A walk in the trail

This past week we enjoyed it with Luca's aunt. She had a chance to see our daily life, and it is interesting because I think every time someone comes, they probably see something different about our lives. It is all because of our situation, we are in a very fast changing environment, making decisions in a regular basis and seeing changes in Luca's progress and behavior also almost daily. We enjoyed doing things we don't usually do and that was fun and relaxing as well. When I take Luca to school, 2 h away from where we live, I need to be around to participate in his speech therapy. But when he is not in speech, he stays in the classroom with the other kids, being exposed to a very rich listening and talking environment. The parents can watch through a window, but we spend so many hours there that sometimes we need to find things to do for ourselves. I have been researching on the internet where the closest fabric store is located. Found it, but I just go there for my own entertainment and try not to buy things that I don't need. I have also found a nice Korean restaurant that I often visit while I'm there. Soon I will have tried the whole menu. It reminds me to restaurants in Japan. And I have also found a hidden park, with a playground, a pretty big creek, an owl that lives there and even trails! This is a very quiet and special place, and I plan to go there often with my sewing projects. I've been hand quilting my mom's never ending quilt over there and it is a wonderful peaceful time for me.
This was our latest walk around the trails of the park, hopefully not the last one.

La semana pasada la disfrutamos con la tia de Luca. Tuvo la oportunidad e ver nuestra vida diaria, y es interesante porque creoq eu cada vez que alguien viene, probablemente ven algo diferente de nuestras vidas. Esto es asi debido a nuestra situacion, estamos en un ambiente que cambia rapidamente, tomando decisions todo el tiempo y viendo cambios en el progreso de Luca y en su comportamiento casi a diario. Disfrutamos hacienda cosa suq enormalmente no hacemos y fue relajante y divertido. Cuando llevo a Luca al colegio que esta a 2 h de donde vivimos, necesito estar alli con el para la session de logopeda. Pero cuando no tiene terapia, se queda en la clase con otros niños, donde estan en un ambiente lleno de oportunidades para aprender a escuchar y hablar. Los padres pueden verlos a traves de la ventana, pero pasamos tantas horas alli que a veces necesitamos hacer otras cosas para nosotros mismos. He estado buscando en internet donde esta la tienda de telas mas cercana. La encontre, pero solo voy allo para distraerme e intento no comprar nada que no necesite. Tambien encontre un buen restaurante coreano que suelo visitar cuando estoy alli. Pronto habre probado todo el menu. Me recuerda a los restaurants en Japon. Y tambien he encontrado un parquet Escondido, con una zona de columpios y toboganes, un riachuelo bastante grande, un buho que vive alli e incluso senderos! Es un lugar tranquilo y muy especial, y espero ir a menudo con mis proyectos de costura. He estado cosiendo alli la quilt para mi madre que nunca se acaba y es un tiempo muy agradable que paso.
Este fue el ultimo paseo que hicimos por los senderos, espero que haya mas en un futuro.

Apron and shopping bag

I liked the way my previous apron had come out. I had to do part of it by hand but I also used the serger and fell in love with it. I borrowed the serger once again and started a new one, this time for my sister in law that was visiting. It took me until the last day to finish it, but I think she is liking it.

Me gusto como quedo mi delantal anterior. Tuve que hacer parte a mano, pero tambien use una serger y me enamore de esa maquina (para rematar). Se la pedi prestada a u na amiga y otra vez empece otro delantal, esta vez para mi cunhada que esta visitandonos. Me llevo hasta el ultimo dia acabarlo, pero creo que le ha gustado

Here in the US is becoming more common to use fabric bags at the grocery store than plastic ones. I try to use them like this, but I'm really bad planning so I always forget the bags at home. But in this local store they sell the bags very inexpensive, and as long as you put some fabric to cover the logo, you can make wonderful things. I learned this one from my friend. I made this bag using the same fabric as for the apron.

Aqui en EEUU esta siendo mas comun usar bolsas de tela que de plastico en el supermercado. Yo intento usarlas, pero soy terrible planificando y siempre se me olvidan en casa. Pero en el super local venden bolsas baratas, y mientras cubras el logo con una telita, puedes conseguir bolsas maravillosas. Eso lo aprendi de mi amiga. Hice esta bolsa usando la misma tela del delantal.

And today Luca did wonderful in therapy, he is capable of making a new sound, the "sh" that I am certain that with the hearing aids he wasn't capable of hearing. Moments like this keeps us encouraged and excited.

Y hoy a Luca le fue muy bien en la terapia, es capaz de hacer un sonido nuevo, el "sh" que estoy segura de que con los audifonos no era capaz de oir. Son momentos asi los que nos mantienen animados y emocionados.

A sign or a coincidence

Is it a sign or is it a coincidence? I wonder, that tomorrow would have been my husband's birthday and that today I got a letter on the mail from a nurse at the emergency room telling me about him in his last moments of life and repeating his last words "Tell my wife that I love her". How strong a little detail like this can be in one's life. How powerful his words and also hers. To make things more interesting she sent it in a card with a plant drawn on it, a sage, and in the back, a recipe for a pork tenderloin, one of the things he liked to make and he was so good at. It blew us away, me and my sister in law who is here now. We will have a special celebration for him tomorrow, probably just us, his family.

