Welcome March!

My good friend Smitty shared this video with me yesterday and it just makes me smile



and also makes me wish I were Irish or planning a trip to Ireland sometime soon.

The arrival of March makes me smile too.

It's such a beautiful month in my little part of the world.

Today was filled with family

and  flowers

and some basketball

All things I love, that sometimes don't go together very well.

These are the basketball casualties from my garden,

but today,

they even make me smile.

Hello March!

May I spend you singing out loud in God's choir.

Today I am thankful for

family time - to work and talk and play and eat and enjoy some basketball - together.

boys to dig up my weeds.

a phone call from the oldest daughter and Shad.

The Almost Free Puppy Hat

A couple of weeks ago we had a take it or leave it exchange at the church as part of an eagle scout project.  You bring your unwanted items and take someone else's castoffs home with you - for free.  I took a big collection of miscellaneous stuff to leave and was determined to bring nothing home.  I was doing great at resisting the call of some terrific treasures junk until the 3 garbage bags of yarn arrived.

With my renewed interest in crocheting, I have recently purchased yarn and I know how much it costs.  Free was sounding pretty good to me and I could hear those soft, fuzzy skeins calling my name - pick me, pick me, pick me! Cute little baby hats began to dance before my eyes.

I tried not to be greedy and did leave some yarn behind for others, but I came home with my fair share.

Luckily for me this large plastic tub was abandoned about the same time as the yarn.  Instant storage!

The same day as the yarn arrived in my house I spied this adorable puppy hat pattern online, for free as well.

Image from repeat crafter me

I knew I had found my first "free yarn" project.

Once the oldest daughter made a *magic ring* for me, it didn't take me too long to whip up this hat for Shad (who needs another hat like he needs more toys).

My almost free puppy hat - I did have to pay 50 cents for the button eyes.  

Shad may not need another hat, but he still managed to look pretty cute in this one.

He looks a little sour-faced because he is sucking on a lemon slice.  

I had some yarn left over so I started a newborn size hat while I waited in the airport for my plane to arrive tonight.  I even managed to make my own magic ring.  I continued working on it on the airplane and kept my seatmate relaxed with my constant motion.  She told me I reminded her of her grandma, who also has the ability to mesmerize her with her crocheting.

Now I just need a newborn baby with a cold head.
Or a dozen or more babies with cold heads.
I have a lot of yarn to use up.

Today I am thankful for

a fun visit with my California family (and some Arizona family too).

pima tacos made by the youngest son and daughter.

a plane that only ended up being 30 minutes late instead of an hour and a half late.

a husband to pick me up at the airport.

My New Dragon

My kids bought me a Dragon for Christmas.

Not the fire breathing kind, but the word processing kind.

 I really wanted this program after I saw this exciting commercial a few times.

    

It's taken me almost a month, and a lot of help from the oldest son and the hubby, but my Dragon is finally up and running.

I haven't seen any pirates yet, but who knows what could happen?

Stay tuned to see what fun my Dragon and I are going to have together. We did just manage to write this entire blog post, almost hands free, in less than two hours.   It's only going to get better from here on out.

Today I am grateful for

a helpful husband.

Kleenex and store brand mucus relief medicine.

good deals at the grocery store.

A Shot in the Dark

Shad has to have a shot 24 hours after his last treatment with each round of chemo. Yesterday the doctor didn't want them to have to wait around in the hospital until 8:00, just for the shot, before they could go home so the oldest daughter was given a couple of options:

A. she could come back Friday morning by 9:00 and one of the nurses could give him the shot or
B. she could take the shot home and give it to him herself.

The son-in-law would have most definitely chosen option A, since he isn't a big fan of needles, but he was on an underway and not available to consult or to be a possible shot shooter. The oldest daughter knew she didn't want to give the shot either so she chose option A.

When the youngest daughter and I got to the hospital and the oldest daughter shared her decision with us, I said, "Well you know your sister has given your dad his insulin shots on occasion and she is pretty good at it. Maybe she could give Shad his shot."
 She chimed in, "Yeah, I could do it."
 "Really?"
 "I think so."

