Many moments of great

We had such a wonderful weekend. Jason got up early Saturday to hit golf balls while the girls and I had a lazy morning. Then we spent several hours watching some great soccer from our girls. Sydney has improved each week and Anna just is becoming this little powerhouse. She was all over that ball! Then Jason and I got a last minute invitation to sit in the GE box at the Houston Rodeo. Trace Adkins was playing at the end of the rodeo events and even though we aren't country music fans, it was great! Jason's friend and his wife were good company.




















Sunday, after church, Jason took the girls to play golf with him. His friend also brought his son and all the kids got to drive the golf cart. I was able to get some things done at home with no one to bother me. We tried to see some wildflowers, but the kids really weren't in the mood.



Now, we are looking forward to spring break next week. We have friends in Dallas to visit, a few play dates lined up and the rodeo to see if we can. Life is busy, but delightful.

And we wait...

I went to see my oncologist today. I was hoping to hear "lets start back up again" but I didn't hear that at all. She wants me to wait another month. Towards the end of March, I'll have another echo and then see my oncologist on April 1st. I hope to get the okay to start the Herceptin so I can finish it. I still don't know about radiation. I'm going to try to get in to speak to Dr. Hart about that. So, once again, I wait.

Some good news though: Hayden started school today! I found a Mother's Day Out program at the church next to the girls' school. He goes Wednesday and Friday from 9-2. He did great! He went straight to the toys and played. No problems when I left. He napped and ate lunch and played with the others kids. The only issue was he kept wanting to exchange toys. The kids didn't know what to make of that. At least he offered another toy and didn't just take the one he wanted. We have a to work on this a little.

Anna took the TAKS test yesterday. The portion she took was reading. Math is in April. She was really nervous, but felt she did well. I'm sure she did. For non-Texans, this is the assessment test to see if kids are on track.

Sydney and Anna are still doing soccer and having a blast. Both girls did great in their games on Saturday. Sydney actually had 2 games and we were proud of those girls and how they handled it. They were tired by the second game, but they didn't complain much. We all took a nap after lunch that day!

Oh, what a wonderful day!

Well, it didn't start out wonderful, but it is ending that way. After rain and a longer than needed wait for Comcast to fix our Internet this morning, it is such a beautiful afternoon. It's 80 degrees, sunny with a light breeze, and the kids are out playing with their friends in the yard. We just came back from the park where the kids played soccer and tag. Oh, to be young!

No news on the cancer front. I'll go in to see my oncologist in March and will hopefully resume the Herceptin. I'm trying to remember to take the heart meds with some success. Right now, we are just trying to be a regular family.

The girls started soccer last week. They have the same coaches who we really like. Anna's team is the Black Widows and Sydney's is the Wildcats. The season ends the first week of April. Hayden is enjoying playing in the yard on nice days and would stay out there for hours if I let him.

Here are some pictures from today of the kids. Enjoy.

Sweet kids

I wanted to share a quick sweet moment my children had tonight. Part of Hayden's bedtime routine is to say goodnight to Anna and Sydney. He usually says "night night, Anna" and "I love you, Sydney". He did the usual tonight, but wanted to add hugs. He loves a group hug with his sisters and giving them kisses. It's so sweet. I love to see my little ones show each other how much they love one another.

Surviving a 2 year old

So, for any of you that have had the joy of raising a 2 year old, you know that there really is a lot of joy involved, but there is an equal amount of stress. Today, nay, this week, has been full of stress mixed in with a little joy. Hayden is quickly becoming the divo (is that male for diva?) of the house. Today was a topper.

He doesn't nap anymore. He might once a week, but generally he gets 2 hours in his room, alone. He needs a nap, but I haven't figured out how to actually make him sleep. I had to take the little tyke with me to karate this afternoon. Normally, we are there for 2 hours, but I put Anna in Sydney's class to consolidate our time. Hayden and I went to the park to play while we waited. With the class nearing an end, we had to go back. Hayden didn't like that and proceeded to voice his absolute disgust with me for the next 50 minutes. Yes, nearly an hour of screaming (some of you have heard his shrill voice, you know) and hitting and kicking and the latest, biting. Thankfully, that only happens when he's physically restrained in my arms.

I knew he was tired, but it took forever to get him ready for bed during his temper tantrum. Finally, he was in his pjs and cuddling on our bed. I went to feed Anna and Sydney before their open house tonight. I came back in and there he was, fast a sleep. As I'm writing this, he is still laying as he was 2 hours ago when I put him in his bed.

With karate once a week and soccer starting next week, twice a week, I told Jason that I would have to cancel everything if I have another episode like I did tonight. I just can't do it. I can go through chemo, I can handle a major surgery, but it will be a 2 year old boy with dimples and brown eyes that takes me down. How sad is that?

