Stupid Cupid

Last summer at this time, I was worrying about:

*driving 5 children to so many different camps
*comparing membership to the Country Club, YMCA, and other places to figure out where it would be best to swim for the summer
*what the older kids would be doing while I took the youngest to various appointments
*summer menus and how to get the children to eat healthy without spending more than a fortune


This summer, I worry about:

*figuring out the best time to give a certain medication
*making sure all the medications are given at the right time each day
*no fevers
*when I can see the other half of my family again

What a difference a year makes. sigh
**Stupid Cupid is the song that was playing on my Shuffle today that made me remember the girls' cheer camp last year, and how much I was trying to carpool with friends for various camps.

sniffin' pits

Sunday, we went to discover yet another park in the neighborhood.
Josh and Lilly were having fun in the upside-down plungers that spin around.

He got her with the foam rocket.

Maggie was laying like a mummy on the hammock.

They all liked the hammock and said we should get one.

Later that night, the girls made friends with a newer girl at the House. All the girls did zhu zhu pets on the counters, then put about 6 tables together for another zhu zhu track.

Lilly helped the girls make a tower for the zhu zhus to ride on.

Last night, the kids had some fun in the yard.

They climbed trees, played in stinging nettle, and just hung out.

37 baby food containers looks like this. They'll probably be empty by the end of the week.

Ok, now my white trash moment. I'd been using the Lady Speed Stick deoderant for a long time, but thought that it would be healthier to try out the Tom's of Maine. So, for the last two weeks, I used the apricot Tom's.

The FIRST day, I smelled.

Several days, scattered about, I smelled.

So tonight, after feeling self-conscious when I took a picture with the other Sarah, I ran back to the room and reunited with my Lady Speed Stick.

An update

This was a busy week.
Monday, we had labs and I was so excited that because the numbers weren't quite high enough to start the next phase of treatment, they were high enough to go home for a day.
So, we went home that afternoon and were able to have our home study done Tuesday morning.
I'm so grateful for a caseworker who understood and was willing to work around our travel availability.
Oh, and the home study went great!

Wednesday morning, the children came back with me.
Lab numbers should have continued to climb, enough to start this next treatment, but alas, that was not the case.
The numbers actually went down, and too far to be able to visit home again.
So, we're (kids and me) here, and getting into somewhat of a routine for summer.
We do yoga in the morning, get our chore done early, and are somewhat more relaxed than normal. We'll see how long it lasts. :)

Wednesday, Andy got a call from Kelly. Kelly was at camp for the week. She sprained her ankle.
She broke her pinky just a month ago!
Daniel went on a hike and campout on Thursday.
Today, when the news reported 2 Boy Scouts missing from a hike in the mountains, I was relieved to find that the area the news talked about was NOT on Daniel's itinerary. Whew!!

Today is Andy's birthday. We'll be celebrating next weekend.
Daniel and Kelly are both back home from their camps.
I'm chowing (literally stuffing my face) on Oreos.

So, there's the update.

Oh, and my weekend alone with the baby was very relaxing.
I fed the baby regularly, of course.
But, I ate when I felt like it, slept when I felt like it, read books, and watched movies each night.

Lilly painted this gorgeous picture in the sibling room at the hospital on Friday.
The paint wasn't dry yet, but I had to take a picture to show the beautiful blue-green.

Today there was SUNSHINE again!!!!

We went to the park at 70th and 45th, I think.

I think it's the Ridge View Park, but I'm not positive.

Josh was shooting the foam rocket and trying to hit a very tall tree.

It came real close each time.

Maggie and Lilly both did the bars, but here's Maggie.

Lilly and Josh swinging.

We are definitely ready for summer camp to start on Monday.

The children are excited.

They'll be going on field trips EVERY DAY, starting with the Space Needle!

Have a great summer!

Maggie

Someday I might take classes and get a much better camera. But, in the meantime, I can tweak all I want.
And yes, I know her eyes might look crossed, but they aren't.
I was just randomly taking pictures, enjoying how fast the camera captures the image, now that Kelly did "something to the settings...I don't know what, Mom."

catching up

A week or two ago, we went to the Pacific Science Center.

