One of the hardest things I have found when pregnant is dealing with issues or trials that come along. I do not process very well when hormonal I have come to realize.
My pregnancy with Cade was so very wanted and althought it took us some time and I was sick (probably the best morning sickness one can get really), it was so worth every minute to have a happy, healthy baby. My pregnancy was laced with sadness in the fact that our brother-in-law Brett was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer at only 29 years old and it was just such a shock and a blow to all of us. I can not tell you how much I wished things were different at that time. My mum was also in a terrible accident 10 days before she was to fly out of Australia to come for Cade's birth and that was a time I had never felt so hopeless or helpless. I kept thinking that had my mum died, I couldn't have even travelled to her funeral I was so heavily pregnant. These stresses I truly did not cope well with. I look back and I did well in the fact that I had the happiness of this gorgeous child in which to lose myself but it was a hard time.
This pregnancy has not been without it's trials also. I share these things not for sympathy or understanding but merely to record for myself as my blog is essentially a thinking journal. My oldest nephew, Kallan, who is 10 years old, has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma. It is also a bone cancer. It is however a primary cancer, meaning, usually bone cancer is a secondary cancer but not in Kal's case. His is not terminal. It is in fact very treatable so there is definate positives to us. This cancer is a rare cancer that affects usually boys between the ages of 10-25 when they do the majority of their growing. It seems to affect the largest bones in the lower extremity (femur and tibia) and the upper arm bone (humerus). Kallans tumor is in his right humerus and is about 6cm x 5 1/2cm in size. He has seen some great doctors and has now been told he does have cancer. His parents had told him he had a tumor but decided against telling him he had cancer initially, which we all could totally understand. Kallan met with a specialist (I actually think it is the Dr that will oversee his treatment) and he did tell Kal he had cancer and that he had to be strong but they would get through it together. Kallan has a biopsy tomorrow and a PET scan I think it is and from there they will be scheduling 12 weeks of chemo. The hospital that is caring for Kallan is about 2 1/2 - 3 hours from where they live and they will have to live in Ronald McDonald housing 3 days out of the week for his treatments. After the 12 weeks I believe they will remove the cancer affected bone and zap it directly with radiation and I am not sure if they replace it in the arm or if he received a grafted bone from elsewhere. I guess we will know more as time goes on. The doctor has said that the cancer had not spread but the scan tomorrow will confirm this. I just pray with all my heart he will pull through with flying colors. He is a fighter. Kallan holds a very special place in my heart. He was the first grand baby born and I was 16 when Kallan was born and I remember it very clearly. He was the most gorgeous child, always smiling, always happy. I have found myself at times, looking through photos of the kids when they were younger and Kallan and Cade look almost like the same child in some photos, it is relly nice to see. Kallan is probably the one that knows me the best out of all my nieces and nephews as he was the oldest when we left to move here. I just so wish I was there to love on him!
I also just got a call that my mum is in hospital. This is never a good thing. I started to feel the panic and my sister explained that she was violently ill, vomiting etc and had gone to the hospital and they sent her home with my sister and another of my sisters went to be with her for the day and she was so ill she couldn't even walk or crawl or anything to make it to the bathroom. They immediately took her to the hospital again and had her admitted. Poor thing. She can't even move her head without getting sick. They gave her a CT scan and ruled out bleeding on the brain for stroke etc but are thinking it may be vertigo. She is still in the hospital and is too ill for calls or visitors so I will have to wait to hear what the outcome is. It is awful to not be there at these times. I so feel the pull to want to be there, helping in some way. I have 4 sisters that all live really close to my mum and I know she is in the best hands possible and so is Kallan and his family for that matter. I just wish I was able to click my heels together and transport myself there and back whenever I wanted. I knew this would be the hardest thing for me when we moved, to not be there when family dramas occur but it has been harder than I imagined and that is possibly due to the pregnancy hormones running rampant also.
I just pray and pray knowing that Heavenly Father is where I can not be and taking care of things I can not. What a blessing and comfort prayer is to me at times like these. I just so dearly love my extended family and want nothing but health, strength and happiness for each of them. I just so feel that fight or flight pull to want to be there in every which way.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Feeling The Pull....
Friday, October 10, 2008
A Little Amount Me Tag...
