ChristaandClan

Services.

2006-09-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hello again. I wanted to let all know when the services for Christa will be. Services will be Friday at 1 p.m., at Calvery Episcopal Church on 9th street, in Columbia. Hope to see everyone there to celebrate the life of Christa.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

The End and The Beginning.

2006-09-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already heard, Christa passed away yesterday around 11:30 in the morning. She seemed to be comfortable when she died. I want to thank all of Christa's family and friends for all of thier prayers and best wishes. Please keep us all in your prayers now as we move forward without her. And, if your so inclined, light a candle for her on her birthday December 26.

I will post information about a memorial service as soon as possible.

Good memories and Good cheers,

Marty

ChristaandClan

2006-09-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan
Dear Friends,
I have moved again. I am now in Boone Hospital, room 5119. E-mail me at my blog site.

I have finished all the radiation treatments and am hoping to get stronger so I can come home.

Cheers and good health,
Christa

Four more radiation visits

2006-09-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

Could you send me your e-mail addresses if I don't already have them? I am at christaandclan@centurytel.net. I am staying in the Boone Hospital Hospice at 573-815-2121. Feel free to call or stop by, 2121 is the room number.

I cannot walk and cannot leave the bed without a nurse bringing a wheelchair. I feel like I'm in prison. I haven't even been able to see my redecorated house and may not even get too. This just really sucks.

Anyway, obviously my prognosis is very poor. I'm not sure what the future holds but my parents are still researching clinical trials for me.

Hopefully, I can chill out some and get back with the program. I don't think this new aggrivating attitude is going to get me very far. Maybe there is a silver lining someone could share.

Cheers and Happy Thoughts,
Christa

I'm ready to write.

2006-09-01T17:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how long I can write,but I'm trying. I've been in the hospital (CRH) two weeks today. Marty's mom has put new carpeting on the stairs. My parents are here also to help watch the kids. I've been sleeping about half the time that people are here. I've been recieving radiation treatment for four days and have at least four days to go. I will try to blog more as I get with it.

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by and visited or called. Please keep those comments coming.

Cheers and Positive Thoughts,
Christa

\

Hello from the Hospital

2006-08-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

Christa is still blogging along and wanted ti say hi. I, Marty, am typing for her so please forgive me if my prose are not up to snuff. Christa's brother got her a card to put in the computer so that she can now blog from the hospital. So please fill the comment section.

Thanks

Marty for Christa

Survivng the First Day

2006-08-17T06:04:00.000-07:00

I survived the night without any nausea. I did wake up to a wonderful headache, but that's been the course for the past week.

Sedi-Kitty is out cattin'. He's roaming down by the school and a girl asked Marty if the cat had left a kitten by her house. Marty tried to convince her that Sedi was a he, not a she. I don't think he was very convincing. So, I guess we'll have to turn in his micro chip info and get him a collar and license so folks know where he lives and that he's up on his vaccs. Either that or not let him out of the house. When it gets cold he won't be roaming, but for now, we'll have to protect him this way.

Rowen and I are having a hard time getting along. Last night he wanted to watch a 3d movie and I couldn't get it to play without the remote. We argued about it and then I just shut down. No, no, no I am not wasting my time on trying to get this thing to work. So, he disappears downstairs (still a jungle) and comes up with some vcr cables...who knows how he found them. I just ignored him, you know, because he's only three. The next thing I know, he sneaks into the kitchen and snags a little green kids step stool. He walks by me. I give him the evil eye, he gives me the evil eye, and keeps heading toward the TV in the girls room. I guess he's just gonna take care of it himself since I won't get my lazy butt up. He didn't figure out how to get it to play, but he spent an hour trying to get someone to help him and he tried to help himself. The vision of such a tiny person with a step stool and cable translated into an adult man with a ladder and electronics. It was a flash forward to the future. Scary considering how hard headed he is (where would he have gotten that?)

The girls Back to School Night is Monday. Both teachers have called in to let us know who the girls will have. Eilish is counting down the minutes, Elora is dreading each one. Everytime we go downtown, Eilish wants to drive by her school. She is going to have a busy year: 40 hours of school, 12 hours of gymnastics, at least five hours of homework, and then her chores (TBD). I think she may want to get away from those chores, but she is SO helpful, we'll have to work something out. Elora is getting better, but she's like me, if I think it's my idea, then I'm all for it. If I'm being pushed into it, I balk. Rowen is going to have more pressure. I'll have to not put such high expectations on him. There is a little boy that lives across the street his age. Maybe we can set some playdates each week to keep him stimulated and keep me grounded on what little boys can actually do.

Take care of yourselves and stay cool. It's supposed to be a hot one today.

Cheers and Happy Back to School Hopes!
Christa

Format Updates

2006-08-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out how to add links, yeah! If you don't want yours on here, I'll take it off. If you want yours on, I can do that too. I've also linked to my gift list and recipe blogs.

Today is the first day of Temador. I just took one of the anti-nausea meds too keep feeling good. Hope it works.

We saw Barnyard at the movies with Shelly and Amber. It was pretty cute. Lots of laughs toward the end.

Tomorrow Marty has to work during the day. I'll try to stay sane at home. Maybe price some flea market stuff. Maybe sketch a bit. Anyway, I'll let you know how things go.

Cheers and Good Living,
Christa

We're a Go for Chemo

2006-08-15T15:21:00.000-07:00

I just got my platelet count back. We also got a call from the pharmacy letting us know the co-pay for Temador: $60. I was scared because no one had mentioned price this whole time and I had in my mind eating mac and cheese the next month. Anyway, they are overnighting the five pills and they should be here tomorrow.

Today we took Rowen to daycare before getting a cbc done. Then we went to Wally world because Elora said she needed a jewelry box for her new earrings. She picked up a little purse that holds jewelry. It's really cute. She still has some extra summer school money and she picked out silk flowers and styrofoam floral forms, spheres, cones, etc. Eilish picked out some flowers for their room too and put them in a vase with clear marbles.

We went to Gerbes, which has double coupons, and after shopping ended up saving over $35! Even the clerk was impressed. Then we picked up Rowen from daycare, ate lunch at home and Marty took Eilish to gymnastics. My energy is still low and I'm tired right now, but it sure seems like I have a lot to do yet.

Tomorrow I am going to try to take the kids to the movies with my Shelly and her daughter Amber.

Hope you enjoy more pics of the girls room. We have the cubbies full, the doll house furnished, the the brother in there sneaking around. Isn't that what little brothers do?

Cheers and Happy Sneaking,
Christa

We're Back

2006-08-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

We've only been gone a few days. I didn't have anyone mind the house, since we wouldn't be gone that long. The kitties survived, but sure are happy to be out of the house. The weather here is great compared to the record heat in B'ville. The screen doors are wide open and the kids are playing outside! Except for Rowen, who wants me to go get a dvd we watched all of the way home.

I'll write more tomorrow. I'm bushed tonight. A bath and bed sound like a nice treat.

Cheers and Good Night,
Christa

Zero Comments

2006-08-11T04:42:00.000-07:00

For some reason, the comments counter on my blog shows zero, even if there are comments. Sorry I haven't been responding, I thought everyone was being a secret lurker and not commenting or thought my idea was so selfish, saying nothing was better. However, the counter showed on my husbands account and he told me what folks were commenting. Strange, I'll have to look into this.

As my Parents can tell you, I'm letting go of all of the little girl stuff and shipping it to the flea market. I have two booths right now and thought I wouldn't have enough to fill them both, but I'm thinking I need to trade them both in for a larger one! I started on Rowen's new room and got that overwhelmed feeling. I also have a living room downstairs that I want to turn into an art studio and I have an extra bedroom. And you guessed it, all filled with stuff. Not to mention full closets and a garage that the van needs to go into for the winter to save on warming up gas. Maybe I should just open my own flea market? I've thought about it before. If my health were more consistent, I would.

We are going to be out of town this weekend, so there may be no blog for a few days. I'm not on any meds, so it should be smooth sailing. It is supposed to be hot where we're going so I've got to check to make sure the girls didn't pack any flannel. Yes, that would be my luck. I'll help Rowen pack. Maybe we can sneak in something that isn't batman black.

I've learned somethings from my Birthday/Christmas blog. Amazon has food. I haven't checked it out yet, but am hoping it's more then Pepperidge Farm Sausage and Fruitcake.

Coffee is calling. I will try to post some pics here later if I can get the girls to straighten their room a bit more.

Cheers and Happy Cleaning,
Christa

New self-serving blog

2006-08-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

http://christas-birthday-and-christmas-list.blogspot.com/

Here is my newest blog. If you don't usually get something for us this won't be very interesting. I decided that instead of waiting a few weeks before the holidays and trying to figure out what everyone wants, I would start a birthday and Christmas list now.

I would also like to know what folks we usually get things for would like. Just send it in a comment and I'll blog it. This will give me time to find it without the rush and search for the best product at the best price.

You may notice I'm getting picky about the clothes for the kids. Laundry is a bear with kids almost all the same size and this will help me figure out whose are whose and how long the clothes have been around (like underware).

I haven't put any clothes sizes for me because my size is changing every two or three months. As soon as I think I can say good bye to 12, I'm back in 8 and vice versa. So, clothes are tough for me. I'll put Marty's sizes on the blog after I check with him.

Send me your comments to the blog site: http://christas-birthday-and-christmas-list.blogspot.com/
and it will help me immensely.

Seems tacky, but it could be worse, you could be getting the holiday form letter: "Dear Family, Another wonderful year at the Matthews residence..."

I might have the energy for Christmas cards this year, though.

Cheers and Happy Holidays!
Christa

Survived Chuck E.!

2006-08-09T04:48:00.000-07:00

I suckered out last night and went in with Rowen and Eilish to Elora's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. I ordered a small soda and 50 tokens and let Eilish and Rowen run free. She watched him and basically gave all the tokens to him. He ended up with two Captain Americas with all of his tickets. Eilish is such a good big sister.

Rowen started to melt down, however, when he realized the party was not for him and went over to the other party tables stealing gifts off of their tables. How embarrassing! I've noticed that he's taken to sticking out his tongue at strangers in the supermarket and trying to start stuff with other little boys. He's awfully cute, but I think a good pounding might put him back into his place. Of course, my girls can't do that. Elora got so frustrated with him at home after Chuck E.'s she smacked him on the head. He wasn't even fazed, but she got sent to bed!

Yesterday morning we put Rowen in daycare and ran some errands. I love Rowen, but it was nice to only have to answer a question once. It was also nice to go to Lowes and not have search for him between the boxes on the shelves. And, it was nice to not have to listen to Batman again on the DVD player, though, Beauty and Beast is getting on my nerves too.

I started my day trading career yesterday. I bought a Forbes magazine and listened to Jim Kramer on the radio. Now, if I just had the money and knew how to buy the stocks, I would be on my way. I did find one company to research. A nuclear power plant builder. Green, good for community, not just self, and at under $20 a share, something I could feasibly buy. I guess we'll have to put that new desk to use!

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Monday's Lunch

2006-08-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

Today was a tough kid day, nothing could keep them from fighting. However, it was a good grown up friend day. I got to got out and have lunch with Ellen, Tom, Rhonda, Callie, Diane, Derald and Carol at Flat Branch. It was so nice to be a part of the team again, even if I wasn't up on all the latest politics.

The rest of the day was laundry and referee-ing. Eilish was at gymnastics, so Elora fought with Rowen about drinks, toys, words, and touching. And they screamed at each other. I didn't help going into a 'roid rage at each shreek. My poor cat, Tiger, kept jumping up in my lap, getting into my face and trying to get me to get a grip. He was rejected and pushed on the floor numerous times. Right now, he's laying next to me, taking a bath enjoying the silence and my attention.

