Happy Halloween

To me Halloween is the beginning of the holiday season. I can just feel the anticipation in the air. Hayley broke me down and has a new halloween costume. She has had a busy week. She had a Medical Academy meeting on Wednesday and when I picked her up she talked about upcoming events the whole way home. I was getting fatigued just listening to her. She has to volunteer at the local hospital this semester for about four hours. I thought that was a great idea. She would get a firsthand look at the interior workings of a hospital. The medical academy is also going to be visiting foster children and doing various activities such as face painting etc. Then they will also be collecting money for the relay for life event this spring. She brought home a disappointing report card. All C's one B and one A. GPA= 2.1. I warned her last year not to take all honor classes. So it looks like I will be staying on top of her daily to make sure that she gets all her work completed on a daily basis.

Here's a picture of Hayley and Colton taken during the cruise. Do they look old enough to drive to you? They look way too young to me. This year is flying by and in February Hayley will get her drivers license. On one hand I will love that she can drive herself to and from her events on the other hand I will be a mess worrying while she is on the road. To make matters worse Colton will be eligible for his permit in April.

Halloween

Hayley is begging me to buy her a new costume this year for Halloween. She is 15. How old is too old to go trick or treating? I try to go back in my memories from my childhood. What was I doing when I was 15? She wants to go to her friend Lindsays house and trick or treat with a bunch of fellow teenagers. On one hand I encourage her to hang out with friends. She really doesn't have much of a social life and she is pretty responsible so I think. She hasn't reached that hump yet where she is headed quickly to being an adult. I see glimpses of that and then I still see her as a little girl. I think it will be more of a reason for a bunch of teenagers to hang out than actually trick or treating. They may hit a few houses and than back to Lindsays to play Wii or swim in the pool. So in the end I am sure that I will give in to her. The days are flying by and before I know it she will be in college.

Looks like I might be posting about once per week. I just don't have more time than that. One of our employees is resigning so Chris and I will be working from 7:00am to 6:00 pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Makes for a very long day. We'll see how long I can take that.

Pray for this family as the doctors say their is nothing more that they can do for him. So sad!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kodyedwards

We're Back

We need a vacation from the vacation. We came back to Florida to great weather. The windows are open and it is a beautiful fall day here in Orlando. We had a really great time on the cruise. We are all exhausted. We have never sailed on Royal Caribbean before so we wanted to try it out. The ship that we were on was an older ship and from what I heard from other people who have sailed RC before said this was the worst RC cruise they have been on. The perfect cruise for us would be rock climbing wall, flow rider, ice skating rink, poolside casino, water slide and we would be in heaven. The staff is very very strict. We seemed to get into trouble everywhere we went. They have a curfew of 1:00 am if you are under 18 even if you are with your parents. In the pool there is a ledge where you can sit in shallow water. I was sitting there drinking a beer and low and behold I was admonished and told no alcohol in the pool. Chris son is 19 years old. It was my birthday and we allowed him to have two vodka and red bull drinks. We were chased down by security and for a minute there I thought we were going to be put in the brig. I can't say I won't go on Royal Caribbean again but Carnival is still the top of the list for me. We cruised with my friend Tammy, her husband Dennis and their two kids Joshua and Ryan. Ironically, her son Joshua has the same birthday as me October 19 and he turned 12. He is 12 going on 22 though and a handsome little man. This cruise we were supposed to stop at Coco Cay for the day but a cold front was coming through and after we anchored there and some people had got off the ship they brought every one back on and we sailed north. Finally several hours later we sailed into sunshine again. I'll post more pictures in the coming days.

Manic Monday

I feel like I have a million things to accomplish this week. We are going on a cruise on Friday. Just a short Friday-Monday jaunt to the Bahamas. Today I needed to get my nails done, grocery shop, look for black sandals (the dog chewed up the pair that I had finally gotten worn in and I loved), get my hair cut, do laundry, clean the house, watch two of (my) shows Brothers and Sisters and Army Wives, cook lasagna for dinner. I'm exhausted all ready.
Tuesday I have to attend a meeting all day which means I will not get anything done at work. Come home cook dinner again, make sure the kids have done their homework. I explained to Hayley the grading period ends October 23rd. She needs to sprint full speed ahead. I found out she could attend the play Julius Ceaser after school for extra credit points for her latin class. That could make the difference in getting a B versus a C. I don't know why she doesn't take the iniative to make it happen.
I won't bore you with the additional trivial details of my life though I feel like I am panting and won't be able to breathe normally until I am sitting on the pool deck with a cold frozen drink in my hand.

Elijah Talley made it to CHOP where he will be going through MIBG treatment. Praying for good results for him and his family. http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=elijahtalley

Relapsed

Please pray for this little girl who went through transplant and her parents just found out she has relapsed with neuroblastoma. http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=elizabethwestberry

Two organizations that I would recommend for anyone who has some extra money sitting around or is looking to donate would be http://www.lunchforlife.org/ or http://www.magicwater.org/ . From what I have read Dr Sholler in Vermont has made great strides in neuroblastoma research. That is where Jack Brown went when MSKCC Sloan told him that they could do nothing else for him when they had a shortage of 3F8 last year. This could be any one of our children at any time. I can't imagine what these families go through on a daily basis. Financially, emotionally it must be devestating. So if you can find it in your hearts these are two great organizations.

