Wow - how
is it that Christmas 2008 has already come and gone? Well, belated as it may
be. Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope that your holiday was well spent with
friends and family. Ours was quiet, just as I like it! :-) This year was
especially sweet given what we have all been through.
Let's see - I will try not to bore you with details - I will post a more detailed blog on my kids blog with more pictures soon. If you are interested and want that address, please email me or comment on this blog and I will send you the link.
This week, I worked Monday (a half-day) and then went to group. It was so good to see everyone, and I was asked to participate in a special group - announcement forthcoming when I get the official details. I will say that I am honored to have been asked to take part in this, and it's truly a privelage. Anywhoo, group was wonderful, and such a good thing for me right now. I kind of feel like I am in a sort of limbo, where I am not actively fighting the cancer through chemo, but I don't yet have the confirmation that I am truly in remission, so seeing others at this point was a huge relief.
Tuesday, I worked all day, and it was my last day of the year. My plant shuts down for the week between C'mas and New Year's, and I had a day of vaction time to burn, so off I went. (I will say that with others taking vacation all this week, it was quiet at work and I got a TON of things done....I really don't mind working this week...). Wednesday was, of course, Christmas Eve, and we spent the day wrapping gifts, taking pictures, and getting food ready for Christmas Day. It was a really good day, and tiring. :-) But, we got everything done, and had a blast in the meantime.
Funny side story - as you might know if you are a follower of the blog, I have two kids, Julia and Kevin (6 and 2, respectively). Well, one of the foods we had on Wed night was cocktail wieners, which my mom refers to as monkey (insert word for male anatomy that rhymes with sticks here). We can't tell Julia that's what they are called though - can you imagine the calls I would get from her teacher? So, as a compromise, Mom called them monkey toes, which is much more elementary-appropriate. This seemed to work, until Julia started referring to them as monkey TOADs. Then, Mom (with our permission) let Julia take a sip of her white zin wine.....Julia decided that it tasted gross (always good for a Mom to know...), and said it tasted like beerd. Yes, I typed that correctly. Beer-with-a-d, or beerD. So, for Wed night, we had monkey toads and beerd. LOL!
Christmas morning started at 3:30, when Julia decided to wake me up and ask if it was time to get up. I told her no, and sent her back to bed. Five minutes later, I get another shake from her - Mommy, does my forehead feel hot? Slap - nope. Go back to bed! :-) (Don't worry - I didn't slap her hard...)
Christmas morning truly began when the kids and Mom and Dad ran in to wake up Levi and I. We got out front, and had a blast with the kids opening gifts. I have to say - Mom and Dad usually go WAY overboard for the kids, and this year was more low-key, which was so nice. While Julia tends to rip open a gift, look at it, make a comment and move on to the next toy, Kevin is a lot more laid back, and would happily play with each toy for an hour before moving onto the next gift. He did get to a point where he started ripping open any gift that got in his path, and Mom had to stop him when she realized that he was opening a gift meant for my dad. Very funny!
Both kids made out like bandits. Kevin got a ton of cars and trucks, and Julia got her first big-girl bike, an artist's easel, and a Webkinz. After that, we got dinner started, and ended up having last-minute guests for dinner, which was wonderful. It was a successful day, and again, low-key, which is really what I needed this year.
We watched several movies yesterday, including Julia's newest princess movie, Sleeping Beauty. We also watched "Hello Dolly" (my gift - love it!) and Mamma Mia, another one for me. This one was especially sweet, because all of the guys deserted us when they figured out it was a musical, so it was just Julia, Mom and I watching this. Such a nice memory. This week, we also watched a couple of new movies we rented (and this is a big deal for me, who rarely sits still for longer than 10 minutes to watch a movie beginning to end.....just can't do it). Fred Claus, which was very funny, is sure to be a Christmas tradition here, and TinkerBell, which was wonderful. What else? I think that might be it, but remember.....chemo brain!
Speaking of that, I have had a pretty bad week with the chemo brain and the neuropathy, but all in all, I have no complaints at all. This weekend marks two weeks since my last chemo treatment ended, and I am excited to see what happens as I get further and further from that last pump removal.
This weekend, I am going to spend some time making some Christmas gifts for my brothers (I already sent them to Levi's side), spend time updating the blog, and looking forward to 2009.
As I said, I hope that you and yours had a wonderful holiday season. Levi and I are looking forward to our 7 year anniversary on Monday, and then to the beginning of a New Year.
Let's see - I will try not to bore you with details - I will post a more detailed blog on my kids blog with more pictures soon. If you are interested and want that address, please email me or comment on this blog and I will send you the link.