Here are some pics from Chuck E. Cheeses' s during my parents visit. Elora has a party to go to there at 6 tomorrow. I am not sure how I will do it, but I've got to drop her off and not be cajoled into taking her older sister and younger brother in too. I hate that place. I'll have to sleep on it to see what will work.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Sunday Posting

2006-08-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

Yet more pictures of my parents visit, though you see more of the kids then anything else. There are three farm pics and one City Museum pic.

Yesterday we did some shopping. I had Marty drop me off at the farmers market and, though it was nice, the sun started beating down quickly. I got corn, peaches, and green beans. Later in the afternoon Elora helped me at home with the green beans and the corn, until she met a catipillar and decided I should finish. Elora and I shared a peach smoothy and the rest of the food was consumed at dinner. Elora had insisted earlier in the day on making a pumpkin pie, so we had that for dessert. She is my little Betty Crocker. During this time Marty and Eilish were at the Show-Me State Games Gymnastics meet and Eilish got to see some of her gym-mates place.

After the Farmers Market we went to Target and Rowen got a new set of Batman sheets for his big boy bed. We aren't ready for him to move in there yet, but he sure was ready to sleep in it last night.

Before noon, we dropped off stuff at the flea market. It turned out that they had sold their place to new owners so I ended up having to sign a new contract, but the prices are the same. The new owner seemed really excited, so hopefully he will bring in some new excitement and elbow grease. He's about my age and a little nervous about working with all of these new people, but I think it'll all fall into place.

In the evening, we watched the stand up comedy "Bill Cosby as Himself." It's over 20 years old, but it was still funny. Even Eilish laughed at his observation about his kids. This video is the one about chocolate cake for breakfast, the dentist visit, childbirth, and other horror stories about raising kids.

Today I've got to do some grocery shopping. The farmers market saved us yesterday, but I don't think the kids will let me give them mac and cheese and hot dogs. I think I may have spoiled them. Besides, we are out of pie crusts and evaporated milk, two essentials in Elora's pumpkin pie.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Update on Trip to Sitemans

2006-08-05T05:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we dropped the kids off at daycare and gymnastics daycamp and headed to St. Louis. It wasn't as crowded as usual and we got in by 10:00 and out by 3:30. I didn't have chemo, but I did have treatment and they made me take benedryl. I slept through the whole thing, most of the way home, and was useless once we got home.

My platelets are too low for the new chemo, which is a pill, so I'll have a cbc on Tuesday. If they go from 88 to 100 then I'll be able to take it. I guess you take it five days and then have three weeks off. They gave me three or four scrips for anti-nausea meds, so it must be pretty intense. Unfortunately, we'll be visiting relatives at that time, so once again, they'll get to see me feeling yucky.

I want to get to the farmers and flea market this morning before it gets too hot. Marty wants to take Eilish to a few statewide gymnastics meets that are in town. So, I'll sign off and leave a few pics: grandpa horsey back, tractor playland, Sedi trying to get some face time, and the city museum where the giant spirals are slides the kids could slide down.

Tomorrow I'm going to have lunch with some friends from my previous work. I may even have a beer!

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

More Family Photos

2006-08-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

From top to bottom: Checking out the new bed, Seeing the horses at Papa Rays, Pretending to drive the tractor, and Rowen at the City Museum. There are much more to come.

I had my treatment today. The benedrel still has me sleepy. Maybe tomorrow I'll be back in shape.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Parent's Visit

2006-08-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Here are some pictures my parents took while they were here. The castle is part of the Science Center in St. Louis. The cat one is everyone's attempt to get out cat on stuffonmycat.com. The one with the kitten is Eilish begging for one of Papa Ray's farm kittens. Three on the couch is my motly crue.

These were loaded on a website, but more are coming on cd in the mail.

Friday I go for new meds in St. Louis. I am a little worried that I won't be as peppy and am trying to get everything done. We have the girls room done, our room done, the bathroom, kitchen and dining room. The living room will be done tomorrow since Marty works during the day and I will be stuck in the house all day, especially if it's hot, again. That just leaves Rowen's new room and the downstairs living room, which I plan on turning into a studio with all of my projects. That room should be filled with all of my hobbies: drawing, painting, airbrushing, sewing, sculpting, scrapbooking, flea marketing, reading, and maybe even horse ownership, or lease ship, or lessons, or something horsey once it cools down.

Write again soon.
Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Desk and Earrings

2006-08-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

I didn't leave the house today, not even for yoga. It was just too hot. In fact, besides splashing in the pool around noon, I didn't let the kids out to play until after 8 p.m. I'll have to get out some how tomorrow, preferably before 10 a.m. when the heat starts becoming unbearable.

Here is a picture of my new desk. Marty took all morning to put it together and ended up almost paralyzing himself and had to take ibuprofen and tylenol before going to work at 3:00 p.m.! Poor guy. I think he has alterior motives though. He had mentioned something about me day trading. Hmmm, does all it take is a new desk to qualify?

The next projects Marty has, besides mowing the lawn, is putting my diploma in a new frame my parents bought, and putting together a swivel "lazy susan" so I can work on a sculpture of Eilish at a table without a stand. He also has to put up some smoke detectors. Next week, we are going to work on painting and carpeting the stairs. No rest for the wicked! And believe me, he doesn't rest much!

After he gets off work around 11 p.m. I asked him to run to Walmart for Rowen's pull-ups, a roasting pan, and a compressor so he can keep the mower tires full (and because I had mentioned that I might want to get my air-brushes out and show the girls how to work them).

What have I done for him lately? Kept on the girls about keeping their room tidy, having them help clean our room, and cleaning the kitchen and dining room. Of course, we still have a compact mass of tubs filled with toys, paperwork, and laundry in the living room but, at least it's centralized.

Elora looks beautiful with her new earrings. She's doing a great job of taking care of them. It is much less traumatic than Eilish's experience. Siblings are so different.

Enjoy the pics, more to come once my parents CD gets here.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Blue Earrings

2006-07-31T11:29:00.000-07:00

Elora got her ears pierced on Saturday. She was very stoic and didn't even wince. Of course, she wasn't there to witness her big sis get hers done a few months ago and balk four or five times. I also put some heavy duty numbing stuff on her ears and the ladies at the shop pierced both ears at the same time. So, Elora had it made. Now I get the daily question, "is it the middle of the day?" It took me awhile to figure out why the girls kept asking. It turns out they need to be cleaned three times a day, and the middle of the day is one of those times. Huh.

My parents went home on Saturday. Rowen asks where Grandma and Grandpa are every morning. He's ready to hop on a plan and fly up. I did see in the KC Star the ticket price from KC to San Francisco is only $114, but that's one way. We are going to the other Grandma's next week for her birthday. They finally got who's who and now I''m going to confuse them again. However, my three year old has my grandmother's position in the family down. "That's your mom's mom?"

I took a few buckets of things to the flea market today. I have another space opening up tomorrow that will hold bigger things, like furniture. The market isn't doing well as hot as it is and there are empty booths. I'm going to hang on though, at least I get a dividend I would not be getting at a storage unit.

I'll try to post some pics soon. My parents have to send me some they took while they were here.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Busy Friday

2006-07-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

So much happened yesterday, I think I have a few days of posting I could fill in. First, Marty and I got up early for the drive to St. Louis. While I had testing done, my parents were getting the kids up, who spent the night with them, and came to town too. They took the kids to the City Museum in St. Louis and we met them there around 1:00.

This museum is nothing like anything you've been to before. It was AWESOME! It was like the Bohemians crashed with Walt Disney. There was all of these bits and pieces of the past 200 years of St. Louis. There were gargoyles, statues, wall decorations, all in stone, on walls, as table top holders, all with the gentle grime of little kids handprints. There was recycled carnival statues, trains, caves, aquariums, and the best of all, slides. Not slides, but SLIDES. They were made out of rollers, or old park slides, or conveyers, or giant factory swirls that product in the last century came down. There were giant snakes, whales, dragons mouths to brave. There were airplanes up in the air that only the fearless (and thin) could crawl to through welded tyrod. There were castles and towers and fire engines.

Parents who had never been there before, like myself, were both shocked and awed walking around in a daze, barely keeping charge of their kids. It was amazing. We lost Rowen once for about a minute, but it was tough to find him between his speed and all of the things he could be between. Check it out if you have time: http://www.citymuseum.org/allattractions.html

Wow.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

New Bed!

2006-07-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

The girls finally got their new bed! They also got new flooring in their room and new paint on their walls. We got a desk from an auction and we have cubes for books/clothes and we've got flat tubs for toys to go under their bed. Done! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Will probably blog on Sunday, tomorrow I go to St. Louis for tests.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Why We Make Lists

2006-07-26T05:57:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

My dad mentioned to me yesterday that we sure had busy schedules. Yeah, I guess we do. My parents do also, but I guess they are used to running around for their parents.

Marty and I dropped Row at daycare and did some birthday and remodeling shopping. I made it to yoga where we did restorative poses for my heartburn. After Marty went to work we picked up Row, had dinner, and headed toward Centralia to drop off some goodies at my great aunts and go to Gabe's third birthday at the park. Yep, sounds like a busy day. I think today is supposed to be the same, but I'm going to sit down with my list and make sure nothing is left out.

My mom said last night that she didn't feel she was getting anything accomplished while she was here. Let's see: Swimming every night with the kids, cooking dinner at her suite, painting my room, buying a new desk, buying the kids school supplies, going out of town to visit relatives, folding clothes, cleaning the kids rooms, doing the dishes at my house, buying them toys, helping with birthday gifts for two birthdays while she was here, buying my kids clothes, scoping out furniture for the girls room, chasing Row around when he's at his friskiest, holding a conversation with three children at once, organizing toys, taking care of herself, taking care of my dad, taking phone calls from back in Nevada that are less then happy, reading work e-mails that are less than happy...and she only has four more days until the plan leaves. She's gonna overheat! She still wants to go grocery shopping, buy Marty and I clothes, finish the girls bedroom (flooring and bed), take the kids to St. Louis to the disney store, and probably some other things that she has kept to herself because she knows we'll probably put the breaks on her if we know what she's got up her sleeve. And Dad, yes, he is her driver and financier. So, imagine having to keep up with everything above, trying to follow Columbia's strange road system and keep your debit card from melting. Not an easy job.

We'll it's almost 8 a.m. here, time to make the donuts. (for those of you too young to remember, that's from a Winchells donut commercial from when I was a kid, I don't know how to make donuts, but feel free to send me a recipe).

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Tuesday Yoga and Birthday Party

2006-07-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

The day started out slow with my heartburn keeping me incapacitated in bed. I ended up eating cream of potato soup all day to keep the burning down. Around five I felt well enough to keep up with my parents and we went to pick up Eilish at gymnastics. We wanted to get my aunt something for her nursing home room so we went to Hobby Lobby looking for turkeys. Her farm is called Turkey Track Trail, so we wanted a conversation piece for her room. It's the wrong time of year to find much more than pumpkins and scarecrows so we got her a pillow that matches the spread in her room. While we were at Hobby Lobby, the kids got to pick out a toy. Rowen found a tin batman lunch box, Eilish found a spiralgraph, and Elora found a sand sculpture maker. Mom bought me a diploma frame for my diploma, so I guess I had better dig it out and hang it!

Then we went to Wal-Mart and Eilish got right on task picking out her school supplies. Dad helped find the best deals on stuff. About half of the supplies were 10 to 20 cents. So, I think he was happy. Elora said she didn't want supplies, but she did pick out a cute backpack. I guess we'll get her stuff when she says she's ready.