Es una senhal o una coincidencia? Me pregunto, que manhana seria el cumpleanhos de mi marido y que hoy yo haya recibido una tarjeta por correo de una enfermenra de urgencias que le trato y que cuenta sobre el en sus ultimos momentos de vida, donde repite sus ultimas palabras "dile a mi mujer que la quiero". Que fuerte puede ser un detalle asi en la vida de uno. Que poderosas sus palabras y tambien las de la enfermera. Y aun mas interesante es que ella mandara la tarjeta con una planta dibujada en ella, una salvia, y por detras, la receta de lomo de cerdo al horno, una de las cosa que mas le gustaban hacer y que se le daba muy bien. Nos ha emocionado, a mi y a mi cunhada que esta aqui ahora. Tendremos una pequenha celebracion por el manhana, probablemente solo nosotros, su familia.

And my sister in law, she's been crafty as well, and she made an amazing bowl for my birthday! She actually didn't make it but she did paint it, and as you can see it has a lot of work! I love it, it looks kind of Mexican style or from the aborigines in Australia, so colorful and happy. It will have a lot of chances to get filled with delicious food!

Y mi cunhada, tambien esta muy hacendosa ultimamente, y me hizo un cuenco increible por mi cumpleanhos! La verdad es que no lo hizo pero lo pinto, y como podeis ver tiene mucho trabajo! Me encanta, parece como mexicano o de los aborigenes de Australia, tan colorido y alegre. Tendra muchas oportunidades de sostener comida deliciosa!

In the back she wrote oishi, delicious in Japanese.
Por detras escribio oishi, delicioso en Japones.

A day at the zoo

I hope everyone had a happy mothers day, whether it was this past Sunday or the one before, or maybe in October. Here it was a bittersweet day, just remembering why am I a mother made me a bit sad, but the day ended up better with a visit to the botanical garden.
Then yesterday, we visited the Zoo with Luca's classmates. It was interesting and exhausting at the same time. It feels like my life is a race these days.

Espero que todo el mundo tuviera un feliz dia de la madre, aunque fuera el domingo pasado o el anterior o incluso en Octubre. Aqui fue un dia de contrastes, simplemente recordando el porque soy madre me puso un poco triste, pero mejoro con una vista al jardin botanico.
Ayer fuimos al zoo con los companheros de Luca. Fue interesante y agotador a la vez. Parece que mi vida va a mil ultimamente.

Bamboo garden

Lately my life is going fast and slow. How is that possible? I feel so tired that I feel like I am going really slow but on the other hand I feel that time is really flying!
Luca has been hearing for maybe 3 weeks now, and I can tell he is starting to understand words without cuing them. He is also going through a crazy time, with tantrums and outburst of crying for no apparent reason. I have the feeling it has something to do with his last mapping of the implant but I need to convince the audiologist so that hopefully we can get out of this phase. The positive thing is that he is hearing and he points at his ear and nods when he hears the fan or the microwave or any other environmental sound. It's really wonderful.

Ultimamente mi vida va muy rapido y a su vez muy lenta. Como puede ser? Me siento tan cansada que creo que pasa lenta pero por otro lado siento que el tiempo vuela!
Luca ha estado oeyendo desde hace 3 semanas, y noto que esta empezando a entender palabras sin hacer gestos. Tambien esta pasando una temporada un poco loca, con rabietas y lloros inesperados sin razon aparente. Tengo la sensacion de que tiene algo que ver con su ultimo programa del implante pero necesito convencer a la audiologa de ello para que podamos pasar esta etapa. El lado bueno es que esta oyendo y que se senhala al oido y dice que si con la cabeza cuando oye el ventilador o el microondas o cualquier otro sonido ambiental. Es maravilloso.

I wish I had more time to sew and do these things that I enjoy making, but lately there is no much energy left. Although it is true that I have started two new projects, a doll that will travel to an orphanage in Chile and a present for someone.
When I have a bit of free time, I enjoy spending it with Luca in places like this:

New creations

Even though lately I don't post much about what I make, I am making stuff in my free time, whenever I have some of that! We had a birthday party today and I had to finish a skirt that I had planned during Luca's nap time yesterday. Luca was my model and he looks this girly and this cute:

Aunque ultimamente no pongo mucho sobre mis creaciones, estoy haciendo cosas en mi tiempo libre, cuando tengo algo! Hoy tuvimos una fiesta de cumpleanhos y tuve que acabar una falda que tenia en mente durante la siesta de Luca de ayer. Luca fue mi modelo y esta asi de femenino y de mono:

An this is the birthday girl with also a princess like dress.

Y aqui esta la cumpleanhera con un vestido que tambien parece de princesa.

And tonight I finished the apron we learned to make in one of out quilting workshops a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed making it and learned a few tricks that make me want to continue making more stuff to wear.

