Lucky Friday- w/pictures

This is what leaked into my garage through the dry wall.


This was after most of it was soaked up.

These are just a few towels that soaked it up. I think I used 7 total

Wow, it's only 8:00 am.
I got up about 4:30 am to go to the gym. I got home at 6. I did a batch of laundry, made a batch of cookies, and took a shower. I got myself all ready for the day, which will consist of baking those cookies, making a cake, chauffeur Trent's class to the skating ring, then to the park, then back to school, doing more laundry in between, and going to his class graduation (reason for the cookies) As I sat down to my crackeling bowl of rice krispies, I told Cassidy to go & do her hair. she starts toward the bathroom & stops dead & stares at the floor. Then I see it to. Water, and lots of it. CRAP- I had Trent investigate to see if it was from the bathroom or the laundry room. Laundry room. For those who need a refresher, you can go back into my blog and look up washing machine, for you see, my brother gave us his washer when ours pooped out. Apparently & I am not placing any blame here, but Nic didn't screw the drain hose on right, or tight enough, so this last batch of laundry I did, when it drained, it was inside my house, it went through the heating and cooling ducts & is dripping downstairs, it went through & somehow is dripping through my garage, & best of all, I had about 3 batches worth of clean clothes on my laundry room floor, those will now need to be re-washed- Hooray- I am officially fitting more on my plate. (okay that was a bit sarcastic). So now I am about to leave to take Trent's class to Classic, on the way I am dropping off the cookie dough to my mom to bake the cookies, so that I can clean and not have a mold issue. Ahhhh, I am now humming the tune of-- Well it's a great day to be alive. not sure who sings it, but it's a country song, I don't know all the words, but I know enough of the chorus to keep the song in my head.

Cancer treatment # 5

Nic is doing well on his weight & tolerance of chemo. His red blood cells were a little low, but the shot will take care of that. He was feeling yucky last night, his complexion was a grayish green- as it is after every treatment.
I didn't get a chance to talk to him yet this morning, but I am sure there is quite a bit of sleeping going on.
I happened to get a call from my brother Aaron last night, so for those also curious as to his wife's condition, she is doing well. She has learned, just like Nic had to, that overdoing it, will only make you feel worse. They just moved into a new house, & 2 days later, she had brain surgery. After a few weeks of being down and taking it easy, she was trying to un-pack & do a little painting to make her house a home. She learned all too well that she need to let her body take it one day at a time. As Aaron asked me how I was doing, well, same as you I figure & told him so, we both seem to have a full plate. He gave me a little chuckle & said he no longer had a plate, he had a table. And that the table can get bigger at any time, there is always room for more. I thought about it, a wave a nausea came over me, as I was thinking, I just can't handle anymore. I don't want a table, I'd like to throw & shatter the plate I have (2 maybe 3 times, glue it back together, so I can run over it.). Thinking about that phone conversation later on, I thought about what was on my plate-- Was it all necessary to be there? Would I be happier if some things were taken off? My conclusion, I am happy with everything I have. Sure this cancer thing sucks & it is a struggle, but I have already learned so much & have a stronger relationship with my family. Not to mention a whole new meaning to humble, compassion, gratitude and love. This is a life experience that will give me wisdom in my older age, and the strength to get through what else life has in store. Now, when I say older age-- I am talking 32 maybe 34. JUST KIDDING. I will still be learning things at that age fa-sho (a shortened and much cooler way of saying for sure). I am sure he didn't know it, but thanks for calling Aaron, you gave me some positive insight on the current stage of my life. Your phone call was the answer to my and so many other prayers for some much needed strength and optimism.

Memorial weekend

A very serious game of Boccie. By the look on Nic & Johns face, Nate has just won.




Trent gets a good view as Nic tried to take the game.





Little Lady isn't sure what to think.

Stockton tries to splash the camera.

The kids by the river.

Best buddies.

Best buddies and Popsicles

The two newest members of the Hadley Family.

I caught Trent with a smile.

Fun was had by all on memorial day weekend at the cabin.

