Today, Grandma, Grandpa, and Mike came to work in our yard. They cut down a cedar tree in the front yard. They lowered and straightened our martin house and pole. Grandma cleaned my big front windows. I told her that now when the sunlight can come in, I can see all the dust and dirt. :) We really appreciate them. Mike is on vacation this week. That is how he was able to help. Steve rested this morning. They came after lunch. He was out with them for a little while and then had to go inside to rest. He was resting when I got home from school. He and Aubree were watching Monster Quest on the History Channel. Steve did not really feel well. He did get up to eat Hamburger Helper for supper. I had my own Hamburger Helper, Aubree, help me fix our supper. She also helped make the tuna salad for lunch tomorrow. After supper, Steve went to rest. He is resting now while we are watching History International's show about the 7 deadly seas.
After her bath, Aubree and I Skyped Kay this evening. If you don't know about Skype, it is worth checking out. It allows you to video conference with anyone that has a computer and camera. It reminds me of the Jetsons. It is kind of a futuristic idea. We love it. We Skype Elizabeth and Kay. It is nice to see them when we are talking to them. It is also nice because they can show you things and you can show them things. Kay has introduced me to several of her friends this way. It is nice to put a face with a name and stories. I think it makes them being away much easier since we can see them when we talk. Skype is a free service and easily downloaded. Steve gets into the Skyping too. I think Steve will rest well tonight. I will suggest to him tomorrow to rest again. He needs to be fresh for his chemo this week.
It is kind of strange, Steve has a rash on his legs--from the knee down, even on his feet. It does not itch and does not seem to be spreading. We are going to ask about it when we visit Dr. Hoos' office. We are also going to ask about flu shots. Amelia and I need to get one if possible since we work at schools. I am not sure it is safe to get the shots if it gives you a little case of the flu. Steve can't be exposed to things like that now. He has been doing so well, I would hate to purposely introduce something that could make him sick. It is hard enough recovering from each treatment without giving him the flu. So far this year, my kids are only fighting allergies. I have heard that there are several viruses going around. It has not hit 6th grade at Mt. Vernon yet.
Since we have been watching television this evening, there has been several commercials about the Hoover Floormate. I am curious if it is as good as they commercial claims. I am always looking for ways to keep our hardwoods clean. It is a very difficult task with the dog and our feet. It seems that it is only clean for an hour or two before it is sloppy again. It is a good thing I don't feel like I have to live in the perfect magazine home. I think that would be great, but it is very unrealistic for us. We have a cozy lived in house. I think that is best.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Atlanta
Just wanted to let you know that Atlanta is still the "airport from hell". Eizabeth was supposed to fly out of Atlanta to Fayetteville at 9:15. She did not leave Atlanta until after 12 a.m. That place is a mess. That ment she got home around 3:00 a.m. her time and had been at airports since 2:00 pm yesterday. It was a looooong day for her. She did text me when she got to Fayetteville. I, of course, did not reply. I tried to wake up Steve to tell him, but he was still out cold.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Busy, busy Monday
Trying to get back to normal after a really busy weekend. I'm not really sure what normal is for us anymore. Our lives seem to change from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day. So, I guess normal is just a state of mind at our house.
Today we took Elizabeth to the Springfield International Airport so she could fly back to Fayetteville, NC. Of course, nothing is as easy as we would like. Her flight out of Springfield was delayed one hour. This put her in Atlanta at 6:57p.m. and her flight from Atlanta left at 7:16 p.m. IMPOSSIBLE! We talked with the guy behind the Delta desk and he arranged a seat for her on the 9:15 p.m. flight to Fayetteville if she did not make the 7:16 connection. She called from Atlanta, and she did not make the connection...surprise, surprise. Atlanta in Steve's words is "the airport from hell". He thinks this because he went to visit Elizabeth before he got sick and got stuck over night in the Atlanta airport. They couldn't leave the security area and had to sleep on the hard chairs. They didn't even offer them blankets. He hates Atlanta airport. Elizabeth will be arriving home around midnight. She is going to text me to let me know she made it. I told her not to expect a reply at that hour. :) We already miss her. She will be home for good in the next 6 months or so. The Army has not committed to her discharge yet, but it is coming. I'll keep you posted.
