Someone is out to get me!

Got a call from the dermatologist's office today. The piece that they took out of my arm was fine, but the teeny-tiny mark they removed off of my abdomen (well...rib-cage area) ended up being
Basal Cell Carcinoma. Sigh. Yes, I know....big deal, right? I mean everybody gets this kind of skin cancer, right? (yeh, tell that to my nerves...or what's left of them at this point). IT'S NO BIG DEAL....unless of course you have already heard that awful "C" word in another context.

Anyway, I will have a MOHS procedure on Thursday at 9am. I'm told I should bring a book as this could be a long day! I just wish I could quit ending up with diseases that require sharp instruments to remove parts of my body. At the rate I'm going, I might just be one giant torso by the time I'm 50!

It's been one of "those" weeks!

You know the kind.....the week that just won't end. The week that makes you wonder why you even bothered to leave the comfort of your bed at all! The kind of week that makes you just want to get into your car and drive......and keep driving until you are as far away as one person can get in the whole 20 minutes that you actually get to yourself!

Interested in my pity party? No? Well, I'm inviting you anyway.....

1. My friend Robbi died of ALS on Wednesday. I can't believe how sad I am. The disease began to manifest itself in February of this year. She suffered a bout with the flu but was not able to shake the fatigue. By April, she was having speech and balance problems. They had given her a preliminary diagnosis of Guillain Barre Syndrome. She had a spinal tap and they discovered through analysis of spinal fluid that she did NOT have Guillain Barre. They thought she might be suffering from a malignant brain tumor.....Cat Scan was clear. As time went on, they came to the conclusion it was ALS...mostly by a process of elimination. She was positively diagnosed on June 18. She deteriorated quickly but was still quick witted and sassy until about an hour before her death. Her mother and brother were with her when she died. Thankfully, I was able to talk with her on her birthday (July 31). A year ago, I thought cancer was the worst thing that a person could be diagnosed with. I was wrong.

2. Sometime in the early morning hours on Tuesday, Olivia woke up with an earache. To make a long story short....she had a raging ear infection! As a matter of fact, the pediatrician noted several blisters on her eardrum. Sigh.....more antibiotics.

3. Sometimes, I hate Facebook. In the last month, I've been in 4 very heated political "discussions" with people that I thought I respected and who I thought respected me. Apparently, the divisions that exist in this country now are just too wide to compromise. While I attacked the issues and called people on the carpet, these people personally attacked me. I am an "angry person who thinks I'm better than anyone else. I also can't seem to show any compassion when someone is at their hour of need". Ordinarily, things like those don't bother me....but they did this time. I feel so bad that I come across this way sometimes. I truly don't mean to. I think sometimes I just get caught up in the emotion of it all and I can't seem to find that thin line between anger and passion.

4. Bank of America just called tonight. There has been "suspicious" activity on Dan's Visa Debit Card. After much research, yes....someone was very busy in HARRISBURG, PA spending almost $1000 of our money at the local Kmart. WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH PEOPLE?? Luckily, this issue has been resolved....although Dan needs a knew Debit card now. Do these people have consciences?

5. My good friend in California was in a car wreck. She is ok but there is almost $5000 damage done to her car. There is a lot going on in her life right now...she doesn't need this.

6. I am a total failure as a mother....lately. One of my kids (Her name begins with an "A") is having some behavioral problems right now and I think I'm just making things worse. I've got to find another way with her because what I'm doing now just isn't working for either of us.

7. The laundry is beyond out of control. I keep thinking that if I just ignore it, it will go away. I managed to wash one load yesterday...and then promptly forgot about it. Therefore, I need to re-wash them. If I had just done it right the first time......

I could go on and on. Ok, pity party is over now. Tomorrow, I will try to amend this seemingly "sympathy seeking" post with one about all of the blessings God has given me!

Roberta Ferrari Allen

July 31, 1955 - August 26, 2009

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.

I love you, Robbi. You will always be in my heart.

Question.....

Is there a category in the Guinness Book of World Records for "highest number of times one mother can read The Kissing Hand to her kids at bedtime"? If so, I may have just broken the record! Seriously! I think tonight made 529 times total!

Next time we have a family picture taken, Chester will be included!

Kindergarten Mascot

Amelia's kindergarten class has a mascot. Her name is Spinner The Spider! The kids get to take turns taking Spinner home for the weekend. The goal is to do something fun...take a few pictures and write about it. This was Amelia's weekend.....and......we promplty forgot!! I was checking backpacks after dinner tonight and caught sight of Spinner stuffed in the bottom! I panicked! Thank goodness that Dan remained calm, got Amelia dressed again (she had already had a bath and was in her PJ's) and drove her down to Friendship Fountain Park to snap a few pictures!

