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This morning in the car on the way to school:
Anna Claire: Momma, do you remember the first time I had my hair done at Libby Lu? (it’s a store in the mall where they do little hair makeovers for girls. Libby Lu = serious amounts of glitter, so we don’t go in very often)
Me: Yes.
AC: Did my hairdo last more than a day?
Me: No, it was kind of messy after you woke up the next morning.
AC: How did you remember that?
Me: Cause I’m the mommy. It’s my job to remember everything.
AC: Then how come you forgot to feed me breakfast?
Thank heavens for McDonald’s drive-thru…
Can anyone explain to me how my 2 children could have reallocated all 4 containers of my dental floss? I know what happened to the one in my purse (Leah emptied it and triumphantly handed one big long string of it to me the other night) but seriously – where is the rest of it? I’ve been borrowing Gary’s but it’s only a matter of time before we’ll have to go buy a bunch more.
My kids are ADDICTED to dental floss. It would make my grandmother proud (she’s an avid flosser).
I cannot imagine what happened to the other 3 containers…it’s driving me crazy.
I’m off to Target to buy some more…and I'm gonna put a GPS chip on each one when I get them home.
Today is Gary’s and my 7th wedding anniversary. My friend D asked me yesterday at lunch if I was itchy (“7-year itch”). I replied, “No, I took a Zyrtec this morning.” Ha ha.
I am married to the most phenomenal man. He chose ME out of all the women in the world. ME! Our courtship was a whirlwind – we met in March, went on our first date on May 27th, talked about getting married in July, looked at rings in August, got engaged in November, and were married the following April. But it was amazing, and it still is. Sure, it’s not all thunderclaps and clanging bells anymore…sometimes it’s a child wretching in the back seat, but there’s no one I’d rather “do life” with than him.
I think one of the moments that stands out the most in our marriage was the day that my hair started falling out from chemo. It was November 13, 2003. That night, I asked Gary to shave my head for me so I didn’t have to worry about shedding hair all over the house. I think it was the saddest I’d ever seen him. When he was done, I took a shower, and when I got out and put on my pajamas, he looked at me and said, “Honey, you are still so beautiful to me.” I never loved him more. He has been my cheerleader, my champion, my constant friend and during treatment, he was also my security blanket. I was frantic if he left my side.
We have now settled into a wonderful companionship together, and immensely enjoy being parents together. But we also still love spending time alone together. Date nights are our favorite - it's a chance to sit and just talk (without cutting anyone's meat, changing a diaper or telling one of the girls to stop talking long enough so we can get in a word edgewise). It's precious time.
Sweetheart, I'd marry you all over again if you asked. Thanks for seven wonderful years - and here's to the next seven years! I love you and am so proud to be your wife.
And, since you're a Texan, and I'm the wife of a dedicated Texan...Happy San Jacinto Day too. :)
Today was my birthday – we had such a great time, starting with last night…Anna Claire’s friend, Sarah, came to dinner with us (her mom gave birth to Sarah’s little sister yesterday – Rebeca Grace!) to one of our favorite restaurants, Coastal Flats…after dinner, the kids ran around the town center, then we went home and they had some ice cream. Sarah got to spend the night at our house and the girls had a fabulous time…at 10:00 pm, they were still snuggled in AC’s bed, giggling, talking, eating Goldfish, drinking water, and playing with their flashlights (and about 1300 pieces of Polly Pocket stuff was on the floor – I have no idea how they didn’t step on something!).
This morning, Gary, the girls, and I went to breakfast at a local joint here, then we ran a couple of errands on the way home (which included some new shoes for me – woo hoo!). And Gary carried the shoes – I love me a man who carries my packages so I can shop unencumbered! J We decided to make a quick stop at Target, but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, Leah vomited all over herself in the car…Happy Birthday, Momma!
