What a week!

Last week was one of those weeks! You know the kind...where so much is going on that you aren't really sure what day it is. Here is the shake down:

1. First of all, about 10 days ago, I finally took the girls to the pediatrician. They both had fevers at one time or another that week and they both had developed a yukky cough. This cough seemed different to me and so, I wanted to have it checked out. Well, sure enough, it was bronchitis. Amelia had it worse than Olivia...but they were both prescribed antibiotics. When Amelia was 7 weeks old, she had a case of RSV and so whenever her chest becomes congested, I feel a lot better having it checked out. In this case, my "mama's intuition" was correct. They are both on the mend.

2. Last Sunday, Nathan woke up about 4am throwing up. Lovely!! I had really hoped we would finally be over these winter sicknesses! He threw up a couple of times but by noon, he was asking for food! At first, I only gave him toast to see how he kept it down...but by dinner time, he was HUNGRY! So, I made pancakes for dinner. He ate well and was feeling fine. I sent him to school on Monday.

3. Monday and Tuesday everybody was doing great. I had an appointment with the oncologist. I don't have to see him for 3 months! I will see him every three months for two years. Then I will graduate to every 4 months for 2 years....then every 6 months for two years...and then finally... once per year! For now, I don't see him until June so I've got three whole months where I don't need to think about cancer at all! It almost seems like a vacation! I'm so happy! Wednesday morning, Nathan woke up feeling sick again and threw up! Sigh....I kept him home from school. Again, he only threw up once and was asking for food by noon. This time...he got crackers and toast ONLY. He was fine by Thursday so he went to school.

4. Friday was the follow up appointment for the girls. They had completed their course of antibiotics and so the doctor wanted to listen to their lungs again. Amelia was totally fine, however, she said that Olivia had fluid in her ears and her chest was still rattling. She also had tons of gunk in her nose. The doctor said it was all part of the same infection (fluid in the lungs, nose and ears) so she prescribed a antihistamine to help with the extra mucous. Everybody was FINE!! Dan and I took the kids to the Knights of Columbus Friday Fish Fry for dinner. The kids are not big on the fried fish but they love the mac & cheese, cheese grits and hush puppies!! Their were other kids from church/school there, so they were more interested in playing than eating. Amelia complained of an ear ache though! I thought this was strange because the MD said that Olivia was the one with the fluid! Hmmm...interesting. Anyway...to make a long story short....Amelia came home complaining of her stomach....and then, of course, threw up! Sigh....
She only threw up the one time and tossed and turned most of the night. Dan had vomit duty as I had done it with Nathan...it was his turn.

5. This morning, we had a special birthday party to go to. It was held for the daughter of some very good friends. They had it at a place called Diamond D. Ranch. They had horseback riding, a petting zoo, and a great hay ride! I though that maybe I should stay home with Amelia. After all, I really didn't want her throwing up at the birthday party! But, she pitched a total FIT about the idea of her not going. You know, as a mom...you have to pick your battles! I chose not to fight this one. I packed a change of clothes for she and Olivia (I'm sure Olivia will be next with the vomiting), a bucket, paper towels and wipes. I figured I was covered if anybody decide to do the technicolor yawn in the car!

6. Everything went great! The party was so much fun! What a wonderful place for a party!! I will post some pictures some time this next week of our adventure today. The kids loved the horses and loved our hay ride and the petting zoo! Dan's mom went with us and I have to say it was one of the nicest days I've had in the last 9 months! I felt good and it was so great to be outside in the sun and the fresh air! The kids laughed and played (they didn't fight!!) and Dan & I were very laid back and just let them play without knit-picking every aspect of their behavior.

7. Tonight when we got home...they played outside some more, came in for a soup dinner, got into their jammies (sorry, I didn't feel like doing the bath thing tonight) and were in bed by 8:30pm. Dan and I watched Twilight tonight on Comcast On Demand and it was such a peaceful day. I was also able to watch some of the Pope's visit to Angola on EWTN while the soup was heating up. This was just one of those perfect days where you really couldn't have had it any better.

One of the other bad things that happened this week was that I forgot one of my best friend's birthday! **Cindy....I am so sorry! It isn't that I totally forgot...I new it was this week....I just got confused and thought the 19th was on Friday! I know it sounds like an excuse...but that's the truth, just ask Dan****

I also spent some time out on the 40 Days for Life site in front of the Planned Parenthood. What an experience. I didn't realize that at this particular PPH, they do abortions on Friday mornings. My time is Friday's from 7-8am. They have escorts out there for these women. It's a hard thing to do....watch these women getting ready to have an abortion. They ALL walk in with their heads down. Some don't look like they really want to be there. I wish I could personally talk to all of them....to offer them other real choices.


Posts for this next week will include pictures from our Diamond D Ranch birthday party and the Stations of the Cross that we did at our Altar Rosary Society meeting, as well as a visit we have planned for tomorrow from some great friends from Minnesota!!

Up all night!

I really dislike taking the steroids before the chemo. I know that they are supposed to help me fend off any allergic reaction that might be hovering over me after the poison enters my veins...but...they pretty much keep me up all night!! I was still awake at 4:15am this morning! I finally dozed off and then Dan woke me up at about 6:20am as everybody has to be out of the house by 7:30am at the latest! I had 4 whole days and still forgot to wash Nathan's uniform pants...(he used to have two pairs of pants....but we wont' talk about the "high quality" of fabric that they use to make these $28 pants...that he blew out the knees already!!!!). Anyway, they are on quick wash and hopefully they'll dry quickly too. He can always wear his uniform shorts...it's 58 degrees right now...but it will be close to 75 at least by the time I pick them up from school.