Pricey

So, I am trying to keep up on the medical bills- I get a statement from the hospital about every day- Thank you Davis Hospital for adding to my stack. I get bills from the Dr's office & statements from my insurance that I have been trying to match up with co-pay receipts & such. I have been pulling my insurance statements on line, otherwise I get them monthly, & I don't want to wait until the end of the month. & go through them all at once. If you remember a few post's back-- well actually in April. I had to call the insurance about approving a shot for Nic to keep his white blood cell count up. So, as I was going through the paid & unpaid services on the insurance statement, I came across a transaction that took me a minute to match up.
I keep a record of what was done on what date in my planner, so that when I get bill with an amount & date of service, I am able to refer to my planner to see what the service was. I hadn't gotten a bill for this, but it showed what was billed to the insurance, then the contractual agreement amount that would be paid & what was left over. The amount that was left over isn't what surprised me- although I did a gasp/sigh Napoleon Dynamite style. It was the price of this one shot. More than one session of chemo. The shot was billed for just over $6,000.00. Yes, one shot, that takes about 30 seconds to give & causes my husband days of pain. I would like to ask the makers of this drug-- does it really need to cost that much? If they were injecting liquid gold into my husband I don't think they could charge this amount. Good thing for contractual agreements, and for insurance. They paid $2,334.00, the agreement is $2,788.00, which leaves Nic & I to pay $454.00 per shot. Totally worth it to keep him healthy, but good lord.
Come July, my insurance has a few changes, I am not sure if they will be for the better or worse, but I am sure I'll find out.

My weekend

My weekend was crowded, but very fulfilling.

Friday I went to J & J and bought a few more vegies, since the frost killed a few tomato's and cucumbers, so I worked for a little in my garden, watered my newly planted flowers. Did Laundry & a very small amount of house work. Then got ready for the BBQ at Caleb & Kims for his birthday. Nic, well he was quite active as well, but then it caught up to him & he had to take a nap, for like 4 hours, while I was doing my thing. He was still able to go to the BBQ though.

Saturday I did a small amount of grocery shopping, laundry & another very small amount of house work. set up my chocolate fountain for my sister-in-law. Then worked on the cakes, and went to the party. After the party, I worked more on the laundry. Nic started out strong, he and Cassidy had a daddy daughter day and went to lunch and a little shopping, then to the park with both kids. He crashed after that-- in need of a nap. After the party I stayed home so Nic could go see a few friends and a band he hasn't seen in a while.

Sunday Nic & I got down to work. He went and bought himself some clothes ( Hurray- he won't wear what I buy & he rarely goes shopping for himself) I went to the grocery store, stocking up on a few things. Then when we both got home, it was yard time. I mowed the lawn- had to do it twice, because we waited too long between mowing's. But I was very impressed with how nice it looked. Nic went out and bought a new trimmer & little pool for the kids. The yard looks great, but I am sure it's only for a few days, then it will need mowing again. But such is summer.
Then we washed the cars and did a little more gardening.- Now all we need to do is weed the garden. I've got bean sprouts coming up- Yea. No sight of any potato's yet though. Nic wants to plant a little bit of corn, so we might give that a try as well. This weeks project.

Then after the outside work, we did the inside work. Cleaned the kitchen, front room & family room. ahhhhh clean. Thanks to my neighbor Casey who helped clean the cars & house. Many hands make light work. After such a weekend, my feet are KILLING me.

I have a few blisters

a great tan line

and a killer flip flop tan line.

Nic got up and went to work, I am thinking that about noonish, he will need to have a moment in his truck to catch up-- maybe a few moments.

This week, we start baseball, Cassidy on Tuesday & Thursdays & Trent on Wednesday & Fridays. Nothing planned for memorial though...

I want to say Thank you to Crystal & DeLaine for helping me out last week with dinners & child care. You guys are the best!

Cakes

Ryder & Lenny had a surprise party on Saturday, and I was lucky enough to make the cake! No, no sarcasm, I offered to. I haven't made any cakes for a while, and was looking forward to it.

I made little dance silhouettes out of frosting, a challenge for me. 9 dance positions for her 9th birthday.

I made little dancers out of fondant- I wanted to put faces and hair on them, but time was of the essence.

Ryders I was most proud of, a baseball diamond. No problems here. ahhh, nothing like a fine finished product.

So.... I got to the party, dropped the kids off to park elsewhere. Trent took in the baseball cake. Me, I grabbed the gift's & the dancer cake..oops, oohhh. %&!$# ... It was salvageable, I fumbled with it in my car & it bumped the front seat. Grrrr. the positive, I didn't spend time on the faces- would have made it even harder for me to see it damaged. Really it was a corner of the cake-- yes I know it is a round cake, but still, if you were to divide it into 4ths, 1/4th of it was damaged. I felt bad, but at least there was still cake. Had I dropped it on the road, I would have had an 8 year old moment, and cried about it. Instead I took a deep breath, & took my walk of shame to the house, shoulders sunk, you'd think I was about to be grounded for lying to my parents the way I felt. Then the kids didn't make much notice of it, & were calling who got to eat what dancer.-- Okay, not so bad then. & Plenty of cake. Didn't miss the scuffed part.

