Had to get out of the house...

So, I wanted to post something else since my last post (understandable) and I wanted it to be light hearted. Kris, Kris' mom Sharon, Kris' sister Stephanie and I all decided to head up to Genoa to the Candy Dance this weekend. We departed early and had a nice ride up there, got a great parking spot and headed out to see what we could find. We had a great time looking at all of the crafts. My favorite part was all of the GREAT TASTING (not great for you) FOOD that they had! It was nice to get my mind off of stuff and spend some time with people I care about. Thanks Sharon and Steph for a great day! Below are some pictures of our day and some of the things we bought. :)

Here is a pic of Kristopher enjoying his delicious chicken sandwich. I told him to act enthused as this pic would be on the blog:)

Here is Steph and I. It is never too early to enjoy a little morning margarita and some cheetos. Here I am cleaning bread out of my braces.....we are such nerds!

And here is the revamped pic....I made Kris take it again cause I knew I messed up the first one!

Ah-ha!! I had been looking for the funnel cakes all morning!!! This sign led me to the promise land!

And alas....we have found the little slice of deep fried heaven! Bavarian Cream and Chocolate for Steph, Strawberry and whipped cream for me. At this point I think Kris was wondering if I was going to go home and work off all of the food I had eaten! No worries though...metabolism is in tip top shape:)

This is interesting and hilarious.....this sign was obviously at a hot dog stand. I found that it was so appropriate for the blog that I must take a pic of it. Nothing like a totally inappropriate sign for the annual family event of the Candy Dance. I loved it and wished that it was bigger, the sign that is.

Here is Kristopher and his mom. She is great....and she makes fabulous occasion cakes if anyone is interested, let me know! Treasure times with your moms everyone!! We had smiles all around that day:)

Here are some cute signs that we bought for the house.....AWWWW I really do love him to the moon and back!! Lately I have really been into these country signs and I think I will start making them on my own:)

WE had a great time and I want to say THANK YOU to Steph and Sharon for a great day. It really helped take my mind off of some stuff and can't wait to go next year!

Done Fighting...

Okay so I'm not sure how to say this and there is no easy way so this one will be short. This week, my mom had her MRI done and they found a large mass in her abdomen and more than one tumor in her brain. She was given the option to do radiation on her brain and was going to do that. The doctors told me it wouldn't help her. I went in and told her that and she has opted out of any further treatment at this time. My mom doesn't have a lot of time left, and I was told "your mom is now coming to the end of her life and you need to spend time with her." It is a weird feeling and I know that this has been coming, but this is the most horrible thing I have EVER and will EVER have to watch. My mom does not deserve any of this and yet she still is suffering and fighting day in and day out. She is at home now and this time will not be easy........they have brought in HOSPICE to help also. My brother came home from the ARMY to see her before he has to go back on Friday. Everyone knows of her condition in the family and its sad that my brother has to go back but I think my mom would understand. If anyone has any advice for me or has gone through this before, let me know......until then keep thinking of her and know that she is not sick or hurting from the chemo/radiation at this time. :(

MA~ I LOVE YOU!

Keep your fingers crossed....

Mom was having lots of trouble with pain in her abdomen. Her pain meds were not working like they should, so she called her oncologist and he suggested that she come in for a lung tap a few days early. After last week, when they didn't get as much fluid as they have been getting, they were going to have her wait a whole 7 days between taps. I asked her if that is what she thought they should do and she said it didn't feel like she needed a tap yet. But she went on up to Reno anyway today with my Dad to get it handled. She had also been complaining that she had been UNUSUALLY tired, more so than she has been. Her arm is so heavy that she couldn't lift it from the lymphodema. The nurses took one look at her and said "admit her."

She is up at Renown now and I think she feels better about being there. Hopefully they will get the lymphodema under control and get her to exercise and build up SOME muscle as she is really weak. Tomorrow they are going to run some tests to see why her abdomen hurts so bad. For now, I am glad that she is not hurting like she was and I HOPE that they MAKE her get up and around. As her daughter, I can only push her so much to move around and walk like she should be doing, but she has definitely shown a stubborn side to me when I suggest that she do this. She can't tell the doctors no....which will only be good for her later on:)

I am bummed that she is there but glad she is being monitored. I thought after the second round and after last week we were getting better. When I find out more, I will post. I still don't know what room she is in. Really why I'm posting is for you all to pray that she gets better and keep your fingers crossed that we can EVENTUALLY come out of these dark woods. :( This is SOOO horrible and I encourage any reader to:

STAY ON TOP OF PREVENTATIVE MEASURES AND TELL THE LADIES YOU LOVE TO DO THE SAME.

Mom Update: Week of 09/15/08

I stayed with my mom last night. She slept great!! We had a good talk and watched some T.V. This morning she enjoyed a little Starbucks and we sorted out some papers to be filed. Mom went in for a lung tap last week and they got 750ml. That is GREAT being as how three days before that they were getting 850ml+ each time they tapped. Here's to HOPING the chemo is drying it up!! She keeps her arm wrapped to help the pain of the lymphodema and we unwrapped it this morning to find that it looked A LOT better. If we can keep my DAD from bugging her ALL DAY we will be in good shape!! She and I believe that she is getting better each day. Next week, on Wednesday (I think) she goes in for her third chemo treatment. (Third one of this type of medicine.) Hey ma~ when you get better we are gonna have to hit the gym to get some of that muscle back! Keep the thoughts and prayers comin!! I know they are working!! Here is a pic of my mom and my new nephew, Brady. More info on him to come!

Saturday Morning Random thoughts....

