bits and pieces: weekend in review!

Hey ya'll! I hope you're having a great Tuesday morning. It's still quiet around here - only half past 7, so the girls are still sleeping. I'm taking this chance to bloggity-blog & have some alone time before our day really starts. I don't know about you, but I love getting up early in the morning. I can get my Bible time in, start my chores for the day (I've gotten the last load of laundry in already!) and have time to just be by myself for a little while. It may not work for everybody, but it sure works for me!

This mornings Bible Study.

Friday afternoon we headed over to Mississippi. I have family there north of Gulfport,and this is where the girls will be spending the majority of the time I'm in the hospital.  The girls will get to spend a lot of time with their sweet little cousin, Gracelyn. :) 

We love us some Miss Gracelyn! 

We made a little trip down there this weekend in hopes that the girls would be more acclimated and the adjustment wouldn't be tough. I'd say it worked, because as we were leaving Sunday Sara said, "Can't you go in the hospital today, mama? I really want to stay here!" 

Out of the mouths of babes, right? ;)

We had a blast there - creek time, good food (that April sure is a good cook!), shopping, beach, and just some good old family time. I'm convinced there is nothing better!

I love this view coming in, but I'm always so sad when we're leaving. :(

I spent some time cleaning out our "office area" (aka the spare bedroom with a too-large-for-our-dining-room-dining-table-and-china-cabinet-and-keyboard) the other day. I FINALLY got everything organized, filed, etc. I turned the empty china cabinet into the craft space. It works for now. I can't wait to get home and set my sewing machine up!

One day I will have a dining room large enough or this furniture - I love it!

Sara had Kindergarten Academy last week, which is basically where they introduce you to the school system and the children have a chance to become familiar with things before schools tarts. 

To say Sara loved  is quite the understatement!

She did NOT appreciate having to get up early every morning, but she came home so fulfilled that it was totally worth it. Any doubt I had about not homeschooling this year went out the window. She will be fine and even though sending my children to public school was not something I ever planned on,I choose to use it as a lesson tool for teaching them 

how to stay true to themselves and Christ when others may not.

Bloom where you're planted, you know?

First day of drop off. 

June kept saying, "My Rara? We no leave my Rara! I want my Rara!"

All. Day. Long.

Sister love at its best. :)

Last day just after we picked her up. 

She was wore out!

This is what's been happening in our house at night lately.

Laney fits under the beds, so that's where she sleeps at night.

max it too fat big to sleep under the bed, so he lays next to the girls bed, and they cover him with a blanket. Pretty cute if you ask me!

Daddy reads the best bedtime stories, don't you know?

For about a month and a half now, I've been choosing much healthier foods to put in my body. That's not to say I don't cheat every once in a while (I definitely did this weekend on the road!) but I make a conscious effort each day to train myself with a better way. It's not a diet. It's a lifestyle change for me. Since last Wednesday, I have been walking every day. except for Saturday and Sunday when I took off. I have only walked about 3/4 mile to 1 mile, but last night I broke it and walked 1.1 miles. I was very proud of myself! I know that doesn't seem big to ya'll, but for me that is something considering all that I've been through/am going through.  Since last Wednesday, I have lost 2.8 pounds. But for me, it is not about what the scale says right now. 

It's about knowing what I'm putting in my body and doing with my body is a good choice.

I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'll learn as I go!

This was my breakfast the other morning --

 ham & cheddar omelet & raspberries, cherries & strawberries.

I hope ya'll have a wonderful Tuesday!

mississippi trip #1!

Hey ya'll! Happy Wednesday to you! I hope you're having a great one.

I wanted to give ya'll a small update on me. I still have not had the bone marrow transplant, but will be shortly. We've had to put it off due to scheduling conflicts with radiation (I require radiation and chemotherapy before the actual transfer of cells), and then a second time due to getting a severe cold. But now we are scheduled for July 9, with me going to Atlanta next Friday for pre-meds. I will be admitted into the hospital on Monday for a week of chemo/radiation. Then the transplant will follow.

Did ya'll know a transplant only takes about 30 minutes? It's put in through a PICC or chest line. Mine will be placed with a PICC line. The Lord has favored me beyond measure and I will be able to use my own stem cells, which have already been collected. This GREATLY reduces the risk of anything going wrong, and makes things just much simpler in general.

What does using my own stem cells mean?

It means....

I AM CANCER FREE.

There's no other words. Until you hear those words, you cannot imagine how it feels.

I have been blessed, (yes - BLESSED!) to hear them twice so far.

