Fiona's Pretties Take Two

I know I just got done (2 months ago) talking about getting Fiona's hair cut. For the longest time, over four years ago, we were very possessive of Fiona's hair. After it started falling out, she had wispy hairs that went along the back of her head. I was reluctant to cut them off because when she wore a hat, it looked like her hair was piled on top of her head under her hat. We (TD) ended up trimming them.
Later, we got her hair trimmed only when it became unruly or to cut off damaged ends. We got her hair cut right before Moe's wedding two months ago.
Two Sundays ago, she came to me and said she wanted to cut her hair much shorter. At first, I was really reluctant. We had fought so hard for that beautiful hair. But at some point, we have to get on with regular life. So, while the family was watching Harry Potter, I put her on a kitchen chair and cut off many inches. I even put in layers. I figured that I have seen it done enough times that I could probably do it. If it didn't work out, I would've just taken her to a salon the next day after school.
It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. She is very happy with it and I have to say, I do a lot less to her hair in the morning. It's a lot coarser, more like mine, than her sister. It's definitely wavy and it holds curl as well as mine. She is very pleased with her cut and I am happy that we are making our way to a totally normal life in every way.

Fiona's Pretties

There were a few things I had been wanting to do with the girls before we fly back to Oregon for Moe's wedding. First, for Fiona, I wanted to let her get her ears pierced. I was going to let her get her ears pierced when she was bald. She gave it some thought, but ultimately she decided against it because she was sick of being poked. Then I told her she could get it when she was 8, but once again she was leery of being poked. During the summer she kept bringing it up, but I didn't want to shell out the cash when she was kind of half hearted. On Labor Day we were at the mall looking at dishwashers and Buttercup wanted to stop by Clarie's. I scoped out the prices and there were a few options for only $17. That was the cheapest I had seen, so I told her we should get it done. She started acting nervous about it, saying she needed to use the bathroom or wanted to come back later. I told her she had been begging for it and I wasn't going to come back to the mall for awhile. The lady that did it was great and after the first ear, Fiona jumped and then said, " Well, that wasn't so bad." She was very pleased when she was done.

The other thing I wanted to do for her was get a trim. I worried about the state of her curls. I wasn't sure if the weight of her hair was pulling down the curls or if she was outgrowing the curls. She has grown attached to her curly hair and the comments that everyone makes about it. It looks like the curls were combed out in the top picture, but Buttercup had been 'styling' it and then she slept on it. I took her to the salon after school one day and had it trimmed with the layers. My girls cannot have bangs (gotta love the cowlicks, Buttercup's is the worst!) and I like to start with the first layer right under the chin. When we were done, this was the result:

She was so happy that the curl was still there!

Making A Mark

Last year was our first experience with this fundraiser at Texas Children's Hospital. The cancer kids and their siblings are encouraged to make some form of art and submit it. Last year only Fiona did and Buttercup was disappointed that she didn't. The only reason that Fiona did was because she made her art while we were waiting for an appointment. This year, I set aside a time for the girls to both make their art before Fiona had her last appointment.

I got a call a few months later saying that Buttercup's art and poetry had been chosen as a blue ribbon. There were over two hundred entries and less than 15 blue ribbons.

Here is Buttercup with her blue ribbon entry:
I was really impressed with her poem and what came out. Before, Fiona told me that Buttercup told her not to talk about being sick so much. This sort of reminded me of when I had cancer and I thought my older brother hated all of the attention I got. I worried that Buttercup was feeling that. Later on, I asked her about it. She said that she doesn't like talking about it because it makes her so sad. My poor sweet little girl was so sad about her little sister. I wish she had told me sooner.

Fiona's entry:
We had a good time and really like supporting those foundations that support pediatric cancer. We are so proud of our girls!

Rough Several Weeks

I haven't been writing lately because I haven't really felt like it. We have been dealing with a few things.
The first and foremost, Fiona's new homeroom teacher has been making her anxious. This has been spilling over into other parts of her life. She's has a slight history of being anxious at school, for very real reasons, and now that's being held against her. I wish people would understand, my kindergartener got dressed everyday, put on a smile and went to school, despite her year long chemo during that time. If the effects of that made her anxious, I am willing to deal with her on it. The principal says she doesn't intend to move her, but I know it can be done. We are letting the principal work with the teacher for a while and seeing how it goes. But, this has meant that she came home early from a birthday party yesterday because her anxiety has been ramped up. You would think people would be bending over backwards to make things easier for her.
She started going to her nurse with a stomach ache, any time she gets anxious she says her stomach hurts. She was never a nervous child, but once she started having to take chemo, she freaked out at the thought of having to throw up. Weirdly enough, she never really did and the once or twice it happened, it wasn't as bad as she had made it in her mind. We have had some serious discussions about the difference between genuinely being ill and making herself feel ill with anxiety.
Then our dishwasher died and we had to wait for about a week to get a new one. A dirty kitchen with hand washed dishes makes me nuts! EW! I don't care how well they are cleaned, I like the sanitizing factor.
After the dishwasher died and we were getting the new one in, TD's air conditioner went out in his car. Seriously...come on! We just seem to be hemorrhaging money. I have my eyes on a few more things, hopefully they can continue working for a while. Luckily, we were introduced to a new mechanic that does great work through his own home and was much cheaper. I am so happy to have a new mechanic for TD's car. My car has a warranty for a few more years, but we needed someone for TD. The last place we took it to charged us $700 and basically did nothing with it.
So, that's why I haven't felt like writing too much. Hopefully things will even out and I can return to regular stuff!

Slacker

Yes, I know I have been one, when it comes to blog writing, this summer. The first 6 weeks were great and this last part has been crazy. The girls were on their best behavior for the first part and lately they have been driving me nuts. The house is always destroyed, which puts me on edge. Then they are bickering. I wouldn't exactly call it fighting, just sort of noisy all of the time.

The Y hasn't settled down at all which has thrown me off as well. Normally, during the summer, we would get up, go swimming, and then go to the Y. But in order to be able to use the Y without being overrun by yelling children and their equally yelling parents, as well as machines being hogged, we really need to get there before 10am. I have given up on Monday and Wednesday Zumba all together for the summer. Having the fire marshal show up and limit them to only 50 people on Monday hasn't worked at all. By the time I can get the girls out of bed, fed and dressed, it's nearly 10am already. That further makes me crazy because TD's alarm gets me up at 6:30 and by 7:30 I am ready to go. Then, we get home and I try to get them to do their chores and try and keep them from totally destroying the house, but between 3 meals and at least one snack, the kitchen is in a perpetual state of gross. We are trying to teach Buttercup how to clean the kitchen and I know that you aren't supposed to go behind them and try to fix stuff, but after arguing several times about what is an acceptable level of clean, not only am I irritated, but still grossed out by the kitchen.

Then, Moe is getting married! That's right, you heard me! So while I am trying to pay off our air conditioner, TD insists that we all have to head out there. Sigh...I totally understand that the girls would be devastated if they couldn't go, but 4 plane tickets weren't on my budget for the year. So, I give in and get us four tickets. Just shortly after, I was eating lunch and I had a crown pop off a tooth... Seriously? I absolutely hate the dentist! Not that I hate her personally, just going there. That was another expenditure that I wasn't planning on.

So, things have been crazy again! Oh and I found a website called House Party.com and they have things that manufacturers want you to throw a party and try out with all of your friends. I signed up for the Play Station 3 party and actually got it. Buttercup wanted to invite her friends and so now I get to throw a party. The website is pretty cool. The Play Station sent us new things that you can't even get in the store yet and the girls tried it out when we got it on Saturday. There are tons of other things that you can sign up to throw parties for. They send all sorts of things to help throw a party.

Lucky for me, there are only 2 weeks left! The first day of school, I am going to my Monday Zumba class again and then I am going to buy myself some lunch and just chill the entire day. I cannot wait!

