I could not get sleepy last night - I watched tv and headed up to bed around 1AM. Ellie was up early and went downstairs to watch cartoons and eat breakfast. I got up at regular time but Nick was still sleeping. I got Ellie ready for school, backpack packed, snack and shoes and then got her bundled for the bus stop wait. Nick woke up around 8AM and had breakfast - he didn't want to get dressed for the day. I watched Ellie and the neighbors try to navigate in the snow - the sidewalk plow still hasn't gone through (I will not get on my soapbox tonight but Skokie sucks) so the pile of snow at the bus stop corner is about 5' tall - the kids had to stand in the street to wait for the bus.
Nick and I watched some of his favorite morning cartoons before getting dressed and arguing about why we couldn't bring his 3' tall wooden firehouse to Grams house. Nick and I headed over to Mom's house and he tried quite quickly to get me to go to sleep (apparently he has more fun with me asleep at Mom's house). Nick asked to play with the dollhouse this morning. Nick found the Chinese candy supply from yesterday and stuffed his mouth with rice candy.
We re-heated some of the food from yesterday for lunch today - still delish. We noticed that it was snowing outside and the flakes were huge. We eventually had to come home to pick up Ellie - the snow was still falling at a pretty good rate and the flakes were still the size of cotton balls. We got to the bus stop and I was talking to Nick and he wasn't answering - I turned around to find that he had fallen asleep. Ellie climbed in the car and we got home - I carried Nick in but in the process of un-dressing him he woke up. Ellie did her homework and Nick just kind of laid around. Rob got home from work and the snow was still falling. I gave Rob and Nick a list of things they could do to help out while Ellie and I were at pottery (Nick is usually fine but the past few weeks he has run to the window crying when we leave). Rob took Nick downstairs to empty the dryer while Ellie and I bundled up and left early to do grocery shopping before going to pottery.
Ellie was a great helper at the store - the carts had just come in from outside and were ice cold so she pushed the cart. She told me I could just tell her what we needed and she would get it and put it in the cart for me. We got the essentials and got out of there - we unfortunately picked the slow lane and were on the brisk of being late for pottery. Poor Ellie got about 4 steps out the door of the store and fell right on her bottom - just slipped on the slick snow. We loaded the car and went to pottery. I helped Ellie out tonight because the clay felt a bit too cold in my hands. I rolled the clay out for Ellie and she made two plates and started another project - not sure what she is turning it into yet.
We got home and unloaded groceries and Rob and Nick had the table set and Nick was putting applesauce on all our plates - very proud of himself. We had dinner and then some Valentine cookie for dessert and then headed up to bed. Nick took forever to fall asleep tonight - the power nap really set us back. I came down and turned the hot pad on and have been listening to 19 Kids and Counting while blogging.
Body aches were not so bad today - the claritin has started working again. My hands and feet really don't like the cold and are still quite tingly. The canker sores came overnight with the annoying one in the back of my throat. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Super bowl Sunday
I had such a laugh watching SNL last night with Dana Carvey hosting - it brought back memories of how SNL used to be funny. I heard Nick scream out Mommy during SNL but I heard Rob walk into his room to see what was happening - a nightmare. I watched the 2 Chicago shows after SNL and then went up to bed. The kids and Rob were up at normal time but I stayed in bed and slept a bit longer.
What do you know, we woke up to snow, again. It at least covered all the dirty snow up but it just kept on snowing. Rob had to shovel to find the newspaper. We read the paper and had our coffee - the kids were still working on their Valentines. I read in the paper about flat roofs and snow and asked Rob to shovel off our roof over the back room. I told the kids the snow fairy was here and they watched as Rob shoveled the snow off the roof and it fell in the yard - Nick believed it, Ellie not so much.
I can't really tell you we did anything else with our morning or early afternoon. I did some laundry, some dishes and we just kinda hung out. We went to Mom and Dad's for family Sunday - we were celebrating Chinese New year -
SERIOUSLY MAD - I just finished my rather long blog entry and pressed publish and it gave me an error message and only auto saved the first couple paragraphs. I don't know that I have the energy to re-cap the whole thing again...
Mom helped me change out a still, unhappy, Scarlett - at least there is only about another month of un-happiness. We had a wonderful dinner with no shortage of food - chicken fried rice, spring rolls, crab rangoon, stir fry veggies, hibachi chicken, beef and broccoli, sesame noodles, fish and fruit - I am sure I am forgetting something but everything was delish and tasty.
