Pickle Head and Sweet Pea

The End of the Holiday Season

2012-01-08T18:59:00.015-05:00

A forty mile bike ride with Team Ox, finally getting back to the gym, a movie-date-night with Joe, bowling with the kids, dropping off Christmas presents at the Porcos and taking down the Christmas tree ornaments....Nice to have a weekend of leisure, no shopping or hustling from place to place. We had a fun-filled holiday season- starting with Thanksgiving in New York and New Years in Canada. Wonderful to spend time with family and friends. Moments best shown through photos :)

The start of the holiday season....

Christmas Countdown

2011-12-07T05:59:00.003-05:00

Somehow my camera cord, the one that I use to download pictures is broken...in a house of boys, one destructive puppy and my klutzy self, broken things are pretty standard. When I eventually get around to starting my Christmas shopping hopefully I will remember to pick one up when I am at Best Buy. I have been reluctant to post because I LOVE posting with pictures. This morning though, I had to record what my funny little boy has been doing with the Advent Calendar.

While visiting my inlaws for Thanksgiving, I borrowed the latest Martha Stewart Magazine, excited about creating an advent calendar for the boys that counts down the days to Christmas with a little present to be opened each day. So over the past couple weeks I collected little toys and treats and last Wednesday night I stayed up late wrapping 50 little treats and stringing them up in the only spot I could find that would hold the weight of it and I could keep it away from the puppy. Owen has this perfect hook in his ceiling where a basket of stuffed animals typically hangs. What I didn't figure on was that my crafty little boy would find scissors (although I have hidden two pairs from him) and cut down his gifts in the middle of the night. As I was getting him ready this morning I found wrapping paper crumpled up in his bed, a pair of new gloves, a snowglobe and a chocolate Santa....he was busy last night!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:19:00.001-04:00

Just a typical week...subtract the snowstorm

2011-10-30T19:43:00.008-04:00

After two spinal surgeries and three weeks of recovery at home, Owen had his first chemo treatment this week (since Sept. 19th) and he returned back to preschool at St. Pauls. It was nice to get back to our "normal" routine. Owen handled chemo fairly well, his dose remains at 80% to keep his white blood cell count within a safe range....and he was overjoyed to be back at school with his teachers and friends. Most days he was curled up in a ball under a blanket napping when I came to pick him up....but he wakes up everyday asking to go to school.

Family, friends, St. Pauls, Churchville Elem. have been so supportive and thoughtful during this time...we greatly appreciate the cards, messages, gifts, dinners and donations to the Children's Tumor Foundation. I am hoping to get around to proper thank you notes soon :)...but Owen, Joey, Joe and I continue to be so grateful for all the love and care. Hopefully Owen is back on track and we can knock through the rest of this course of chemo treatment...5 more months...

So although we returned to a fairly typical week, yesterday was anything but typical with our first snowstorm. While trying to get out to celebrate Joey's upcoming birthday, we were detoured over and over again by downed trees and spun out cars. A ten minute truck ride from Chalfont to Doylestown turned into a 45 minute adventure...finally finding a restaurant that was open after the place where we had reservations was closed because of a power outage. Joey and Owen loved spending time with their grandparents and were delighted to wrap up the afternoon with a snowball fight. We returned home to our own poweroutage and spent a few hours curled up by the fire, playing games by candle light. Today was a rush around town for groceries, grabbing last minute Halloween final costume touches, prompting Joey through hours of work on his book report, grading papers and Tom working on our new floors :) Should be a fun couple of days ahead...

Good to be home!

2011-10-16T19:48:00.003-04:00

So good to return to "normal" today... decorating the house for Halloween, watching the Eagles, Joey and Owen arguing, eating at the kitchen table, Joey and I working on homework. I cannot seem to conjure up the words that express how amazed I am with Owen. Having to put him in his room for a time out today brought me such joy....not that I love him tormenting the dog but that just hours after being released from CHOP, days after his second surgery in two weeks...he is acting like just any other four year old boy. His strength and determination are amazing. After 48 hours of having to stay flat on his back, minutes after the surgeon told him he could sit up, he was walking down to the playroom pushing my hand away telling me he could do it himself. He walked into the playroom, exclaiming, "This is so cool." Watching him play with the toys, compensate when needing to bend over for something and do everything by himself gave me the feeling that whatever life throws at him he is going to get through it. By the way he interacts with the nurses, doctors and other patients and families at CHOP, not only will he get through all of these challenges in his life but I realized this weekend how much his positive attitude and strength affect the people that meet him...

Owen Update

2011-10-07T20:38:00.006-04:00

Last Friday Owen had surgery at CHOP to untether his spinal cord from the spinal canal. After a 4 day stay at CHOP he is back home making steady progress; complaining that he wants to go back to school!

30 minutes before surgery...

A couple hours after surgery...

Needing to stay in bed, on his back for a minumum of 48 hours, Owen kept busy by playing with his "guys," watching Tangled, Rio, Toy Story and Mighty Machines, playing Angry Birds, working on a craft project (our fall wreath for the front door :) )and having visits with Grandma, Pop, Me-Ma, Great-Dad and Joey.

After he spiked a fever and high heart rate on Sunday morning, broke out in a rash from the antibiotics and then was knocked out by the Benedryl he was given to combat the rash, we were glad when he finally got moving around on Monday.

After one last Pancake and Bacon breakfast and Ham and Cheese lunch Owen was happy to head home in Dad's taxi...

Owen has spent the week at home, recovering and getting stronger every day. He was so proud of himself when he was finally able to bend over and pick up a toy today. He is one independent and determined little boy. Next up...back to Chemo on Monday and a Urology appointment on Tuesday. Hopefully this month we'll start to get back to just once a week visits to CHOP and focusing on some fun fall activities...

Monday is...

2011-09-19T22:17:00.004-04:00

Monday is...Bounding into a busy work week after a 36 mile bike ride and cheering/encouraging/
supporting NF runners along a half mile stretch of the Philly Half Marathon.

Monday is...International Talk Like a Pirate Day. What else to say, I looked like a pirate until the clock struck noon and I rushed out the door of my classroom

Monday is....CHOP day. Owen was incredibly sweet and sour today. Lovey and obstinate. One minute telling me he loved me the next yelling at me "Chee, Chee, Chee!" (not sure what it means but I know in Owen's world he is cursing me out) His doctors are still trying to find a dosage "sweet spot" varying the amount of chemo to give him the strongest dose he can handle without his blood counts dropping and spiking fevers. Latest MRI shows stable optic glioma (good!) but a scan of the spine shows an area of the spine tethered to the spinal column (bad!). Joe and I take Owen to the neurosurgeon on Wednesday to find out about next steps.