Birthday

So, I had a birthday last month. I generally try to keep birthdays low key. TD gets so stressed trying to find me presents. He says I can usually go out and get myself whatever I want. Once in a while I would love to be surprised but then I fight him on what he wants to get me. Stupid me. Anyway, he wanted to get me an iphone for Mother's Day. I told him it seemed sort of a selfish for me. Then he said what about Mother's Day and your birthday? Finally just after my birthday, after he and the girls wearing me down, I got to go buy an iphone. When the 4g came out it dropped the price on the 3Gs and that's what I got. I didn't need the brand new and with all of the weird things going on with the 4G, I am glad that I didn't get it. Plus, by waiting a month, it was $100 cheaper!
I have to admit he was right. I absolutely love it and I use it tons. All of my church books come on an app, so instead of dragging a book bag to church, I can just pull out my phone and follow along with the lesson. I can scan an item at the grocery store and find out where it's cheapest. I hardly get on my laptop any more because it's so much quicker on my phone. I can text my sisters without getting into trouble because there's a 99 cent app that allows me to text how ever many times I want to. There's an app for finding out what song is currently playing on the radio. I could go on and on about all of the fun things I can do.
Next time I should just let him pick something out for me.

Website

Let me start off by saying my friends' little boy seems to be doing really well. He endured two really long surgeries, but the surgeons are fairly confident that they got the whole thing which is really quite amazing. His dad had made a family website as a present for his wife for their anniversary just a few weeks previous to this and what a blessing it has been for them. It's unfortunate that they have to use it for this, but it's amazing they had it in place already and can use it to give us all updates. I really appreciate this because I have worried for them ever since I heard. Here is their link, if you want to check up on them.
Next, our air conditioner finally got fixed. I say finally because it was a brand new air conditioner and I can't believe that a little electrical surge during the storm could wreak such havoc. It stopped Thursday afternoon and our house was livable again on Saturday night. Not very much fun, plus I couldn't really leave because there was a guy in our house the whole time. By Saturday afternoon I had the worst headache and just didn't want to leave anyway.
I still managed to have a good time with the girls last week. I took my girls and Buttercup's friend to Shrek 4. It was one of those newer theatres where you can lift up the arm rest. I was sitting next to Fiona, and about half way through, we put up the armrest and she put her head on my lap. All of a sudden I was overwhelmed with love for her. So happy that she was still here with us, happy that she was her usual chipper self, happy that she had another clean bill of health. Then I was happy I was able to be there with Buttercup and her really nice friend. Then happy that TD worked so that I could stay home and was happy that I spent my days hanging out with our girls. Let's just say that Shrek 4 was a lot more rewarding than I was expecting it to be.
Someone, and it wasn't me!, called the fire marshall on our Monday Zumba class and I have heard they have decided to limit it to 50 people, first come, first serve. That is something I can get on board with. I am always early to everything, unless TD is involved, and I totally could get there early enough to snag a spot. Hopefully 50 people will mean I can get a good enough workout. I have never made a head count, but I heard that the Tuesday night Zumba class, downstairs in a different room, had 150 people one night!! This is not a big room at all, what a nightmare.
Hopefully we are back in line for our summer of fun. I have to say that losing our air conditioner when it was 95 degrees really put a damper on things. No one wanted to keep the house clean when it was that hot outside!

What a Crummy Night

So the girls and I were hanging out in the Wii room yesterday when I noticed it start getting warmer. I could tell the air conditioning was on, but it was blowing warm! Are you kidding me? We just got the stupid thing. So, I called the a/c company and they sent someone over, of course, after we sat in a rapidly heating house for over an hour. The guy told me that they needed to replace the air compressor, probably having something to do with the electrical storms we have been having. We bought the 10 year warranty, which meant it was totally free, but he didn't have the part and wouldn't until Friday morning. So, we set ourselves up for another hot night in the house. We have had quite a few, with lack of power after Hurricane Ike and then two times when the capacitor in our old air conditioner blew. I told Td if the guy wasn't able to fix it by Friday I would go and buy the $100 window unit at Home Depot. I wanted to have one on hand to run with a generator in case of another prolonged power outage.

So, I went back to the guest bedroom, TD toughed it out in our room and the girls got two big fans in the wii room. I managed to fall asleep at 11:30, but woke up at 2:30am. This was when I made the big mistake of checking my facebook page on my phone. A dear friend from Oregon posted that she was at our old hospital waiting for a surgery for her little boy to remove a newly discovered brain tumor. Ever since I read this my heart has been literally hurting. I can't believe this is happening to them, or to someone I know, or just some poor little kid. It made me think of that August night 4 years ago, when we had just learned of Fiona's tumor and how I couldn't sleep very well on the bed in her PICU hospital room. I would wake, regularly, with a start and the news would hit me all over again. That whole night I just couldn't stop crying.

This friend was one of the good ones. It's amazing what a great sifter something like cancer is. You think you know who your good friends are until they disappear into the woodwork, or say they will do anything and then never follow through. Even people in your own family don't make the cut and it's shocking. These people, who you have poured time and energy into a relationship with, don't return your phone calls, don't send your baby cards, and generally pretend the whole situation doesn't exist. She brought meals, sat and talked with me, sent her husband up to help give Fiona a church blessing. And here I sit, 2,000 miles away, unable to do anything.

I know that it is uncomfortable, you don't know what to say, how to help. Well, who cares? How do you think they feel? I know for a fact they don't know what to do and they feel horrible. Just a note, a card, a meal, something to let a friend know that you are thinking of them. My thoughts are with my friends and their little boy. I hope that the surgeons are able to get all of the tumor, without any effects, and that the prognosis is very favorable. And, if you know someone who is dealing with something and you aren't sure what to do about it? Ask them, sometimes they will have specific wishes and other times I have found it necessary to just barrel over them and take charge by bringing meals or taking their kids. It's hard to accept help and sometimes it's hard to give it, but I guarantee everyone will feel better.

Fiona's Funny

Monday was Fiona's trip to Texas Childrens. As a treat, I like to take the girls to the nice food court when we are done. Buttercup got a kid's meal at Chik Fil A because she promised to share the soda with Fiona. They took turns drinking it and then asked me if they could get a refill. I told them I didn't think there was a problem. Fiona grabbed the cup and I told her to look for a sign prohibiting free refills and if there wasn't one, then she could definitely get a refill.

She came back the opposite way. When I asked why she said just in case. She said there weren't any signs, so she refilled. She stopped and then said, " I think I cut in front of a whole bunch of people." She glanced each direction and pulled her chair out all of the way from under the table. Then she crawled underneath it. I asked her who she was hiding from. She pops back up, totally deadpan, and says, " The angry mob." She waited a few seconds, grinned at me and went back under the table.

I swear that kid just totally cracks me up.

Writing Camp

This week was a bit different in my summer time game plan. I signed the girls up for writing camp through the school district and they went every day this week from 8:30am to 11:30am. The camp was at the high school and I spent part of my morning ferrying them back and forth. That doesn't sound so bad, except, currently, the only high school in our district is 10 and a half miles away. Seriously! Thank heavens they are building a new high school much closer and I believe that Buttercup is scheduled to be in the third class to graduate from it. I had enough time to go to the Y and run an errand or to before it was time to go get them again.
I am glad I was able to go to the Y early this week because it has been insane. I did finally get to show TD the insanity that are Zumba classes. We went to our usual class Tuesday night, but got there in time to see the Zumba class, that meets before us, file out. The guy next to TD said it was like a clown car where they just kept coming. All of the parking lots were filled, when we came, and we had to park on grass between two lots. I have decided to sacrifice two of my weekly Zumba classes to keep the girls from going nuts at Childwatch and to ensure I get a good workout, which is hard when you can't move like you are supposed to.
Also, Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I woke up with a return of my birth control pill nausea. I am not sure what made this week any different and after having taken the same pill for many months I would hope I would no longer be susceptible to it. That made me not want to do anything after I picked up the girls. I have to go back to lots of small meals because even a larger sized bowl of cereal makes it worse. Yesterday and today have been better.
Friday we again went to the neighborhood pool. How funny that we have been three times this month when we hadn't gone at all before, since we moved here. The girls are enjoying playing with their friends and I enjoy the social aspect. I just need to be better about packing snacks. Apparently an hour of swimming and the fact that your friends have candy bars and potato chips makes you horribly hungry!