The kids kept us entertained during dinner and after. After dessert we did a quick clean up and came home to watch the super bowl. Rob was much more interested in the game than any of us and he kept telling the kids to watch. I took advantage of the kids being occupied and ran up to shower - I smelled like Chinese cooking and I couldn't stand my smell anymore. I came down and halftime was about to happen - this is what the kids and I were looking forward to. I have said before that Nick has learned all his dance moves from his Dad but I think he has partially learned some end zone football dancing. He was cracking us up dancing to the Black Eyed Peas - knee moving, hip rolling and arm waving - too funny we totally need to video tape him.
We got the kiddos ready for bed and tucked in and then Rob and I watched the rest of the game - laughing at some of the commercials. Rob went up after the steelers lost (that is who he was rooting for). I have listened to the tv as I blog and now re-blog -- trust me this is a much shorter version. I realized I was pretty achy today and then realized that I had neglected to take my claritin the last two nights. My feet are still terribly annoying and it didn't help that the kids kept accidentally stepping on them today. I thought my hands were doing pretty good until I stepped outside to go to Mom and Dad's - tinglies galore. My teeth are still bothering me and I think Jo gained some appreciation to the feeling today when she sampled a crab rangoon right from the 400 degree oven and exclaimed she didn't know her teeth could burn. Not looking forward to the absolutely cold temperatures this coming week. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
What do you know, we woke up to snow, again. It at least covered all the dirty snow up but it just kept on snowing. Rob had to shovel to find the newspaper. We read the paper and had our coffee - the kids were still working on their Valentines. I read in the paper about flat roofs and snow and asked Rob to shovel off our roof over the back room. I told the kids the snow fairy was here and they watched as Rob shoveled the snow off the roof and it fell in the yard - Nick believed it, Ellie not so much.
I can't really tell you we did anything else with our morning or early afternoon. I did some laundry, some dishes and we just kinda hung out. We went to Mom and Dad's for family Sunday - we were celebrating Chinese New year -
SERIOUSLY MAD - I just finished my rather long blog entry and pressed publish and it gave me an error message and only auto saved the first couple paragraphs. I don't know that I have the energy to re-cap the whole thing again...
Mom helped me change out a still, unhappy, Scarlett - at least there is only about another month of un-happiness. We had a wonderful dinner with no shortage of food - chicken fried rice, spring rolls, crab rangoon, stir fry veggies, hibachi chicken, beef and broccoli, sesame noodles, fish and fruit - I am sure I am forgetting something but everything was delish and tasty.
The kids kept us entertained during dinner and after. After dessert we did a quick clean up and came home to watch the super bowl. Rob was much more interested in the game than any of us and he kept telling the kids to watch. I took advantage of the kids being occupied and ran up to shower - I smelled like Chinese cooking and I couldn't stand my smell anymore. I came down and halftime was about to happen - this is what the kids and I were looking forward to. I have said before that Nick has learned all his dance moves from his Dad but I think he has partially learned some end zone football dancing. He was cracking us up dancing to the Black Eyed Peas - knee moving, hip rolling and arm waving - too funny we totally need to video tape him.
We got the kiddos ready for bed and tucked in and then Rob and I watched the rest of the game - laughing at some of the commercials. Rob went up after the steelers lost (that is who he was rooting for). I have listened to the tv as I blog and now re-blog -- trust me this is a much shorter version. I realized I was pretty achy today and then realized that I had neglected to take my claritin the last two nights. My feet are still terribly annoying and it didn't help that the kids kept accidentally stepping on them today. I thought my hands were doing pretty good until I stepped outside to go to Mom and Dad's - tinglies galore. My teeth are still bothering me and I think Jo gained some appreciation to the feeling today when she sampled a crab rangoon right from the 400 degree oven and exclaimed she didn't know her teeth could burn. Not looking forward to the absolutely cold temperatures this coming week. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Social Saturday
Chemo brain can't recall last night - what I watched or when I went up to bed. I got up with the kiddos this morning and let Rob sleep in a bit. We had breakfast and the kids destructed one room at a time - paying equal attention to all areas. After watching the Valentine cartoons last night they had their minds set on making some Valentine's this morning. Not too much else to tell about the morning - Ellie tried to beat Grams scores on hidden object games and we just kind of hung around.
