The Lindenbergs

A fraternity brother and very good friend of mine, Steve Delorge., was having some recent health problems that were tentatively diagnosed as either Hepatitis or Colitis. After some exploratory tests they determined it was in fact cancer of the pancreas. Steve goes in for radical surgery on March 15 with an estimated 7-14 days of hospital stay and about 6 weeks to recover. Chemotherapy and radiation treatment look like they should not be necessary at this point, but they'll re-evaluate after the surgery.

Steve's taking the news very well and he's quite upbeat. The doctors think his prognosis is a good one for recovery. That being said, Steve has obviously had quite a shock and I don't doubt he's pretty scared (I know I would be). Steve is a firm believer in the power of prayer and has asked that we keep him in our prayers. I'm passing along the request to you. If you'd like to drop Steve an email, regardless of whether you know him or not, I'm sure he'd appreciate some words of support. He can be reached at spdelorge@yahoo.com.

Thanks everyone
-Eric (Dad)

As usual, most of the funstuff at our house involves the kids. A few things that have happened over the past few days:

• On Friday night we went to Chuck E. Cheese. Pierce's favorite game was getting a cheesy looking monster truck to run over a clearly rubber car that would "smush" when it got landed on. Anna loved some of the rides so much she would try and push other children out of them so she could get in. Both kids scarffed the pizza.
• Anna's come down with a whopper of a cold. Nasty cough and a nose that won't stop running. We were concerned she might have an ear infection too, so I took her to the doctor -fortunately her ears and throat are clear. The last couple of nights have been pretty sleepless for her and consequently pretty sleep-deprived for us.
• Pierce is getting literate. He's sounding out words and starting to recognize words in the books we read with him. He seems to really enjoy it.
• Monday I had the day off and played Mr. Mom. Pierce, Anna and I went to Wonderscope (a children's museum) then went downtown to have lunch with Nora. We went to Fritz's, a local hamburger place that delivers food to the tables via electric trains. Obviously Pierce is nuts for the place. Generally speaking the food is terrible and we had to wait in line to get for at least 30 minutes just to be seated (this is at 1:15 pm). All that being said, Nora and I were named heros of the day by Pierce for taking him to the "train" restaurant. On the way home both Pierce and Anna fell asleep (not surprising for Anna -it was her nap time). Interestingly, once we got home Pierce slept the rest of the afternoon and Anna got up shortly thereafter and was a regular whirlwind. Holy role-reversals Batman!
• Last night Pierce and I played catch. Pierce is actually becoming quite a good thrower. Its amazing to see your kids evolve new skills. Its like magic.
• Anna took her own shirt off last night when it was time for a bath. I think we're still helping Pierce take his shirt off regularly. At this rate Anna may be driving by the end of the year...
• Anna loves doing jigsaw puzzles. Interestingly, she's happy to do the same one over and over again. Some of the puzzles she's able to do by herself I find difficult.

Well, I'm sure there's more that's happened that I've already forgotten. The time just seems to go by so fast.

-Eric (Dad)

We got a call from the pet adoption agency last night. Here's the email Nora put out describing developments:

Hello. Unfortunately, we found out last night that we're not going to be getting Maggie after all.
At the time that we saw her, she was very mellow. Her foster mom had her for 3 weeks and said she never chewed furniture, jumped on you or acted extremely high energy. That sounded perfect to us, since we both work full-time and have small children. So we decided to adopt her. Last night we found out she is starting to exhibit these behaviors. The person from HAHS says she thinks Maggie was so mellow before because she was depressed or mourning not being with her former owner, and now she's starting to come out of that and her true personality is showing through. She's 67 lbs and we can't have that large of a dog jumping on our kids, so we are back at the drawing board, searching for the right dog for our family. I'm sure it's for the best. This way Maggie can find a home more conducive to her temperament.

Needless to say we're disappointed. We haven't really broken the news to Pierce and Anna yet (fortunately they can't yet read this blog). I suspect we'll conveniently "forget" Maggie was supposed to come home with us.

-Eric (Dad)

On Saturday our continuing dog hunt turned up a winner. The whole family fell in love with a chocolate lab/retrieve mix, Maggie May. Here's the email Nora sent out:

Meet the newest member of our family, Maggie May. We adopted her on Saturday. She's a lab/retriever mix and she is very sweet! She hasn't been spayed yet, so her foster 'mom' is going to set up that appt and we will bring her home next weekend. Eric, Pierce, Anna and I are very excited to have Maggie join our family!