Post Script: I looked back over my calendar and realized that we had friends over to watch a movie and eat sundaes, plus we went over to a friend's house for some really fun swimming (thanks Jamie, we are coming over again!) and then Buttercup had a pool party with her church group. I guess all of that swimming just starts running together. Next week will be more interesting as Fiona starts Monday with her last every three months visit to Texas Childrens. We should be starting an every six months rotation after that, YAY!

Summer Fun

So, after the party of Tuesday, the weather seemed to calm down. The weatherman keeps telling me how horribly hot everything is, but when you go from a cranked a/c car, to an equally cranked up a/c building, it's kind of hard to tell. In fact, sometimes I have to convince myself to go swimming. Why would I take off my comfortable clothes and put on my swimsuit when it's fairly cool in the house? I did make it more fun for myself, I bought myself a new swimsuit, which I have not done in years! I have gotten by with swim shorts and tankini tops. The swim shorts are too big and make it difficult to really swim and the tankini tops are usually too small, length wise. It's tough being tall. If I can get something long enough, they usually presume I am over weight and I am drowning in extra fabric. But, I found out that JcPenney online has tall swimsuits, plus they were half price. That's the other thing, I can find tall swimsuits online, but I am not willing to pay $100 for them! I can't steal the picture, but here's the link. The smallest size fit, which is good because, like I said, they assume that you are bigger if you are taller.

We went to the neighborhood pool, with some friends, on Friday. It's only the second time I have been to the neighborhood pool since we moved here. I mean, we have a pool in the backyard for crying out loud. But part of my fun summer included taking the girls to the end of school party. Apparently, most of Fiona's class lives in our neighborhood. I got to hang out with the moms and so when one suggested we do it again, I was more than willing. The girls thought we were really fancy when we had pizza delivered to the pool. I have to laugh, I felt a bit fancy myself.

We also went to the Half Price Book store and got our first set of gift cards. Now, you can't collect them and buy something really wild at the end, but you have to use them one at a time. Fiona picked out Holes. She has loved this book ever since her teacher read it to the class this year. Her book was cheap enough that she got a bookmark as well. This bookmark said a house without a cat is not a home. She and I both agreed it was an appropriate sentiment for our house. Buttercup could not decide, but ended up with one of the Princess Diary books. I had to pay $1 for hers, but all in all, pretty cheap! On the way home we stopped at Taco Bell because I had coupons for a free Limeade or Margarita. The girls were concerned that they would get all liquored up if they got a Margarita, LOL. I told them it simply wasn't possible. I also figured out that I had purchased multiple copies of the newspaper that this coupon had come in, so they are going to be able to try different flavors.

Fiona and I also took a friend shopping. She had recently had surgery and needed some comfier clothes than what she had. Buttercup stayed to help watch her kids. We had fun, Fiona was her usual opinionated self when it comes to fashion. She's so funny, some things you are just born with.

Then, on Saturday, we got up and did something early, which is totally not like us. TD thought he needed to go into work and was intent on having company, not that everyone wanted to go. Right after we got in the car he found out that someone had already taken care of it. So, we went to Shipleys and bought doughnuts...YUM! They have this glazed cinnamon twist that I always get at Texas Childrens when Fiona has to skip breakfast before a CT scan. Then we took the girls to a park to eat their doughnuts and play. We ended up skipping our usual Saturday morning body pump class because I just didn't want to go. Our Y is getting SO overcrowded it's insane and sucking the fun out of working out. Seriously, on Monday, I wanted to take a cell phone pic and post it showing how the Zumba class is a case for the Fire Marshall. But this week, I won't be doing most of my usual stuff because the girls are taking a writing camp through the school district and I will be taking pity on them and working out while they are gone, so they can avoid the mess that is Childwatch.

I know that this was the first week and a half of summer vacation, but it has been wonderful. It's honestly the first summer vacation that I didn't dread the loss of my freedom. I also don't feel like I have to constantly keep going. I don't have many deadlines, like during school when I know the girls are going to be home at a certain time and I HAVE to accomplish things. I hope your summer is going fabulous and of course, for those of you in Oregon, welcome to summer break!

Par-Tay

Monday was one of our chore days. We spend those days doing several chores, which leaves other days open for field trips. I did take the girls to a Magic Show at the local library that afternoon. Always, always check your local library for those sort of things. We went to several in Sherwood, many years ago. I have to say many years because we disappeared for a bit when Fiona was ill. I did have the distinct privilege of watching my 4 year old pet a rattlesnake at one! EW!

Anyway, Tuesday was a fun day and we literally made it a party. One of our absolutely favorite families at church is moving away at the end of the month. We are so very much going to miss them. Anyway, the mom told me that her daughter was really bummed about being gone for her 8th birthday and the baptism it entails in our church. We had previously asked her to come over and play today, so last night Buttercup and I dreamed up a surprise party for her.

It was kind of a bummer this morning because we had planned a beach/pool party and it was a monsoon today! So, we just decided to move it indoors.

She arrived a few hours before our other guests, so we hung out until they got here, at which time Buttercup corralled everyone in the back of the house while I raced around putting some decorations up and getting presents and cake out.

Boy was she surprised!

I was pretty lucky not to have to scramble. We have a running joke about how Mom always has something in the back. This also includes presents that I get rather cheaply during the year, usually at Target clearance racks. I buy stuff and put it in the bins for just such an emergency.
I made some cupcakes this morning and some of the frosting I refer to on the side of the blog. It is always SO good.
Then we decided to play our indoor games. One of my old family favorites is called Don't Eat Freddy. You make a paper that looks sort of like a Bingo card and put something in each square. Normally it's M&Ms but a couple of our girls didn't like the peanut ones, so I got out chocolate chips.
Then, you send one person out of the room. While they are gone, you label (in your head) one of the squares, Freddy. Then you let the person back and have them eat a goody out of each square. Once they picked up the right goody, everyone screams, " Don't eat Freddy!"
It was a fun time and I think the birthday girl really enjoyed it. I hope she did. We are going to miss her entire family.

Farmer's 7-11

So, the first day out could've been considered a bust. We started out at the Y, where we (my good friend and I) didn't make it more than 40 minutes because it was too stinkin' hot. Seriously, I am all about working up a good sweat, but I don't want to be dripping in my eyes simply because the Y is too cheap to turn up the A/C. Let's face it, summertime is already in full force and since they have no problem raising my rates, they should have no problem turning on the air conditioner to match.

After the Y we headed to one of the farmer's markets I had found listed on the internet. It boasted a farmer's market and garden. It sounded pretty good. However, it was very disappointing when we got there. Instead of a supermarket, aka Walmart Supercenter, it was more of an On the Run or for you Oregonians, a 7-11. Seriously, we could've fit the whole thing in the main area of my house. We were especially hoping for berries, but they didn't have any. I mean, I even applied sunscreen because I expected us to be outside. Instead, it was in an old house.

Wanna know how I make it up to my girls? We go celebrate National Doughnut at Dunkin' Donuts. What won't a doughnut cure? I got a tasty toasted coconut doughnut and we sat around and ate our special treats. I figured out that we were close to the Half Price Bookstore I had been discussing with my girls. That was a wise move. The girls kept bringing me books they wanted me to buy and I had to remind them that next week we could return and they could buy it themselves. The bookstore had gotten a bit more expensive, I mean an used Disney DVD for $15? I could buy a new one at Target that didn't have a bunch of scratches and greasy fingerprints all over it. But, $4 used books, only $1 after the gift card....that I can do.

Then we headed to Burger King to let the girls play and then on to our house for some swimming. What could've been a real disappointment ended up being a fabulous day. I had a good time and I also figured that if we wanted to see a real farmer's market, we could head downtown some Saturday and check it out.