It was the church winter carnival today - Rob was volunteering for the afternoon shift and left about an hour before we headed out. The kids had a great time playing carnival games and jumping in the jumper. It is fun to see how they grow each year and how they have different approaches and tactics to games. Nick was pretty good at basketball - both hands over the head and throwing. Ellie though she was on the back 40 with her put-put skills - watch out for flying objects. They both liked tic-tac-toe throw and duck matching.
We had lunch and looked through the raffle items - we finally have an understanding of what a raffle is - a chance - not a guarantee. Rob had got them "special" tickets so they got to have cotton candy and they both got their faces painted - Ellie a butterfly and Nick a snowman. It was great to visit with so many friends without the rush of having to be somewhere. We waited until the raffle prizes were called and we bundled up and went home - Nick was pretty funny, he rubbed Ellie's hand and told her it was ok we didn't win this time, maybe next time.
I have to get on my soapbox for a moment - why are all these cities getting a pat on the back for their plowing efforts because I think the streets pretty much still suck. I am amazed that major streets like Golf, Waukegan and Oakton are really effectively 1.5 lanes still - 4 days after the snow. Stepping down from my soapbox - Niles, it seems, does deserve the pat on the back - their streets are dry and down to pavement. Ellie was even commenting - I think she might have picked up on my soapbox.
We came home and the kids played with their carnival loot before heading down to create some more Valentines. Rob got home a bit after we did and we enjoyed the sunshine in the back room. I was starving and made some cinnamon toast - that always tastes good. I closed my eyes for about a half hour before waking up and trying to decide what everyone felt like for dinner. We decided Mexican with a drive thru stop for a burger for Nick. We tried Taco Burrito King - not the same as El Famous - I will go the extra mile to El Famous next time. They used squirty cheese for their nachos - gross! We were initially excited because their coming soon location will be right down the street on Howard but I am not so excited anymore. In all fairness, Rob enjoyed his burrito and Ellie didn't mind the squirty cheese but my enchiladas weren't great but their guacamole was good.
On a similar wave of excitement - while driving home on Touhy we noticed that Tuesday Morning will be opening in Village Crossing. So exciting because our local one closed and became stinky Salvation Army and the closest one to us is in Northbrook - fun, fun. We had dinner and kids watched a couple more Valentine cartoons before we headed up to bed. Rob has already gone up to bed - I guess the kids tired him out today.
My fingers began to peel today. I am not sure if it is just dry skin or hand/foot syndrome peeling but I am thinking the later. My feet are incredibly sensitive and annoying - it hurts to just put my socks on. I realized today how cold our tile in our bathroom is when I stepped on the tile to brush my teeth - I usually place the bathmat on the tile and didn't today - instant regret. my teeth have begun to have that dulling pain again. On the positive side the only waves of nausea I had today were a direct effect of burnt cotton candy sugar. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
It was the church winter carnival today - Rob was volunteering for the afternoon shift and left about an hour before we headed out. The kids had a great time playing carnival games and jumping in the jumper. It is fun to see how they grow each year and how they have different approaches and tactics to games. Nick was pretty good at basketball - both hands over the head and throwing. Ellie though she was on the back 40 with her put-put skills - watch out for flying objects. They both liked tic-tac-toe throw and duck matching.
We had lunch and looked through the raffle items - we finally have an understanding of what a raffle is - a chance - not a guarantee. Rob had got them "special" tickets so they got to have cotton candy and they both got their faces painted - Ellie a butterfly and Nick a snowman. It was great to visit with so many friends without the rush of having to be somewhere. We waited until the raffle prizes were called and we bundled up and went home - Nick was pretty funny, he rubbed Ellie's hand and told her it was ok we didn't win this time, maybe next time.
I have to get on my soapbox for a moment - why are all these cities getting a pat on the back for their plowing efforts because I think the streets pretty much still suck. I am amazed that major streets like Golf, Waukegan and Oakton are really effectively 1.5 lanes still - 4 days after the snow. Stepping down from my soapbox - Niles, it seems, does deserve the pat on the back - their streets are dry and down to pavement. Ellie was even commenting - I think she might have picked up on my soapbox.