We went back to the motel room and ate pizza (I had potato soup) and watched the campy old Batman Movie. Then mom took the kids to swim. Dad and I turned out all the lights and took a snooze. Actually, dad slept, I was on my 24 hour hiatis from sleep and just layed there. When the kids came back and had their bath and desserts (yes, there is nothing wrong with having a popcycle in the tub) Rowen said he wanted to spend the night, but when push came to shove, he came home with me and the girls stayed the night.

Today Marty wants to work on the girls room, so we'll need to stop by Lowes to pick some stuff up. My yoga is at 1:00 and we have a Birthday Party in Centralia at 6:00. I think we might try to stop by my great aunt and grandfather's place between the time Yoga ends and the party begins. Our friend Betty will be there and my mom wants to visit with her. Betty and her entire family have been great help in our sometimes desperate situation. Shelly will be there too and we'll get to pay back some of her kindness by watching her daughter Thursday.

I'm going to scope out some easy-on-the-stomach food, get dressed and head to Lowes with Marty. Hopefully, we'll get back before Mom and Dad wake-up at their hotel room.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Sunday Visit to the Farm

2006-07-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today we drove to Centralia to visit my Great Aunt and Grandfather. My Aunt is my Grandfathers sister and is currently in a nursing home. I say currently, because she seems like she is lucid and ready to go home. She's had PT from falling a few months ago and is in a walker, but besides that is fairly independent. Of course, her daughter, who is not married and has no children is the executive of her estate and may not want her home. Taking care of an elderly person who is prone to falling is very difficult. My parents take care of my mom's parents and it is almost a full time job, especially since neither can drive. One cannot judge, but it sure seems ashame to have someone in a bland nursing home when they have a beautiful home they've had most of their life. I've never been close to my Aunt but I may start printing off the blogs to send to her. She said she was upset that no one from the church she had gone to for years had come to visit her since her stay at the home, besides one person. My Grandfather sees her everyday, but one would think, church members...like I said, one cannot judge. This is the first time I've seen her since her fall, of course I cannot drive to see her, so...

My Grandfather is still on his farm, raising and boarding horses. His health seems well, but I think he's lonely. The kids had fun playing with the baby kittens and had pictures taken on the horses and the tractors. My mom took the pictures, but I have no adapter for my computer. We'll have to wait until she gets home and e-mails them to me.

Marty stayed home and pulled the carpet and padding up in the girls room, Yeah! The tack strip and staples need to come up and we'll be ready for peel and stick! We're still moving right along.

Tonight we are going to take the kids to Ellens house and take my parents to see Credence Clearwater Revisited. A few of the band members are original, but of course John Fogherty is solo. The lead singer sounds just like him though.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Saturday Farmers Market

2006-07-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Food! Steroids make you want it and I just lost seven sizes. Oh well, it was nice wearing skinny pants for a season. Anyway, my dad bought me a cookbook that tells you how to cook one day and freeze meals for the rest of the week. It gives menus and tips on freezing. If there is something outstanding, I'll post it on the recipe site. There are quite a few I've yet to post that folks have sent. I guess I've been busy being spoiled by my parents.

In fact, my mom just finished the last coat of icing pink on my daughters room (hmmm that name sounds yummy). We've got the carpet to pull up and flooring to put down. Then the bed and the organization of the shelves. Right now there are about 12 tubs of toys in the living room and kitchen and one big bin in their room waiting to be sorted. My parents have another week with us, so we might get it done!

We went to Target this morning to get a gift for a friend of Eilish's this morning. I was drawn to the pretzels since the movie we saw yesterday, Monster House, merely mentioned the word. After we dropped off Eilish at her friends party, the rest of us went to the farmers markets here in town. The weather was perfect. The first one was at the Marketplace. There weren't as many venders but the kids found pumpkins and I found some zucchini. There were only two pumpkins and before I told Elora she could have one, and Rowen the other one, she had staked out the tent and would not leave, talking to the farmer woman and making her laugh.

The other market was the one by the ARC. There was a guitar player and about twice as many booths. Mom got some sweet corn, jelly & jam as gifts, and some flowers for Elora. At the end of the line they were selling hot corn, lemonade, and sweet tea. I got corn and lemonade and shared it with Rowen and Elora. On the way out, I forgot how much Elora loved Shelly's home grown green beans. I should have gotten some. I also noticed there were no blueberries anywhere. Carol brought me some a few weeks ago and I made an excellent pie (excellent for me, anyway.) I picked up some frozen for emergencies, but I guess I need to go find a berry farm on a day like today and go pick them myself.

Before we pick up Eilish, we ate at Hyvee, the kids wanted Burger King, but I sure am glad I was the mean mom and said no.

I guess I wore myself out eating because by the time I got home, I just wanted a nap. When I woke up, Mom had finished painting. Right now, she's vacuuming the carpet so it won't be as nasty to pull up. I should have Marty feeling nice and guilty by the time he realized his mother in law has labored all day so I can us it as a catalyst for him to pull it up and lay down the vinyl planks (that was the last plan he had, anyway).

We're heading to my parents shortly to have dinner and let the kids swim. I've called Marty at work to have him pick up some turkey, gravy, and bread for open faced sandwiches. He was working all day and missed all of the excitement. He has tomorrow off, so he can catch up with all of the eating, either that or pulling up carpet.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Moving Forward!

2006-07-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

We actually got something done on the girls room today! We drug out all of the toys, clothes, and misc. stuff into the living room. We taped of the walls in their bedroom and we (actually, my mom) put the primer coat on. Tomorrow we'll put the pink paint up. There are new rules for the rooms, no eating, no drinking, besides water, no pins, tape, crayons, pencils, period on the walls. And only nails when mommy or daddy do it. I picked out a carpet, a light berber. My mom said, you need something darker. She told me that twice. No, this is fine. Not five minutes later the girls were sitting in the hall eating chips and salsa, slowly creeping to the bedroom. Ugh! What ever happened to rules?

So, we may have to just use the vinyl wood planks that are in the rest of the house. I am so sick of lying those down. Rolling out a precut size of carpet sounds new and exciting!

My parents have been spoiling us. We went to the flea market yesterday and she gave the girls $5 each. Elora bought a hand blown glass flower, a blue iris. Eilish bought a rhinestone tierra and was a pink princess the rest of the evening. Mom gave me some money too and I bought a silver sugar and creamer for the tea cart. We needed them, but this was the only one I could find that wasn't glass...those would last about five minutes. Mom also went to the Meow Store today and brought me back a cat candle holder in the same style as the cookie jar she got me last year.

The air is hot and folks are staying in. The kids went to spend the night at the motel with my parents and Marty and I went to see The Devil Wears Prada. I liked it. I think the girls would really like it too. After the show we picked up Rowen, he's just not too sure about spending the night away from us yet.

We have a concert this weekend, something for dad. Mom is happy with kitty stuff. The kids are happy with swimming and I think they'll be happy to see PaPa Ray this Sunday and maybe interact with the horses. Marty is happy when we do the housework for him. I'm happy when I can finish projects, not just procrastinate on and on for months and months. It would be easier to get things done if I could drive. But I am getting used to waiting for a ride to run errands.

Heat, and Crooks, and, Fueds, OH MY!

2006-07-17T04:49:00.000-07:00

I'm still recovering from Friday's chemo. My brain doesn't quite connect as quickly and my body just takes a nap. But the steroids are ready to roll, whether I'm ready or not!

Besides that it's been pretty exciting around here. My parents have gotten a motel room where there is a pool and their room is a suite with a kitchenette. My kids haven't taken completely over, but that's only because they can't drive to the motel room themselves! Mom has been working with Rowen on his swimming. He loves it. The girls have abandoned our wading pool in the back. The truth is, it is so hot here, we all avoid going out. I'm on the front balcony trying to get some real air before it hit's 90 degrees, which will probably be in about an hour.

My neighbor had her car stolen the day before yesterday, the police found it later that day, abandoned in the "hood." Whatever, that is in this town. Whoever took it, threw out all of her stuff onto our lawn and yesterday was like an easter egg hunt. I don't usually talk to her so when I left her bag of belongings on her front step, she thought the crooks had brought her stuff back. She came over to my house to make sure it was just me. I hadn't knocked very loudly when I dropped it off because of her baby. I wasn't trying to scare her. Anyway, another thing on our LIST of things to get done is to clean out the garage so we can keep our cars in there now. Her car was the same older type models we have, so they weren't out for a buck, just a free ride. It also helps if you don't keep your keys in the car...can't judge, done it myself before.

The heat must be making folks lose their heads, because some of our other neighbors are fighting over the "stalker." A bored little boy who has nothing better to do then kick doors and knock over plants at his neighbors houses when they are not home. Apparently, he was told to cut it out by an elderly neighbor, got upset and went got his dad. Now his dad and some of the neighbors are having issues. It effects us because we live right next door and the same boy has done the same thing to our house. We've never said anything, because he is such a little boy, and we LIVE so closely, we don't need anymore issues than we already have. I guess everyone has issues though, heat or no heat.

This will be a busy morning for all of us. Eilish has gymnastics, I have to get a shot from the hospital, and the little ones will need to be entertained. Hopefully, things will slow down by the time the heat wave kicks in and we can lay around the house on our backs like the cats soaking in the AC. What a life cats lead!

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Alpha Cats

2006-07-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

My cat, Sedi, has started lying on the end of our bed since we put on a goose down pad. I think he eats a half cup cat food, so his tummy is really full, then he lies on the bed, thinking he's just killed a goose. Normally he doesn't lie with us, that's the only explanation I can come up with.

Last night Tiger came in and cuddled with Sedi on the bed. Tigers fur felt like heaven to me on the bottom of my feet. I was petting him with my foot and he was purring, he loves to be pet. Sedi, however, didn't like me wiggling around petting Tiger with my foot. Instead of biting my foot or leaving the bed, he got up, came over to my leg and plopped down using his 10 or 15 pounds to incapacitate me. I couldn't believe it. That kitty knows how to think outside the kitty box.

http://www.e85fuel.com/e85101/faq.php

The above link is one my brother in law sent me when I asked him about E85. Our cars are too old to use the mix, but here in town it's $2.25 a gal compared to $2.79. It couldn't hurt to check your car at this site and then double check with your dealer.

My mother has volunteered to have the kids spend the night with her at her motel. I thought we could wear them out swimming, but it's storming out. They seemed wired but willing to sleep when I left them there at 9:30. As long as my parents don't stay up and watch TV, the kids will probably go to sleep. My parents looked really tired.

Speaking of tired, Marty is ready to go to sleep. I'll blog again when I get back from St. Louis tomorrow. Hopefully, my parents can survive the day with the kids schedule.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

House Paint

2006-07-12T05:55:00.000-07:00

Marty and I ran around yesterday with Eilish. We went to hardware stores, auctions, and the mall. At Lowes we looked at shelving units and took another stab at deciding on a paint color for the house. When we first started this odyssy Marty wanted to paint the house green. I talked him out of it. Well, then I was looking for a peachy tan, warm color, but everything to him was to pink or everything to me was too yellow (like mustard). Then we went for browns and reds. He insisted that he wanted red. Like a barn. When we went back today. We started with the same arguements and compromised on green (a contemporary green, like what you would see in a newer neighborhood). Finally after months and months we had decided. Then Marty pops up and says, we should really just look into siding. Ugh! I made the noose sign with my head hanging sideways and my tongue hanging out like I had just dropped out of the gallows trap door. He gave me a dirty look and said I was mean. Yes! I am mean! What a waste of time! He decided that he would scrape some of the peeling paint and cover it with Kilz it paint to get an idea if the wood has rotted or not. I guess that's fair. Needless to say, we won't be buying paint besides Kilz it for a while.

Monday Pickup

2006-07-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

We've got the van back from the brake shop. I won't go in to how we got it home.

