Thoughts on Chemo and the last few days...

Our week has been pretty low-key around here, just a bunch of 'normal' days: potty training, preschool, trips to the park, naps, Wii games, board games, Heather & I attempting to watch The Bachelor while 3 kids run crazy and Andrew wants to eat, you know... the usual.

Although, on Tuesday evening the Laurels {the 16- 18 year old girls from church} came to help me for an hour. They were so sweet. On Sunday they called to see if they could come & help me with some things that are harder to do while pregnant: clean the bathtub, change sheets, and anything else they saw fit to do. I felt a little awkward about them coming but they really were just as gracious as can be. They all seemed very happy to be serving & it helped me relax. They changed the kids sheets (and had a little trouble themselves changing the crib sheets -- try that with a big ole belly in the way! :)), vacuumed the entire house, cleaned the kids bathroom, cleaned the mirrors, did a little dusting, scrubbed the kitchen table & chairs, sanitized baby toys, and even read stories to my kids. There were 8 of them & they were here for an hour... although they were finished in a half hour, then we sat around talking and enjoying each others company. They are such great girls. Each one of them is truly amazing. They are each so beautiful, kind, talented, smart, and funny. We had fun with them here. {Even if it did feel really, really weird to have someone else cleaning my house!}

Wednesday morning, after dropping Jake off at preschool, we met up with some friends at Corner Bakery for breakfast to celebrate Kiersten & Carrie's birthdays. It was lots of fun to be there & share a small part of their special day. I sure love both of them.

Today I spent my morning with Gram at chemo session #2. It went well and she's feeling really good. The nurses there, as well as her doctor, said that her reactions to the medications shouldn't be a whole lot different this time than they were the last session. So, hopefully she won't have any problems on days 3 or 4 (the notoriously worst days).

They weren't surprised at all that her hair had started falling out already.
And they were happy to hear that she did so well with the first round.

It's interesting being there in a room full of patients receiving chemotherapy. Obviously they all have some sort of cancer, but it isn't a depressing place like some of have asked me. It's actually quite a positive place. They all look pretty darn good. Not one of them looked bad, or sick, or in pain. They're a very friendly bunch too. It doesn't make me sad to go there at all. It kinda feels like we're just going to give blood. It's set up a lot like that type of room. Although each patient has their own tv in their station in case they want to watch something to help the time pass, but today no one had their tv on.

I think the fact that research has come so far in chemotherapy and the doctors have a better knowledge of how to handle the side effects has made a tremendous difference in how the patients look and feel. Sure, most of them are bald (or wearing wigs) but that's not something to be saddened by. Like Gram reminded me when I ruined Jake's hair last Saturday, hair grows back.

I know there's a possibility that some of the patients in the room today will not beat their cancer. But they have not lost hope. They were there doing everything they could to fight it. They all seemed to be in great spirits and doing the best they could. Some are there every week. Some are there, like Gram, every 3 weeks. It all depends on the stage and severity of their cancer. But there's a lot of support there... and everyone feels hopeful and strong and brave.

Just like Gram...

This is what chemo looks like.
at least for Gram.

{my nephew Caleb watched a documentary last week about kids with cancer & had all kinds of questions for Gram about what she looked like and how chemotherapy worked, so today we snapped a few pictures so he could see exactly what getting chemo looks like & how Gram looks without hair. this one's for you Caleb. We think she looks pretty darn cute!!}

Tonight I had my prenatal yoga class. I love that class... it feels so good to stretch and breathe and relax. It's seriously the best thing I do for myself while I'm pregnant. It helps my body fell so much better!!

Our Georgie Girl...

{I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about this, but it's my blog... and my journal... so tough!}

Georgia is doing so well! She's woken up every morning completely dry. Thank goodness because I haven't been sleeping well and having to get up & change sheets in the middle of the night just might push me over the edge at this point.

