fighting cabin fever

Today, my goal was to get out of the room (house) and do something with the children that wasn't just watching tv or a movie. It would have been nice to do something outside, but it's raining, so I'm sure we would have melted ;)

We went to the Burke Museum at the University of Washington.

It was pretty cool. A few weeks ago, there was something on the news about a sea star fossil that was found, which was 15 million years old.

Thinking I'd send the children on a hunt, I told them that the first one to find me something in the museum that was 15 million years old would get a treat (Kit Kat bar).

Man, before we even walked in, Maggie found an outside display of fossilized wood that said it was 15 million years old! Then, she found the sea star inside also. So, Maggie got to have a double treat.

Lilly found a pretty block of petrified wood that was also 15 million years old.

Josh kept looking, but didn't find anything exactly that age, although there were many artifacts older. He helped me though, so he also got a treat, albeit a smaller treat.

There was a pretty fossil flower that was 50 million years old, and a fossilized fern that was 300 million years old! And, it was cool to see things that were 520 million years old (cystoids), and a billion years old (another outside display, this time of fossilized sandstone, I think).

There were some beautiful gemstones, neat skulls, stuffed birds, dinosaur skeletons, clovis points from East Wenatchee, and so many other really cool things. Emu feathers are gorgeous.

Josh and Maggie received letters from their classes.

I took a picture of Maggie reading her letters when she received them. It was the day she was sick. She was so miserable, but still was able to drag up some energy and strength to read through them.

Stripped

The first big wave of families we've gotten to know here (in our housing unit) is leaving over the next few days. It's frustrating to know that it won't be us for a very long time yet, but it's also great to know that their children are doing well enough to go home...wherever home may be.

This means that I actually have to start being more social (so much work) and actually welcome new people in the house so we won't get so lonely and isolated.

No offense to anyone, but the general population has no idea what it's like to be stripped~stripped of home, security (knowing your child is healthy), your belongings, freedom of choice (can't go farther than 1 hour of the hospital), friends, and stripped of quality rest.

What a depressing way to start the weekend. I think I'll get something fun for the weekend when I get a few groceries this morning, and maybe I'll make sure to take the children swimming. We just have to get out of our room a little more!

Andy's on his way AGAIN

Maggie got sick, so Andy's coming to be with her because we really can't spread illness around.

I don't know where she got sick though, since we are only around a certain population of people right now.

Josh's crystals

My hyacinth. It smells divine!

One last note~~there's another Andy that lives here, there's another Sarah, there are 2 Cindy's, and many other duplicate names. How crazy is that?!

I just love Kitchenaid and red

I love my kitchenaid, and I love red. And, the combination of those two loves is above...

I'd love to win one, and you could too, at this link.

Haiti Walk-A-Thon

Lilly and Maggie are going to participate in a Walk-A-Thon next week, to benefit Haiti. Maggie and Lilly both have a goal to walk at least 30 laps laps each, to rasie money to help fund medical support for earthquake victims.

If you'd like to support them in this effort, let us know! You can make a pledge for each lap (example: $1/lap), or you can make a maximum pledge.

Each lap is 1/3 mile, so I'll have some tired children next week!

On a kind of related, but not totally sidenote, when we park in the parking garage at the hospital, there are several speed checks so people drive safer around children. When we park and there aren't any cars coming in, the children run toward the speed checker. Maggie got 10MPH, Lilly got 7MPH, and Josh got 11MPH. Fast children, but I don't know how long their sprint speed would last. Oh, and Andy got 13MPH. He's my oldest baby ;)

update

Andy was here for two days earlier this week, then went home on Wednesday afternoon. Remember, we live 3 hours away...

He came right back Wednesday night, just a few hours after arriving home.

Wednesday night was very scary, but things are now good (as good as they can be in this situation), and I now know what to do in case anyone has a seizure.

Hear the sarcastic joy in my writing?!

a golden surprise

Josh lost a tooth last week.

