Saturday, April 18, 2009

The deliquent blogger

I haven't been the best blogger as of late. Once, twice a week at best. Things are so hectic and crazy. Long work days keep me from being able to enjoy time in front of the computer that doesn't involve Heroes for Children. I am averaging two evening functions a week, though this week will be double that. I have a board meeting tomorrow night, then board a plane on Wednesday for Memphis. I am attending the annual conference for the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers. Yeah, I know I'm not a social worker. However, that is our main point of contact for the oncology families we serve. The topics that will be discussed range from celebrating events through treatment (we got excited about this seminar because we have the Heroes Milestones program) to survivorship. I'm looking forward to the education of the conference, but dreading leaving my family for four nights.


So, in an attempt to catch you up, here's a random list of stuff going on.

  • Our good friend Kris gave us his wooden swingset. He's moving in with his girlfriend and their home has no room for the huge swingset with the pool in the back. Andrew got it up last week, just in time for it to be horrible rainy weather for close to a week. Maggie finally got the chance to play on it tonight. It was so much fun, with one minor exception. It's a bit difficult to let loose and swing freely when a golden retriever is going beserk and nipping at your legs! Brandy is definitely NOT a fan of the swingset. She isn't amused at all.
  • Heroes for Children is hiring in Houston. We're hiring a "Houston Manager" to oversee Development initiatives in the Houston market. Should be a challenging position. It'll be a new challenge for me as well, managing a branch of the organization remotely. We have a big focus on Houston this year and I can't do it without staff support. It's so exciting to see this change for the organization!
  • The weight challenge continues. I haven't been able to stay as focused as necessary. I'm at about 156 or 157 depending on the day. Not bad, but I really wanted to be better. I have cheated a number of times. While my weight is the same, I'm noticing my waist not looking its best lately. Need to focus more! Debbie has been seeing some great results with the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels. Just don't know if I have the dedication to do it consistently for 30 days!
  • We finished the half marathon on April 5th, keeping a good pace throughout. At some point, I sprained my ankle. I didn't know it was sprained for a few days. I just kept saying, "my foot is jacked up" to Andrew and coworkers. Yeah, the ankle was sprained. Spent six days limping on it then another four days with it wrapped. It's all good now. The marathon was a great experience. Definitely something I would consider doing again. I loved crossing the finish line with Andrew by my side, holding my hand. Instead of putting my name on my shirt, I wrote, "In Memory of ALLIE." Throughout the course, people cheering for HFC were yelling, "GO ALLIE!" as I passed by. I didn't correct them. Didn't want to.
  • I started this blog entry on Saturday. It's now Monday night and I'm still struggling to get it done. Serious delinquency around here.
  • Maggie has gotten to be a an absolute pill to get ready in the morning. Tonight, I'm trying a new tactic of picking out our full outfit, shoes included as they are the worst part, to see if it can alleviate some of the issues we have getting us out the door in the mornings. The other day, her meltdown was over the fact that I chose to wear flats, not heels as she wanted me to wear. Yeah, she's a bit of a diva.
  • She's a diva with a major love of clothes and shoes. Saturday, my mother in law, Frances, and I went shopping. First, it was Old Navy to buy Maggie some dresses and swimsuits. She was literally hugging the clothes when she found the item she wanted to purchase. After we had a quick lunch, we went to Nine West to look at some shoes for us. She squealed when we walked in. She began excitely grabbing shoes off the shelves, trying to yank them on my feet. She would exclaim, "oh, look at this red shoe!" or "I LUB this one!!" The salesperson kept giggling at her and said she had never seen such a happy child in a shoe store. Seriously, it's her happy place. Today when I wore the new shoes I bought, she told every friend in her class when we walked in together that Mama just bought new shoes. Love this diva.
  • No, I'm not pregnant. Trying but not pregnant. Plenty of people asking, so just thought I'd throw that out there.
  • I have a lunch meeting from tomorrow until May 8th. Every single day. Good thing I was able to have a longer lunch with Deanna and Debbie today to enjoy some girl time. I really needed it!
  • We're getting very close to five years from Allie's diagnosis. This time five years ago, our sweet little girl was showing her first signs of disease--a mild fever. Little did we know that two weeks later we would find out she had AML. Five years has been difficult for me. Her fifth birthday was very tough. Five years since her diagnosis brings me anxiety, and I can't even begin to think what her five year birthday will be like in September.
  • I delivered a laptop to a teenager with cancer at Medical City Children's Hospital on Friday. Our social worker, Kate, just left the position and is now going to be a missionary in France for the next two years. They have a few temporary people working to sub for this position until the full time replacement comes in a month. One of the ladies subbing twice a week is Monica, the social worker we had. Monica stopped working full time shortly after Allie died. We loved her. Cried with her. Visited and laughed with her. I have not seen Monica in almost five years. Seeing her at the hospital on Friday broke me. I stood and cried hugging her. We laughed through our tears before pulling ourselves together to deliver the laptop. At the end of our time with the patient, I pulled out a business card to give to her to send me an email with her new laptop. Monica immediately noticed my business card holder and I saw her in tears noticing it--a giraffe on the front of it. I love that she remembered.
That's it for now. Not sure when I'll blog again. Maybe a photo I can send to the blog while in Memphis.