What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was 17 and working full-time as a Customer Service Rep at a credit union. My first job interview, my first job. The first grandbaby was born in our family just prior that year and I was loving my little nephew. This was the year I developed my sickness phobia and became a germ-a-phobe. I remember being super social and loving being with friends and shopping up a storm. Girls will be girls!
What are 5 things on my to-do list?
1. Filing bills and papers (I hate paper clutter)
2. Run to the store for some essentials
3. Take a nap and cuddle with Cade
4. Make something yummy for dinner
5. Deep clean my closet
What would I do with a Billion dollars?
Pay off any accumulated debt, give family some $$$ to get set up or help them save or get out of debt. Buy a home. Buy a holiday home. I would get fresh flowers delivered every week, get a personal chef/personal Martha Stewart to teach me all I want to know about cooking and gardening and self reliance with storage etc. invest, invest, invest the rest.
5 of my bad habits:
1. I bite my nails
2. I try clothes on from my closet and don't always hang them back up
3. I am too nice sometimes, can't say no and tend to get walked over
4. I waste too much time on the computer
5. I worry too much
5 places I have lived:
1. Legana TAS - Australia
2. Tannum Sands - QLD - Australia
3. Thornton NSW - Australia
4. Rutherford NSW - Australia
5. Laramie WY - USA
5 jobs I have had:
1. Customer Service Rep - Credit Union
2. Sales Consultant/Loans - Credit Union
3. Server - Applebees
4. Loan Processor - Bank
5. Loan Operations Supervisor - Bank
5 Things people don't know about me:
1. I can't stand being noticed because of my accent. It was hard for me when we first moved here as people would ask 50 questions about my life and I would know nothing about them, I felt it almost an invasion but I have learnt to get over that.
2. I am the youngest of 6 children
3. I have a guilt conscience when doing a calling or when people ask for time I don't have, I feel bad and think something terrible will happen if I don't do it.
4. I can't stand people touching me little toe - not that that happens much, just grosses me out
5. I like fish that does not taste like fish
5 People I tag:
1. Jill
2. Mary
3. Kara
4. Lauren
5. Ashley
Monday, October 6, 2008
I know, I know... 2 posts in one day, can you tell I am trying a little to hard to stay busy and avoid doing housework??
I stole this from Kara's blog (thanks Kara!!) and thought I would give it a go.
Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends. Copy then change all the answers so they apply to you, then post on your blog. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!
1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:15
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Oh man... Hancock
4. Favorite TV show? The Hills, House, CSI
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Juice is my must these days and toast or cereal
6. What is your middle name? Elizabeth
7. What food do you dislike? Seafood.. I wish I liked it coz it looks good to me, just doesn't taste good.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I like any Triple J hottest 100 (Aussie CD)
9. What kind of car do you drive? 2003 Toyota Camry or 1997 Honda Civic
10. Favorite sandwich? Tomato and cheese
11. What characteristic do you despise? Flakiness and disrespect
12. Favorite item of clothing? Jeans
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Australia any given day but for somewhere new, Europe sounds lovely.
14. Favorite brand of clothing? I am not a brand girl really but I do like Aeropostale
15. Where would you retire to? Central Coast Australia or New England somewhere
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? I got a lovely bunch of flowers this birthday and it wasn't that long ago so we will go with that!
17. Favorite sport to watch? Tennis
18. Furthest place you expect someone to look at this from? Australia
19. If you had a superpower, what would it be? Travel with the blink of an eye or a click of the heals, and to cure ills.
20. When is your birthday? September 8th
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? I think I am a morning person as I get more done in the morning.
22. What is your shoe size? 8
23. Pets? None but a dog will likely be the first purchase after a house
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Hmmm I am 15 weeks pregnant...