Y esta noche acabe el delantal que aprendimos a hacer en una de los talleres del grupo de quilting hace unas semanas. Me encanto hacerlo y aprendi un par de trucos que me hacen querer seguir haciendo cosas para ponerme.

Patience

This has been a long week, and it's only Wednesday! We had such a great and relaxing time last week at the beach that coming back to regular activities with a couple of extra stressing factors has made it a bit hard. Luca and I both caught a cold so we had a lot of irritability going on. On top of that being two is tantrum season, or so it seems. Then we have the implant, new map (program), which means that things sound different for him, not necessarily making him have a better mood. So the other day, while I was doing our 2 h drive from his oral deaf school back home, I had to hear him cry for one whole hour. I did everything I could, and fortunately I had a friend next to me who could help him try to calm down while I was driving. I thought to myself, if one doesn't want to have children, is better not to have them, because when you have children you need to have loads of patience to deal with situations like this, and even more when you are dealing with a health problem on top of that. I am glad I lived in Japan, because there I was so frustrated at times that the only thing that could let me keep on going was being patience. And switch my mind off, since at the beginning I couldn't understand anything. It was a nice ability, disconnect from the world to survive to it.

Esta ha sido una semana muy larga, y solo estamos a Miercoles! Lo pasamos tan bien y estuvimos tan relajados la semana pasada en la playa que volver a la rutina diaria con un poco mas de stress extra lo ha hecho aun mas dificil. Luca y yo nos resfriamos asi que estamos un poco sensibles de mas. Encima los dos anhos son los de las rabietas, o eso parece. Ademas tenemos el implante, con nuevo mapa (programa), que quiere decir que las cosas le suenan diferente a el, y no queire decir que le ponga de mejor humor. Asi que el otro dia cuando haciamos nuestra vuelta de 2 h de su colegio de educacion oral, le tuve que oir llorar durante una hora. Hice todo lo que pude, y por suerte tenia a una amiga al lado mio que podia ayudarle a calmarse mientras yo conducia. Pense, si uno no quere realmente tener ninhos mejor sera no tenerlos porque hay que tener una paciencia con ellos para poder manejar situaciones como esta, y aun mas cuando tienes un problema de salud. Me alegro de haber vivido en Japon, porque alli estaba tan frustrada a veces que lo unico que me mantenia a flote era ser peciente. Y desconectar mi mente, ya que al principio no entendia nada. Eso estaba bien, desconectar del mundo para sobrevivir.

Overall I think, having a child is a great thing, it teaches you so much while trying to figure out what's best for him. It changes you and makes you a better person, it brings you to the limits and you have to be able to deal with it and learn from it. I'm so glad I have Luca and I'm looking forward to many more adventures with him.

En general pienso que tener un ninho es increible, te ensenha tanto mientras intentas averiguar lo que es mejor para el. Te cambia y te hace una mejor persona, te lleva a los limites y tienes que saber como afrontarlo y aprender de ello. Estoy tan contenta de tener a Luca y estoy deseando pasar muchas mas aventuras con el.

A few days of break

This week will go by really fast for us. Tomorrow we are heading to the beach to enjoy 4 days with Luca's grandparents, yes! Luca loves the beach and it will be fun for them to see how much he has changed and how wonderful is to see him respond to sounds.
For us, the little guy and myself, it is a tiring week as well, we went to his oral deaf school today, a 2 h drive each way, and we are returning on Thursday, but since the beach is not far from there we won't feel as tired as we do today, I hope.

Esta semana pasara rapido para nosotros. Manhana nos vamos a la playa a disfrutar de 4 dias con los abuelos de Luca, ole! A Luca le encanta la playa y sera divertido para ellos ver como ha cambiado y lo maravilloso que es verle responder a sonidos. Para nosotros, para el pequenhin y para mi, es una semana cansada a su vez, hoy fuimos a su colgiod e educacion oral para sordos, 2 h de viaje en cada direccion, y volvemos el Jueves, pero como la playa esta cerca de alli no estaremos tan cansados como hoy, espero.

Today I decided to organized my fabric, and it is nice to remember some of them that cannot be seen because they are sandwiched between others. I started sneezing by the end, which means that are accumulating dust and I better use them soon. Needless to say, I went to buy a fabric for a present I'm going to make and ended up with 4 pieces. Very cheap but four! I better get my mind going and start finish started projects.

Hoy decidi organizar mis telas, y esta bien recordar que tengo algunas que ni se ven porque estan como sanwich entre otras. Empece a estornudar al final, lo que quiere decir que estan acumulando polvo y sera mejor que las use pronto. Pero claro, hoy fui a la tienda de telas a por una que necesito para un regalo y acabe con 4 pedazos. Muy baratas pero cuatro! Sera mejor que me ponga a pensar y empiece a terminar proyectos empezados.

If I remember correctly, I had a lot of good ideas by the end of the year, how much of that became reality???? not much, I'm afraid. I better start focusing my life and getting things done! And Luca and all his little adventures are not an excuse. There are so many super mega productive women out there in the blog world, that one wonders how do they do it? OK I'm alone with Luca but still some of these women seem to have much busier lives and get much more accomplished. I'm reading some of their books and trying to get inspired to do more staff for myself and for Luca. We will see if it works.