Monday is...rush Joey to soccer practice after picking him up from his after school program, running into Pina's for a couple slices of pizza, Joey gobbling it up in the car and Owen eating at a picnic table at the field.

Monday is...leaving the kids with Alex at the soccer field to rush to Owen's Back to School Night...Alex having to deal with an explosive mess while I was gone (sorry and thank you.)

Monday is...OVER...thank god.

2011-09-11T20:57:00.000-04:00

in two weeks

2011-09-04T06:46:00.005-04:00

In the past two weeks...
...I watched as Churchville Elementary transformed itself from a workzone to a bright-beautiful-brand-new-school ready for a new year...I unpacked boxes upon boxes filled with 13 years of teaching experiences...I realized waking up at 5:30 is not early enough to get my crazy crew ready in the morning...Joey spent fun-filled days with grandma, pop and puppies...I was the only one in my family to actually feel and acknowledge that we had an earthquake...we prepared for and Joe dealt with a surprisingly small amount of flooding from Hurricane Irene...Joey went fishing and kayaking with great-dad...we had our first "snow day" on the first day of school...Owen had two chemo treatments and one uber long MRI...after working off $210 of spring and summer chores to cover his last pair of broken glasses, Joey heartbreakingly found his latest pair puppy-chewed on the livingroom rug on the first day of school...I was dismayed and angered after reading #14 of the fine print on the insurance I bought when we purchased the glasses...Although Joey was miserable I still persuaded him to allow me to take a first day of school picture...Me-ma thankfully picked up the boys, entertained and fed them while I spent afternoons at PT...after weeks of therapy I finally went on a bike ride with my dad...I welcomed some wonderfully sweet sixth graders to a new year (they should stay sweet until at least December)...I gave birthday hugs to Alex...I created 4 bulletin boards (after teaching in a trailer for 5 years it was somewhat fun to do this again---I think my 6th grade teammates sometimes look at me funny)...I congratulated and shared a drink with Aimee after our first week back to school...I watched Owen delight in a Spiderman popicle, talked with some 11th graders that were once my students, and had to drag Joey away from the DJ after a fun Churchville back to school picnic...we finally had dinner with mom and dad at Cravings, a favorite summertime spot...I went to the teacher store 4 times...my students had "Mr. Mc" as their terrific-first-day teacher...I bought my last purchases at Borders :(...I used my Smartboard for the first time with some success...I drove an amazingly swank convertible...

I could probably fill a couple pages...it is been a crazy couple weeks.

Most importantly...
Both Owen and Joey enjoyed their first week of school and there are no complaints about having to go back in two days. Owen got through a hellish MRI day at Chop after waiting for 3 hours, he endured a four hour scan and came out smiling (we are still waiting for the results). Joey got a new pair of glasses and although the fine print clearly states pet damage is not covered I only had to pay $25 (I did not ask why). We are going to spend our last days of summer enjoying the pool (weather permitting) and gearing up for what will probably be another crazy couple weeks.

"last day" of summer

2011-08-22T21:42:00.005-04:00

Owen and I head back to school tomorrow so today
was our unofficial last day of summer. We spent the
morning at CHOP, had a visit with Grandma and Pop (& two adorable foster puppies) and went to the pool in the afternoon. We got home in the late evening, Joe ordered Pizza for the boys and I mowed the lawn!!! Two weeks after knee surgery and I am a half acre closer to 13.2 miles!

Owen had a good day at CHOP. His blood cell counts are strong and he had treatment without any issues. The nurses let him pick out a new pillowcase for himself and one to bring home for Joey. This woman, Cindy Kerr, comes into CHOP every few months with her sewing machine and sews pillowcases (with the kids help) to give out to all the patients. Owen loves his tractor pillowcase. Lovely how these small details we find so often at CHOP make sure an impact. Owen will always remember where that pillowcase came from.

We met Joey and Joe at the auto body shop after CHOP.
The window on my truck, after being rolled half way down was refusing to go back up. Owen was thrilled at getting the chance to ride "Dadda's taxi" to Grandma and Pop's to pick up the jeep.

Chloe was once this small and adorable too...after finding my favorite sandals shredded this morning I think the cuteness only lasts for so long.

end of summer tradition

2011-08-17T03:29:00.005-04:00

We made it to Eagles training camp. It was the last day, rainy and muddy, the only Kids Zone activities were a football toss and mini golf, practice was held on 2 out of 4 fields with everyone packed into the same muddy standing area and wet stands, I think I saw 2 plays before the boys wanted to wander around and find the kids zone, and Joe said he didn't see much more than that....but watching the boys dance around and laugh in the rain as they tried to play mini golf, running into Swoop! and keeping up the yearly tradition made it all worth it. We have gone every year since Joey was born and with the NFL "strike', Joe's crazy work schedule and me still hobbling around I didn't think we would get there this year....I am so glad we did.

one of those days

2011-08-15T23:30:00.003-04:00

It was a five hour day at CHOP.
Owen's counts were good, he was very patient and dealt with triage, port access, doctor exam and chemo treatment with humor and ease. He even helped to calm a one-year-old friend, showing this little boy how he had a port too. He told him, "It's just one pinch." Moments like these helped me to deal with the day that followed...Owen didn't want to leave CHOP after 5 hours, he still wanted to play and screamed at me loudly in a crowded waiting room to "LEAVE ME ALONE! DON'T TOUCH ME!" So we got over that hurdle by swooping him to the elevators only to deal with...
2 accidents including one poopy bathroom nightmare---Owen.
2 accidents-including poop in the basement---Chloe. A shredded front screen door---Chloe. A spilled cup of milk---Owen. One shattered Winnie the Pooh snowglobe---Owen. That last one hurt...this is the second of three snowglobes Owen has broken. Not that Winnie the Pooh goes with my decor anymore or that I would ever buy anything Winnie Pooh again...but in college I was really into the classic stuff. Joe bought me these three snowglobes and looking at them always made me think back to our dating days...so in love, carefree, light-hearted..a time when Winnie the Pooh was endearing. When it dropped from Owen's hands and shattered all over the livingroom rug and hardwood floor...I just had to sigh...Oh Bother. The last of the snowglobes is now carefully placed up high where I am pretty sure Owen will not be able to get it. Pretty sure....because I have been stunned by what the boy manages to get himself into.

on the brightside??

2011-08-07T20:08:00.003-04:00

This weekend last summer...my first triathalon.

This weekend...recovering from knee arthroscopy.