Entertainment Book

Here is another way I am going to have fun, cheaply, with the girls this summer. First, follow this link to Shop At Home.com. This website gives you money back when you shop through them and you get $5 just for signing up. The nice thing is that often they give things like 25% back for shopping at Old Navy, or some other place that you might often frequent. What a deal! Okay, so I had to plug Old Navy because I just love buying tall shirts on their website.

After you sign up, look for the Entertainment Book on their website. I know, it's that book that little kids are always trying to sell you, only there is no way that you are going to pay $35 or whatever the exorbitant price is. Right now, if you search for this book and scroll down about half way, through the offers, there is a link to buy the book for $12, plus free shipping. If you figure in the $5 you get just for signing up, it's only $7. There are tons of movie coupons and after just one buy one, get one free, the book pays for itself. The neat thing, for us, is that there are only 3 of us, so one of the girls get to bring a friend when we go. There are coupons for other things, so we can be out and decide we want a treat and stop by Shipley's donuts for some free doughnut holes or other neat deals. I am also going to use this to teach the girls how to stretch their fun money. Well, that is, if they had any fun money.

Silly Bandz Deal today only

For you poor moms out there suffering through Silly Bandz deprivation, there is a great deal. Today only though

http://www.dailysteals.com/

Activities for Summer

I promised that I would tell you what I am doing to entertain the girls this summer. I think of entertaining the girls, more as keeping them out of my hair. One activity we all enjoy is reading, including going to the library or Barnes and Noble. We don't necessarily have to buy anything. More often than not, I write down titles to request from the library. I will never go over to the dark side of e-readers because I just absolutely love the touch and feel of real books, as well as the size of the print and pictures.
We are going to do several reading programs. Barnes and Noble, Borders (Waldenbooks), our local library, and Half Priced Bookstores all have programs. The really cool thing is that you can read all of the same books for one program as well as another. I think my favorite this year is going to be Half Priced Books. For every week you read 15 minutes a day you get a $3 gift card to their store. At half price, it's practically a book a week.
Borders
Half Price Books
Barnes and Noble

Those are the links to the summer reading program. For the most part it seems to be geared toward the 12 and under crowd. I have little trouble getting my girls excited about new books. Just this morning we went to a dollar store that had a Goodwill next door. We went into the Goodwill looking for games and found several deals, including three Nancy Drew books for 79 cents each. Fiona was delighted. I like it when I can find an inexpensive way to continue to encourage my girls to enjoy reading.

Working out the Hubby

So, remember in my last post I talked about getting TD into better shape? I started a new class in April, at the Y, called Body Pump. It was one of two classes that I swore I would save for when I was really desperate about keeping down my weight. That and spinning class. I still haven't tried spin. I can't imagine sitting on the bike for an hour, I have pretty wussy legs and don't like those bike seats! Anyway, I broke down and tried a Body Pump class, even though I don't feel too desperate.

When I first walked in I noticed two old ladies and a visibly pregnant woman. That made me relax right away, I mean, if they can do it, I should have no problem. The great thing about it is that each body part gets worked out for only a song. Even when it comes to squats and lunges, I can do them for a song length. I actually don't mind the lunges any more. I have pretty good form. But I still hate the squats. My legs are so long that it seems to take forever to go all of the way down and come all of the way back up. Luckily, squats are first. By the time I really want it to be over, it generally is. We do squats, bench press, back (rows and dead lifts), triceps, biceps, lunges, shoulders, abs and cooldown. I never stay for the abs because it makes me sick to my stomach to do abs on the floor. The class goes by really fast and I always feel good about doing it.

I came home extolling the virtues of the class and TD thought it was something he could try. So, I've started going with him on Tuesday nights and then, instead of step class on Saturday morning, I go to Body Pump with him. What cracks me up is that TD comes out of the class totally soaked in sweat. I don't find it that aerobic, but apparently, his aerobic level is so bad that it totally works him over.

I took a new class this past week, taught by Buttercup's home room teacher, called Body Combat. I had the best time, but there is no way I would take TD to that one. He needs a LOT more activity before he can do that one. I had the best time, most likely because I found it hysterically funny to imagine beating the crud out of someone like it. It was even better to watch Buttercup's petite teacher do some awesome jump kicks.

I Disappeared!

Well, no, not really. Things have just been crazy around here with school winding up, for the kids, and school starting again for TD. Not to mention, his ongoing recovery and my new resolve to make TD healthier. Which, I am sure you can understand, is harder than it looks.

So, TD is back to almost full time at work. He spends most of his down time reading dull and boring books and tinkering with our pool filter, which seems to have a mind of its own. There seems to be air in a line somewhere and we just can't figure it out.

I have been dealing with magic school bus problems, which really don't affect me too much. We bought the full warranty when we bought the van. I LOVE that we did that. They say that warranties aren't worth it and they cost too much. We bought a great van with a good deal and knew we were going to drive it until it can't be driven another mile. This allows me to greet it happily every morning. I can't say the same about TD's Civic. We did buy the van outright as well, which also makes me happier. We are about half way done paying off TD's Civic and I can't wait until that's done. Of course, our warranty will end about that time as well. Anyway, the other morning I stopped at Walgreens on my way to Zumba and when I came out, there was a small puddle seeping out from under the van. It didn't look like the water condensing off the A/C, so I checked and sure enough....it was oil! So I missed out on my class while waiting for the diagnosis. I had TD come and pick me up while they tinkered with it some more. They are pretty sure they fixed it, but they wanted it back yesterday to make sure. This time I got a loaner.

Now, around our house, the girls give names to a lot of things. Our van is the Magic School bus, which is pretty obvious. It plays movies and the doors open with a push of a button, I consider it to be pretty magical myself and sing its praises any chance I get. Squirt cleans our pool. Stevie was our first big TV and is still around and kickin'. This time, the girls climbed in our loaner and promptly named themselves the Box Car children. (Which I highly recommend as a series for kids Fiona's age). Anyway, this is what they gave me:


They offered me a newer Accord, but I told him that I was very happy when I didn't have to climb out of a car. At 5'10", that's another reason why I consider the van to be magical. I sit up like a regular person. I am only okay with this vehicle. I miss my van. This doesn't have power door locks, or a fob, or the sunroof, etc. I think I am pretty spoiled when it comes to all of those things. I was also worried driving the girls around because I was sure these doors were going to cause one of the girls (let's be realistic, I was worried about Fiona) to lose a finger. Luckily, I should be hearing about the van at any time and can trade this back in. It's nice to have a loaner, but I really miss the van.

I am going to be posting more because I promised some people that I would tell what we are doing this summer. I have some cool plans for the girls and it's the first time I am really excited for summer. Part of that might have to do with Buttercup's 6:30am wake up call. An hour earlier than Fiona even needs to attempt to be up at. I also promised to talk about how I get such good deals. I haven't paid hardly anything for most of my toiletries for months. I have almost a year's supply of laundry detergent that didn't cost me even $10. I have 20 boxes of cereal that cost me less than $20. I haven't paid for toothpaste in forever, etc. I am going to try and see if we can severely cut our grocery/toiletry bill this summer and put a significant dent into our A/C payoff. We are half way through and I would like cut it even more!

Update on Happenings

So, things have mostly gotten back to normal. TD stayed home for a week. I was constantly feeding him and reminding him to take his medicine. He got some antibiotics that he had to take every six hours. So, if he woke me up in the middle of the night, I had to remind him to take it. I also became an expert at coming up with new and exciting soft foods.

We went to see his Primary Care doc and she said he looked fine. She also gave us a mouth rinse to try. It works for sores in your mouth as well, two parts Maalox to one part liquid Benadryl. It really seem to work at healing up his tongue. The stitches were far enough back in his tongue, that I couldn't really see it, unless he made an effort. But, after a few days with the mouth rinse, his tongue was much pinker and healthier looking. That made me feel a lot better. I didn't want to have to make an appointment with an oral surgeon to have part of his tongue cut off.

