Good Good

Leaping nimbly over the fact that the surgeon (who swore he would call me yesterday morning but if not I was simply to call the office and they would pull him from the very bowels of hell to speak with me) was not actually scheduled to work yesterday and therefore... anyway. I did finally talk to him this afternoon and he was very reassuring. Caroline's lump is mostly breast tissue. Don't ask me about the "mostly" qualifier; I don't know - I'll ask my pediatrician when we go into see him. The surgeon: does not want to do a biopsy now; does want another ultrasound in three months; thought we should talk to a pediatric endocrinologist in the meantime; and summarized by saying that in the absence of any underlying condition (see: consultation with endocrinologist) he thinks it will be fine.

I'm very relieved. Steve has this superhuman - one might say alien - ability to refuse to be concerned about anything until he is given a concrete reason to worry; so as I've been twittering around his office saying, "Oh good, oh I'm so pleased, aren't you relieved? I'm relieved" he's been looking been looking at his computer, like, uh-huh... sure... but could you... anything else?

I once asked him what it was like to live without an imagination and he replied by asking how the crippling insomnia's working out for me.

Patrick was home from school today (too cold and it didn't even hit -30; from Alaska to Calgary to Montpelier we've become the laughingstock of the lower Arctic Circle) and although I'll probably be sick to death of all three of them by the time school starts again on Wednesday; he and Edward and Caroline were very sweet together.

Years from now Surfer magazine will ask Caroline how a girl from Minnesota came to rank so highly in the sport and she will talk about her early days of training in the basement with nothing but a plastic slide and a dedicated coach.

Edward wouldn't be caught dead being pushed around on the scary surf sled. Nor did he care for the baby obstacle course Patrick created from tunnels and tents. However, he's always up for a cuddle.

It was a quiet day and, in the end, a very very good one.

Comments

[MJ]

How sweet are those pictures! Patrick totally rocks as well as those sweet smiles of edward and caroline.

[Toni]

I'm so happy that I checked back...and that it's mostly breast tissue. :)

I love the picture of Caroline surfing. Always need more women in sports. :)

[tgsdmom]

Yay! And they are all adorable.

[Beth]

Oh, I'm so relieved for you! Knock-wood all continues to go well with Caroline.

Hasn't this weather been ridiculous? I am so very over the sub-zero experience.

[Aurelia]

Okay, I can't grow a decent set of boobs to save my life and she gets some bonus boob ahead of time!?!

Totally unfair. Next thing you know she'll get really tall and grow Rapunzel hair down to her butt without even trying!

[Melissa Haworth]

hooray for good news.

[Courtney]

They play so good together. Or so the pictures say. I'm really relieved to hear that it sounds like the lump is just tissue. I was all concerned with the haste the doctors wanted everything done.

[Katerina]

I'm really glad & relieved for you (and for Caroline too, of course).

Patrick is amazing! Those are such sweet, sweet pictures. You are so lucky to have such lovely children - as you know.

Steve's ability is inhuman indeed. Thank god my husband has it too. Without them we'd worry ourselves into an early grave.

[suz]

Oh good! So glad for you.

[Laurie]

I'm so glad that Caroline's ultrasounds came back promising.
As for embarrassment over having no school. Imagine what I thought when the school's emergency system called to let us know that school had been called off for Friday due to the weather because it was going to be down to zero and they didn't want the kids standing outside in the cold waiting for the buses. Can we say what? I grew up in a much colder climate so zero is light jacket and maybe some shorts weather for me. I called my mother where they were -14 and the kids had school. That's embarrassing! We didn't even get snow, ice, rain etc. The roads were perfect, it was just cold.

[Vanessa]

Glad to hear that the lump appears to be nothing serious!

We had that exact same tent-and-tunnel set when my daughter was a toddler. The tunnel parts disappeared years ago, but we still have the tent, and she occasionally still tries to fit her great big 10-year-old self in there with a few stuffed animals. Definitely worth whatever I spent on it at eToys.