Hard to put into words how frustrating/depressing it has been not to have been able to run, bike and swim all summer. One up side...it was probably the most relaxing and quiet weekend I have had all summer. Lovely mom had the boys, wonderful mom-in-law had the puppy and I had vicodin... I am actually feeling better now that the surgery is done...hoping to start slowly training soon with the goal of walking the NF Philly Endurance Run and bike at least part of the MS 150 City to Shore. Tricky part is they are back to back weekends in September. Hopefully when I meet the surgeon for post-op we'll figure out a plan for physical therapy and get me where I need to be in time to at least cross the finish lines.

Well, the relaxing weekend is officially over...the boys are back...Owen is eating frozen waffles, trying to figure out how to make them himself and Joey's friend is pounding on the door to see if he can come out and play for the last 30 minutes of daylight. At least Joe is out picking up sushi for dinner and I have one more night before Chloe is jumping all over me...

so proud

2011-08-06T18:27:00.007-04:00

After much persuading, Joey agreed to go on his first upside-down roller coaster... HYDRA...one of my most favorite upside down thrill rides.

I knew he would love it... but secretly I was second guessing myself as I downplayed his fears while we waited in line. I LOVE amusement rides...I love that completely nervous excitement and exhilarating rush. But often with things that bring these feelings...I find myself scared and I really need to push myself the first time. Joey is like me in so many ways. If not pushed, he often backs down. The tricky part is figuring out how hard to push...this goes with most life lessons...not just amusement rides. I have taken Joey on rides before that have scared him...but afterwards he wants to go on them again and again. On the Pirate Ship at the Grange Fair last summer Joey screamed "We're going to die" in such a dire-high-pitched scream that people actually stopped to ask if he was okay after we got off the ride. Still...he asked to go on it again after his breathing returned to normal. So when we were at Dorney the other day I saw a perfect opportunity to indoctrinate him into my love of roller coasters...especially coasters that twist and turn you upside down...and gently push him to do something that he didn't think he could do. That is the best part actually---going through with it, afterwards being amazed that you did it. As we got onto the ride I grabbed his hand and told him how proud I was of him, told him to hold onto to the metal bars and warned the two young girls sitting next to him of potential loud screams to come. Best ride ever-hearing Joey scream in delight, loving every loop and terrifying drop.

Thrilled with his reaction I snapped this lovely photo...you can tell he was still getting over some of those loops. Looking at this pic---I know it won't be long until he is completely embarrassed to be doing these things with his mom. Gotta soak in every moment while he still lets me.

last two days

2011-08-05T11:57:00.002-04:00

Last two days of the boys' visit...I will miss them terribly. Wednesday- Ralph Stover Park...lunch on the cliffs, hike to creek...later some disc gold at Tinicum Park.

We hiked from the top of the cliffs down to the creek. Chris took Joey, Patrick and Finn down a more challenging route. Owen and I went down the gradually sloping, winding path. At one point, Owen yelled at me, "You need to carry me in the forest!" Holding hands the two of us made it down with minimal stumbling. Owen's reward for all that hard work--- throwing rocks in the creek and on the hike back looking for fallen trees and collecting rocks. Collecting rocks seemed like a good idea until half way up the trail---my hoodie was filled with them--- I ended up carrying Owen, the rock-filled sweatshirt and my camera.

Yesterday we went to Dorney. Missing mom and Joe...both were stuck at work. The boys loved Planet Snoopy and especially the Water Park. I was so proud of Joey for going on one of my favorite coasters with me...I'll post more about that later.

Great -Dad!...super good about going with the flow of the day...shame I couldn't get him to go on any coasters now that I am not a kid anymore and can ride them by myself - or with my own kids :)

So Chris and the boys are off to New York for a few days before heading back to Canada. As always whenever I see him my heart aches for him to be closer. He is one of the people in my life that I can be completely myself with...talking about everything and anything...completely effortless, wonderfully loving. Funny to think back to when we were kids...repeatedly locking him out of the house...running from him swinging some pain-inducing object when I finally opened the door. I thought I would never get rid of him...now I want him back.

the honeymoon is over

2011-08-03T09:35:00.002-04:00

We LOVE our local Borders...sadly everything is being liquidated so yesterday morning we went looking for some deals. Owen has been obsessed with Star Wars lately and he was thrilled to find a Star Wars sticker book at Borders. After leaving it on the coffee table last night we woke to find that Chloe also likes Star Wars books.

A little tape and everything is fine...Owen can't wait to show his cousins the bite marks.

When we first got Chloe she was an angel....calm, house trained (hah!), quiet and a good listener. Days passed and she had her first accident in the house...a week passed and she started barking...and just recently she is now tearing into stuff. "No, no Chloe!" Gets you puppy dog eyes and tucked ears but later today I know I will still find her gnawing on one of the boys action figures. I think the honeymoon is over...

the BOYS are here

2011-08-02T23:40:00.004-04:00

For weeks Owen has been telling Ms. Kathy at the pool that his cousins are coming from Canada. Patrick, Finn and Uncle Chris are finally here!!! Fun days at the pool...only two days left all together before everyone leaves to visit the "Trubenbach-Marsigliano-Bosworth crew" on Long Island. Whenever Chris and the boys are in town it is a flurry of fun and excitement...it just always goes by too quickly.

Patrick passed the band test!

Monday is CHOP day

2011-08-01T07:40:00.009-04:00

Owen had his chemo today and everything went smoothly. Last week his blood counts were too low so they withheld treatment. His ANC went from 340 to 2200 this week...a strong jump. His doctors decided to give him 80% of his normal dosage since he has been neutropenic (low white blood cell count-increased risk of infection) a number of times. If his levels stay high he will return to full dose next Monday.

Owen has been recieving chemo again since February. After a MRI showed growth of the same optic glioma (tumor) that he was treated for when he was about a year old. He goes to CHOP every Monday and it has become again part of our weekly routine.

Beyond Automatic

2011-07-31T21:43:00.007-04:00

It was a beautiful morning so the boys, Chloe and I headed out to Lake Galena. I love this peaceful spot...3 minutes from our house, a perfect 6 mile loop around the lake, nature center with frequent turtle and blue heron citings, a luxiously silent place on a 5am run...completely a different experience at 9am on a summer Sunday with two boys and a puppy. I took my camera along, hoping to get a chance to explore more than just the automatic settings. I have had my Nikon SLR for almost two years now and I LOVE it but I still haven't learned more than just the basics. I can change the lenses, navigate the menu, use the automatic settings and download pictures. But I feel like I should be able to do more. I was able to get a few decent shots but after 10 minutes of walking Owen was tired and wanted to be carried and Joey was struggling to keep curious Chloe out of the path of the numerous cyclists and runners.
A totally different experience with boys and dog---just like Rices yesterday morning---
fun but the focus certainly changes. So...this afternoon I took my camera to the pool and had my friend, Alex, give me some pointers and explain some features...apature (think I understand), ISO (still have no idea), and a number of things I can't even remember. After a minor bribe (promise of ice cream) Owen became a willing subject...Joey not so much. I have a lot of practice to do if I want to actually get this....hopefully minor bribes will continue to work for a while.

the mulching saga has ended

2011-07-31T07:33:00.009-04:00

Well, I slept until 6am this morning...awakened by the announcement that Chloe pooped in the sun room. As I stumbled out of bed I stepped on a half eaten strawberry sticking out of a torn plastic baggie. Chloe evidently had been into the bag we took to the pool yesterday and a trash bag in the kitchen...trash was strewn everywhere. Not that my 10 extra minutes of sleep would have prevented the trash... but I was cursing the extra sleep as I cleaned the sun room mess.

