Round trip

morning chores, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

Blink. Blink. Blink. ...

Did you miss that? In a stunning turn of events we have gone home, taken care of some chores and three of the four in our party (plus the dog) have returned to Maine.

You might have guessed that the one with the camera, the abdominal scars and the short fuse trucked the four-hour trip in just over six hours. ... Bah. The other one is working.

So here I am hopped up on coffee, frequent stops and a solid three hours of crying, whining and asking if we're there yet, wondering if it was worth the headache just for a few more days by the seaside.

I suppose so, although I will be hardpressed to return home until the Champ is speaking and Ittybit is learning higher math than counting how many blue trucks speed past us.

To recap: Tuesday we returned home because the boy had a doctor's appointment with the pediatric urologist. It was supposed to have been a consultation with the physician's assistant to answer our questions and get us up to speed on his hydronephrosis, however we ended up doing a full day of testing at the hospital in order to avoid preventative antibiotics for six weeks while we waited for a regular appointment. The champ had a renal ultrasound and was catheterized to check for reflux. He still has an enlarged left kidney, however the radiologist reported no reflux. So that means no long-term antibiotics and watchful waiting. They are hopeful (and I would say confident) that he will outgrow this on his own).

May I just note that he was so good about the catheterization (much better than I was as I had to hide tears from the radiologist). It was painful to witness. He was strapped to a board with his arms over his head, a strap across his belly and feet. They even had to redo the catheter because the first one they inserted was defective and leaked. Although he was miserable, Silas somehow managed to fall asleep after I put my finger in his mouth (he won't take a binky). But the torture continued when the poor guy had to be woken up to finish the test. They wanted him to pee and he was taking a snooze. The docs poured cold water on his penis and feet to get him to void everything they pumped into him, watching the x-ray monitor as the bladder gradually got smaller with each little fountain.

All I can say is I'm so glad it's over and he won't have to have that test again.

So today, after a playdate for Ittybit with Lori, we got int he car, fired up the DVD player and headed back to Maine. By myself, with the kids and the dog. ... the incontinent dog who's currently shedding.

Ummmm ... What was I thinking you ask? I haven't a clue, because after two stops, multiple crying jags and inch-worm traffic for miles (and hours) all I wanted to do was blink myself home in an I-Dream-Of-Genie instant.