Today we also went to see Dr. P. We have not seen him for a month. Our appointment was 3:45 and we were out of the office by 4:15. He walked into the office, looked at Steve's incision, gave us a new prescription for his pain medicine, said see you in 3 months and was gone. This is a slight exaggeration, but you get the point. He did ask about Steve's last scan. He too seemed pleased with Steve's progress: inside and out. He said his incision would heal much faster as soon as the chemo was over. He was impressed with Steve's nurse---me. Don't be overly impressed. It is not that difficult to do a wet to dry bandage. Steve's incision is really only an inch or so long and only about a centimeter or so deep. I am really pleased with how he is healing and how his scar looks. He won't let me post a picture because he thinks it looks gross. We were really pleased that we don't have to go back to Dr. P's until December. This is a major accomplishment for us. WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
After the appointment, we went to dinner at Steak and Shake. It really hit the spot. banana/chocolate shakes are the best. Steven loves their strawberry malts. He ordered a pepper jack burger, and I ordered their blue cheese burger. Yummy. Even before our dinner arrived, Steve was saying that he was about to fall asleep. We ate and left. He was out before we got on James River. As soon as we got home, he was off to bed. He is out cold. I don't expect him to wake up tonight. He is really worn out from his wild weekend of alpacas and Elizabeth. I am hoping that he is not overly tired when he goes to his next chemo. My guess is he will rest most of the day tomorrow. That is the best thing for him.
Good news, according to the USA Today poll, Missouri is #23. MIZ-ZOU. Pretty exciting stuff. I have already told Steve that we are watching a lot of college football this weekend. I believe it is the Red River Shootout. It will be a good weekend for this because he will not feel like getting out of the house.
Today we took Elizabeth to the Springfield International Airport so she could fly back to Fayetteville, NC. Of course, nothing is as easy as we would like. Her flight out of Springfield was delayed one hour. This put her in Atlanta at 6:57p.m. and her flight from Atlanta left at 7:16 p.m. IMPOSSIBLE! We talked with the guy behind the Delta desk and he arranged a seat for her on the 9:15 p.m. flight to Fayetteville if she did not make the 7:16 connection. She called from Atlanta, and she did not make the connection...surprise, surprise. Atlanta in Steve's words is "the airport from hell". He thinks this because he went to visit Elizabeth before he got sick and got stuck over night in the Atlanta airport. They couldn't leave the security area and had to sleep on the hard chairs. They didn't even offer them blankets. He hates Atlanta airport. Elizabeth will be arriving home around midnight. She is going to text me to let me know she made it. I told her not to expect a reply at that hour. :) We already miss her. She will be home for good in the next 6 months or so. The Army has not committed to her discharge yet, but it is coming. I'll keep you posted.
Today we also went to see Dr. P. We have not seen him for a month. Our appointment was 3:45 and we were out of the office by 4:15. He walked into the office, looked at Steve's incision, gave us a new prescription for his pain medicine, said see you in 3 months and was gone. This is a slight exaggeration, but you get the point. He did ask about Steve's last scan. He too seemed pleased with Steve's progress: inside and out. He said his incision would heal much faster as soon as the chemo was over. He was impressed with Steve's nurse---me. Don't be overly impressed. It is not that difficult to do a wet to dry bandage. Steve's incision is really only an inch or so long and only about a centimeter or so deep. I am really pleased with how he is healing and how his scar looks. He won't let me post a picture because he thinks it looks gross. We were really pleased that we don't have to go back to Dr. P's until December. This is a major accomplishment for us. WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
After the appointment, we went to dinner at Steak and Shake. It really hit the spot. banana/chocolate shakes are the best. Steven loves their strawberry malts. He ordered a pepper jack burger, and I ordered their blue cheese burger. Yummy. Even before our dinner arrived, Steve was saying that he was about to fall asleep. We ate and left. He was out before we got on James River. As soon as we got home, he was off to bed. He is out cold. I don't expect him to wake up tonight. He is really worn out from his wild weekend of alpacas and Elizabeth. I am hoping that he is not overly tired when he goes to his next chemo. My guess is he will rest most of the day tomorrow. That is the best thing for him.
