Another random rundown

 So this will be a load of random, I'd planned to blog about the last of the teas from January but at this point I don't remember, so tough beans. Or tea leaves, I guess. They were mostly yummy and I've remembered to drink more tea this year than ever before, so it worked, I guess? Haha.

We are experiencing technical issues over here, as well. Thing One graciously lent me a portable keyboard for this post because my poor laptop, above, was baptized with apple juice and some of the keys are not sticky to the touch but are sticky underneath which results in a lot of frustration, random j's, and so forth. As you can see, the space bar is also missing, which makes things a little more challenging and renders moot most of what I learned in typing class with Mr. Hovis many moons ago. 

So., My phone is chock full of photos of my preK crowd but since I don't know who has permission to see them and who doesn't, I won't be sharing those visually. I need to clean out my phone storage for real, which reminds me of one of my most recent favorite preK quotes:

My nana caught an octopus FOR REAL.

Sounds like a children's book waiting to happen...

Weatherwise, we've gone from snow angels to throwing windows open and walks in the sunshine and the corresponding sinus headaches with the temps and pressure being all over the map. Most people I know are still dealing with a cough of some sort, or sinus congestion, or both. Why March feels the need to go from 20s to 70s and then back to the 40s and wet when we could all use weeks on end of 60s is beyond me, but I'm not in charge.

Arm-wise, I'm still playing phone tag with the big city folks about what they want to do to me next. There's been talk of involving a vascular department but I have zero ideas as to what that would actually entail other than thought bubbles containing, "stent?" "Removing a rib?" "Ballooning something back open?" Yeah, not getting all bent out of shape until we talk to the pros. I am against rib removal, though, for the record... and this is why you don't google things or talk to people who don't work in the spoecific department.

Meanwhile, I am still wearing The Reductor 23ish of 24 hours, including sleeping in it, getting stuck to my wool blanket because of the velcro, trying to put on/take off makeup and brush teeth when I'm not wearing it because it's hard to make my elbow bend to those angles while in the darn thing, and ain't nobody wants to see me do eyeliner left handed. It's been two and a half weeks of my 2-4 weeks, so we are getting there. 

I also graduated from my bag of foam chips to stuff into my bra to a small bag of beads. I find it completely ridiculous that I'm wearing a padded bra sans boobs, but the PT gal says that she does notice my scar tissue softening, so I guess it's working. I'm doing my exercises and my stretches and all the things, though I can't do them as often as recommended due to the limited mobility because of The Reductor. That's okay. I'll get there. Just keep chipping along. 

Thing One just teased me, "laundry basket emoji!" which is our shorthand for "Get your stuff outta the washer (or dryer)!" Must rescue the sheets. Be back in justasec...

Last week, we asked one of our brand new four-year-olds what his take was on the weather. He looked out the window and reported, "it's foggy... and rainy... and gross!" Spot on, my friend.

I texted Thing Three from the dentist and asked if he was doing okay. He replied, "i was kidnapped and im being waterboarded right now

it stings"

I can't even.

Thing Two informed us that the house shook and he wondered what was going on only to discover later that he'd been about 3 miles from the 2.9 earthquake Ohio had last week. I told my mother that it often feels like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs anymore. Otherwise, he says he is doing fine and that he prefers snow covered roads because it helps fill in the potholes. Poor Pepe. I hope he can keep it together through all the spring thaws...

Overall, we are doing okay. Hanging in there like everybody else between high points and valleys. Take good care of you!

Another teaser

This kid's team won their championship game on Monday night. I'll blog more about it once I rediscover how to get my phone (where all the pictures are) to talk to my laptop (where I want the photos to go) and put them all where I need them. I'm out of practice!

 

A snapshot of self-sequestering

While chomping on a hot dog and working on metric system conversions, Thing Three is singing, “I farted, it tickled, my butt cheeks jiggled, so I did it again...” 

Sorry, Mom. This is my reality. 

Also, yes, that is a recorder beside the laptop. The school sent them home. Welcome to the eleventh circle of hell.

“What are you doing? Don’t take my picture. Why is my door open? It isn’t noon.”

Yes, my day is clear. For now until the foreseeable future. Just like many others who are trying to stay home and out of trouble...

My dishes are done! For a hot minute, anyway. So is my load of whites- washed, dried, folded, and put away!

Thing Two was banished from the device to the Legos so his eyeballs could have a break. This is one thing he never complains about being sent to. Getting him to leave the Lego table to go back to work is a different story.

And Dada with his bottles, computers, and microscope has taken over the Grandparent Suite, requiring the removal of some furniture and the installation of some other pieces. Desperate times, right?