10 comments:

Jennie said...

I live in Memphis, lots of neat things to do and good restuarants (sorry I do not know of good sushi places).

ViolinMama said...

Thinking of you!!!! Great update!

One crazed mommy said...

Way to go on finishing the half marathon. That's wonderful, although I'm sorry to hear you hurt your ankle. It's funny I should read that today as my husband received a Team in Training brochure in the mail yesterday. Of course I immediately tore it open (not him) and started reading over it. I noticed they have a century ride and I told Mark he should think about signing up for it - he's a cyclist, not a runner...so his goal is to get ready for 2010's century ride. He's going to see if he can get sponsors to match him - a dollar per mile!
I had to laugh at your little Diva - she is just precious! The shoe store tickled me - my daughter, Abby, is very much like that. I was a tomboy growing up, but she's a girly girl through and through. She would have fun with Maggie!
Good luck with the rest of your hectic week!
Jenn

Brittany..Following my Bliss said...

I'm never going to complain about how busy *I am anymore! Your blog wore me out, just hearing how busy you are. Maggie is absolutely adorable.. I love girly girls! I have 3 girls of my own but only one is super girly! I think she knows it keeps her spoiled more! lol
Goodluck and safe travels to you in the coming days.
You look great too!!

~~Mel~~ said...

Maggie is a girl after my own heart! Though my love of clothes and fashion did not start as a child (like hers) lol.

Five years...wow. I remember reading along on your first blog...can't believe that was five years ago...again wow.

Adrianne said...

I just realized that your social worker Kate is best friends with my brother's girlfriend. What a small small world. I LOVE KATE and although have only known her a short time wish her well in France. I hope you can find someone just as wonderful to replace these special women!

Shannon said...

Thanks for the update. Love the shoe story, my Abagail is a toot in the mornings, too. Ours is over the brushing of the hair. First it has to be Daddy, then Mommy...she even asked for Ethan to do it t his morning. Bleh...I dred mornings.

You are rocking on the weight. I meant to comment last time about how fan-freakin-tastic you look! Amazing...keep up the great work!

~*~*~Monica~*~*~ said...

Welcome to Memphis...

If you are looking for Sushi in downtown, try Bluefin on main. I've heard they are pretty good!~!~!

Brittany and Charlie-Social Butterfly said...

You are looking great! I hope things are going well for you and your family!

Tag Your it!
www.charsandbrit.blogspot.com

Cole said...

I hope i'm not posting this twice...LOL!

Hi, i'm a lurker that has been following you since before your sweet angel Allie passed away. I recently have had an experiance in my life that has made me want to contact you. I have a friend who's 9 month old daughter was diagnose on April 20th with AML Lukemia and was wondering what type Allie had. I was also wondering if you had an archive of the blog that you kept with Allie. If you would like to visit her website it is, www.caringbridge.com/brinleykate thank you!~