The next week, I spent at least an hour every morning driving TD to work. Ugh, what a pain. It's amazing how I get off and running every morning and don't stop, at all, until about 11am. Well, this really put a kink in that. I couldn't do my regular chores because TD was sleeping and then by the time I got back, I needed to go to the Y and when I got home and ate lunch, I didn't want to do anything else. I was very lucky though. TD has a colleague that lives near by and would drop him off really close to our house and I would just have to go and get him from there. I can't imagine having to go and pick him up after the girls got home from school.

Then, ten days after the incident, I got the distinct privilege of taking out TD's staples. I know, I know, I hear all of that "ew, gross!", etc. But, let me remind you that if I can take the inch long needle out of my four year old's chest, more than once, I can take a staple remover to a grown man. I did really well. TD only flinched once. In my defense some of the staples were put over the top of others.

He does seem to be suffering from post concussive syndrome. He gets dizzy sometimes, or finds it hard to concentrate. Hopefully, with time, these things will go away. All in all, I feel pretty lucky that we got off so easily.

Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming

So, back to Buttercup's issues. And I thought that was the worst of my week, ha ha. Anyway, that Friday, after eating lunch with Buttercup, I went back to her school for my usual weekly volunteer job in the library.

When Buttercup's class came in, she came right over to me, beaming, saying that the vice principal, Mr. Metz, had come and gotten her and her friend right after lunch and asked them what happened and told them to write everything down. He gave her a few tips on dealing with bullies. Then she went and sat down for the library lesson and I went back to shelving books.
A few minutes later, Mr. Metz came in, frowning, and motioned for C. to follow him out of the library. Buttercup said I turned red. Well, I wasn't expecting things to go down while I was there! C. never came back to the library.

I finished my job and went to Buttercup's home room. They were off to music and I was going to have a parent teacher conference with some of Buttercup's teachers. They came in, followed by Mr. Metz. Apparently, Buttercup's friend's mom (thanks again Jaimee) wasn't able to find her daughter's homeroom teacher's email, so she just forwarded it to the principal. Buttercup's home room teacher read my email and then immediately read the email forwarded from the principal asking them where they were on this. Helps to have friends with friends in high places!
So, they had handled it with the girls involved and were making sure there weren't going to be any repercussions about telling on them.

Today while I was in the library, Buttercup was back to chatting with these girls. Apparently there aren't any hard feelings. I am so glad we were able to take care of this. She has been dealing with this 'friend' for quite some time. I hope that next year they don't have any classes together. The less drama I have to deal with, the better.

A Couple of Days Post Trauma

So, it's been a few days. Things are slowly calming down. After missing a ton of sleep Saturday night, I was hoping that Sunday night would be better. I woke up around 2am feeling sick to my stomach. After a miserable hour or so, I ended up throwing up myself. Luckily I have much better aim than TD. Still, I missed another few hours of sleep.
TD has been relegated to soft foods, so I have been racking my brain trying to figure out different things for him to eat that don't involve small seeds, spicy foods, or a lot of chewing. I wrote up a menu and just let him pick off the list.
I also couldn't leave him alone for a few days. Buttercup was given babysitting duties when Fiona and I went out a couple of times. I needed to pick up some of those soft foods. I think Buttercup was a bit nervous, probably worried that he would have a fit while we were gone.
This morning, I left him for the first time alone. I had to get out to the Y and work out some of this stress. Funny enough, I left Dukie in charge of him, who promptly sat on his chest and fell asleep. That is a good cat! He got some special treats when I got home.
I am still not feeling entirely myself. It's a combo of lack of sleep, severe stress and that darn stomach of my mine. I told TD it's because I don't trust him entirely any more. We aren't talking, other girls type of distrust, merely that if he told himself he could push through his dizziness, then I can't entirely trust him to take it easy. He said that it was a wake up call for himself. I guess we no longer have different standards for what is okay for me and what is okay him. He used to get away with all sorts of behaviors that he would never let me get away with, with regards to what it's okay for a body to do.
I have to think that this incident forever changes us. TD is no longer invincible. When I was being questioned by the paramedics about his medical history, there was nothing on it. Now, because he has had one seizure, he is more likely to have another. If he does have another, he will have to go on medication. If he goes for four years without another one, then his risk will be the same as everyone else's of having a seizure. I can't believe we have another countdown to get through.
Someone called us exciting. I don't know if that's the word for it. Exciting sounds fun and our weekend was far from it. I don't ever want to see what I saw this weekend ever again.

Everyone is Okay

My sister said when I tell this story, I need to start with that. Also, proceed with caution because it's not a story for the squeamish.
Yesterday Fiona and I were watching TV on the couch around 7:15pm. Buttercup was outside with the neighborhood kids and TD was mowing the lawn. Then, I heard someone scream outside. It didn't sound like the kids and I heard it again, so I told Fiona I was going to check it out.
When I got outside and around the corner, I saw TD, lying the gutter not moving. I ran to where he was. There were a few neighbors outside on the phone, including neighbor doctor lady. That's what we were calling her. Anyway, I got to TD's side and he was having a seizure. His face was gray, he was foaming at the mouth and some blood was tricking out of his mouth. There was a pool of blood around his head. I answered a few questions for the lady and took hold of TD's hand and tried to get him to not move around. We made sure the girls were back at the curb, about 50 feet away. After about a minute or so, he stopped seizing. He started breathing heavy and his eyes would flutter open.
It seemed that the ambulance was taking forever. The doctor asked him what his name was and he didn't say anything. He looked a bit frantically at me and I said what's my name? He said, LCM. He could then say his name and the girls names. He didn't know what was happening. The ambulance showed up and they put a collar around his neck and strapped him to the backboard.
I ran to get my purse and keys and reassure the girls. Our great neighbors took the girls home with them after I made sure they had their night clothes and a few things.
I followed the ambulance up to the hospital and luckily, I am almost always prepared. I know to have a jacket and reading material for the hospital. I was able to go right back with him. TD was already talking and joking and apologizing for scaring me so badly.
I hadn't had dinner yet and my stomach was killing me. I am not a stress eater. When I get stressed like that I just want to vomit. But I got a string cheese and bottle of water out of the vending machine because me passing out would not help the situation.
They got an EKG, to make sure he hadn't had a heart attack. That was normal. They drew some blood, they said he had low blood sugar when they had him in the ambulance. They finally took him off the backboard. It was killing his head and back. But the collar remained.
They took him for a CT to make sure he wasn't bleeding in his brain. During this time I wasn't really able to get cell service and I wasn't sure I could talk to someone without losing my composure. So, I texted my brother, the physician's assistant, who is, ironically, doing trauma training in Baltimore, Maryland. It was nice to just focus on the questions he was asking me and trying to make sure TD was okay.
His CT scan was fine. The doctor said, as he could figure it, that TD was dehydrated. He played ball Friday night, didn't drink much Saturday and went out to mow the lawn in 85 degree weather while trying to fight off a migraine....I was listening to all of this and I was just getting mad. Meaning, if I would've brought him out some water, we could've avoided this? Anyway, he passed out from that and fell on the curb and hit his head. He hit his head so hard that it caused a seizure. The doctor said he didn't cut his head, he literally busted his scalp. When they cleaned everything off, you could see the jagged flaps. (Told you, not for the squeamish. Me? I was watching the whole thing up close.)
We got home right before midnight and got the girls back from the neighbors. The girls were able to see that he was up and okay. I tried to sleep, but I just couldn't. He ended up throwing up around 4am, not entirely making it, so I got to clean that up. I think I slept straight from around 5am to 8am, when Fiona got up.
She and I had to go get his antibiotic prescription filled. He was lying with an open head wound in a Houston gutter.... When we got back, he said he thought he might need stitches in his tongue. (Squeamish part again) He showed me a flap sort of hanging off the back, left side of his tongue. We had neighbor doctor lady and my brother weigh in. They both said it could go either way. So I ended up taking him to the neighborhood urgent care where he got two stitches to tack his tongue together.
I am just about to the point where my stomach is unclenched. I told him that he had better heal well because when I got scared, I got mad and when I found out we could've prevented this, I got more mad and now I just need to hit something. Hopefully we can all get a good night's sleep tonight. I don't think I can take much more.

