GOING TOO FAST

From this pix 3 1/2 years ago with Mike, Syd and newborn Anthony...

to now with Julie (Jim's daughter) holding Anthony.

And Anthony who is already techno savvy at 3 

and older brother Syd who just turned 8 this week.

Syd tells me he is the 2nd best kid on his basketball team,

hee hee,

and he's also smart as a whip.

                Syd

It truly is remarkable but maybe kind of sad too

 how much these kids absorb and know at such an early age these days.

And how different parenting seems 

with all the resources our children have at their disposal for our grands. 

Is it a good thing?

Only time will tell how this new generation will turn out.

I really hope I live long enough to see it.

And I hope it's positive.

But based on what I'm seeing in our sheltered upscale neighborhood 

and community here in Anaheim Hills,

the generation before these young ones (the older teens) 

are going everywhere in their pajama bottoms,

 and don't want to work, get a job, or volunteer in their communities.

And the drugs,

not just the pot,

are easily available at our local high schools 

with Heroin being the popular drug of choice.

These kids here seem so entitled, slovenly and crazy disrespectful

 and that scares me.

I had a couple teens a few months back who were jumping our pool fence

which is prohibited and posted tell me to "F" off when I called them on it.

And when our security showed up,

 they were too chicken to take them on and let them stay.

Unbelievable!!!

And of course we are seeing less and less consequences.

I know there are exceptions but overall this is what I'm seeing.

Also noticing the boy and girl scouts/camp fire girls are a dying breed.

Is this just in Southern California or where you live too?

Are you as worried as I am?

Sorry for this rant,

it just kind of all spilled out.

Or maybe I'm just getting old and frightened.

LOL

And have I mentioned yet how much I dislike our Governor?

I better not let myself get started on that.

Ha ha!

CORRALING THE GRANDS

Trying to get all 3 of my boys to sit and pose for a picture was hard

Xmas Eve night.

They were so wound up as you can see.

Then they were ready to bolt after the first try.

Ok,

so everyone look at me and smile nice like Syd,

please...

Pop Pop, you look really done with this exercise.

But,

we are getting close here.

Let's decorate Pop Pop some more.

Gee,

this is the closest we got.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday.

We did both the lighting of the Hanukah candles

 and the singing of Christmas songs.

Plus the unwrapping of a couple of excellent  presents.

Merry Christmas All

And Happy Hanukah!

A BIT DISTRACTED

Good news first!

It's been awhile since I last opened up my blog and did anything with it.

Life has thrown us a real curveball,

but before I talk about it let me introduce this very handsome and chill fellow,

2 month old Jax.

He is the infant of my dental assistant Rhea,

who I've known since her Kindergarten years with my son.

The two of them went thru Elementary, Jr. High and High School together.

What confidence and knowledge Jax is displaying,

almost like an old soul who's been around the block a time or two. 

LOL!

Rhea has him snuggled beneath the baby blanket I knit for him.

Now for the bad news.

My husband was in a terrible car accident recently,

ran into a tree, and flipped our jeep.  

It's really a miracle he's alive,

that's what all the doctors and nurses are telling me!

He was ejected we believe thru the soft top roof of the jeep,

and broke his fall all along the right side of his body 

from the top of his shoulder to his hip and thigh,

and is black and blue all the way down with multiple scratches over entire body.

He landed in the dirt and was covered in blood when 911 was called.

Not buckling your seatbelt really matters!

Ha!!!!

For 3 days his right eyelid would not stay open or would his eye track,

but that has resolved itself.

And if that wasn't enough he split open his skull, was concussed

 and had 8 staples put in.

We think his head hit a nearby sharp rock.

I actually went to visit the tree and crash site.

But sadly there is even more.

We don't know how it happened but he completely ripped open 

his left calf and muscle all the way down to his ankle.

The surgeon said it was peeled back like a banana.

WARNING:

THESE NEXT PHOTOS ARE NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

These photos were taken after his 6th surgery,

and bandaging was being changed.

It was actually even worse then this but I've decided not to put those pix up.

Now some much needed good news after those photos.

Jim has not smoked or eaten fast food in 22 days.