In the morning we cleaned out our closet. The children are now forbidden in that room. I found baby stuff to go to the flea market: Baby Bjorn and a breast pump. I should probably sell them on ebay, but I am ready for this stuff to be out of my house.

We have a few remnants from the garage sale left. I have a recombant bike, a grill, and a desk. I am confident of pick up on all but the desk. I have one whose called, one who stopped by and one I'm trying to talk out of it because that desk is such a monster. Of course, I can call the garbage folks and ask how much to pick it up. We need to call anyway, there are roots after our sewer line. Unfortunately, we'll have to kill a beautiful crab apple tree's roots.

Not much exciting today. Post later.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Sleep over Sunday

2006-07-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

I survived a little girl sleep over. They stayed up till midnight and got up around 7:30. They are all still getting along, playing games, watching movies, and looking at kitties on the web (my favorite past time).

I'd like to go back to sleep for awhile, but since I'm the only adult here with Marty at work, I guess I should tough out until lunch. Elora's started to meltdown. Fun.

It rained last night. Right now it looks like the sun is making an appearance though. Nothing much else to talk about. If you have any simple recipes to share go to my other blog site and add it to the comments or e-mail it to me. http://christas-family-recipes.blogspot.com/

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

The Pirates Movie

2006-07-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

We went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest last night. We lucked out and got tickets to the third show we went to, got the last five tickets. It was good, better than the first one I thought. It seemed long to me, but I had a wiggly three year old on my lap who wasn't really interested. He wanted to go see Superman. Maybe when Grandma and Grandpa come.

I'm working on my garage sale last night. It is much slower today then it was yesterday. I think everyone is still in bed. Tonight Eilish is having a friend spend the night. It would probably be a good idea if I took a nap sometime today to keep up with them.

My mother sent me some quotes about cats in the mail by Mark Twain. It's pretty interesting. He held cats in high regard.

I'll probably post again later today if something interesting happens. Besides Rowen greeting all of the garage salers with a naked body and a full diaper, it's pretty slow.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Garage Sale Weekend

2006-07-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Eilish and I are out watching our garage sale. Marty has taken Rowen the Talkative to daycare and Elora is at School until around 4. Sedi-Kitty was out this morning greeting all of the folks who stopped at the sale. He charmed them all. Even the dog folk. Steve came over last night and helped Marty get the heavy stuff out. I think he got really tired, really fast and was grumpy. This morning he said he had a stomach ache, so he probably picked up Eilish's virus.

I have some things to look forward to. My mom and dad are coming next week. My parents should be here by Thursday and then will spend the next two and a half weeks spoiling my children. I need to make a menu for that time because my parents eat out a lot and it will be so much cheaper for everyone involved if we stayed home and ate. Restaurant prices are out of line, in my opinion, no matter how much food they give you. I may have a hard time, because the only thing I know how to make are enchiladas and things that heat up in the oven or microwave.

Elora is my Betty Crocker. She loves to bake with me. Yesterday she came home, stated that she was hungry and wanted a cookie. We didn't have any, so she wanted to know if we could make some. We have an over abundance of pumpkin (10 for 10 at Gerbes). So, we made pumpkin drop cookies. Eilish wouldn't eat them because we added raisins though.

My neighbors mom might be moving in with her. I've been reading her blogs the past few weeks and have met her once. She's an artist, with a current interest in photography. So, they'll be another artist in the neighborhood. My next door neighbor is an artist also. She's working on her degree in graphic arts these days.

Well, our garage time is about up. There is a credenza that I'm trying to get my neighbor to take. If it doesn't go tomorrow, I'll leave it at her front door...he, he, he.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Soggy Fireworks

2006-07-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

It's a good thing we got that new flag up. I don't think it will be back out here for the fourth any time during the day. It's raining. It's cooler out, right now about 70, so I'm back out on the front balcony. The awning seems to be keeping the rain out pretty well. The cats are running around from cover to cover, trying to avoid the rain, it's like a game. The plants that I pruned and repotted the other day seem to be happier. They look much better, anyway.

I have a cold and spent yesterday inside on the computer looking for coupons. It was too hot for me.

Elora didn't have school, as much as we tried to force her to go, there was no one there to take her. I don't remember getting a note from the school. She was happy to have time to play with some of the neighborhood kids, though.

Not anyone out right now, it's kind of quiet. Rowen has made a request for breakfast, so I guess I'll go in.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Patriotic Sunday

2006-07-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

It was so nice this morning. I sat on the front balcony with Marty and we drank our coffee and I ate my donut. I read the oral history of my grandmother. It was very interesting. I want to e-mail her some questions about her struggles and successes. My grandfather has done his history too, so I just have to wait for my sister to transcribe it and e-mail it to me. I would like to share what I've read with my 9-year-old. The successes were about the same things these days; wanting to be treated fairly, worrying less about money, struggling less.

We spent a few hours yesterday cleaning and organizing the front balcony. We pruned some plants, hosed down the deck, threw out some extra stuff and brought in a few tables to put drinks on. I guess that's why I wanted to be outside today. Even though it was in the nineties, I still wanted to be outside. Before Marty headed out to work in the afternoon, we got the stars and stripes, and a pole and set it up off of the front balcony. We're one of only two houses on the street with flags. The only reason we thought of it was our 6-year-old said we needed one. Interesting commentary.

We've also had a St. Francis plaque since Christmas and finally hung it on the brick retaining wall downstairs between the front patio chairs. It is right over a pot of a bright green pine-like leaved plant. It used to have purple flowers, but they're gone now (cloxie?). We also repotted some plants that had become root bound. Marty watered the other plants and Sedi-kitty helped. He sat in my flower box and pretended to be a mum. I tried to get a picture of him, but he moved.

After Marty went to work. I still wanted to be outside. I had the girls set up an art desk on the balcony to color and paint. They kept themselves and Rowen busy. He loves to cut out spiders from a template of his hand. He thinks that's great. I set up my side of the balcony with the fan and a big mug of ice water.

My sister, who is an educator, said when trying to get my kids do chores, break the tasks down as small as possible. Today, the girls and I wrote a list of small things to do, like put away five toys, or sweep the bathroom. I cut the list into squares and put each task into my hat. Each of us drew a task and did it. The tasks weren't big, but we must have done twenty or thirty. The girls stayed interested over the two or three hours of work. Each of them took great pleasure when I drew something from the hat when it was more difficult then what they had drawn. I think the longest thing I had was to vacuum my bedroom...had to pick everything off the floor first!

Between tasks I worked on my thank you notes. The kids played or worked at their art desk. So even though it was work, they had plenty of play time between. I think next weekend we might do it again. We talked about adding a "big task" item. When anyone draws that one, we would all have to stop and work on the project. For example, cleaning out the closet or organizing a box of stuff. We'll have to see. We have so many big tasks.

Around 6:30 I ran out of gas. Even though I didn't want to come in, I had to go lie down for awhile. After dinner, the girls went up the street to play with a friend. I tried to get them in the tub and bed by 8 (but it's still light out mom!). We all laid in my room and finally fell asleep about 9:30. I now have a new mantra, "go to sleep, Go to sleep, go To sleep, go to Sleep, etc." The only person it worked on was me. I finally had to hug onto Rowen until slept. Eilish had to go lie in her own room. Elora, who was why we went to bed so early, was the last to sleep. It should be interesting getting her up in the morning.

It's now almost 11 and I've left everything outside and the garage door open. I'm just too pooped to go out and clean up. Marty's gunna love me when he gets home tonight.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Saturdays Plans

2006-07-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

I was prescribed a medicine that gets rid of the heartburn without narcotics. They make something for ulcers that allows them to heal while you can still eat. I don't have ulcers but the meds I'm on kill the cells in the digestive tract, leaving the tissue raw. I've taken two and it seems to work. The only draw back is that you can't take it one hour before or two hours after you eat...I eat all of the time. But we'll make the sacrifice.

Last night we went to Godspell, a play at the Maplewood Barn Theatre (and Park). It was outside, in the cool night air. We invited Steve and brought a cooler, chairs, and an oversized beach blanket. The girls were really good. Once Rowen figured out what was going on (why were these people singing?) he was pretty restless. The park has animals, goats are the only thing I heard. So he went off and looked at them with Steve.

I don't know if your familiar with Godspell, but it's long, and it's long. But it was entertaining (long, though). Jesus Christ Superstar is much more up my alley, but I'm sure it had something to do with royalty costs. The next show is Steel Magnolias, then in the fall is Macbeth. I might find some chick to take to Steel Magnolias, since Marty didn't seem interested.

This morning, I got up early, woke Eilish up and we went to Casey's for donuts, paper, and coffee. She rode her bike. I walked. It is cool enough where it didn't zap all of my energy...which I will need for housework (fun!). The neighbor said she might take the girls to get fireworks, so I'll give each about five bucks to find stuff. I guess that should be enough.

I should get back to writing thank you cards. I got about 25 out before I ran out of stamps and cards, and just haven't gotten back into the swing yet. Maybe I'll do it outside while it's still in the 70's.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Stalkers and Heartburn

2006-06-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

We have a stalker in the neighborhood. His actions are fairly benign, right now, but give him a few more years and we could all be in trouble. A neighbor of mine had her plants destroyed and her garage door vandilized. I came home today finding my back door open all of the way, cold air out, bugs in. I believe the same stalker is responsible for both situations. I think I will sit this person down, find out if they did it and put the fear of the almighty in them. If they ever come into my house, or even so much as look into the window, they will never be able to play with my kids again. EVER.

Okay, now that is out of the way. I had terrible heartburn all night long and no matter what I did, I could not get it to stop. I took a bath, got out, layed down, took another bath, sat up, took pills, took antacids, took more pills, took more antacids, took more pills until I was at the limit the doctor set. I finally passed out about two in the morning, but was up again about six with the same pain. Now that you have some background, if you got any weird sounding messages from me, it's because I was one; deprived of sleep, and two; probably stoned out of my mind with pain meds. I don't usually take them, so they hit me kind of hard.

I told one neighbor she needed to dress for success for her new job. I've never seen her in anything besides shorts and T's (which is what I usually wear too). What I meant to say was that I really want her to do well in her new job and I've found that if I can dress well the first few weeks of a new job, I am taken more seriously. And I want this neighbor to be comfortable and happy in her new job. So, Sorry K. if I offended you. I had only good intentions, which as they say, pave the way to hell, especially under the influence of pain meds.

We are planning on going to the outdoor theatre tonight with a friend. We were going to a concert, but my chest still hurts from the heartburn and it wouldn't be as big of a deal if we left an outdoor theatre as opposed to leaving a rock concert. Anyway, the plan is to go see Godspell. Marty is going to find some folding seats and bottled water for the adults and a picnic blanket and snacks for the kids.

I am going to try to catch a few z's before it's time to go so that I don't fall asleep there. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Cheers and Good Health
Christa

Thursday Morning

2006-06-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

I've finished a charcoal for my sister and mom, whoever wants it. I think my sis is on vacation so I'll send it to my mom so it doesn't get bent.

Eilish keeps promising to write in her blog, but by the time she gets home and settled in, she doesn't. I'll share with you that she's got her kip (a bars move) and her aerial (a cartwheel with no hands) and because of her successes, her team was allowed to skip on a conditioning session (apparently hard exercise the girls try to avoid). So Eilish was on top of the world yesterday. Not only did she accomplish something, but she could give something to her team.

It was so nice here yesterday. The weather was perfect. We filled the pool and a few kids came over to play. I even ran around in my bikini! It probably wasn't quite as scary once the neighbors got used to the blinding light from my untanned skin.

One of my neighbors visited with me and another gave me a call in the evening. With Marty working nights sometimes a get caught stuck to the T.V. and computer with no other adults to converse with.

