Fin

If writing everyday for Napoblahblah didn't make me grey, the events from last night sure added a few. Observe:






One kid looks cute, the other, a crazed lunatic.




As you can see, Shey can actually turn himself into a ghost at will!


So, so close, but the damn dog got in the way and I lopped off Peyton's head.


This one's not horrible, but I finally managed to get a good one of Peyton and another good one of Shey and I photoshopped those bitches together. These are only a few of the about 50 I took. I thought I was going to lose a kid in the process.

And ta da, my month of posting is OVER!

The End. It is Nye.

Wouldn't that just suck to make it to the 29th day and just forget to post! Whew, 29 days down, one to go. Then I can resume my normal sporadic crappy posting, rather than my every day crappy posting!

The kids and I put up the Christmas tree last night and we only had 2 casualities. And wouldn't you know it, while in bed, I heard one of the cats already puking up fake pine needles. Damn cats. If anyone knows what I can do to keep my cats from eating fake pine needles and real flower leaves, please leave me a comment. For now, we are shutting them up in the back of the house. I'm going to attempt to take the boys photo tonight for Christmas cards. Hopefully they will cooperate and I won't have to photoshop them too much. I can't believe this year is getting ready to end already. Time flies.

The D-List

Look at me go. ha ha

The weather outside is frightful, but inside it's so delightful.

I put up the christmas lights outside last night, the office ones just now and I'm going to do our interior this evening. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. (Or at least drop below 80!)

Some Good News

The Urologist called us this evening and said that the radiologist had a chance to review the scans. He believes that the mass on Larry's kidney is a cyst that was bleeding. If this is the case, we will just have to monitor it yearly. The Urologist wants Larry to have one more set of scans, a CT without contrast and a CT with contrast. The doctor did say that the radiologist was leaning towards it just being a cyst. I really feel God has answered all the many prayers being said on behalf of Larry. Thank you all.

I did it!

Well, we didn't make it home. Instead, crashed at a hotel in Orlando. About 3.5 hours from home, but the kids were done, and I was starving. But, I made it! Despite the slow Internet access and family stuff, I made it through the Thanksgiving holidays. It's clear sailing from here on out.

Sheyism: issie down: while laying on the floor, or just throwing your head back while walking. Means upside down. Yell jubilantly through the house: "Issie down! Issie down!"

Sheyism: Run around with your arms straight out making rumbling noises, then stop and look expectantly at your audience and say, "Airplane!"

Flavor of Horror

Last night I drempt I was married to Flava Flave. I think it was the scariest dream I've ever had.

Zoo Day Today

We headed to the zoo today for a little family fun. It was perfect weather too. Crisp but not too cold, so the animals were out and about. Peyton had a grand time running about and Shey fell asleep. Lovely, lovely. That's all I have to say.

Happy Turkey Day

We completed the trip from hell about 6 last night and are now settled at my parents house with a fire blazing and turkey cooking. With all that is going on, there are still so many things to be thankful for. Family, friends, of course. Food on the table and a roof over our head. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Peyton is busy making a collage of turning leaves to take back to school on Monday to show his class what fall looks like.

I'll close with a song.

A turkey for me and a turkey for you.
Turkey that doesn't taste like a big brown shoe.
Turkey de dee and a turkey de dap.
I'll eat my turkey then I'll take a nap.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Day 22 - 8 days to go

I think I can, I think I can.

Only a crazy person participating in NaBloblahblah would be on the computer at 7:30 in the morning in a hotel making sure she got her post in for the day. It could be that, or the 5 hours spent in the car with two children who took turns screaming over the same toy car. Why, oh, why did I not bring the blue car. (ha, and I'm even working movie references in.) So, we have about 6 hours to go today, but I will be buying another car before we leave this city. We also have saved the DVD player for today, so hopefully we can make it with our wits in tact.

See ya on the flip side.

Separation Time

Well, folks, those of us participating in NaBloblahblah, it's time to separate the boys/girls from the men/women. We're heading into a highly traveled holiday. Who of us will be able to continue to log in every day and post in our blogs? I'll be fighting my mom's dial-up for a few days. Here's hoping we'll lose some people and they'll only be enough remaining to win those fabulous prizes!

Back to Square One

We met with the Urologist at the U of Miami this afternoon. He reviewed the scans firsthand without looking at the previous reports and said that the picture of the mass doesn't appear to be clear either way. There are signs that this is just a fatty tissue mass, which would be left alone, and there are signs that it may be more and need to be removed. Also, there are some tell tale signs of a cancerous tumor that aren't there. The Urologist is going to show the scans to the radiologist on staff, who he swears by, and we will call them when we get back in town on Monday.

So, it's not great news, but it is hopeful news. Pray that the radiologist looks at it and says, oh yeah, that's just a wod of fat. Not the most pleasant thought, but better than cancer any day.