Today was an accident-free day. She's gone 24 hours wearing her dry panties. We are so proud of her! That's a big accomplishment for a 21-month old little gal. And, not only has she stayed dry, but she stayed dry while we were running errands and made two separate park trips. At one park she even used the potty. She's definitely on her way to be completely potty trained. Yahooo!

Saying Adios

Gram came over today so we could get a few things accomplished: shaving her hair, cutting Jake's, ordering pictures, and my trip to the grocery store (she stayed home with the kids so I didn't have to take a potty training Georgie along... big, huge help!!)

Since her hair starting falling out this week she decided it was time to shave it off completely. When we were finished it was Jake's turn & apparently I was on a roll after Gram's because his pretty much got shaved off completely as well. It was not at all what I had envisioned his hair to turn out like, in fact I really just wanted to cry, but Gram kept reminding me that it's just hair & it will grow back. Her positive outlook brought me back to reality. I mean really, she had to shave hers off because its falling out; she's going to lose it one way or another and she gets no choice. But, she's right. It grows back. There's no reason to worry or stress over it. Eventually it'll be long enough to get another hair cut -- good or bad. And Jacob doesn't really care anyway!!

Later in the evening we had a little Adios Amigo's party for our dear friends Elizabeth & Aaron. We are going to miss them like crazy, but are so excited for this new opportunity for their little family. Aaron recently received a promotion at work so they are moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico in February. Aaron actually starts work on the 1st of Feb. but Elizabeth and the girls will wait to join him at the end of the month. It's our hope to see them as much as possible in the next month :)

***
And just because she is so darn cute & doing such a great job...

she had a couple of accidents today, but has woken up dry every day so far!!
we're getting there.
slowly, but surely.

Potty Training is Exhausting!

For all of us.

Georgie (amazingly) woke up dry again this morning.
And she had really good day.
Her first accident didn't come until nearly 5pm... and then there were three in a row.

She's telling us when she needs to go, but sometimes it's several false alarms until the real deal so we have to be patient and on the ball and run her back & forth over & over again until she goes.

It's exhausting, but she's learning.

** She's also learned to climb out of her crib. Tonight after John kissed her good night & put her to bed she was mad & threw her leg over the rail, held on tight, and lower herself to the ground. He watched her do it. Apparently she did it with confidence & ease, like she's been doing it forever.

Guess it's time to get her that new bed...

Long, Cold, Dark Day...

The day started early, really early.

At 4:35am Jake woke up & had to go to the bathroom. It was dark, really dark, and he was disoriented. It didn't take us long to realize that our power was out. John got a flashlight & took Jake to the bathroom. Jake doesn't like the dark so he whined & cried the whole time which woke Georgie up.

And amazingly she was still dry. It was her first night going to bed without a diaper and I was so worried all night, I hardly slept, but when she woke up at 4:40am she was still dry. I sat her on the potty with no success and then brought her {and her waterproof pad} to my bed. John was already up & getting ready for seminary... in the dark.

As Georgie & I laid there in bed I continually praised her for keeping her panties dry all night & reminding her that if she needed to go potty to let me know. {I would've rather been sleeping but the little girl was wide awake!}

Around 5:30 she jumped out of bed & told John she needed to potty. He sat her down & viola! It was a proud moment for all of us. She did it!! And I was hopeful that the rest of the day would go well.

Fast forward several hours.

Our house was power-less until 2pm. Apparently there was a fire in our neighborhood power box (in the pouring rain?!). The kids & I spent the day playing games, reading stories, cuddling together on the couch and running around to stay warm. It was cold in here... and dark thanks to all the rain clouds and it rained hard... all day long.

And... all day long Georgie told me she had to potty... just after she'd gone.
By bedtime she was wearing panties #9 for the day.

Here's hoping tonight & tomorrow we have more success!

PS: day 16 'after chemo'
gram's hair has started to fall out.
she seems ok with it.
her next session is thurs. 1/28

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

It's been raining here... all week.
It's a welcome change, it is January after all.
We know we're spoiled with warm temperatures, even in winter.
So a little weather once in a while is great.

