Summer Reading 2011

We are avid participators in our local library. I get excited for the summer reading program. There are fun things to do and prizes to be earned for reading. Both boys are still in the read to me group, which means that all we have to do is I read them books from the library and record the title and pages read.

In the past there is 1 family that is the over achievers and read, read, read. Parker had set a goal to have 100 stories read to him. I am proud to admit that we read 167 book this year! We didn't come in 1st. Our over achiever must be getting a life, cause they didn't even break 200 books this year. Next year we might be in the running for 1st place!

We went to t-shirt decorating night. They had cute iron transfers to do, but my boys wanted to play with the paints. Preston got carried away with the paint and refuses to wear his shirt because it is so stiff from all the paint. This diserves a picture to show you, but I don't have one. Parker wanted the world to know that he loves his mother. His shirt reads "I love Mom." He also refuses to wear his art work.

I took a picture on closing night with the librarians, Miss Jessica and Miss Judie.
I also want to add that I was in charge of the adult summer reading program. We did a chocolate night, complete with a chocolate fountain and a closing party with a belly dancer. Both nights were a lot of fun for the folks that attended.

Delgrosso's

Delgrosso's is 15 minutes from our house. We frequently drive by it and each time Parker asks when we can go back. They have 1 day during the summer where students from the Tyrone Area School District go for free. Being the bargain shopper that I was, we decided to go.

The boys love Delgrosso's. I like it too. All the kids rides are in one area and there are benches in the middle. I would find a good spot to sit down and the boys would go from ride to ride. You only have to pay admission if you are riding the rides, another nice perk.

Parker is getting to the point where he wants to explore some of the bigger people rides. There is one ride called the Yo-Yo. He was a little nervous the first time, but he kept wanting to go back. I think it is one of his favorites.

The stinkers insist on grabbing maps of the park at local places of business and at the park. They want to constantly look and see where they are and where the rides are located.


There is also a fun lion's head drinking fountain.



Mom was brave and tried a few of the grown up rides with them. They aren't big enough to go by themselves, but if an adult accompanies them they can ride. After each ride, Mom was found saying "Mommy didn't like that ride." A sign that I am getting old.

As I write this, summer is over and Thanksgiving is approaching. When we pass the park now, Parker wants to know why all the seats for the rides have been put up and why there is black plastic on the rides.

Road Trip

Since we took our vacation in May, I wanted to do a few day trips with the boys through out the summer.

Parker loves chocolate world. Chocolate World is part of Hershey Chocolate that has a little train ride that shows you the process of how they make candy. It takes maybe 10 minutes. Hershey is about 2 hours from our house, 1 way. This was his one request that he kept asking about. I couldn't justify the trip for such a short activity. I was on the lookout for something else to do in the area that would make our trip worth while.

So earlier in the summer while we were at Delgrosso's a lady was telling me about this place called Lake Tobias. When I googled it, I knew this was the answer. Lake Tobias was a short drive from Hershey and looked to be a lot of fun.

Lake Tobias is a wildlife refuge owned privately in the middle of PA. They give safari tours on an old school bus that has had the top cut off. We took the tour at high noon, with out sunscreen. Not a smart move on my part. The boys did ok, it was myself that ended up with quite the sunburn on my chest and head!

The animals are quite friendly. We even fed a few of them right out of our hands.

There was a large variety of animals to see. These guys wanted to come on the bus, but their big horns made them dangerous.
This is a European type of deer.
I think these guys are water buffalos.
This Emu was the greeter. He stood by the gate both as we entered and exited.

They even had some lions and tigers caged up to view as well.

There was a petting zoo. The animals were so overvisited and fed they hardly wanted to eat when we went. They should have posted a sign about the goats though. I had one take a bite out of my dress.
The boys loved Lake Tobias and want to go back next year.

We went to chocolate world and did the 10 min ride on how chocolate is made. Didn't take any pictures of this. We had to park really far away because Chocolate World shares the parking lot with Hershey Park.

We finished off the day with dinner at Macaroni Grill. I had seen this by the Interstate when we would go past Harrisburg. I looked it up online, previewed the menu and decided I wanted to try it out. It was an Italian restaurant. The food was so good. I tried gelatto for the first time and I loved it. The kitchen was also exposed so you could watch the chef preparing food. Very entertaining.

Our 2nd roadtrip was a week later. We went to Morgantown WV. We stayed with some old friends. The boys were delighted that they had a swimming pool. Our host and hostess made us feel welcome and gave us a bed time snack of milk and brownies. The next morning they fed us pancakes for breakfast before we started off on our day.