Success

I was able to get my Herceptin treatment today and Hayden had physical therapy. The insurance issue is taken care of and we are moving forward.

I won't call this a set back, but more a precaution. Because of the heart issues I've been having as a reaction to the Herceptin, they did cut my dose by 20% today. And instead of another echo, they want me to get a MUGA scan. This is, in simple terms, a scan that can provide moving images of my heart. It allows the doctors to measure the ejection fraction of the left ventricle, which has been lower than normal on the echos. Doctors can visually see what is happening in a very noninvasive manner. I'm all for that. I hate to have to get off this drug, but I also hate to have heart failure. Which is the lesser of 2 evils? Apparently, there are other drugs that I can take instead of the Herceptin, but that's the one I know that really works. I have the MUGA scan on Monday and will hopefully have the results before I see my oncologist next Wednesday. Wish me luck.

The girls are off from school for the next 4 days. Yeah! Sydney is having a sleepover at her friend's house and will go see a movie tomorrow with her. Anna is going to an ice skating party with one of her friends. Now, if I can only find a friend for Hayden, I can be child free for awhile...just kidding! I love spending time with those little munchkins. I'll have to post some pictures again soon. I've slacked off for a few weeks. Maybe this weekend.

Amazingly talented 2 year old

I may be biased because I gave birth to him, but Hayden is the smartest 2 year old. He learned to play my iPod today. He can play the music and listen to the ear buds in his non-implanted ear. I'm really curious to learn when he's older if he can hear anything in the implanted ear. He's supposed to be deaf, but could have some residual hearing. He will truly be the smartest kid when he asks for his own!

Love my kids!

It's Saturday morning and I have to share: I LOVE MY KIDS! Yep, it's true. They are the best kids anyone can ask for. Hayden hasn't been able to hold on to me for over a week now and he's handled it very well. He'll come into my room and do the "I love you" sign and say "I love you, mama" which is the best thing in the world to hear. The girls also came in asking for paper. I asked what they needed it for. They were writing a Christmas book. They were so excited to share their idea with me. I love their creativity! It would actually be a great idea for a children's book. Anyway, the joy they each had is so intoxicating. I could just hug them forever! Being the mother of these 3 is just the best thing in the world.

Enjoying the Ren Fest

We had a great day. It was cold most of the day, but clear blue skies and low wind. Almost perfect. The kids had a great time playing together and seeing all the sights. We went with our friends Heath, Zuli, and Wes. I couldn't believe that we spent 7 hours there with very little problems with the little ones. Hayden only had a couple of mini meltdowns. It was a great day.

So much to tell you!

I apologize for not updating in some time. Two weeks ago Hayden got a cold and was lovely enough to share with me. Unfortunately, that was at the same time that my white blood cell count was on a natural decline due to my chemo and I got sick myself last week. The part of the white blood cells that actually fight infection was below 1000 which is bad. So, the options were go to the hospital or get a shot, IV antibiotics and finish those in pills for a week. I went with option #2. After a day or 2, I was back up, but more cautious than I have been. I cancelled a couple of school events so I could limit my exposure to germs, but not to worry, I'm back to my normal self.

Halloween was fun. Anna was a green monster bride, Sydney was a cheerleader, and Hayden was a ninja. My friend Odessa and I took the kids to a local shopping center that has trick or treating. There were a lot of families enjoying a great evening and lots of candy. Odessa then took the girls to a friend's neighborhood where the kids got even more candy. All in all, the kids had fun.

This past weekend was just lovely. Anna & Sydney had their last soccer games for the season. Each had a lot of fun and made new friends. They want to play again next season so we will have to see how that works out. They got their first trophies and were quite proud of themselves.

We also celebrated Anna's 9th birthday on Sunday. She and 9 girls had rock star makeovers at Justice Just for Girls. They had a blast. It was the right size party for the right length of time. Her actual birthday was also Election Day. We had a quiet evening. The girls played with a friend in the back yard, we then had a quick dinner, opened presents and had cheesecake for dessert. This is her last year in single digits! My little baby!

Report cards came home yesterday. Both girls made honor roll. We are so proud of how hard they are working at school. They are working just as hard in karate. Anna earned her blue belt and Sydney earned her orange. We are so proud of them.

Hayden, not to be left out, is doing great too. He had a mapping for his implant last week and they did a behavioral booth test. With the implant on, he tested at 20 decibels with voice and almost 60 with tones. Twenty dbs is normal hearing. Tones are harder for little ones to respond too because they aren't interesting. Its harder to turn to a beep or ding. He's very much a 2 year old boy. Today he learned to make the choo choo sound when playing with his trains. Thanks to Miss Jessica, one of his speech therapists, for that. It's so cute seeing him pretend play.