Most of the following pictures are from the Butterfly Room.

A butterfly landed on our friend.
It stayed there for quite some time.

Creepy butterflies (in my opinion) feasting on fruit.

They truly look like they have eyes all over, don't they.

The fern tree. Isn't that curly trunk funky?!

The girls had fun playing chess in full size.

After doing some exhibits, we went to the awesome Michael Jackson laser show.

It was cool, everyone loved it, even the baby. :)

doing time

"What're you in for?"
This sounds like it could be a line in a movie set in a prison or jail cell.
In reality, it goes through my mind every time I see a new face at this House.
Everyone here is here for at least 4 days, many for much longer.
We expect to be here until February.

Without asking that specific question, I receive many replies.
Some families are here for a couple days of testing to find out exactly what is going on with their child's body.
Some are here for transplants. Their stay is usually a few months.
Some are here for cancer.
Some are here for the psychological damage that bullying has done.
Some are here for their "yearly maintenance." (annual testing and treatments)
Some are here for surgeries to fix imperfections.

To many (or most), it does feel like a prison of sorts.
There is no other place for us to be, but we didn't do anything to HAVE to be here.
It just happens.

Although, in many cases, instead of fervently wishing for an early parole (which we do, at times), we plan/hope to stay for the full course of treatment.
Often, it's the ones who get an "early parole" who don't have such a good prognosis, and home is where they will be most comfortable.

It is so much like a different kind of family, those who live here.
Everyone REJOICES when a family who has been here a long time gets to go home.
We understand that there is life after treatments.
That having more than one room for a family to live in should not be taken for granted.
That being able to eat dinner on matching dishes and normal silverware is a luxury.
That being together as a family is heavenly.

So, for now, even though it seems like a VERY long time for our family to live separately, we are content to be here until our as-yet-undetermined release date sometime early next year.

all alone...

Ok, I am alone in Seattle with the baby. Andy took the other children home for a couple days, and the baby and I need to be closer to treatment if needed.

It is weird, to say the least.

To follow my last couple, almost childless days, I'm going to copy and paste from my facebook...


going to go buy groceries for 1 1/2 people. well, he's not 1/2 person, but mainly eats only baby food in jars.

watching a movie tonight..."When in Rome"

Wow. I feel so lazy. Am I going to wake up and get going this late every day this summer?!

Didn't know I was burnt out. It was so relaxing to be able to just get in the car and go...to the library and the music store. Got some DVDs (yoga), books, and bought some piano music. Now I just need to get over to the church or the playroom at the hospital to play the piano. This is better than Calgon.


Now, I'm going to watch "Leap Year." It's kind of nice to watch movies and not hear griping about how someone wants to watch Disney or Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network instead.

p.s. A family here lost their battle this week. Their baby girl did not receive a new liver in time and passed away two days ago. Be grateful for health, children, and smaller trials.

A special visit

The other day, the kids were snacking on leftover pretzels from Maggie's party.

Josh made this angel and the girls were all excited.

So, he glued it together and suggested we put it on the blog.

Do you see my new blanket underneath?!

I love the blue of it.

And, it's all one color so the room doesn't look as cluttered.

Andy, Daniel, and Kelly came over by train on Monday.

I "got" to pick them up at the Seattle station, so we stopped by the kids' school before heading back to the House.

They were at recess, so my biggest kid (Andy) played with the regular-size kids.

Everyone kept bugging Daniel about getting a haircut.
I told him it's nobody's business, and if people kept bugging him about it, he could let it grow as long as he wanted.
I must be getting feisty.
Anyway, he was willing to get it cut today.

Same thing for Josh.

But, not everyone was bugging him about his.

It needed cutting though.

Today was the last day of school for Josh, Lilly, and Maggie.

So, "right before field day, and I mean right before, Mom," I scraped my knees!

Poor guy, he's in a little pain still.
Again, he suggested I take a picture for the blog.

Sorry for the gore, blame Josh.