I thought I would share some of the pictures that Dan took. I think they turned out cute! She can sure become a "ham" when in front of a camera!


Amelia said she thought the bricks looked like a spider web!

Don't you just love this pose?

This is a great shot of downtown Jacksonville....and of course a great shot of Amelia and Spinner.

Roman roads

This is a short but very interesting post written by a a gentleman (Bryan) and his wife who moved to Italy in 2006. Click here to read the post.

I think things like this are fascinating! And of course, anything about Italy interests me!

We Got Through The First Week!!!

As most of you know, I don't homeschool...although that is the greatest desire of my heart. Each year that I have to do the school "thing" (uniforms, soccer, picture day, lunches, blah-blah-blah) I want to homeschool more and more. Still, for whatever reason, this commercial CRACKS ME UP! Is there anybody out there that sees the humor in it????? Or am I the only one?

Recipe Swap Thursday

How about some edible playdough! I have several recipes but this one is my favorite!

Fruit Playdough

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 Tbsp cream of tartar
2 cups boiling water
2 Tbsp cooking oil
3 oz package sugar-free fruit flavored gelatin

Mix dry ingredients in pan. Add the water and oil. Stir over medium heat until mixture forms a ball. Pour onto a sheet of wax paper. Enjoy!

My kids LOVE this stuff. However, I must admit they don't really eat a lot of it. The smell is just heavenly!!!

Head on over to Therese's blog to see all of the scrumptious additions to this swap!

Skin is clear!

In my effort to be as disciplined as possible with health issues, I saw a Dermatologist for the first time today. I've had a couple of questionable marks show up in the last 6 months and wanted to get them checked out. As is par for the course lately, I was scared to death. It seems like the possibility of cancer is just around every turn for me and sometimes (like today), I don't handle it so well.

I was very edgy this morning and consequently was not very patient with the kids. The parking lot at the hospital is FOREVER being worked on and they use more cones on 5 floors of the garage than the entire state of Florida uses on I95. On my way to the MD's office, I pass by the Women's Clinic where I have my mammograms....ur, well....where they found my cancer. It's a bittersweet feeling when I see that place. I'm certainly glad they were "on their toes" that day and called me back when things looked suspicious. But, then again, just seeing the office makes me nauseous.

Once in the exam room with the doctor, it all went pretty fast. He scanned my entire body with a nurse following him and taking notes. He spouted off a bunch of Latin words for the various skin stuff he saw. Then he looked very closely at the two areas I was concerned about. He didn't really elaborate on what he thought, but he did remove them and sent them off to a Pathologist. I have to wait 3 WEEKS for the results! I have to call a special 800 number and give them my SSN in order to receive my results. The last thing he said to me was...."see you next year"....I'm taking that as good news.

When I first found out I had breast cancer, I didn't think that there was anything in the world that was worse than staring mortality in the face! Ultimately, things have gone really well for me so far and while there are no guarantees for anyone, I have an excellent chance of beating this disease. As I contemplated this on the way home, I was struck by the realization that there really are worse things in life than cancer. Two specific things come to mind....

Loosing a child. In my life, I've had at least 7 miscarriages (that I know about). These are hard to go through. Pregnancy is never the same again once you've had one. But, I realize that God had a purpose for creating those souls and loaning them to me, if even for a brief moment. I am comforted to know that my babies are interceding for me and our family right now at the Throne of God! In addition, a very wonderful blogging mom lost her autistic son in a tragic accident this week. The things of this world just do not make sense to me sometimes...seriously! My prayers are with Mary Ellen and her family during this time.

And secondly....

Loosing a friend. Right now, a very dear and special friend is suffering through the latter stages of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease). This process began back in February, after a bout with the flu. It started off as some balance problems and has progressively gotten worse. She was finally diagnosed in June (apparently, there is no way to diagnose it....it's more about ruling other things out). As of today, she is in a wheelchair...unable to move, unable to speak and will probably not be breathing on her own for much longer. This happened all in a matter of 6 months. She just turned 55.

Yes, there are worse things than cancer! Today, let us all hold our children, our parents and our spouses a little tighter. Make that phone call to the friend you haven't talked to in awhile. Let the dishes sit, let the laundry go undone. Let's spend some time on our knees thanking God for today, for this hour, for this moment.

Wordless Wednesday

Photo courtesy of Easter A.