We threw the options back and forth for a while.  None of us really wanted to come back to the hospital the next day, and the youngest daughter was willing, so the nurse was informed that mom had changed her mind and the shot would leave with us.

For some reason, when the shot instructions were actually given before our departure, the delivery time had changed from 8:00 to 11:00 PM. We decided that maybe this was better since there was a possibility that Shad would even stay asleep until the shot had been administered. Obviously Shad doesn't enjoy getting the shot, but the anticipation is usually worse for him than the actual delivery, so we were hoping we could perhaps make a quick, surprise attack and then it would be over with before he realized what had happened.

Shad went to bed around eight and when the time came for the shot the youngest daughter got out the information sheet to review the directions. There was even a handy-dandy picture to show her exactly what to do.

It was determined that the shot would go into his thigh and we all quietly went upstairs and proceeded to carry out "Operation Shot in the Dark".

Unfortunately things didn't go quite as we had hoped. As soon as his mom started to pull down his pajamas to expose his leg Shad woke up and wanted to know what she was doing. Believing that honesty is the best policy, she informed him that we had to give him a shot - the doctor said. Shad started to cry. The oldest daughter started to cry. I grabbed his arms, his mom grabbed his legs, and the youngest daughter inserted the needle, pushed the plunger, and was done. A band-aid was quickly applied as Shad and mommy continued to cry. The youngest daughter and I quickly exited the room while the oldest daughter stayed to console Shad.  He was mad at her, since he assumed that she was the one who had administered the shot, and let her suffer for a few minutes, but it didn't take long for him to go back to sleep.

Fast forward to today.

Shad seems to have survived the middle of the night adventure and isn't holding any grudges toward any of us. I am adjusting his pants and he informs me to be careful because the band-aid on his leg might pull.  Curious about what he remembers, I ask, "Why do you have a band-aid on your leg?".  He thinks for a minute and then says, "Why do I have a band-aid on my leg?"

We all plead ignorance. Honesty may be the best policy, but in this case we felt the less said, the better.

The youngest daughter and I are both happy with the Option B choice.  The oldest daughter is still undecided if it's the route she will go with next time. I guess only time will tell if there will be an "Operation Shot in the Dark - Take 2". The youngest daughter is going to be around for a few more shots though, so at least it's an option.

Today I am thankful that

Shad is home from the hospital and doing well.

the youngest daughter is willing to attempt new things and has a dad that lets her practice giving shots.

I got to fly home from California instead of drive.  The actual trip is a lot quicker.

Big Steps for a Little Boy

Today Shad and his mom and dad said they wanted to come down and meet us when we got to the hospital. When we called to tell them that we were almost there, they said they were on their way, moving slowly, but surely. First we heard Shad yell "Grandma!" at the top of his lungs and then I located them in the very far distance.

It was hard to see him, but I sure could hear him.

As they got closer I was VERY surprised and VERY excited to see that Shad was WALKING!

When we left after Christmas he was walking a little bit, but only very short distances so this was a BIG difference.

On the way back to the room Shad was chasing a little white bird "fluff" and he got moving pretty fast (relatively speaking).

Every time he would try to step on it it would float a little bit further away.

It was pretty entertaining watching him - scurry, stomp, step, scurry, stomp, step, scurry, stomp.  Finally the air from his foot pushed it forward quite a ways so I decided to catch it for him - scurry, stomp, step, scurry, stomp, step, scurry.

Apparently I looked even more entertaining than he did.

Good thing the camera was in my possession.

I am so proud of this little boy!

Aunt Kevra made him this cute Mike Wazowski  hat.  I love it!

He is so willing to do hard things.  Way to go Shad!

Today I am thankful for

every step in the right direction.  Shad is making progress in so many ways.

the move to a bigger hospital room.  The nurses moved Shad as soon as one was available "due to our frequent flyer miles."

lots of together time playing games

and watching HGTV with my daughters. The oldest daughter came home with us tonight to get some sleep and to go to church in the morning.  Thanks son-in-law!

Patience

Today I found myself back sitting in a hospital room waiting with Shad to start his 3rd round of chemo.