The dogs, who are outside while it's not raining, are a bit bemused by all of us being home all the time, but I think they're secretly enjoying it. 

I'll leave you with this beloved little nugget:

Wash your hands and say your prayers, 

cuz Jesus and germs are everywhere. 

Stay safe, everyone! As my Uncle Gary often says, 

"good decisions, wise choices."

Brimful of blessings

I want to start off by thanking those of you who have been touching base with me and for the gentle nudges about, "so, um, the blog doesn't have anything new on it yet, does it?" 

You're so sly. I love it.

You're right! The blog does indeed not have anything new on it. And there is old stuff that is also not yet on the blog.

So here I am. Thanks for the reminders. 

Last Thursday I had my second of six chemo treatments and my sweet Emily went with me to keep me out of trouble. 

Everything went well, I had a fabulous weekend, good energy levels for the most part with a touch of fuzziness around the edges, all food staying where it belongs, and had a good time with Grandmama visiting. We even got a girls-only breakfast out. Thank you, Mommee!

Monday night we had the honor of hosting a retirement party for one of Dada's coworkers. I heard several of them say they very much enjoyed themselves, but I had an absolute blast. It was so nice to talk with people and let the kids run around in the yard  and have "far too much food" and enjoy the sunshine in the trees. Even the bugs were minimal! The weather cooperated beautifully and nobody was tempted to stay too late as it was a work evening, so we had a perfect shindig. Thank you all who helped plan, prep, clean, and party! Thanks for blessing our home with your fun selves. We loved it.

Yesterday was Damon's birthday. Can you believe that kid is 8 already? Me neither. I love the Facebook memory feature that shows pictures of my huge stick-outy belly and the big kids as little kids kissing it. And yes, I'm aware that Carrie's birthday has come and gone and there was no blog post about that yet. Hush. I'm getting there eventually...

Did I mention when I asked what kind of cake he'd like he told me, "a minion leading a storm trooper"? 

Ohhhhhkaaaaay.

So far today I've had to kick Carrie off my laptop two or three times and it's only lunchtime. And she slept in until ten. Yesterday I had to kick Damon off of it at least three or four times. So as you can see, blogging is difficult when one has no access to her tools. Another part of the procrastination is having coherent blogging thoughts, which are much more difficult to come by once all the kids are home. Mainly because there is no quiet once all the kids are home. I hear that that is something I will miss once they all move out. Someone who has actually experienced such an event might have to let me know if that is true or not. To go to the bathroom in peace... but I digress.

Annnnnd my computer is sticky. Ewwwww.

Also, Dr. Pepper doesn't taste like Dr. Pepper when you're doing chemo. *sip sip* It tastes astringent like what I'd imagine cleaning solution would taste like. As I need the liquids anyway, bottoms up. Please ignore any belching you hear from my general area. My apologies. My mouth is just now starting to feel a little pebbly and strange again, but as I know that doesn't last forever it is easier to mentally manage. I've also been using my alcohol-free mouthwash this round but haven't started the baking soda and salt rinse again yet. Perhaps today. Fritos taste pretty much the same in case you were wondering.

After the first chemo, I had a few good days and then Immodium became my best friend. I think I already talked about that in a previous post. I find it interesting that two of the chemo drugs caution you against constipation and one of them warns about the likelihood off diarrhea; you would think you'd end up about even in the middle. My bod declares otherwise and ends up needing Immodium, though I have to say that this round has been much better thus far, and yes, I'm knocking on my wooden kitchen table as I type. All that to say thank you to those of you who are praying over such things, and I know some of you definitely are. It is greatly appreciated, even though I have no secrets, haha. Nobody wants to spend all summer in the bathroom. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Mucho! Keep it up! I have no shame. ;)

Also knowing that bone pain would be approaching this time around, I got proactive and popped some Advil this morning when my femurs started to feel sore. No point in feeling like I'm 80 when I'm not there yet. Femur is such a funny word. Nothing like when your femurs start feeling funny. Teehee. My Doc said I could do Advil as long as I did it with food and only 400mg as 800 would be too much. Since mine are only 200mg, I can happily oblige. Aleve was recommended and works well for my Dad, but Mommee can't tolerate it and I already knew Advil works well for me, so my other Doc said to just skip it and stick with what works. I like that they are willing to work with me and be flexible instead of me blindly following orders. 

