Okay, know those really surreal moments in life? Had a big one today First some background:

Mom went in on Tuesday to get the fluid drained from her lung and to get scoped so the doctors would have some idea where the cancer is located this time around. They found no sign of the cancer, but did find some fiborous material on her right lung The docs told my dad that it is the likely cause of the fluid retention in that lung and asked if they should remove it while Mom was still out. Dad told them to go ahead. A 30-45 minute procedure became a 300 minute procedure and ended with Mom in the ICU Tuesday and part of yesterday. She was doing okay, though. Not as much pain as last time. The doctor that did the procedure said he didn't think the material was malignant, though we'll have to wait for toxicology to know for sure. They also sent in more of the fluid in for analysis - the last batch came back negative for cancer.

We went to visit her today. She was in the exact same room she'd been put in the last time she was at that hospital, when we were all in a state of shock and grief because of the cancer being discovered. I sat in there today and just thought about how I'd sat by her while she slept, how I'd had to leave the room a couple of times because I'd start to cry. But she was in such good spirits and seemed so much more alive today than she had in November. I think her desire to fight the cancer helps a lot and getting through the chemo helped as well. She knows what to expect.

The really good news is that they took the tubes out of Mom today and she got to go home (or at least had been told that before we'd left). The bad news is that her cancer marker is still elevated - 125. The doctors still don't know where the cancer is at this point (or aren't telling or told my dad and he's not going to tell anyone).

Cole hits the big 2 tomorrow. I'm thinking of celebrating by getting up at the moment he was born. I love the fact that he was born at home and really love the fact that I was the first person to hold him. Such an awesome moment. I think hold Accalia was as powerful, maybe even more so, but in a different way It looks as if the commie fucks (yeah, I said it) that run this state have ended any chance we have of getting another midwife, so we'll likely be stuck at the hospital. Amy says we aren't leaving until she feels ready to push, she'll do a short recovery there, and we'll come back home. That baby will not leave our sight, however. If I have to be an ass about it, I will.

As part of the celebration for Cole's big day, we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. It was fun seeing them run around and play the games. Amy and I even managed to get into it and play a few. I just looked on-line about their b-day parties. 9.99 per kid (they each get 2 slices of pizza, a soft drink, 16 tokens, and some other junk; the party gets a personal visit from Chuck himself. Have to see how Accalia feels about as the time rolls around next year.

Lastly, we're on the verge of paying $1000 to bat proof our house. We've had two of the little bastards in our house since the weekend (for some reason, one had a "Dump Daschle" sticker on its back, guess the disguisting and disturbing mammals stick together). I know $1000 is a lot, but not so much if you consider that it costs about $2000 for rabies treatment. And, if anyone did get bit, we'd be calling for the bat proofing at that time, so I figure we're paying 1/3 of what we could if we continue to ignore the problem.