We went to WVU campus and I showed the boys where I had my classes. We visited with Granny Rayburn at the bookstore and did a little shopping for some fun WVU items. Took a PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) ride to visit Grandpa Rayburn at his office. Met a friend for lunch. And then finished off the day with some shopping and playing at the mall. In the evening we met the grandparents for dinner and then played with the dogs before heading home. A long day, but a fun day.

Did I mention I got to drive the Crown Victoria on these trips? The A/C was out in our Nissan and the Police car gets better gas mileage than the truck. We road along in comfort. We had so much fun. Glad we were able to take the trips.

4th of July

4th of July has been a big celebrating holiday in my family for many years. When I was younger the celebration lasted the entire weekend with various activities and plenty of yummy food to eat.

This year the Plessinger's came to a picnic at my mother's house. It was pretty low key this year, a bar-b q and visiting.

The men around the bar-b q.

Talking about farming.
Meeting some extended family.
The teenagers.
And the spread.

The evening ended with Parker and I going to fireworks and meeting up with an old friend. We went to Delgrosso's to see the show. We had to walk quite a way to get to a good spot. Parker wanted to be where the action was. We had excellent seats. We sat on the sidewalk at the traffic light.

A little scare

I took Preston in for his 4 year old well visit. The doctor informs me that Preston needed a booster shot. I say ok. They give me the handout to read about the shot and any side effects that I should watch out for.

Preston gets his shot and we are on our way. Well later that evening when we are home I started reading the literature they gave me about the Pneumococcal vaccine. So I get to the last page and it says something like "please notify your child's doctor if anyone in the household is undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and or taking steroids. Well hello, this is me. The Doctor knows I have breast cancer. My short hair cut and lack of eye brows is a physical reminder to anyone that I am going through this.

At this point it is after hours. I don't want to bother my oncologists after hours because I read a warning about a vaccine my 4 year old got. So I call tell-a-nurse. She tells me to contact my oncologist the next day. And if Preston should develop a fever I should keep my distance . Well thanks lady that was a lot of help. I am quite nervous about this. I call my mother. We discuss the different situations that could happen.

I send an email to my doctor's office. The next day I was in for chemo and one of the nurses told me as long as the vaccine was dead, and most of them are I was fine. It is the ones containing live viruses that I would need to stay away from for 2 weeks. Ok good to know.

I was relieved to know it wasn't anything to worry about.

Birthday Cake

About 2 years ago I took the Wilton Cake decorating class. The whole reason in taking this class was so that I could decorate birthday cakes. Cake decorating does not come easy for me. It is a slow and messy process. I was always the last one done at class too.


This last birthday experience I did 2 cakes. My Mom's birthday is a few days before Preston's. We were celebrating Preston's birthday at my mom's house. I decided to do a cake for my mom. She does so much for me.

I had the request from Preston a blue lightening mcqueen cake. My Mom wanted chocolate cake. That was her only request. I got to choose the decorating scheme.


Here comes confession time. Parker actually told my Lightening McQueen cake wasn't that good. I think baking 2 flavors of homemade cake and doing enough frosting for 2 cakes and all those colors was more than I was up to at the moment (you know considering I was going through chemo, get tired easily, my arm isn't what it used to be since they took out my lymph nodes). I wasn't pleased with my work. I got tired while doing it. And then to have my son critique my work, well it kind of got me down. At that point I thought to myself, I have just decorated my last cake. I now know why people pay money to have cakes decorated. And I have considered paying for my next cake.

This was 2 months ago. I have some time to think about that. At this point I am on the fence if I will decorate again.

Since Preston was turning 4 he was fine having his celebration at Grandma's house. He wanted Aunt Lisa to come, she was his first choice. Aunt Lisa lives in North Carolina and it is about a 9 hour drive 1 way. We had both sets of grandparents, great grandma Belva and great Aunt Diana in attendance. I asked him what he wanted to eat and he chose the menu for the day. We feasted on fish for our main course and several yummy side dishes (I don't remember everything we had that day), followed by cake and ice cream.

Preston is a laid back guy. He likes to sit on Mommy's lap. His favorite food is Campbell's tomato soup. Preston has a hearty appetite and will often be the last one eating and chomping down on his meal. His favorite show is Diego. He likes to wear his shoes on the wrong feet (sandles) and the straps one in an "X" and one straight. He also loves playing with his big brother Parker.