We came home and the kids played with their carnival loot before heading down to create some more Valentines. Rob got home a bit after we did and we enjoyed the sunshine in the back room. I was starving and made some cinnamon toast - that always tastes good. I closed my eyes for about a half hour before waking up and trying to decide what everyone felt like for dinner. We decided Mexican with a drive thru stop for a burger for Nick. We tried Taco Burrito King - not the same as El Famous - I will go the extra mile to El Famous next time. They used squirty cheese for their nachos - gross! We were initially excited because their coming soon location will be right down the street on Howard but I am not so excited anymore. In all fairness, Rob enjoyed his burrito and Ellie didn't mind the squirty cheese but my enchiladas weren't great but their guacamole was good.
On a similar wave of excitement - while driving home on Touhy we noticed that Tuesday Morning will be opening in Village Crossing. So exciting because our local one closed and became stinky Salvation Army and the closest one to us is in Northbrook - fun, fun. We had dinner and kids watched a couple more Valentine cartoons before we headed up to bed. Rob has already gone up to bed - I guess the kids tired him out today.
My fingers began to peel today. I am not sure if it is just dry skin or hand/foot syndrome peeling but I am thinking the later. My feet are incredibly sensitive and annoying - it hurts to just put my socks on. I realized today how cold our tile in our bathroom is when I stepped on the tile to brush my teeth - I usually place the bathmat on the tile and didn't today - instant regret. my teeth have begun to have that dulling pain again. On the positive side the only waves of nausea I had today were a direct effect of burnt cotton candy sugar. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
Friday, February 4, 2011
Fried Friday
I rode out the waves of nausea last night while watching late night tv, sipping mint tea and playing games on facebook. I guess I am lucky that all I get are waves of nausea and not the whole vomit thing but it still stinks to feel queasy. My main issue right now is I have this coating all over my throat and mouth and nothing seems to cut through it - tea, hot coffee, mints, ginger - I might have to make an El Famous run tomorrow and see if some salsa will do the trick.
Ellie was up early and she came into our room and woke me up to tell me one of our clocks (either hers or mine) was wrong. I looked at our clock and it said 7:34 but wasn't moving so I told Ellie her clock was probably right but she went downstairs to make sure. Ellie came in to tell me it was my clock that was wrong - Rob never pushed it back from set to time so it showed the alarm time instead of the actual time. Ellie came in about every 5 minutes to see if Nick was awake yet, if I was ready to wake up or if we were ready to get dressed. I got up and Ellie had picked out a nice warm outfit for her to wear to school today, I got dressed and by the time I was finished Nick had woke up. I got Nick dressed and we went downstairs to have breakfast. I looked outside and saw that the sidewalk plow still hadn't been through and I told Ellie I would drive her to school - I didn't want her walking and waiting in a street that wasn't really plowed.
We bundled up and gave the neighbors a ride to school - the Skokie arterial streets still suck. I cannot believe 48 hours later major streets only have one operable lane in either direction and the corners really stink. I felt so bad for any kids who had to try to walk to school through all that snow today. We dropped the kids off and went over to Mom's house. Nick played with trains and toys, Mom took a shower and I fell blissfully asleep on the couch. I woke up just in time to get in the car and pick Ellie up from school - she only had a half day today.
Streets still sucked and honestly - no plows in sight in Evanston, Skokie or Chicago. I waited in the car for the bus to come - took a while today. We went back to Mom's and heated up the macaroni and cheese and sausages from the other night for lunch - Mom had made Nick a ham sandwich with corn pudding and apples. We ate lunch and watched Shrek the final Chapter with Mom. Ellie escaped into the computer room to make artsy things and Nick tried to annoy her. I found my way out onto the sun porch - which was about 100 degrees and bright and sunny and I feel asleep for nap number 2 of the day. It seems like Friday is the day chemo catches up to me and I am the most tired.
I woke up and Dad was home early and playing wii with Ellie and Nick was in the kitchen with Mom. I started the car warming up and we packed up our stuff to go home. Oakton was great in Evanston but went to 1 lane in Skokie. Still no real sight of plows. We came home and the kids had their dance marathon in the living room - I took an ativan to hopefully squelch the wave of nausea.
I got a package today from my girlfriend, Jules. Jules got me old lady bath shoes with built in exfoliates in them so "I don't have to bend". They were a gag gift but I just might give them a try. Thanks girlfriend.
Ironically, for not getting mail the past two days we only got about 3 pieces of mail today. Nick helped me prepare dinner - we were having cherry, chocolate chip pancakes for dinner. Nick pitted all our cherries and then helped me mix the batter. We topped the pancakes with whipped cream and they were delicious. We got PJS on and brushed teeth and then came back down to watch some valentine cartoons on demand. Nick had an issue with us calling that movie night because we weren't watching an actual dvd.