On to what's been going on lately! About two weeks ago we took a weekend trip to south Mississippi to visit my family there. My big camera battery was deader than a doornail, & my girls had messed my phone camera up, so there are hardly any pictures. We left early Saturday morning & drove down. We had lunch at the The Blowfly Inn (seriously - if you've ever in the Biloxi/Gulfport area - you HAVE to eat there!) , then April & I took the little girls swimming in the hotel pool while my cousin Bo & the hubs went out, & the MawMaw rested. Unfortunately, my cousin had to work. We missed you, Michael!

That night we all went to Kangaoroz, which is an indoor jump place. We had so much fun!

There are not really any pictures since we were all chasing kids around and having fun ourselves! I grabbed this one of my cousin Bo, then my camera shut down on me.

The next day we had lunch at The Shed

It's awesome. Go get you some!

Michael and April, thanks for driving down to meet us on the coast. We had a blast and we are looking forward to coming again in a couple of days! Bo, thank you for spending time with us. For those of you who don't know, Bo is my "little" cousin who is in tech school at Keesler AFB. His free time apart from studying is limited, so I'm thankful he chose to spend it with us!

We wore the girls slap out!

meal plan monday #1

Hey ya'll! We're having a grand old time over here. Waiting on my transplant (two weeks!), spending lots of family time together and eating lots of yummy food. So on that note -- here's our meal plan for the next week! I hope you enjoy & if you blog your meal plan, send me a link! 

I'd love to check it out! :)

Monday: chicken, kale, and pasta casserole with grilled burgers & homemade onion rings

Tuesday: 15 bean soup & cornbread

Wednesday: parmesan broiled tilapia, asparagus and rice 

Thursday:  stuffed peppers, leftover rice, fresh sliced tomatoes, green beans

Friday: salmon with a sour cream sauce, roasted zucchini & squash,  salad

Saturday: tomato pie, salad, steamed broccoli

I left one night out for leftovers, and Id on't plan breakfast or lunch. For breakfast we typically have oatmeal, grits, eggs in different forms, pancakes, or waffles (we love the Van's brand). Lunches consist of leftovers, sandwiches, salads, etc. If I can get my electronics to favor me, I think I'm going to start doing a weekly "Meal Plan Monday" and then on Sunday I will post what we ate for thew eek. I've been watching tons of these on YouTube and have become really inspired!

I hope ya'll have a great Monday! We've dropped Sara off at summer camp, June is napping with her aunt and I'm about to having a cleaning marathon. Yay me!

IG lines and Trader Joe's

I hope ya'll are having a great Thursday!

 

I went back to the Hemapharesis clinic today to have my IG line taken out and just get a once-over to make sure everything was going well and I could go home.

Everything is great! We were shooting for 4-5 million cells & we got 5.1!

I'm so thankful. My platelets are still low (a combination of my chemo and the Neupegen shot I was taking to boost stem cells) so I got an infusion (which my body didn't really take in) and then went back to the clinic to have my IG line taken out.

I really work myself up over stuff like that and I had convinced myself it would go haywire, blood would be shooting out all over the bed, floor, nurse and myself...but that was not the case.

She removed the tape (ouch!), cleaned me up, snipped the stitches (bigger ouch!) and had me hum while she pulled the line (didn't even hurt -- barely felt it and it literally took 2 seconds!).

Put pressure to the wound site for 30 minutes (due to low platelets) and then applied a pressure dressing which I will take off in 48 hours.

My neck feels soooo much better. It didn't hurt to have the tube in, but it was just awkward and uncomfortable. I'm glad it's out.

 

What it looks like when you have an IG line taken out and have a pressure dressing on.

What? You didn't know this was Europe's latest fashion? :)

 

 

After we left the hospital, we made a trip to Trader Joe's because I'd seen several here in Atlanta and I've always wanted to go to one.

I was not disappointed.

I could stay in there for hours, I think. I'm funny like that in a grocery store, especially one geared towards healthy eating -- everything is just so neat.

I picked up a few things for the house and supper for tonight.

We're having peppercorn chicken, basmati rice, and salad with arugula, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and asian sesame dressing, by the way. :)

 

I hope you have had a wonderful Thursday & I hope your Friday is better!

Are you ready for the weekend, baby?! :)



give me those stem cells, baby!

 

Well, this week we collected stem cells for my stem cell transplant.

Yes, this means my bone marrow biopsy showed I am leukemia-free. :)

Using your own cells in a trnasplant is tremendously easier and less risky than using a donors.

I am very, very thankful that I can use my own!

 

Monday morning we went to Radiology bright & early,

where I was to have a chest line (catheter) placed.

My platelets were too low for that, so I had a temporary IJ line placed instead.

Without sedation.

It wasn't completely pain-free, but it wasn't awful, either.

They couldn't begin my stem cell collection then because of my low platelets,

so I went for platelets & blood.

We got home around 8 that night.