[Ruth]

Such a relief about Caroline! I also live with a guy who refuses to worry in advance, and it makes me CRAZY. I like company in my neurosis.

Also ... you have a fireplace in your basement. Color me envious ... the basement of our antique house is a dank and dismal place. No playing down there.

[pbjnancy]

Oh Julia, you are SO funny. I'm so glad I found your blog long ago. And that Caroline's report is good.

[illahee]

oh my goodness, caroline is beyond cute in that surfing photo! she sure is enjoying herself.

all your children are adorable. *happy sigh*

[Kristin]

So glad to hear that the docs think everything is ok. And I love the pic of Caroline surfing.

[vanessa]

I am so glad Caroline is OK!
And Patrick looks like such a good big brother.

[Mandy]

Yay! I'm so relieved that the surgeon isn't concerned!! I meant to leave a comment before, because my son (almost typed "sin" there, which made me laugh. had to share) had a lump on his chest near his armpit that suddenly appeared out of nowhere around 9 months. I use alot of natural soaps, and the then-current favorite was lavender and tea tree... the essential oils of which cause gynecomastia in little boys, since they mimic certain hormones; there are a few instances written about in different journals. We stopped using the soaps with those additives, and the lump disappeared by his next appointment. Not sure if this affects girls or not, but thought I would pass it along.

[Amelie]

Glad to hear the good news.
Your kids are all adorable!

[Melis]

OH this is good news! Your babies are adorable. Stay warm!

[Amy]

That is so good to hear. I am glad she is all right. You do such a good job of writing that you compel people to care about what you are writing about. In this case, your children.

The pictures are adorable. Your babies are getting so big! They do that don't they?

The school comment made me laugh. I grew up in Seattle and if the roads got a little icy they closed school. No joke. Now I'm living in Northern Virginia and it was 2 degrees when we woke up this morning and I was greatly missing Seattle, despite the freak snowstorm they just had.

[spoiledonlychild]

Speaking of crippling insomnia. Would you consider writing a post or 10 about this issue? I've had my own insomnia struggles for the past 6 months or so, and would be curious to hear about how other people deal with this incredibly stressful problem--and manage to hold the rest of their lives together, as you seem to do.

[winecat]

Yay about Caroline, big sigh of relief. She looks as if she's taking to surfing lessons quite well. And are those curls I see in Edward's hair?? The picture of he and Patrick is just delightful

[Jan]

Leaping nimbly over the fact that I (and perhaps other readers) were far more upset about this than Steve (I did not sleep at all well Friday night, having checked here as late as midnight East Coast time), even though I don't eveb know you, I'm so glad Caroline is likely fine after all.

[Gina]

I took my daughter to see a pediatric endocrinologist at UCLA when she was two because she had what looked like a slightly developed breast on the left. I was very freaked out. They examined her very thoroughly and pronounced her fine. I was worried that it would be precocious puberty, but since she was not abnormally tall and had no other signs of puberty they said that it happens quite a bit in little girls, almost as if a little hormone "leaked" into their systems and caused breast swelling. It went away after awhile and she was fine.

[Joan]

I read your blog all the time, and I am so relieved she will be okay...this child just captures my attention, she is so beautiful. You are very lucky indeed.

[FlippyO]

Phew, I feel lucky that I'm like Steve. I don't worry about medical things until there's a good concrete reason for worrying. I have enough problems right now that the extra worrying would kill me.

By the way, I was reading parts of your blog to my gf, which I do rather often, and she asked who was older (due to Caroline being the daredevil & Edward being the cuddler), Caroline or Edward, and I didn't know. I went and looked at the blog entries from their birth and I didn't find my answer. So, if anyone knows, please post. If not...then, Julia?

