But, apparently

My mom is battling stage three throat cancer.

She just completed round one of her radiation and chemotherapy.

During the last 7 weeks I have felt a bit inadequate: I am struggling with how best to offer my love, support and help during this challenging, difficult, scary time.

I want to do more than I am doing for her - she means the world to me!

But,

I am not a nurse, caregiver, nutritionist or orderly.

I am not a scientist, pharmacist, or medical engineer.

I am not technician, radiologist, nor am I a doctor, or an oncologist.

But, apparently,

I am beginning to fancy myself a runner.

Tomorrow, I am running in the Ottawa Hospital 10k RATTLE ME BONES race.

(and though it is not much, it makes me feel like I can help in my mother's care.)

Wish me luck!

(Thank you Ottawa Hospital for taking such great care of my mom!)

HEY MOM, Love you - Hate cancer!

BINGO! B-I-N-G-O!!!

We interrupt this blog's new found drive to post for a night of B-I-N-G-O!!!!!

Yep, bingo!

Instead of writing an awesome post, I spent a lovely evening playing bingo!

Yep, bingo!

During the week my mom is residing at Grimes Lodge - or as I call it, The Cancer Dorm - and tonight was bingo night!

Yep, bingo!

Guess, what! I had a great time! With no distractions, my mom and I shared some broth soup for dinner, chatted with other residents, started a puzzle in the games room and then participated in a hot game of bingo!

It was fun... and we each won a round!

I never imagined I would spend a weeknight playing bingo with my mom (emphasis on "My") ...I never imagined my mom would ever have to battle cancer...I never imagined a little game of bingo would be so enjoyable, relaxing, fun and valued...I never thought playing bingo could or would feel so normal, so grounding.

Yep, bingo!

Well, at least it was calming, relaxing and normal until I jumped up and yelled BINGO!

Yep, BINGO! B-I-N-G-O!

Thanks Mom, I had a wonderful time!

Love you so much, hate cancer!

XOXOXOX

Let's get this GREAT party started!

On Sunday we had an anniversary celebration for my in laws, who were celebrating 40 years of marriage.

As the guests were arriving the kids were running around and greeting everyone.

DJ saw that Great Grandma (91) just arrived, with her boyfriend Herald (93).

All excited, DJ yelled out to everyone, " Great Grandma and Great Herald are here, let's get this party started!"

The two love birds (party animals) enjoying the BBQ.

Yep, in all our minds, they both are GREAT!

Private Parts - Priceless

While driving through Alberta, Canada we stopped at Drumheller - Dinosaur land! No trip to this dinosaur discover meca is complete without visiting the WORLD'S LARGEST DINOSAUR.

After we safely parked our van far enough away from the enormous T-Rex (and Madigan was sure he would not eat our van!), we paid the wallet-gouging, tourist-grab admission price to hike up the stairwell, to look out the observation deck.

As we climbed, and climbed, I pointed out interesting parts of the wall murals. Oh yes, the innards of this giant depicted many dinosaur scenes. I also pointed out all the dinosaur bones embedded into the walls.

"Look guys! There is a T-Rex thigh bone! Oh, look, a brontosaurus foot, and a wing from a archaeopteryx, wow, a skull of a triceratops! Cool!"

Then Anderson suddenly piped up and excitedly exclaimed, " And I see his penis! I see the dinosaur's penis!"

GULP! What did my son just yell out loud enough for everyone within 20 feet to hear?!?!?!?!

"Um, Ander, what do you see?"

"His penis. His penis! Look - right there!"

Do you see it??? Ander could be right! (which might explain why they went extinct) It does LOOK like a penis! But...

... it is actually an emergency light fixture!!!!

Oh, the snorts, laughs, giggles, and snickers that were caused by this observation! I thought the mother ahead of us was going to pee her pants, and the man behind David commented it was too bad that was not caught on video!!!!

My son, Anderson - future paleontologist? Who knows!!!!!

WW - David X 4

Four generations!

David, David, David and David

My 4 Davids!

For more Wordless Wednesday entries click HERE!
Or if you prefer Wordful Wednesdays, click HERE!

The Great BC Trek 2009

Having WAY

too much FUN

to blog!

We have DRIVEN over

3500km

and I do not want this

ADVENTURE to end!

Having a BLAST!

Will share lots of

GREAT stories SOON!

XOXOXOX

laura

To quote Sigmund Freud...

Verrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeey Interzessssting!

Below are the cheer posters my little people made me for my big race on Saturday.

Artist: Madigan, 27 months

According to the artist, Mommy is yellow and running fast. DJ is red, Anderson is blue, Daddy is green and Madigan is black. The route is clearly marked!