Teaching Teenagers Self Discipline

I'm off today and it is a dreary, rainy morning in Florida. We don't have many of those. It is pretty much reflecting my mood right now. We keep waiting for the stock market to stop it's free fall. Feels like we are hemorraging here. Budget's stock is at 3.28 and their are so many uncertainies in the world right now. Sure could use some good news!

Then we have Hayley. How do you get a child to be self disciplined? Maybe I need to buy a self help book on raising teenagers. We seem to have the same conversations continually and the answer from her is always the same, I know mom. Well, if she knows then why do I keep getting the same results. She is in all honors classes except for English her least favorite subject. She is struggling in all of her classes right now. Not because she can't do the work but because she is not disciplined enough to study the material and simply turn her homework in.

I have tried taking the computer away from her during the week. She is only allowed online if she has homework to do. It seemed to work for the first week. I saw a little rise in her grades. Then this week more missing assignments. I am working 12 hour days and when I finally get home the last thing I want to do is continually question her to see if she has finished her homework. She is almost 16. What is she going to do in two years when she is on her own. I continually tell her she needs to apply herself now! She says I KNOW MOM.

What's interesting to note is that my son Colton who has ADHD and Impulse Control Disorder is actually much more self disciplined than Hayley. It's not that he has been raised any differently, just that it is in his character. It has lessened somewhat since he became a teenager but I still see glimpses of it underneath all the teen coolness (laziness) that he displays.

I just googled teaching teenagers self discipline and found this article. I think I will spend some time reading online to see if I can find something that helps. http://www.namb.net/site/c.9qKILUOzEpH/b.695825/k.72DD/Teenagers_and_Motivation.htm

Thankful and praying for this little girl who successfully completed her tumor resection yesterday. Hoping for NED status for her. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katiekline

Happy Birthday Molly

One year ago today our baby Molly came into this world. The kids and I had been pestering Chris for a couple of years that we wanted a puppy. So two weeks before Christmas last year Chris drove two hours one way to a breeders house near Tampa and picked out our baby Molly. We told the kids that we were babysitting Molly for our friend Tammy and her husband Dennis because they were out of town on vacation. The kids just loved having the puppy around to play with and really believed our story. Then on Christmas morning we broke the news in a letter that we wrapped up for the kids. It was so cute. One of the best Christmas presents ever. I have to say this puppy warms my heart daily even when she chews up my shoes, runs away with my underwear and thinks the rug under our dining room table is her personal poop place. It is green so it must remind her of the grass is what I keep telling Chris. Not that he would know about picking it up. He always leaves that to one of us to do.

On a sadder note I would like to ask for prayers for Caden. His family just found out that he has relapsed. They start this journey again in the fight. This disease is just so vicious, sneaky and mean. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/cadenledbetter

Fall Weather

I love this time of year. Football is back, the air is cooler and the seasons shows are back on the air. Today I ran/walked around the block. It's been awhile. Then since I was so hot and panting I thought I would take a dive into the pool. Wow, the nights have been cooler and so is the pool. I did my twenty laps and I sure hope that I can keep up this commitment. We have a ritual in our house by baking toll house cookies every night during the week. I will need alot more running or swimming to make up for all those calories.

The kids are hearing all about the economy from the news. Colton especially likes to make frequent trips to our bedroom to snuggle with our dog Molly. I can tell they are a little worried. We have made some cutbacks around our house. The stock market news is very worrisome. We are self employed and our old 401k's from when we worked for corporations are invested in the stock market. It is so difficult to watch month after month as the money diminishes and do nothing. I heard tonight on the news that the Ceo of Lehman brothers pocketed $500 million dollars before the company filed bankruptcy. What is going on in this country? It sure is time for a change.

On a good note Jack Brown is no evidence of disease and this is after last year when he relapsed his parents were told there was nothing that could be done for him. Luckily his parents went to Vermont and Dr Sholler put him on several trials that have cleared his neuroblastoma. You can visit him at http://www.jackbrownappeal.org/updatesonjack.asp. Way to go Jack!

Long Time Since Last Post

I had good intentions when I started this blog. I read many other blogs daily. Most of the blogs are children with neuroblastoma cancer and the others are written by mothers of multiples. When you are writing on a blog it feels like no one is reading what you have to say. That may be true especially since I post only every six months or so. So as of today I am going to make a concerted effort to post more often.
I mean I have had some exciting things happen in my life lately. My husband and I traveled to Europe on August 7th for our 4th wedding anniversary. Good thing I had planned this trip a year in advance. With the state of the economy we never would have went otherwise. I also have planned a cruise for the weekend to the Bahamas. My birthday is Ocotober 19th. I won't say how old I am. All the kids are going which I really enjoy. I can feel the years slipping away with Hayley and Colton. I know that I will blink and they will be gone.
I was looking at pictures last night. The pictures were from a vacation that we took to Jamaica in 2005. I was skinny! That was in June and I quit smoking in October. It has been downhill since then. I think I have gained 10 pounds and it really bothers me. I have tried running, changing my eating habits, swimming, elliptical machine, diet pills and nothing seems to work. I actually look younger and healthier before I quit smoking. What is going on with that. This October 19th it will be three years since I stopped smoking.
As I typed this, heaven has another neuroblastoma angel. Brandon Loose lost his fight. I will say it again. It is 2008 how can we not save these children. http://www.caringbridge.org/pa/brandonloose/