Sporting Events

Living in a college town gives you lot of opportunities to go to different sporting events. Many of these events are family friendly. We have tried taking our crew to enjoy a baseball game or a basketball game, but they just don't seem to want to sit and watch unless they are eating. And the food at these events is expensive. So I think we are taking a brake from taking them. Our money is better spent on a babysitter and then Jim and I can enjoy it.

Cars

We were 1st introduced to Disney's movie cars at my folks house. I think Parker was 2 and Preston was a baby. I remember this because Parker got to watch tv while I nurse Preston and we watched a lot of cars. Parker referred to the movie, " the one where the cars have eyes."

We were introduced the characters (Lightening McQeen, Mater, Doc, Red, Sally, The twins, Flo, Ramone, Lizzy, The Sheriff, the cow tractors, Frank (the bull combine), Mac, Filmore, Sarge, The King and Chick Hicks. I think I got everyone.

The Basic story for those who may not have seen this movie, Lightening McQeen is a rookie in the Piston Cup race Circuit (based on the Winston Cup race for Nascar). After having a 3 way tie at the race, the cars joke it is race to CA, the first one there will get smooze with the big sponsor Dinaco. Lightening McQeen insists they drive through the night to make good time. Along the way Mac gets drowsy and some teenagers play a trick on him. Some how the latch comes undone on the Macs truck and Lightening McQeen is stranded on the Interstate. After following a truck that is getting off the exit, McQueen finds himself stuck in "hillbilly hell." A police chase and a frantic McQueen ends up tearing up the road. His punishment is fixing the road. Lightening makes friends with the town and sees that the small town life is not so bad. He even picks up a few racing tips from the old Hudson Hornet.

A sweet and innocent story really. And we have watched this movie hundreds of time. Both boys love it. And an interesting tidbit for you, there are many similarities in the movie that coincide with NASCAR. For instance there really was a Hudson hornet in racing history. There really was a car that helped push another car over the finish line.

Here are some of my favorite lines from the movie:

Doc "you drive like you fix cars....lousy!"

Harv (Lightening's agent) "My star client disappears off the face of the Earth? How do you think I'm doing?...I'm doing great! You're everywhere, Baby! Radio, TV, the papers. You can't buy this kind of publicity. What do you need me for? That's just a figure of speech, by the way. You signed a contract."

Lightning McQueen: "I create feelings in others that they themselves don't understand."

Lightning McQueen: "Okay, here we go. Focus. Speed. I am speed. One winner, forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast. Breakfast? Maybe I should have had breakfast?

Mater: "I'd give my left lug nut to work with Bessie."

Mater: "You want to do what in your cup?"

Mac" Well gas can is my middle name."
McQueen : "Really?"
Mac "No"

So imagine our excitement when Cars2 was released. We went to the movies on opening day!!
The movie was not the same sweet innocent story that Cars was. It was more of a spy movie with suspense, high speed changes, explosions, and it had pokes at big oil too. I was a little disappointed. My boys are 6 and 4 and I feel they are a little young for spy movies and really getting the whole thing. The boys enjoyed the movie.



The stores had the new merchandise out as soon as the movie hit the theater. Preston got some of this for his birthday. They loved the new toys. I think I need to put the movie on our Amazon wish list.

For the movie I got a big bag of popcorn to share between the 3 of us and a Diet Coke. I prefer Diet Pepsi and I can tell a difference between the 2. (this could be another post). so halfway through my soda I am just not enjoying it as much as I usually do. I smuggled in water bottles for the boys to drink in secret. The water bottles aren't that big, maybe 12 ounces at most. Parker drank his pretty quickly. We then had to make 4 trips during the movie to use the restroom. Lucky for us it was right outside the door, so it was a quick trip.

We also met our friends Jen with Andrew and Annabelle to watch with us. however movies don't really give much opportunity to play or converse with one another. Jen and I visited a short while during the previews and she was at least there to take our picture to document that it really happened.

Chemo Part 2

So I made it through the 1st 4 treatments. Next up 12 weekly treatments of paclitaxel, sometimes referred to as taxel.