Si recuerdo bien, tenia muchas buenas ideas a finales de anho, cuantas se convirtieron en realidad? no muchas, me temo. Mejor sera que enfoque mi vida y que acabe de hacer cosas! Y Luca si todas sus pequenhas aventuras no me sirven de escusa. Hay tantas mujere super mega productivas en el mundo de los blogs, que yo me pregunto como lo hacen? Bueno yo estoy sola con Luca pero aun asi algunas de estas mujeres parecen mucho mas ocupadas que yo y consiguen hacer muchas mas cosas. Estoy leyendome un par de libros de estas mujeres e intentando inspirarme y hacer mas cosas para mi y para Luca. A ver si funciona.

By the way, organizing my farbic and this like this in the picture, also get me inspired to create. That was my birthday present from myself :)

Por cierto, organizarmis telas y cosas como esta en la foto de abajo, tambien me inspiran para crear. Este fue mi regalo de cumpleanhos de mi misma :)

Have a wonderful week!

Que tengais una semana muy feliz!

Rainbow love

This has been a roller coaster week. It has been filled with so many intense emotions that it is hard to describe. It is funny because I know that I sometimes forget emotions and when I get them back, then I feel that I remember again, whether they are good or bad. I guess is good to forget although sometimes I wish I didn't. That comes with my personality I guess, I make my life easier by forgetting things and specially when things are not that good. This week though, it was filled with happy emotions. I hope those are not taken away from me by my protective head. Being with Luca with his new found hearing is like showing the world to a baby that already understands so many things, so can actually interact with you in a very enthusiastic way. I want to record each minute of him, it is really exciting. To celebrate, we have been very exhausted talking and playing and I put him in bed early these past couple of nights, and used the time to create something new, something happy, something that reflects how I feel. He could be part of a gay parade with these rainbow pants, but I think they are just for him. He is happy with the way he is and how he acts, and that's why I love him so much. Rainbows with lots of orange, in honor of his dad's favorite color.

Esta semana ha sido como una montaña rusa. Estuvo llena de tantas emociones intensas que es difícil describirla. Tiene gracia porque se que a veces me olvido de las emociones y cuando las vuelvo a sentir, entonces parece que las vuelvo a recordar, sean buenas o malas. Creo que es bueno olvidar aunque a veces me gustaría no hacerlo. Eso viene con mi personalidad creo yo, hago mi vida más fácil olvidandome de las cosas sobretodo cuando son malas. Pero esta semana estuvo llena de Buenos sentimientos. Espero que esos no sean olvidados por esta cabecita protectora que tengo. Al estar con Luca y su nueva audicion adquirida es como si estuviera mostrandole el mundo a un bebe que ya entiende tantas cosas, así que puede interaccionar conmigo muy entusiasmado. Quiero grabar cada minuto de el, es muy emocionante. Para celebrarlo, hemos estado hablando sin para y jugando y le he acostado pronto estos dos últimas noches, y he estado ese tiempo mio para crear algo nuevo, algo feliz, algo que refleja como me siento. Podría formar parte de un desfile gay con estos pantalones de arcoiris, pero creo que son justo para el. Es un niño feliz de la manera que es y como actua, y por eso le quiero tanto. Arcoiris con mucho naranja, en honor al color favorito de su papa.

Blown away / Impresionada

That is what I am feeling this days, since I have noticed that my little sunshine is hearing. Yes, it's like an incredible miracle, all of a sudden he is responding to sounds, to his name and he is making a huge smile because he is enjoying the world of sounds. It is hard to describe the feeling when I am in the testing booth with him and the audiologist plays a beep and turns like if there was an explosion or something looking for it. Of course, it is not like an explosion, but compared to the way he usually doesn't turn to anything, this is how it looks to me. I had tears in my eyes and a huge hurray came out of me, the audiologist and the therapist. It's like magic. And now our journey begins. I need to explain him about life, about the sounds of life and about the sound of things because he needs to learn how things are called and how to say those things. He needs to hear his father's voice, maybe he will remember. I heard it in a video last night and it was nice and refreshing. A lot of work for both of us, but an exciting outcome is waiting for us.

Asi es como me he sentido estos dias, desde que me he dado cuenta de que mi pequenho rayo de sol esta oyendo. Si, es como un milagro increible, de repente esta respondiendo a sonidos, a su nombre y sonrie porque esta disfrutando del mundo de los ruidos. Es dificil describir el sentimiento de cuando estuve en la camara insonorizada y la audiologa puso un pitido y el se dio la vuelta como si hubiera una explosion o algo asi buscandolo. Bueno, no es como una explosion, pero comparado con la manera en que normalmente no se da la vuelta, eso es lo que a mi me parecio. Me salian lagrimas y un gran hurra mio, de la audiologa y de la logopeda. Es algo magico. Y ahora nuestro viaje comienza. Debo explicarle sobre la vida y sobre el sonido de las cosas, porque necesita saber como se llaman las cosas y como decir esas cosas. Necesita oir la voz de su padre, quizas la recuerde. La escuche ayer en un video y fue muy bonito y reconfortante. Nos queda mucho trabajo a los dos, pero grandes recompensas nos esperan.