We discovered that the Seattle Toothfairy has a higher rate.

Andy and Kelly got here today.

She was proud to be decked out in Washington State attire colors.

My graduation tassel is hanging in...

the golden surprise...

Ok, it's not perfect (actually, I thought it was ugly when I bought it on eBay).
BUT, it will be a LOT easier to park in the big city!
I downsized from the Suburban to a minivan, and soon will downsize from
my jogging stroller to a regular size stroller.
Yep, life is getting somewhat simpler.

Tonight, we were talking over different boy names, a common practice in this family for the past few months. I like the name Max, which made us start talking about book characters (Maximum Ride).

Kelly: Septimus Heap.

Andy: Oh, I like that! What would we use for a nickname?

Kelly: Sep, that'd be so awesome!

Me: No, because then people might turn it around and say "Pes," which is like a vulgar word that we don't use, and it's not Pus. (Everyone had a confused look on their face except Josh)

Josh: Yeah, it's a different vowel.

He said that so seriously we were all cracking up.

star-studded evening

A couple people from the house (from same family too!) had their birthday today.

They shared cake and ice cream and had candy and goodies for the other children.

This feels like Alaska when Andy and I were first married. Most people in Alaska don't have family nearby, so on holidays, different families get together and have fun together. Many of the different families who are here, feel like family to each other.

Two families here had a really rough day, so pray for them if you'd like. They could use it. If you'd like to pray for us, please pray for the baby to eat/drink more, and for the adoption process to be smoother for the near future.

This week, the children will get to meet a baseball player this week at school! Next week, they'll be meeting another player, from the Chicago White Sox. Cool stuff headed our way.

Andy and Kelly are headed here tomorrow, on the train! They're going to be picking up my golden surprise since it's too far for me to drive. I can't go further than an hour away from the hospital in case the baby gets a fever. So the hour drive has to consider bad traffic too. So, tomorrow or Wednesday, I'll post a picture of the golden surprise for y'all. ;)

swimming

Today, we went swimming at the hospital. They have a time Mondays-Saturdays when families of patients can swim. I can tell you now, that we'll be going a few times each week!

I learned today that those I am jealous of for having better prognoses, I should not be. Every prognosis has its own challenges, and every body reacts differently. The baby is doing well, and starting to learn to enjoy some foods again. Salty and strong-flavored foods are popular since the steroids made regular foods taste bland. The things I'm learning are nothing that I ever set out to learn!

We saw Andy last week for two days and will see him and Kelly again this week for at least one day. That'll be a whole 'nother post though, when they bring the golden surprise...I know what it is, but most of you don't! (I gotta have some fun somehow)

How to diet successfully

We were driving up I-5 tonight and drove past the Northgate Mall. What I noticed first was that the Jenny Craig office was one door away from a bakery outlet. Yumm, but not very conducive to dieting success.

Next, I noticed that JCPenney had a 5-level parking garage!!! It was so huge. I exclaimed over how big it was and the children got all excited too.

In an appointment today, I had asked the doctor about where the closest mall is. He mentioned the one down the street, but I had to ask about where the closest inside mall is because the one he told me about has only upscale (very spendy) stores--no, boutiques.

Oh, and I figured out what kind of car to have in the Seattle area if you want luxury, but don't want the same kind of car that everyone else with money is driving....an Infinity. I only really noticed one today, and realized that it's the first one I've seen since I've been on the spendy car kick.

But, I also saw two of the very local Volvo dealers that are sending all their customers to the grocery in our neighborhood. So now I know from whence they come.

Lilly's birthday and other stuff

Lilly turned 10, and she wanted to decorate her triple chocolate cake. It was chocolate devil's food, with chocolate chips sprinkled on top (before cooking), and milk chocolate frosting. Plus, the m&m's.

In the picture, she's pretending to blow out the unlit candles.

I don't think we're allowed to light candles, and don't want to be the one to find out that it could set off the sprinklers and flood the House. Hence the unlit candles.