And Mother Nature has not let us down this week. Not only has it been raining, it's been raining cats & dogs. Seriously. We've had several inches already and the biggest storm isn't supposed to be here until tomorrow. It's one of those El Nino storms that brings lots & lots of water, flooding, mud slides, and snow to Southern California.

Our little yard is saturated. The back patio has about an inch or so of sitting water. The back slider door is leaking a little (like it has every time it rains. We've called to have it fixed, several times, but apparently the owner is too cheap and doesn't really want to do anything about it so the hard wood floors by the back door continue to ruin.) Our fireplace has a constant drip coming in it. Good times around here, I tell you.

At least Jake & Kyle had some fun out there today after preschool.

They were soaking wet by the time they finished jumping & running.

As they played Georgie cried.

She wanted to be outside too, but she wasn't wearing any pants.

She's been potty training all day.
It's going well.
She's had some accidents...
but she's learning.

And who can resist those buns in panties.
So stinkin' cute.

And just for fun...
because neither one of them will let me take a picture
of the other one without getting a picture of them too!

She May Be Sick...

but it hasn't slowed her down, not one little bit.

She has been running around all morning with her Tag Tails on, then off, then on again. She insists on wearing them all at the same time.

She's pretty darn cute.

And... no she didn't get dressed at all today.

{And, although she's still in a diaper, she has been telling me all day when she needs to go potty. I'm keeping her in a diaper until the runs end, but if tomorrow brings solids ... she's a panties girl from here on out!!}

Plans Change

I've been looking forward to today for weeks. John had the day off in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I was planning to begin the potty training process for Georgia since it'd be a quiet day. (I know she's not quite 2 yet, but she doesn't want to wear a diaper anymore, she takes it off all day long so she can wear her princess panties. So it's time...)

I'm doing the 3-Day Potty Training program I used for Jake (which worked, amazingly!) and thought today would be the perfect start day since we had no plans, tomorrow we have no plans, & Wednesday Jake just has pre-school.

But, when I was woken up at 3:30am by the sound of disgust from Georgia Ann those plans were postponed.

Poor girl was covered in poo along with her sheets, pillow, jammies, and blankets. It was a stinky, stinky, disgusting mess.

Thankfully John helped get her bed cleaned while I bathed her.

She was so sad. It broke my heart.

After her bath I put her in a new clean diaper & jammies and wrapped her up in a warm blanket & the two of us snuggled on the couch until we both fell asleep.

Today she's had a few more runny diapers and I can tell she's not feeling herself. Poor baby girl.

So that potty training idea gets put on the back-burner until her body gets back to normal. Although... she has been telling me all day when she needs to poo and she's been going on the potty so maybe... maybe this will end up helping in the long run.

100 Days

Today marks 100 days until my "due date". It's hard to believe in just over 3 months we will have another sweet baby to cuddle & love on. Jake & Georgie are very aware that they are going to have another baby sister soon.

Georgie is constantly talking about babies. She shows me where the baby's clothes will go & where she is in my stomach.

Jake is coming up with all sorts of names he thinks we should name her: Banana, Soap, Pumpkin, & Juice are his front runners. Neither John or I are digging on any of those too much, but I suppose Juice isn't necessarily that weird... there is Juice Newton afterall.

We have some ideas, but nothing we're completely set on yet. Suggestions are welcome, but don't be offended if we don't chose yours.

Your Kid Likes Cupcakes

I got an email this evening from Heather titled, "Your kid likes cupcakes".

It included the following pictures:

Thanks Kim, not only for inviting Jake to help Scott celebrate his 4th birthday, but inviting him to participate in his first ever eating contest. It looks like he did fairly well.

My guess is Scott did too!

When he got home it was obvious he really enjoyed the cupcakes... seeing how he was covered in blue & red frosting from head to toe.

He sure had a great time!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

At the park this afternoon Flynn had to go to the bathroom... which meant that Jake & Kyle did too... and Georgie went along to supervise.