I'll have more to update in the next few weeks. I'll meet with my surgeons again soon for my pre-op visits. Surgery is still on for December 4th. I'll get to enjoy Thanksgiving, take care of a lot of school business, then be down for several weeks. Watch for updates!

Busy Week

Last Sunday was a wonderful day. Our large debris was picked up. Those of us with kids were sitting out and watching the big trucks take trees and brush away. It was pretty neat. Our lawn bags were picked up last week too, so now there is no evidence of Hurricane Ike around our house. Yeah!

Sydney and I were playing around and taking pictures. I let Sydney take a rare picture of me, so enjoy!

Last week was reading week at school. I love this week! The school and PTO really make it a lot of fun with a different theme each day. We also collected food to restock our local food pantry. Here are a few pictures. Anna, Sydney and friend Sarah are with Smokey on Walk to School Day. The girls had Storybook Parade on Friday. Hayden had fun entertaining parents before the parade.

Reflections

Well, the last few days have been full of ups and downs. First, we left Dallas on Sunday afternoon to be home should Hurricane Gustav hit. We were very fortunate. All we had was a little wind and sprinkles. The girls started their second week of school without any problems. Anna was the first star of the week in her class and Sydney was line leader all week. Hayden has been doing great with his processor. Life is good.

Then I met with the first of 2 plastic surgeons. I met one on Wednesday and the other today. While they each had different thoughts and opinions on my options for reconstruction, both had similar time tables. It looks like I won't be through with this awful situation as soon as I hoped. With radiation still an unknown, but likely, my reconstruction probably won't happen until towards the end of 2009. I'm at least a year away. So, my mood and spirits are a little down right now. I'm not feeling too good about the next year, but I know it will past and I'll go back to my usual good spirited self. Right now, though, I'm taking a little self-indulgence and allowing myself to be blue. And to back me up, my dad says its okay. Thanks, DAD!

I watched the Stand Up To Cancer program tonight on ABC, NBC, and CBS. I hope they raise a lot of money to fight cancer. I know most everyone reading this right now, besides knowing me, knows someone that has been affected by cancer. I have a hard time counting all the family that I loved and lost to many types of cancer. While I watched with my sweet Anna, I was encouraged to think that she, or her siblings or cousins, may find a cure so that future generations don't have to go through this. Please go to http://su2c.standup2cancer.org/ to find out more.

Firsts

Today was the first day of school for Anna & Sydney. Sydney was teary eyed when we left her in her class, but I know she'll be fine. Her teacher, Miss Branch, was Anna's 1st grade teacher too. Anna was also a little nervous when we left but had her friend Richard sitting next to her in class. She has 2 teachers, Mrs. Valicevic for homeroom and Language Arts and Mrs. Kelley for Math and Science. Both teachers seem really nice. I think this is going to be a great school year.

Hayden had his first mapping session today. This was where he got the external part of the implant, the processor, and it was turned on for the first time. He did great! He kept it on for a good part of the session and has been wearing it since we got home. It's on a very low volume right now, but we are going to try to turn it up several levels before we see the audiologist tomorrow morning. This pictures shows one of the body worn styles. He can also wear this behind the ear when we think he's ready.

Tidbits

Today's topics: Hayden's birthday, TS Edouard, our new roof and the alphabet.

First, Hayden turned 2 on Sunday! That's also Grandpa Dean's birthday. (Happy birthday, Dad!) We had a nice day. We decided to take the kids to Chuck E Cheese for lunch which all the kids enjoyed. Hayden actually spent more time eating than running amok, his usual MO. Lunch was followed by a nice nap then his cake and presents. His 2 favorites were the tool set from us and tunnel/tent from the girls.

Next, Tropical Storm Edouard came right through our neck of the woods on Tuesday morning. Everyone spent the day before preparing for the worst, but luckily it wasn't bad at all. We've had worse thunderstorms since living here. There were some downed trees and several thousands of people near the area of landfall lost power, but we just got rain. I'm so glad we live north of Houston and not south. Jason did go into work, but stayed in the local Woodlands office which is about 10-15 minutes away.

Third, we are getting a new roof today. It was supposed to be Wednesday, but Edouard caused a few delays. The house is 18 years old and really needed a new roof. There has been enough hail damage over the years that we easily were able to have the claims adjuster approve everything. The guys started late yesterday and have been working today since 7 am. The house should be done today and the garage tomorrow. This was something that our inspector said needed to be replaced soon and, 2 years later, we are getting it done.

Finally, I've been trying to tape Hayden singing his ABCs for a few weeks now. He doesn't just sing, he belts it out! It's really cute, but we are also trying to get a before and after of him singing. Hopefully, this will sound a lot better once he's activated and has had some speech therapy. I hope you enjoy and I apologize for my singing.