I made asian sesame salmon (sooo yummy!), fresh cucumbers & tomatoes, & potato salad.

I was going to do quinoa salad, but....ya'll, that stuff is not good.

Maybe it's because the deli didn't make it right, but I don't know.

I wanted so bad to like it - but we just don't. :(

If you have any ideas on how to fix it at home, let me know!

 

Tuesday was much easier. Again, we were at the hospital from 7-6,

but the stem cell collection went great -- you need about .2.5 million cells for transplant,

but the doctors like 4-5 million to be on the safe side.

I got 3 million! Yay!

By the way: stem cells look like tomato gravy.

I may never be able to eat tomato gravy again!

Platelets were still low, so we went and got another round of them and some antibiotics as well.

Last night we got home so late that we just had whatever we could throw together.

Michael had cereal, I had a pre-made salad from Publix. They are really good!

 

Today we finished up stem cells & got more platelets.

We got back to the Hope Lodge at 5 pm.

I'm pretty whooped today, so I'm going to take it easy for the rest of the night.

I don't have to worry about supper because an organization is cooking here tonight.

 

I hope you are all doing well! I will be back soon!



happy third birthday, Junebug!

Today is our sweet June Claire's THIRD birthday!

She is our miracle child and my inspiration.

She came 13 weeks early while we were on vacation at Disney. We moved our lives down there for three months and I watched her fight every day for everything it took to make her healthy.

The first time I walked into that room and saw my precious baby with no lines or leads was the day we took her home. I remember , on  9 hour drive home, sitting in the backseat of our Dodge Magnum between two car seats, watching her every breath and being so scared that she was sleeping so much and not wanting to eat. Now that girl is the complete opposite! 

She rarely sleeps and she's ALWAYS eating!

We didn't do a big blowout bash this year, but we just kept it small and had my parents, sister, and cousins over. We grilled hamburgers & hot dogs & let the kids bust open a pinata. She got some good stuff, too -- a LeapFrog iPad (that she LOVES....maybe now we can actually get to play our real iPad!), a new bike with a baby doll seat on the back, some princess dress up stuff, a whole pack of REAL preemie-sized diapers to use on her baby dolls,, and some new clothes!

I made strawberry cupcakes but my icing lacks a lot. 

Maybe by the time they graduate high school I will be able to do it better. :)

Simple decorations. :)

My azaleas are in full bloom and were so pretty I wanted to get some pictures of the girls in front of them. Of course -- wouldn't you know the battery to my nice camera is dead & I can't find the charging port anywhere, so I had to use my cell phone.

I have way more pictures but my computer has shut down three times in a row while trying to operate iPhoto + Blogger, so I will share them later this week....
along with our Disney pictures from Easter weekend!

Dear Junebug,

You're THREE now! I can hardly believe it. This year has been full of so much joy that you've given us. You have grown to love all things baby doll & electronic...phones, iPads, computers -- if it's a gadget, you're gonna love it! You also love Laney & Max (the doggies) and especially love to cuddle up with them. You adore Brave (the Disney movie) and could watch it every single day if we let you.Your language has exploded and you have left babyhood behind forever.

I am so proud to be your mama. I have cherished each moment and hope to have a million more.

Love,
Mama

creamy peto spaghetti bake

Hey ya'll!

First things first -- I'm doing GREAT! I'm waiting on a transplant -- we will hopefully be using my own cells. This is awesome and much less risky than a bone marrow transplant. But if we have to go that route, I have been fully matched with SEVEN (yes -- you read that right! God is SO good!) donors. I have been through three rounds of high dose chemo and am ready to get this show on the road! I feel great, just tired, and have only been hospitalized once due to infection.

 

 

But that's not what this post is about, so let's gt on with it!

I watch Cullen & Katie

 on YouTube (great daily vlogs & they are from Alabama to boot! Can I get a ROLL TIDE?!)

and the other day she shared a recipe.

Creamy pesto spaghetti bake.

These words will forever change your life.

I ain't even joking!

 

This is what I used. Yes, I know the Greek yogurt has fruit, but I didn't use it. Our grocery store just didn't have plain Greek yogurt without fruit.

 

 



 

Gotta salt that water before you put the pasta in!

 

Basically you just cook the spaghetti like you normally would. Mix the sauce,meat and noodles all together. Then you take about 1/4 cup pesto, 3/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 block of cream cheese and mix it all up. Put a layer of noodle/meat/sauce mixture down in a 13x9 baking dish, spread Greek yogurt/cream cheese/pesto mix over, and put another layer of noodle mixture down. Top with shredded cheese & bake for 25 minutes at 350.

 

You'll thank me later, I promise.

 

(And yes, I know that is a really haphazard recipe.....

but I never follow anything by the book anyway!)