Family Traditions

I grew up in an Italian household! We had many family traditions, most of which involved food (surprise!). We lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, specifically the East Bay. I was born in Berkeley and raised in nearby Albany. This area was filled with Italian communities.

My dad's job took him to the city (S.F.) quite often. In the North Beach area you will find what is known as "Little Italy". They have the absolute BEST restaurants and bakeries, all owned and operated by Italian immigrants!

At least once or twice a month, he would bring home what we called "hard breads". They are literally the hardest bread you have ever seen! You could seriously break a tooth on this stuff! My dad would spread them out on a cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs. The olive oil and vinegar would soften them up and they were DELICIOUS!!

I haven't lived in California in 12 years and it had probably been about 6 years before that since I had tasted these precious morsels! Well, I received a package in the mail today...from my uncle. Look what he sent......

Can you guess what I'm having for dinner?

A brand new year!

Well, as of today, all of my kids are back in school! It's bittersweet for me. I miss them so much yet I need a bit of a break.

Today was total chaos! There were three lunches and three snacks to pack, there were three kids to drop off at three different classrooms. There were three different pick up times in two different areas....there were three full backpacks to shove into the van as well as three lunch boxes. There were three kids that needed an after school snack and needed to get changed out of their uniforms. There were three kids to get settled down and three different grade levels of homework to get started on. Lastly, there were three grade levels of homework to check.

Which brings me to a question....how closely do you other moms check their homework? I have always checked it in detail. Sometimes, when there are multiple subjects, this can be very time consuming! I find that I have to concentrate on a much deeper level these days as the directions can be tricky. Anyway, as I said, I check everything and if there is anything that needs to be corrected, I make them do it then so that what they turn in doesn't have any errors on it.
I'm mainly checking for neatness and to see if they followed the directions.

Well anyway, it was a very busy day. Here's hoping that I can get into a routine soon!

Back to School!

Well, today I have a 3rd Grader, a Kindergartner and a Preschooler! I'm so proud!
Here are a few pictures from this morning. I must have had the flash turned off for most of these...that's why they look a little "yellow".

Olivia has her preschool orientation tomorrow. She was very upset that she didn't get to wear her uniform today, so, I improvised and let her wear a school PE shirt that's too small for Nathan or Amelia. This made her very happy! (She's pretty easy to please).

I was afraid Amelia might get teary-eyed, but she didn't. She was a real trooper! Come Monday morning, all three of them will be in school for the entire day! This seems so weird. I'll be changing my work schedule from 3 eight hour days to 4 six hour days. I don't know how I'm going to get anything done at home. Dan has two courses (Monday and Tuesday nights) that start the last week in August and we signed up Nathan and Amelia for soccer. Practices will be on Wednesday afternoons and the games will be Saturdays starting in early October! In addition, I will be starting a Little Flowers Girls Club for the Kindergarten in the next few weeks, getting back to Weight Watchers and attending a Women's Spiritual Study. Phew! I see a very busy Fall and holiday season.

My guess is that the dust bunnies in my house are jumping for joy!

Recipe Swap Thursday!

Therese from Musings of a Mom has started a Recipe Swap that she will post about on Thursdays! I am very excited as I am always looking for new things to prepare for my family.

After all, the same old thing is....well....the same old thing! However, there are a few things that the kids seem to ask for over and over. I realize that it's the middle of the summer and soup is not the meal of choice. However, this one is easy, delicious and since it's made in the crockpot...the kitchen stays cool!



CrockPot Pizza Soup

1-1/4 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups water
1 can (18 ounces) pizza sauce
1 cup chopped pepperoni
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes or 1 can stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup cooked Italian sausage, out of casing and crumbled
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning (oregano, parsley, basil)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
shredded Mozzarella cheese

In large saucepan, saute onions and mushrooms in olive oil 2-3 minutes or until tender. Add everything to the crock pot except the cheese. Simmer on LOW 6-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours. Before serving, add Parmesan cheese and stir in. Garnish with mozzarella.
****I usually double the recipe so we have leftovers and I also add more meat to make it heartier. Serve it with garlic bread/toast. You could also add any other ingredients that you like on your pizza (bell peppers, olives etc......)

I've blogged about this before here (with pictures)! You really should try this! Your kids will love it!

Do you have what it takes?

Do you have what it takes to become a U.S. citizen? If you want to become a U.S. citizen, you are required to take a civics test as part of the process. Apparently, there are about 100 sample questions that prospective citizens can study. Here is the link for the test..

