How was your day?

Oh how I could have so many interesting answers to this questions. My natural response is, "Well, I survived and I am still standing". Of course I think, my feet hurt, I haven't had time to eat, I barely sat at all, I have a million (well 13 as of now) new personalities to learn, I have so many things to tell these kids, but most importantly, I made sure my kids made it home the right way." Now, there's always that call from the front office that goes:

Office: Mrs. Baker?
me: yes?
Office: Is Sasha (changed) still with you?
me: long pause because I'm thinking, "Oh God please help me remember how that kid got home. Calm down and just think. In panic I scan the room (knowing good and well that all my kiddos made it home safely. So I finally reply, "No, mom picked her up" (finally remembering!!).

Then there's this:

Office: Mrs. Baker?
Me: Yes?
Office: Did Michael get on the bus?
Me: Long pause again. Seriously? I'm panicking again! Finally, I reply with a proud yes.

Now you have to know me. You have to know that my main priority on the first day is to make sure my kids make it home (and in one piece I might add). Then the rest follows. I check a million times through the day. Maybe it's a little OCD? I guess I could look into that????

Did I mention that one of the other teacher's kids came into my class during dismissal today? She just happened to be one of the kids that cried ALL day long. Well, see, I have this crate in my room. It looks like this...



Okay, so do you see the smallest hole? Well, this girl (the girl who cried all day), stuck her little finger in it. All I hear is a scream and "I'm stuck!!!!" Then crying. Oh my, my! What to do? Here all the parents are waiting outside and I'm stuck in here with a lovely little girl (and about 30 other kids) and her finger is in a tiny hole and it is turning PURPLE!!! So we get soap all over her finger. She scratched it either going in the hole or trying to get it out. So any time she would barely move it, she would scream. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, we got it out. Of course I laugh now, but I kept thinking I was going to need somebody to get some kind of tool to cut up this bubble crate. But the good thing is...she got her finger out and it is still attached to the rest of her hand!!

I just forgot how much I have to teach. I forgot that I have to show them how to do every little thing from lining up, sitting down, washing hands, putting things away (20 times) and all the while show them patience and a very loving teacher. I always have to stop and think in a couple of weeks, this will all be worth it. I know it will be. I have some super sweet kids and many seem extremely bright. I'm anxious to find out more about these kiddos. I just wish I had an extra set of feet!!!!

Mom's Home...Wade's Not

Mom's surgery was very successful. She of course is very sore and tired but she is doing well. I pray she will feel so much better after this. She's been going through so much the last couple of months.

Wade left for the hospital this afternoon. I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. He left before I got home with kids! :( I'm going up there tomorrow, but still, I was a little sad.

I had to work all day. Unfortunately, I woke up yesterday and my ear was a little achy. I felt like I had a ball in my throat. Very strange. So the more the day went on, the worse my ear felt. By last night, the pain was ridiculous. And this morning it was even worse. I had to leave a meeting so I could go to the doctor. It was of course an ear infection in the ear canal...basically swimmer's ear. I knew the other night after I took a bath that something was going to happen. Ahh!!! I just had to go to the doctor with Wade going into the hospital and then school starting Monday. So hopefully I'll soon stop hearing my heartbeat pound in my ear and I'll start feeling a little better.

I'm not too worried about me though. I'm just glad mom's surgery is over and Wade's on his last treatment!

Wade's Dr. Appointment

Yesterday Wade had a CT scan and chest x-ray. He had to drink barium since they were scanning the stomach area in order to get a good view of the liver. They really want to keep a close eye on the liver since they found that spot. He went in today to get the results. It was all good news!!! The two tumors in his lungs are still there, but not growing. And the best part is that there are no new spots. The doctor said that the spot in his liver may not even be a tumor. It could be a cyst. This is good news. Whatever the case, the chemo is continuing to kill whatever it is.

Wade goes in tomorrow for his last round of chemo...finally!!! It seems like we've been doing this for years. He will probably be there for close to a week. Prayer is powerful no doubt. We continue to pray for Wade's healing.

Busy, Busy and even more Busy

So today was my first official day back to work even though I went last week to work in my new room. Thank goodness I did that or I'd be working day and night this week. I changed rooms to get a fresh start. I am determined to make this a good year. Wade is doing his last round of chemo starting Friday. So while it starts off a little crazy, hopefully this will be it. Besides, it seems like this has become quite the norm for us. Needless to say, the first week the kids are back to school, I may be a little more stressed than normal. But hey, what is normal this days?

Wade will go in Wednesday for CT scan. This time they're going to get more in depth and really zoom in on his liver to watch the "new" spot. He will go in Thursday to talk to the doctors. I pray for great results as usual! Mom is also going in Wednesday for a hysterectomy. See previous posts for details on this. I will be going up there as soon as I leave work. Please pray for a successful surgery.

So, it may be a weird way to start the year and a busy one at that, but it's just going to get better...I just feel it!

Where's Weagan?

So last week I went to work several days. I was kind of back in the morning routine. I usually get ready first and then I get the kids ready. When I came into the living room, I turned on the big light, and then went to the laundry room (which is on the opposite side of the hallway from Kaden's room). I turned the hall light on. I suppose this woke Kaden up. It was still a little dark outside. Anyway, when I came back into the living room, Kaden comes out of his room. He has the most adorable sleepy face. He asks me, "Where's Weagan?" I tell him, "Well baby, she's still sleeping." Thinking he was going to stay awake, I was getting ready to put on The Backyardigans and when I turned around I see his door shut. So I assume he went to his room to play with his toys. Oh no...he went right back to bed and covered up. After I got ready, I went in to get him up and asked him, "Where did you go? I thought you were getting up." He just started laughing. It was so cute! I guess since he didn't have Reagan to play with, he decided he should just go back to sleep. He loves that little girl!

