has a huge yard with cool play equipment and all mulched. and an open plan inside. much nicer. still not as nice as ian's daycare in seattle but after the place i'd seen in the morning i was so relieved to find a nice place i paid on the spot! they're hoping to find room for him at least part time by later this week.

seattle has apparently turned me into an organic food snob! i knew i'd miss trader joe's.. if you've never shopped at a trader joe's you're missing out! organic food that isn't overpriced or snooty. there isn't one here. the closest is D.C. i've seriously considered making a trip up there just for the store! well, maybe i'll also visit my old friend lesley and her baby boy whom i haven't met yet! anyway, i checked out the organic store here and it was disappointing. not very practical stuff and overpriced. i'm trying to persuade tom to open a trader joe's franchise here! in the meantime, i'm going to check out the farmer's market and i'm trying to join an organic farm co-op: you buy shares of the farm, either with money or labor, and get a share of the produce delivered each week. cool! in case you hadn't noticed, i'm psyched about having time to cook again!

almost forgot.. my mini is on its way!

not much exciting going on today. i spent most of the day lying down because my joints were all stiff and achy for some reason. not sure i'm so much worse suddenly. i even have some numbness back in my right hand. took percocet twice today so feel all yuk from that. bleh. it was good timing for harry potter to have come yesterday though! i'm almost finished with it! ian watched a couple of movies today, and played with aunt heidi for a while outside. he got so hot!!! oh, and i figured something out about him - the cause of his toxic poo! he has this issue where occasionally he'll get diarrhea that burns his skin really badly. i mean right after he goes, even after just seconds on his skin, it gets horribly red and burned and he's so miserable and we have to give him sitz baths. it usually last for a couple of days and resolves. it's been happening since he was a few months old and i never until now figured out the offending food. but these past couple of days we're been eating a lot of strawberries. he loves them! we don't get them often because they're so pricey but he ate most of the two boxes we got a few days ago and now he has toxic poo. poor ian! no more strawberries for him!

tom has been great, playing with ian for most of the day. he got to watch the end of today's stage. hincapie won! awesome!

tomorrow hopefully we'll get the floors done. i didn't get to do the baseboards in the last room - our bedroom, because i couldn't today, but it'll be fine. tomorrow morning i go get a tour of the hospital daycare and hopefully sign ian up! the car should come too, since it was due by yesterday. tom's car i mean, not mine. can't wait for that!!!