So much has happened since last time I updated. Let me just first say that it has nothing to do with Anna's health. She has been great as a matter of fact!
Over a year now, huh? Can't believe I survived without one of these things (a computer) for so long. When my computer broke I had a neighbor friend who's husband works on computers for a living so she offered to have him fix it for me. Turns out that it was loaded with viruses, and needed a part that had to be special ordered and was a little pricey. I left the computer with them, in trust because what was I going to do with it? Besides, Lorraine and I had started being close friends when we were pregnant together, me with Anna and her with her daughter. She did a lot together, from having coffee in the mornings and watching each others kids when needed, to just hanging out and talking later in the evening watching our favorite shows. Really close.
A few months after I gave them the computer our husbands had a fight and there was a falling out between her and I. I figured a little cooling off time and things would go back to normal. In the mean time, they still had our computer and Jason was having trouble with finding a job to suite him. Jason had won Cubs tickets weeks back, and decided to call into work sick and take Anna to the game that day. Not the best move I know, but people do it. Lorraine, knowing Jason had the tickets, must have saw him leave that day. She had the nerve to call Jason's fairly new job, and ask for him. When they told her he wasn't available, she asked if he called in sick. I don't know if this is legal, and I still question it, but they told her that he had. She proceeded to tell them that he wasn't, that he was at the game and told them that he was the kind of person that couldn't be trusted in addition to a few more nasty comments. Now I ask you, what kind of person does this? Jason's boss called him a little later and told him that he saw Jason and his daughter on TV during the seventh inning stretch while they sing "Take me out to the ball game." Jason couldn't deny it because if it had been true that he spotted them (and it's not unlikely for them to catch a lot of fans on TV during this time in the ball game) he would be caught in an even bigger lie. He didn't get fired, but regardless of the fact, it's just not something that a friend does. I had a very loud talk with her, and from then on I knew that things would never be the same. I would have never nothing anything to that extreme to hurt a friend. Not only would she have hurt Jason by trying to get him fired, she would be hurting all of us. I did get the computer back but in much worse shape than when I gave it to them. Since I know nothing about computers I had no idea that parts were missing. I brought it to a dear friend of mine whose father also works on them. He told us there was nothing he could do for it. He said that he could tell it was intentionally broken beyond repair. I never could get a hold of Lorraine to get my parts, or whatever was missing from it. I decided to just leave it alone. It was not worth the frustration.
Since we lived in the same building with these "friends" we knew we needed to move. Since Jason wasn't making a whole lot of money at the time we didn't have a whole lot of options. We moved into the same apartment complex as Jason's parents, and had to get rid of our dog which was hard on all of us. It's a nicer, bigger place for us though. There are a lot of kids for the girls to play with, and a huge court yard for playing area. Mary had to switch schools. She was upset at first but made friends very fast. Anna had a very difficult time moving away from her best friend that she had known since the day she was born (Lorraine's daughter). Jason found a stable job and things have gotten better for us since. We got a kitten for our cat Gizmo because he was sad to loose his best friend in the whole world, the dog we had to give up. Of course the girls loved the kitten, but when you mention our dog Mary will break down and cry. Very sad, but we found her a good home, a friend of a friend that is taking great care of her.
The girls have all grown so much since I last posted. Alex most of all. From 1 to 2 is a big step. Anna just graduated from preschool, and is on to Kindergarten in the fall. I hate to report that she did not pass with high honors (ha ha). She is a talker for sure. I often got reports of her interrupting class, and not listening. That's just Anna though, hopefully it won't be a huge issue in kindergarten and years beyond that. Funny thing is, Anna's teacher and I figured out that her daughter in-law Heidi treated Anna in the PICU before and after her transplant. And she wasn't just any nurse (and fellow liver moms, or any frequent flyer's of hospitals, will probably know what I mean by this) she was THE nurse. We spent a good month there, so we got to know her well. She had Anna on most of her shifts, and had so much compassion. We love you Heidi!
Anna, like Mary, had no problem making new friends. A couple of close ones too. Only two kids from her preschool class will be going to the same elementary school, but I am not worried, she will make more friends and keep the old! Although she does mention her old best friend and how she misses her once in a while, she is getting over it, as am I.
I want to include some pictures of all three of the girls. This way I get to show you how much they have grown and milstones along the way! That will be it for this post. It's hard trying to remember how to do all of this stuff!
We celebrated Anna's Five year transplant Anniversary, she gets a new Leapster!
Close to around Anna's Anniversary she gets a clean bill of health at Transplant clinic and sits alone to get her blood drawn for the first time ever. What a big girl!
Then Anna gets her preschool diploma!
Then lost her first tooth!
Alex celebrates her Second Birthday
Then gets her ears pierced!
Mary, the nice big sister!
Gets her hair cut, first BIG cut in all of her 9 years. She loves it, and so do I! What a mess it was to brush through!