Today is a Beautiful Day

When the boys and I left for church this morning, there was a hint of chill in the air. Fall has finally reached South Florida. Shey and I did yardwork afterwards, while Larry took care of some work inside. We had the back doors and windows open and the breeze swept through the house. The one thing about finding out something like Larry and I have is that we have rediscovered how blessed we are as well. So, so many people have reached out to us. Between all the churches in our family, there are thousands praying for us. Larry and I have found strength in each other. Through it all, we are still laughing. The situation could be so much worse. It's gonna be all right.

I guess I should clarify

Yesterday, we went to Larry's PCP to get the results of the CT scan from Friday. The radiologist report of the CT scan said there was no infection and that the complex mass was atypical of renal cell carcinoma, or cancer. It's not confirmed by the specialist, but I'm not sure if they can confirm what it is before going in and looking first hand. I've read that if they even suspect cancer of the kidneys that they won't biopsy for fear of spreading it. For now, the tumor is contained within his right kidney, which is a blessing. All the other organs look clear. With all this being said, I suspect they will just remove his kidney.

The thing that really pisses me off (beside the whole mess) is that the radiologist that looked at the CT scan from Friday gleaned more information from the first CT scan Larry had in the hospital. This is the same scan that the ER radiologist was all over the board when he read it. Had the Er radiologist been more confident in their findings, we wouldn't have been running all over the place trying to get answers for the past three weeks.

Thank you for all your prayers. I guess the good thing is that if it is cancer, since it's contained in his kidney he won't need further treatment after they remove the kidney. This just sucks.

Renal Cell Carcinoma (Suspicious)

For now, that's the diagnosis. We meet with an Urologist at the U of Miami on Monday to see what the next steps are. The doctor called me directly, so I drove to Naples last night to see Larry and tell him in person. We're both pretty numb right now. Please continue to have us in your prayers.

Lesson Learned

Some mornings Shey busts through the classroom door like he owns the place, waving hello to everyone, grinning and carrying on. Some mornings, he pitches a fit as soon as we walk through the door, clinging to my leg and carrying on in a different fashion. This morning was one of the latter days. Generally, when he has these "episodes" I gently dislodge him to the teacher and high tail it out of there. I always hang outside the door for a few seconds to see if he will calm down, and mostly he does. I figure it's like a band-aid, rip it off quickly.

This morning though, Peyton ran to his classroom by himself, so I had a couple minutes to spare. I squatted down by Shey and chatted with him a while. Led him to the table so he could finish his donut (shut up, it's dairy) and just stayed. A few minutes later, the class was getting ready to go outside, and Shey got up with them and headed out the door. He waved, "Bye-bye, mommy!" and off he went.

Well, color me a bad parent. Imagine, my baby just wanted a few more minutes with me, just an extra moment, a hug, and a chat. Oh, how I love that little guy.

Blogging Dora Style

After being pumped up by Fussy's pep talk, I ran over hear to share with you the theme song for NaBloblah blah:

We Did It! (sang to the tune of Dora the Explorer ending song)

We did it!
We did it!
Montaseema (Whatever that means in Spanish)
We did it!
We wrote in our blogs every day for a month!
We did it!
We did it!
It was really tough going, but we showed our stuff!
We did it!
WE! DID! IT!

Yay! I had such a good time writing blogs with you guys this month! What was your favorite part? Oh, I liked that part too! Thanks for helping!

(Clearly, NickJr has taken over my brain.)

Missing You

Larry and I have been so connected lately with the whole kidney issue that his being out of town this week has affected me more than it normally does. I miss him with my being. After I left dinner last night with our friends, I sincerely thought of continuing the drive to Naples just so we could be together for the night. Nine years ago when we first met, I would have done it in an heartbeat, but age and mommyhood have taken away some of my compulsions and so I went home instead. I miss him though something fierce and Friday can't get here soon enough.

Halfway (Almost) There

Day 14 - I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Larry is away in Naples this week (Florida, not Italy) and some friends are in town from CA, so I get to have an adult dinner tonight and the in-laws have the boys. Yippee! We're going to my favorite restaurant (Blue Moon) and then I plan on going home and watching UltraViolet. Hopefully, it will be decent.

Also, I found a new blog (well, new to me) Mommy Needs Coffee. A great read. Most of the time, when I find serious bloggers, the ones who do this regularly with great readership, I am just in awe. The thought and work that goes behind creating entries is just amazing. The amount of words and the variance of the language they use to describe everyday tasks and the more meaningful topics just astound me. I'm so quick to whip something out and just stand back and think, look an entry! You would think I would have more of the writer drive with my degree in English and my love of reading. Alas, I fall short, and so I direct you to a better equipped blogger. I also read through her archives on her gaming blog, which of course intrigued me, but I refuse to even look into the game for fear I will become addicted too.

