Summer Saturday

Thursday I was at the BMT clinic from 8:30 AM until around 2:30 PM, for labs and to get something called IGIV. It's supposed to help me make more red blood cells. Mine have been low lately, for reasons unknown.

I've had bad acid reflux or something for the past week or so. I think the gvh has affected my esophagus. It hurts! Makes it hard to eat or drink, and I've already lost a lot of weight so I can't stop eating.

Seems like it's always something. We try something that's meant to help, and it causes problems of another kind. I'm so tired of it, I'm about ready to tell them to just stop giving me anything.

I don't have to go to the clinic again until July 10. And then I also have an appointment with the diabetes clinic on July 12 to see if they can give me some help lowering my glucose levels. The steroids are causing it to go sky high and it's hard to bring it down.

Other than all that, I'm doing okay. I have some energy to clean and do laundry. I work for a bit, then rest, work some more, rest some more. I can't do as much as I used to do, but it makes me feel better to be able to get some things done.

Ron, Reece and I went to Gran's today. We took her some Chinese food and she chowed down. :o) We stopped at my favorite Thai restaurant on the way home. I had pad thai (vegetarian w/tofu) and Ron had pork pad thai. We shared with Reece. He liked the pork, but not the tofu.

The kids played in the pool the rest of the day. In fact, Reece and Aubrey are still outside now. It's almost bedtime and I think they will be worn out and ready for sleep.

The plan for tomorrow is to bathe Sister and Katy. They have a vet appointment on Monday, and I want them to be pretty and clean. They are still the sweetest dogs in the world.

Morning At The Lake

We took off for the lake Tuesday morning.

It was fun watching the kids play in the water.

We took a pop-up cover to put over a picnic table on the beach, so we had shade.

We had a big cooler filled with drinks, sandwich makings and cut-up fresh fruit, and Josh grilled hot dogs for lunch.

Isn't it funny how food tastes so much better outdoors?

We left not long after lunch, but it was long enough.

They went swimming again later in the afternoon, and I went to Gran's. She didn't even notice that I was late. :o)

Birds and Stuff

Blogging has not been on the top of my list lately--obviously. I'll try to do better.

It's hot! The kids are in the pool every day, and I spend quite a bit of time on the patio watching them. I'm supposed to stay out of the sun, so I don't get in much. The kids and I enjoy all the birds visiting our backyard--hummingbirds, wrens, mockingbirds, cardinals, jays, house finches, two kinds of doves, sparrows, and sometimes varieties I don't recognize. There is one mockingbird that has been keeping me awake at night though. I'm not too fond of him.

I'm glad I'm a procrastinator, because the wrens that raised their family on our front porch came back and have a new family in the little nest they built before! I had planned to take the wreath and nest down after the first family flew away, but put it off so long that they came home. :o) We love seeing them there every day.

I'm still fighting the GvH. My skin is slowly improving. Still going to the clinic once a week for blood tests and exam. It's going okay.

Ron and Josh are working on fence repair this weekend. They will be doing just a little at a time until it's finished. I don't like having part of the fence down.

Have a great Sunday!

Happy Fathers Day...

...to all you daddies (and grandpas) out there!

Birthday Bikes

I never did post any birthday pictures of Aubrey, so here she is on her new bicycle.

She likes to ride it around the pool, and picked up how to pedal right away. She has training wheels for now, but I think she will be riding on her own before long.

Reece's birthday is tomorrow. His daddy and mama took him to buy a bicycle and helmet today. He looks pretty happy with it, doesn't he? :o) He likes the idea of riding with his daddy and Aubrey.

More birthday pics tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Lily!

Hello sweet Lily!

Today we are thinking of you, and hoping that you are having a wonderful birthday.

I wish we could be with you to celebrate. When you come to visit, we will have another celebration, okay?

All of us here send you happy birthday wishes, hugs and kisses.

We love you, Lily!

Catching Up

Ron is out of town for the week. He left on Sunday and we're already missing him.

Today I drove to Mom's with Reece. Because of the cauda equina and the numbness in my derriere, legs and feet, I'm a little nervous about driving. But the more I do it, the more my confidence grows. I have to be careful when I'm stopped so that I don't roll into the car ahead of me. And I noticed today that going uphill I slowed down because I wasn't pressing hard enough on the gas pedal to keep up my speed. I'm sure I'll have it down soon.

I had the fourth dose of Rituxan on Thursday. No problems, other than being incredibly sleepy from the benedryl for the rest of the day. I always feel a little weird/bad for a few days after the chemo.

Dr. O still has me on prednisone, but has been cutting back on it. It wreaks havoc with my blood sugar, so it will be a relief to get totally off it.

Sandi was here for the weekend. It was nice to spend a little time with her, and I know Mom was happy to see her. Our time together is never long enough, but I so appreciate all she does for Mom when she is here. Thank you, Sandi!

Hope you've all had a great Monday!

More Random Thoughts

1. Happy that Scott Walker won the recall election in Wisconsin.

2. Someone tried to use my debit card to make a $769 on-line purchase to a business in Thailand. What the heck? The bank's fraud division caught it and denied the charge, thank goodness. They shut down the card so it can't be used. It's an inconvenience to have to wait for a new one, but I'm glad it was caught so quickly.

3. My new rug was delivered this morning. It is so pretty, and feels very cushy underfoot. Love the colors!

4. Rituxan tomorrow. :o(

5. I misunderstood. Ron is going out of town next week, but only for one week. His three week trip will be in July. Who is going to buy me Dilly Bars?

Random Thoughts

1. Today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 92 years old, but he died of leukemia in 1992. Twenty years later, I miss him as much as ever.

2. Mom is doing fairly well at age 85. I am so grateful that she is able to continue to live on her own. She's very independent, and having to move in with family or into assisted living would be extremely hard on her. We need a family compound--a house for each family, not too close together. :o)

3. This will be Reece's first week of summer vacation. He is so content to be at home, at least for now. He is in the pool every day (along with Aubrey and Camryn), and is getting such a pretty tan. His skin is just perfect, and I love the freckles sprinkled across his cheeks and nose. He's a good swimmer, and Aubrey is getting better too.

4. Ron is going to be gone for about 3 weeks starting in mid-June. Not looking forward to that.

I would like to go away for awhile, too.

5. I ordered an area rug for the family room from Overstock.com. Free shipping, but I don't know yet when it will get here.

6. Now we need a new sofa (or sectional) and slipcovers for two wingback chairs.