Sorry so long

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I have been quite busy with work and travel to the doctors with my mom. She seems to be handling the chemo pretty well. Emma is doing good but very clingy since she is not seeing me much these days. I hate being away from her but it is a necessity at this time. Definitely not ready for Christmas. I miss getting to go to curves and work out. I miss my friends. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with their loved ones and I will try to post again soon

Knowledge is power

Well, my mother starts chemo tomorrow. We will be going to Abilene at the butt crack of dawn. I am not sure if they are going to put the port in tomorrow or at a later date. There is so much we still do not know about.
On the bright side, my aunt came in today from Katy. My mom seems very happy to be getting to spend some time with her before this event. My aunt has said she will come down for every set of chemo and go home while I am taking her to radiation. She wants to try to get her a hotel room for the 3 day chemo rounds so my mother doesn't have to travel every day during the chemo. That will be a wonderful help to all of us. I can take the driving but I am not sure my mom could hold up.
We had a wonderful family dinner tonight. My aunt adores Poo and Poo even smiled at her a few times but still no talking:) Stephanie and Courtney joined us and a good time was had by all. For a little while we were just a family happy to be in each others company. Papa did not even seem to mind being the only man in the estrogen ocean that is my family. He lived through a dinner with six women and seems to even enjoy himself.
I am grateful....hopeful...scared....tired....mostly grateful for the love of family.
Family born to and family chosen, they are what everything is about. For chosen family who read this WE LOVE YOU and thank you for your help, your kindness and your prayers.

The deed is done

Well, its done. I wasn't sure I could do it but I managed. Last night I told my sister our mother has cancer and she has to start chemo next week. I have been sick about it for days. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to say. She took it about like I had thought she would, as most people would. She was crushed and shocked.
It is a life changing event for everyone involved. My mom is going to have to move in with us while she goes through chemo and radiation for the next several months. I will have to drive her to the treatment center 5 days a week and then go to her house to care for her animals every day. I am hoping my employer will be willing to work with me so that I can keep my job. I really can not afford to lose the insurance on my daughter and myself. Also, I am trying to figure out how we can spend more money on gas and groceries while bringing in less money due to me not working.
What worries me the most is that I will not be able to physically hold up to the task. Some of you know that I have active Lyme disease. It has wrecked my body. I have fought very hard over the last year to regain strength and stamina, but I am not where I should be. What if I get sick? What if I just can not hold up to it? How do I explain to a 3 year old about her grandmother's illness? She will be seeing my mom everyday as she goes through treatment. If anyone has any ideas please feel free to share.
There are a thousand what if's going through me right now. All I know is we will make it work somehow just because we have to. Thanks for listening. Love ya

Dealing with change

Well, today is a new day and there are a lot of changes to come in the next week or two. A transition time, so to speak. There is so much to do and it is almost too overwhelming. Maybe being so busy will help to keep us focused.
I am the type of person who does not like change. I like to have a routine. I am not very spontaneous, I am a planner. So how does a person like me deal with a major change that I have no control over? What do I do with all the changes that this will likely cause? How do I handle what I can not plan for? I GET DRUNK ! Just kidding, I am not a drinker either.
I suppose at this point I just hunker down, roll up my sleeves and pray that what I do is the right thing to do. I do not know what is the right thing so I am just hoping that the decisions made are the best for the situation at hand. Mostly I just don't like the uncertainty. Hopefully it will all be for the best and refocus what is truly important in life.
I do know that at least David is willing to help me clean up the house for a change. Hahahaha. That will be nice. I get to rearrange which is always fun for me. Maybe he will even let me paint the bedroom and living room. I have been wanting to do that for a while. We will see how it turns out. Maybe I can post before and after pictures if he agrees to the paint:) Love ya

Monday again

Well, it is Monday again. We went to Curves to work out this morning and Poo brought her magical princess wand. She wanted to make sure we finished early so she waved her wand for us and told us we were done now :) Of course we were already done when she did it.
I got some very bad news yesterday that I am not at liberty to talk about at this time. I just am not sure how to deal with it. Please, no matter who it is you pray to, pray for our family and keep us in your hearts.
Remember that every day is a gift. Don't just tear it open to see what you get next. Enjoy the details in the wrapping and be truly, truly thankful for what is inside. Enjoy the moment for what it is, a moment that will be with you always if you cherish it. There is always a light in your heart. The trick is to let it shine so bright that it lights up others around you.

Jayde's Little Corner has a give away

My dear friend Jayde has a wonderful give away going on this week. I personally own a one of a kind creation from her now and hope to get another :) She does beautiful work that would definately make a great holiday gift for yourself or someone else if you can bear to part with it.
I have already entered myself and I am trying to convince David to go on over and up our chances...hahaha. She is an amazing artist and it is truly beautiful when she puts her perspective onto a beloved photo. Go check her out and see if you can win it before I do. You can find her at Jayde's Little Corner.This is the photo I would use.

I made Lentils!