Maggie was having fun with Tinkertoys the other night.

Our awesome quilt from the Covington Quilter's. It has squares of so many different patterns. Someday, we'll make stories out of them.
Here's the front wall of the childrens' school.
It says, "We treat everyone kindly and respectfully."

Some art on an upper wall at the school.

Maggie's classroom.

There are about 8 or 9 students in her class. They range from kindergarten to 3rd grade.

More artwork high on the walls.

Josh and Lilly's classroom.

They have around 6 students from grades 4-7, I think.

Josh and his collage.

We visited Nana, Aunt Di, and GrandNana tonight.

We celebrated Lilly's and Mudd's birthday with ice cream cake!

They recently got new furniture, including this lift chair for GrandNana.

It helps lift her off, and has heat and massage...nice...

this 'n that (pictures and rambling)

This'll be somewhat of a long post.

Lilly outside.
During the craft night this week, we met Paula. Paula comes with her company once a month to do crafts with the children here. This time, they made calendars. It was really fun to see the fun creativity each child has. Paula's calendar turned out awesome too.

At school, the children learned about the world's tallest building that opened this week.

Maggie painted the Space Needle (left) and the tallest building (right).

Maggie's been having fun painting.

Guess who came to visit the House this week! Each child who was here received a Mickey Mouse. I got a really cute picture of the baby with Mickey, and will post it when the adoption is final...the other children were still at school.

At the really nice store next door, we were looking for a few things for Lilly's birthday (today).

It was really fun to see the nice decorating supplies. We just don't have this kind of variety back home. I follow the CakeWrecks blog (listed on the right side of my blog), and have a great appreciation for things that make beautiful cakes.

Lilly liked the Hannukah stars (to the right of the tall candles in the picture) for her cake. But, I'm too cheap and bought m & ms for her cake decor instead. We have some fun candles too.

I'll post those pics tomorrow or later, after we have cake and ice cream tonight.

I am tired all the time here.

The marble tower that the children keep having fun with.

Speaking of toys, the baby is crawling more! Before being hospitalized in December, the baby was almost walking. Because the baby was in a crib for most of December, and receiving so much treatment, the almost-walking and crawling stopped. So, the therapists and I are working to restore the progress that had been made. And, there has been more progress!

At the market next door, we saw a newer phenom~~this time there was a his/hers theme going. There were two similar-style (like, NEW) and same silver color Acura's parked out front. One had 4 doors and the other 2, so which would be his and which would be hers?! Plus, there were two Audi's parked next to each other, and then there were two Lexus' (Lexi?) parked next to each other.

I have seen a lot of children in pain, and at various stages of illness, treatment, or injury. Most have good outlooks, which I try to have also. The thing I try to keep remembering is that the leukemia diagnosis we are dealing with is not a death sentence. It has a 90+% cure rate, but has so many months of treatment. When I was told that we would need 8 months of initial treatment, after being told that it would "only" be 6 months, it broke everything. I flipped out and was so frustrated.

I'm doing better with it now, but part of my happy, caring personality is gone (along with quality sleep). When other parents talk about their child's diagnosis and how they are starting the next phase of treatment (when they were diagnosed the same day as us) and we are nowhere near that next phase, I don't want to hear it! Isn't that awful? I don't know what else to attribute it to, but I don't like being jealous of other parents who will only be here for 6 months or less. I guess this situation will be a learning experience in more ways than one.

Happiness is being able to wait a day between doing laundry because there haven't been any diaper blowouts.

Happiness is also getting a full night's, uninterrupted sleep.

Back when I was young (decades ago), I used to watch Mr. Rogers all the time. Even when the other kids on the bus made fun of Mr. Rogers, I was still watching. Part of the show that stuck with me was the excitement at getting the mail each day. So, every day, I'm missing our mailbox at home. It has snow on it right now, I think. We've been mailing postcards and will try to continue mailing fun stuff to friends. It's a great distraction for the children.

the Wienermobile

Well, I figured out something fun to do!