So yesterday I finally finished mulching...another decision of the summer that seemed like a good idea but left me cursing myself---ordering 8 yards of mulch. Ordered the end of June, I finally got to the end of the massive pile yesterday. Who takes a whole month to mulch half an acre of property? Last summer I was running 12 miles around the lake, biking 50 miles on a Sunday morning and completing my first triathlons. This summer I am celebrating tackling a pile of mulch and getting over my fourth bout of poison ivy. Pitiful.

5:50 AM

2011-07-30T06:49:00.003-04:00

Without fail Owen and the newest member of our family, Chloe, come bounding into my bedroom each morning at 5:50 am. This is how I start everyday...the three of us in the backyard, Chloe enjoying an early morning exploration, Owen with his "light saber" ready to fight Darth Vader and taunt the dog (see drum stick in left hand) and me trying to wipe the sleep from my eyes.

It always amazes me how quickly the summer passes. I have been wanting to blog again on a more regular basis. Get into a good rhythm of posting before the craziness of school begins. Over the next few weeks I'll play catch up...more pictures of the summer to come.

There we go, Dad, up an running again... Now if only I can remember how edit my settings properly...at least I was able to finally get rid of the Christmas background!

Count Down to Christmas...

2010-12-19T22:47:00.003-05:00

Stacked on the front seat of my car is a large pile of Christmas cards just waiting for me to get to the post office when it is open, not incredibly packed and I am without kids. Only 2-3 more gifts to pick up, baked and exchanged cookies this weekend and finally got a Christmas tree (it is actually very pretty considering there were slim pickings 7 days before Christmas). Owen is bubbling with excitement about Santa coming. Yesterday morning in between the gym, tree picking and Joey's basketball practice we stopped at home which is pretty uncharacteristic of my "running-all-around-town-day" but thankfully we stopped to pick up Joe because Santa came through our neighborhood on the firetruck. Owen was out of his mind with excitement...funny thing-Joey was jumping up and down too even after his many I-am-too-cool-for-this-and-I-know-the-deal-about-santa looks this holiday season. Tonight both boys helped to decorate the tree...well half of the tree is decorated with my hideous LED lights and the one bin of ornaments the boys put up before Owen fell asleep on the floor and Joey became bored and went back to playing bey-blades. While it lasted...it was so nice, Joey telling a story about each of his favorite ornaments and Owen carefully unwrapping each ornament from its package asking first if it is fragile and then commenting about one of its features. "This is a red crane." "Its door opens. Look." Busy, fiddling with the stupid lights, not hearing his comments he tells me "Look in my eyes" and repeats exactly what he just told me. He does this in the car and gets frustrated with me when I can't turn around and look in his eyes. He doesn't care that I need to keep my eyes on the road. He is a trip. I am restless tonight, gearing up for the big week ahead...hence my blogging on a school night and actually typing, not just posting pictures because I feel obligated to get something up here. 90 students demanding my attention in 9 1/2 hours should be enough to get me to go to bed...

FALL

2010-12-05T21:28:00.012-05:00

The first weekend in December and a flurry of activities...Owen's angel breakfast at St. Paul's Preschool, Joey's first basketball practice, Christmas shopping, painting the new sunroom, Christmas carols and Santa at the Chalfont Firehouse...I figure before I start posting winter pictures I better catch up on the fall. Some Updates---Joey likes 4th grade, had a fun but long football season and on the morning of his 10th birthday woke up with his first shiner (he ran into a tree when Trick-or-Treating)---Owen LOVES school, is a completely loveable stinker and is finally giving into the whole potty training thing (which I now need to take back after Joe interrupted this posting because Owen had peed on his side of the bed while watching a Barney video). Some Fall Moments--- Joey plays at the Linc., Eagles home opener, first day of school, cycling 175 miles, running 13.1, ongoing construction at Churchville, ongoing construction at home, costumes!, Girls in Lake Placid, Alex runs a marathon, first flight w/kids "t-shirt time", seeing the Gulf of Mexico, Houston & the Hutchins, Thanksgiving!!, Foot Spas...ahh-a new love...thanks Aunt Amy, Hello Newman...

Race for Owen 2010

2010-09-19T14:01:00.005-04:00

The Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon---NF Endurance Team---Race For Owen!!

Year 3...my Dad and I made it again 13.1 miles! So proud of my Dad, great to run the first 5 miles with him. Loved having Mom, Joey, Owen and Joe there to cheer us on! My Dad and I are so thankful to our wonderful family and friends...your donations were beyond generous and so appreciated. Thanks to my Churchville Elementary family for another excellent Dress Down Day this year!

Hard to believe...

2010-09-11T21:42:00.009-04:00

September 11, 2010...hard to believe nine years have past. I always think of my Aunt Amy and Uncle Frank on this date and the many friends, loved ones, they lost. The fact that I haven't blogged since May, my house is a mess, I have yet to mail long overdue baby gifts, I haven't read or graded my students first essay and at least 12 people passed me on my morning run...all of which seems very insignificant on this day. The blog is being posted (finally), my house will be straightened- probably not cleaned, I will eventually make calls and send presents, the papers will be graded (maybe not this weekend, but definitely this week) and they passed me...so what?? I did make it two times around the lake (12 miles!)---next Sunday I will not be fast, graceful or pretty but I am ready. So after a day of some reflecting, I am going to continue on not sweating the small stuff, try to be better about keeping in touch with friends and family (many whom I REALLY miss) and completely enjoy my boys, my new group of 32 sixth graders and the many moments that make up my busy days. It has been a wonderful summer and although I am amazed that we are already 11 days into September, I am thankful for the wonderful moments of our lazy summer days...Owen going down the slide by himself at the pool, Joey scootering down the street to go hang out at a friend's house, spending late nights (not worrying that it's a school night) talking with Joe and watching movies. Loving all the "Wow" moments...fantastic "Milestone" birthday blasts...days of fun with Findlay, Patrick and Chris... first Triathlon (998 women competing!)...demolition of our sunroom...visits to the zoo...crossing the finishline with my brother during my 2nd Triathlon (amazed that I didn't drown in that freezing bay)...waking to the sounds of Loons at the lovely Cowan cottage...cheering on Joey as he sang "Sweet Home Carolina" @Cove Karaoke...running alongside Owen in his first 25 meter race and screaming for Joey as he crossed the finishline in his first mile long race. So...although summer-to-fall is always a tough transition for me, I am excited about many more moments to come as Joey enters 4th grade, LV football season revs up, Owen is @ his most-favorite-school everyday, EAGLES games with Joe, gearing up for a half marathon next weekend followed by a 150 mile bike race in 2 weeks and all of the much-loved-fun-fall-holidays. Lots to look forward to...