Andy wearing a cheesy smile and a candy necklace.

Didn't I say he's my biggest kid?

We picked up the station wagon today.

I never remember to take pictures during the daytime.

So, here it is at night, in the parking garage.

It looks like a fishbowl.

The children all like it better than the minivan (although the van's seats are more comfortable), and DEFINITELY better than the green Geo.

The car has seating for up to 8, like our Suburban, but not the same cargo space.

I'm just hoping it gets better gas mileage.

Maggie's party and playing in the sunshine!!

Saturday, we had Maggie's party.

It was crazy to plan for, because at this house, there could have been 5 children here at the time, or 30 children, or any number in between!

I think we had 8-10 children.

The tables above had the food stuff.

The children decorated their own cupcakes.

The baggies with marshmallows were for them to dip in melted chocolate, then put sprinkles on.

Maggie wanted an artsy party, so we had a couple crafts too.

There were terra cotta pots with shells to glue on them (total flop).

There was also painting and making/gluing popsicle stick creations.

Not the most exciting party, but the children had fun together.

My yellow tissue flower. Not as good as Martha Stewart's, but I loved the color.

Maggie painting

Josh dipping marshmallows and putting toppings on

The birthday banner, more tissue flowers, and the beautiful artwork the girls made.

Maggie's friend, Nick, gave her a Lego set. She loves to do Legos when she goes to visit his house.

Here is the set all put together. :) She had fun with it.

Today, we had a clinic appointment early, so we came back to the House and I slept another 2 hours.

Cabin fever set in, so after dinner, we made the short walk to one of the other houses. There are 3 houses, but one is only for transplant patients. They have to be completely isolated from the public for several months, often.
So anyway, the house we went to has a much better backyard.

The children always want to play there when we walk behind it, on the trail to the hospital each day (on our way to the hospital pool).

See the blue in the center of this?

I thought it was an egg, and had the children check it out.

Josh pulled it out and said it's a bubble container! :)

Gotta have some innocent mystery in every day, right?

We'll be back to that yard more this summer.

Next time, I'm going to weed and maybe clean some stuff out. Yay! A project!

Ahead this week: last day of school for our younger children, possible visit home, purchase and pick up of our station wagon, possible visit to the cousins', and I get to see Andy tomorrow!!!!!!

Maggie's birthday and the IRS

Maggie turned 9 on Monday.

She was the birthday princess at school.

Some of her presents included her zhu zhu pet and new webkins frog, an awesome chocolate cupcake from Trophy Cakes, and bubbles.

She will be shopping for other fun stuff soon, courtesy of Nana. :)

For birthday cake, Maggie wanted strawberry shortcake, so that's what we had.

Juliann and her son came, and some other children here at the House had LOTS of whipped cream along with my children, plus the angel food cake and strawberries.
Saturday, we'll be having an artsy party here at the Seattle house.

Yesterday, I pushed the stroller (heavy!) up a 90-degree hill in Seattle to go to the 32nd floor of this building.

Small-town me had to document that I traveled that high.
I had forgotten that in a federal building, you have to go through a metal detector.
With all the stuff in the stroller, it took over 3 trays to put everything on.
We still beeped, the baby and me. I remembered why later...heart surgery (not me) makes the patient have metal clips on the sternum.

Pretty detail outside the building.

Josh and his friend were throwing their parachute guys around on windy yesterday. They kept throwing them, and the parachutes kept getting stuck in the tree. They tried and tried to get one out (remember they only cost 20 cents, basically) and couldn't get it, even with a broom handle.

So, a volunteer was arriving here, and he saw the boys' predicament and drove his truck up to the tree. He untangled the toy for the boys.

They then relocated their playing to the other end of the drive.

Josh made a diorama of Mt. Rainier. He researched the mountain, and made this cool 3-d visual.

Josh spent his money last week, on the big fake diamond on the left. It's pretty cool. He thought the light reflecting into rainbows was neat.

Ok, I've got to go check out official stuff. Just won an auction for a station wagon. Andy gets to drive it. at least it's bigger than the geo.