Number 7 Down....

So I had my 7th chemo treatment this past week.  I went by myself as the kids are still not back in school and I needed my mom to watch them.  My mom and the kids dropped me off and then my mother in law picked me up.  I had a nice nurse who pushed the meds super slow while I watched All My Children.  My reaction was different this weekend and I am learning that there is just no normal in this process.  I felt kind of icky on Friday, decent on Ssaturday and terrible on Sunday.  I thank my brother in law and sister in law Tricia and Marc for taking the kids on Saturday night.  It was very helpful as I could rest and Jay got a chance to go to work to finish some things he wanted to do including shooting a video for his ISIS POWER website. I was really getting nervous Sunday night as I still felt so bad and knew I'd be on my own for Monday as Jay needed to go to work and my dad is having knee surgery today.  Luckily I woke up to Katie at 5:45am feeling better.  I think I can pull through.  Katie starts school this week and James next week and then we will have a new normal. 

Thanks everyone for all your continued support.  I was watching the Emmy's last night and listening to George Clooney say in his speech something to the effect of people always want to help when they first find out about something, but months later, when those still need help, they are not getting it, the world has moved on to something new and we need to figure out ways to keep things in the news, keep attention on the event.  I was thinking how this related to me and all the outpouring of support I had when first diagnosed and first surgery.  While I am thankful for all that help and support, I am most thankful for those that are still sticking by me, supporting me and helping me take care of myself and my family.  I am humbled and suprised by the little notes and care packages I get in the mail as well as those still making dinner and finding ways to let me know they are still thinking of me and supporting me through this year long journey. 

Katie's First Day of Passport to Preschool

Katie had her first day of school at Magical Minds Studio Passport to Preschool Program.  She had a great first day!  She goes on Wednesdays from 9am to 11:30am.  This is in addition to her school at Concordia on Tuesdays and Thursdays all day.  What will I do with all this free time?!?!  If only I wasn't sick this year I'd have tons of time to do lots of things.  Now my time is eaten up by chemo and doctor appointments as well as resting because I am just so tired.  But, it is only temporary and next year will be better. 

Yes, you have seen an exchange almost exactly the same as this one before.  I think that the first one was James falling asleep into a bowl of noodles.  This time it is mashed potatoes. 

James has been the no-nap king for years.  He will run and play hard up until the very last ounce of energy is consumed.  Here is the aftermath...

Now, you have seen this exchange before also.  Katie sees a moment of weakness on James' part and moves in to gobble up his dinner. 

Enjoy!

Jay

One more tonight...

Okay I lied about my last post for the night... I am really getting tired and I still have some work to do. 

I just got rejected for a research study.  I am not a big fan of participating in these because I am generally busy but this one was about alcoholic beverages.  I was turned down because I don't drink enough lite beer each week. 

Oh well, as I pour another glass of Pinot Noir...

Jay

Rockets!!!!

One more for tonight... after our Emergency Room antics this morning, I am a little bleary to say the least. 

I bought James a model rocket kit for his birthday.  What more could a 5 year old boy want but all of the pieces to send a projectile in to a low-Earth orbit.  We actually dug the old rockets that I built when I was a boy out of my parents' attic last week to supplement James' new fascination.  He is very excited.  (okay, so am I.)

We built James' first rocket tonight.  He was very patient and thorough about the process and is very proud of the outcome.  We expect to launch this one over the weekend. 

Enjoy!

Jay

Happy Birthday Buddy...

Well... we officially have a 5 year old son, one who is going off to Kindergarten in a few weeks.  Saturday the 21st was his birthday officially but it seems he has had a lot of parties leading up to this.  I think that we are looking for every excuse to celebrate. 

Here are some highlights from some of the pictures that I took of James, the early years.

James had a very busy weekend, spending most of it with cousins Caleb and Eli in Rantoul.  They played, rode their bikes and got into the general mischief that little boys do. 

However, most of our birthday-weekend excitement with James started about 2:15 AM this morning.  What fun-filled weekend wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Emergency Room.  James has what they call activity-induced asthma.  That means that he wheezes when he runs around a lot.  On top of that, he has the same seasonal allergies that I enjoy plus pet dander sets him off.  A weekend running around outside near corn fields, chasing cats and being mauled by my brother's dingo left him a little worse for wear.  (yes, my brother has a dog bred with an Australian dingo.)  A good inhaler of albuterol before bed really didn't do much.  He woke up with breathing problems about 2:00 this morning.  After another unsuccessful inhaler, it was off to visit our friend Dr. DiPiazza in the Oak Park Hospital Emergency Room.  I won't say that we are on a first name basis exactly, but he has stamped our frequent visitor card with James more than once.  The good news is that the hospital is literally across the street so the commute is easy. 

We walked across Madison Street and back to the house at 6:30, just in time for me to shower and head off to work. 

Happy Birthday James!!!!!!

Katie!!!!!

Hello All,

It has been a busy week so we're doing what we can to keep the blog up to date. 

Kari has a series of pictures that she wants taken of the kids around their birthdays every year.  I stress the around part.  Even though her birthday is the 6th of July, the end of August is close enough for Katie in my book. 

Katie's annual picture involves Kari's grandmother's pearl necklace.  I shot these over the weekend.  They are a few of my favorites.  I still need to do some clean up on these but here is a sneak peek. 

Enjoy!

Jay

By the way, that last one is a recreation of a shot that I took of James when he was just about 3 years old.  Katie took a little prodding to get the shot.  It was effortless for James.