Also, I mentioned to the girlie that you call Caroline "Cricket", and she asked if that was a common nickname for Caroline or if it was just your nickname for her? We have a cute terrier mix named Cricket, who I wanted to name "Monster", which ended up being way more appropriate for a dog, who while being very very cute, also yaps overly much as some little dogs are wont to do. We thought Leigh-Ann's mom was going to adopt her, and I gave in on the name because I can't really picture her mom yelling for "Monster". It makes me laugh thinking of it, but alas, her name ended up being Cricket Monster, which flows rather well and fits her. She's both adorable and a little beast. Even muzzling her doesn't stop the bark - she's able to bark with the muzzle on and she's able to usually scrape the muzzle off her face, so she can bark at full blast. We buy long-lasting bones so we can watch tv in the other room w/o yapping interruption, and we call them "shut-up bones". But cute, no? http://tinyurl.com/8do33l

[FlippyO]

By the way, love the pictures of Patrick with the twins - cuddling w/ Edward and (age-appropriate) "roughhousing" with Caroline. They're such a cute trio.

[largirl]

All of your kids are freaking gorgeous, but Edward...he's unreal. He's seriously the Gerber baby come to life.

So glad everything is good with the little lady! I have insomnia too, so if you ever find a cure, do share....

[Lisame]

I've never wanted children (so, why you ask do I read a Mommyblog?) but if I did, I would want Carolyn! She is the perfect child in my opinion. Always so darned happy. Always moving.

[Cee]

Edward is just ridiculous. He is like one of those angelic cherubs in old paintings. Or the Gerber baby.

[Nat]

The adorableness of your children never ceases to melt me into puddles of goo. :)

[Erika]

Yay.

[Kathleen]

PHEW.
What an adorable bunch, too.
I can never decide if I should throttle or hug my husband for his alien coolness on similar issues. I'm just grateful the kids have both genes.

[Pam L]

Regarding your Redbook post, Inaugural, how did Patrick get the idea YOU were responsible?
He either A) thinks you're WAY older than you are or 2) gives you WAY too much power. It's good you were able to share all that with him.
I didn't get to see the whole thing, just bits and pieces. For what it's worth, George Bush gave what I thought was his best speech ever, from Midland Texas today. He seemed the most comfortable with himself and speaking that I've ever seen. And now President Obama has quite a job ahead of him.

[QoB]

@FlippyO - i think Caroline is older (headfirst) and Edward was breech. i imagine the details were at Redbook.

[Pam L]

From the Redbook post, Persuavsive, I both CAN and CANNOT believe Patrick would pull out his tooth and then ask you if you were done now. Too much, but I could also picture my younger doing just that at Patrick's age. I remember trying to get a shower, just a shower, without someone coming in needing me or something they perceived I controlled. I feel for you.

[Deanna]

I hope you won't find it any stranger than I did, since I don't know you, that I dreamed last night that you and I, my boyfriend and your son's invisible cat friend were going to Six Flags.

I need to lay off the hot sauce before bedtime. :)

[FlippyO]

QoB, ah, thanks. I didn't think to look through the REDBOOK posts. I guess if that's the case (Caroline first), it makes sense with our theory of the older braver sibling being born first. This theory is based on zero research, but as long as it works in this instance, our work is done. :)

[Christi]

I’m about to go through another IVF cycle + PGD… worked for us once after a “short battle” compared to you. We have a beautiful healthy girl. Stop there? I’m so afraid of twins, but when I see photos of Edward and Caroline and how adorable they are together… maybe it's not so bad. Love the surfer girl!

[Gillian]

Here is a totally off the wall comment. I didn't want to stick it in the current post's monster comment pile where it didn't belong either so I am trying it here.

With all the courtesy and grace I can manage (which is a strain for me as I am more the blunt, graceless type) it is just unreasonable for Redbook to stick your posts on a 'mom' board and ask someone else to be a co-blogger with you. If you were an 'everyday' blogger that might be great, but the fact is that you are just too good at what you do. Extremely few writers have the skills, voice and abilities to balance with your own and it must be grim to try. That is not to take away from the moms who have tried to do that it is just a fact. So, what e-mail address could a person with my convictions contact to let Redbook know they need to just create a 'Julia Column' that is available both online and in their magazine and let another two or three people handle the 'mom moment' forum?