I mentioned trouble with food aversions in my previous post. Those foods that I consumed on the premises cause strong reactions to me. I can barely grate cheese with out gagging. And the trail mix that I could eat by the handfuls is just not as appealing as it once was. I don't think I could eat a gold fish cracker either. I was worried about this food problem cause I am there for a few hours. If I kept eating during chemo what would be left to eat when I was finished with chemo? So my answer to this is to have a treat before and after to make it worth my trip. And I make sure it is an indulgent one, not just a piece of fruit which was a typical snack for me. So I get donuts for Jim's work and am sure to have my sugar pill topped off with some candy. Afterwards I go for ice cream. These treats sort of serve as my lunch.

The oncologist said to me "Your glucose seems a little high, this could be the steroids." to which I replied "It could be the candy I had before coming in too." He smiles and says "yes."

I might add that now that I am weekly treatments I only see my oncologist every 3rd or 4th visit.

So I will take you over the typical chemo day again.

By now Parker is out of school so he gets to go play for a day too.

We try to be out of the house by 7:30, but I am not a morning person. The alarm goes off at 5:45. And often I don't sleep well due to steroids or worrying about stuff or staying up late cause I don't want to deal with cancer, so it turns out to be a short night. I am just poky in the mornings. We are lucky to be out the door at 7:45. This puts Jim a little behind, so I drop him off at work and then take the boys to a member's house where they spend the day. People have been so wonderful to help us out in this way. And I have had several to pick from, so no one gets burnt out.

After dropping the boys off, I go to the grocery store to get snacks. I then make phone calls from the call or go into to Jim's work to surf the internet and snack.

Then I walk up the hill to chemo. This is the view from Jim's parking lot. I actually go in entrance 2, but the trees were too tall to see that.

Then I turned around and snapped a photo of Jim's work sign.


I actually go in Entrance 2 for specialty services I guess.
First stop is blood work. I seem to cycle through phlebotomists. I have the same person for a few times and then I get someone different for a few times. They are checking my blood to make sure I am healthy enough for chemo. Some of the things they look at, white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, iron, liver and my reserve white blood cells. It is all very interesting how the body works. There have been a few times that my white blood cell levels are low, but my reserve is high, so I am still able to have chemo. Then a few weeks later my white blood cells have rejuvenated and my reserve is low. My iron has been holding steady at around 11, this explains why I have more energy than before. My liver has been running high, but it working overtime with all these drugs. This is all very fascinating to me.

Then I head downstairs and get my bracelet for chemo. The lab is always quick and there seems to be a line to get my bracelet. So I go to the lab and then when I have a little more time I get my bracelet. I believe the purpose of the bracelet is to identify me, also in the case that I would need to go to the hospital I am wearing all the pertinent information they would need to admit me, my medical number, my name, my birth date and the date of service. I also have to give the nurse my birthday and name before she can administer the chemo. This is just a safety check I am sure.

In the waiting area, I have made some friends. I don't know their names, but recognize their faces. We exchange pleasantries and talk about how treatment is going. Some I don't talk to, but recognize.

There is a man there in his 60s. His body didn't' respond well to the chemo. He wears a mask and is stuck at home because his immune system is very weak. He comes in to get shots a few times a week. This will go on for quite some time. They don't know how long his treatments will go.

There is a man that drinks Pepto-bismal, but I never see him in the treatment room, so his blood work must not be strong enough for chemo.

Most of the ladies either have hair or very nice looking wigs. There are only a handful of us baldies. I get too hot with something on my head. Plus this is kind of my battle wound that I have earned and am working very hard to overcome.

Most days I am not seeing the doctor, but the nurses are sure to follow up with these standard questions; how are you feeling, are your bowels moving ok, are you in any pain, are you having any side effects. They also take my temperature, blood pressure and pulse. I have to wait for my lab results before they can get started.

This time around they are giving me Benedryl, Zoloft and a steroid before chemo. The bendryl makes me sleepy. Plus I am still taking an anxiety pill before hand to get me through this. I have taken more naps on this group of chemo.

I usually take my lap top and get caught up on facebook, blogging, listening to Pampered Chef things, planning the music for church and email. I also text during chemo to pass the time.

Afterwards I feel sleepy. I walk down to Jim's work and take a nap. I started out on the floor, but his boss didn't think I should have to hang out on the floor, so there is an empty office with a nice leather recliner in that I use to take a nap in. They are taking good care of me.

After my nap and depending on the time, I go to Myer Dairy and get some ice cream and sometimes have a little time by myself to go shopping. What a luxury!

Then I return to Jim's work and wait for quitting time. We then go pick up the boys and dinner from a church member and head home for a low key evening.

I just have to take the steroids the night before and morning of. My dose has been cut back because my face is kind of puffy.

