Not-so-wordless Wednesday

Thanks for the comments on yesterday's post about dumb stuff I waste money on; they helped me realize that I am far, far worse than I'd even thought. Like Insomniac Mummy and Debbie from Finding Normal, I am a sucker for getting the kids toys. Like Lianna, I buy Max bananas as if he were a primate or something, and then half of them end up rotting. Like Meredith from Templin Family, I stock up on Band-Aids, of the Princess and Cars variety. Like Tiff, I hoard photo frames. And like Dianne, when I'm fond of a t-shirt, I get it in several colors.

I hope you will all be here to comfort me when I someday spend my last cent on bananas or Band-Aids.

In other news, I still haven't given in to Max's repeated requests to have our car towed just so he can see it on a tow truck. If any of you happen to own a tow truck and are willing to drop by, just say the word.

Sabrina, who's four, continues to think she is the adult in our relationship. Dave called my cell last night as I was headed home from work, he'd taken the kids for ice-cream. "Tell Sabrina she can't eat Max's ice-cream," I said. "Mommy says you can't eat Max's ice-cream," Dave told Sabrina. "Mommy's just kidding," Sabrina informed him.

Last week I told her that Max is going to go to a special doctor soon (for stem cell therapy), and she'll be getting to go to a sleepover at my friend Wendy's house. She didn't ask too many questions, other than whether Max will be getting on a plane and could she bring her Ariel doll to the sleepover.

I know I said I wasn't going to get my hopes up too high, but they're inching up there. We've been getting encouraging e-mails from people as far away as Turkey and Australia who've gotten stem therapy for themselves or their kids. One reader, Lorraine, sent me this video about a boy I'd heard of, Dallas Hextell, who got a stem cell infusion at Duke (that's where we're going). It's incredible to watch. But Dallas is so young, it's hard to tell whether or not it was the stem cell infusion or natural development that helped him progress. See for yourself.

Last, words of gratitude for Eunice Kennedy Shriver, an amazing lady who founded the Special Olympics in 1968. Her advocacy for people with special needs helped bring them into mainstream America. And for that, I owe her. May she rest in peace.

Photo by Alistair Hall