He and his parents arrived at the hospital this morning around 9:45, about the same time the youngest daughter and I drove out of the driveway to head to California.  They were pretty sure that they would actually get to stay this time, after being sent home on Monday and Wednesday because his counts were too low to start the Chemotherapy.

Shad was given the thumbs up and they were taken to a room around lunch time, right around when the youngest daughter and I were waiting in the longest, slowest line at the Wendy's in Yuma to purchase our value items from the value menu.

When the youngest daughter and I arrived at the hospital around 5:30, after a stop at the oldest daughter's house to unload and unpack for a little while, Shad was still receiving his pre-chemo hydration and was scheduled to start chemo around 7:00.

Shad was put into one of the smaller rooms in the ward today, because all the other rooms were full.

This  room has two doors.  The first enters into a small room with a sink, trash, supplies ... and then the second door opens into his actual room.

Every time the nurse would come into the outer area Shad would look up and excitedly exclaim, "Chemo time!"  Then the nurse would come in and he would questioningly ask, "Chemo time?"  and the nurse would say, "Not yet. This is just to get you ready for chemo or I just need to check your pee pee or I need to see why your machine is beeping..." and he would say, "Oh, OK."  (This happened EVERY time someone came into the room.  I lost count around 15.)

During one of these visits the nurse reported that there was a little blood showing up in Shad's urine and they were going to send a sample to the lab.  This is pretty normal since he has the catheter tube, but protocol says it needs to be checked out and run past the oncologist before the chemo can start since one of the medications can cause bleeding.  She let us know this might slow down the start of chemo.

Shad's dinner arrived and we spent some time getting him to eat and some more time listening to him explain all the reasons why he shouldn't eat any more and a little time all sampling the food he chose not to eat.

Then we spent some time discussing what WE should eat.  The son-in-law's vote is always for Mexican food, but the oldest daughter was not in the Mexican mood.  We aren't the best decision makers and so we finally decided to try to come up with a genre (the school teacher's word) of food that sounded like what we wanted. Immediately the son-in-law chose Spanish.  Shad, who had been entertaining himself with his i-pad and seemed to be ignoring our discussion until then, piped up "That's Mexican food" and the girls in the room all laughed and thanked him for watching out for us so his dad didn't trick us.

We finally decided on pizza and wings and eventually agreed on where to get it from, what kind we wanted, how to order it, who was going to go get it, and which car was going to be driven.  The two daughter's left to get the pizza,  the son-in-law returned his attention to the football game and I enjoyed having Shad show me all the new things that have been added to his i-pad since my last visit.

His mom found a Disneyland app that takes you on a little tour of all the attractions.

You can click on the various places and play a short game or experience part of the ride...

Wow! Woody is really moving on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

 It is fun, but made Shad wonder when he was going to Disneyland again.  He was content with the answer, "When you aren't sick anymore."

Shad has lots of movies on his i-pad.  He likes to watch them, applying the skip button liberally, and it seems that at the moment his favorite part of any movie is the closing credits.  He can watch those over and over again and either hums the musical score or sings along if there are words.  Wall-E is his current favorite.  "We're Going Down...".

Shad also has some doctor/hospital related videos that he enjoyed sharing with me tonight.  One of them, a music video, shows a little girl who is sick hanging out in her room while her friends are playing outside her window.  I don't know what the song is called, but the refrain that plays numerous times, accompanied by a catchy little tune, says "You've got to be patient to be a patient."

I enjoyed my i-pad/grandson entertainment and then I enjoyed my pizza.  The nurse came in and said she had talked to the oncologist and he wasn't worried about the urine culture and that she could go ahead with chemo, so she started the pre-chemo meds and told us the night nurse would be in in a while to begin the chemo.

We were left to our own devices for some time, our electronic devices that is.

Shad on his i-pad, the girls playing Skip-bo together on their phones, the son-in-law watching the TV and me with my camera.  Then the night nurse arrived with the message that she just had to double check the chemo bags and she would be in to start.  "Yeah! Chemo!".  The first round of chemo in the 5 day series lasts for about 4 hours so we were happy that it would be starting soon, around 8:00, so it could be finished at a somewhat reasonable hour.

