this is our life, this is my story: May 2009

Thursday, May 28, 2009

My Wish List

So I started my “wish list” about a week or so ago and J surprised me with a granted wish so I thought I should post before anymore surprises come.

I will start with my granted wish - I would love to take my family camping (or as J calls it, cabining) again. We went 2 years ago and stayed in beautiful cabins up north in Greer. We were able to escape the heat for an extended weekend. We took the boy fishing for the first time, and let the girls play in the dirt, everyone hiked, and the weather was beautiful. It was lovely. I want to go back this summer. – And last night I found out this wish is being granted, kinda. J and I will be spending an extended weekend in December in Greer with his mom and dad, and possibly J's brother and sister and there family. So although we will not be escaping the crazy AZ heat in the summer, we will get to take the kids cabining (that’s really a word? No spell check error, there is a grammar issue with spell check though, funny) in the snow. That is a huge deal for us, I’m so excited. J and I thought is would be cool to give the kids a weekend in the snow, what a fun way to get away and enjoy our life (making memories – I can see J rolling his eyes before he even reads this).

I would still love to go this summer with my sisters and their families and my mom and dad. That will be tough. I’ll have to try to get some OT at work and save my pennies. I’ll work on it. How awesome would that be though – 2 times in one year? (I know I’m really easy to please, just get me out of the city and I one happy girl)

Warning – last Greer trip I took almost 1000 pictures in just 3 days, be prepared for tons of fun snow pictures.

Second, thru Make a Wish and Give Kids the World our family has free admission to hundreds for amusement parks and zoos for the next year. I would like to take the kids to Legoland and both San Diego Zoos before this expires. This is a possibility this summer. We will have to see how the money thing goes, I’m crossing my fingers.

Disneyland for Madison’s 5th birthday. My sister Alicia and her husband Scott, and my sister Melissa, and I took Austin and Logan (Melissa’s son) for their 5th birthdays. We had a blast and I would like to take Madison for her 5th birthday. (Yes, this would be just Madison and J and I. However, and yes I stole this idea from another blog I read, this year J and I have decided that for the kids birthdays instead for buying stuff, we are going to make memories. J would laugh if he heard it said that way, but he totally agreed that doing something cool is better then buying presents. So each of our kids will get one on one time with us for their birthdays, doing something they want to do.

Another granted wish, J and I have been waiting to here back from the Jr High that we had applied for a boundary exception for the boys. Today, J and I got a call that both Austin’s and Zac’s boundary exception has been granted – yeah. I’m really excited. From what I have read, it is a really good school. Hopefully it will be fun transition from charter school to public school. (I think the boys are more excited that there are no uniforms – me? not so excited about that)

And for something I know that I will be able to do, I want to get the Disney or other kids cookbooks and spend time cooking with the kids. I have never really learned how to cook. I can put a pizza in the oven, make mac and cheese, and even make a grilled cheese. But I never really learned how to cook. (I know, my poor kids are deprived). That might have a little to do with the fact that when I was in 6th grade, I dropped a pot holder in the oven taking out biscuits, it immediately caught fire burning my parents kitchen. I think I may have been banned from the kitchen. So, the kids and I will learn together, hopefully without and major disasters. I think it will be fun and a great way to spend time with them. So as we start making fun new meals I will post pictures of how fabulous everything turns out and how much fun we had in the process.

So that’s it for now. I will get to work planning my Greer trip, getting school stuff together for enrollment, and thinking of birthday ideas. I will keep you posted.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Madison got her cast off today

one last picture of Madison with her

pink sparkly cast

Madison had an xray of her elbow and

wrist to make sure she was ready

for her cast to come off.

Mortin - they warned me she was
going to be sore, that her muscles have
been on "holiday" and it would take a
while for the aches and pains to go away

Madison was a little afraid of the saw i covered her eyes and was able to talk her
through having both sides of her cast cut open

My photographer, Austin must have thought

the saw was cool, I have 20 or so pictures of this

Madison thought the special tool to open the

cast was pretty cool - this is the really stinky part,

she has been in this cast for 1 hot, sweaty month.

Madison remembered the cold sissors

from having her last cast removed

and off it comes

She's free

and swollen, and it took just a few seconds

and Madison was crying - her wrist (the sprain)

was hurting, so we sat in the waiting room for

20 minutes to give the Motrin time to work and see

if she would need a splint for her wrist

Madison decided she would tough it out

hopefully we do not have to make a trip back

to Dr H anytime soon

she's doing great, still favors her right

arm but we will keep an eye on her

I am blogging this while Madison is soaking in the bath, I promised I would let her soak as long as she wanted to, and she could take whatever bath toys she wanted.