Hard to Believe Sweet Pea is Three

2010-05-18T05:10:00.004-04:00

A flurry of three year old excitement over the marathon birthday weekend...Owen is of course awake this morning at 5am still talking about "Kids Castle, my firetruck has a big ladder, batman birthday cake, Chucky Cheese, sing Happy birthday with Henry at school, my spiderman bike -

I ride it..." I am still looking at pictures of my baby, wondering where the last 3 years have gone, knowing that like the few women I shared this with yesterday (that chuckled because their babies are 12, 16 or 21)...that the years will continue to fly by. Something to keep in perspective on the mornings I am late for work and dealing with a poopy diaper...

Early Mornings

2010-05-08T05:37:00.004-04:00

I was laying in bed this morning thinking about getting up for a quick bike ride before the boys woke up when I heard Owen chatting away in his bed.

"The big red fire truck. Patrick likes the firetruck. He sits in the green tractor..."

Owen has been talking about all different types of trucks since last weekend when we went to "Touch a Truck Day" at Castle Park. The funny thing is that he often is talking about Patrick or talking to Patrick...Patrick, Owen's cousin lives in Canada but by the way that Owen talks about him you would think that Patrick sleeps in Owen's bedroom everynight. Owen will be 3 in less than 2 weeks...he certainly is becoming a big boy...chatting away, having his own interests, expressing his thoughts and ideas. I just wish he would do it after the sun rises...

Spring Break!

2010-04-24T22:05:00.000-04:00

I am finally getting around to posting pictures of our Spring Break trip to Jay Peak, Vermont. It was wonderful to spend time together. Owen has been talking about Findlay and Patrick since we have returned home. Love spring skiing!! Thanks for the fantastic trip, mom and dad!

It has been a lovely spring...

2010-04-24T21:27:00.000-04:00

So surprised to look at the date on my last post...the weeks just fly by!
Just got back from our first trip to Cravings for the season...a small burger & ice cream place in Stockton, NJ. Met my mom and dad, biked along the canal...so great Joey is starting to like riding his bike. After the traumatic 6 miles scootering around Lake Galena last week, trying to keep up with Owen and I on my mountain bike...Joey is realizing it is much easier to bike than scooter. Finally getting the debris cleaned out of the back yard from the 3 trees that toppled over during our last big storm. Soccer season has started and after school/work everyday Owen asks to go "for walk 'round neighborhood?" A busy, but fun spring...

Think Spring

2010-02-28T20:17:00.000-05:00

I normally don't even start to think about spring until I am pushing slush in the sunshine at the bottom of one of my favorite runs at Killington...but the Phila. Flower Show has a way of getting you in the mood...

Procrastination

2010-02-20T21:16:00.000-05:00

I am off topic...should be working on my grad paper but instead I am playing around with my blog background. Easier to do than I thought, but definitely a way of procrastinating this dreaded report I have to put together. Thankfully Owen is now in love with Barney and Sesame Street and Joey had a Laser Tag party this evening so I did get some work done. Just gonna post a couple of pics and get back to work.

Valentine's Day Mugs (Sorry Mom and Dad, Mary and Joe...I am terribly late with valentines...)

Can't I get ONE good shot?!?!?!?

This is why I go to Picture People.

Digging Out

2010-02-12T19:43:00.000-05:00

Spent yesterday digging out...playing in the snow and goofing around.

Joey and I have been having a blast in the snow...Joe found us both on top of the truck throwing snowballs at the house,as long as the sunroof still opens we won't be in too much trouble.

Owen...our own little Calvin, always into mischief. He learned it is not too much fun when mom has to wash syrup out of his hair.

Great to spend some time catching up with Alex while the boys and Harvey played outside.

No School!

2010-02-10T19:00:00.000-05:00

An amazing amount of snow today. I kept thinking of my brother throughout the day...how we used to play for hours out in the snow. So glad Joey has his friend from down the street to play with. Owen much rather be inside with Daddy reading books and making messes. Joey and I spent hours outside today...but it's fun for him to have a friend...so not cool to be building snow forts with your mom. So I watched the two boys play...shoveled the drive way three different times(although looking out the window you would never know it) and missed my brother today. Definitely Vermont/Canada snow...wish I was closer..we would have had fun.

Snow Day!!!

2010-02-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

We love a snow day!!!! Joey and I spent hours out in the snow (Owen lasted about 20 minutes). We went sledding down the hill at the end of our street, Joey stayed to play at a friends house while I returned to shovel the driveway. Had about an hour to work on one of my grad papers as Owen fell asleep on the couch watching Sesame Street (so much like Uncle Chris).

Time out number three

2010-02-06T20:17:00.001-05:00

Here is stinker...sad, sad, monkey because mom and dad won't let him throw scissors in the toilet, climb the bookshelf, run out in the snow in his socks, hit his brother, pull all the toys off the shelf, toss his brother's Pokemon cards across the room, or fling his spoonful of cheerios. Right now he is shouting "Mama Nice" from his time out spot. Two minutes goes by quick...will have to post fun-snowday pictures later.

Happy New Year's Eve!

2009-12-31T21:59:00.000-05:00

After toying around with the idea of going to First Night Newtown...or going to see the fireworks downtown, it was Joey that decided he wanted to spend the entire day in his pjs not getting dressed to go anywhere and he did just that. We just put Owen to bed...going to make a coffee w/ Baileys and watch Harry Potter...lovely. Figured I would take a moment to post the Christmas pics meant to put up a week ago.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T15:59:00.000-05:00

Spent the day decorating the tree, cleaning, wrapping, food shopping and playing with the boys. Christmas Eve church service with the family, stopping to looking @ lights on the way home and opening "Christmas Eve Pjs." We were tracking Santa's progress throughout the day. Joey went to bed when Santa was in Mexico, only to wake up at 1am, 4am and 6am...just to "check on things."