I made lentils today and they did not taste like dishwater! I am so excited. I can cook most things fairly well but lentils have eluded me my whole life. Well I watched a cooking show and again they looked so yummy. So the family and I loaded up and went to the grocery store last night to get some staples and when we were on the bean isle I saw them. I asked David if he was willing to try them and he said sure. So today i tried it and they were awesome ya'll. So yummy and filling and not dishwatery at all. So I got brave and tried meatloaf too. Now I HATE meatloaf, but this wasn't bad. I mixed half and half turkey and beef. It turned out great and we all ate too much.
Tuzzy and John stopped by and dropped off a freezer(thanks again). We got to visit with them a bit which is always nice. Poo has had a great day playing and singing to us. David put a heater in the living room. Its only been 2 and a half years we've been trying to get this done. And let me tell ya'll he did it. Its sweltering in the living room now. On low it heated the living room 15 degrees by our thermometer. Well worth the wait. I could not be happier with it. He did a wonderful job and did not even get cranky like normal when he fixes things. We are so proud of him:) Also, he found the cord for the camera today while looking for the heater parts. So awesome!
And I would like to thank Tuzzy for the shout out about our little nutty blog. Poo loves to see the pictures we add so here is one for her.
This is one of her and her beautiful sissy.

OOPSIE!!

Well as everyone here knows the cold weather has struck. I brought in my ivy that Kevin got me last week. I know it was a little late as I lost a few leaves but it is recouping nicely. Well, I went to get something out of the car a minute ago and easily got sidetracked as I am prone to do. My handsome kitty came up and wanted love and when I was petting him I SAW it. Emma's plant. Tropical plant.
The story goes that when we go to a store, if she behaves very well she will get a "comprise" as she calls it. We usually keep it under a dollar. Just a little something to let her know she did a good job.
Anyway, a few months ago we had to get groceries, lots of them because I had pretty much let us run out of everything. So armed with my circulars and coupons we set out to find the best deals. Some here in town, some at walmart , piggly wiggly going out of business, and heb. You see how taxing this can be for a child of 2 at the time. 4 stores, 1 comprise. Heb was our last stop. As we walking in the door they had a plant stand as most grocery stores do. Her little face lit up. We had been planting the garden and fruit trees all week. She saw the plants and said "thats it momma, thats my comprise!". So we get over to them and they are pathetic. Wilted and dry and dying off. They are marked 1 dollar each and she quickly found 4 she wanted.One even had pink dots on the leaves, perfect for a princess she tells me. I concede she went to 4 stores and she could have all of them. However, when we go to check out I ask if they are on sale due to the poor condition. The nice lady at the register tells me they are not but she would call the manager to see what we could do. He comes and we got them all for a buck. All summer she has watered her plants with her watering can and I, the forgetful momma has let them freeze.
Well all is not lost I hope. 2 of them look ok, the other 2 not so great. But the one with the pink dots will make it I think. So we are now on the mission of repotting them in hopes that it will help to get more dirt around the roots as they are root bound.
On another note, Poo is feeling a bit better. I however feel like my legs are made of jello thats not quite set yet but at least I have quit shivering and shaking so bad. Please pray for the princess plants. Love ya

I read a blog today from a good friend. She has a give away that may interest some of you. I was inspired by it. Parenting tips based on killer whale training. She is giving away 5 of these awesome books and they would be a great Christmas present for those with children and grandchildren. I hope I get one too. Go visit theysayimnuts.blogspot.com for the give away and a lot of other interesting info.

Who said it could get cold?

Wow, what happened to 70 degrees? I nearly froze to death all night at work, now I am just feeling weak and exhausted. I don't think I could fight my way out of a wet paper bag. I normally love cold weather. Maybe I just got run down, not really sure.
The Poo did not sleep well for Papa last night either. He said she woke up at 4 am. She is in a great mood and so far this morning we have colored together, played with flash cards of the alphabet and shared a bowl of cereal.
She is doing very well learning her letters. We are trying to keep it fun and make games out of it where we can. She can also count to 10 in spanish now! Now we are trying to teach her to write her first name. She has the "E" and the "A" pretty good. Well, I guess that is it for now. Love ya....

Getting ready for Christmas

Well, we spent the day yesterday digging out ornaments. Sounds like fun doesn't it. Poo is so excited about her tree! She helped put the lights and ornaments on and just had a great time. She and I started putting together the robotic deer together while Papa was looking for the angel that tops the tree. That was not the simple snap together deer the instructions implied. I believe even if I had a degree in engineering it would have been difficult! After many tools and a few foul words we got that bugger together and mostly working. Still have to figure out why the antlers won't light up but Poo loves her new deer friend and definately does not think it should live outside in the front yard (which was the original intention).
All and all it was a good evening and we had some good family time together. The tree looks like it was decorated by a 3 year old and we love it! The deer mostly works and stands next to the tree looking back and forth for present thieves, and by the way, Papa never did figure out where he put the angel last year:) . Welcome to our redneck Christmas... hope you enjoy yours as much as we are enjoying ours.