About 15 minutes later the nurse returned, a little flustered, with the unfortunate news that one of the chemo bags had leaked all over inside its Ziploc and that it would need to be replaced with a new bag.  However, the pharmacy was closed for the night so they were going to have to call a pharmacist to come back to the hospital to make it.  She wasn't sure how long this was going to take, but she needed to stop the pre-meds and put Shad back on fluids again.

I felt bad for the nurse, who obviously was upset at the delay. As she worked on changing out all the bags, I had to smile as Shad's i-pad provided the background music, "You've got to be patient to be a patient", over and over again.  Apparently you also have to have patience to be a nurse, or a parent or a grandma too.  I think we are all going to learn to be a little more patient in 2013, whether we want to be or not.

Patience is a good trait to have though, so this is probably a positive thing.

Chemo finally started about 11:30 and ended in the wee hours of the morning.  It was a long night for Shad and the oldest daughter.

The rest of us were lucky enough to be home patiently sleeping.

I think the son-in-law was probably grateful for the small room, with only enough space for one pull out chair bed, tonight.

Today I am thankful for

one on one time with the youngest daughter while we drove to California.

a husband that stays home, works, and takes care of things while I go play with the grandson.

Shad's positive attitude about the hospital and chemo and everything that goes along with it. He is truly amazing.

Distracted

So today is a new year with a clean slate to fill.

 I have been thinking of some great resolutions.

 Some positive changes I want to commit to.

 But, for some reason, the leftover Christmas goodies are still proving to be a big distraction.

 My focus isn't really where it should be.

 I think Ormie and I could be soul sisters right now.

    

Bet you can't guess what I need to work on this year.

Hope 2013 is going well for you so far.

Today I am thankful for

leftover potatoes that made making dinner quick.

the hope and excitement that comes with a new year.

Dropbox - it makes sharing photos with the oldest daughter a fairly easy experience.

Shaved for Shad

Ever since the sons found out about Shad's cancer and learned that he was going to lose his hair they have talked about shaving their heads in his honor. Well, yesterday they decided it was time to take the plunge.

The oldest son was more committed to the idea, so he went first. The son-in-law was drafted to be the designated barber and he did a great job getting rid of a lot of hair. 

After the first swipe, there was no going back.
 

I think this is a funny picture.  It's hard to see, but there is one really long wing poking out of the oldest son's head.  It makes me smile.

Eventually there was no more hair on his head to shave

and Shad enjoyed watching the whole process.

All too soon it was the youngest son's turn.

You need to know that this son is VERY attached to his hair.  He takes great pride in it and works hard to make it look just the way he wants.

He vacillated for a little while, but eventually he decided he could let it go for a good cause.

I was smart and restrained his arms by his sides so he couldn't grab the razor out of the son-in-law's hand as he made the first few cuts.



In almost every photo I took of this son, he is looking up trying to see what is going on.  I find it entertaining.

When the hair was all gone, it was time to take a photo.



Shad wasn't too sure how he felt about his uncles gestures of solidarity, but they were feeling pretty good about their new looks.   (This was actually taken before either one of them had looked in the mirror.)

After they viewed themselves in the mirror, the youngest son determined that he was still the more handsome of the two and the oldest son pointed out that it was a good thing he could rock the look since his younger brother is already getting a receding hairline and might actually experience being bald in his lifetime.

Together they determined that there was still too much black stubble showing and they decided they needed to use a Bic and get an even closer shave, so today we held the second session of the head shaving experience.

It started with a lot of shaving cream

and then a nice shiny head.

The youngest son didn't trust himself with a razor next to his brother's noggin so the youngest daughter stepped in to offer her assistance.

You'll be happy to know that Shad has decided he likes his uncles new looks and appreciates their love and support.

I think they are pretty awesome uncles too.

Not wanting to be left out, all the girls in the family committed to shave their underarms in support of the hairless effort.

Fortunately, no pictures were taken of those shaving sessions.

Today I am grateful for

the opportunity to be all together in California.

the bonding moments that come with Shad's cancer.

after Christmas sales!