My last chemo is at 8:00am. I'm anxious and thrilled at the same time. I'm so glad it will be over...but at the same time...it's hard to voluntarily (technically) go there when I know what the next week will bring.

I started that special Christmas Novena to St. Andrew yesterday. I bet you can guess what my intentions are!!!

Happy Friday!

It's been a busy week. Lot's going on and I'm just trying to keep up. Nathan has had basketball practice and his Fall Chorus Concert. I'll post some pictures if any of them are decent. He's also been preparing for his first confession on December 6th. In between all of this, I've had a toothache. Can you believe it? Leave it to me to need dental work during chemotherapy! I'm not exactly sure how this is going to work though. They really, really don't want me to have to see the dentist right now. I don't know how much longer I can hold out. I'm also still struggling with the anemia...although I think my counts are up from where they were last week.

The weather has been wonderful here....nice and cool. The native Floridians hate it...but I love it. I'll post more later. In the meantime...have a wonderful day!

Sorry!

To the person who googled "be not afraid to throw things away"....and ended up here...at my blog....I can assure you that you are in the wrong place. If you could see the clutter in my house...you'd know how VERY AFRAID I am of throwing anything away. So sorry you wasted your time.

Oh Nuts!!

I just spent 20 minutes working on a post and somehow..Blogger went down. It usually saves every few minutes, but for whatever reason, the only thing that was saved was my first paragraph. Darn it! If I believed in luck...I'd say that mine was bad. But, since I don't, I'd say that God is giving me many uhm, uhm, uhm...opportunities to practice the virtue of patience. How am I doing???

Random Ranting

I saw gas for $2.95 a gallon today. Why is it that when it was $3.95 a gallon everyone and their brother was griping? It's down a dollar within just a few days and the gripers.....are still griping. I'm convinced that some people just like to gripe. I also think that some people like crisis. When there is something catastrophic going on....they love it, thrive on it and wallow in it! Of course, the MSM (main stream media) is excellent at instilling panic. I mean, according to them, it's the end of the world! I am a firm believer in the cyclical changes of life. There are cycles to economics, climate, spirituality, fashion, music...and pretty much every other aspect of our lives. If you're blessed to live long enough, you will probably see both ends of the spectrum. Some people are so busy finding someone to point their finger at and blame, that they end up missing the obvious.

Life is not easy. I never remember anyone ever promising that it would be. Some people expect to be successful, happy and rich just because they work hard and try to do the right thing. I've got news for you.....that's not always how it goes. Yes, you should work hard and try to do the right thing....but, we should do it because...it is the right thing to do and because it's what God has asked of us. There is an evil force in this world that intends to interrupt everything meant for good in this life. This force will start at the heart of the family....where God is living and present. It just goes downhill from there. Let's not let evil win.

End of rant.

No words...

There really are no words to describe the love, kindness and support that friends and family have shown to Dan and I over the last few weeks. We have received cards and emails from as far away as New Zealand. We've received flowers, meals and some specialized clothing items (ahem, unmentionables....) as well as babysitting and furniture moving!! I've even had an offer from a dear friend in California to send a laptop she's not using 3,000 miles to me. I can't even begin to express to you how much you are all loved and how much I appreciate your friendships. I am overwhelmed. Today, I can't express myself in words....only tears. They are tears of true joy for the love you have shown us.
All I can do is to thank you from the depths of my being for....everything.

Does anyone have.......

.....a laptop that they are not using? I'd like to borrow one for a few months so that I can take it with me to the hospital, chemo sessions and move around the house with it.
I promise to take very good care of it and return in the same or better conditon.

5 for 5...

Well, we're dropping like flies around here. I think it started with Dan. About 2-3 weeks ago, he became really hoarse and had a sore throat. It developed into a pretty good cough. He's been on the mend except for the lingering cough. Then, Nathan was next. He never complained much (NOT like his character at all) but he hacked and hacked for awhile...and still is. Over the last week, the girls have come down with it. Amelia first, now Olivia. They were puny enough to warrant a trip to the doctor. Dan took all three of them on Friday. Guess what? They all 3 have bronchitis in various stages. So, off to the pharmacy for drugs. Dan has an antibiotic too and so probably in the next week, they'll all be feeling better.
Unfortunately, the story does not end there. I finally can no longer ignore the strange feeling in my throat or the achiness in my shoulders and neck. Last night, sometime around 2 or 3 am, that strange feeling became sore! I'm achy all over and my head is pounding. Nice.

I'm not sure what this will mean for surgery on the 4th. I guess I'll call the surgeons office tomorrow and let them know. Incidentally, I had all my pre-op workup done on Friday..everything was good. The chest xray too. Let's hope it stays that way.

Well, I need to check the poppy seed muffins that are in the oven and I can hear that the coffee maker is just about done. It's early, not quite seven. Only Olivia and I are up. I will cherish this time.

Have a Blessed Sunday!!

Rest in Peace.

Randy Pausch 10/23/60 - 7/25/08

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon Him. May he rest in peace.