Artist: DJ, 5 years old

Mommy is wearing her race number. She is very fast. She is using her arm to push everyone out of the way so that she can win. Everyone in the race is kicking her and trying to push her down and make her loose.

Artist: Anderson, 4 years old
Daddy is on the far right. Mommy and Anderson are in the middle holding up the gold trophy for winning the race. Madigan is the tall, second figure from the left. She is saying, "Anderson", because she loves Anderson (note the "A" above her head). Great grandpa is standing on the far left. DJ is the little figure. He is just a baby and his arms and legs are broken. He only has one eye and one ear. He was too small to see Mommy win the race and he could not help Mommy hold the big golden trophy.


Oh, ya, Dr. Freud would have a field day with these drawings!!!!!

Everyday

Dear Mom,
For me, everyday is mother's day. Why? Because every single day I am thankful that you are my mother. Everyday I turn to you for support, advise and help: everyday you offer me endless support, advise and help. Not a day goes by that I do not admire, love and respect you. Not a day goes by that I do not hope to make you just a little more proud of me, as a daughter, as a mother and as a person. Every single day I ask myself how you would handle certain parenting challenges, and every day I model my parenting after how you have parented (and are parenting) me. Everyday I appreciate and cherish the wonderful mother-daughter relationship we have together. Yes, everyday is mother's day.

Dear Marlene,
Thank you for being such a great mom. Thank you for being you: caring, empathetic, loving, selfless, supportive and ever-giving. Thank you for raising a wonderful son who shares those qualities. Thank you for your love and support. You welcomed me into your family with open arms. Thank you for your friendship. I hope and pray I can be as good of a mom to my children, as you are to yours.

Dear David,
Happy mother's day to you! Yes, mother's day! It is because of you that I am a mother, so, THANK YOU! I had always wanted to have children, always knew I would have children, but never imagined it could be as wonderful as it is, and I know that is because you are the father of our children. You love, support, comfort and encourage me and it is because of you that I can be the mother that I am to our children. I love and respect you more each and everyday. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful that we met, fell in love, married, and started a family. You are a wonderful father and together, we make an amazing parenting team. Thank you for everything. BEAR!

To all my wonderful readers - I hope you had a wonderful and very special mother's day...I know I sure did!!!!

Mug Shots

Madigan - 2 years old

AKA: Princess Diva

Wanted for elaborate temper tantrums and excessive cuddles

Anderson - 4 years old

AKA - Pander-Bear

Wanted for multiple counts of huggies and kissies

DJ - 5 years old

AKA - Horsie Boy

Wanted for crimes of passion and compassion

Laura - 40 years old

AKA: Mom

Considered mentally unstable - a bit loony - delusional (thinks a road trip of approximately 4600 kilometres, clear across the country, to visit her in laws, with the above mention accomplices "might be fun".

Let the planning begin - our summer trip is only 85 days away!

Total Estimated Driving Time: 51 hours 11 minutes (ONE WAY!)

Total Estimated Distance: 4597.99 kilometers

I was so worried about the kids' passport photos. I took all three on my own to Costco to get them done. I have heard nightmares about kids smiling, blinking, etc. and it taking 10-40 shots to get a presentable and acceptable shot. Well, each of my darlings got the first take right...and then mine turned out so terrible, but I sure wasn't going to be the one having to retake the photo!!!!! Oh well - what can you do?!?!?!?!?!

WW - Going to the birds!

March Break Fun!

March 16, 2009.

Stony Swamp Conservation Area

Sarsaparilla Trail

(Look carefully on Madigan's head!!!! I put seeds on her hat since she was not staying still enough for the chickadees to land on her hand!)

Sam or Georgia

Mommy, do you like the names Sam and Georgia?

Yes, DJ. Those are nice names. Are they friends of yours?

No, I was just thinking when you have another baby we could use those names. I like Sam for a boy and Georgia for a girl.

OH. What makes you think Mommy is going to have another baby?

Well - I am all grow'd up and Anderson is all grow'd up and Madigan thinks she is all grow'd up and she is almost all grow'd up. I am 5 and Anderson is 4 and Madiginny is 2 and so now we need another baby.

Oh.

Plus, your tummy is still big enough for another baby to get in. So, I think you should have another baby.

Oh.

Mommy?

Yes.

I think you should have another baby cause you have a big enough tummy and cause you are the best mommy in the world. Those are good reasons, right, Mommy?

Sunglasses and Astronaut Suits

My parents arrived home - safe, sound, relaxed, and tanned (no, I am not jealous!).

The kids and I picked them up at the airport and we headed off for dinner at the Take What You Want restaurant.

All the three kids were so good and friggin' cute! Madigan ate like a line-backer and entertained the wait staff with wonderful renditions of Rollie-Pollie and 10 Little Lions. The boys visited the buffet at least 3 times each and they even participated in the conversation, with DJ initiating the conversation with a hearty, "So, Pepe, how was your vacation?"