-Eric (Dad)

I asked Pierce if he would like to draw on the chalkboard with me last night. He gave me an enthusiastic yes. He proceeded to draw a house with a window and a door, a driveway, a parked car, and Joe and Steve (from Blue's Clues) and wispy clouds skirting across the sky. With the exception of Joe and Steve, which were just stick figures, everything was easily recognizable.

It seems like just yesterday Pierce was barely drawing recognizable circles. He seems to get real joy from being creative. I hope its something that he will continue to enjoy through his whole life.

-Eric (Dad)

A couple of nights ago I had a couple of very nice women come by the house to discuss some work they'd like my video production company to do for them (Edited Memories). Pierce and Anna both run to the door when they arrive; I suppose thinking that it was going to be someone they knew. No sooner have the women walked into the house than Pierce gives one them a bigger bear hug than I've ever received. To repeat, Pierce has never met this woman before in his life.

After a few minutes of visiting and introductions to the whole family, Nora takes Pierce and Anna into the kitchen to play with Play-doh. Half way to the kitchen Anna abruptly turns around, follows us into the dining room (where we're to discuss their video project), pulls up a chair (declaring "this is MY chair) and proceeds to participate in our discussion. For those who haven't been keeping track, this is the same daughter that hides behind furniture when her Uncle, whom she's almost weekly, says "hi" to her.

I don't think there is actually a point to this story, but it makes me smile every time I think about it.

-Eric (Dad)

Over dinner last night Nora was sharing with us the origins of Valentine's Day (something she read on the internet). The conversation went something like this:

Nora: Do you know how Valentine's Day started?

Pierce and Eric: No

Nora: Well, back in the middle ages there was a King who decided to ban marriage so that all the men would be available for his army.

Eric: I don't think Pierce and Anna know what "ban" means

Nora: Oh, the king wouldn't let any of the men get married because he wanted them to be...

Eric: ...soldiers

Nora: Yes, soldiers. Anyway, there was this man named Valentine who protested this action. So the king put him in jail. Valentine had recently fallen in love and before Valentine was executed his girlfriend sent him a letter in jail and that was the first Valentine card.

Eric: Did you just say executed?

Nora: Umm, yeah.

Eric: I don't think we'll explain what that word means.

Nora: Hmm, that's probably a good idea. Ya know, I didn't say this was the "children's version" of how Valentine's Day started...


I wonder under what inappropriate circumstance Pierce will decide to use that word...

-Eric (Dad)

I just finished the book "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel last night. It took me a couple of months to get through the first few chapters. I kept picking it up and putting it down without making any head way. Finally I took it on my business trip to New Jersey this week. I think I read the whole thing in about three hours.

If you only read one book this year make it "Life of Pi'. Its exceptional.

-Eric (Dad)

We had a very busy and very fun weekend. It started with Pizza Night on Friday evening. Nora and I wanted to do something fun with the kids for dinner without going out some place. I stopped by the store on the way home from work and picked up Boboli pizza crusts, pizza sauce in a squeeze bottle, and gobs of shredded mozzarella cheese. Pierce and Anna both got to make their own, kid-sized pizza (with a little help from Mom and Dad) and Nora and I made our own vegetarian deluxe. Both kids were so excited when their individual pizzas came out of the oven and Pierce was quite enthralled by the pizza cutter. The best news of all was that they snarfed their creations. Nora is quite enthusiastic about including pizza night as a regular event in our house. I'd like to figure out another food that the kids can also help make, but am coming up blank. If you've got any ideas please email or post them to us.

Saturday morning we took Pierce and Anna to see Sesame Street Live: Elmo's Coloring Book. It was a hit. Both kids sat in rapture through it with Pierce talking to the characters when they asked the crowd questions and singing along to the better known songs. Anna was entranced and really only started to lose focus in the last 10 minutes of the show. Nora and I really enjoyed it too -its the first time we've taken the kids to see something like this. I thinks the only downside was how expensive it was -Ticketmaster has got to be the biggest ripoff on the planet: $5 convenience fee per ticket for purchasing over the internet and $1.25 fee per ticket for printing my own tickets instead of going to Will Call. Sigh.