I'm heading to the local newspaper on the web this morning to advertise a garage sale. I have a lot of large furniture that won't fit in my flea market and were too heavy to take to Ellen's garage sale. Maybe I'll take some pics and post them on a local site. I'll have to research it. If I figure something out, I'll post a link.

Marty's gotta take Elora to school and then get himself a haircut. Rowen will only let Mandy cut his hair and she only works twice a week at the salon, so he's looking pretty wild. Then Marty's supposed to come back and GET ME OUT OF THE HOUSE!

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Wednesday Morning

2006-06-28T05:16:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Not much has been going on lately. We've been trying to catch up on errands that I couldn't do myself on Sunday. Eilish has been getting back into the swing of things after being on her own over the weekend. Rowen went to school yesterday and had a great day. Elora has been going to bed early and been really easy to get ready early in the morning for school. The cats, well, the cats are spoiled. The ginger tabby takes every chance he can to sit on my lap (he was rejected twice while I was typing this sentence). The brown tabby takes every chance to try to ignore me.

We have a new dilemma. I busted my hump to get the kids transferred to Lee Elementary (an art magnent school). Now that I cannot drive I cannot take them to school and will, most likely, have to transfer them back to our neighborhood school. Last time I looked it was in the bottom five schools in the district. I either need to find the money to send them to before-and-after school care so Marty can drop them off and pick them up, about $100 a week, or I need to find other transportation. The buses won't take them because they are transfer students. I've looked at the public bus lines, but Marty doesn't like that idea.

So, unfortunately, unless someone at the school or district has a solution we'll be going to Blueridge Elementary, which is only about five houses down from ours. The girls have been doing so well at Lee, I hate to transfer them around. I was thinking maybe we could do it for the semester, but there is no guarentee that I will be driving after that.

I guess I should get on the phone and start calling folks to see if anyone has any other options. Oh, how I love being a difficult parent!

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Sunday alone with the Little Ones

2006-06-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

I spent the day without Marty or Eilish. Rowen, Elora, and I went on a walk to the convenient store early in the morning before it got hot. We stopped at the school playground and ate our donuts and soda (coffee for me). The kids played and I read the paper.

Once I got home. I slept. Then I got up and put Rowen down for a nap and I slept with him. I finally got up when I got a call from Eilish saying she would be home in 20 minutes. It's hard to sleep with some of these meds, so I take sleep when I can get it. Of course, Elora was bored to tears and started making collages with the ads in the newspaper I bought. All she had was staples and packing tape, but she made a little book, so she stayed out of trouble.

The boys in the sketch are my nephews. This was my project on Friday during the worlds longest wait for a doctors appointment. All I have to do is spray it with fix and mail it out.

I have a niece and nephew I've started a portrait for also...four times. Sometimes I try so hard to get things perfect I get frustrated and quit. That's the price you pay for trying to be a perfectionist. I find myself telling my kids, "it doesn't have to be perfect." I guess I should follow my own advice.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

The Day After

2006-06-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Yesterday was the long trip to St. Louis to see the oncologist. The reason I don't stay here in Columbia for treatment is their clinical trials are limited. At the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, they have an online list on the NIH site indicating all of the trials and the physicians in charge of them. I started going to Sitemans in November after a 14 day treatment of radiation, along with a yeast infection all over my body, including my mouth...no wonder I couldn't taste anything.

Back to yesterday, we left as early as we could, but these steroids have me on overdrive, so I had to clean the kitchen and dining room before we left. Elora got walked to the bus stop and we left Eilish alone with a ton of rules (don't use the microwave, answer the phone telling them your dad is mowing the lawn, no rated R movies, etc. etc.). Her ride was coming at 10:00 a.m. to take her to lunch and gymnastics.

We headed down the road to Rowen's daycare, but had to turn around a few blocks later because Marty felt the brakes were way to soft. Since I haven't been driving it, I didn't realize the brake pedal had to be pressed all the way down to even start breaking. So we turned around, cleaned out Marty's Mercury and stuck the car seat in it. Off again.

We made it to daycare, but Rowen was having none of it, fussing all the way in. I stayed out in the car and cleaned some more trash out, putting it into the trunk. Off again.

The gas station was the next stop. At this point it was after 8:00 a.m. and we had to be there by 10:30 a.m. to make if to our lab appointment. Our doctors appointment was at 11:00 a.m. and treatment at 12:30 p.m. We had an uneventful ride to St. Louis, just 15 minutes late for labs, no big deal. We got to the doctors waiting room, it was packed with about 25 people. We barely found a place to sit. Though there were quite a few impatient folks, most were chatty and happy. They had obviously been here to see this doctor before. His reputation almost proceeds him. The couple across from us was supposed to be seen at 9 that morning and it was now almost 11. Marty and I decided we had time for lunch.

It's almost 2 and one of the attendents comes out and has me come back for vitals. I had seen four other patients do the same that morning and knew I would be back out in the waiting room in a matter of minutes (I've gained three pounds by the way). I told Marty "I'll be back". I didn't even bother putting my shoes on, I just hussled back there. A few minutes latter I came out and announced "I told you I'd be back." The whole waiting room laughed.

Around 2:30, a grumpy attendent came out of the back room with my chart. I got up to go with her to an exam room, but instead of going back, she led me out into the treatment waiting room. She took the chart to the treatment desk and told us the doctor would see us there because if we didn't start with treatment we wouldn't get done in time (treatment is four plus hours, if we're lucky). Again, I was unprepared and didn't even have my shoes on.

We only had a 10 minutes wait and were hussled back into a private room with a window, which the nurse told us was just the luck of the draw...actually it was to keep all of the patients who would be there after 5 together for easier management.

Treatment went on without a hitch and I asked the nurse if the doctor was coming. Yes, I was told. But none did. We where done with treatment. The nurse led us back into the doctor's appointment waiting room. She went back to give someone my chart and told us he would be right out. He was. He apologized asked how things were, and it seemed that he wasn't even going to see me in an exam room...I guess after 5:30 you get more of a social "thanks for coming." I gave him an idea of how "things were" and he decided to take a peek at me in one of the exam rooms. The thing about this doc, is once you get him started, you can get a lot of information out of him.

We talked about a game plan and he said to call him on Wednesday because he was going to present my case on Monday to the brain tumor specialists. "The Wisdom of Crowds" book was all I could think of. The more the merrier! We'll see if he actually gets it done. I think he wants to help everyone and over extends himself with a magnitude of patients and their complicated problems. I couldn't help but think of Jesus in the play "Jesus Christ, Superstar," when he gets so overwhelmed he screams out, "Heal Yourselves!"

We can talk about that later.

So, all of that hustling and worrying about being late, really didn't matter. Shelly helped me with the kids by staying home with them and feeding them and making them cookies and letting them swim in the wading pool. What a saint. I have a goody for her coming in the mail, not that it makes up for all of the time and possible aggrivation I have caused, but I sure do appreciate her. Once we finally got home about 9:00 p.m. She left with her daughter before 10:00 and we all headed to bed. All exhausted.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow. Right now, Eilish is at a gymnastics camp in St. Louis until Sunday and Rowen is taking a nap (yeah!). Elora and I are alone trying to find a happy medium in movie viewing - I am not watching Rikki Tikki Tavi again.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Okay, okay...

2006-06-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

As you can see Elora lost a tooth this week, the top left side. She loves the way it makes her lisp. And Rowen, well, at least he has a mask on so nobody knows he belongs to me.

I've been in the hosital from Tuesday 'til Thursday bugging all of the staff and doctors about what was wrong with me, getting a different answer each time. I finally got to talk to my oncologist on Friday. I felt better, but need to get better fast so I can get back on chemo. As much as it stinks sometimes, it is working. It is possible I will go back to St. Louis on Friday for treatment and evaluation.

Everyday my balance gets better, so I think I'll be back up to par soon. I need some help on Friday with the kids and am going to see if I can call upon some other folks to help me and give Shelly and Betty a much deserved break!

My former co-workers held a garage sale for me. I got there around 7:00 p.m. and it was hot, and sticky and I appreciate the hard work everyone put in for me. It was at Ellens house and Carol and Diane dropped off things before I got there. Rhonda, Kevin and their crew were there when I arrived. Bill and his grandson were there, as was Debbie, Tamra, and Ellen's neighbor Rhonda. Barb and Brady stopped by dropping off a clothing rack and stayed around to help. Rhonda and my kids played together. They are all about the same age so that was helpful in keeping them busy. I haven't called Ellen yet to see how things went, I thought she might want some peace and quiet before going back to work on Monday.

My neighbor, Kandi stopped by my house with her "gals" (her relatives). They had missed my blog entries, not knowing about my institutionalization (not really) at the Barnes Jewish Hospital. They were all very nice and wished me well. Kandi's son comes to play with my kids from time to time. I haven't had a chance to talk to my other neighbors about where I've been. They might be upset because I had asked some of them to watch my kids for me so I could go to yoga. Sorry, we were in a hurry to get to the ER.

I received a nice letter and print from Tammy G. wishing me well. It took me a minutes to realize who had sent the horse print. Carol stopped by today to give me some hand picked blueberries. She was then off to see the Davinci Code with her friend.

I've had calls and e-mails from my family. My mom and dad, brother and sister, grandmother, mother in law, sister in law and even a rare message from my brother in law! Even friends of my mother in law have sent get well soon messages.

Marty and I are getting back into the swing of things. We bought a Pur water filter since part of my problem seems to be dehydration. It works great (tastes better) for the price we bought it for at Kohls. I also bought some shoes to help me with my balance which has gotten better.

Eilish is trying to get her room clean so that she can go to a gymnastics clinic in St. Louis the 22nd and 23rd. Elora is doing great in school and hasn't complained about the long bus ride home. Rowen is a little shaky at daycare since his teacher, Sandy, left for another job. She was great, very gentle and was able to calm Rowen down when he decided he didn't want to go to school. Next week is a swimming week for him, so he might acclimate to his new teacher faster.

Anyway, that's all the news that is the news. I'm doing fine, just anxious to get back on track. Thank you for all of your thoughts, letters, actions, and phone calls. It's nice not to be forgetten.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Rowen's Birthday

2006-06-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan
Rowen's birthday was today. We had reservations to have it at Chuck E. Cheeses and told Rowen today that was where we were headed. On the way there he was so excited, he screamed out loud. He couldn't keep his excitement bottled up!

We got the tokens, the pizza, the show and dance from the real Chuck E., and the cake. Rowen was so excited to have Chuck E. to himself. He pulled him over to his bags of toys and was showing him what he had got. It was so cute.

Rowen danced with the big kids. He was jumping around with his arms in the air, trying to keep up with Chuck E. dance steps. Betty, Mandy, and Shelly came with their brood. Bill showed up later. It was a small get together and we had it so early in the morning that there was only one other party, so it was not crowded at all. That was nice.

Elora starts school tomorrow. The bus leaves at 7:30 a.m. It's gunna be a bear to get her out there on time. Eilish has gymnastics, which leaves Rowen and I to play with all of his new toys!

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Stuff on my Kids

2006-06-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Obviously I have found a laptop adapter for my digitial camera. This is Eilish and Elora hamming it up with stuff that Grandma Sue sent for me to put on my cats. The kids got to them first. Eilish has asked me a half a dozen times to try the blue wig on. I refuse.

Eilish is at gymnastics again. Elora is in the back swimming with her swarn enemy. Rowen is back from daycare. I found out today that his daycare teacher is leaving next week. That stinks. She is a really nice lady and a great teacher. I'll have to think of something to give her as a going away gift.

I found about six boxes of clothes in the garage that I can send to the garage sale next Saturday. Everything else I have is too big to take; tables, desks, exercise machines, etc. I think the best father's day gift we can give Marty is to clean out the garage (obviously he doesn't read my blog). I just don't have the muscle move it.