Sooo…we went home instead, gave Leah a bath (she was much happier), and played at the house. Then we all took naps (heavenly), then went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, where Leah threw a massive tantrum – she was SO cranky. I’m thinking she may be getting sick. Anyway, the food was great and we made it out of the restaurant without Leah throwing herself on the floor and screaming, so in my mind, it was a huge success.
I got some fabulous gifts – a couple of seasons of Frasier, my favorite Bath & Body Works lotion, a couple of CDs, Season 2 of The Closer, an offer from my brother and sister-in-law to treat us to dinner and babysitting when they arrive in 2 weeks (yay!), a beautiful necklace from my parents, and some other great things…but the best was just spending it with my amazing husband and two beautiful girls, and talking to the rest of my family on the phone…I am so blessed.
Tomorrow, I’m going to lunch with a couple of girlfriends to continue the celebrating – can’t wait!
It was a wonderful day, and I’m happy to say that for the first time since I was diagnosed with cancer, I was able to really enjoy my birthday and I wasn’t melancholy about it…in the past, it’s been an emotional day for me with very mixed feelings. Today it was just awesome and I enjoyed every minute…and it helped that it was 80 degrees and sunny!
Hannah Montana madness has invaded our household...here is this morning's conversation:
(Anna Claire comes walking in my room wearing a mini skirt, her school t-shirt, and her Hannah Montana hair)
Me: Cute outfit, honey. But no Hannah Montana hair at school.
AC: Why not, Momma? It's so cool!
Me: Well, because (a) it's not appropriate and (b) Hannah Montana doesn't wear her hair to school - she goes to school as Miley, not Hannah Montana.
AC: No she doesn't.
Me: Yes she does - she's Miley at school, and Hannah Montana on stage (she only THINKS I don't pay attention! I know my Hannah Montana stuff, people!). As soon as you get home from school, you can wear your Hannah Montana hair and pretend you're on stage.
AC: I sing better than she does.
Me: I'm sure you do, but you still can't wear your Hannah Montana hair to school.
(scowl from AC)
I think I'm now officially a "mean mom."
On September 17, 2005, a very special lady joined our family. My brother married Shoshawna, or “Shoshi,” as we like to call her. Sho has added such a beautiful dimension to our family. She is one of 4 children, so she added a bunch of fun “in-laws” to our clan, and their children have become good friends with Anna Claire. A social worker who works with seniors, Sho and I have shared a similar career industry, which has been fun. In addition, she loves People magazine, Nancy Drew books, chocolate, and consignment shops, so we have a fabulous time whenever we’re together. Her parents live close to my parents, and the four of them have become great friends. I have a difficult time remembering our family before Sho’s family joined us…we really are one big happy family now. My only regret is that we don’t live closer so we could see them more often.
Sho has not only become a great friend and sister, but she is an incredible “auntie,” eagerly 
awaiting updated pictures and funny antics of the girls. She is stunningly beautiful (inside and out), thoughtful, creative, compassionate, and loves my brother madly (I can’t blame her for that because I also love him madly – he’s amazing). She is the perfect wife for him and complements him in wonderful ways. She has been a special gift to our family and we are especially thankful for her today, her birthday.
Happy Birthday, dear Shoshi – we love you oodles and can’t wait to see you next month when you come to visit us! :)
Today was a very special and long-awaited day. I had the opportunity tonight to finally meet my friend K in person! K has become a very special girlfriend over the past year. I work with her, and she was diagnosed 1 year ago with non-smoker’s Stage 4 lung cancer. Fortunately, it was non-small cell lung cancer, which means there were actual tumors that the doctors could remove from both her spine and her lungs. She has endured not only surgery to remove part of a lung, but many chemo and radiation treatments. Because she lives in Texas, our friendship really developed over email and phone calls as I reached out to her to provide some comfort and support as she was navigating many scary days. We talked about side effects of treatment, which side to have the mediport installed on, the importance of pain management during treatment and recovery, why it’s normal to have good and bad days with regard to physical strength, how to talk with your kids about cancer, how to maintain your marriage as you deal with cancer, and the therapeutic effect of working even on the bad days. We discussed how emotional holidays and anniversaries are after you’ve been diagnosed, products that help dry skin that comes with chemo and radiation, how to reconcile insurance charges, how to get through days when you can’t stop crying, and cravings from chemo.