Speaking of Reagan, here are a few funny things she did this week...

-the first thing she says in the morning is, "Hello". I wish you could hear it. It is so funny!

- She is extremely fascinated with shoes. She finds them in places I didn't know we had shoes. She found one of Kaden's crocs and literally walked around with it all night. It didn't bother her at all that she didn't have the other one.

- She loves when you tell her she's so pretty. She lifts her dresses up a bit and twirls them. Give her a purse or a headband and she's even more beautiful!

- She's learned to take her diaper off. The other night, we went through 3 diapers in like 5 minutes. I'd look up and see her playing with her shirt on and nothing else. It's like she would rather prefer it this way!

- Apparently my daughter does things the opposite way. Who says you have to eat an ice cream cone from top to bottom? Nah! Reagan eats the cone first. Oh yes, imagine the mess.

- She started singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm. If you sing the first part, she says, "E I E I O". She then tries to make a pig noise by growling! Oh and she now says Q, R, S in the alphabet song.

- She loves puppies! She is always walking around with a puppy book saying "Puppy" over and over. She then barks.

- She has such good manners...saying thank you after her big brother gives her something. She even says sorry if she does something to hurt him or his feelings.

- She is a little bossy. If we're telling Kaden to do something, she gives her opinion and lets him have it. But she loves him dearly! She's just looking out for him.

New House

Mom and Dad are moving into their new house and we went to check it out today. The kids were CRAZY! They still had not brought the toys so they were toyless. It didn't stop them from finding things to do...like playing in a pile of newspapers (that the glasses were wrapped in). The funniest was watching them run from my dad. They would take off running from my dad and he would hide. When they came out to find him, he would scare them. Of course they would take off running the other way. But little Reagan...she just screamed as loud and high as she could. Her little feet were practically off of the floor she was running so fast. She followed Kaden everywhere. They were adorable! Reagan finally got to the point to where she would put her hands over her eyes. She really thought it made her invisible.

The new house is nice. The best part is they are so much closer. It only takes about 10 minutes to get there. And the good thing is the kids like it as much as us!

You're a Pwincess

Kaden: (puts toy on my head) Mommy you're a pwincess!
Mommy: Awe, I'm a princess?
Kaden: Yeah, and Weagan's (Reagan) a pwincess too!

Oh so sweet he is!

Wade came home today! Yay! He seems to be doing good right now. He didn't come home yesterday because they were trying to get his blood sugar under control. They sent him home with insulin that he has to take 5 times a day. More updates later.

Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away

Oh how I love the rain. I just wish Wade was here with me to enjoy it too. We really needed the rain. It has been so incredibly hot! Not only do I love the rain, but I was supposed to have a workshop today and it was canceled! Yay!!! It's was a 3 day workshop and now it's only 2!!! It feels like I'm back in school and I just got a "rain day". That's how excited I was. I love how the news channels are dying for it to be so bad and then they get so let down. So funny. So, soon the kiddos will be down for a nap and I'm hoping to be down too! I love rainy day naps!!!!!

Here are some pictures from the Wiggles. Kaden LOVED it...at least the first 40 minutes. After that, he was tired and ready to go. No attention span at all! But we still had a great time. Note in one picture, Lightening McQueen was way more interesting at the time.

The Wiggles

My friend's husband won tickets to see The Wiggles yesterday on 97.1. I was so excited for them! They have a 3 year old son, Carter. Well, she called me this evening and said her husband didn't want to go and wanted to know if Kaden and I wanted to go with her. Of course there was no hesitation...ABSOLUTELY!!! So, we are going to see The Wiggles tomorrow at 5:00. I wish so badly that Wade was able to go, but I know he would never want Kaden to miss out! Pictures to follow!!!! :)

Long Day

Well today Wade went to the doctor. After waiting nearly 2 hours in the waiting area, we were moved back to a room to wait another hour. Finally the doctor comes in. He asks how we are doing and how Wade is feeling. And then he begins to discuss the CT scan. While sitting in his chair and facing us, he says, "After reviewing your CT scan...well, let me show you." It literally felt like my heart stopped beating. I couldn't believe we were about to get bad news. Is this even possible? So, according to the doctor, he said the radiologist claim "progression" because of a lesion in Wade's liver. They were saying this is something new. However, as the doctor explained, he sees Wade all the time and he knows his patient and past tests. He said he felt like the tumor in Wade's liver was already there but they were unable to find it. Apparently the chemo made it more visible because it had liquefied. His words were, "It is becoming mush". Not knowing what this means, we ask is this good or bad. He said it is a good thing because the chemo is killing it and causing it to liquefy. They are going to keep a close eye on this and will require tests that will scan his liver as well as his entire body just to be safe. Eventually they may be able to remove this with surgery. As for the other tumors, they are the same...not growing! That's good news.

So Wade will continue on with two more treatments and one of them beginning tomorrow, or should I say today?

I'd like to say that I've been strong and upbeat because most of the time that's what it looks like on the outside. But I can't help but be scared to death and worry. But, I put on my happy face and I stay strong for Wade. He's incredible and is being so strong for us, so it's my duty to keep it together for us all. I definitely have my moments but sometimes I just don't feel like I have time to break down. I'm going to pray and speak the word of God. That's all I know to do.

Oh and just for the record, we were at the doctor a full 3 1/2 hours. Nice!