We all went upstairs - Nick took forever to go to sleep but finally did and Ellie wrote in her journal while I was getting Nick to sleep. Plans for tomorrow - the kids want to make valentines tomorrow morning and in the afternoon we have the church carnival. Aches and pains today - upper thighs and back pain from the neulasta shot, hand tinglies from the cold. I am obviously tired and still have those waves of nausea. 2 more, only 2 more - I can do this. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
Ellie was up early and she came into our room and woke me up to tell me one of our clocks (either hers or mine) was wrong. I looked at our clock and it said 7:34 but wasn't moving so I told Ellie her clock was probably right but she went downstairs to make sure. Ellie came in to tell me it was my clock that was wrong - Rob never pushed it back from set to time so it showed the alarm time instead of the actual time. Ellie came in about every 5 minutes to see if Nick was awake yet, if I was ready to wake up or if we were ready to get dressed. I got up and Ellie had picked out a nice warm outfit for her to wear to school today, I got dressed and by the time I was finished Nick had woke up. I got Nick dressed and we went downstairs to have breakfast. I looked outside and saw that the sidewalk plow still hadn't been through and I told Ellie I would drive her to school - I didn't want her walking and waiting in a street that wasn't really plowed.
We bundled up and gave the neighbors a ride to school - the Skokie arterial streets still suck. I cannot believe 48 hours later major streets only have one operable lane in either direction and the corners really stink. I felt so bad for any kids who had to try to walk to school through all that snow today. We dropped the kids off and went over to Mom's house. Nick played with trains and toys, Mom took a shower and I fell blissfully asleep on the couch. I woke up just in time to get in the car and pick Ellie up from school - she only had a half day today.
Streets still sucked and honestly - no plows in sight in Evanston, Skokie or Chicago. I waited in the car for the bus to come - took a while today. We went back to Mom's and heated up the macaroni and cheese and sausages from the other night for lunch - Mom had made Nick a ham sandwich with corn pudding and apples. We ate lunch and watched Shrek the final Chapter with Mom. Ellie escaped into the computer room to make artsy things and Nick tried to annoy her. I found my way out onto the sun porch - which was about 100 degrees and bright and sunny and I feel asleep for nap number 2 of the day. It seems like Friday is the day chemo catches up to me and I am the most tired.
I woke up and Dad was home early and playing wii with Ellie and Nick was in the kitchen with Mom. I started the car warming up and we packed up our stuff to go home. Oakton was great in Evanston but went to 1 lane in Skokie. Still no real sight of plows. We came home and the kids had their dance marathon in the living room - I took an ativan to hopefully squelch the wave of nausea.
I got a package today from my girlfriend, Jules. Jules got me old lady bath shoes with built in exfoliates in them so "I don't have to bend". They were a gag gift but I just might give them a try. Thanks girlfriend.
Ironically, for not getting mail the past two days we only got about 3 pieces of mail today. Nick helped me prepare dinner - we were having cherry, chocolate chip pancakes for dinner. Nick pitted all our cherries and then helped me mix the batter. We topped the pancakes with whipped cream and they were delicious. We got PJS on and brushed teeth and then came back down to watch some valentine cartoons on demand. Nick had an issue with us calling that movie night because we weren't watching an actual dvd.
We all went upstairs - Nick took forever to go to sleep but finally did and Ellie wrote in her journal while I was getting Nick to sleep. Plans for tomorrow - the kids want to make valentines tomorrow morning and in the afternoon we have the church carnival. Aches and pains today - upper thighs and back pain from the neulasta shot, hand tinglies from the cold. I am obviously tired and still have those waves of nausea. 2 more, only 2 more - I can do this. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The sun made the day
I watched my late night tv and then went up to bed. Had an average night of sleep - nothing too good or bad. The kids were up early and I tried to persuade Nick to go down stairs with Rob but he wanted to finger torture me instead. I got up and had breakfast and some coffee - the kids had some breakfast too.