When it Rains...

it pours! Yesterday Buttercup came home from school and said the girl that picked on her earlier in the year picked on her at lunch recess. Apparently the girls were all talking in a group and for some reason C. shoved her twinkie in Buttercup's face. Buttercup's really good friend came over and asked why she did that and got a pickle shoved in her eye for her efforts.
Seriously? What is up with this girl? So I called her friend's mom (thanks Jaimee!) and talked things over. I emailed her teacher and told her I wanted to speak with her. While I am doing this, Fiona is walking home, just across the street. I see her and notice she is holding an ice pack to her face. Apparently some kid decided to do a flip in the middle of the playground and ended up kicking her in the face! All the while I am trying to get ready for the church group of girls ages 8-9 who are headed to my house.
Then this morning, Buttercup went to wait for the bus and Fiona and Dukie went out with her. I hear some commotion on the front porch and open the door. Dukie streaks in and Fiona is backed up against the front door. Apparently our neighbor, whose daughter also waits at our bus stop, couldn't control his large dog on a leash and was on our front walkway, about 6 feet from the door, with the dog menacing Fiona!!
This guy has always brought his dog, on a leash, to the bus stop, which I hate! He has little control over the dog and he often lets the boy at the bus stop try and handle the dog. Buttercup has come in several times to change her clothes after the dog jumps on her with dirty paws. This morning was the last straw. He was so close to our front door and the dog was in a frenzy I was worried Fiona could've gotten her face ripped off.
So I email the transportation supervisor for the district and she calls me back literally within minutes. Unfortunately, she says that this is more of a neighborhood problem than a bus stop problem...
So, Td is going to talk to him and tell him to keep his dog away from the bus stop. He and I also went and ate lunch with Buttercup, which I am really glad I did. She wasn't sitting at her usual table, most likely because this is where C. and her cronies sit. I am glad she took herself away from that. We did end up sitting next to C., but she didn't stay long. Then I have an appointment with Buttercup's teachers today. Hopefully we can get this straightened out so that Buttercup isn't uncomfortable for the rest of the year.

Never A Dull Moment

In a house that has either kids or animals. This morning I got up to make sure Buttercup got off to the bus okay. I went to the back door to let in my kitties. They go out at night, this is when they go potty and also to keep them from doing kitty run bys while we are sleeping. Anyway, I opened the door and the cats streaked in. Tessa seemed to be carrying a yellow flower, looked like a rhododendron. Then I realized, after I shut the door, that the flower was actually a yellow breasted bird! I walked over to her to get her to release the bird and then I realized the bird was ALIVE! Seriously, my cat brought a live bird into our house this morning. She let go of it and the two cats figured it was chase the prey time. I am screeching at them to let the bird go, so I can get it out, but they are determined to finish the job of killing the bird.

I realize that I am getting nowhere chasing the cats chasing the bird and I put Tessa in the powder room and throw Dukie into my bedroom and shut the door. I grab my small broom and start trying to corner the bird. I realize I need back up, so I start hollering for Buttercup. She starts squealing, not that I can blame her, and I hand her my small broom. I open the back door and keep it open while I go to the garage for another broom. Buttercup is valiantly trying to corner the bird while it flutters all over the house. TD doesn't realize what is going on, so he gives in to Dukie's screeching and lets him out of our bedroom!! I am shocked he doesn't hear all of the noise that Buttercup, the bird and I are making. I grab Dukie back up and throw him into the study and shut the doors behind him. Our study doors are glass paned and I am sure it is making him even crazier that he can see everything that is going on without being able to touch the bird.

Buttercup and I spend a good 10 minutes playing field hockey with the bird before we manage to get it out of the front door. I slam the door shut and we survey the damage. There are bird feathers all over the house. Fiona finally wakes up and comes out, complaining about all of the noise we have been making. That is, until she sees all of the feathers and starts laughing. I go into my bedroom and explain to TD, who is still in the shower, what has been going on. He comes out shortly and starts complaining about all of the feathers. I tell him to man up, they are just feathers and the avian flu was so five years ago.

So, instead of cleaning the bathrooms today, I give in to TD's heebie jeebies and clean the floor. I still need to bust out the vacuum because the bird went into a few carpeted areas and left feathers there too. When Buttercup left for the bus, the cats went out the door too. I have a feeling they went to find the bird and finish the job.

Slacker

I know, I know, it's been forever since I posted last. There are so many potential reasons why not.... It could be because I have been hanging out with some fun ladies, and so, my need to talk is all talked out. I don't have to come on here to say stuff because it's already been said. Do you find yourself saying that to people? Either worried about repeating a story or asking if they have already read the story on your blog? More big girl interaction has been great.

Another reason? If I am not hanging out at the Y, talking to people or helping out at the girls' schools, I am probably asleep. Seriously. I mean, I have given up fighting it and just crawl into bed if I need to take a nap. I got into my primary care physician and she took tons of blood and said that my thyroid levels are fine (thanks to that lovely medicine I have been taking for 11 years). I am not anemic, no thanks to the birth control pills that went awry. Thank heavens that seems to have worked itself out, oddly enough by stopping them for a week. Go figure. She says that my problems are probably related to out of control female hormones and I should probably call my gynecologist. Um, no thanks. I am not sure what shelling out $50 is going to get me. Most likely nothing. Maybe she will come right out and tell me I am a wuss. Sometimes I do feel like it. Saturday TD and I went to the Y and took a body pump class. Check out my guns! LOL. Anyway, I came home and decided I needed a nap. Two hours later and TD was about ready to come in and poke me or hold a mirror in front of my mouth to check my breathing. It's not like I am not going to bed on time. I usually sleep 10:30pm to 6:30am. That is a good 8 hours. But I was sick of dragging around, so now, if I feel like I need to sleep, I lay down for a while. It can't hurt.
So, that's pretty much where I have been and what I have been doing. I am sure something will come up and I will have several posts in a row, but for now.....snore

Trash

No seriously, trash. Like actual garbage. I had no idea how much of my life involved the trash. Like picking stuff up, bagging it and then moving it out to the trash can. Back in Portland, we had a fairly small can, recycling bins and the trash man only came once a week. Here in Texas, you can have an amazing amount of trash cans and the trash man comes twice a week, plus it's cheaper! Weird.
Anyway, our trash man came on Saturday and right after he left, TD filled both of our big trash cans full of lawn clippings and leaves. It's been four agonizing days without being able to put household trash into the cans. It wouldn't be so bad on some weeks, some weeks we skip one trash day and only roll out one trash can on the other day that week. This week? Well, let's see, Buttercup had her birthday, which involves presents and wrapping and boxes to be disposed of. Then I also went on a jam making spree which involved strawberry containers and large sugar bags. Plus, TD wanted Papa Johns on Monday. All of which has left my house looking like the garbage dump and it's been making me crazy. Also, I cleaned the bathrooms on Monday and I couldn't take out the trash, which makes it look like I didn't clean the bathrooms. UGH! Oh! And the newspapers! Including two Sunday editions, I like the coupons....But still, there are piles of newspapers around our dining room table.
I guess I had no idea how much of my daily activities revolved taking stuff out to the trash can. I guess I should remind myself how lucky we are that we have a trash guy. Oh and the second I hear him? I am running out to get one of those trash cans so I can empty my house. Maybe I should get dressed first. Buttercup would be so embarrassed if I was running around in my PJs and robe.....

Happy Birthday Buttercup

I was trying to explain to someone, last week, the wunderbaby that was Princess Buttercup. She walked at 9 months (only because she didn't figure out how to let go of her walking toy at 7 months). She went directly from nursing to a cup. She didn't even see a cuppie until 18 months, at which point she couldn't figure out how to work it. She even ate her birthday cake with a fork! You can see it in her hand in the middle picture. Those pictures show how dirty she got, compared with Fiona who literally bathed in her first birthday cake.