Saving Money, Wasting Time

Yesterday I was going to go to Target to buy some cat food before we left town.  Before I went I decided to go to a fun money saving blog that I check out sometimes called “Totally Target”  to see if they had any great deals listed.  There was a post about some good savings on Emergen-C and since our family is working hard at staying healthy so we can hang out with Shad I decided it was worth looking into.  

If I bought two packages I could get a $5.00 Target gift card.  There was a link included to a facebook coupon for $2.50 off a 30 count package of Emergen-C.  Print it twice and I could save an additional $5.00 off my purchase.  That sounded good so I cruised on over to facebook.  I  liked the Emergen-C facebook page and printed my coupons. I thought since I was on facebook I  should check out my friends updates so I did a little reading for a while. 

Oh, wait I was supposed to be going to Target.  

While I was on “Totally Target” I was reminded that I could go to the Target website and download coupons from there.  Perhaps I should check and see if they had any good coupons.  I headed to the website,  I couldn’t see the coupon button right away, but there was this week’s store ad.  I should probably look at what was on sale this week before I look at the coupons anyway, so I browsed through the ad.  Armed with my new knowledge I seriously began to search for the coupons.  I located them on the dropdown menu under more and started scrolling through the 17 pages. 

$1.50 off 2 packages of M&Ms  - those were on sale and Target has an “exclusive” peppermint  M&M flavor for the holidays.  I needed that coupon.

$2.00 off any holiday decorating item $8.00 or more – you can never have too many holiday decorations. 

5 coupons selected and I was ready to print but wait, it says I need to activate the coupon printer.  Oh right, I haven’t downloaded coupons from Target since I got my new computer.  Click on the download.  Yes, I want to run this program.  My coupons will print when I click next.  I clicked next and nothing. 

I tried it again and … still nothing. 

I went to my downloads and there was the program, but still my coupons aren’t printing. 

Back to the website. Perhaps if I just select print coupons again they will print.   I try that – “you need to activate the coupon printer”.  Argh!

I looked at the time on the computer.  Ought oh – I need to go buy my green beans and get them cooked before FHE group tonight.  I’ll just turn my computer off and maybe the download will update.  I can wait and go to Target tomorrow morning before we leave. 

So, this morning I once again go to the Target website, click on coupons and go to print.  Wait, all the coupons I selected are no longer on my list.  I get to go through the 17 pages of coupons looking for the five I wanted to print again.  Coupons located, select print.  “You need to activate the coupon printer.”  Yes I know.  Would you like to suggest how I do that?  I ask for the hubby’s assistance and he assists and still no coupons. 

About this time I remember that I have had a similar problem before in Google Chrome.  Perhaps  if I get on the internet using Windows Explorer  the program will download right. 

Close the internet, reopen the internet, go to the Target website, reload the coupons, click on the download, click on the yellow allow bar that appears at the bottom of the page, download, push next, hear the printer fire up and get ready to do the happy dance and then – No coupons. 

Wait, what is that yellow light on the printer.  Toner.  I guess it’s really time to put in that new toner I bought. Find the new package of toner, take out the old toner, wonder if it is really all gone this time, shake it all around, put it back in to try to get a few more copies, nothing, take the old toner out, put the new toner in and PRINT!

Armed with my Target coupons (and a stack of previously printed coupons from a different website just in case any of those items are on sale) I head out to Target.  I collect the things I need and the things that I can purchase using my coupons fairly quickly, but I have want to take a quick circle around the store to check the endcaps on all the rows for clearance bargains.  Nothing today, so I move to the checkout line. Check out, hand the coupons over, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, get my $5.00 target gift card, pay and I'm on my way.  

I am reading my receipt as I walk away and I only see one of my Emergen-c coupons taken off.  I peruse the receipt again, yup, only one.  I look back at the register I just left, that now has a line 3 people deep, and head on over to customer service.  I explain that I had 2 coupons and only one rang up.  "Perhaps was the coupon $2.50 off two"?  I think about it, but no, I'm pretty sure it was off one.  The worker calls for assistance, another worker arrives and is sent to the register to retrieve the coupon. Apparently the coupons are locked in an extremely secure location in the cash register, but finally here he comes back waving my coupons victoriously.  Wow! I was right $2.50 off a single item.  I'll be  friendly and discuss the merits of couponing and what a great coupon that is.  I pocket my two dollar bills and 2 quarters and leave the store.  I load my purchases in the back of the van and I'm off, one step closer to heading to California.  