I've had super incredible friends pop in to visit, take me to treatment, bring us dinner, clean our bathrooms (seriously!), go grocery shopping for us, give us blankets and candies to settle my stomach, lavish us with books, flowers, coffee mugs, and other gifts, offer to take the kids to karate, give us money for pizza; it's been amazing. My sister in law's Bible study made us 14 freezer meals. Fourteen! Then her family drove them out to deliver them and visit with us. People all over creation are praying for us. And still you ask how you can help. You all are so loving and so supportive! We are truly blessed. Every day. Your love and the ways you show God's love, grace, and mercy blow us away. How could we ever not believe that He is good!? 

First day of school 2013-2014

Our beautiful Care Bear, ready for *gulp* FIFTH GRADE!
 

 

And our handsome Liam, entering second grade. Yes, he remembered to get shoes on before he left for the bus.
 

 

 

They were so excited that the were bursting at the seams. Fifth graders got laptops this year, so that's why Carrie looks like she's headed off with half her belongings attached to her. She has a brand new backpack and lunchbox which I told her she had to use until college, and she got a cover/carrying case for the laptop.
 

 

There were eight school age kids at the bus stop this morning and since I only knew three of them (besides our two) I didn't want to post pictures in case any of the parents have privacy issues, etc. Lots of homes in our neighborhood have been for sale or sold, so it was nice to see we've got new kids in the neighborhood!
 

Roundup

This will really be a hodgepodge of thoughts... as scrambled as they come to me. Our Christmas party was another success. We had about 45 people in & out throughout the weekend. The Gombas family spent Friday night with us, along w/ 5 bachelor friends of ours... two of whom are complete nuts and shall remain nameless. They slept in our garage! We didn't force them, honestly. Nobody new came on Sunday, so we cleaned up some and addressed our Christmas cards. Hope they're getting out to all y'all okay! Big thanks to Dada's boss and his family for lending crock pots, chili, and furniture; to Rita for her crock pot; to Tom & Connie for their crock pot of meatballs, and presents for the kids; and to everyone who braved the icky ice and snow to come and play with us. I would be remiss if I didn't thank all the boys who helped Dada install his brand new TV in the basement. The party wouldn't have been the same w/out all of you.

Carrie hasn't been to school on a Monday for quite awhile. There are some nasty bugs making their rounds through her preschool. They've had bronchitis (so has she), strep (missed us, thankfully), intestinal flu (we had some 24 hour version), and then last week she had a fever for days and a rash. Anyone else claiming that one? Hopefully she will be going to school tomorrow and not waking up with some mysterious Mondayitis affliction!

Hang on, the dog is trying to maintain her footing on the icy steps outside...

Okay. Dada's also been home for a few weeks and that was really nice! The basement looks amazing. We still need to get a baseboard-ish thing done, a door to separate the unfinished part from the rest of the room, and get one wall finished where the water meter and stuff will be enclosed. But we did party down there and it really wasn't too bad. It is pretty chilly down there still, so we are thinking about one of those plug-in fireplaces to help warm things up down there. Currently there is a futon in pieces all over the floor awaiting assembly. Seems like no big deal except for the fact that the parts that came with it are not the parts it needs. I am going to say this as diplomatically as I know how: don't buy from Cottonwood Futons online. The pictures you see do not correspond with the actual product, they don't answer their phones, they don't write professionally in emails, and overall satisfaction is ________________ (insert your own conclusion here). Poop.

Grandma Barb has been visiting this weekend so that I could go to Jan's memorial service and Dada's work formal. Jan's service was very good- I think she would have enjoyed it. We all cried a good bit and had a few laughs too! She is sadly missed. Dada's work party was a blast. It was great to get dressed up and eat food without cutting anything up for kids, etc. Adult conversation! Yippieeeeee!

Hold on, Liam wants a "dink". He has been chattering nonstop and is so funny. He knows all the colors and an amazing amount of letters & numbers. I'm always surprised at what he can say. I think he really enjoys having all the toys to himself while "Dee" is at preschool. He's delighted to see her when she gets in the car afterwards, but he entertains himself really well while she's gone. I am going to enjoy next year when she can get on the bus and I don't have to taxi her all over ;)

I'm getting a laptop of my own for Christmas, so as soon as I figure out how to work it, there will be pictures and a more interesting background than just this plain stuff. I promise! I'm so tired of looking at it. But I don't want to lose all the links, etc by changing anything until I can print off all the gobbledegook and have a copy to look at what I need! So thanks for being patient with the boring stuff!

Have a great week. I won't be blogging this week with the other stuff we have going on, so maybe next weekend I'll get another post up. Stay safe on that ice if you have what we do, and enjoy the preparations for the holiday instead of wishing the time away. Or worse, wishing it was already over! We hope you all get some joy out of the anticipation, and remember the reason for the season! You are so loved!