As usual, a month later

This is the table runner I made for Kelli and Finny's monthly challenge (last month's!). I decided to have a Japanese theme, as usual. I made a drawing of a Japanese woman and then I did some embroidery. I like how it came out. I also used some of my machine's nice stitches.

Este centro de mesa lo hice por el juego mensual de Kelli y Finny (del mes pasado!). Decidi hacerlo con tema Japones, como suelo hacer. Hice un dibujo de una Japonesa y luego lo borde. Me gusta como quedo. Tambien use una de las puntadas chulas de mi maquina.

This is for someone very special from Spain. I hope she likes it, I had to finish it quick because my parents are leaving tomorrow and they will take it with them.

Esto es para alguien muy especial. Espero que le guste, lo tuve que acabar con prisas porque mis padres se van manhana y se lo llevaran.

My birthday party was great, and so many surprises from so many incredible people, I'm so fortunate.

Mi fiesta de cumpleanhos fue increible, tantas sorpresas de tanta gente increible, soy tan afortunada.

Luca is doing well with his implant but so far is hard to see any progress, at least he wants to wear it, that's a progress in itself.

A Luca le va bien con su implante, pero de momento es dificil ver ningun progreso, por lo menos lo quiere usar, eso en si es progreso.

Busy not just with the kids

Our days seem to fly. My parents have been here for a month and they are leaving in just one week. How did time go by so fast? I wish I could stretch it, but I guess when things are good and anxiety levels are low, then time flies.
Tomorrow we have a couple of things to celebrate, with a big party here at my place. Lots of food and good people. Me, I'll be one year older. Always a reason to smile for still being here.

Nuestros dias parece que vuelan. Mis padres han estado aqui ya un mes y se van en tan solo una semana. como ha podido pasar el tiempo tan rapido? Me gustaria estirarlo, pero supongo que cuando las cosas van bien y los niveles de ansiedad son bajos, entonces el tiempo vuela.
Manhana tenemos un par de cosas que celebrar, con una gran fiesta aqui en mi casa.
Mucha comida rica y buena gente. Yo, tendre un anho mas. Siempre una razon para sonreir por seguir aqui.

Other than Luca and his cousins these are the things I've been busy with these days:
More amish bread (10 days of preparation):

A parte de Luca y sus primas en estos dias esto es en lo que he estado ocupada:
Mas pan amish (10 dias de preparacion):

Some Japanese embroidery, a new experience for me.

Algo de bordado Japones, una nueva experiencia para mi.

A new beginning

Luca finally got his external component of the implant which was activated yesterday. It was an emotional and hard day for all of us and at the same time exciting and great. Luca can hear now. Not much, because we don't want to rush him into normal hearing, but he can have that new feeling and get used to it. His reaction yesterday was as expected. He cried and looked scared when he went live. He jerked his implant off and we had to give him 10 pieces of chocolate to try to put it on again. We had to quit after an hour of trying because he was upset and exasperated. But at least that shows that he can hear, he is not used to it, be he can hear. I had to manage to put it back on during the couple of hours remaining of the day and today before he headed back to the audiologist again. I went home thinking how in the world am I going to do that. My parents were concerned that he could be in pain but the audiologist assured us that this wasn't the case. He was just confused and scared of the new feeling. She described it as being in the dark and all of a sudden having the lights turned on. I guess that should be scary if you've never experienced that before.

Luca por fin recibio la parte externa de su implante que fue activado ayer. Fue un momento emotivo y un dia duro para todos nosotros a la vez que emocionate e increible. Luca por fin puede oir. No mucho, porque no queremos apresurarle con un volumen normal, pero puede experimentar esa nueva sensacion y acostumbrarse a ella. Su reaccion ayer fue la esperada. Lloro y parecia asustado cuando le pusieron "en vivo". Se quito el implante de un tiron y tuvimos que darle 10 chocolatitos para intentar ponerselo de nuevo. Tuvimos que parar despues de una hora de intentarlo porque estaba enfadado y desesperado. Pero por lo menos eso demuestra que puede oir, no esta acostumbrado, pero puede oir. Tuve que apanharmelas para volverselo a poner durante las horas restantes del dia y hoy antes de volver a ver a la audiologa. Me fui a casa pensando como narices lo iba a conseguir. Mis padres tenian miedo de que podia tener dolor pero la audiologa nos aseguro que no era el caso. Solo que estaba confundido y con miedo de este nuevo sentimiento. Ella lo describio como si estas en la oscuridad y de repente se encienden las luces. Creo que debe dar miedo si nunca lo has experimentado antes.

We did it. He finally wore it after his mother's persistent tries and forgot about it. I even increased the volume up to the highest level that the audiologist had set, which wasn't too much, but he didn't seem to care once I had accomplished the task of putting it on again for the day. Today, he even clapped when I put it on after our second activation session. It is getting better and he is happy now with his implant. I know it's going to be a lot of work for all of us, but soon things will be better and Luca will be experiencing so many new things he has never experienced or maybe only when he was little. Thanks to all of you who have been thinking of us in such special days! We will keep reporting the new steps in Luca's implant world.