2009-12-21T23:54:00.000-05:00

Nice weekend moments...Joey reading Christmas
stories to Owen, Owen's first Christmas play at
St. Paul's Preschool, SNOW!! baking cookies, shopping, cookie exchange w/ some fun ladies...a little kid-karaoke, writing Christmas cards, wrapping gifts and a 2 hour delay!! Starting to feel like Christmas!

It's Friday!! Finally!

2009-12-11T18:54:00.000-05:00

What a long week! My students have been geared up because of the holidays..all the teachers stressed, me included, about fitting in "all this work" before the break. My last class of my graduate course is on Wednesday...huge project needs to be submitted so I know instead of getting ready for the holidays, I will be spending one more weekend with my nose in my textbooks. The boys are excited for Christmas, Joey just completed this "wordle"...Owen is busy taking all of the ornaments and lights out of the boxes marked "Christmas." I am finding it hard to explain to my two year old that the decorations need to wait until I turn in my 16 page paper.

Oh! Really good news...Owen had his 3 month check in at CHOP. We met with his oncologist, went over the MRI results and met with the neuroopthalmologist. The tumors continue to be stable and Owen tested within the normal range of acuity for the first time. So life goes on, thankfully, and we visit CHOP again in another 3 months.

8 school days left until winter break...I so need a breather!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-28T13:52:00.001-05:00

My sick little monkey...

2009-11-16T15:13:00.000-05:00

After an exciting weekend...Joey had a great end to a long football season...Owen and I are home for the day. Hopefully it is just a cold...and that he will eventually go to sleep...report cards are still hanging over my head. Love the camera, Joe!

Last Practice!!

2009-11-11T20:34:00.000-05:00

40 Practices =
70 hours of practice time...
That's a lot of football!
Looking forward to Saturday's big game...

A Very Busy Weekend...Happy 9th Birthday JOEY!!

2009-11-05T09:44:00.000-05:00

2009-10-28T09:03:00.000-04:00

Go Phillies!!

LOVE my two boys...but today was TRYING...

2009-10-05T19:49:00.000-04:00

Sloth from Goonies...
Owen woke up today with a severely swollen ear...doctor put him on antibiotics for either a skin infection or an ear infection which has inflammed the cartilige behind his ear. Stayed home with him today, Joe will take him back to doctors again tomorrow for follow up. So far no change, but Owen is pleasant and playful as usual. Since I was home with Owen, I called Joey's school to tell them Joey should take the bus home. I walked Owen in the stroller to the bus stop this afternoon and no Joey. He never got off the bus...so I hurried home and drove to his school hoping that his teacher just didn't tell him to get on the bus. He wasn't at his after school program either. A few (panic-filled) minutes later the bus driver called the school letting the secretary know that he had Joey with him. The bus pulled up at the school, Owen and I pacing outside, Joey smiling and waving out the window. The sweet bus driver joked that Joey just wanted to keep him company. Turns out that when we were standing at his stop Joey was busy looking at Pokemon cards and had his head lowered behind the seat. The bus driver, not used to me being at the stop or Joey going home on the bus, didn't realize that I was waiting for Joey and drove away before I could even think to ask him where Joey was. Still wound up after a crazy day, we relaxed at home for an hour before Joey had football practice. As I was making dinner, I heard Joey reading The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Owen singing along. Makes you forget the craziness of the day...at least for the few minutes before you rush out the door for football.

I almost forgot to add...this weekend was AMAZING!! I will post pictures as soon as I get them.

2009-10-01T18:54:00.000-04:00

Only 35 hours until I embark on a 150 mile bike ride....yikes!! Talking with my neighbor tonight while Joey was practicing riding his bike up and down the street...turns out my neighbor has MS and he was very thankful that I am participating this weekend. Talking with him helped put my nervous worrying into perspective. I am so glad I am doing this.

Joey...future City to Shore rider---}

2009-09-20T16:39:00.000-04:00

What a weekend! Yesterday we picked up Dad
and my race numbers at the Phila. Convention
Center and then headed to Finnegan's Wake for the NF Endurance Team pasta dinner. This morning started early with an arrival time at the NF tent in Eakins Oval at 6:30. After getting a few pictures with the team and trying to settle a nervous stomach, we stretched a bit and met our fellow NFET runners in corral 10. We all started the race together this year so that footage from the race can be used in a Children's Tumor Foundation commercial to promote NF awareness. Pretty cool! Dad and I ran just about the first 3 miles together and then seperated. It was a tough run...I found myself thinking of Owen, all of the support everyone has given all of us, how Karen Oxman always says it is "all in your head"...it is, but I wish I could tell my feet that now, and all my girlfriends positive texts over the past few nerve-wracking days as I geared myself up for this day. I am proud to say I ran 13.1 miles today in a race with 17,000. I am relieved to say I can check it off my calendar. Next year my dad and I hope to have a team together suppporting NF and running for Owen...anyone up for training??? I'll check in with you after the holidays...for now I have to focus on my city to shore MS Bike ride...150 miles here I come. Hope that blood blister heals by then, but at least I still have all my toenails...for now!

What's a Sunday without LV Football?? With my race number still on I sped up to Pennridge to watch Joey play in a fierce battle. They played a tough game but in the end had their first loss 14-12. Joey still runs off the field with a smile on his face.

Big Day Out...Big LV Game...

2009-09-13T19:54:00.000-04:00

Candy Gram...Aim and I had a blast on our Big Day Out...25 mile bike ride, hike and 12 miles of whitewater rafting...I am so thankful that Aimee still wanted to go, that she humored the sumo wrestler in me and swam in the freezing Leigh..can't wait to go again...funny that this is the only picture I took or our amazing adventure...

Joey had his second game of the season. They had a great game outscoring Quakertown 20-6. Joey played his usual position on offensive line and then had a chance to also play on defense. He had two big tackles and was psyched to hear his name announced on the loud speaker. I love how muddy my #86 gets...Owen, up to no good as usual, loves cheering "touchdown," calling out for "Jo-Jo" and walking around and around and around...curious about everything and everybody at the game.

the weekend cannot be over!!!

2009-09-07T19:26:00.000-04:00

It is shocking that I am sitting here at the computer working on a graduate paper about my philosophy on phonics and trying to work out a seating chart for my sixth graders...where did the long weekend go?? Friday, with the boys in school, I finally got a chance to run around the lake...only 14 days left to train...yikes, later I met up with Dana and Aimee for lunch and in the evening the boys and I caught up with Alex and her boys at First Night Doylestown. On Saturday we left early for Joey's football game against Conestoga and we basically spent the whole day in Wayne, Pa. It was a nail-biter of a game and LV Blue rallied back for a 28-25 win. Joey was pumped and thrilled to spend the evening relaxing with his buddies at the pool. Sunday, after spending time in the gym we went to the pool until the Oxman's picnic for the MS City to Shore Ride. Joey spent the night at Aimee and Dave's and became an official member of "Uncle Dave's bike riding school." So today I was able to get in another 10 mile run, food shop at Wegmans (never go on a holiday---it was crazy!) and get caught up on school work. Chapters and chapters of phonics...blahh... A lovely weekend but so hard to believe we won't be back to the pool until May...

Back to School!!

2009-09-04T21:10:00.001-04:00

We made it through our first week back to school...with only a couple missteps. Both Joey and Owen had a great week. Joey is excited about all the new things he will be learning in 3rd grade and Owen loves day care, "Mama, me school!" Hard to believe that the summer is over as we plan to spend as much time as we can at the pool this weekend.
Love these pictures...Owen brushing his teeth while Joey is reading in the bathroom, Joey so excited about the backpack his mother hates, a shot of all my guys in the doorway as I am laying sprawled out in the bushes having tripped backwards trying to get a good shot..Joe and Joey mystified by my clumsiness while Owen wants to join me...

2009-09-04T21:03:00.000-04:00

Although we spent a couple chilly rainy days in Westport we we still able to get a little boating time in. Owen loved blowing the horn on Great-Dad's boat...over and over again. Joey and I had a blast on the tube together....although it took me a couple days to recover from my dad's wild driving and tendency to send us flying...Nothing better that Mary's breakfast and time spent with the cousins!

Certainly a Cowan Event

2009-09-04T07:45:00.000-04:00

Jeff and Kelly were married last weekend and we were lucky enough to travel to Westport, Ontario for the momentous occasion. Definitely a Cowan bash...the ceremony was beautifully meaningful and the reception was a blast. So thankful that my family happened upon the Cove so many years ago and that we were enveloped into this loving and amazing family. So many special moments with the Cowans...

The American Psycho

2009-08-28T04:42:00.001-04:00

I am so trying to leave this morning to drive up to Canada for Jeff and Kelly's wedding, but I had to take time to post after our exciting night at football practice. After Joey was laid out by a crushing tackle, with some encouragement from his coaches Joey popped back up and the switch was flipped. If you have ever watched Joey play sports, he is the most laid back easy going kid fairly non-agressive, until he is knocked down or beat by another kid...then watch out. The switch was flipped...he made a number of impressive tackles. Last night Joey was dubbed the "American Psycho" by his coaches as he was asked to lead the end of the night All-hands-in-"Go-Indians" chant. As we were leaving, after each of the coaches came over to comment on Joey's stellar and surprising performance, I made the comment to Joe that Joey was no longer anonymous on the team. "Big ears" aka Joey..."What's anonymous?" The coaches are watching you now kid. They have seen what you can do...it is on.

2009-08-24T23:33:00.000-04:00

So after screwing up my chance at visiting my brother in Canada (because of an expired passport)...I at least was lucky enough to spend the day with my aunts, cousins, mom and boys @ Sesame Place. Hoping to be able to cross the border this weekend for Jeff and Kelly's wedding. In other big news...Owen went "pee-pee on the potty!" Carrying the potty, he walked into the living room, put the potty down on the floor and told Joe he had to go pee pee. Sure enough...he did. The following day he peed right on the carpet...maybe not quite so ready.

So tomorrow is my first day back to school...want to throw a tantrum, kicking and screaming that I am not ready to go...certainly understand how my students must feel!

Yes...this boy had surgery today

2009-08-17T21:36:00.000-04:00

Three hours after surgery and this little monkey is running around at Joey's football practice. It was a long day at the hospital but surgery went well and Owen, as usual, was an angel. Hopefully he will have a nice little break from CHOP, with his next MRI not scheduled until November. It will be nice to have life get a little closer back to "normal."

Bye Bye Port

2009-08-17T10:01:00.001-04:00

If you ask Owen where we are going today, he'll tell you "CHOP." The boy...like his mother...

loves a "plan" so every night we talk about what we are going to do the next day. Today is the day Owen's port will be removed. So as we are getting ready to leave, I find him sitting in his chair reading a Spiderman comic book, chanting bye, bye port.

Such a nice way to spend the day...

2009-08-10T21:27:00.000-04:00

Enjoying summer days...

2009-08-10T11:08:00.000-04:00

First week of football conditioning...Joey finished strongly. Tonight in 97 degree heat and full pads I am hoping he keeps up that determination he struggled to find the first week. Spending time @ the pool...the only kid I know that eats sushi for lunch instead of a snack bar hot dog...flick and float, a great night of floating on rafts while watching Bolt. Eagles training camp...our ninth year taking Joey, he waited in line 45 minutes to get those balloon hats for he and Owen. Leaving in a few minutes to relax by the pool at Aimee's, since I really don't get to swim at our pool unless you count sitting in the baby pool, I am really looking forward to jumping in the cool water on this hot day!

It has begun

2009-08-04T17:14:00.000-04:00

With the start of football the clock has begun to click down the minutes of summer. Both Joey and I find the start to the football season a little shocking!

Owen's MRI results show that the tumors have remained stable. I am waiting for a call back to schedule the removal of his port. All very exciting but nerve-wracking at the same time.

Almost have all the fundraising info. sent out for NF run and MS ride...I really have a hard time with that aspect of participating in these events...I much rather train than raise money. It has been hanging over my head though so I am glad to have everything basically set up.

Got to get the boys ready for practice...funny thing is that Owen is the one that wants to be on the field..

Successful MRI

2009-08-03T05:34:00.000-04:00

I'm counting down the hours until I can call for Owen's MRI results...

Owen was amazing as usual, taking everything in stride. This was his second time having an MRI w/ general anesthesia and everything went smoothly except that he needed a

breathing tube since he had labored breathing. When I was brought

back to sit with him in recovery he still had the tube inserted, in which the nurse told me he would cough out when started to wake up. He did and as I was unwrapping the tubes from around his ears to help to remove the tube he groggily says, "Done Mama." He then holds up his arm with the IV and says "Off." Shortly after he is sitting up on the stretcher eating graham crackers with a sippy cup of milk blowing the nurse kisses and saying "Bye Bye." Listening to the many other kids being tested that day, the crying and complaining... I think I would be a wreck going through all of this...but Owen is just his normal self on these days. He doesn't really cry or fuss, he plays during the 2 1/2 hr. wait before the test giggling and flirting with the nurses and wakes up ready to roll...leaving me no time to even be weepy. He is amazing...

Mama, Train!

2009-07-30T21:51:00.000-04:00

Today Owen had his first train ride. Owen loves trains, cars, trucks, busses, airplanes...anything that moves and he was thrilled to take Joey to his Comic book writing class @ the Michner Art Museum today. Joey thought it would have been more fun if we didn't have to run to catch the train this morning to make it to his class on time. Tomorrow Owen has the MRI that should determine whether or not he will be able to have his port removed. Going to general anesthesia is always a hard day, but Owen does amazingly well. The hardest part with him is keeping the hungry boy distracted. We should have the results early next week...I'll keep you posted.

