There's something about Zelda...

...so Christmas has come and gone, not without a visit to the ER. Just 3 days before the holiday, Zelda had a seizure - there were good things and bad things to come out of it. I can't help but think what a life without toxoplasmosis would be like for her. Creed is far less affected by the parasite in his system. He has had only one seizure in his lifetime: when he was a baby - and they attributed it to a fever. Sure, he has his 2 VP shunts in his brain and wears glasses due to the toxo scar on his right macula but he sees everything and "he will learn to read 'normally' and drive" - as they repeated over and over again to us in the NICU upon diagnosis of the infection. Zelda somehow got such a higher dose of the parasite - possibly due to her placement in my uterus.

Zelda was very quiet that morning, keeping to herself and a bit cranky. When I asked her if she was OK, she would say No. She felt warm. Her hands felt limp. She was pale with deep purple lips - all signs of a seizure approaching. It's as if now, as she grows older, she's able to know that something is not right. So, we gave her an extra dose of Keppra and she and I got into bed to take a nap while Creed watched cartoons.

Suddenly at 11am, I had dozed off and was awoken by a gurgle and wheezing sound. Next to me, Zelda was jerking her hands and had started seizing. I called (in this order): Evan, Jason (our EMS commander BFF), and 911. While I was making the calls, I ran to the fridge, took out her Diastat and gave her a suppository of medicine (sorry if that's TMI)...and it worked! She immediately calmed down.

It's often tough to find our little bungalow - as we live on a private alley so I sent my little boy - out in his underwear - to the front porch. Imagine Creed, jumping up and down in his Underoos, waving to the ambulance and oh, so proud of himself.

Off the the ER we went. Her vitals were good. No shunt malfunctions and no sign of pneumonia...we were discharged by 5pm...

Zelda tends to open her teeny little eyes when she wakes up from the seizure...


And she immediately gets busy...


Reading her Braille...


And then crashes again with Uncle Seth...

Christmas is coming...

...ack! The Holiday break started today - like marks on a prison wall, we count off the days of finding suitable fun for the twins' while we still try and get some work done. Really, it's great to have them home, they are adorable and fun but at age 5, it's still very: "Mom, what's this?" "Mom, look at that!"

So, Day 1:
- redecorating the tree (Creed, in his very French Montessori way, likes to do his travail - that is: his "work" removing the ornaments and replacing them EVERY DAY!
- cleaning up with Zelda as she experiences every box and bag of food in the house and the crumbs that accompany them.
- listening to Bebel Gilberto, the Biscuit Brothers Christmas, and the Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers - ad infinitum...
- perhaps a trip to Hancock Fabrics and Office Depot?!!
- Aunt Shakti visits tonight so Evan and I can sneak off to an attorney friend's office holiday cocktail party.

Yesterday was spent at various Pre-K and Ecole Christmas parties, so here are some photos to be shared:

The absolute best recent photo of la petite Z - taken in the garden at her Pre-K program. I love her Elvis sneer and by the way, she's holding an eggplant.

The hysterical mug-shot Christmas ornament, starring Zelda in a Yard Dog t-shirt:


Z in her classroom wearing her oh-so-80's inspired Holiday outfit...


At Ecole, with the friends singing "Vive le Vent" - that would be Jingle Bells..




I call this photo "Cheeks": Creed and Tito enjoying their French holiday potluck...