Good news, according to the USA Today poll, Missouri is #23. MIZ-ZOU. Pretty exciting stuff. I have already told Steve that we are watching a lot of college football this weekend. I believe it is the Red River Shootout. It will be a good weekend for this because he will not feel like getting out of the house.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
MIZZOU and Alpacas
It is not Sunday morning, and I am back home. I had a wonderful time visiting Koleen. It amazes me how much the campus has changed since fall of 81. I guess, it just shows, I am getting old. We went to the bookstore, saw her room, walked to Hearnes to watch the band and then saw the new student center. While we were at the stadium, we saw Brett Jones. He is one of my favorite young men. His folks raised him right. He was all smiles and passed out hugs when we saw him. It was so nice to see him. Seeing him and Koleen together reminded me of when I first came to Mt. Vernon and Koleen was in 5th grade and and Brett was in 6th. My time flies. After walking back to Hudson, we went to a great place called Jazz. It was cajun food. I loved it and now have a new favorite place in Columbia. I had a pasta dish with crawfish and cajun sausage. YUMMY, YUMMY. I would eat there once a week if it was here in Mt. Vernon. I left after our late lunch and got home about 9:00 last night. I am tired today, but it was worth it. I had a great time. I sure miss Kay.
While I was gone, the girls and Steve went crazy. They went to the alpaca event and had a good time.
They saw Jane and Aunt Pearl. They were down for the weekend. Steve said they had a wonderful visit. They ate lunch at Grandma's. They ran other errands and went past the place where they ride and sell the Powerchutes. Steve loves those things and would really like to own one. He used to fly planes and really misses that. Since his lungs are messed up. He will not be able to fly commercially for a long time. I think a Powerchute would be a great thing for him to have once he feels better. Dale Schnelle had one, but I am unsure if he still does. I am afraid that if he got a chute, Steve would be off into the wild blue yonder everyday. No telling where I he would end up. He can be very adventurous at times.
I am not sure what the plans are for today except supper at Grandma's. Aubree just got back from Cody's and is going to spend the day with us. It is always nice of Cody to rearrange his weekend to accommodate Amelia. Elizabeth leaves late tomorrow afternoon.
We have an appointment with Dr. P tomorrow afternoon to check out his incision. I think he is going to be pleased with his improvement.
While I was gone, the girls and Steve went crazy. They went to the alpaca event and had a good time.
They saw Jane and Aunt Pearl. They were down for the weekend. Steve said they had a wonderful visit. They ate lunch at Grandma's. They ran other errands and went past the place where they ride and sell the Powerchutes. Steve loves those things and would really like to own one. He used to fly planes and really misses that. Since his lungs are messed up. He will not be able to fly commercially for a long time. I think a Powerchute would be a great thing for him to have once he feels better. Dale Schnelle had one, but I am unsure if he still does. I am afraid that if he got a chute, Steve would be off into the wild blue yonder everyday. No telling where I he would end up. He can be very adventurous at times. 
I am not sure what the plans are for today except supper at Grandma's. Aubree just got back from Cody's and is going to spend the day with us. It is always nice of Cody to rearrange his weekend to accommodate Amelia. Elizabeth leaves late tomorrow afternoon.
We have an appointment with Dr. P tomorrow afternoon to check out his incision. I think he is going to be pleased with his improvement.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Special Visitor/Parent's Weekend
Some exciting news and a very exciting day for us. To our surprise, Elizabeth came for a long weekend visit. She flew into Springfield this morning, and Amelia went to get her. She came to the house and really surprised Steve. It was pretty funny. First, Aubree walked into the bedroom and said hello, then Amelia walked in and said hello, then Elizabeth walked in and said hello. Steve just stared at her like he didn't recognize her. I think he was out of it because he had been napping and was not quite awake. After he realized who it was, he was soooooo excited. He just couldn't get over that we had pulled off the secret and he didn't know she was coming. I guess it just goes to show that we are pretty good fibbers when we need to be. They are going to have a good time together. They already went on a little excursion after lunch and did some errands. When I talked to Steve tonight, they were watching....you guessed it, Friday night....Man, Woman, Wild. I guess the season finale is on. The girls are going to the Corn Maze later. Tomorrow they are going to go to an alpaca thing in Freistatt that one of Grandma and Grandpa's friends are doing. I don't know all the details except it is at the old Brockschmidt's place on Hwy H. I am sure that they will all be alpaca experts after tomorrow. I will encourage them to take pictures that I can post when I get home Sunday. I can't wait to learn about the furry things.