Prospective citizen civics test

Incidentally, these questions are asked orally by an INS officer, so the candidates are not offered multiple choice. I got 80% correct. What is your score????

Help Celebrate 750 and Win!!!

Let's help knitnana celebrate her 750th bag! Aren't they just lovely? Please hop on over to her blog and enter to win! Good Luck!!

Update

Well, I think except for a cough, Nathan has recovered from the flu! Thank you all for your kind words and many prayers! So far, no one else seems to have gotten sick. As I've said, Dan and I are still taking the Tamiflu (for a total of 10 days) so that may be why. I'm just glad that we are now at the point where we can ALL leave the house for necessary errands. School starts next week and I've still got a lot to do!

Also, I finally updated the Blogs I Love on my sidebar! I have been wanting to do this for a long time! I added a ton of blogs that I read faithfully! Take a few minutes to scroll it and see if there are any that are new to you!

Have a wonderful and blessed Saturday!!

Lost Tooth

In all the hustle and bustle of thermometers, Motrin, doctor visits and trying to explain that it's ok to eat bacon around here, I failed to notice that Nathan had a loose tooth. Well, yesterday he pulled it out! Surprisingly....no drama at all! He was very pleased with himself! He washed and dried it and neatly placed it in a ziplock bag...then under his pillow.

Guess what? His mother The Tooth Fairy FORGOT to visit! As soon as that child woke up this morning he noticed that she hadn't taken his tooth or left any money! How could she have forgotten?

We really had no idea why she had failed to come. Nathan was perplexed. So, we came up with a couple of reasons why she might have been a no show....

1. She probably didn't want to get the Swine Flu.
2. Nathan was using two pillows last night and she probably had looked under the wrong one.
3. He used to have plain sheets, but now he has Bakugan sheets and they are very "busy" so she must not have been able to see the little plastic bag.

Well, we've remedied all of that for tonight! He's only got one pillow, he's put the little ziplock bag on top of a red t-shirt and put that whole thing under the pillow....and...he left her a note explaining that he doesn't have Swine Flu anymore. That should do it!

I'm pretty sure mom she won't forget tonight! Phew!

Home

I realize that if you are a contestant on American Idol, this is not the song you want to be hearing. However, I can't get enough of this song! Enjoy!

Pope Benedict and Communion

I've written about this subject before back when Nathan was preparing for First Communion.

I requested comments about what other people felt about receiving Holy Communion on the tongue or in the hands. Now, with the Swine Flu such a reality in our home, this brings up a whole new set of questions for me.

I'm interested in opening up this subject again for discussion. I came across this article over at
Esther's place (A Catholic Mom in Hawaii).

There are definitely legitimate arguments for receiving in the hands even though I prefer to receive on the tongue.

Please feel free to add your views.

Fact vs. Fiction

H1N1: Separating Swine Flu Fact from Fiction.

I thought I would share the above article as it has some good information. Before last week, I was quite sure that the Swine Flu would never affect my family. Unfortunately, it is pretty contagious and most of the US will be affected at some point this winter. If I were you, I would stock up on Tylenol, Motrin and other over the counter meds to help with the symptoms. I would also buy a box of surgical masks (you can get these at Walgreens/CVS) and lots of hand sanitizer. Use Clorox Wipes or Lysol on all door knobs, tv remotes and telephones. I also bought a couple of boxes of the anti-bacterial Kleenex.

The most worrisome part of this whole thing is that this virus could quite possibly mutate in the next few months and go from being a mild virus to something much more serious. H1N1 is very active right now (mid summer) when the flu season is usually very light.

While our bodies have some immunity to the flu (just simply because we've been exposed to many strains), we have virtually no immunity to the H1N1 Novel virus. This means we need to be extra careful!

On a lighter note....I want to know why they call it the Swine Flu?? I mean, we have the Asian Flu and the Spanish Flu. Why don't we use country of origin on this one and call it what it really is....the Mexican Flu? After all, you can't get this flu from eating pork products!

Summer 2009 Issue

In all the fuss with the Swine Flu, I forgot to mention that I received my Summer 2009 issue of Materet Magistra! Even though I don't homeschool, I devour this magazine when it comes in the mail! I especially loved Alice Gunther's article on "The Liturgical Year". I will be reading this issue from cover to cover! If you homeschool and you don't subscribe to this magazine, you are really missing out. Please consider getting yourself a copy soon!

Swine Flu Update: Nathan is feeling much better. He slept all night (is still sleeping at 8:19am) and I think his fever is finally gone. His nose is still stuffy and has a slight cough but we are definitely on the mend. My doctor finally called in my prescription for Tamiflu....so I can go back to work today. No one else is showing any symptoms....yet!