After we got home and got the kids lunch, Nora's Mom watched Pierce and Anna while we went to go look at dogs (we're looking for a pet). We came up empty this time around but did take Pierce and Anna with us on Sunday to look for likely candidates. We haven't found a dog yet, but Pierce and Anna LOVE going to the pet store. They were great with the dogs but also couldn't get enough of the fish, gerbils, hampsters, and birds. They even like the aquarium decoration section! We're planning on taking them with us on future outings to find a new pet for our home.

Saturday afternoon (that's right, we're still on the same day) we went to the Deaver's house for their children's joint birthday party. The party's theme was knights and dragons and there appeared to be about 20 children running around with balloon swords, plastic knight helmets, princess hats, and king's crowns. Everyone had a blast!. The highlight had to be the pinata. Each child took three wacks at it (including Anna with a little help from me). Ultimately it took Brook about 5 minutes of seriously hard slugging to get the thing to break. By the time he was done practically every plastic toy in the pinata had been broken. As usual we outlasted the crowd and got to spend some quality time with the Deaver clan before calling it a night.

Sunday we skipped our usual gym trip and went out to a family breakfast at First Watch (in lieu of our usual IHOP trip). A very pleasant experience. While IHOP food is good, the crowds are so bad Nora and I always feel like herded cattle. The tables are so close together we practically bump elbows with those at other tables. This was a much more pleasant experience and one we plan on repeating. The only hiccup in the experience was that I left the "leftovers" on top of the car as we pulled away. I noticed when we turned a corner and a cup of milk skittered across the street. Nora and I are still in mourning of the kid's pancakes we were going to eat when Pierce and Anna weren't looking. To the best of my recollection this is the first time I've ever left anything on top of a car. Nora claims the only time she's done it was under the same circumstances; when's its raining and you're trying to get the kids into the car quickly.

As already mentioned, from the restaurant we went and looked at potential pets. We went home so I could pick up my car and went to the pet store separately so I could pick up my brand new suit (yea, the first one I've bought in about 8 years) on the way and stuff it in my suitcase -I had to fly to New Jersey when we were done looking at dogs.

As usual, the weekend went by way to fast.

-Eric (Dad)

The last couple of days have been interesting. On Wednesday night Pierce started complaining about an earache. Recently whenever he comes down with a cold he seems to have a better than even shot at having ear problems and he's been fighting a cold for about a week. We have some over-the-counter ear-numbing drops that will usually get us through the night until we can get him to the doctor the next day. Truly a miracle solution, 4-5 drops and he's solid for the night. Not Wednesday night. We had to give him more every couple of hours.

By Thursday Pierce was miserable. Feverish, pale, crying and generally unhappy all he wanted to do was sit quietly and watch TV (if Grandma would let him). Just prior to me taking him to the doctor he got sick to his stomach in a manner I can only describe as Niagara Falls-like. Of course he had a full blown ear infection that required antibiotics. For regular readers of this blog you know that oral medicines do not go well with Pierce. He voted for a shot instead.

I'll let you use your imagine to visualize how that went. But you can add to the list of Pierce's maladies sore legs. I took the rest of the day off and Pierce and I went home with a side-trip to pickup some McDonalds french fries to salve Pierce's injured spirit. Pierce watched some Blue's Clues, ate french fries, and fell asleep in front of the TV. A few hours later, after a tear-filled transfer to his pajamas and bed, Pierce was down for the night.

Flash forward to this morning - Amazing what a night's sleep can do. Not only is Pierce's fever gone, so apparently are his cold and sore legs. His color is excellent and he's back to his old self and eager to go back to school and play with his friends.

I'm not particularly religious, but some times God shows up with a helping hand at the most unexpected times.

-Eric (Dad)

When we were flying back from Va. Beach a few weeks ago we had a fairly long layover in Cincinnati. After eating and letting the kids run around and burn off excess energy, I took Pierce to use the bathroom. He protested the entire time that he did not need to go, but I don't necessarily trust the word of a recently potty trained 4-year old.

Pierce does not urinate standing up, so after finding a vacant stall I introduced him to the concept of those "for your protection" toilet seat covers (which he found pretty amusing). Pierce had just gotten himself situated on the bowl when the toilet's motion sensor determined Pierce was done. The cammode flushed with an impressive roar. Needless to say Pierce jumped about 6 feet in the air. Pierce absolutely refused to sit back down on the toilet. He. was. done.