This week, I worked Monday (a half-day) and then went to group. It was so good to see everyone, and I was asked to participate in a special group - announcement forthcoming when I get the official details. I will say that I am honored to have been asked to take part in this, and it's truly a privelage. Anywhoo, group was wonderful, and such a good thing for me right now. I kind of feel like I am in a sort of limbo, where I am not actively fighting the cancer through chemo, but I don't yet have the confirmation that I am truly in remission, so seeing others at this point was a huge relief.
Tuesday, I worked all day, and it was my last day of the year. My plant shuts down for the week between C'mas and New Year's, and I had a day of vaction time to burn, so off I went. (I will say that with others taking vacation all this week, it was quiet at work and I got a TON of things done....I really don't mind working this week...). Wednesday was, of course, Christmas Eve, and we spent the day wrapping gifts, taking pictures, and getting food ready for Christmas Day. It was a really good day, and tiring. :-) But, we got everything done, and had a blast in the meantime.
Funny side story - as you might know if you are a follower of the blog, I have two kids, Julia and Kevin (6 and 2, respectively). Well, one of the foods we had on Wed night was cocktail wieners, which my mom refers to as monkey (insert word for male anatomy that rhymes with sticks here). We can't tell Julia that's what they are called though - can you imagine the calls I would get from her teacher? So, as a compromise, Mom called them monkey toes, which is much more elementary-appropriate. This seemed to work, until Julia started referring to them as monkey TOADs. Then, Mom (with our permission) let Julia take a sip of her white zin wine.....Julia decided that it tasted gross (always good for a Mom to know...), and said it tasted like beerd. Yes, I typed that correctly. Beer-with-a-d, or beerD. So, for Wed night, we had monkey toads and beerd. LOL!
Christmas morning started at 3:30, when Julia decided to wake me up and ask if it was time to get up. I told her no, and sent her back to bed. Five minutes later, I get another shake from her - Mommy, does my forehead feel hot? Slap - nope. Go back to bed! :-) (Don't worry - I didn't slap her hard...)
Christmas morning truly began when the kids and Mom and Dad ran in to wake up Levi and I. We got out front, and had a blast with the kids opening gifts. I have to say - Mom and Dad usually go WAY overboard for the kids, and this year was more low-key, which was so nice. While Julia tends to rip open a gift, look at it, make a comment and move on to the next toy, Kevin is a lot more laid back, and would happily play with each toy for an hour before moving onto the next gift. He did get to a point where he started ripping open any gift that got in his path, and Mom had to stop him when she realized that he was opening a gift meant for my dad. Very funny!
Both kids made out like bandits. Kevin got a ton of cars and trucks, and Julia got her first big-girl bike, an artist's easel, and a Webkinz. After that, we got dinner started, and ended up having last-minute guests for dinner, which was wonderful. It was a successful day, and again, low-key, which is really what I needed this year.
We watched several movies yesterday, including Julia's newest princess movie, Sleeping Beauty. We also watched "Hello Dolly" (my gift - love it!) and Mamma Mia, another one for me. This one was especially sweet, because all of the guys deserted us when they figured out it was a musical, so it was just Julia, Mom and I watching this. Such a nice memory. This week, we also watched a couple of new movies we rented (and this is a big deal for me, who rarely sits still for longer than 10 minutes to watch a movie beginning to end.....just can't do it). Fred Claus, which was very funny, is sure to be a Christmas tradition here, and TinkerBell, which was wonderful. What else? I think that might be it, but remember.....chemo brain!
Speaking of that, I have had a pretty bad week with the chemo brain and the neuropathy, but all in all, I have no complaints at all. This weekend marks two weeks since my last chemo treatment ended, and I am excited to see what happens as I get further and further from that last pump removal.
This weekend, I am going to spend some time making some Christmas gifts for my brothers (I already sent them to Levi's side), spend time updating the blog, and looking forward to 2009.
As I said, I hope that you and yours had a wonderful holiday season. Levi and I are looking forward to our 7 year anniversary on Monday, and then to the beginning of a New Year.
Kevin on Christmas morning.
He was a little overwhelmed and not sure how this was all going to work.
Julia in
front of the Christmas tree and presents. Obviously, very pleased.
Julia and
her Nana frosting Mom's signature Christmas cutout cookies. I am pretty sure
that more frosting ended up in the bellies that on the cookies...
Kevin
"helped" with the cookies and frosting. By help, I mean he helped
himself. LOL!
Another
funny side note - Kevin got the Cookie Monster doll from my company for Christmas.
He is a version of the TMX Elmo, which is an extreme version that rolls on the
floor, back and forth, then gets back up on his feet by himself. Very funny -
tho' the night we brought him home, Kevin was TERRIFIED of Cookie Monster.
While we were all in hysterics at this thing, he was petrified. So, Dad got the
brilliant idea to put the Cookie Monster doll in front of the tree as a deterrent for Kevin. Mean, and brilliant at the same time. But, it worked! :-)
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