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A mumma and a vet
26. How are you today? I'm doing okay, just a little worried about family in Aus.
27. What is your favorite candy? Sour patch kids
28. What is your favorite flower? Tulips
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Mid November to find out the sex of this little bambino
30. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Double fudge brownie
31. What are you listening to right now? Cade sleeping on my bed and CSI on TV
32. What was the last thing you ate? Mint drumstick
33. Do you wish on stars? Usually when I see the first star of this night I do.
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Red
35. How is the weather right now? Pre snow, cold and windy, typical Wyoming weather
36. Who was the first person you talked to on the phone today? Sandy
37. Favorite soft drink? Mountain Dew
38. Favorite restaurant? Jasons, Applebees, Texas Roadhouse
39. Real hair color? Dirty blonde
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? Dolls and barbies
41. Summer or winter? Summer
42. Hugs or kisses? Hugs (unless they are from Cory or Cade)
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
44. Where was your last vacation? Colorado
45. When is the last time your cried? This morning
46. What is under your bed? Drawers built into our bed
47. What did you do last night? Had a yummy dinner, got Cade ready for bed, read, blog hopped for a bit, bed.
48. What are you afraid of losing? Family
49. Salty or sweet? Definately both
50. How many keys on your key ring? 5?
51. How many years at your current job? Almost 2 years
52. Favorite day of the week? Friday
53. How many towns have you lived in? 6
54. Do you make friends easily? I think so
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Feeling the pull
One of the hardest things I have found when pregnant is dealing with issues or trials that come along. I do not process very well when hormonal I have come to realize.
My pregnancy with Cade was so very wanted and althought it took us some time and I was sick (probably the best morning sickness one can get really), it was so worth every minute to have a happy, healthy baby. My pregnancy was laced with sadness in the fact that our brother-in-law Brett was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer at only 29 years old and it was just such a shock and a blow to all of us. I can not tell you how much I wished things were different at that time. My mum was also in a terrible accident 10 days before she was to fly out of Australia to come for Cade's birth and that was a time I had never felt so hopeless or helpless. I kept thinking that had my mum died, I couldn't have even travelled to her funeral I was so heavily pregnant. These stresses I truly did not cope well with. I look back and I did well in the fact that I had the happiness of this gorgeous child in which to lose myself but it was a hard time.
This pregnancy has not been without it's trials also. I share these things not for sympathy or understanding but merely to record for myself as my blog is essentially a thinking journal. My oldest nephew, Kallan, who is 10 years old, has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma. It is also a bone cancer. It is however a primary cancer, meaning, usually bone cancer is a secondary cancer but not in Kal's case. His is not terminal. It is in fact very treatable so there is definate positives to us. This cancer is a rare cancer that affects usually boys between the ages of 10-25 when they do the majority of their growing. It seems to affect the largest bones in the lower extremity (femur and tibia) and the upper arm bone (humerus). Kallans tumor is in his right humerus and is about 6cm x 5 1/2cm in size. He has seen some great doctors and has now been told he does have cancer. His parents had told him he had a tumor but decided against telling him he had cancer initially, which we all could totally understand. Kallan met with a specialist (I actually think it is the Dr that will oversee his treatment) and he did tell Kal he had cancer and that he had to be strong but they would get through it together. Kallan has a biopsy tomorrow and a PET scan I think it is and from there they will be scheduling 12 weeks of chemo. The hospital that is caring for Kallan is about 2 1/2 - 3 hours from where they live and they will have to live in Ronald McDonald housing 3 days out of the week for his treatments. After the 12 weeks I believe they will remove the cancer affected bone and zap it directly with radiation and I am not sure if they replace it in the arm or if he received a grafted bone from elsewhere. I guess we will know more as time goes on. The doctor has said that the cancer had not spread but the scan tomorrow will confirm this. I just pray with all my heart he will pull through with flying colors. He is a fighter. Kallan holds a very special place in my heart. He was the first grand baby born and I was 16 when Kallan was born and I remember it very clearly. He was the most gorgeous child, always smiling, always happy. I have found myself at times, looking through photos of the kids when they were younger and Kallan and Cade look almost like the same child in some photos, it is relly nice to see. Kallan is probably the one that knows me the best out of all my nieces and nephews as he was the oldest when we left to move here. I just so wish I was there to love on him!
I also just got a call that my mum is in hospital. This is never a good thing. I started to feel the panic and my sister explained that she was violently ill, vomiting etc and had gone to the hospital and they sent her home with my sister and another of my sisters went to be with her for the day and she was so ill she couldn't even walk or crawl or anything to make it to the bathroom. They immediately took her to the hospital again and had her admitted. Poor thing. She can't even move her head without getting sick. They gave her a CT scan and ruled out bleeding on the brain for stroke etc but are thinking it may be vertigo. She is still in the hospital and is too ill for calls or visitors so I will have to wait to hear what the outcome is. It is awful to not be there at these times. I so feel the pull to want to be there, helping in some way. I have 4 sisters that all live really close to my mum and I know she is in the best hands possible and so is Kallan and his family for that matter. I just wish I was able to click my heels together and transport myself there and back whenever I wanted. I knew this would be the hardest thing for me when we moved, to not be there when family dramas occur but it has been harder than I imagined and that is possibly due to the pregnancy hormones running rampant also.