Flash forward to last weekend. We're eating at a restaurant and Nora decides to take Anna to the bathroom for a diaper change. Pierce, not wanting to be out done, insists he needs to go potty too. The threesome were gone for about 5 minutes. On they're return I asked Nora if Pierce really needed to go. Nora relayed the following conversation:

Nora: Ok Pierce, go potty.
Pierce: Uh, Mom. Is that an automatic flush toilet?
Nora: Yes
Pierce: I don't need to go potty.

I think we may have scarred the poor child for life.

-Eric (Dad)

- Got the OK to Test!! Hooray!

Eric is SO great about keeping the Blog up to date. I often feel guilty that I rarely make a contribution. Honestly, I just do not have the time, unless I want to stay up late on the computer, like tonight. Actually, tonight I am up late because of work. I was supposed to be doing some testing, starting at 9:30pm. I tried logging in at that time and got a 'Page Cannot Be Displayed' error. Tifany (my manager) called me to say they aren't ready for us to start yet and she'd call me when she got the word. It is now 10:47 pm and we still haven't started the testing. So, in the meantime, I can surf the internet, add an entry to the Blog, organize my home office, etc.
Ahh, enough about that. Eric and I went to the gym tonight. We told Anna we were going, but I don't think she fully understood until we pulled into the Bally parking lot. She immediately started to cry, "No, I don't like it, I don't like it". But, we got out of the car anyway and I carried her in, talking the whole time about how she could play with the toy kitchen and cook something or maybe watch the Wiggles. Those are two things she really enjoys. She calmed down and Eric and I were so proud of how she handled it tonight; not 1 tear was shed as we left the Kid's Klub to go workout. The caregiver, Elsa, is super with her and I think Anna is just getting more and more comfortable with the place and with Elsa. It makes working out easier for me because I don't feel guilty about putting my kids through something that makes them miserable. Pierce has been great about the Kids Klub for a long time, but he always seems to adjust better than Anna does, to new places and people, even when he was her age.

OK, it's 11pm and still no call. Bummer.

Oh, for those of you who really know me, I LOVED to play with Barbie dolls when I was a young girl, and I have been very excited for Anna to be introduced to Barbie. My Aunt Jan and Uncle Rich gave her her first Barbie for Christmas when she was 1 year old and since then, she has gotten a few others for other gift occasions. This past Holiday season, she got the Happy Family 'Midge' doll. It was a little grocery store set up and I got it on Clearance at Target (I love bargains!). It came with the Midge doll, a baby in an infant carrier, like a Snugli, and a toddler in a grocery cart, and even some groceries! I took out the Midge doll w/infant and gave it to Anna to play with and left the other stuff for when she is older. She calls Midge the 'mommy'. I also gave her a 'Ken' doll, which she calls the 'daddy'. She doesn't play with them very frequently, but when she does, it is so cute - I love it! her favorite things are still teddy bears, Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie, pretend food, dishes and kitchen set and Pierce's toy tool chest. She loves to cook and to fix things!

OK, it's 11:13pm and although I still haven't heard anything, I'm going to say 'Good Night' to you. Hopefully it'll be less than 6 months between now and my next Blog entry!

~Nora

This morning (early) I woke up Anna to get her dressed before heading off to karate. She woke up in a good mood and was talking to me as I was getting her clothes assembled for the day. I pulled from her closet a little blue outfit. Anna appraised my selection and shook her head. "Shirt red" she says, pointing at her shirt drawer. "You want a red shirt?", I asked. "Yes Daddy". Of course I put the blue outfit away and got her one with a red shirt.

Is this a big deal? Not really, except that to this day I know I could dress Pierce in anything and he wouldn't care. I can't believe Anna's already starting to develop a "clothes sense".

Also, we brought up from the basement a game table we bought a couple of years ago. It includes pool, air hockey and ping pong. We've been looking for an opportunity to bring upstairs for awhile but didn't want it to get lost among all the toys the kids got for the holidays. Over the weekend Pierce asked if he could play it.

The kids are a scream with it. Anna runs around with the table yelling "triangle, triangle, triangle..." and Pierce demands we shoot pool with him and then leaves to do something else as soon as we start playing. Air hockey is equally interesting since neither kid can hit the puck all the way across the table. Both kids love the score spinners on either side of the table.

-Eric (Dad)