BIG 4-0

happy birthday babe!

this week

 

i have been a single parent this week since tuesday.  i don’t want to admit it but i am exhausted and my kids are easy kids.

i love it when this boy wears that shirt. 

 

i hate meal planning.  with all of my being.  i have sat down at least 5 times in the last 3 days and find ways to easily distract myself.  for example, writing a blog post.  that being said, my cabinets and fridge are pretty bare.  a part of me is wondering if it’s feasible to eat ramen noddles for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next 2 or 3 days.  then my cupboard would be bare.

i think i have to give up making treats in my house.  i made cupcakes the other day, and charlie single handedly and sneakily ate 5 of them in one day.

mac won camper of the year for his age group.  he also did a dance with his camp mates at parent night.  oh how i wish i would have gotten that on video.  as well as charlie hysterically laughing.

we have been an unplugged house for most of the week.  unplugged meaning no TV, no computer, no XBOX, no DS.  i can not tell you how heavenly it has been, but i’m thinking i’m going to have a hard time convincing my family to sign up for my desire to extend the state of unplugged past this week.

the three of us did P90X ab ripper x video one night.  that was hi-lar-i-us

 

charlie started swim lessons this week.  it is astonishing how far he has come.  at the beginning of the summer he still would not go underwater.  now he is jumping in, doing crazy cannonballs and LOVES swimming.

charlie has gotten interested in wheels.  he tried skateboarding and i took off his training wheels.  yeow!

mac finished PT on thursday.  we have a followup with his ortho doctor on Tuesday.  keeping my fingers crossed that he’s good to go. 

 

yesterday was one of my favorite days…back to school shopping.  i love new school supplies.

school starts in a week and half…CRAZY!!!

update on dad

I haven’t written much about my Dad lately and how he is doing with his battle against cancer. I can’t believe that we have passed the 6 month mark as to when we found out.

As I write this it’s important to note that these are my thoughts and feelings and while I’m part of Dad’s support system, I’m not the one who is physically fighting the beast that starts with a ‘C.’

Dad has completed his first round of treatment. His first round included radiation treatment as well as chemotherapy. At roughly the 2/3 mark of his treatment, he took a break from the treatment and had a repeat CAT scan (CAT #2.) End result was that that tumor was shrinking and there was strong evidence that the BIG C was responding to the treatments. He completed his radiation treatments (about 10 more after the first break) and chemo (3 more after break) and took another break and a CAT scan was
repeated. The second scan showed some additional reduction, specifically in the lymph nodes but not much change in the tumor from the last scan. Are you with me so far? Dad will have a PET scan on 8/8 which will tell the DRs how much of the tumor is active cancer. At this point, Dad has exhausted his radiation options. In terms of next steps, from an oncology perspective we are waiting on that PET scan.

I feel positive about the progress that dad has made in the last 6 months. I have to be honest though, after the last appointments (after the 3rd cat scan) we were hoping to have more information and left feeling slightly discouraged.  His oncologist believes he is in a partial remission, but couldn’t commit to that until we see the results of
the pet scan.

Every day my dad truly amazes me. He is still the primary caregiver for my niece and nephew. He continues to take care of his household doing the grocery shopping, bill paying and he was released to go back to work part time. I’ve never seen him complain or be negative. 

So we anxiously and prayerfully wait…his next dr appt is 8/16 when we will get the results of the PET scan.  Hopefully I get the best birthday present ever…

Sporting KC

saturday was an all out family day.  we headed to the legends in kck and to our fist sporting kc game in the new livestrong stadium.  we started the afternoon off with lunch.  picking restaurants is always a little difficult as there is one member in our family who is picky and very vocal about that.  we landed at backfire bbq and it got a thumbs up from all the Thompson’s.  the decor (harley’s and other bike paraphernalia hanging from the ceiling and walls) and the food were fantastic.  not to mention tv’s all over the place that allowed the boys to check on the baseball scores.

later in the afternoon we headed to the game.  we parked at the race track and took a bus to the stadium. 

 

we made it to the stadium

it is important to note that this might have been the hottest day in KC.  have you heard about the heat wave?  i have to be honest i was a little nervous as to how we would all hold up.  remarkably everyone had a blast.  next time though, we need to verse ourselves a little better on the actual rules of the game.  that being said we had a great time and are anxious to go back.  hopefully the next game is a little cooler. 

the entertainer

still catching up….

a couple of weeks ago, charlie’s music teacher held her ‘spring recital.’  charlie has taken piano and singing lessons for the last  year and a half.  this recital was strictly singing.  the songs were from the 50’s and 60’s and all the kids did a great job, not only in their costuming but also with their performance.  i have to say that i believe my little man did the best (not that i am biased or anything).

his acts:

she was just seventeen

mony mony

i want candy (although i guess that isn’t really a 50’s/60’s tune)

July 4th

so yes, i’m behind and be prepared for picture overload.

we had a miller reunion at windermere.  ever since i can remember, i’ve heard about windermere from my mom and her sisters.  even as i type this, i’m not sure if its because of church camp or just a place that the family got together when they were young.  my aunt mary ann and uncle brett graciously rented a lodge for all of us.  the boys and i headed to windermere on saturday the 2nd and came back on the fourth.  from the moment we got there we didn’t stop…go karting, mini golf, swimming, tubing, jet skiing, playing with cousins.

saturday

Kim, Kathy and Kelly…cousins form colorado

great mini golf course.  beautiful sunset.  mac got 3 hole and ones and quote of the night from charlie:  ‘that’s another hole in 2’ after every. single. hole.

janie and olivia…all the way from Texas

sunday

a mean game of indoor soccer …

with spectators

 

ready for a day at the lake.  I have no idea why i’m wearing pearls to the lake.  

charlie and i.  these were a lot harder to climb up than they look

 

mac on the high dive

all of a sudden it started pouring down rain.  the boaters hurried as fast as they could, back to the dock

grandpa at the helm.  i opted not to go on that ride.       

relaxing on the deck with grandpa

the time we had there was short but it was well worth it for all the memories we captured.

Surprise

The boys were at Nana/Grandpa camp last week. To say it was a great week for all 4 of us, would be an understatement. It was a blessing that Jay and I were able to reconnect (note to self: Date night needs to become mandatory) and my boys are blessed to have my in-laws. They love my boys immeasurably and they absolutely spoil them with love and activites galore during their time with them.

All that being said, Jay and I decided to re-do their bedroom while they were gone, without them knowing. I had kind of been thinking along those lines for a month prior to them leaving. Casually, I had mentioned to the boys about sharing a room and both were agreeable. So, last week, we prepared a new room for them, by painting the walls, purchasing a bunk/futon combo, a new to us Xbox, new bedding and hanging ‘art.’

I wish that I had captured on video and pictures the boys reaction because it was priceless and exactly what I envisioned. Not only the surprise, but the appreciation. Mac just could not believe that we had spent our week doing something for them. Love those boys and so happy we were able to give them a room that they are proud of.

This room was Charlie’s room originally. I wish I had before picutres, but imagine baby boy blue walls (kind of :)). Here it is today.