Swine Flu update!

Well, Nathan says he feels better today! To tell you the truth, he doesn't look much better. The fever has been better controlled and he's fighting with his sisters. Those are good signs...I think.

Interestingly enough, my employer has pretty strict rules with regards to communicable diseases. I can't go back to work until it has been 7 days since first exposure (in this case....Saturday would be the soonest), or, I have to be taking Tamiflu. I called both my oncologist and my regular doctor today. Neither of them were in any rush to help me out. Hopefully, I can get one of them to call in a prescription tomorrow and then I won't have to miss any work.

We are in pseudo quarantine here. No one has actually told us we can't leave the house, but if germs are cooking in the girls or Dan and I....I don't really want to be spreading "the love" all around town. I've been using hand sanitizer likes in going out of style and spraying Lysol everywhere. I scoured the bathroom this morning with bleach. Hopefully, this virus will not linger in the Widener household.

Thank you for your prayers. Keep them coming.

No, I'm not kidding!

What a weekend! I'm so glad to have Nathan home! I missed that little guy! We got a call from him early on Friday morning to let us know that they would not be back in Jacksonville until approximately 9:00pm (they were due back at 8pm). I arrived at the church parking lot around 7:30pm....just on the off chance they were on time. I didn't want him to come home and find us not there! Once there, we got word through one of the other parents that they were going to be about 3 hours late...arriving about 10:30 or 11:00. Sigh...hurry up and wait some more!

Many parents just stood around the parking lot chatting. I found out that the girls camp (held the week before in Central Florida) had about 7 confirmed cases of swine flu! Lovely! The only common denominator that the boys camp had with the girls camp was the two priests. I just hoped they had washed their hands!

Finally, one van showed up as well as the trailer with all the kids' stuff. They began unloading great big black garbage bags full of stuff. Apparently, it rained pretty much the entire time they were there and everything was wet. Luckily, I found Nathan's stuff pretty quickly....his was not in a plastic bag. Can I just say that the smell that was coming from those bags was, well, gross!

Nathan was in the third van that showed up! He ran to me and said, "Hi, Momma! Guess what.....I threw up five times on the 4th day!" After hugging and kissing him, I realized that HE WAS IN THE SAME CLOTHES THAT HE HAD ON THE DAY I DROPPED HIM OFF!! I asked him if he had brushed his teeth at all......nope!

When we got home, I had to peel off his clothes. I scrubbed him down good and washed his hair several times. I'm not sure his finger/toe nails will ever be clean again. I emptied out his pack and sure enough, there were all of his other clothes still folded neatly. I asked him why he didn't at least change his shirt. His answer......he couldn't find one! Now, mind you, I sent him a pair of shorts and a shirt for EVERYDAY. He obviously didn't look for it.

He had about 6 blisters all over his feet. This would be from hiking in shoes with NO SOCKS! Again, I sent him socks for everyday. Apparently, he didn't find those or the underwear either.

He lost three items....his hat, his jacket and a pair of shorts.

They had an encounter with a bear. No one actually saw him but woke up one morning to find several packs missing and several ripped apart. Nathan's fanny pack has claw marks all over it.

This makes for great stories though!

In spite of the bear, vomiting and the hiking blisters, he seemed to have a great time. He met some wonderful friends and made the commitment to become an "Apprentice" within the Home of the Mother Youth. He has said his prayers faithfully everyday since he's been home.

On Saturday night, he mentioned that his throat hurt. I tried to ignore it but by Sunday morning, I took his temp....101. I gave him some Motrin and by that evening, his temp was still 101. By this morning, it was 102.5. So, at 9am we were on the way to the pediatrician. After a nasal swab test was done, it was confirmed....Nathan has SWINE FLU! He is miserable. He has a sore throat, achy all over, fever and chills. We were advised to treat it like the regular flu....plenty of fluids and treat the symptoms.

Gotta love summer camp! School starts on the 17th....let's hope we're all better by then. I'll share some of the cute stories he told me in another post. For now, here are some pictures.

This is what I found in his pants pockets.....Fr. Henry's card, holy card and the prayers for the Home of the Mother Youth. Thankfully, no bugs (or anything gross).

While you can't tell from this picture....this shirt used to be white. The bottom part is now a dingy beige color. I will attempt to wash it.....but I doubt it will make it.

Blistered feet.


Clean and reunited with two sisters that missed him!

He's home!