Lo conseguimos. Por fin se lo puso despues de la insistencia de su madre y se olvido de que lo llevaba. Incluso subi el volumen al maximo que la audiologa habia puesto, que no era mucho, pero no parecio importarle una vez que consgui que se lo dejara puesto. Hoy, incluso aplaudio cuando se lo puse despues de la segunda sesion de activacion. Esta mejorando y esta mejor ahora con el puesto. Se que va a ser mucho trabajo para todos nosotros, pero pronto las cosas iran mejor y Luca experimentara tantas cosas nuevas que nunca ha sentido o quizas solo cuando era pequenho. Gracias a todos los que habeis pensado en nosotros en unos dias tan especiales! Seguiremos informando de los nuevos pasos en el mundo de Luca con su implante.

Happy days

Easter came and left, we had so many Easter egg hunts and parties, and my parents got to experiment Easter in this country. It was a nice time, specially because Luca is doing so well that he is enjoying everyday just like if nothing had happened to him. We are just one week away from his activation. This is exciting. He will be able to hear sounds in a different way. He can hear some with his left ear now, he responds to sound and he does great in therapy, but the truth is that he is not capable of repeating words or sounds with just that much hearing. A new world will start for him next week. His implant hearing will be progressively adjusted so that his brain can get used to this new type of stimulation and with a lot of work from all his therapists and early interventionists and me, he will learn how to speak, because he can already manage to communicate without the need of words.

La pascua llego y se fue, tuvimos tant busqueda de huevos y fiestas, y mis padres pudieron experimentar la pascua en este pais. Lo pasamos bien, sobretodo porque Luca esta tan bien y porque esta disfrutando de cada dia como si nada le hubiera ocurrido. Solo nos falta una semana para su activacion. Es emocionate. Sera capaz de oir sonidos de manera diferente. Ahora oye algo con su oido izquierdo, responde a los sonidos y le va muy bien en la terapia, pero la verdad es que no es capaz de reproducir palabras o sonidos con solo esa capacidad auditiva. Un mundo nuevo empezara para el la semana que viene. Su audicion por el implante sera ajustada progresivamente para que su cerebro se acostumbre a este nuevo tipo de estimulacion y con mucho trabajo por parte de sus logopedas, asistentes sociales y mio, sera capaz de aprender a hablar, porque de momento ya se las apanha para comunicarse sin necesidad de palabras.

OK I wrote this post 3 days ago and only now I realize that I didn't post it! Anyways, I have more to share by now.
Yesterday, after a week having that splinter in my finger I took it out. The nail grew enough to posh it a little and then I managed to grab it with tweezers. Thanks to all who gave me advice! I was getting desperate but actually it didn't hurt, so I even managed to continue quilting a bit.

OK, escribi esto hace tres dias y ahora me doy cuenta de que no lo publique! Bueno, ahora tengo mas que compartir.
Ayer, despues de una semana con la astilla en el dedo me la saque. La unha me habia crecido lo suficiente como para empujarla un poco fuera y luego me las apanhe para sacarla con unas pinzas. Gracias a todas las uqe me dieron buenos consejos! Me estaba volviendo loca pero como no me dolia, aun me las apanhe para seguir acolchando la quilt de mi madre.

Today is a happy birthday for someone in my family. And this is specially for her:

Hoy es el cumpleanhos de alguien en mi familia. Y esto es especialmente para ella:

Quilts that last generations

I am finally quilting mom's quilt. I did the patchwork years ago, when I was writing my dissertation, but never put it together to start quilting. Now that my parents are here I thought it would be a good time to quilt it and give it finally to her so she can enjoy it. Unfortunately, I went a bit overboard with the quilting, well, it's not unfortunate, it is just a lot of work and I am afraid that if I don't keep it up everyday I won't finish it before they leave. The problem now is that I got a splinter under my finger nail on the index right finger, which is the finger I use for pushing the needle through, and since I don't know how to remove it, I am worry about making it worse. So here I am, half way through with the quilting, and I have the feeling I have not enough days, without these that I shouldn't use my finger. It's not a big deal, I will finish it later, but when I'm alone I don't have much time and it looks like I could have another PhD before this one is finished...

Por fin estoy acolchando la colcha de mi madre. Hice la parte de patchwork hace años, mientras escribia mi tesis, pero nunca puse las tres capas juntas para comenzar el acolchado.. Ahora que mis padres estan aqui pense que seria un buen momento de acolchalo y darsela por fin a ella para que la disfrute. Por desgracia, me pase un poco haciendo acolchado, bueno, no es una desgracia, solo que es mucho trabajo y me temo que si no lo hago a diario no lo acabare antes de que se vayan. El problema ahora es que tengo una astilla debajo de mi uña del dedo indice de la mano derecha, que es el dedo que uso para empujar la aguja, y como no se como sacarla, me da miedo que se me vaya a poner peor. Asi que aqui estoy, a medias con el acolchado, y me temo que sin suficientes dias, sin estos que no deberia usar el dedo. No pasa nada, lo acabare despues, pero cuando estoy sola no tengo mucho tiempo y parede que podria tener otro doctorado antes de acabar esta colcha….