Rob had already made plans for the kiddos to join him while he went into work for about an hour. They would get to bring a dvd with to watch on the multi-tv wall - they brought High School Musical with. We started warming up the cars about 30 minutes before we actually wanted to leave - it was cold today but the sun made it feel better than it really was. I got the kids dressed in layers and then bundles in their winter apparel. Rob was off with the kids and then I was off to Kellogg. I was amazed at how the arterial streets weren't really that great. Crawford was still only plowed with one lane wither direction and no plowing of the designated turning lanes. I was a car behind this huge front loader with a l=plow on it that moved some snow just South of Oakton and then drove with his plow up all the way up to Central street.
I checked in and waited for Claudette to come find me. Disconnect went smoothly - except the stupid tape is killing my skin. I worked to peel the tape off gently and was still left with huge areas of redness and realized later while showering that I actually blistered and the top layer of skin is red and irritated. I came home and Rob and the kids were home not too soon after with lunch.
We all had lunch together and then I fell asleep on the couch. I have had waves of nausea today and a bit of joint pain. Rob played with the kids while I slept - Kitty Kitty fell asleep in my lap - kept me warm. I woke up not feeling so good and as soon as I moved I hurt. I took my shower to warm up and get off all the adhesive residue . The kids got their PJS on and we had pizza for dinner. It was Wipeout night so we all started watching that but I took nick up at a commercial to go to sleep. I finished putting him to bed just as Ellie and Rob were coming up to bed.
I've been playing games on the computer while listening to Grays and Private Practice. I trying to break this icky taste in my mouth with a peppermint - not really helping. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
Rob had already made plans for the kiddos to join him while he went into work for about an hour. They would get to bring a dvd with to watch on the multi-tv wall - they brought High School Musical with. We started warming up the cars about 30 minutes before we actually wanted to leave - it was cold today but the sun made it feel better than it really was. I got the kids dressed in layers and then bundles in their winter apparel. Rob was off with the kids and then I was off to Kellogg. I was amazed at how the arterial streets weren't really that great. Crawford was still only plowed with one lane wither direction and no plowing of the designated turning lanes. I was a car behind this huge front loader with a l=plow on it that moved some snow just South of Oakton and then drove with his plow up all the way up to Central street.
I checked in and waited for Claudette to come find me. Disconnect went smoothly - except the stupid tape is killing my skin. I worked to peel the tape off gently and was still left with huge areas of redness and realized later while showering that I actually blistered and the top layer of skin is red and irritated. I came home and Rob and the kids were home not too soon after with lunch.
We all had lunch together and then I fell asleep on the couch. I have had waves of nausea today and a bit of joint pain. Rob played with the kids while I slept - Kitty Kitty fell asleep in my lap - kept me warm. I woke up not feeling so good and as soon as I moved I hurt. I took my shower to warm up and get off all the adhesive residue . The kids got their PJS on and we had pizza for dinner. It was Wipeout night so we all started watching that but I took nick up at a commercial to go to sleep. I finished putting him to bed just as Ellie and Rob were coming up to bed.
I've been playing games on the computer while listening to Grays and Private Practice. I trying to break this icky taste in my mouth with a peppermint - not really helping. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Snowgasm has hit
I stayed up until midnight and then went up to bed slowly. It took me a while to get up the stairs and the getting into our tall bed was a process but I have to say I woke up this morning in a bunch less pain. I still have pain sitting and standing or trying to rotate but no more pain while walking. It was wild seeing/hearing the thunder and lightening last night. Everyone let me sleep in this morning and that was the best treat ever.
We had breakfast when I got up and I had a cup of coffee. The kids were so excited about the snow - we didn't officially measure but I think we got about 24" of snow. Rob had to push the front screen door open to even get outside. The snowdrifts had blocked the doorway. It took Rob about 10 minutes to clear just the 2 front stairs and he looked like he was trying to formulate a plan of attack. Eventually our front walk was shoveled and then we got the kids bundled up to go out and play in the storm of their lifetime.
The kids made snow angels, tried to climb the snow drifts and attempted to play on the playground equipment. Nick at one point got stuck in a drift and it reminded me of Christmas Story - he was yelling I can't get out, I can't get out. They played for about 45 minutes and were just covered in snow when they came in. I had started a fire going in the fireplace and had made a pot of hot cocoa and cookies - we had a picnic by the fireplace and warmed up. Because this is an infusion week I cannot be out int he cold because it feel so much colder to me and I was sorry I wasn't able to help Rob out today because it was a lot of work.