Marty called about getting a dumpster for the carpet in Elora's room and other misc. junk. It's a total of $90 for delivery, pick-up, and disposal. Unfortunately, the city doesn't allow yard waste in the dump, so we'd have to rent a chipper too. I need to call for a price. It is difficult to get things rolling around here, we would rather play!

Elora starts school next week. She leaves at 7:30 on the bus and doesn't get back until 4:30. I initially thought that I would miss her but after a blow-up this morning with Marty about folding her clothes, I decided that she needs a structured space and other kids to keep her busy. We'll all be a happier family if she is as busy as possible. That will leave Eilish here twice a week all day, and Rowen gone twice a week half days. Eilish and I should be able to get some stuff done!

Has anyone heard of Indigo Children? Supposedly they are the next evolutionary step in humans. They are extremely empathetic, but don't show it in their face. They are prone to raging out bursts and super creativity. There are some psychic issues as well as rebellion against authority. Anything you tell them to do has to make it through the "why" test. I don't know if this is a myth gone arrye or if this is real. I first saw it on a CSI episode and looked it up on the internet. It reminds me of Elora. Of course, this describes half of the kindergarteners I meet.

Rowen tore into some of his gifts early. He loves the action figures. Yesterday he had robot, robo boy, and Batman Dog all planning on how they were going to save someone from the water so they wouldn't die. It was fascinating watching him have the characters talk to each other. Each had a different personality and agenda.

Thanks for the comments. Read you soon!
Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Charcoal Sketches

2006-06-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

The portrait above is from my last semester at MU. It is of my daughter, Eilish, as the Little Match Girl. I used vine charcoal, charcoal, and conte.

The sketch on the right is from a few days ago of the girls, Eilish and Elora. They are sitting on a tractor tire at the park and gave me just a few minutes until they were squiggly and ready to go play again. I used vine charcoal.

Today we ran around, looking for an organizing unit for all of my paperwork. We went all over town and, of course, nothing suited me. There is something on the web I have in mind, but like any other purchase, I am waiting until I am absolutely sure.

We took Rowen to daycare around 10 and we took Eilish to gymnastics at 1. Elora was the only child for a few hours. I don't think she knew how to handle it. When I asked her, she said it was scary.

Eilish looked great at gymnastics. I've got to give credit to the coaches. One of them kept on the girls like a tick on a dog about their cartwheels on the beam. She had something to say about every girl, every time. Talk about stamina! I kept waiting for her to get tired and sit down, at least to take a breath, but she kept on strong letting the girls know exactly what they did wrong or right. She told one girl if she didn't make her cartwheels faster on the beam she was going to start charging her rent!

We were there the last hour and I pulled out my sketch pad. In a few minutes I had a crowd of girls who were waiting for their class start. I ended up doing a sketch of a few of them and giving them paper and vine charcoal. They immediately churned out their own work. I have to acrylic spray one girls work so I brought it home. The other girl, a six year old, wanted to keep hers. I have to remember to start keeping that spray in my "beach" bag.

The atmosphere at Show-Me Gymnastics is much different than at Flipz. There is no balcony to watch your kids. Parents are on the ground floor, feet from the coaches. The only word that comes to mind is, intimate.

Though we didn't really do much, Elora and I were tired when Marty brought us all home after Eilish was done with gymnastics. Marty had a heck of a time waking Elora up for her summer school open house. I told Marty the wrong time and he barely got her there before they closed. Sorry Marty! At this point he should know to double check me. I can't go from the living room to the kitchen without forgetting why I'm there. Ugh!

Eilish is breathing down my neck to get on the computer because she wants to blog...Marty said that is now a verb and a noun. Blog. Wow.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa
ChristaandClan

Bat Cat

2006-06-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

This took me all afternoon to figure out how to do, but, viola! Here is Sedi Cat sitting in my three-year-olds favorite chair. He only let the cat sleep there because I was taking this picture. When I was done, he pushed the cat off. The thing is, this cat is what one would call passive agressive (what cat isn't), and turned into a motionless blob on the floor instead of taking off.

We went out for breakfast this morning. The only thing that sounded good was a burrito from Sonic, so we went there. Usually, when we go to Sonic, they mess up the order, we just expect it. Today was the exception, they got the order right. However, maybe because we were eating outside in the pleasant weather at the tables, the powers that be decided to send out a worker to bleach the cement. It smelled wonderful...really adding to the ambiance of breakfast. I got ticked and said we had to go. It was a good thing we went when we did because the mop started scrubbing under our table almost before we had pried our butts off the benches.

Do I sound bitter? I guess that's one way to kick the fast food habit.

We had to come back home since Rowen had drenched his batman jumpsuit with syrup from the french toast sticks. The kids were in a helpful mood after we got home and helped me with pricing stuff for the flea market. We took a load of things down and picked up my $11 check. Ghoa, or however you make an exasperated sound. I guess I'm pricing my stuff too cheap. I'll have to add a dollar surcharge per item just for the pleasure of shopping with the fleas!

Okay, we made it to Target and found that Elora had not worn any shoes, though she had managed socks (?). We got the girls some of those rubber shoes with the holes all over them. I can't recall lthe name. We bought all kinds of pull-ups and swimmers for the little ones. I made sure to get some paper cups because all of the kids coming around. Yesterday I ran out of cups and had to offer sippy cups without the twist off lids. I'm already the mean mom on the block, didn't want to be the weirdest, though I think it's too late to worry about that.

The rest of the day was working on the computer and making sure the splashing kids in the back didn't wander off or launch from the banister into the 12 inches of water into the wading pool. Turned out the fun was over when Elora opened the garage door without permission and everyone had to go home. She didn't seem too concerned about it but the neighbor boy was very upset with me. I just made him repeat over and over why he had to go home. He took it better the third time I asked him to re-explain it to me. I think I have a new trick in my arsenal!

Tomorrow Marty has the day off, Rowen will be in school, and I have yoga class. This Sunday is Rowen's third birthday and we're having it at Chuck E. Cheese's. Brother, that place is expensive! I had planned to invite all of the neighborhood kids and Rowen's school mates, but I can barely afford my own three! Oh well, at least it will be memorable for him. He's so little I feel like I gotta make an impact while I'm still here. Blah! I hate to sound negative!

I'm here today! Making an impact! No matter how weird ;P

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

ChristaandClan

Sunday, funny Sunday

2006-06-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

We woke up this morning wanting to show Marty all of the funny cat videos we found on myspace.com. Eilish and my favorite is the talking cat. We've watched a half a couple of times and cry from laughter every time.

If you dare, go to myspace.com and look up funny kitty videos, make sure you search cat videos, because I am not responsible for some one glimpsing the K-RAP other folks post...rated X.

We spend the morning sorting toys and throwing some away. It sounds like a half an hour project but it lasted until lunch time. After that we relaxed, digested and watched Memoirs of a Geisha. It was pretty good... long, but interesting. This was the second time I've seen it. Eilish and I watched it yesterday and I had a hard time figuring out who was who because the movie is so dark in places.

The rest of the afternoon the kids played, swam, and went to neighbors. Now I have them captive and will see how I can keep them busy with chores (Mr. Burns-like laugh, with the ringing of the hands).

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Art in the Park

2006-06-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

We went to Art in the Park this morning, which is now held at Stephens Park. The new location is much better than where it was previously held, across from the college. Parking was farther, but there was a nice walk under the trees and I think more folks showed up because of the better ammenities.

The first thing we did was head for the park playground. The girls climbed the giant climbing rock and Rowen played on the equipment and stopped passerbys to talk about his yellow boots. I sat under the tree while Marty looked at the booths, then we switched places and he watched the kids while I looked around. It was in the low eighties and under the trees it was perfect.

Eilish and Elora made tissue flowers at the kids booth. Rowen made his alphabet on the sidewalk with chalk. By the time we started to head back to the car it was starting to get warm, but it still wasn't too bad.

Right now, Rowen is napping and the girls are across the street playing in the neighbors sprinkler. They look like white frosted cup cakes covered with white spf 60 sunscreen. The last thing they need is to be roasted by the sun.

Marty is going to head out to work shortly. I think we might try to work on scrapbooking again especially if it gets really warm. I am also going to try to get Eilish to try to work on her blog. Check out http://eilishwtheexplorer.blogspot.com/to see if she has anything new later tonight.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Scrapbook Kitty

2006-06-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Last night the girls and I worked on our scrapbooking. Rowen too, to some extent, was helping and Sedi-Kitty decided he could contribute too. He jumped on the table and laid down in the middle of the pictures. We covered him with photos and scraps of paper. I tried to get a good picture of him with the digital, but like any good family of five, someone had placed a perfectly centered finger print on the lens and all of the pictures I took of him where smudged. By the time I realized it, he was long gone off of the table. We almost had a posting on stuffonmycat.com.

Going to head out now to drop stuff off at the flea market, pick up Rowen from daycare, pick up Eilish from gymnastics, and then go see X-Men III.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Health Update and Kitty Comedy

2006-06-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

My account has been down for the past few days. Who knew if you forget to pay they turn off your internet? Anyway, e-mail me again if yours was returned.

I broke down and called the doctors office yesterday and got some positive news. All of the soft tissues are better, which includes the breast, lungs, lymphatic, and brain. The bones are worse, but I haven't been in any pain, so I am not sure how much worse they are. I got ahold of the nurse and not the doctor, so his views might make things clearer. So why the seizure? No one knows. One theory is the reduction of the brain tumors may have triggered something. I am one some anti-seizure medication, but I double checked. I still can't drive for the next six months.

I am still getting used to my Sake-kitty being gone. I called Tiger by his name once. My brother sent me a site www.stuffonmycat.com which lightened up my mood quite a bit.

That's all for now. I've got to run errands while I have my chauffer.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Goodbye Sake-Kitty

2006-05-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

This is the third time I've tried to write this blog about my cat, Sake. I had to put him down this morning. He was a good kitty. He was a good first child. I have two more kitties. Tiger is on my lap right now, purring. Sedi is outside guarding a tree with a squirrel at the top. He is learning to like me, but if I were alone, he would be comforting me.

I also had the joy of being chaffeured around by poor Marty. He got his first visit to the hospital to get my Neulasta shot (I have it done every three weeks). I think he was surprised that everyone knew me by name. Depressing. I am waiting on a call from the St. Louis hospital to see how all of last weeks tests compared to previous tests. Marty has to take off from work to pick up the kids, so it's just me and Dr. Phil until 4:00 p.m.

Tomorrow the parent as teacher lady is coming for the last time. Rowen will be three and that's when that service ends. Krista has been a wonderful teacher for us. She is sweet, gentle, professional. Rowen loves it when she comes over to read to him and teach him new things. I've got to whip the house into shape before she comes though. Yikes!

Tomorrow is the last day of school. We'll see how we survive summer!

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa and Tiger-Kitty

Memorial Day

2006-05-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

It sure started out as a hot day today. Hot enough to warrant buying a new wading pool, that and a good early birthday gift for Rowen, thanks to Gretchen. I don't know if he knew it was a gift for him, but he sure was happy being able to splash around. We put it on the back patio so even though it's a smaller pool, hopefully it will stay cleaner. We had a larger one last year, which the girls loved, but Rowen was afraid to go in and he was the reason we bought it. This one is about 4x8 and 22 inches high, so it's not as intimidating.

We weren't able to find a vet open for Sake, so he's been laying low and howling every few hours. It breaks my heart. Hopefully, we'll be able to find someone first thing in the morning, if he makes it. I need to get a shot tomorrow too, so both of us need medical attention. I also need to call about the new chips in the windshield we got on the way to St. Louis. And we need to call about getting a dumpster for all of our yard waste and trash. Yes, I am using my blog as a to do list...my memory, as I've mentioned before. Oh, yeah, I have to pay daycare, and the phone bill. Okay, I think I've purged my to do list. The most important thing is making it to Elora's kindergarten lunch at noon. Brother, no wonder I can't remember anything, there's too much!