I cannot believe these pictures are 10 years old, much less that I am the mom of an 11 year old. I don't think I planned, as a kid, on being such a young mom. I am grateful that I was. I don't think, if we had waited, that I would be able to get pregnant now. Not to mention, I absolutely cannot imagine trying to wrangle a toddler full time right now....ugh.

I told Buttercup I didn't want to do a party this year, we have a limit on how many parties they get. But I was more than willing to have a Mom and me day. We are headed out together on Friday, to do a bit of shopping and eating, sans baby sister. That will probably be her favorite part. I just hope, that as she continues growing, I will see more of the expression in the top picture and less of the bottom picture!

Still Mama's Baby

We were in church yesterday and Fiona came over to complain that she was tired. I had her hop up on my lap (she's getting bigger, I could use the help!) and turn sideways so she could lean on me. Then I laid my jacket over her. She put the jacket on herself and complained that she had nothing to hold onto. Ever since she was a baby she has slept with Boo. I know I have posted pictures of Boo before, he's in the picture of her at breakfast. Ah, I found one of Boo and his replacement that she discovered one day.

Anyway, this is how she sleeps and she couldn't sleep on me without something to hold onto. I gave her my arm and she actually fell asleep. My not so little girl is 8 years old and she fell asleep on me at church. It says a lot about the relationship that the two of us have. She has always been a mama's girl. She still begs me to sleep with her in the guest room.

As I held her, I thought about how strange it was that so much of the joy and pain in my life has been wrapped up in this one little girl. TD and Buttercup have just given me mostly joy! Fiona is the good and the bad. I thought about how many times we almost lost her, starting way back when she was 18 months old and had a seizure. While we were waiting for the paramedics to show up, her lips started turning purple. She started breathing again after I gave her mouth to mouth. Then later on, during that tumor biopsy surgery, while we waited with baited breath for them to tell us she was okay...during all of those CT scans that checked for evidence of disease recurrence.

We believe, in our church, that there is opposition in all things. That you can never truly know happiness without knowing sorrow, pleasure without suffering pain. This little girl truly has exemplified that in my life. I don't know if I would have such joy in her without us having to have suffered together.

I took the time to enjoy the feeling of having my own baby sleep on me once again. I am sure it was the last time, at least until I get to cuddle one of my grandbabies on my lap and enjoy the feeling of a baby of mine snuggled on my lap. Sometimes you think that life could be gotten through without the suffering, that life lessons would be learned just fine through other people or just a hint of the suffering possible. I never thought I would say this, but I just don't think that's possible. Sometimes you truly have to suffer to know the highest joy.

I am (now) glad she's such a mama's girl. She has promised me that when she gets too big for my lap I can sit on hers. I hope so.

Perfect Storm

So, this week, I started out great. I did all of my chores on Monday. (Shhh, don't tell TD. I don't want him to think it can all be done in a day.) It turned out well for me that I did that because on Wednesday, I went to Zumba, went to Fiona's class to volunteer and then came home and laid in bed for the rest of the day. I took Thursday and Friday off too.
It happened because, well, first, TD's sleeping habits have been awful and it's made me constantly exhausted. This allowed me to catch Fiona's hacking cold. Which, you know, it's really hard not to kiss on that little girl. She has always been yummy.
Then, my pills, to keep all things girl in check, have gone off the reservation. I mean, I started the beginning of my pill pack with some break through bleeding and then for about 10 days, it's been more like a period, including cramping, but thank heavens, not like an old period. I am just not sure where all of this came from. I am giving myself through tomorrow before calling the doctor and saying uncle. It's been so frustrating.
I decided to take a couple of days off from everything because even though things like working out are healthy, I think they have diminishing returns when your body is seriously depleted. My heart was racing at that last Zumba class and I was just plain exhausted. I also took some medicine. Can I just tell you that liquid Theraflu (looks like Nyquil) is amazing! I got this through couponing at Walgreens for about $1 a bottle and added it to my end of the world stash. I don't like Nyquil very much, it makes me wake up in the middle of the night. This stuff? Was like being hit over the head with a 2x4. The first morning, I woke up and my cold felt 75% better! I took some the next night, just to make sure and my cold is entirely gone. No more sniffles, no more racing heart, no more hacking cough.
It was nice to give myself permission not to do anything. Sometimes, as moms, it seems like it's just easier to power through whatever is going on and hope for the best. It's not like we would send our kids, with a temperature and vomiting, to school, so why would we do that to ourselves? Just because we don't have someone to substitute for us, doesn't mean things can't get slacked off for a bit. And if we do need it, especially being LDS, it always seems like there are someones I can call. (And don't get mad at me, I would've called had I needed anything at all, I promise). But the house was clean, we had food to eat and the girls are fairly self sufficient as well as good companions. There's nothing like curling up with Fiona and watching a Star Wars movie to make you feel better. Hopefully next week will be better, especially since Buttercup turns 11 on Tuesday and Easter is next Sunday!

I Think It's Finally All Gone

I think Fiona's chemo has finally all left her little body. I say this because I had forgotten how truly feisty and energetic she used to be. I mean, she was spotlighted at church and I got to tell the story of when she was toddler and she TPed and toothpasted the hallway (and her sister) when she was supposed to be sleeping. I had a multitude of stories to pick from, trying to swing from the dining room chandelier or climbing up into the highest cupboard to open a box of pudding and then flinging it everywhere before slipping through it and almost falling off the counter top. I could go on and on.
Anyway, I spent Spring Break with my girls last week without the benefit of major events. Sure, we went to the ice cream factory and played at the park, but those were only two days. The girls had a lot more time on their hands to make me crazy. And crazy they made me!
So this got me to wondering what the difference was. And then it hit me, without the benefit of 7 hours of school ( I LOVE Texas for that), she was back to her regular energy level and really only had her sister to take it out on. I guess I didn't notice because she had school and I had gotten used to her being a 'normal' kid, with a normal energy level. It's been 3 and a half years since she started this. That's a long time in the life of an 8 year old. It redefined normal for all of us.
I am grateful that slowly, but surely, she is moving away from all of the effects of that time in her life. By August, we are set to go to the clinic only twice a year!! Her hair is all grown out, her steroids no longer show in her face or tummy. You can see obvious veins on the left hand side of her chest if she is wearing a V-neck. That's from a clogged vein due to her PICC. Remember how I posted before that we weren't supposed to numb that side for her CT because they couldn't be sure all of the contrast would get in? The scar on her neck, from the lymph node biopsy, is really hard to find. I don't hardly see the scar on the right side of her neck and on her chest, from her port. I imagine as she grows it will become negligible.
I am truly grateful that she has come out so well. Of course, this summer, I might be offering to ship an 8 year old, free of charge, to the first claimant. Hopefully a bunch of swimming, trips to the Y and plain old household chores will keep her from tormenting her sister. I can't take another week! Much less months.

Check Out

Who I shared my breakfast table with this morning.

It's kind of hard to see how wild her curls get in the morning. Can I tell you how hysterically funny I find it that she and her sister use the sleeping masks they got from a faux sleepover? Way too cute!

Abraham Had it Easy

During Sunday School this past Sunday, we discussed Abraham having to take Isaac off because the Lord had asked him to sacrifice his son. The teacher asked how we all would feel being asked to sacrifice our most beloved things. A lot of parents said, out loud, that they couldn't even imagine it. I snorted a bit to myself in the back. I think Abraham had it easy. He had a divine directive from God, there was precedence in his land for this kind of thing, and it would be over quickly. Plus Isaac seemed to be old enough for him to understand some of it at least.

Compare that with Fiona. She was four. We tortured her with all sorts of procedures (that she wasn't put out for), we cut into her, and then we gave her horrible medicines that caused some really nasty side effects. Plus, the potential for the cancer to return was (and is) there. Not to mention, some of those nasty medicines? Cause other kinds of cancers. All in all, Sunday School was a bit uncomfortable for me. I don't choose to dwell on the negative aspects.