The day after chemo my face is really red from the steroids.

And lately the metalic taste in my mouth is back. It seems to come about Thursday evening and stay until Sunday morning. This is one of my least favorite side effects. And there is not much I can do about it.

My belly still hurts now and then. I don't seem to respond well to belly medicine, like Zantac. I take it, but get no relief. I sometime sip on Ginger ale and that seems to help. We found some that contains Ginger. Again this only seems to last for 3 days and then I am fine.

And for some reason I have noticed I am grouchy on Saturdays. I think I get tired of feeling the way I do and just want to be normal. And maybe I give myself permission to feel this way cause Jim is home and I have someone to complain to. Anyway grouchy mom and have a bad effect on everyone else at home. I figure I am entitled to a few days like this.

And then I still get tired and need a nap. There are occasional days where I just really feel run down and perhaps I have pushed myself doing too many fun things.

Lucky for you Parker asks a ton of questions about chemo and since kids are not allowed inside the chemo lounge, I have pictures to show you of my adventure.


As I write this I am just about to the end of my chemo experience. I hope someday I can look back on this and say it saved my life or at least prolonged it here on earth. If I can make it through the next 10 days, it will all be over.

Parker's Birthday

We decided if our kids asked for a party, we would try to do that. Parker wanted to have a party with some friends over. Because of scheduling with vacation and chemo, we had to wait a few weeks to do his birthday party.

We planned a simple party with a few friends and a few games. The request was in for the Lightening McQueen cake ever since I made it for Preston' s birthday last year.

We made our own version of Pin the hook on Mater.

And I saved myself $20 by making my own Lightening McQueen pinata.

Parker had a fun time.

Parker loves to asks questions. He is always wanting to know what is on our schedule so that he can plan ahead. He enjoys books and watching tv. His favorite show is Wild Krats. He also loves playing with his brother. He is full of energy and wakes up running and doesn't quit until bedtime.

Our Beach Vacation

Jim got me hooked on the Outer Banks. As a kid he would travel to North Carolina to visit family and get a day at the Outer Banks. Now the tradition continues as his sister Lisa resides in North Carolina and dates a deep sea fisherman from the island.

I was hesitant at first, thinking I needed all the comercial shops and eateries that often span other beach towns. But it is that, that I miss the least. I love the tranquility and quiet that the Outer Banks offer. I love the "local" places that I have discovered to eat at. It is ok that I can't see the ocean from my room. I don't mind the short walk to the beach.

We take our vacation in May to avoid the crowds and to save some money. We took Parker out of school and had to fill out an itinerary of our trip. I wanted to be honest and make sure that all spots on the itineray were indeed visited.

Sunday afternoon we went to visit Jim's Uncle Walker. Jim's cousin Becky was also visiting at the same time. It was fun for the cousins to play together. Ethan is one year older than Parker, but still close enough to have a good time playing.

Monday we ventured to the Aquarium. It is a small aquarium, but still an enjoyable trip. We went for pizza afterwards, followed by an afternoon at the beach close to Body's lighthouse.



As I am writing this a few months later, I don't recall our exact itinery for the days. I can tell you what was on the list. Graveyard of the Atlantic - this is a museum at the southern end of the island. There is good sea shelling to be found. The museum had a new and cool pirate display.

Life of a Deep Sea Fisherman - this would be Andy, Lisa's boyfriend. It is great fun to see them come into shore and see the catch of the day.


Cape Hatteras Lighthouse- a light house. We got off easy, it was only a 4 day week at school.

Parker had reading and kid writing homework to work on each day.

All of these activities were interspersed with trips to the beach to lounge there and play in the sand. We would eat supper out and go for ice cream afterwards. Aunt Lisa was very popular with the boys. Both boys would want to sit next to her in the restaurant. She even offered sips of her soda, no wonder she was the popular one!

Preston is my sun bather. He prefers to stay on land. Parker on the other hand loves the water.


I got several compliments on my big hat.
And speaking of hats, Jim is all about safety.
Jim started a new hobby, metal detecting.
Aunt Lisa took us to see one of the last ponies on the island.
Finally this is a little off topic, but since I took the picture while on vacation I only feel it is appropiate to write about it now. These 3 dogs have a way of showing up on Facebook doing the same pose, but with different backgrounds. They have been seen in the snow, on the beach and now in an over sized Adirondack chair. The photo opportunity presented itself and it was easier to undo the the dogs than to unbuckle my boys, so the dogs got the cool picture.