He has lost at least 20 to 30 pounds in his mid section.

And because he is a diabetic he has not had any sugar either.

So cold turkey for all 3 vices.

He is going to be one healthy young man when he gets home.

A life changing experience!!

He has been in two trauma hospitals.

One in Santa Ana,

 and now he has been transferred to Mission Viejo.

He has had 7 surgeries on his calf and will continue to have more.

Plus extensive skin grafting yesterday that I have not seen yet.

(He is saying tonight that the graft is more painful then his calf injury)

Staples in head were removed and head has healed nicely.

He is so lucky to be alive.

His hair is growing in nicely and he has not shaved either.

He looks kind of like a captain of a ship.

Here he is with his grandsons last night.

It's the first time they have seen him since the accident,

and I know it really lifted his spirits,

that's for sure.

The state of the art hospital he is in now.

Our insurance's Trauma Hospital.

The place takes up a whole city block 

and each room is decked out like a hotel room with a couch/bed

 and deluxe bathroom. 

And the nurses aren't hiding behind a bullet proof glass partition

like in the first Trauma Hospital. 

What a difference and a blessing!

Who knew?  

Sometimes life throws you curveballs.

This was a BIG ONE!!

And still a long way to go towards healing.

And from now on, no seatbelt, no go.

GRANDS UPDATE

Son-in-law Mike in the upper left corner

Many of you have sent prayers and well wishes for my husband's daughter's family.

As you may have read a few weeks back,

our son-in-law is suffering from Stage 3 Brain Cancer.

He recently had a check-up and very little progress has been made

after all the radiation and chemo he has been thru.

So we feel fortunate and blessed that at least he seems to be feeling better

and has gone back to work,

and that the tumor has stopped growing in size.

But he still has a long ways to go.

My husband and I would like to thank all of you for your prayers for Mike and the boys.

We have been spending a lot of time with them,

especially enjoying those babies and watching them grow.

The two little men couldn't be more different from each other.

The baby is compact and strong,

beefy you might call him, 

showing a lot of personality and wanting to make us laugh.

He loves his big brother, the water and to eat,

and is crawling around the house like an unstoppable locomotive.

Syd is the more cerebral one so far.

 He is a sieve like his father.

He craves new information constantly;

he loves learning about everything.

He reads every night with his parents

and can name practically every car on the road,

even vintage ones.

His favorite place is the new Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Syd is long and lanky,

and not very interested in food.

He just started playing soccer and is thriving in the sport.

And he loves school and his teacher.

Both of the boys love their Pop Pop like crazy!

BABYSITTING DUTIES CALL

Oh Boy,

Jim and I got to do our first all day long with our newest 8 month old grandson.

We had a ball,

but it worn us out let me tell you.

Anthony is crawling now, 

but not with all fours. 

 He's only using his forearms and elbows.

He hasn't quite figured out the knees yet.

But he and Jim raced all over that house.

I was in charge of the all the walking around the neighborhood,

feeding and diaper changes

which suits me just fine.

The most challenging part was getting him to go down for his nap. 

He is a stubborn fellow.

hee hee

but I managed to get him down.

And man oh man can he eat.

He likes everything his mom set out for him.

I'm pretty sure I've not mentioned it

 but Syd and Anthony's daddy has been diagnosed with a stage 3 Brain Tumor this past February.

He has been battling it with such grace and dignity

and just recently was allowed to go back to work.

He is a proud Orange County Sheriff.

When he got home last night from work 

I could tell he is still really struggling to feel well and beat this thing.

So I'd like to  reach out to all of you and ask for your thoughts and prayers.

It has been really hard on the family as you can imagine.

Especially his wife,

my Jim's daughter.

She is truly exhausted.

He never complains and puts up the most brave front for all of us,

but I saw it yesterday on his face that it is a real struggle.

Thank you all.

OUR BEAUTIFUL BOYS

Jim and I are so very proud to show off our newest grandson.

Mom took Anthony and big bro Syd for their first photo shoot together,

and Pop pop and I are just tickled with the proofs.

We enjoyed these together today on FB with big goofy smiles on our faces.

Hoping for a few of these for Xmas to put into frames.

Hint, hint Jules.