We had a great time talking about their "trip to the sun".

As I was putting the boys to bed, I commented on their great behaviour at the restaurant and told them how proud I was of them both.

DJ grins and says, " Mommy, it is fun to hear about great adventures. I was listening carefully and being very polite."

"Yes, it is great fun and you sure asked Nana and Pepe some great questions about their trip."

"Mommy, I am glad Pepe and Nana wore their sunglasses when they went to the sun. The sun is very hot and sunglasses protect our eyes."

From the other side of the room, all nestled in his blankies Anderson pipes up and says, "Maybe Pepe will show us his astronaut's suit the next time we go visit?"

Sunglasses and astronaut suits.

DUH! Of course, you need sunglasses and an astronaut's suit when visiting the sun. THE sun.

BFF Coming Home!

I call my BFF every day. We chat about everything and anything.

My kids. Her kids. My hubby. Her hubby. My life. Her life. My friends. Her Friends. Our friends. The weather. Yoga. Diets. Daily struggles. Daily victories. The important stuff. The not so important stuff. We talk about it all.

I really enjoy our daily chats - in fact some times we chat a few times a day. We are never at a loss for words.

My BBF has been away for three weeks. Cruising the Mediterranean. (You bet, I'm jealous!)

I am very glad she is coming home today. I miss her.

Hope you had a great trip Mom (& Dad) - cannot wait to hear all about it and see all your photos!

*** In case you are all wondering, yes, I also consider "Mu-Dad" a BFF...and I am certainly a Daddy's little girl!!!! And, yes, I miss him too!

Away FROM the Manger

Do you remember this post from last year?

Well, last week my parents left on a whirlwind Christmas tour to South-Western Ontario. They were going to visit family and friends along the Toronto-Windsor corridor.

Or, so I thought.

I wonder if there is any coincidence that they arrived home last night at midnight, and the following news story aired on the National News....

hmmmmm, The Baby Jesus Bandit strikes again!

The Best Batman Episode Ever!

Sunday Scrappin' Fun With Great Grandpa

Click HERE for more Sunday Scrappin' entries.

This is a great site to get ideas and inspiration for all your scrapbooking and paper crafts. Check it out!

I have a whole bunch of Ta-Das to share.

My husband's grandfather came to visit for a week. Yep. The kids' great grandfather came to hang out on the Fringe. He lives clear across the country, so we do not get to see him that often.

He is a wonderful, active, smart, fun-loving man. It was a wonderful trip. So, to make a keepsake of his visit, every night I would slip away and digitally scrapbook our day. I took pictures of us golfing, going hiking, picking pumpkins, going to the museum and even relaxing and watching a movie.

I printed each page to fit a 8.5 X 11 page at home and simply got them bond with a coil-band at Staples. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. Then, I took the entire book, re-wrote some of the journalling to be personal for each of my kids and printed off smaller 4X6 copies.


Now everyone has a special memento of the wonderful week we had.


Here are the pages I created:

Thanks for looking!

Melancholy

I am being smothered by a state of melancholy.

Late this evening David's Grandfather arrives from British Columbia. We are all very excited and looking forward to a wonderful, fun-filled visit. The boys are beside themselves with excitement.

Great Grandpa is a wonderful man - I love him dearly, and I am so happy he is healthy and active enough to travel across the country. He and my hubby have a very special relationship. It really touches my heart. Both are hard-working, practical, heart-on-your-sleeve type of guys. When I went to meet David's family I felt a wonderful, instant connection between David's Grandpa and I. Heck, I even got hooked on golf because of him and hubby!

Grandpa, Me and hubby playing golf in Qualicum Beach

The boys absolutely adore their Great Grandpa. They love calling him and are thrilled he is coming to visit. Each boy has a list a mile long of things they want to do with him - I am sure the poor man will be worn out (but extremely happy) when he get on the plane to head home!

DJ and Ander helping Great Grandpa

So why am I being smothered by a state of melancholy?

I miss my Grandparents. I miss the special relationship I had with all four of them. I wonder what they would think of my life. I wonder what type of relationship they would each have with my children.

My children are very blessed to have all 4 Grandparents, and until recently 3/8 Great Grandparents. And for that I am happy.

4 generations of David's in our family!

Funny how I can be so excited and happy about a visit -and at the same time feel sad, lonely and reminiscent.

Grama, Papa, Meme, Pepe --- I miss you all so very much.

All my love...

To my best friend...

To my wonderful husband...

To the fabulous father of three great kids...

To the man I respect, adore, cherish and admire...

(well, most of the time!)

Happy Father's Day!!

BEAR!

XOXOXO