It was so frustrating because we can't put pictures on here of the baby, and I can't do outright updates on h0w the baby is doing.

But, I can update on what Josh, Lilly, and Maggie are doing!

So, to keep their friends updated as well, I'm putting some pictures on today of what they've been up to.

Monday, they started their school here. Each has a class that has students from 4 grades, and even with that wide of a span between students, each class only has around 5 or 6 students.

Josh likes to invent and create. He loves to make potions and mixtures. So, for Christmas we got him a crystal-making kit. Here is his evil chemist look.

The Oscar Meyer Wienermobile came by the House yesterday.

Lilly with her artwork

Maggie and her "ugly" butterfly. I thought it looked great.

Lilly was busy in the sibling room last week. The sibling group is a fun, supervised room for children for the times that their sibling is having an appointment or procedure.

\

Josh's amber crystals are growing, but it's hard for me to take decent pictures of them with our camera. They look cool in person though!

Two days ago, we saw a pet therapy dog, Eddie. He's a retired greyhound dog. Very cool to see different breeds.

furry

Did you know that Seattle is full of squirrels? There are squirrels everywhere! Too bad I don't cook squirrel stew...

aches

Last night, Andy had the children at the room (of the local house) while I was with the baby in the hospital. The Sleep Number company donated beds to some or all of the rooms in the local house. Andy called me this morning and said his back hurt. "55 is NOT my sleep number." smirk, smirk

After being in the ER most of the wee hours of the morning of New Year's Day, the baby and I both slept a few hours until around 10AM. I woke up so sore and couldn't figure out why, except maybe the stress of being up all night. Then I remembered that the previous day, while we were waiting for Andy and the children to get here on New Year's Eve, Josh, Lilly, and I played several intense rounds of air hockey in the arcade room. I used both hands at different times to see if that would improve my game (didn't work). So, my shoulders were sore until last night!

Everyone was here last night, making for a tight room. But, it was so good to have our whole family together again, if only for a few hours.

Josh and Kelly
Lilly and Kelly

Daniel and his DSi

The pictures I got of Andy and Maggie had the baby in them, so I can't post them for a few months...

Just one night of sleep!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Last night, at the House, we had a catered dinner (love those volunteers) and a karaoke night with a kids' DJ.

Lilly and Maggie did "Should Said No," by Taylor Swift.

Don't they look thrilled, they looked like this the whole time. :) But, they did it!

Later on, the girls and Josh conned me into singing "Teardrops on my Guitar" with the girls.

The DJ "made" Josh go up and do "Boom Boom Pow," by the Black Eyed Peas with her.

He had the thrilled look too, eh?

Here's Josh thrilled again...

Maggie and Lilly getting ready to play a New Year's Eve game of Sequence.

Each year, we go outside and bang pots and pans REALLY loud for all our neighbors to hear. Daniel also plays the trombone super loud. This year, we made do with pans that weren't ours and so couldn't be dented. But, they did a half-hearted attempt at excitement.

Ok, so here I am at the hospital again.

The baby couldn't keep a decent body temperature last night. We are trained to watch for fevers and bring the baby in if a fever showed up. Last night it was the opposite. The baby had such a low temp, it was at 94.9. Thinking there was something wrong with the thermometer, we borrowed another family's, and it was just as low.

So, since the baby's skin looked gray to me, and because there was some lethargic behavior earlier in the evening, the baby and I visited the ER around 1:30 AM.

The baby's immunity is almost at a zero level, so they admitted the baby and we'll be here again for a couple days to make sure nothing is growing in the blood (bacteria). In the meantime, we've got IV antibiotics going again. I don't recall staying up till 4AM before.

I got one full night's sleep before last night. The night of the 30th...sigh.

The hospital has faster Wi-Fi than the House has (which has a form of dial-up). So, when we're at the hospital, I can upload pics and download iTunes. So, I'm off to see if I can reconstruct my lost iTunes files.