Girl Scout Cookies...

are the BEST breakfast!

Happy Spring!

Now that spring is officially here, it's raining...

Yesterday, while it was still sunny, we took some pictures because it LOOKED, SMELLED, FELT, and TASTED like spring outside.

It all reminded me of 18 years ago, to when I first got my driver's license and drove around with the windows down and the music blaring.

Lilly is posing in the picture above.
Maggie's lucky assortment of goodies on her nightstand.

Maggie's turn to pose.

Daffodils! Andy said my daffodil garden is not blooming...I'm blaming my evil cat.

Last year, she used the garden (daffodil, not food) for a litter box and also ate the stems as they grew out of the ground...grrr.

Tulips were one of my favorite flowers to teach the children when they were younger...two lips!

The trees near the play area at the house here were even more in bloom the morning of my birthday earlier this month.

Josh got his cell phone!

so much going on

We've been so busy this week.

The other day, I finally got to go to the quilt room. Stacks and stacks of quilts. I couldn't choose between two different ones, so the manager suggested I just keep both. Didn't know I could do that! So, I have two new quilts. Both are almost a full size. Wish my camera or my photography skills were better...

If you click on the picture below, you can see the great fabric with babies on it.
Yesterday was a heavy day.
It started out great, since when we (baby and me) arrived at the clinic, we parked next to a friend's car (from our real hometown). When we got IN the clinic, we were just across the aisle from her! It was so fun to chat with her.
Later on, I was able to chat with another two families who have become like family through the house we're living in.
The heavy part was that I visited with another friend there, and was sad to hear of their family member not having any other chance to eradicate the disease in their body (terminal diagnosis).
That was sad.
Then, when I arrived back at the house, I found another family had just arrived from the center of the state who had been here just a few months ago. Their baby recovered initially from their health issue, but is now struggling. It was good to see them, but not in these circumstances at all.
Things happen in 3's, I've heard and seen.
Later in the afternoon, I met a woman who is undergoing treatment for leukemia. Her circumstances made me reconsider some of my whining. I have a lot to be grateful for right now.
A couple families were able to return home this weekend!

Today was sunny, and I was determined to soak some of that up.
After the children returned from school, we went to the Locks.
This is where boats can be transferred to fresh water from salt water, or vice versa.
I don't like water (especially water that reeks like rotten fish), but it was so cool to see the boats, yachts, and the gardens.

Maggie found a rose on the ground.

After the Locks, we remembered that the van needed washing.

Being ever adventurous, we finally went through the drive-through car wash.

Finally, I did make dinner tonight since there wasn't any made for us (spoiled, aren't I).

We haven't had homemade pizza and bread sticks in a while.
See, I can be domestic!

sunny in seattle

It's sunny today, and I want to get out!! Do you have any great ideas on places to visit with the children??

boys will be boys...sigh

Sunday, we went to Magnuson Park, near the lake.

There was so much to see there, besides a crazy busy Sunday group of people.

playground, rugby (first time we watched that), gravel hills (better than dirt hills), dog park, beach, and a kite hill

Next time we go, I think we need to bring some kites.

Here's Maggie on top of the world.

Her excema on her wrist got pretty bad, but we finally got to the doctor today, and within 2 hours of her taking the antibiotic, it was a LOT less red and inflamed. It should be gone within a week. I tell you what though, I won't be using anything other than a major store pharmacy or the hospital pharmacy.

Lilly, Maggie, Josh

Tonight, the John L. Scott people came to make us dinner again. They are so wonderful.

Dinner was spaghetti w/meatballs, salad, fruit kabobs, dessert, rolls, etc.

The spaghetti sauce was cooked in this HUGE pot shown below. The man told me that it was cooked at home, then brought here, then heated up in batches. I think it's too big, even for Marge's family. :)

Ok, so after dinner, Leslie (a dad at the house) saw Josh's shirt (shown below).

Leslie: Does his shirt say, "Silent but deadly?"

Me: Yes (very embarrassed)

Leslie: Cool, I used to have the same shirt! (His wife [Sarah also] was just as mortified as I was, but she's much funnier about it)

Later on, we were downstairs waiting for laundry when T told a joke to Josh.

T: What did they use on the Oregon trail to light (or power) the outhouses?

J: I don't know.

T: Gas!! Snicker, snicker.

There were some quilts available today at the lobby, so I thought this would be another fun one for the baby that we can make stories about someday.

The baby is doing ok, and gained some weight in the last week! This is good, because the really hard part of this chemo phase is starting.

Lilly's famous :)

Q13 News came to the children's school here, and Lilly was on the news last night.

If you'd like to check it out, go here.

Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth

And no, it wasn't the child who is undergoing miserable chemo who threw a 30-minute tantrum kicking and screaming and having to be carried out of the clinic today.

It was the 8-year old who is at least 80 pounds who I had to carry out to the car because if I dragged her (she wouldn't come of her own accord), her arm would surely pop out of socket. I am so not enjoying daylight savings time yet. Glad I'm not seeing spots anymore.

Texas style: Big food, big hair, big eyes

My mother-in-law, Mudd, took us to dinner when Andy was in town this week. We went to a new restaurant in Everett, Patty's Eggnest & Turkey House.

Never heard of it, thought it sounded kind of podunk or something.

I was WRONG. It was so divine!!

I had the veggie scramble with bacon, and I ate just about the entire plate, which is a lot if you look at the following pictures.

Josh couldn't eat any of the actual waffle in his Belgian Waffle, since he ate so much cream. I was in disbelief. He was smiling...