Anything to get stink off her.

Dr H told us that Madison could go back to swimming lessons right away. I let her take today off, and she will rejoin her class next week, she is so excited

Well it's been a little over an hour and Madison is finally asking to get out of her bath,so off I go.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Austin's award

So Proud

This morning Austin got an award, his last award from elementary school. He was recognized for his pride and dedication and to our country. Austin as well as a small group of other 6th graders raise the flag each morning and lower and fold the flag each afternoon. It is really amazing to watch this, to watch these little kids with so much respect for our flag. They are very particular about every detail involved. Today I got to watch Austin and his friends hand the reins over to the new group of kids that will take over for them next year. I could tell it was hard for each of the older kids to let their job go. Each one would have to remind the others to let the new students do what they have done all year, something that they were very proud of.

Something that I am very proud of.

Last year Austin submitted an essay explaining what the Flag meant to him. The essay was optional, so for those that know Austin it must have been something that he felt strongly about or he would not have taken the time to do extra school work. I would love to have a copy of that essay but it is lost somewhere out there. Anyway, I did not find out about this until late last year when Austin told me that through his essay, he was selected to raise the flag in 6th grade. I was, I am so proud of him.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

She's back home

Madison is back home from her trip to CA. Our home fills complete again.

Friday, May 15, 2009

I miss her already

Madison went with Grandma, Grandpa and Destinee to CA to celebrate her cousin Sandra’s 9th Birthday. Madison is still in her cute (really stinky) cast so she will not be able to go to the actual birthday party; it’s at one of the inflatable bounce house places. Being in a cast, that is not the best place for her. So, Grandma and Grandpa are going to take Madison shopping, then will meet everyone back at Aunt Kim and Uncle Aaron’s for cake and ice-cream. I’m sure she will have a blast playing with the Sandra and Alex and torturing poor Hayden. (Kim I told her to be nice to him. Hold her to that please.)
So as excited as I am that Madison is off having fun, I miss her already. I want to be the one to take her to see her cousin; I want to be with her. I ‘m not good at letting her go. But this crazy thing called work is keeping me here. And how selfish would it be for me to tell her that she couldn’t go with Grandma just because I would miss her too much? So she left yesterday and will be back Sunday sometime. 4 days. What will I do with myself? Clean, hang out with J and the boys and, well…, wait.

The California Kids:

Sandra

Alex

Hayden

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Pink with Glitter

I want to post some pictures of Madison getting her pretty pink glittery cast, also a few from October 2006 when she got her first cast. Dr H did both. J and I asked if he though the 11 months of chemo may have affected her bones. 2 breaks in 2 years, both from simple falls, seems a bit too much. He said that it wasn’t out of the ordinary, that insurance would not see that as a reason to look into bone density. So we asked Dr E, her oncologist, and he said that there is nothing in her chemo research (all done on adults) that says it affects bone density and he just thinks it’s a fluke. FLUKE? So, J and I will be paying cash price, because with out a reason insurance will not cover the Dexascan. It should be sometime in August I think. I will update more as we get closer, her orthopedic said not to get the scan done until about 4 weeks after her cast comes off, that her bones would still be healing and would not give a correct reading.

Dr H putting on Madison 2nd pretty pink cast
2nd broken bone April 23 2009

getting the cast this time was not as bad,
but she still was a little worried
Daddy sat close by
He makes everything better

waiting for the cast to set

Lollipops make everything better

this is from October 02 2007 -

she did trust us that this appointment would not

be an ouchy appointment, just a cute pink cast

i love her pouty lips

Dr H always has lollipops for his

good little patients

my little princess

first broken bone was Sept 29 2007

look Ma, I can still suck my thumb

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Better Late then Never - Easter 2009

Easter 2009

Madison woke J and I up pretty early, the Easter Bunny had come and the kids were ready to check out their Easter baskets, they know better then to start without me and my camera. After the baskets were open J and I had my family over for a small Easter Party. (Unfortunately my sister Alicia, her husband Scott, and their daughters Keira and Kailey were not able to make it. One of the twins was sick. And, J mom and dad were in South Africa on vacation and his brothers and sisters families don’t live close. We missed you guys). The kids colored eggs, we had an Easter Egg hunt, my sisters and I tortured the kids with our amateur photo shoot, and we had a nice simple lunch. Easter was also a friends daughters 4th birthday, so we decorated cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to Kylee (Brittney, I know I am spelling that wrong, I will fix it as soon as I know the correct spelling). It was a nice day with the family. And now for a million pictures.

Madison