Anyways, this is me last Friday, Luca’s surgery day. Each of us were at home doing something that relaxed us and made is feel good, with a feeling of satisfaction and happiness knowing that the surgery was a success.

En fin, esta soy yo el viernes pasado, el dia de la operacion de Luca. Cada uno estabamos en casa haciendo algo que nos relajaba y nos hacia sentir bien, con ese sentimiento de satisfaccion y alegria por saber que la operacion habia salido tan bien.

Easter bunny

The first round of the Easter bunny came to the villages where we live. The kids enjoyed it, not so much the bunny but the eggs and chocolates yes! Luca was experiencing a new tradition, that last year we also had but he probably doesn't remember that he sat on top of the Easter basket thinking it was a stool...

La primera parte de el conejito de pascua llego a las villas donde vivimos. Los ninhos lo disfrutaron mucho, no tanto al conejito pero los huevos y los chocolates si! Luca estuvo experimentando una tradicion nueva, que el anho pasado ya tuvimos pero que probablemte no recuerde que se sento encima de su cestita de pascua pensando que era un taburete...

Luca's recovery

Hi again!
This surgery was an amazing experience for all of us. Luca doesn't stop surprising us. He did so good, and he behaved so well after the surgery. He didn't even try to get the bandage off for 3 days and I wonder what he was thinking about it. One thing was clear, as soon as that thing came off he pointed at his ears asking me for some sound. He was a bit disappointed when I only put one hearing aid, but he will soon learn that the wonderful world of sounds will be available to him through that cochlear implant. How exciting.

Hola de nuevo!
Esta operacion fue increible para todos nosotros. Luca no para de sorprendernos. Estuvo tan bien y fue tan bueno despues de la operacion. Ni siquiera intento quitarse la benda de la cabeza durante 3 dias y me pregunto lo que estaria pensando. Lo unico que me quedo claro es que en cuanto esa benda cayo, su apunto a los oidos pidiendo que le pusiera sonido. Se quedo un poco fastidiado cuando solo le puse un audifono, pero pronto aprendera que el maravilloso mundo de los sonidos estara a su disposicion a traves de ese implante coclear. Que emocionante.

Today he finally agreed to wear his new smock and he played in the house with play doh, good thing because if it were for him, he would be all day running around in his little car and playing soccer, which we have found out not to be the best thing to do after surgery. Maybe in a couple of weeks he will be allowed to do his normal life, for now, just for short periods of time.

Hoy por fin estuvo de acuerdo en ponerse su nuevo baby y jugo en casa con plastilina, que esta bien porque si fuera por el, estaria todo el dia corriendo con su cochecito y jugando al futbol, que hemos visto que no es lo mejor despues de la operacion. Quizas en un par de semanas tendra permiso en llevar una vida normal, por ahora, solo a ratitos.

Last sunday at Minerva's circle, I learned how to make a nice notebook cover. So easy and so inexpensive and such an impressive result! Tere, from Chile, taught us how to do it, and we had a great time. These workshops are turning out a lot of fun.

El domingo pasado en Minerva's circle, aprendi como hacer una cubierta de cuaderno muy bonita. Fue tan facil y barato y con resultados tan impresionantes! Tere, de Chile, nos ensenho a hacerlo, y lo pasamos en grande. Estas clases estan siendo muy divertidas.

Today I run into someone that I rarely see. It is a woman that works at a restaurant at the University and frequently saw me and my husband. She liked him a lot, she had a lot of good things to say about him. She stopped me today and asked me if my husband had passed away. She of course knew about it, she had read it in the news and was shocked and cried a lot when it happened because she had very good memories of my husband. She said she had seen him the day before with his little boy, very proud of him. It makes me happy to see how people, even those who didn't know him all that well felt so much for this great loss. It makes me happy and sad. They can't believe I smile when I talk about him, although it is not always like this, I preserve this happy feeling within me. He was with us while the surgery happened this Friday and everything was fine.

Hoy me encontre con alguien que no suelo ver. Es una mujer que trabaja en un restaurante de la Universidad y que me solia ver alli y a mi marido. A ella le encantaba el, tenia muchas cosas buenas que decir de el. Me paro hoy y me pregunto si mi marido habia fallecido. Por supuesto que lo sabia, lo habia leido en las noticias y se quedo en estado de shock y lloro mucho cuando ocurrio porque tenia muchos buenos recuerdos de mi marido. Dijo que le vio el dia de antes con su niñito, muy orgulloso de el. Me hace feliz ver que gente, incluso aquellos que a penas le conocian todos sintieron tanto su ida. Me hace feliz y triste. No pueden creer que hable de el con una sonrisa, aunque no es siempre asi, mantengo este sentimiento alegre dentro de mi. Estuvo con nosotros durante la operacion este viernes y todo fue bien.