I am in Jefferson City with Dwight and Mel. I arrived around 5 and we went to Columbia to eat at Chili's and surprised Koleen. We requested her station and we waited on us. She is a very good waitress. My only concern was when I gave her the money for the bill, she kept all the change. Do you think that is because I was her mother and she thought she could make a fast buck or two? :) We had the avocado burgers, and boy they were good. I really enjoyed seeing her. It makes me realize how much I really do miss her. I am spending the day with her in Columbia tomorrow. I have my camera, so hopefully, I will get some pictures to post tomorrow night. I am going to call it an early night because I can, and I will not be bothered by a husband, dog, or anything else. Call me lucky, lucky, lucky.
I am in Jefferson City with Dwight and Mel. I arrived around 5 and we went to Columbia to eat at Chili's and surprised Koleen. We requested her station and we waited on us. She is a very good waitress. My only concern was when I gave her the money for the bill, she kept all the change. Do you think that is because I was her mother and she thought she could make a fast buck or two? :) We had the avocado burgers, and boy they were good. I really enjoyed seeing her. It makes me realize how much I really do miss her. I am spending the day with her in Columbia tomorrow. I have my camera, so hopefully, I will get some pictures to post tomorrow night. I am going to call it an early night because I can, and I will not be bothered by a husband, dog, or anything else. Call me lucky, lucky, lucky.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Another Hump Hump Hump day
Here it is Wednesday again. We only have a couple more days left of this week. It is hard to believe that it is September 22. Wow, time sure flies. Steve had a really good day today. He was feeling probably the best he has since his last chemo. I think it was the Swamp People marathon we watched last night. :) That is enough to make anyone feel great. We went to Hog Wild for dinner tonight. Steve had their chicken nachos. He really likes those. I love their sweet tea. As I look back, it seems like we sure eat out a lot. I didn't realize this. I use the excuse that what Steve wants to eat, we go eat. I must confess that this is only partly true. Since I messed up my knee. I am tired at the end of the day, and Steve is nice and wants to go out to eat so I don't have to mess with any of it. I am hoping that Steve has started the good week before his chemo next week. He looks better and has some color in his cheeks. This is always a good sign.
It is parents weekend at Mizzou this weekend. I believe I will journey north to visit Kay. I am unsure when I will go because I am trying to work around her schedule and mine . I am excited since I have not seen her in a while. I am also excited to see her dorm room and just spend some time with her. I will stay the night with our friends, Mel and Dwight, in Jefferson City. I am hoping that I can work in a dinner at Madison's....my all-time favorite place to eat. I love their steak with crabmeat and blue cheese. It is to die for. Keep your fingers crossed that I get to work that in. If I make it to Columbia, I'll try to post from there. Maybe I can even get some pictures of campus and Kay.
It is parents weekend at Mizzou this weekend. I believe I will journey north to visit Kay. I am unsure when I will go because I am trying to work around her schedule and mine . I am excited since I have not seen her in a while. I am also excited to see her dorm room and just spend some time with her. I will stay the night with our friends, Mel and Dwight, in Jefferson City. I am hoping that I can work in a dinner at Madison's....my all-time favorite place to eat. I love their steak with crabmeat and blue cheese. It is to die for. Keep your fingers crossed that I get to work that in. If I make it to Columbia, I'll try to post from there. Maybe I can even get some pictures of campus and Kay.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tuesday's Afternoon Walk
It was a good day here. Today Steve was feeling better. He got up and walked down the driveway with Samurai to check the mail. He said he would have gone farther except sometimes Samurai gets excited and pulls on his leash. This was great for him to walk this distance. I am very proud of him. It is just the beginning. After dinner, Steve made root beer floats for Aubree and himself. They sure love their floats. Nothing beats A & W Root Beer. Aubree hung out with us for a while tonight while Amelia did some homework. I have a new program on the Ipad that is like a chalkboard. We practiced our words, letters and everyone's name. She is doing great. Now we are watching Swamp People on the History Channel. Boy, I'm not sure that I would be a good gator hunter. I'm not sure how much sport it is. Plus, I don't think I would be comfortable with all the bugs there. I am not a big mosquito fan. Steve is not a fan either, but let me tell you this, if there is a bug within 10 miles it will hunt him down and bite him. There have been many times when we have been out and Steve is the only person that has bites. The rest of us are bite free. I'm not sure if he is sweet or we are rotten. :)
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