We also talked about trials. The teacher said she knew, for her, that her trials were to remind her of the closeness of God and his willingness to help her. That is something I have always known and never questioned, so I didn't really need a trial to help me with that. I do go looking for what I need to learn when these sort of things happen. I figured out that I don't really care what other people think when it comes to taking care of my girls. I learned that family time is the best time and we never know when that time is going to end. I figured out that my suffering as a child may have just been to help Fiona through this and help her to be less affected than I was.

We went to Texas Children's yesterday and I figured out that she has been apprehensive about it for a few weeks. We hadn't been for three months and so the familiarity was diminished. Things went really well though. I offered her her usual $2 for pokes or secret option two. She took the second one and I gave her a new Webkinz because, seriously, what isn't made better with a Webkinz for an 8 year old girl? Plus, we had a great nurse drawing blood.

Part of my advocating for Fiona is following some strict blood drawing rules. 1) Don't count when you poke, or when you remove the needle. She has numbing cream and she doesn't really want to know...2) Don't snap the tourniquet. You would be amazed at how zealous some nurses are with those things. She says that hurts worse than any poke. 3) We use our own band aids. The hospitals all seem to get the cheapest ones and they leave nasty marks on Fiona's skin. Just that bit of control over the worst part of the whole day makes her feel a lot better.

In just a few months Fiona will be headed for the Long Term Survivor's Clinic. Doesn't the title sound great? The funny thing, I have always told Fiona if I could get poked with her to make her feel better I would. I got to do it once. But when she starts the Long Term clinic, I will be making an appointment right along with her. Fiona's oncologist was a bit horrified that there wasn't a set of doctors following me, especially since I got some of the nasty stuff and a kidney was involved. So we will be going to the hospital together after August. Fiona will get to watch Mom being poked, without numbing cream. I might steal her Hannah Montana band aids though!

Money Saving

I think it was last year (good grief, has it been that long?) that I blogged about wanting to save money. One place where I have gone crazy is the Internet. There are tons of sites devoted to telling you the good deals, where and when to find them, and coupons to make your savings even better. I couldn't believe it when I first read that none of these ladies spend money on things like toothpastes, medicines, hygiene products, etc. I had a hard time believing it until I started following their advice. It's amazing! I can't believe I waited this long to jump on the band wagon. I started avoiding some of this when they had the backlash over Internet coupons, you know, no one would take them and anyone who tried to use them would be accused of fraud at the checkout stand. Well, that no longer happens. Not to mention quite a few will take their store coupons and another manufacturer's coupon for the same item!
Another way to get stuff free is through online emailings or search engines. I found a new one recently called Swagbucks. I have made $20 in amazon.com gift codes in the last couple of months. I can't believe how quickly I made it. If I something to look up on the Internet, I have to remind myself to go there and look it up first. I am hoping to pay for most of Christmas on amazon.com with all of the codes I earn through the year, that would be amazing. If you want to sign up, I have a referral code.
I also do Mypoints. I have done them forever. I have gotten quite a few gift cards. They just send you emails and you click on the link and get points. You can also shop through their website and get more points. I started our Netflix through them and also got my contacts at 1-800contacts through them and got extra points. I wish they had a referral code, I have to send emails out through them. I use these points to get restaurant gift cards when we go on vacation or get a Barnes and Noble gift card to take the girls to buy a book.
I figure, these things are out there, why not take advantage of them. They are fairly easy things to do and I love surprising the girls with the extras.

Stories and Preparedness

I have been reading a lot of books lately. Well, I guess not enough, because my Shelfari shelf says that since I have only read 34 books this year it puts me behind on my pace from last year. Good grief. Anyway, my books have had a theme lately. I started out with this book. It's about what happens when an asteroid hits the moon and pushes it closer to the earth and the ensuing meteorological consequences. It's a young adult book, so when I was done with it, I let Buttercup read it. I was so delighted to find it has a sequel. And then another sequel coming out in the next couple of months.
This is the first sequel. It's the same timeline, but the first book occurs to a teenager in fairly rural Pennsylvania and the second to a teenager in New York City. I was fascinated by the comparisons and contrasts between the experience of the asteroid for each teenager in different areas. There were a lot of things occured that seemed fairly plausible and it started me thinking about our church's views on being prepared. First, a 72 hour kit and then having progressively larger amounts of food storage, say a goal to have a month or 3 months, or ultimately, a year's supply of food. We have at least a 3 month's supply of stuff that we could eat. I know there are areas that I could step up on, especially water and canned meat.
Then I continued with this book. The last time I read Stephen King was back in high school when I was feeling rebellious. But this wasn't so much horror as more of Lord of the Flies for adults. Once again, it made me aware of how we would fare should our supplies be cut off. This one I can't freely recommend because Stephen King has a fondness for profanity. I am a speed reader, so I skip over stuff. If it starts annoying me it's got to be pretty bad.
Now I want to find more books like this, but I am not sure how to find semi post-apocalyptic books...if that's exactly what I am looking for, but I am not sure. I guess I will keep digging on Barnes and Noble.com. I do highly recommend the first two books. I know Buttercup is waiting for me to get my hands on the third so that she can read it too.

*update* apparently it's easier if you just type apocalyptic into the bn.com search engine...

Short Hair

This is for all of you who can't quite picture me with short hair. Once upon a time, I guess it was about 5 years ago, I got my hair cut really short. I liked it, it didn't seem too high maintenance and I had a fabulous hairdresser.
She moved away and the next year was when Fiona was diagnosed. I started growing my hair out for a couple of reasons. Sleeping in a hospital room with Fiona wasn't conducive to hair doing time, add my glasses at night and it was just plain annoying all of the stuff I would have to do just to function.
The other reason was since our biggest hairball was going to be losing her hair, I wanted to balance out the hair in the household.
Now, with a good cut and hair products, my long hair is fun and easy to do. If I have to get up in the middle of the night, I just grab my ponytail holder and put it in. That's assuming Dukie hasn't made off with them all. He has a bizarre fascination with regular ponytail holders and I often find him in my drawer in the bathroom searching for them.
So....there it is! Oh and I am with my brother and his family in a McDonald's in Augusta, Georgia. He was in South Carolina at the time and we were in Atlanta and we met at a kid friendly spot. His lovely wife had just had their youngest and are you really surprised that I spent my entire time holding him?

Avatar

I know, we were probably the last people on earth to watch this movie. The theater we were in only had 4 other people in it. Granted, it was the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, but I think most people have already seen it. That let's me talk all about it!
This was a pretty good movie. I am not sure it would be on my top ten list of all time. I think part of it had to do with wearing the 3-D glasses. Having spent most of my life trying to avoid my glasses, wearing a different pair for 3 whole extra hours isn't my idea of a good time. Plus, there were some shots that they needed to not shoot in 3-D. You just can't do the running camera thing in 3-D without making people ill.
The story was fine, I really like war type movies or thrillers and for the most part those usually have pretty thin story lines. I go to be entertained, not instructed usually. I did notice that he seemed to borrow from a few movies. When they first meet the Chief, I made some joke about missing Magua from Last of the Mohicans and guess what?! He was the one that voiced the chief. That scene totally reminded me of when Nathaniel went to ask for the lives of the English girls in that movie.
Side note: I love Last of the Mohicans. When I was pregnant with Fiona and half dead on the couch, puking non stop, I watched Last of the Mohicans and The Mummy every single day for at least two weeks. Funny, I never have any feelings of nausea (which I have associated with other movies from this time) with those movies.
James Cameron did an amazing job with CGI in this movie. Most of the time we really forgot that these people weren't physically real.
Oh! Another thing that killed me about this movie was the expense. We were looking at our local IMAX theater which, when combined with 3-D, would've been about $40! For the two of us to watch a movie. That's just ridiculous. I told TD I couldn't say I would spend that much to watch one of my favorite movies ever, much less something I hadn't ever seen. We managed to compromise at a regular theater for $16. Much better. And the movie industry wonders why people aren't watching more movies. We could've purchased a couple of movies on DVD for that price and watched them until they fell apart.
I would have to say see this movie. It's amazing in the theater and I am not sure you can get the full effect at home.