And there is my entry! Look at me! :-p

The Bed Making King

I have never been a bed maker. Even the few times in my life that I have had nice comforter sets, I still never make the bed. I will, when putting up the laundry, drag the sheets and quilt up to make a nice flat surface, but to make it nice and neat every morning would near about kill me. We have cleaning ladies who come every other week and they make the beds. Lately, Peyton has been noticing more when they come, generally because I am screaching for him to pick up the toy room before they get there the next morning and also because in said play room, they will take the toys that Peyton puts aside so his brother can't reach and the ladies intergrate them back into the pile of toys that one day I swear I'm going to go through and throw away half of them. (holy batman, long sentence)

So anyway, back to the bed making. After the girls came last Thursday, Peyton commented on his bed and how nice it looked. You know what, the little booger has made his bed every morning since then. He pulls the comforter up, puts his pillow and the sham at the top, then puts his big Eeyore at the foot. He even goes so far as to spread his baby blanket, with the little teddy bear head, out in the middle. It cracks Larry and me up. The kid won't put his shoes on in the morning without a fight and he still refuses to wipe his own butt most the time, but by god, his bed is made every morning!

I make a point to tell him every day too how great it looks. I'm hoping before long, I can release the cleaning girls and let Peyton take over!

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On the kidney front, Larry went for his CT scan on Friday, and the results will be faxed to the doctor's office by Thursday, so I am calling today and trying to get his follow up appt. However, the staff is supossed to return at 2 from lunch, and it is now 2:25 and the answering service is still picking up. Argh! I made him an appt on December 1 with the Cleveland Clinic for a second opinion. He still feels fine physically, which is good. We're both a little drained mentally though, and I'm fighting some sinus mess. Blah.

Sunday Football

Football may very well be the sport of the devil. I'm not saying I don't enjoy watching a game every now and then, but Sunday after Sunday, All Day Long, gets very old. Especially when there are children involved and fantasy football. Fantasy Football is the boil on the ass of society. Fantasy Football takes the casual man who watches one team per week, to a crazed maniac, who must keep an eye on Every Single Game because his players are spread across the board. And we all know that watching these players causes them to play better. Blah, that's all I've got to say about that.

First 5K Complete

I ran the 5K this evening at Tradewinds Park Festival of Lights. It was pretty cool, the holiday decorations were up, but not open to the public yet, so we got a sneak peak. My running partner finished at 35 minutes and I finished just at 40. I'm pretty proud of that time since I've only been "training" for about 6 weeks, and not too strenuous of training either. I'm going to print out a training guide and be more prepared for the next one. It was fun.

Day 10 - Just a Swangin'

I'm not sure why this phrase has been in my head lately. There's definitely no swangin' going on in my household. Larry has his CT scheduled for this afternoon. Hopefully, the staffs of all the doctors are on the same page and this will give us some news. My brain is just so tired of all of this. I know this sounds harsh, but I just don't do well playing the sympathetic wife, or person for that matter, for long periods of time. I want to know what's going on and I want it to be handled. This limbo shit if for the birds. I know these things take time, but I am just so done already and it's only been two weeks.

I remember when Peyton had a nasty sinus infection a couple years ago that we just couldn't get to go away, and I felt the same then. The constant fevers, no clear cut answers from the doctors and the never ending worrying just drove me crazy. I rememeber thinking, I just couldn't handle it if one of my kids had a chronic condition. I give all the credit in the world to the parents who have to deal with long term illnesses and things of that nature.

Patience is a virtue and one that I do not have.

Just a Bloggin'

Posting once a day for whatever that acronym is reminds me why I could never be a writer full time. To actually sit down and write a well thought entry day after day is intimidating and my creativity is struggling to keep up. I'm just hopping most of the bloggers forget a day and I'll land one of the great prizes for completing this mission!

What a Cluster F*ck

After I wrote my entry yesterday, the scheduler lady called Larry to let him know that she had double checked with the specialist, and the original scan he had written was not exactly right. With this being said, Larry did not have to take the Magnesium stuff, and instead needed to pick up some Berium from the imaging center to drink 2 hours before his scan. Larry thought this was great as he was not looking forward to pooping his brains out.

We went for his blood work this morning, which is an ordeal in itself as Larry HATES needles and things of that nature. We made it through without him passing out, then went home for him to take the berium and await his 11:00 scan. When we arrived at the imaging center, they looked over the Rx again and informed us that the specialist has specified that he wanted a clearer picture of any stones that may be on his kidney, rather than mentioning the mass (which we are more concerned about). Further, should the specialist really just want to rule out stones, then the berium was no good because it actually hides stones on the CT scan. You can imagine, we were less than happy.