Right now it's thundering and raining. I had to send the girls friends home and the girls had to come in. Of course it rains right after I water the plants. Rowen is napping and the girls are getting ready to go hide in the downstairs shower, but there hasn't been a tornado warning yet. It never hurts to be prepared. There is laundry on the line, but I have enough issues without getting hit by lighting. I guess it will have to get washed again.

Not a very eloquent log, but I think my attitude influences my creativity, and this Dilantin has a side effect of causing agitation, not something that creates good attitudes. Either that or the heat, rain, or just being sick of being sick. You choose.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

The Days Following

2006-05-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

Today was the hottest of the year. Marty went to work in the morning and a few hours later the rest of us braved the walk to the convenient store so that I could get out of the house. It's been less then a week since I've been able to drive and I'm already going nuts.

We had a visitor later in the day when Amber came over to play while her parents went to see X-Men 3. I guess she didn't mind the dirty house. Haven't had much time to clean and haven't really felt like it. But when Marty got home, it was like gang busters. It's just no fun cleaning the house by yourself!

My kitty cat, Sake, is very sick. I hope he makes it till tomorrow when I can call a vet. He is in pain and howling. We've been following him around with a water bowl and kibbles. He's been drinking, but not making it to the litter box. He's 18, so I am guessing it's kidney stones, or kidney failure. He's a good kitty.

Not much else going on. I'm kinda depressed. I thought I was getting better. I should know better. Everytime I start feeling better, I get a bat to the knee again, so to speak. I should find out more Tuesday when the test reports are written up. Waiting is the hardest part.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Staging and Treatment

2006-05-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Here is a senopsis of my great St. Louis adventure:

I had a two unit blood transfusion starting at 8 a.m. and a PET scan at 3 p.m. after which I could finally eat food on Thursday.

We spent the night at the Hope Lodge about four blocks down from the hospital. Friday was the busy day. It started with a nucleur infusion for a bone scan, then a CT scan, then the bone scan, then blood work, then a dr's appt, then chemo (four hours), then a neulasta shot, then an MRI with contrast, where my poor vein finally collapsed!

So we started at 8 a.m. and ended at 7 p.m. Almost 12 hours! Then we drove home, well Marty drove us home.

Brother! I didn't find out much except Emends (anti nausea medicine) is only a $25 co pay at the hospital pharmacy compared to a $50 co pay at WalGreens. I also heard from the doctor that the "soft" tissue had improved. No percentages given, but soft tissue includes lungs and breast area. I will probably find out about the bones and brain next week after the long weekend.

The kids are still at Shelly's this morning. I keep looking over at Rowens bed check to see if he's awake. No Rowen. The've been over at her house since Wednesday night...such a brave soul!

Marty actuall finished a novel in a day...do you believe it! It was a good inch and a half Dan Brown novel. I just played video games trying to straighten out my brain...didn't work.

While stuck in the bone scan machine, and I mean stuck like a slice of baloney in a sandwich, I started to panic. Not because I am claustephobic, cause I not, but because I thought Elora's picnic lunch was that day and I was going to miss it! I gave a message to the nurse to give to Marty to see if he could call the school so they could tell Elora I was in the hospital, sandwiched between two big slices of metal bread and wouldn't be able to make it.

It turns out, darn that memory of mine, that her picnic isn't till Tuesday. Whew! Whenever I go to one of her functions there is always a handfull of distraught little kids whose families haven' t been able to come or even drop of their picnic lunch. I am scared to death that I will forget and feel like the worst mother of the year! Not to mention having a kindergartner with a broken heart.

My children should be home soon. I'm going to give Shelly a call and see if I've forgotten something, they should be here.

P.S. Any memory games would be greatly appreciated. Either that or extra sticky post it notes I can write stuff on and stick to my body.

Cheers and Good Health
Christa

Dizzy Dilantin

2006-05-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

Who knew that a few drips of a medication could make a body look like the scare crow being realised from his rod on The Wizard of Oz. I've planted myself in bed, but I know I need to challege myself to get out of the house. Since I am not sure about my driving status I was thinking of taking Rowen on a walk in his stroller, especially since I can use it to steady myself

Tommow I have a blood transfusion and a PE T scan. Friday are all of the other tests, chemo in between and an MRI at the end of the day. Never a dull moment.

My mom wants to come down and help. I feel we're okay right now, but when the roofers come I'm sure the'll be happy to have her lend a hand (just kidding, mom!)

Typing is quite a challenge for me, so I'm signing off now.

Cheers and Good Health
Christa

The Tea Cup ride back to Columnia

2006-05-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan
Well sports fans today was an interesting day. Marty didn't pay much attention to my complaining this morning about being weak and unfocused. He didn't tell me until after we dropped the girls off at school that I had a seizure at 4 a..m. I never thought Marty was a good liar, but that doesn't keep him from being a great secret keeper. I dont remember the seizure or some time after it ended.

We put out the call to friends, co-workers, school and daycare teachers to see if we could make it to StL. When we got there we were send to the ER where I had a cat scan and chest x-ray. Dr. Brook confered with my physician and decised Dilantin could be used. If you've ever had an IV drip of this stuff you wont be able to stand the rest of the day, thus the title of this blog. The Tea Cup ride at disneyland spins round and round making the weaker stomached participants vomit (which I did do on the way home, ironically).

Let you know more tomorrow when I'm not seeing two computer screens!

Cheers and Good Health
Christa

Monday Catchup

2006-05-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan
It doesn't seem like much has been happening until I sit down to write about it. Then it is a matter of what is too mundane to record.

Sunday was a typical day of avoiding work. Marty worked and I had all three kids. The neighbor boy, Ryan, kept coming over and ringing the doorbell and running away. He did it while Marty got home and he told our kids that they couldn't play with him for the rest of the week. We'll see if he really follows through with that threat.

Today is ice cream truck day and I wonder if I can keep Rowen and Ryan apart when the truck comes down the steet. Rowen's favorite treat is an ice cream Spongebob on a stick (he has bubble gum eyes). I bought a fudgesicle for Ryan last week because I guess his mom didn't have any money and called him into the house when the truck came by. I should have told her that he takes checks. I couldn't stand the thought of Ryan expecting a cold treat and being called in as the truck came down the street. Cruel!

This morning, after I dropped off the girls we got coffee from the coffee shop downtown. Then we went to the mall to find a blow up bath pillow. I have a foam one but it gets moldy if left wet. We didn't find one, but I ended up getting Rowen a new batman video. I about had the last one memorized he played it so much. The new one has 13 episodes, so I can keep my sanity. Now we're sitting her watching it. Rowen has nothing but his cape on. Whatever it takes to stay in character, I guess.

We also stopped off at the flea market this morning to refill the shelves. I got a call last night that someone was buying all of my books, which is great, but I didn't have time to find enough stuff to make the booth look full. The good news is extra stuff is slowly exiting the house. I bugged Marty to go through his extra tools...he brought me two. Not much help.

Not much else. Batman's ready for a bath, so I'll sign off.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Party Surprise

2006-05-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

I had a day of child labor planned out this morning. But my plans were dashed when I found an envelope under the couch while cleaning. An invitation to a party for one of Eilish's friends that started in an hour and a half. We dashed out of the house, heading for Kohls to find a gift (and to find me a new tote bag). I was in such a rush I forgot my cell phone...and of course there was a request for an R.S.V.P.

We got her there in plenty of time and her and Elora stayed until I picked them up at 3 p.m. So, there went my day of working the girls to the bone. I spend the time they were at teh Party with Rowen at the Burger King play place where he made lots of 15 minute friends.

When we got home, I tried to get them to help me clean the car. But it started to rain. I could not win and gave up to draw, read, and, as you can tell, write.

Nothing more exciting, but there is always tomorrow.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

DaVinci Code: The Movie

2006-05-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Marty and I went to the movies this morning. We saw The DaVinci Code. Long movie. It started at 11:30 a.m. and we didn't get back to our car until 2:20. It's disorienting coming out of the theatre in the middle of the day. Marty had to be at work at 3:00 and I had to pick up the kids.

Anyway, the movie was okay. It followed the book fairly close. I had heard a complaint that the movie was wordy. Having read the book, I was wondering how they would handle all of the historical information. They didn't handle it, they just made the movie wordy. I thought it was well done, however. A top notch production.

Before the movie Marty and I got some errands done. We sent out some packages and washed the van. After the movie I picked up the kids and they got the old sand box out and filled it with water. Splashing around kept them entertained for about an hour. I tried to draw them but they are so wiggly!

Right now Rowen is watching X men 2. The first X men is on the fox channel, but Rowen didn't want to watch that. The girls are across the street playing with the neighbor boy, Ion. The other neighbor boy, Ryan has been sick for the past few days so the girls have not been able to play with him. The girls only have a week and a half left of school. Eilish starts the new gymnastics June 2 and Elora starts summer school on June 12. That gives Elora enough time to start missing school, hopefully.

I was informed today that a previous co-worker of mine from Extension passed away this morning from a brain aneurism. She was a very sweet women and I am sad that she has passed. Hopefully I will be able to attend services for her. When I was diagnosed, she contributed to a fund for me and sent me e-mails.

Not to end on a sad note, but I'm out of things to write about. I'll keep reading and maybe start sketching from the kids photos. And I will keep trying to write in this blog. So far, I've felt well enough to be consistent.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

The Walrus and the Carpenter

2006-05-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Today was a me day, as most are. We got trash bags and diapers, but everything else we bought was for me. Art supplies, for me. New book from the bookstore, for me. Searched for furniture, for me. No dishes or laundry today, for me (since Marty is at work and can't share the work with me). So, I'm feeling pretty selfish, but like they say, if momma's not happy, nobody's happy.

"Lamb" is the name of the book Marty bought for me. It's by Christopher Moore. So far it's made me laugh out loud once and that's just in the first chapter, so I guess I'll stick with it. I started reading a Highlander Romance novel this morning and desided that romance was not something that was on my mind lately.

The roof repair guy stopped by today to get an idea of what the roof needed. We picked out a lighter tan and brown shingle. He'll be back in 4 to 6 weeks. It should be interesting. Marty asked him if we could get the facia done too. We'll have to get a quote from someone for that, I guess.

The kids are across the street at the neighbors jumping on their trampoline with a four and two year old. The look like popcorn, all taking turns bouncing up and down. I'm surprised that no one has gotten pounced on yet. I'm not sure where Rowen is. I'm on the balcony and can't see him. He must be in the sand box they have on their back patio.

The owner from Eilish's current gym called Marty and asked if they could work out something so that Eilish could stay. Marty had written a note telling her we would be leaving due to financial issues (her current gym is quite a bit more than the one we were thinking of). I thought she might try to keep us there, but wasn't looking forward to the final decision. Marty said the savings at the new gym would pay for the meet fees that are required. Marty told me that Eilish would have to make the decision. I think the only reason the owner called is because Eilish is such a peach to work with. She always tries and has a great attitude. Some of those girls are primadonnas. I've seen them throw tantrums, cry, pout. True athletes.

What about the Walrus and the Carpenter, you ask. Nothing. I just think it's a cool poem.

Cheers and Good Health
Christa

Cook Books and Da Vinci Code

2006-05-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Marty was home again with me today, but I felt good today, so we ran around and returned items, went grocery shopping, bought birthday presents, did yard work, and continued on with other errands. Eilish has gymnastics tonight and the Elora and Rowen have a party in Centralia to go to.