I just pray and pray knowing that Heavenly Father is where I can not be and taking care of things I can not. What a blessing and comfort prayer is to me at times like these. I just so dearly love my extended family and want nothing but health, strength and happiness for each of them. I just so feel that fight or flight pull to want to be there in every which way.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
76 Days
It is only 76 days until my sister Allison, her husband Will and their 3 little lovelys arrive to us for their first ever White Christmas! Can you tell we are all a little too excited!!
Friday, September 26, 2008
End 1st Trimester....Start 2nd Trimester
I had Cory take a couple of pics last night of the ever expanding belly... I am almost 14 weeks (by my dates, 14 weeks today by measurements). The first 2 pics are this pregnancy and the next one is from about the same week with my pregnancy with Cade. I am so much bigger I think!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Newsy News....
Here are a couple of hints....
Yes indeedy we are pregnant! We are really excited. I was a little shocked at how quickly it happen for us this time around as it was a year to the day that we first started trying, when found out we were pregnant with Cade. This time it seemed it was the week we decided to start trying that I fell pregnant. Meant to be apparently!!
I am into my 13th week so on my way to my 2nd trimester. I have been quite sick this time. Different to how I was with Cade in alot of ways. This time my sickness comes in waves and catches me unaware where my pregnancy with Cade was kinder in the fact that it was much more predicatable. I also have no appetite, I am hungry but nothing sounds good whatsoever and that is a stark constrast to how I was with Cade so I am still trying to get over the sickness hump. I have popped a bit, seemed to start showing almost right away. By now I am the equivilent to how I was at about 16 weeks with my pregnancy with Cade. At night I look huge in my opinion but Cory disagrees... but he is too baised to be a help!!
I had my first ob appointment at the end of August (and as soon as I figure out the pic I will try and upload it). I love going to that first appointment, actually I enjoy all my ob appointments, but I do get anxious and hope all is well each time and that worrying part I don't so much enjoy. My mum was here and was able to come to the ultrasound and it was just so exciting to see our baby. Baby was moving a fair bit, more so than I remember with Cade. Little arms and legs going crazy, swimming about, it is always nice to see.
Today was my second appointment and it was a quick one, check up and listen to the heartbeat and that was that. It surprises me that they can see and hear baby so well this time around as with Cade I had to have ultrasounds clear up until my 17th week as Cade was so far back or because of my tilted uterus you couldn't audibly hear his heartbeat clear enough for me to hear it also.
I am due at the end of March but I will have a scheduled c-section the 3rd week in March, so likely by the 20th baby will be here.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY...
Today is Cory's birthday. I am so thankful for this wonderful man. He is such a great husband, such a wonderful, hands-on father. Truly my best friend. I consider myself blessed in every way to have such a kind, respectful, hardworking and self-sacrificing man in my life. I love you honey!! Here's to a great day and an even better year ahead!!
Please let me not jinx myself....
Just an update on the Cade vs 'The Toddler Bed' dramas.... last night we played mean guys and made him cry it out, held the door shut (I know sounds awful) and guess what... HE STAYED IN BED ALL NIGHT!!! He cried alot initially, like bloody murder crying for about 4-5 minutes and then we waited until we thought he was well and truly asleep and sure enough the smarty had put himself into his bed, laying on his pillow and all with his covers pulled up. He knows. He is just totally playing us like a fiddle. He did wake twice in the night, once at 2am and I just went in put him on his bed, and told him, "Hope back in bed, this is your bed and where you will sleep, I love you, goodnight". He cried for a whole 2 minutes, never attempted to open the door and that was that. He woke again half an hour later and I did the same thing but I stood holding the door as he attempted to open it for a minute or so. A few cries later and he was out until 7:45 this morning. SUCCESS... I am not counting my chickens before they have hatched but.... what bliss!!





