Jemsweb

This week was Fat Talk Free Week, and yes, I know it’s Friday, but I just found out ok? Besides it is a good policy to live your life by. Check out the official video:

And read more in this article by the brilliant Kate Harding.

All went well at the sleep study thanks to a magic machine they have in the children’s wards which is a giant purple thing with wheels and a screen, that plays movies and games. Archie was in heaven sitting in his hospital bed with that contraption! Thanks Starlight Foundation – now where can I get one for home? We now have to wait for the results, though the nurse did recommend that I also get a sleep study done as I snored A LOT. How embarrassing!

We are off to the hospital shortly as Archie is going to have a sleep study to see if he has sleep apnoea. This means he has to sleep at the hospital with little electrodes attached to many many parts of his body, and they monitor his oxygen levels and all sorts of other things no doubt. In recent years, it’s been discovered that a large proportion of kids with Down Syndrome have sleep apnoea, which can impact their development quite significantly as they are not getting proper rest. Archie had it before which is why he had his tonsils and adenoids removed. If he still has it, he may need to wear a special mask when he goes to bed at night.

Anyway it’s my turn to be the lucky parent who sleeps at the hospital with him – as you can imagine, it’s no easy task getting him to lie still while the millions of electrodes are attached, nor is it fun getting him to sleep in such an interesting environment! Hence the luck wishing, please!

[Check the photo above - Archie lost his front tooth and is now a gappy grinned child.]

I have been struck down with a cold – just sneezing a lot, feeling achy of bone, and generally crapola. Struggling on doing a bit of work but it is very hard to concentrate on programming when your head is filled with snot. Archie’s been home from school also. And worst of all, last night I had to cancel my planned evening of beer and Lego Star Wars on the Wii at Ned’s house! Alas!

So tonight, it will be pizza, Big Brother, maybe a bit of So You Think You Can Dance – yes, really high brow stuff – as I lie on the couch and feel sorry for myself.

Well, June was a bit of a write off in terms of blogging. I had end-of-semester exams which pretty much took up every spare moment. The physics exam went pretty well I thought, but calculus was a nightmare! An hour and a half is not enough time for an examination!! I didn’t finish it and am pretty sure that I failed, unless everyone else did really badly as well. Never mind! There’s got to be one paper that you are severely tested on, and Calculus is definitely mine. If I have to repeat it at summer school, so be it.

Yesterday I slipped over on a piece of Lego (thanks, kids!) and whacked my forearm really hard on the wooden arm of the sofa. It really fracking hurt and was very tender, so I got Jan to take me to the hospital, just in case. Embarrassingly, it didn’t even hurt by the time I got there (after having ice on it on the way there!) The doctor was very nice to me though. It is still very tender today and gets a bit sore if I use the computer for too long. Still, I predict a full recovery!

Excited this weekend about my first weekend with no studying for a long time! It’s my Aunt Deborah’s 60th birthday and we are going out for a big family dinner tomorrow night which I am very much looking forward to. We even have a babysitter! Also we are going to see Kung Fu Panda tomorrow morning – Archie has been looking forward to it for about two months and watching the trailer on the internet at least ten times a day. Should be good!