I've asked Eilish to keep a weekly menu. I set it up in word perfect in a table. I also made sure that everything on the menu we had in the house. Hopefully, that will cut down on the fast food. It's to the point where the mear mention of McD's makes me feel ill. Marty has done some plan ahead cooking, or slow cooking. He's boiling beans for beans and cornbread.

I'd never had that dish before I met Marty. He calls it Soul food. Tomorrow I'm going to make my child hood dish, enchiladas. I don't know mom's recipe, but there is a really good one on the back of the Old El Paso enchilada sauce can. It's really simple, which is good for cooks like me.

Racheal Ray has been making the rounds on T.V. and I thought I might pick up one of her cook books. Another book I saw today was called, A Man, A Can, A Plan. It was funny because not only did it have pictures of the ingredients (like a can of tuna, a can of green beans) but the pages were made out of the same thing baby books are made of, like pressed cardboard. I guess who ever wrote it made it destuction proof for a man in the kitchen.

I've almost finished the Da Vinci Code, will probably get there tonight. I'd like to send it to my brother. If he doesn't need it, let me know and I can send it out to whoever still hasn't read it.

This is it for the day.
Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Writers Block

2006-05-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Is there such thing as writers block, or is it just another form of procrastination. I'm sure in my case it's procrastination.

I've about finished DaVinci Code. If anyone wants to borrow it, I can send it book rate.

Marty and I went to Booches for lunch. It's a little bar downtown that opened in 1884 and it still looks like it. The burgers are good and fairly small. They take about twenty minutes to get once you order, so you get to stare at the ancient cherry wood bar and the old photos of a baseball team that someone obviously followed with a passion. It smells like lysol and cigarette smoke. The floor has warn down from the slate tile into the original white octagonal tiles popular in the 1920's. It has a lot of character.

Well, the kids are restless, so I'm signing off now.
Cheers and Good Health
Christa

Mother's Day

2006-05-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Hey sports fans. We made it through a cold and cloudy day with lots of food and sleep. The plan was to go out to eat for Mother's Day, but MU graduation was yesterday and all of the restaurants were full by 9:30, on a Sunday!

Marty had the day off so we shopped, watched movies, and, like I said, slept. I recommend Tristan and Isolde if you feel you have two hours to spend on a teary love story. Blah. I much preferred Red Eye, where the heroine kicks butt.

We also had fun with the pets. Tiger kitty spent two hours snoozing with me. Sedi kitty tried to avoid me, but I found him and pet him, annoying him with baby talk. I think he was miffed because this morning I laughed at him when Rowen dragged him by his neck and arm into a two-legged walking position across the living room. I said "Evolution! walk or die!" He was only in distress for a few seconds, for you animal lovers out there. Anyway, the cat got me back when he was laying on my lap and only purred when Marty walked by and said something to me. He stopped purring when Marty went on by. I got the picture. I am not his favorite kitty-parent.

Rowen slept later that afternoon for about five hours. Now it's almost 10 p.m. and he's wired and ready to go. He has a graduation robe and cowboy hat on. We ate a late dinner and he had a fun time making faces on his plate with his hot dog and tatertots.

The girls gave me a necklace and scarves for mother's day. Marty took me to Target and I bought some new shirts. Friday the girls gave me the cards they had made in school. I couldn't figure out why they had drawen pirates for mothers day. It turned out that they weren't pirates, they were me with a head scarf on. Funny. Better than last year when I was a stubbly circle with a face.

I bought myself some gifts on Saturday. Some plants. I had plenty of energy to plant them, even chase the cat around the yard which is strange because that morning I couldn't stand for more than five minutes. This chemo stuff is getting difficult to predict. It either left my system or it was the movie we went to see, Just My Luck. Not a big Lindsey Lohen fan, but she was pretty funny in this flick.

Before I sign off I have to recommend a new drink, Simply Fruit, Limeade. It is entirely too sweet, but halved down by water, it is just right. I also put it in my unsweetened iced tea and it was pretty good.

Have a good week.
Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Got Mothers Day Flowers!

2006-05-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

Hello again. I got some mothers day flowers this afternoon sent from my mom and dad. How does that work?

Rowen and I have been running around all day. He dressed up like Batman, mask and all, and got lots of attention at the grocery store and the mall. Tonight we take Eilish to gymnastics. She's been accepted into the other place in town and will be going there starting in June.

I got a positive feedback on the Yaris from a true Toyota fan. I saw one on the road and could tell what it was. They are tiny though. Rowen would almost have to be out of his carseat before three could fit in the back

Even with my bad attitude, I guess restaging is a good thing. The doctor is keeping on top of everything. I think things will be better. The downer is that one of the test means no eating. And there is the waiting. And there is the waiting. And...you get the idea. It also reminds me of all of the times I've waited for good news, only to get bad. I have no illusions.

We're trying to find someone to take the kids overnight on Thursday because we have to leave the house before 5 a.m. on Friday to make all of our appointments. I feel like I'm dependi ng upon my friend Shelly too much to ask for the kids to spend the night and then take them to school. I almost want to take them to St. L with us, but could Marty handle them all day. I guess if the hotel had a pool they'd go for that for a few hours.

I finally got through a few sci fi stories from one of the short story magazines. Those writers sure are good, and creative. It makes me feel like my writing is shallow and trite. But, I want to keep trying.

It's about time to get back into the Bat Van and pick up the girls from school, then home, then to gymnastics. It's teadious and I'm surprised I've made it this far today. The fatigue almost got the best of me a few times this morning.

Cheers and Good Health,
Christa

Restaging set for the 25th and 26th

2006-05-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan: May 2006

Well, sports fans, I just completed over four hours of chemo on Friday and already I've gotten a call to restage. For those of you lucky enough to have no clue what I'm talking about, restaging is where the oncologist does a battery of tests to see where the cancer is compared to where it was during the last tests. So, Thursday the 25th we drive to St. L. for a P.E.T. scan. Then, we come back on Friday for the rest of the test, ending with an MRI at 5 p.m.

Just when I thought it was safe to get back in the water...

Yoga went well today. I really like the instructor, tough but tender. I only wish I felt as good as I would if not under the influence of chemo. The drug I take to keep from having nausea only lasts for five days, then I take more traditional drugs that make me sleepy or forgetful. Crappy is one way to put how I feel. I try to cover the feeling with food, pills, or sleep. None of them work, I usually just have to wait it out.

I got my first check from the flea market, just over twenty bucks. Not bad considering that includes the rent for the next month. Most everything I've sold are older books and toddler clothes. The ladies there are really sweet and one called me at home to check on a price on an item.

Tomorrow is my day to provide snacks for the school for teacher appreciation week. I had planned to make cookies, but the way I feel, maybe store bought would work...

Cheers and Good Health, until next time.

Christa

May Update

2006-05-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

Been away awhile sports fans. Life is full of stuff, good and bad.

May I suggest to you netflix fans the "Horatio Hornblower" series by A&E. I am the last person on earth to want to watch cold british sailors sail and fight during the Napoleonic era, however, now I am willing to go back and find the books to read. The shows are great!

Another thing, anyone looking at getting a new car? I've got my eye on the Scion xB, and I've been watching the new Yaris commercials (Toyota). It may be the slick advertising OR it could be the 40 mpg hwy. The price is pretty close. There isn't anything on Consumer Reports on the Yaris yet.

Flowers anyone? Any suggestions on flowers that have access to water, but do really well full sun? I've bought phlox, hostas, and some red and green leaved plants. I put a few shallow terrocotta pots down at the end of the driveway and prepped them for flowers. But, Sedi, thought I had laid them out for him to pee in. The pots are now back up on the brick walls. Stupid cat.

Eilish is prepped to go to a new gymnastics place, along with Elora. Elora will go to school from 8 to 4 during the summer and Eilish will go to the gym MWF from 1 to 5. Hopefully, I will still be able to take Rowen to daycare a few days a week. I think he does really well there. It turns out our neighbor takes her baby there a few days a week.

I now have a standing order for a white blood cell shot after every chemo. So, we don't have the rush to get services in Columbia everytime we come home. My next appointment on a Friday will be late so Shelly, bless her heart, says the kids can spend the night with her.

I have a sketching project to do Wyatt and Weston, who are cousins to our kids on Marty's side. The pictures are the boys riding fuzzy golden ponies and is really cute, but I am so much of a perfectionist, I'm getting stuck. So, I'm trying to take my time and keep it fast and lose. Right now I've just used charcoal, which is great for me, but tends to be a bit bland. I'll work it out.

I pulled out one of my short stories to review. I'll post it. Right now I'm not happy with it, but once I start rewriting, I usually take three or four hours minimum. Quite a commitment...drives Marty crazy.

Right now I'm reading sci fi magazine short stories. I just finished Floating Dragon by Richard Straub, I don't think it was one of his best endeavors. I've found a new Christopher Moore book I want to read but if anyone has Lamb they could send, I'd like to start with that. I also saw a book called Horse Sense at B&N about a man marrying into a horse family. It's supposed to be pretty funny, but I'll have to get more info before I order from Amazon.

The highlight of my week last week was getting together with my former coworkers. They are all so special. I want to keep in touch with everyone, but sometimes, I get so focused in on the little stuff, I forget about the important big stuff, like friends.

Cheers and Good Health

ChristaandClan

Booth at the Market Place

2006-04-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

I spoke to the owner of the Market Place and told him what I had in mind selling pre-made frames.

He was really nice and in fact, he wants someone to open a frame shop in his store, more than a booth, a shop within the building. Other shops like this include a landscaper, and a pool table and spa providers. They also have a tea room for private parties.

Ultimately, one could have their own framing business, but like any business you would have to have someone there for the store hours. Framing is very labor intensive, but can be lucretive at 2 to 10 dollars per inch of molding. However, you have to be able to create the frames at the very best quality and consider that no matter how well one does, the customer may not be at all happy. I remember when I worked at the art store, the owner and the frame customers would often fight over the quality of custom made mats and frames.

If this is something I could work out, I think Marty is more inclined at measurements. I could do it, but am afraid I would be too slow at measuring and possibly lose the confidence of the customer. Marty is also a very good salesman. Then there is the issue of the cost of private business insurance.

So, I am still thinking about all of the options. There are opportunities everywhere, you just have to know if it's something you really want to do.

Until next time.

Frame Shop

2006-04-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

Just a meandering dialogue on how to get out of the house and make a little cash. The local flea market (who consider themselves up scale) charge $112 per space plus a 5% commission on sales. Daycare for Rowen part time for a week is $120. Besides inventory, outgoing expenses would be $146. Income would have to be at $146 to keep things afloat.

When strolling the aisles of this market I noticed that though there are plenty of canvases and prints sold in many of the booths, there aren't many frames. Some are preframed, but no guarantee the customer wants that frame. This idea could also get me some exposure if the pictures be my original drawings. I would only have to sell one original a month to stay a float or 10 frames or 20 matts.

It's a baby step, but it's also a process. Any comments would be appreciated.

Yoga and Art

2006-04-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

ChristaandClan

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2006/Apr/20060402Ovat017.asp

The above link is about how some museums are using their art spaces not only as art appreciation but as meditative yoga space.

I thought it was an interesting concept...anything the Roberts house might look in to?

Typing starts at eight, not eighteen

2006-03-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

Eilish found this site to practice her typing. I didn't learn to type until high school, she's required to learn in third grade! Wow.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Fingers on those home keys!

Full Inboxes no more!

2006-03-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

At my brothers recommendation I have started a blog page. So, no more full inboxes because of me. Just stop by now and then to pick up some of my quirky finds...like this one:

zillow.com

Being the queen of nosy-ness, I found that my house is not necessarily the cheapest on the block and my neighbors got rooked on theirs! Check out your neighbors home values (or yearly property taxes) on this site.