Its so hot in Cincinnati

It has been SO hot in Cincinnati the past couple of weeks that we've just been keeping busy with indoor activities - storytime, museum center, recreations outlet, reading books, playing games. We're all about ready to get outside but we're just waiting for this horrible heat wave to break. Drew has some trouble outside when its this hot. You can tell everyone is anxious to get outside, but after about 15 minutes, Drew's breathing is heavy and he's slowing down. A cold drink and some AC and he's back to normal. He has been so healthy this summer (knock on wood) and I just hope it continues into the fall and winter. I like not having to deal with all the extras CF brings.

I had my first night of volunteering last week at Children's NICU and it was pretty awesome. There is something very humbling about talking with parents who have been in the NICU with their sick child for 8 months, or who are in there and potentially not leaving there with their baby. It helps to put your mundane, small problems into perspective. Most of the people I talked with were grateful to have someone who knew how they were feeling. Some wanted to talk. Some didn't really. Others told me all about their kids, while others asked all about mine. It wasn't as hard to be back in the NICU as I had thought it would be. Seeing all of the care that the doctors and nurses give there is just amazing. I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I'm not sure where these people come from, but I'm glad they are there doing what they are doing. Because it takes a special kind of person to care for sick kids the way these people do. I'll be volunteering every other Wednesday evening and I'm sure it will be different every time. Some of the people I talked with had just gotten into the unit that day and others had been there for weeks or months. I talked to parents and grandparents and got something different from everyone. But the one thing we all had in common was the will and desire to help our kids to get better. Its a really cool program, Parent TOUCH, and I hope that they do roll it out to the rest of the hospital.

We're getting ready to go on vacation in about 3 weeks and we're all excited! Ella had summer camp at her preschool last week and I got a good portion of the house cleaned. Shes going again next week and I'm hoping to wrap it up. Then we will have a week together before our week at the beach, and before we know it, summer will be over. I have to say that the kids are at a great age this summer to do lots of fun stuff together. I know as they get a little older and more independent things will get even better, but all things told, we had a pretty great summer!