One of my greatest passions and pleasures is ministering to other women who are facing cancer treatment. It has been such a privilege to come alongside K over the past year and walk through this valley with her. And I’m pleased to tell you that after having finished treatment and completed her first set of scans, she is “NED” – or “No Evidence of Disease.” God is good and we are celebrating her good report!
K happened to be in town for a business event on Capitol Hill, so Gary, the girls and I met her for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. We had a wonderful time together and it was so fun to finally see her in person, get to know her better, and introduce her to my little family.
K, your friendship is a blessing and I can’t wait until we get to Texas so we can go to Sea World with you and your kids!
I had my surgery on Friday and all went well…I spent the weekend on the couch recovering, reading magazines, watching TV, visiting with friends and sleeping a lot. I’m doing really well and returned to work on Monday. I’m getting ready to leave work a little early today because I’m in more pain today but overall the process has been a great one. I’ll get my stitches out on Thursday and will hopefully be back on the treadmill on Friday!
Thanks so much to all my great friends who called, brought flowers, Diet Cokes, magazines, meals, etc. It’s been such a great help and really provided some support to Gary and the girls.
Gary was busy this weekend taking Anna Claire to birthday parties – tis the season! Many of her friends have spring birthdays, so she had a wonderful time attending parties and playing with her friends. Even Leah was able to go to the mall with Gary and Anna Claire on Saturday and she had a fabulous time running around (and running him ragged!).
I’m still awake – I haven’t gone to bed yet. I’m trying to make the best of it. So far, I’ve done 3 loads of laundry, done a bunch of paperwork for work, tidied up the kitchen and living room, paid a few bills, read some of my book, made lunches for tomorrow and am now watching a rerun of Oprah. I have to get up just after 6 am so it’s definitely going to be a short night if I ever get to sleep.
I didn’t used to have problems sleeping at all. But since I had chemo 4 years ago, I’ve dealt with insomnia every so often. It was really bad at first, but it’s gotten better over time. It’s a long-standing side effect from chemo that many survivors experience. I’ve had it more often lately, but probably because I have a lot on my mind with our upcoming move. It’s maddening sometimes – not so much on the weekends, but during the week when I have to be at a full-time job (and act intelligently most of the time), take care of the girls, and all the other things that life brings, I find myself nodding off occasionally…
I think I also can’t get to sleep because I’m in so much pain – I also have residual bone pain and achy joints from chemo, and it doesn’t bother me very often anymore, but this week has been awful – it’s like having a bad case of arthritis and I can hardly move because I’m so sore and stiff – I’m walking like an old lady! I spent most of the day on Sunday resting on the couch (lying perfectly still seems to be the only “cure”) but now that the week has started again and I’m so busy, I’m in a lot of pain again. Normally I take Advil and that seems to help but I can’t take any this week because of my knee surgery coming up on Friday, so I’m left with Tylenol – which is basically like candy and does nothing for me. Argh. I can’t wait until Friday so I can take something for the pain – it’s so bad this week, it’s distracting. I don’t complain much and I try to keep a good attitude about it, but it’s the worst it’s been in a long time. The only thing I can think of is because I’m not allowed to take my vitamins this week due to the upcoming surgery (B vitamins especially make you bleed more). Other than that, it seems to be random.
If you know someone who has had cancer, just know that the effects of treatment go on far longer than the time period when they’re actually receiving it and have no hair…cancer sucks and it seems to be the gift that keeps on giving sometimes.
Alrighty – enough complaining! I’m off to bed to see if I can get to sleep.
This morning in the car on the way to school:
