I sit for the state RN licensing exam today at 2:30 p.m. EST. Some of that patented Buffista kick-its-ass!-ma would be greatly appreciated.

At 6:15 AM tomorrow, Hubby will be undergoing a procedure to buffer his body from the metal in the pins and screws that hold his spine together. The most recent MRI shows no lower spine disc damage that would be causing the tremendous pain he's in, and his neurologist suspects he's allergic to the titanium. If this is the case, the procedure will reduce his pain by three-quarters and give him a chance at a life again. (If this isn't the case, the neurologist isn't sure what the hell to do, but one thing at a time.)

Procedure~ma, if you would. My stalwart, heroic husband is running out of courage, and every time I think "It can't get worse," the universe chuckles and reveals the infinity of its creativity.

Also, at the end of the month, he gets his neck looked at again to see how invasive the next surgery will have to be. No-massive-neck-brace~ma for that, please. He's been able to cope relatively well with every recuperation except the one that involved his head being immobilized.

Gods, I don't know what I'd do without you people.

Thanks for the -ma on Wednesday; it worked its magic! I passed the licensing exam, and I am now a registered nurse.

OMGWTF denephew.

Garbled family phone-tree has it that Casper the Amazing Wonder Niece has got a brother, as of stupid o'clock this morning.

Also, possibly, he may not have ended up with the name Edward Copernicus, to my comical sorrow relief.

Since flea made at laest one phone call herself, and reported that the second time was (relatively speaking) a snap, I expect that she is fine and resting much more comfortably now that she has rid herself of her in-built beach ball.

From birth to death - some kind thoughts and ~ma for a painless passing, please. My sister's senior cat (not psycho attack cat) has a tumor on her pancreas and has less than a week. Wish her a peaceful end - she's been greatly loved for her 16 years. And if cats have an afterlife, may she find no less than she's had in my sister's care.

mr. flea and I are happy to announce the birth of Peter Hawkins mr. flea's lastname, this morning at 5:14 am. He is well, 8 lbs 10 oz and 20.5 inches, long darkish hair that will surely fall out, and making little monkey noises; I am well and *so* annoyed that there is wifi only in the cafeteria. I had the fastest and easiest delivery in the history of ever (45 minutes from hospital arrival to birth). Eve is with her former nanny and will be coming by shortly. We should be home tomorrow mid-day; expect pictures then.

Blessings to all, and I still want to have a word with the gods on what they think is a good idea for character building.

I have a new job. The company that has contracted with my call center to do their tech support is pulling everything back in house--and I'm one of the people they're pulling with the work. I don't know if I'll be doing tech support or be a team leader or what, but at the very least I'm looking at a $2-an-hour raise.

We're not out of the woods, but at least they've handed us a lantern to light the way.

And Hubby is beginning to contemplate the words, "I feel pretty good."

I'm still very much in the market for a dull life for a while.

We've signed (in blood) on the dotted line, closed on our house, and joined the landed gentry. I can now rejoin the happy ranks of people who can talk about stuff other than real estate!

NCistas: you'd better be at the housewarming. Date TBD. Will evite.

After a month of looking and a week of waiting, ND and I found out this morning that we got the house in Pasadena! (Not to buy...we wish! Just renting, but hopefully for a good long while.)

Thanks for all that good Buffista ~ma! Our move in date is August 1st. We estimate we'll actually be moved in by the 15th.

SO EXCITED!

Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. I should have a baby more often, if it brings out Fiona and Rio and causes ita to get completely COMM-y.

We're home. I am tired, because they won't let you sleep in hospitals, but otherwise feeling good. Peter is much less puffy and Winston-y. Casper is riding the wild emotional roller-coaster of big sibling-hood, and kind of breaking my heart.

Pictures, still in Winston-face, start here: [link]