Good morning my happy friends and family! This morning I was at my mom's house and was happy to help her get some bills and filing taken care of. Ma, if you are reading this, know that sometimes I get frustrated but it is never with you. I'm glad that you are feeling a little better and I happy to always help. And know that you can call me when Dad is bugging you and you need a break from him! Lord knows he bugs me sometimes too but he is trying the best he can! Boys are so not the people to go to when you want a sensitive ear or piece of advice. The latest thing I was told was "build a bridge and get over it." At first I was offended by this, but it is helpful to hear the hard side of things sometimes too. I was *pissed* about a week ago at that comment but actually appreciate it now. (Not that this comment was meant toward mom, but these are just my random thoughts.)

Anyhow....not sure what the day has in store for me. I have about 180 tests to grade, a pile of laundry and probably some dishes to do....but...

I WANNA GO ON A MOTORCYCLE RIDE!!!

Some of you may not know that yes, I am a biker chick....here's the pic to prove it! This is me and our friend Jim at a bike run this past summer:

Kris bought this bike this past summer and has recently purchased a trailer to tow behind it for long trips. If you know me, you know that I am NOT a light packer and I told him that if we are going on long trips we MUST get some more room for me to pack my stuff....gotta stay cute on trips!!

At this time Kris is laying on the couch, watching TV with his friend the kleenex box. This is the first year that BOTH of our allergies have been acting up BAD. He is SO congested and it seems to be worse when there are piles of laundry or dishes to do....hmmmmmm.

Anyhow, I suppose a shower is in order at some point today. Just wanted to do a little post even though there isn't much going on at our house......hope you all have a great weekend and remember to enjoy the simple things. Let me leave you with a list of simple things that I love. Have a great day!!

Things I love:

*sleeping in, fresh sheets, extra hot lattes, kisses on the forehead, my mom saying she feels good today, puppy breath, stargazer lillies, fettuccini alfredo, pumpkin muffins from Starbucks, wine and pizza nights with Jen, when my friend Jess and I belly laugh and she speaks spanish, belly laughs, when a students 'gets it' and the light bulb comes on, Kris' smile, hot showers, hugs especially from my mom and Kris, evening motorcycle rides, BBQ's, going on walks, holding hands, picnics and soaking up the sun.

I'm sure there are more but I really gotta get some house stuff done today!!

The funny things they say...

First, let me begin by saying this portion of my blog will be ongoing. Every morning I wake up and know that no two days will be the same. This blog is dedicated to the kids......thanking them for making me smile each day with some of the things they say. I think they are hilarious, and some of you may be thinking "I guess you had to be there." But read along and you will chuckle too.



I'm going to preface these quotes by asking you to look back at YOUR junor high expeience. Was it not a horrible time of your life?? It was for me. I was totally awkward, had raging and weird hormones, I was lanky, nerdy and on top of all that had really bad hair. I try to keep in mind that it IS a hard time for these kids and if they are laughing about something in my class, be it inappropriate or not, I should be glad that they are not crying over the latest drama of the day. ENJOY!!

Katelyn~ "If I don't get this map right, I will go batty!!"

Dylan~ "Miss Harrison, are you married?" Me~ "Nope, not yet." Dylan~"Are you going to be one of those ladies that have 38 cats, live by yourself and read the Reader's Digest everyday?"

DeAndre~ (working on a wordsearch) "I found LOVE!!" Ben~ "Congratulations, I hope you two live a long and happy life together." (This was sooooo funny! They didn't know I was listening.)

Trevor~ "Miss Harrison, Dalton just stapled my nipple and it is turning blue!" (WOW, don't ask for this one!)

Skye~ "In the moderate climate, there are carnivorous trees." (It is supposed to be coniferous, not human/man eating trees.)

Taggart~ "Can I go to the nurse? I got hand sanitizer in my eye!"

Kyonna~"Why is the TV making that sound??" Justin~ "Duh...it is to keep us all awake."

Hannah~ (After a lesson on the atmosphere. Before she asked this I compared the atmosphere to long underwear. Trying to explain that the atmosphere keeps the Earth at a comfortable temperature and acts as a protective barrier.) During a test: "Miss Harrison what kind of underwear does the Earth wear again??"

Ben~ "Hey Brandon, is it me or do you have a really annoying voice? Will you PLEASE shush so I can get this done before the day is over?!?!" (Wow, that's exactly what I was thinking!)

Well happy friends....hope you enjoyed these little tidbits of my day....there will be many more to come!!

Taking care of the mom....

IS HARD WORK.... Most of you already know that my mom's cancer came back. I'm going to use this blog to update everyone of her condition....and hopefully of her progress and recovery. Right now she is on her second round of chemo and we are waiting for it to kick in. She still has pretty bad lymphodema in her arms and legs but each time I visit her it looks a bit better. She still wants someone to stay with her at night so me, my sister and my dad have been trading off shifts. Sometimes I have to go over during the week and she doesn't sleep very well at night so that means a long evening.....and an even longer work day! (For some reason 200+ junior high kids seem to wear me out!)

She is moving around a lot more but still has to be on the oxygen 24/7. The doctors are tapping her lungs (that's where they go in and suck the fluid out with a needle and tube) about every 3-4 days but the oncologist wants her to try and wait 4-5 days instead....we will see. Last time they got about 150ml less than they did the time before that so keep her in your thoughts and pray that the chemo is working.

For anyone who has or will have to go through this it really puts things into perspective as far as importance goes. All the little things seem to not matter as much and you tend to treasure the little moments you have with your close friends and family!

Here's to you getting better mamma!