Larry got on the phone with the specialist, who was less than helpful, saying she couldn't reach the doctor, blah, blah, blah. Larry called bullshit and told her, look, we're worried about this mass on my kidney that could be cancerous, HELLO?! After about 10 minutes of back and forth, and me restaining myself from grabbing the phone and chewing her a new asshole, she took down the number for the imaging center and said she was would try and get a hold of the doctor to clarify.

Three minutes later at the most, she called back having already reached the doctor. Unavailable my ass. He confirmed he wanted a regular CT scan with no contract, no IVP, or anything. The problem is, the berium has to exit your body through elimination and this takes a few days. Seriously, can these people not get their acts together so we can figure out what to do?!?

We scheduled the CT scan for late Friday afternoon and we'll hope the berium has passed through his system by then. I am so freakin' frustrated and just want to let the specialist have it for writing such a confusing Rx to begin with.

And this, my friends, is why they call it practicing medicine. Ba dum dum.

Test Scheduled for Larry

Larry has his IVP scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9. This is a detailed CT scan with dye, from what I've read. He has to drink that magnesium crap they gve you for a colonoscopy starting at 2 this afternoon and only have a bland dinner.

I'm getting nervous again. We had both chilled out after the last meeting with the doctor, but with the test looming over us, I feel a little constriction in the chest. And I know it's not as important as his health, but the whole money thing has me concerned too. Our dedutible, then 20% of everything, then if he does have surgery, that will be time out of work. He has about 2 weeks of time, and I guess we could use short term disability if we have to after that. I'm just ready to know already what's going on and what we have to do.

Can I Biggie Size this Bed?

My dear husband was so kind as to leave me some Chinese food last night knowing I would be hungry after my trip home. And I was, however, it was a bit spicy and I retired to the bedroom not long after eating, only to toss and turn without sleeping. I remember looking at the clock a few times and just wishing for morning to come so I could get the day over with and try the sleeping thing again.

Then sometime in the night, between 2 and 3, Peyton came and crawled in the bed, which normally doesn't affect my sleeping too much, however, I was already awake and he was having a field day with my ear. (Playing with the ears of anyone other than himself is something he has done since he was about 9 weeks old.) Then he started talking in his sleep. I finally dozed off when Shey woke up. Larry brought him to bed with us too, and I tried to put Peyton back in his bed, but he started carrying on and I didn't want to fight him, so he came back to bed with us. There we were, two little and two big monkeys sleeping, or trying to, on the bed.

Ah, it's good to be home.

Home Again, Home Again

I've had such a great time visiting, but I'm ready to go home now. I miss my kids (gasp!) and Larry. I think we had a little too much fun last night as I am Hung Over this morning. Ugh! The flight home may not be as pleasant as the flight here. Pray we don't have any turbulance.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday T!

I'm so glad I was able to come up for the occassion.

The Thing I Miss Most

Being in Alabama this weekend has reminded me of the one thing I really miss aside from my family and friends, of course. That is the changing of the leaves in the fall. I forget how awesomely beautiful the leaves are in gold, burnt orange and deep red. Even driving down the Interstate is like being in a picture book.

My friend and I went shopping today and we both spent money neither of us have, but you have to, you know. Now I'm sitting here typing this while my Bliss Triple Action Oxygen mask tingles on my face. Yay for charge cards!

Day two, Day two

Because I don't have enough to do, I started another blog called Book Reviews By Me. I'm going to try and post there everyday with new books, however, tomorrow will be the exception as I am going out of town to see my very best friend in the whole wide world turn 30 on Saturday! (Hey T! I'll be there in a few hours! wheeeee)

I'm not promising they will be the most professional reviews, as I'm trying to write true to me rather than all criticy, but they should improve as I get in the swing of things. (Hopefully ha)

On the kidney note, spirits are high as we await the CT scan next week. We have three churches officially praying for us, and countless other individuals. Keep up the good work, we feel the strength coming through. :) I can't tell you how much Larry and I appreciate our friends.

We Have a Plan

The Nephrologist (kidney specialist) was able to squeeze us in yesterday, and what a squeeze it was. We waiting 3 hours before seeing him. We're not complaining though, we were happy to get in. Larry even sat patiently, which is pretty miraculous for him.

The doctor had a great bedside manner and explained everything to us, down to the difference between a Nephologist and an Urologist (one treats, one cuts in basic terms). He scheduled another CT scan for Larry next week so we can have a comparison to the first one after Larry finishes the antibiotics. He said it very well could just be a nasty infection caused by the stone that has absessed. He did't promise that Larry may not need some type of procedure or even the kidney removed, but he didn't seemed rushed to operate. This makes us feel so much better. We can handle surgery if it's necessary, but just to jump right on the table freaked us out.

To me, Larry having an infection makes more sense. Just keep praying for us!

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On another note, I'm still "training" for my 5k and this morning I jogged 8 minutes before taking my first walk break. Go me! It wasn't the fastest pace, but a jog nonetheless. I may be able to do this without making a complete ass of myself!