Thursday

Nic is feeling icky. He woke up, made a few calls, ate, took pills, & went back to bed, then woke back up had lunch & more pills & back down. Then he will get up and lay around, because he is tired of sleeping. This has become a ritual for the day after chemo.
How am I feeling, you ask? 95% better than yesterday. I have been drinking water, and I ate good food. I slept well last night. Am I stressing?-- As much as can be expected. I am going through the medical bills & matching up receipts, statements and bills. I sure love my insurance.
For the weeks to come-Starting next week, I will have Cassidy's pitching machine on Tue & Thurs & Trents baseball on Wed & Fri. That sure makes for a full week, for many weeks to come!

Treatment # 4

Treatment # 4- Completed

Only 8 more to go!

So far so good, however, I am sure come tomorrow morning, it will be a different story.

It's a good thing too, that Nic is doing well. I seemed to have developed what I would say is one of the top 5 migraines I've ever had. I get them here & there, & my pills usually take care of them. I rarely get to the point where I am sick to my stomach & vomit. Well, my friends, today was that day. A sick to my stomach migraine. I took a double dose of my medicine. It took the edge off enough that I could still function- as I vomited. Then the time came for me to take more. I took a different kind, I haven't thrown up since, and my migraine has gone down to a headache. I will certainly be taking a sleep aid tonight, so I can wake up refreshed tomorrow.

What caused my migraine-- Well when I concentrate or get ency, I grit my teeth, too much of that is not a good thing. If I don't drink enough water, that is a contributor, if I don't eat right (too much MSG or don't eat when I need to) another contributor. When I stress (which is every other Wednesday and then some). I happened to do all of the above today. It makes for a great reminder that I need to take my water bottle to work, & make time for breakfast and lunch, try to relax a little, and calm down. Sounds easy right?????

Verla update

Verla's Surgery went well, lasted just under 4 hours. She was in quite a bit of pain, morphine didn't touch it, so they were going to try valum. She will be in ICU for a few days, then the recovery part of the hospital for a few days.

Prayers

Pray for Aaron, Verla and their family today-
She has gone in for Brain Surgery, to remove a growing cyst from her brain stem.

Boast

I want to thank Grandma and Grandpa Murray for dinner tonight. They brought a delightful dish from Dianna's Dinners. Until tonight I have never had a meal from there, only heard about them. I heard raves about a Mac'n'cheese with ham chunks in it. Tonight we had Beef Stroganoff . It was super delicious!! I am going to boast about them. Here is their web site.

http://dinnersbydiana.com/ You can buy it and cook it at home. You can buy a full meal, or just sides or the main dish. Very convenient. They are in Layton. Give them a try- I was quite impressed.

I also got a row of beans planted-woot woot!

Garden

Well I got home last night and was able to plant 2 rows in my garden! One row of potato's- some red & some early russets. One row of misc. Tomato's- I think I bought about 4 different kinds, to give them all a try. & some green bell peppers. Tonight's planting will either be Onions & herbs, or green beans. I am still going to buy some Tomitallios and another tomato plant. I've got some Mint & Lavender, but I am going to plant those in the front, Mint would take over my garden before I knew it.-- That's what it did last year. Great for tea, but a pain to keep in one spot.

I am wondering if anyone is trying out those "upside down" tomato's I keep seeing the infomercials for? I wanted to try one out of curiosity, but didn't.

Thank You

I can not express the joy I felt when I arrived home to see my yard work had been done. I was planning on mowing the lawn after work. I left work at 6 with a migraine that had me sick to my stomach- I had taken my medication on an empty stomach, which didn't help. I came home & noticed my yard looked neat. not unkempt and over grown, like it did when I went to work. So I came in & there was dinner (Thanks Nate & Jen) Delicious. I ate a big helping so that my pill would kick in- and it did. Then I had extra time to spend with the kids. Something that is not common anymore on weeknights. I am grateful for my family and all they are doing to help out! Nic & I really appreciate it. Thanks again, Nate and Jen, Mom, Trent & Monica & Eddie and family. We love and appreciate you!

Weekend

Well, the weekend has been Okay. Nic has been down and out- he said that Saturday has been the worst day so far, with today coming in at a close second. The nausea and pain haven't stopped. With each treatment, he is supposed to feel worse. So what will the next treatment bring....hopefully a little sunshine.

I want to Thank Kellie K and family, Monte, and Mom for the dinners this week. The food has been great & Nic is gaining weight, so Thank You for helping out me and my family. We really appreciate it.

JD's wedding

The Girls


Me and Nic

Trent-

Grandpa and Grandma Hadley

The Boys- Trent, as his HAPPY self

Stockton, the poser

Stockton & Maddie

Cassidy & Isabel