When I get home I remember I need to take my wallet in the house and put it in my bag to take with me to California.  While I'm at it I should also grab my stack of coupons and take that too so when I go grocery shopping I can save a couple of bucks.  I get the wallet, but can't seem to locate the coupons anywhere. Perhaps I put them in the back with my purchases.  I open the back of the van and check.  Nope, no coupons.  I look in all the bags.  Nope, no coupons.  I walk backwards in my mind.  Where was the last place I remember having the coupons.  I see then sitting quietly on the seat of the cart.  Do I remember getting them?  Not really.  They are probably sitting abandoned in my shopping cart.  Now, the big question - is it worth it to drive back to Target and hopefully rescue them?  Not really.  But wait, there were some good coupons that I know I will use.  It's only a couple of miles to Target.  That's silly though, the cart might not even still be there.  Yes, no, yes, no, and I'm back in my van headed for Target.  

I locate the coupons, right where I left them, turn around and once more head for home.  Who knew saving money could be so time consuming?  

Actually, I did.  

I may be good at saving money, but I am even better at wasting time doing it.

The verdict is still out on whether or not it is worth it, but it's what I do best and it's even fun -  most of the time.  

Today I am grateful for

a husband who likes to drive so I can just sit back and enjoy the ride.

a son who is willing to take care of things while we leave town.

the chance to be with Shad and his mom and dad again.  My mind is a lot more at peace about him when I am here.  

Missed Opportunities

Today I went to the library to pick up some books I had on hold.  As I approached the check out counter  my attention was drawn to one of the machines there.  What probably got my attention first was the LOUD wailing of a small baby.  I couldn't see the upset infant who was curled up in a stroller but what I did see made my heart happy.  The mother was standing there with 2 other children, a little boy about 3 was balancing on the step stool very seriously placing each book, from a tall stack, on the white square and waiting to hear the ding.  He couldn't work very quickly because his younger sister was also vying for space on the stool and was determined to move him out of the way.  The mom was being so patient, while trying to encourage the entire process along at a little faster pace.  Any attempt she made to assist was met with immediate complaints of "I'm doing it" and she would
step back and let her son do it.  I was proud of her control.

I quickly checked out, glanced again at the entertaining family while thinking "I'm glad I'm past that stage of my life" and walked out the door.

As I unlocked my car I had a strong desire to cry and I wasn't sure why.

I gave it some thought as I drove down the road to my next destination and I began to realize that I should have offered to help that young mother.  She was handling herself just fine and she might have declined my offer, but I stil should have made the attempt.

But even more than that I should have told that mom that I was glad she had chosen to be a mother.

That  I was happy she had made the effort to bring her children to the library.

That I appreciated her patience with her little ones when it would have been so much easier to move them aside and just check the books out herself.

I should have given her a pat on the back,

because mothers don't seem to get those very often.

I should have told her GOOD JOB!

and I didn't

and then I regretted it.

One of my favorite talks in the October General Conference was by Elder M. Russell Ballard and was entitled "Be Anxiously Engaged".

In this talk he encourages every man, woman and child to begin a simple practice.

"In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children.  Then go throughout the day with your heart full of faith and love, looking for someone to help ... If you do this, your spiritual sensitivities will be enlarged and you will discover opportunities to serve that you never before realized were possible." 

I have been trying to remember to do this every day and have had some sweet experiences, but today I lost focus and missed an opportunity.

And I want to say I'm sorry.

I can't go back and change what happened today, but I can look forward with a desire to improve.

Hopefully next time my spiritual sensitivities will kick into gear just a little bit faster and I can feel that I have done my best to serve God's children that I cross paths with.

Today I am thankful for

parents who treat their children with patience and love.

a women who looked for an opportunity to serve and was prompted to organize a monthly family home evening group for the "empty nesters" in our ward.  Tonight was our first activity and it was so fun and uplifting to get together and eat, visit, laugh, talk of Christ and enjoy the Christmas spirit.

homemade orange rolls.  YUMMY!