"E" is for....

Exciting news!!!  Trey is going to school!!!

Remember this post I wrote last year?  We had decided not to send Trey to preschool because we didn't know how the next month was going to pan out, let alone nine months for school.  Well, lo and behold, Trey has flourished in the clinical trial he has been in.  The medicine he gets weekly (through a medi-port in his chest) is supposed to prevent tumor growth, and so far, it has!  Praise God! 

All through the last school year, Trey and I would have a free form, casual, organic (i.e. I didn't know what I was doing so the lessons had no structure) homeschool lesson appropriate for his age.  We had a calendar time, worksheet time, coloring or activity...or maybe we would bake cookies or go to the library or play outside (totally counts).  

Right around the new year, it kinda dawned on me that Trey should be able to write at least his name if not all the letters.  I wasn't looking for calligraphy, but this kid couldn't write at all.  Yet, he knows every letter and sound, even sight words.  Long story short, Trey goes once a week to see a physical and occupational therapist.  Turns out, chemo can mess with your muscles...who knew?  And all of his abdominal surgeries have made sit ups almost impossible, but he's working hard on that six pack!

Which brings us right up to now.  Trey loves going to the kids' school to pick them up or for an event.  And, he's become aware that he wants to do that, too.  There was no way I was going to send him to full day kindergarten.  I'm not ready for that and neither is Trey!  So, we met with the preschool director where Joe and Bella attended.  We love this preschool, the teachers, etc.  They welcomed Trey with open arms for this school year.  So, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Trey will be at school for 2 1/2 hours!!  My baby!  He will be the oldest in the class, but I don't care and he won't know.

We know that all this could change in the blink of an eye.  Trey still has to have scans every 3 months (the next one is in October) and his cancer could grow at any time.  We continue to stand on the edge of a cliff not knowing which way the wind will blow.  But!  We have TODAY! 

We will rejoice TODAY!  Trey is the healthiest sick kid around.  He is not symptomatic.  He is not bed ridden.  He's a wild, 5 year old, excited to go to school and carry a big backpack!!  If I were to keep Trey here with me (which is so very tempting) and prevent him from having this experience, it would be like telling God that what He has blessed us with is not enough.  Trey needs to go out and show the world that God has kept him strong and this Momma needs to let him.

Do you think it would be okay if I just stood in the parking lot the whole time he's there?  Just kidding!  I'm going to take a nap!  Ha!  Gotcha again!  I have some plans for the time all three kids will be in school...we'll see how that goes.

Oh, Pinterest, You Got Me!

I was in search of a teacher's gift for Joe and Bella's teachers.  I needed 3 (simple, inexpensive, yet thoughtful, something they could use in real life) gifts.  I found this cute idea on everyone's favorite social media network idea pin board bookmarking place site, Pinterest.

Super cute, right?  Just switch it up a tad for Christmas, throw in a Giant Eagle gift card, and BOOM!  Done!  I gathered all the items...though, I couldn't find the exact cup as in the picture.  But, cups, pencils, gift cards.  I started to assemble the items together at about 10:00 pm Wednesday night for a Thursday delivery.  You guys!  THIS happened...

Uhhhh.....crap!  Now what?  I'm not good on the fly!  How can the pencils NOT fit in the cup???  Do I ditch the pencils?  But, then, what am I going to do with 80 pencils???  Oh the shame!  I came up with a solution, though!  It's not perfect, but it worked.

I blame myself, really, for not checking that the pencils would actually fit in the cup...but, I somehow want to put the responsibility on Pinterest for making me have to think late at night.   And, yes, get out my camera and document it all instead of just focusing on the problem.  All Pinterest's fault.

And so it begins...

Welcome, September!!!!  I feel like this summer went by in a wink of an eye on some days and others dragged on like America's Got Talent.  This summer was unique in that Trey has taken some sort of secret Terrible Two oath.  We could barely go anywhere with all 5 of us without a Plan A, Plan B and a "Bail Completely" plan.  How does one keep 3 kids busy/happy/satisfied that are at all different stages and ages?  Don't ask me, clearly I don't know since all of my kids can sing the theme song to Phineas and Ferb.  Trying to do anything that might make Trey skip a nap is just asking for trouble...he'd probably shank you with a shiv whittled out of a crib slat.  That kid takes nap time seriously.  Though between crying jags, we were able to have fun.  Jay and I would take turns taking the kids to the pool...we visited the Children's Museum, Kennywood...went to few parties, had family in town.  It was a fairly low key summer...just my style.

But, today we sent Joe off to second grade and my baby girl Bella to Kindergarten!  Oh! My nerves!  What if she needed me?  What if she got lost?  What if someone was mean to her?  What if she cranked out?  What if they put her on a bus????  We're walkers this year, and there's just something great about that.  It feels so Americana...fresh air in the morning and afternoon...ahhhh.  Ask me how I feel about this when it's 0 degrees outside...Now I get to spend some serious time with Trey!  How will we fill our days????  Hopefully, the laundry will get done a little faster, some projects will get out of my head and actually materialize, and maybe a bit more time for blogging since everyone conked out at 8:00 over here...

I think we're off to good start...