Skokie had sent an email out stating their main goal was the main streets followed by getting the center lane of each side street plowed. Well, we had snow about 3' high and about 2' wide to get through to the cars but I knew we wanted to get them dug out before the freeze tonight. Rob worked for hours and got both of our cars freed. Ellie went back outside and helped our neighbors shovel their car out of their garage and then worked in the other neighbors yard making a fort. Nick realized Ellie was out and we bundled him back up and he went out.
I washed all the jackets and snow apparel when they got in because it was stinky with sweat. Ellie helped me fold the clothes and put away the laundry that was already done. I started dinner because we didn't eat lunch today. I made macaroni and cheese and chicken sausages with apple sauce and we baked cookies for dessert. After dinner the kids took their baths and got PJs on and we had movie night and watch Shrek the final chapter and off to bed they went.
Ellie helped me change out Scarlett today - something that I am both proud and depressed about. My 8 year old can change an ostomy?!?! School is cancelled again for tomorrow - as I think they should be seeing as how the streets aren't really clear, the sidewalks aren't cleared and the sub arctic temperature. I do have to got to Kellogg for my disconnect tomorrow but the good news is I don't have to take the kiddos with me because Rob will be home to watch them.
Feeling a bit nauseous today, I forgot to begin my claritin last night so I am hoping I don't have major muscle pain with my neulasta shot. I have a bit of neck pain - I think I got a bit of whip lash falling down last night. My hands are pretty sore today - I keep getting stupid cuts, paper cuts, cuts from opening boxes and they tend to bleed more than normal and have residual pain. I have a fair amount of port pain and it is super itchy. My nose still has the freezy thing going on. The fireplace did feel good today. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that may be, Tree
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Slipped, fell down - inside
I fell asleep on the couch last night and woke about 3:30AM to go up. The kids were up early and not too much happened snow-wise over night. We had breakfast, I packed Ellie a snack, packed my chemo bag and got Ellie prepared for the arctic. The wind was whipping this morning with just the faintest amount of snow mixed in. I drove Nick to school and dreaded having to get out of the car to walk him in.
I checked in at Kellogg and Deb got my labels and I went up for my port draw and then my appointment with Dr. Marsh. I caught Margaret up on the side effects from last infusion and then told her about my disappointment form cleaning for a reason. Margaret mentioned that there were a couple different funds for women with young children with cancer for non medical things. There was a nurse practitioner there today and a resident. The NP didn't give me as nice of a neck massage as Dr. Marsh usually does. Bloodwork came back and all my levels were good - platelets were actually 1 point onto the normal range today.
I went back to my room and was met by Sally and Meg from social work with phone numbers for cleaning agencies - I guess I just pick one and then submit the bills to them - we will see if I really need it. Sally stayed and talked for a while - I asked her about a kids support group - there are a couple just nothing terribly close. She also gave me info on a couple "mentoring" programs where you are hooked up with a person who has gone through a very similar experience recently.
My infusion started - seemed a bit longer today and the room I was in was noisy. I did get about 30 minutes of sleep when they hung the 2 hour drip but woke up to people talking loudly and laughing. I was finished about 1:30PM and warmed the car up and bundled up and headed to Mom's. I called cancer wellness and Ellie's appointment had been rescheduled and the center was actually closing at 3PM. Nick finished watching his movie and then we were on our way to pick up Ellie - I knew it was going to take a bit longer today. My usual 8 minute ride was about 25 minutes.
Ellie got off the bus and we drove to Dominicks - I did some shopping yesterday but realized this morning that we really had no produce. We did a quick shop where the kids got to pick out their favorites and more because it doesn't look like we are going anywhere tomorrow. We got home just the same time as Rob - Ellie grabbed a shovel and made a pathway for us to walk in on. I got groceries put away, Nick helped me make some hot cocoa and Rob and Ellie shoveled the sidewalk. Ellie helped me empty the salt into the containers we use outside and then Nick vacuumed up the salt that spilled on the rug.
The kids had dumped the entire container of legos on the living room rug and were playing nice. Ellie and I decided to take a picture of the same tree every hour and I was walking to take the 6PM picture and was trying to step over Ellie when she decided to get up and I am not really sure how I exactly fell but it wasn't pretty. I fell onto the rug of legos landing on many of them - doesn't feel good. I have a blood blister on the inside of my left pinky finger, I did something to my right hip/butt and I was immediately in lots of pain. Ellie freaked out and started crying and apologizing. Nick has safety week at school today and learned how to dial 911 today and asked if he should call. I know when I fell I was trying to avoid falling on my pump or my port so I did mid-air acrobatics. I laid on the floor for about 10 minutes before trying to get up. After Ellie and Nick left the room the tears began rolling down my face which immediately hurt my eye sockets. I was able to get up and walk so I don't think anything is broken but man it hurts. I took a couple tylenol and sat on the hot pad and fell asleep for an hour.