I'm fairly certain Jake loves when he gets to go at the park... on a tree... because there are no bathrooms.

He also thinks its hilarious to stand there without his pants up. After I took this picture, he walked all the way over to me with them down, laughing, to ask me to help him pull them up. That kid, I tell you.

A Perfect Day...

Jake started his winter semester of pre-school today, although it didn't feel like winter, not one little bit. In fact, once we got home we packed lunches, loaded the car, and headed for an afternoon at the beach.

And it was the perfect get-away!
It was gorgeous.
No one was there.
The kids played & played & played.

And the sun felt wonderful.

When did this little girl get so grown up?


it was even warm enough that the kids wanted to play in the water.
wasn't really in my plans, but they had a great time.


in fact, they had so much fun playing in the water their clothes got soaking wet so they stripped down and continued to play. and neither heather or i cared. we were the only ones there. and they were just having the best day ever. they even decided that feeding their goldfish to the seagulls was a better idea than eating them themselves. (i don't really think it was. i was ducking for cover. i know what happens when you feed seagulls, or people feed them too close to me. thankfully today, no one was harmed.)

**and what is that pose my daughters pulling? apparently i captured her at just the right moment! i love it!!


we had a great day and think we should do it again soon...
like maybe tomorrow.
let's check the weather.
because it really was a perfect day!!

* well lit & beautiful photos courtesy of heather keil photography.

ps- today marks one week since gram began chemo.
she went to work, wig & all, and had a pretty good day.
round two begins thursday, jan. 28th.
keep her in your prayers.
we're hoping it goes just as well,
but know as more chemo gets into the body
the harder it is.

How'd You Spend Your Saturday?

We sorted.

And cleaned.

And emptied.

And packed.

And now we need to get the girl some clothes.

She's seriously lacking.

Seriously.
She currently has 4 pair of pants, 2 sets of jammies, socks, undies, 4 long sleeve shirts, and 4 dresses.

No short sleeved shirts.
No shorts.
And it's hot here.
And it only gets hotter.

Time to go shopping!!

But it feels so good to have all the 24 month/ 2T girl clothes, as well as the 3T boy clothes, and all the baby toys packed away... at least for a little while.

It's also nice knowing that we really got our money's worth on the 24 mo./2T clothes since she's been wearing them for over a year.

ps- day 6 'after chemo' was a pretty terrible day.
gram was experiencing some medication side effects.
thankfully we were able to help her some & now she's feeling much better.
hopefully next round we've got this one figured out
so she doesn't have to experience it again.

It Becomes a 'Habit'

After our morning check-up on Gram (day 5 & still feeling really good!) we met up with Heather, Kyle, & Andrew for ice cream cones at The Habit. And they were so, so, so good! When we were finished we headed to the park for another day in the sunshine.

You seriously cannot beat Southern California in the wintertime.
We love it!!

A Beautiful Week

This week the weather has been amazing! Every day it's been in the 70's. It's gorgeous. And perfect. And we love it.

We spent the morning with Gram, helping her out and then we headed to the park to meet up with friends & enjoy this beautiful weather. It was such a great afternoon for all of us. Jake & Georgie got to play with their friends and I got to visit with mine. Spending time with Meme, Heather & Eden is always so nice.

Those kids sure know how to have fun!!

ps- day 4 'after chemo' still feeling really good.
prayers are answered.

Hot Tubbin' & Hair Cuts

It was such a nice day the kids decided they wanted to go swimming at Grams. They had a great time & splashed around in there for nearly an hour. Both we pruney when they got out. But, boy, did they have a great time!!

After that it was "salon time".
Gram colored my hair.
And she had me shave hers.
(It hasn't started falling out yet, but since she goes back to work on Monday she would rather have the kids not see that whole process.)

before
during
after

I actually think it looks pretty cute. Just needs a little professional touch-up and it'd be really cute! ;) She can totally pull off shorty-short hair.

Once it starts falling out for real {if it does} we'll shave it the rest of the way. Until then she can comfortably wear one of her cute wigs over it.