Success!

Hi everybody!
We are home already! Luca had his cochlear implant surgery and everything went great. It only took 40 min and he is doing great. We are all very happy and thank you for all your thought and prayers. I am attaching a couple of pictures of Luca, before and after surgery.

Hola a todos!
ya estamos en casa! Luca tuvo su operacion de implante coclear y todo fue de maravilla. Solo tardaron 40 minutos y esta muy bien. Estamos muy contentos y os agradecemos por todo lo que os habeis estado acordando de nosotros. Os mando un par de fotos de Luca de antes y despues de la operacion.

Some crafts for the closests ones

My parents are here helping us and entertaining us too! Luca is having a blast and he loves his abuelos. I am too enjoying this time with them, and I am so happy that Luca is healthy lately because they get to see him in a very happy and joyful mood.
We are just 1.5 days away from the surgery, and I am getting more nervous by the minute. I keep on telling myself that this is going to be OK, and that so many kids have this surgery and they recover even faster than one can expect, but still, it is hard to think about the surgery.
For now we are just enjoying ourselves, and trying to make the best out of his hearing aids.

Mis padres estan aqui ayudandonos y entreteniedonos tambien! Luca se lo esta pasando pipa y le encantan sus abuelos. Yo tambien estoy disfrutando de este tiempo con ellos, y estoy tan contenta de que Luca este tan sano ultimamente porque asi le ven de muy buen humor y jugueton.
Solo nos quedan 1.5 dias para su cirujia, y me estoy poniendo nerviosa cada momento. Sigo pensando que todo va a ir bien, y que tanto ninhos tienen esta cirujia y que se recuperan aun mas rapido de lo que uno espera, pero aun asi, es dificil pensar en la operacion.
Por ahora estamos disfrutando los unos de los otros, e intentando hacer lo que podemos con los audifonos.

I have been crafting a little, just for my parents while they are here. I made my mom a little scarf, following the challenge that Kelli had last month, I know, I'm late but I needed some motivation, and knowing that my mom gets sick easily when her throat gets cold was a big one. And I found some fabrics that were cozy and that looked nice and this is how it looked.

He estado haciendo cositas a mano, solo para mis padres mientras estan aqui. A mi madre le hice una bufanda, siguiendo la iniciativa que a Kelli propuso el mes pasado, ya se, estoy retrasada pero necesitava algo de motivacion, y sabiendo que mi madre se pone mala cuando su garganta se enfria, era una gran motivacion. Y encontre algunas telas agradables y bonitas y asi es como quedo.

I also wanted to make something for my dad. Men are difficult to make stuff for but since he is always studying or reading something (even my blog conveniently in English and Spanish!) I decided that a book mark would do. He liked it but he doesn't use it. He carries it around in his wallet.

Tambien le queria hacer algo a mi padre. Los hombres son complicados para regalar pero como el siempre esta estudiando y leyendo algo (incluso mi blog que convenientemente esta en ingles y espanhol!) decidi que un separador de libros estaria bien. Le gusto mucho pero no lo usa. Lo lleva de un lado para otro en su cartera.

I also made the famous 10 day Amish bread that tastes so delicious! A friend of mine told me about it and I remembered that I had the batter in my freezer since 2 years ago! It took me 10 days of massaging the batter but the results were worthwhile!

Tambien hice el famoso bizcocho Amish de los 10 dias que esta buenisimo! Una amiga me hablo de el y me recordo que tengo una masa en el congelaodr desde hace dos anhos! Me llevo 10 dias masageando la masa pero los resultados merecen la pena!



Thanks everybody for thinking of us. I know that with so many nice thoughts coming from all over the planet Luca is going to be great. I will keep you all posted after the surgery!

Gracias a todos por acordaros de nosotros. Se que con tantos buenos pensamientos viniendo de todas partes del planeta Luca va a estar fenomenal. Ya os contare como va todo despues de la operacion!

New presents

My sister in law, chaparrita, sent me from Spain a wonderfully beautifully and hand crafted skirt! Look at me with my new skirt! I am so happy but I am also amazed by how perfectly fits me! I really don't know how she made it and I'm sure really quick and just my perfect size. Thank you so much chaparrita you are great! and I love my new skirt!

Mi cunhada, chaparrita, me envio desde Espanha una falda maravillosa, bonita y hecha a mano! Mirad como estoy con mi falda nueva! Estoy muy contenta pero tambien impresionada de lo bien que me viene! No se como la hizo y seguro que rapidamente y justo de mi talla. Muchas gracias chaparrita eres increible! y me encanta mi falda nueva!

Not only that, she also made an apron for Luca with the frog theme with a head band matching it. I couldn't get Luca to wear the apron, but the head band... he liked it. He loves cooking so he will enjoy this one for sure! Thank you too!

No solo eso, tambien me hizo un delantal detalles de rana y una cinta de la cabeza a juego. No consegui que Luca se pusiera el delantal, pero la cinta en la cabeza...le encanto. Le encanta cocinar asi que lo va a disfrutar seguro! Muchisimas gracias!