I currently am feeling hot and nauseous. I have a bad tummy ache and the other obvious aches. Chemo effects - tingly fingers and really burning nose - it is an effect from the cold but it is happening inside our house too. I think I am going to have to brave the bed tonight because the back room has a few trees that are rubbing against the windows with every 50mph wind gust. Thank you Gov Quinn for the disaster based snow day - Rob found out mid morning and I got an email mid afternoon from Ellie's school. If I was thinking ahead I would have brought supplies to Mom's today to change out Scarlett but I didn't so I will have to leave the house tomorrow for a change out unless I have Ellie help me out. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
I checked in at Kellogg and Deb got my labels and I went up for my port draw and then my appointment with Dr. Marsh. I caught Margaret up on the side effects from last infusion and then told her about my disappointment form cleaning for a reason. Margaret mentioned that there were a couple different funds for women with young children with cancer for non medical things. There was a nurse practitioner there today and a resident. The NP didn't give me as nice of a neck massage as Dr. Marsh usually does. Bloodwork came back and all my levels were good - platelets were actually 1 point onto the normal range today.
I went back to my room and was met by Sally and Meg from social work with phone numbers for cleaning agencies - I guess I just pick one and then submit the bills to them - we will see if I really need it. Sally stayed and talked for a while - I asked her about a kids support group - there are a couple just nothing terribly close. She also gave me info on a couple "mentoring" programs where you are hooked up with a person who has gone through a very similar experience recently.
My infusion started - seemed a bit longer today and the room I was in was noisy. I did get about 30 minutes of sleep when they hung the 2 hour drip but woke up to people talking loudly and laughing. I was finished about 1:30PM and warmed the car up and bundled up and headed to Mom's. I called cancer wellness and Ellie's appointment had been rescheduled and the center was actually closing at 3PM. Nick finished watching his movie and then we were on our way to pick up Ellie - I knew it was going to take a bit longer today. My usual 8 minute ride was about 25 minutes.
Ellie got off the bus and we drove to Dominicks - I did some shopping yesterday but realized this morning that we really had no produce. We did a quick shop where the kids got to pick out their favorites and more because it doesn't look like we are going anywhere tomorrow. We got home just the same time as Rob - Ellie grabbed a shovel and made a pathway for us to walk in on. I got groceries put away, Nick helped me make some hot cocoa and Rob and Ellie shoveled the sidewalk. Ellie helped me empty the salt into the containers we use outside and then Nick vacuumed up the salt that spilled on the rug.
The kids had dumped the entire container of legos on the living room rug and were playing nice. Ellie and I decided to take a picture of the same tree every hour and I was walking to take the 6PM picture and was trying to step over Ellie when she decided to get up and I am not really sure how I exactly fell but it wasn't pretty. I fell onto the rug of legos landing on many of them - doesn't feel good. I have a blood blister on the inside of my left pinky finger, I did something to my right hip/butt and I was immediately in lots of pain. Ellie freaked out and started crying and apologizing. Nick has safety week at school today and learned how to dial 911 today and asked if he should call. I know when I fell I was trying to avoid falling on my pump or my port so I did mid-air acrobatics. I laid on the floor for about 10 minutes before trying to get up. After Ellie and Nick left the room the tears began rolling down my face which immediately hurt my eye sockets. I was able to get up and walk so I don't think anything is broken but man it hurts. I took a couple tylenol and sat on the hot pad and fell asleep for an hour.
I currently am feeling hot and nauseous. I have a bad tummy ache and the other obvious aches. Chemo effects - tingly fingers and really burning nose - it is an effect from the cold but it is happening inside our house too. I think I am going to have to brave the bed tonight because the back room has a few trees that are rubbing against the windows with every 50mph wind gust. Thank you Gov Quinn for the disaster based snow day - Rob found out mid morning and I got an email mid afternoon from Ellie's school. If I was thinking ahead I would have brought supplies to Mom's today to change out Scarlett but I didn't so I will have to leave the house tomorrow for a change out unless I have Ellie help me out. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree
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