Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Drunken Midgets.... Seriously!

Finally, finally, FINALLY I got to see Erin for a little bit.  LeeAnn, a friend of a friend of mine, delivered another meal for me to take to the family.  I cannot believe how many meals LeeAnn has brought.  She didn't even know Erin the first time she signed up!  Amazing.  I love seeing the good in people, perfect strangers in fact!  So, with food in tow, my boys and I bombarded Erin's home unannounced.  I am so glad we did as I was able to squeeze in a quick visit with my buddy.  Erin is set to begin radiation this Thursday, she had a great weekend in Seattle with family, and has been feeling decent.  I am hoping radiation and Erin get along well or at least better than the loathsome chemo.  Fingers crossed!

Erin shared with me that she and Claire were headed to their Live Strong workout class after I left.  I'm not sure what all that entails, but I am confident it involved burning more calories than I had planned for my evening.  While we were discussing it, the excitement pouring from our boys at finally being reunited was intoxicating.  Those boys were ecstatic!  I think I might have been inhaling too much testosterone, or was light headed from the buzz of the young men, but I clearly overestimated my stamina!  After a full Monday of teaching rowdy first graders, I offered to take all of the monkeys to my house while Erin and Claire went to their class.  Clearly I was not thinking straight at all!!!  Erin asked me several times if I was sure, although the time she asked when the stuffed bear was flying through her living room at mach 10 was not exactly sincere.  But, bursting with overconfidence, I whisked the four crazies away and took them to my house.  Those boys played and played and played.  We all laughed like hyenas when they figured out a way to make the Lego Jack Sparrow on the Wii glitch so that it looked like he was dancing.  If that weren't enough, Gavin whipped out his phone and added a theme song - Gangnam Style, of course.  Even though I despise that song as a frequent offender of getting stuck in my head, I must admit, it was hilarious.  I thought all four boys would surely suffocate from lack of oxygen, or perhaps would be begging for dry pants, the laughter was THAT uncontrollable.

Jeez, I couldn't get a focused picture of these whirling dervishes.
Then, some neighbor girls showed up to play, too.  I'm not sure what the young ladies expected with my wild brood, but they fit in just fine and seemed to rival the boys in their level of giddiness and giggles.  Leaving my living room to the whims of the young, I poured a nice glass of wine, grabbed my kindle and headed for the front porch.  My hubby arrived shortly after my exodus and asked what I was doing.  I raised my glass and said, "I'm enjoying a nice evening on the porch while our home is full of drunken midgets."  Truly, that is exactly what it felt like.  Of course, my six-year-old heard my comment and has repeated it numerous times since then.  I can't wait for the phone call from his kindergarten teacher later. How do you gracefully admit to calling your children "drunken midgets?"  And if that weren't enough, it wasn't just my children!  oops!!!  Sorry to the moms of the other drunken midgets.... I mean sweet, happy, little children! 

And finally, thank you to friends and family who participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Spokane this past Sunday.  I was proud to walk with my dear friend, Robin, wearing our BooBees shirts in support of these two amazing ladies.  I heard there were more BooBees shirts out there.  Thanks for honoring our friends as they continue on this journey.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Whoop Whoop!!! (part deux)

CONGRATULATIONS CLAIRE!!!!!!  Claire has reached a huge milestone in her journey!  This last Monday was her FINAL chemotherapy treatment!!  Awesome!!!!!  I am so, so happy for her!  This truly is a huge hurdle that is happily left in her past.  Hopefully, the next week or so treats her kindly, as this little poison concoction has not been a walk in the park at all.  So glad both gals are through this part of their treatment.  Please continue to keep them both in your thoughts and prayers as they learn where the cancer path will take them and they focus on healing.

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure will be held in Spokane this Sunday.  I will be walking with a very dear friend of mine in honor of Erin and Claire.  I apologize for not being on top of getting a team together for our gals - a HUGE friend FAILURE!!!  But, if you are participating and would like a BooBees shirt, please e-mail me - kimleighty@comcast.net  I have a few left over, not a lot of choices in sizes, but a few.  So, so sorry Erin and Claire for not honoring you with a team, but my heart and the hearts of many will be dedicated to you both this Sunday.

****Erin asked me to edit this post.  I told her she can't always get what she wants, but she didn't exactly play fair, something about this blog being for her and Claire.  What is up with that?  SO, as a compromise, here ya go.   I am sorry I didn't get a team going for the race, but I get that I am not a "friend failure."   I'm a "HUGE" friend failure.  HA!  You don't know how to get into the blog, Little Missy, I can post what I want.  Be careful.... I know stuff. 

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Tax Day Celebrations

The last few weeks have been fairly productive for our friends.  I apologize for my severe blog negligence, but somehow I managed to get quite ill with influenza, so much for that flu shot I endured for nothing!!  So, with a renewed energy, I am ready to fulfill my blog obligations.

I thought I would start with Claire this time.  She had chemo about a week ago or so..... maybe two.  Due to my lovely germs, I haven't been able to see the gals, so my poor little mind is a little cloudy.  Erin shared with me that Claire's final chemo treatment will be on April 15th.  That seems like a strange way to celebrate tax day, but it will be a reason to celebrate nonetheless.  I know the side effects of this chemo concoction are icky, so thank goodness this is the last one.

Recently, my sweet neighbors, Joe and Claudette, gifted some tickets to West Side Story to my hubbs and me.  It was the traveling Broadway-esque production.  Jim and I were beyond excited to go.  Unfortunately, I really was very sick, and couldn't make it.  Thankfully, Claire and Terry were available at a moment's notice and our tickets didn't go to waste.  I was so, so excited for them both as they would really enjoy it and would appreciate a night out. Without question, the tickets were meant to go to them.  Thank you Joe and Claudette, I heard the show was incredible!  Claire and Terry are set to leave tomorrow for a visit in Arizona.  I'm sure they can't wait to hug all of their dear Ajo friends.  Enjoy the sunshine!!!!

Erin had her last chemo and struggled some afterwards.  She certainly scared me when she started entertaining a high fever and was staring a hospital stay in the face.  Luckily, the meds helped contain the fever and keep her at home.  Whew.  Now, she is driving us crazy with her yard sale finds that end up on our porch, a wonderful touch of normalcy for my dear friend.  She and the boys also left to visit family in Reno for Spring Break.  I am so happy that she had the strength to make the drive and spend time with her loved ones in Nevada.  Erin said she enjoyed a bald "Pretty Woman" bath in her hotel room's extravagant spa tub.  Funny, that was some very good mental imagery.  I am so glad she is getting spoiled and enjoying her time away.

Erin is going to celebrate tax day in an odd way, too.  She will begin radiation that day.  She will have 33 treatments, going for a short time everyday.  UGH.  The side effects don't sound awesome - fatigue, chance of nicking the lungs, possibility of weakened ribs, and risk of cardiovascular heart disease.  JEEZ, her heart has had enough, let's hope that risk does not come to fruition.  Erin will be getting her tattoos next week to mark the points of radiation.  Strange first tattoo, but I'm sure we will be getting some bumblebees when this nightmare is over!!!  Maybe bumblebees right over those radiation tattoos?  Maybe.

Please continue to keep these wonderful women in your thoughts and prayers.  I know they have endured so much already, but this journey is definitely not over.  I am also working on extending the dates on the meal calendar.  As Erin faces radiation and Claire finishes chemo, I'm sure they would benefit from meals for the munchkins and less responsibility on them.  The boys like typical kid fare - pizza, macaroni, chicken nuggets, etc.  Hopefully, Erin will be up to eating after radiation, but time will tell how she endures it.  Thanks!