Our original plan was to get Jacob's hair cut too, but it was getting late & he was having none of it. Maybe next time.

ps- my hair turned out pretty cute too.
also, today was day 3 of 'after chemo',
supposedly the worst day,
& gram is still feeling good.
hooray.

Takin' Care of Gram

We spent the day with Gramma, making sure she's doing ok. So far, so good.

Melanie, Norah & Tommy met us there for a little outside fun this afternoon. We love living in Southern California!!

Quite the Day

It had been quite the day.

It started off with Renee coming for my monthly appointment. 24 weeks today. Baby girl gave her a nice big kick just as she set the dop-tone on my stomach to get the heartbeat. It was a surprisingly strong kick for a baby at this stage. It seriously was impressive... and hilarious!! Thankfully, her heartbeat is good & strong and she's growing just as she should be, actually she's a little big already (but she's the third one I've carried to do this). My baby {er, body} has gone through a growth spurt. I am now measuring one week ahead of schedule. I gained 6 pounds in the last month (to add to the 3 I'd already gained, so far 9 total. Not bad for 24 weeks with Thanksgiving & Christmas in there too.) While we were in Vancouver I woke up one morning & just felt hugely pregnant. Even John noticed a difference. I am now officially "large with child". I'm also at the point where, in my two previous pregnancies, I start to get really, really big. I looked back over my notes from those pregnancies and saw that at around 30 weeks I actually measured 7 weeks ahead of schedule. But... not to worry, from there on I hardly grow at all. Apparently my body just likes to get really big, really quickly and then slow down.

Once Renee left Gram showed up & I headed out the door with her to her first session of Chemotherapy. She was really nervous, I couldn't blame her, with not knowing exactly how things were going to happen or feel. Thankfully, it all went really well. Her body did great with the chemo & we were there for just about 3 hours. Now she goes home & waits to see how the next few days will go. Hopefully her doctor has her on all the right medications and this week goes well....

Later this afternoon we needed to get out and have some fun so we met up with Heather & Kyle, Kiersten & Henry, and Eden & Flynn at the park for lots & lots of fun!! This whole week is supposed to be in the 70's so I see many park days in our future!

A SunBEAM! A SunBEAM!

Jacob is officially in Primary now. Today was his first day as a Sunbeam and he loved it! I took him into the Primary room, the Primary President welcomed him & told him where his class was sitting... and he walked right there. I am so glad.

Jacob & Henry preparing for Sharing Time

Although I am a little sad that my baby boy is growing up so quickly... I am so excited for him to be in Primary and learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His teacher is Sister Phillips and she is going to be wonderful. She even came over yesterday to meet Jacob & welcome him into her class. {She may never know just how much we appreciate that!}

a SunBEAM, a SunBEAM! Jesus wants me for a SunBEAM!
a SunBEAM, a SunBEAM! I'll be a SunBEAM for Him!

Jacob loved the lesson this week about being a Child of God. He loved the Burger King "Jacob is a Child of God" crown too. He's been singing "I am a Child of God" all afternoon as well. He loves that song.

Georgia Ann is still in Nursery and she actually played in there today... until she cried for John, he picked her up, and she fell asleep in his arms.

This 1pm church time is going to be tough to get used to, especially for our Georgie girl.

Startin' 2010 Off Right

Today was beautiful. A perfect day to walk to the park while the kids tried out their new bikes. The adventure started off really well, both were on their bikes pedaling to their hearts content.

About half way there...

John was carrying one bike & I was pushing the other.

We played at the park for quite awhile. It was great to be outside and feel the sun on our faces. Jake & Georgie love the slide, especially this one because it's really, really slick... I mean fast.

The way home was a little slower than the ride there.

Eventually they both got back on the bikes and rode the rest of the way. It was a wonderful day, a great way to start out 2010.

Gramma joined us for dinner, which is always nice. We played some Wii Fit, showed her all our new toys, read stories together, and then it was off to bed.