Cool....not so Cool

***Found this in my drafts.....written in June! Guess I got a little sidetracked. This is a bit of a gripey/complaining post, but hey, if you had ANY idea of what we were going through this summer, especially early June, you'd just be glad I'm still sane. Read on if you'd like, and any additions I've added today are preceded by asterisks...and bolded.


I'm borrowing this lil' feature from a bloggy friend I've had for a while, the one and only Crazymama. Hers is Rad/Not Rad.....but I'm afraid I'm still too stuck in the 80's so I'm sticking with cool.....also because I think I lack in the radness department, and only rate on the cool scale....but now I'm rambling.

So there has been a lot going on around here, and the easiest way to play catch up might be to put it all in this random little funfest.

Cool: My mom only has ONE MORE CHEMO TREATMENT LEFT (June 16th)! She also had one of her chemo drugs discontinued, which will be explained below. She has also move in here with us, so we can make sure she is getting proper meals (she lacked energy to do it for herself) and be taken care of. ***Her last dose of chemo ended up being cancelled. It was literally killing her, so the doctor said enough is enough, and she got two units of blood instead. Felt much better after that, and ended up feeling well enough to return to her home the end of June.

Not So Cool: After 4 doses of Taxotere, my mom had a reaction to it that less than 5% of patients have, and it caused the soles of her feet to blister and slough multiple layers of skin.  It was awful. I have pictures but won't share them. Think burn unit stuff because they were pretty much severe 2nd degree chemical burns. We/I changed dressings a couple times a day, and her oncologist, as mentioned above, discontinued the Taxotere. He felt good that he got 4 doses in her before having to get rid of it. Also not cool (a little bit) is that she had to move in here. She's bored. It's hard because I'm having to shush the kids alot and having friends over is harder, but in the long run it will be a good learning experience in sacrifice for them....I hope.  ***She also lost her fingernails and toenails. It was awful. I hate cancer.

Cool: School is out!  No more projects, no more studying for spelling tests, no more getting grumpy sleepy kids off to school. No more checking grades to make sure they are passing. :)

Not So Cool: School is out.....they are bored already. They want to eat ALL THE TIME. I'm thinking of getting an open/closed sign for the kitchen! There are constant requests for multiple playdates or friends over.....it would be much better for me if this was reciprocated and my kids could go to their friends houses sometimes too, but it isn't happening.

Not So Cool: The other day, the dog came in from outside and layed down, pretty soon, when he did walk around, he lifted his back leg and wouldn't use it at all and there was horrible yelping if you touched it....I was worried that the kids had stepped on his paw and broken it or something awful and expensive to fix....

Cool: After closer inspection of the dogs paw, I found a bee stinger still in his skin! Poor puppy. We removed the stinger and put ice on it.  He had the most pathetic look on his face. But by morning it was forgotten and all was well. And it was free. :) ***We have now discovered that Winston the Wonder Dog chases bees and tries to catch them. Brilliant! Ron pulled one out of his mouth about a month ago. He also likes to chew on live electrical cords.

Cool: All the kids passes their classes, tests, etc. and are all promoted to the next grade. (I know, you are thinking, duh, of course they are, but if you really knew what we went through this past term with a certain one of our kids, you'd be turning cartwheels with us!) Next year we'll have a kindergartner, 3rd grader, 4th grader, and high school Senior!

Not So Cool: For some unknown reason, the kids think that all rules of our home flew out the window when school ended. We have had so much disrespect, yelling, fighting, and general mayhem that I may be insane next week if they don't get a grip. After having a serious talk with them a couple days ago, and really cracking down on the first misstep, things seem to be going a little better. That or they realized that mommy is right on the edge of mental breakdown! ;)

Cool: The kids have a few fun things planned this summer to pass the time and learn new things. Ellie is taking swimming lessons, Jared just finished a basketball camp and has swimming lessons. Hopefully we can get in some BMX races, but we'll have to see. Nicole is also doing swimming lessons, continuing with piano, and taking a sewing class. Riley is at trek as I type, and has girls camp at the end of the month. We're hoping she can go find a job, but we shall see if she really gets out and looks.

***The kids loved swimming lessons, and really excelled. Jared ended up doing no BMX racing. He needs a new and bigger bike, and between that need, and just being limited on time for practicing, we didn't do any racing. He says he still wants to do it, and Ellie says she wants to as well, so we shall see...Riley survived trek, despite the smart move of not putting on sunscreen the first day(or wearing her bonnet) and being fried to a crisp. She also went to girls camp. Surprisingly, the jobs didn't come looking for her(note sarcasm please), so she is penniless and not too happy about that. I'll try and revisit some summer fun we had in a later post. Until then, smile that you're healthy, that school is back in session, and we all remained sane! ;)