First picture below is Lilly's pancake bear.

Josh has been needing a haircut for a long time, but hasn't wanted one because he thought his long hair looked good.

As a mom who likes her boys to look more presentable, it was overtime to get it cut.

SOOO, since it was just about time for us to get Josh a cell phone soon anyway, we agreed that if he got a haircut of my choosing (or my approval of style), we could order his cell phone afterwards.

The phone is on its way. :)

Doesn't Lilly just have the prettiest eyes?!

A few randome tidbits...

The baby still loves swimming. I was worried about the legs being not so strong as a result of being wheeled around in the stroller so much. So, remembering how swimming through the summer made a stronger crawler/almost-walker, I started that exercise again.

I am a sucker for clearance deals and a sucker for good gum. I saw some gum on clearance the other day and tried it. LOVE IT (Ice Breakers ice cubes, white), but wonder if it won't be available anymore since it was discontinued in that store? The same thing happened with Hershey Treasure chocolates. Several years ago, I discovered that nothing could beat the taste combination of chocolate and coconut in the toasted coconut flavor...then they discontinued that kind and I haven't seen it since. Oh well, at least Samoa cookies are still sold by Girl Scouts (knock on wood). Did you know the Safeway has a store-brand version of Samoas? I was in heaven when I found that out.

Many of you might recall that when we "got" the baby, our definition of "perfect"changed after seeing so many babies in the NICU. With their physical imperfections, they were still perfect babies, we had just never considered the definition of a perfect baby before.

Tonight, I am so excited for a family who gets to be home after their baby had a scary start. The baby is the picture of perfection and I hope they enjoy being back home :)

Maybe my jealous streak will be over now, who knows. Or maybe it's just aimed at families who are also dealing with leukemia. Although, another family with a leukemia diagnosis got to go home for a little while, and I am excited for them. Maybe there's hope for this pessimistic, cranky lady after all!

My birthday

Today is my birthday.

So many people emailed and facebooked greetings to me :)

Andy called at 12:38AM, so he could be the first to wish me a good one.

My sister's awesome family (remember the one with many, many children?) called just about one by one, leaving voicemail on my cell phone of more birthday greetings. :)

Thank you all.

Andy's not here to pamper me until later this week.

So, I took it upon myself to get a little more oomph from the day, starting in the shower...I took a long, hot shower this morning. Nice.

Then, since I was determined to finally get my hair cut and styled (it's been over 3 months now), I found a good salon that wouldn't be a fortune, but would still be a good cut.

Josh and I went to Ten Pachi for the cut, and it felt so good to have my head massaged. It was a Calgon moment, just about!

Before my hair appointment, we had to wait an hour, so Josh and I went shopping at H & M. Never been in the store before, but loved it! Lots of affordable, cool clothes and accessories. Josh was upset that I made him go in, since there were so many girly things, but he did get to ride the escalator by himself both up and down. I got a few fun accessories, and I know that Kelly will be excited to shop there next time she comes to visit.

Later, we went to the clinic for the baby, and had all the children cranky at once. The crankiness hasn't worn off, so Lilly and Josh got to go to bed at 7 tonight.

Dinner is made for residents in this house 5 times each week, usually. This week, there are only 3 dinners being made. Since I stopped baking, I was not about to start up again on my birthday.

So, we went out to eat at Delfino's.

It was gourmet-type pizza and was so good. The pizza reminded me of Andy's and my honeymoon.

We stayed in Seattle for a day or two before going up to Alaska, and ordered room service pizza. It was so divine, even though it was a gourmet pizza. I don't like gourmet foods typically, but it was so good. We were on the 25th or 26th floor, and I remember being dumbfounded because there were lipstick kiss marks on the outside of the window, with no balcony or anything!

ahoy matey

I love my home...it's old, but my dream home. sigh...

It was so nice to go home for the FIRST TIME IN THREE MONTHS last weekend!

We saw so many of our wonderful, wonderful friends.

And guess what!! We are planning to go home for this weekend too!

The baby's next part of this treatment won't be until Monday, so we have permission to go visit home again. Yay!!!

UNLESS, Josh isn't feeling well right now...we'll wait and see if it's from candy tonight or from illness. If it's illness, we'll have to wait till April to visit again.

It was so good to be back in my own, cozy, real home. I didn't go with the intention of doing anything but relaxing, but ended up cleaning all weekend. It wasn't dirty so much as I just mentally needed to clean a bunch of extra STUFF out. I got rid of about 7-9 big trash bags full of garbage, plus 3 big bags for Goodwill!

Traveling back, I did much better on the freeway, and did not feel the need to pass out with a lot of cars on the road. That was nice.

When we got back, there was a HUGE, hairy-ish spider on the wall above the crib. Since Andy wasn't with us, I had to go search for a man in the dining area to take care of it for me. Ick. I miss Andy so much. Can't wait for the weekend.

When we arrived back at the temporary house, I had some flowers waiting from my awesome mother-in-law, Mudd.

Andy and I celebrated 16 years of marriage on Friday:)

Last night, the people from John L. Scott made dinner for everyone here.

Then, they let the children hammer together some fishing boats.

Today, Josh and Maggie tried to sail theirs in the bathtub while Lilly was at school.

The boats did float, but upside down!

Tonight was a birthday party for any kids in the house to attend, for a 2 or 3 year old princess.

All the girls were given jewels to wear on their faces, and they all got to make and enjoy big goodie bags, hence the nerds package in Maggie's mouth.

I've been watching Q13 News for Lilly. They interviewed her at school today, so we're watching for that. Let me know if you see it!