"No Nos"

2009-07-23T17:58:00.000-04:00

My little monkey...with Joey's rainboots on, watering can in hand, turning the water on full force during a rain storm...all while repeating "No Nos"

Two days ago I told him we only put the water on when we are going to water the flowers with the watering can, so both yesterday and today he has found the watering can and turned the water on, both times while I was busy doing something, moments later finding him outside the library door playing in the water. Today I started locking the door.

In other news...Joey got his first stitch at an ER last night and still does not want to come home from Aunt Amy's.

I think he could live there forever!

I mailed my graduate paper today!! Finally done...summer can officially begin...4 weeks left!

Bright Idea

2009-07-22T12:24:00.000-04:00

In an effort to keep Owen busy while I am on page 16 of my 10 page graduate paper due in the mail by tomorrow at noon, I decided it would be fun for Owen to "finger paint" with chocolate pudding. Oh...he had fun but after chucking his spoon at my computer screen we called it quits and he screamed as he was put into his second bath of the morning. Fun times are over...he's down for a nap and I am determined to finish this paper!

Recent Pics...

2009-07-20T15:59:00.001-04:00

Grandma and Grandpa's 60th
Anniversary...didn't post my favorite shot of the two of them...thought Grandma might not love it but it caught her in a hysterical laugh, grandpa still standing very much the same as in this photo

My best photo of the wedding was of the bride, (my second cousin), Linda and my cousin, Liam, breakin' a move on the dance floor

My funny boys....

Happy Birthday Great Dad!

Such a great fourth of July...so exciting to see "Uncle" Dave ontop of the fire truck and watch the parade with the Porco family and Uncle Chris!

Football camp super successful...can't believe the season starts in 2 weeks!

Summer is flying...

2009-07-19T07:31:00.000-04:00

Sitting in a silent hotel room in Connecticut, the boys still sleeping after a wild wedding reception, I finally have some free time to catch up. It is amazing how fast the summer has gone! Joey and I were both groaning after we saw our first Back to School commercial yesterday! August 25th is coming way too quickly. It is hard to believe I was still in school when I last posted. Since then we have been busy... went to the shore for a few days visiting Grandma and Pop, ended a great soccer season, swimming at the pool almost everyday, spending time with Uncle Chris...never enough!, Wizard World, cleaning the house, Joey in football camp, super fun Fourth of July thanks to the Porco family, completed a graduate course in one hellish but enlightening week, painted (still needing to finish) the basement, rode my first 40 mile bike ride with Team Ox...getting ready for the MS city to shore, also trying to fit in running to train for the NF half marathon, celebrating my Grandparents 60th wedding Anniversary and attending my second cousin, Linda's beautiful wedding. I think that is about it! My 10 page paper for my graduate class needs to be mailed to my professor by Wednesday, so I am looking forward to turning it in so that I can start to really relax!
Well Owen is up, holding his Bear Bear in one arm, banging his sippy cup with the other against the side of the pack and play demanding, "Juice, MaMa!" so I better go. Will post more recent pictures soon...really

2 Days Left!!!

2009-06-15T21:37:00.000-04:00

Joey and I are sooo excited!! There are only 2 days of school left! It is unbelievable that we are already in the middle of June...where did the school year go?? Realized the other day I didn't even post Owen's birthday. Sweet pea is two! He will gladly tell you if you ask him how old he is. Life has been super busy as usual...soccer, spring fairs, Me- Ma's birthday, taking the boys to the pool on the weekends, spending hours on grad papers, 6th grade events...Dorney in the rain, the dance, yearbooks and picnics, trying to keep up with my grading/lesson plans etc. (last night to finish report cards...better focus on getting them done), saw our first bike race, Owen and I participated in Churchville Elementary's Fun Run (the money was donated to the Children's Tumor Foundation, that check plus one more...thanks Timm...got fundraising started for the next half-marathon in September) and this weekend I leave the boys behind to go on a girls excursion in Jim Thorpe. Hiking...biking...whitewater rafting should be fun. Great way to gear up for a summer of training...half marathon in September, 70 mile bike race in October...yikes!

"Pool"

2009-05-28T22:48:00.000-04:00

Normally my little monkey wakes up shouting from his crib "Mamma" or "Dadda," this morning it was "Pool." The pool opened this past Saturday and we spent hours each day over the long weekend out in the sunshine. For three days now he has repeatedly been asking to "Go Pool!" Too bad it is only open on weekends until school lets out. This morning Joey and I got a kick out of watching Owen roaming around the house with Joey's goggles on...

On Friday. Joey and I took Owen to get his port accessed, flushed and an hour IV of Pentam. This was our first time back at CHOP since Owen has started to walk and he was just so pleased to be able to lead me around to all of his favorite things. We visited the fish tank, the statue of the runner, played video games with Joey, looked at the painting of the beach ball and blew kisses to the nurses. Joey was excited to go to Au-Bon-Pain for chicken noodle soup after Owen was finished....

Joey sharing with Joe his published book about Rocks at his school during "Breakfast with

Books."

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T21:28:00.000-04:00

What a wonderful Mother's Day! A beautiful "I picked this out, Mom!" necklace, lovely cards and a homemade school project. My parents and in-laws' unnecessary but very appreciated gifts. A fun day spent with my mom, dad, nana and the kids at Castle Park.

It has been a busy few weeks...again I cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted. I WILL get better at this over the summer. Owen's MRI came back and showed that the tumors have remained stable. Owen will need to go to CHOP in the next couple weeks for some port-related meds and a check in with the neuro-oncologist and neuro-ophthalmologist but the chemo continues to be on hold...hopefully permanently! He started to take more steps about two weeks ago and now he is walking all over the place. We were leaving the gym this morning, my hands full and he walks right next to me to the doors. It is pretty unbelievable...he is finally eating and now walking!

So the weeks have gone by quickly...Dad did an amazing job trimming back all the trees in the front of our house...I ran the rainy Broad Street run with Alex and Jeff...soccer practices, soccer games...started the first course of my 2 1/2 year graduate program and I am feeling just a little overwhelmed with all the work that is due over the next eight weeks (I'm sure I'll rant more about that in another blog post) and Joey and I are counting down the days until summer break...27!!!!

Spring Skiing @ Killington

2009-04-20T19:55:00.001-04:00

My favorite time to ski~spring break~warm sun on my face~light weight ski gear~nice soft snow...great times with family and friends. This year my friend, Alex and her two boys, Kaz and Izzy went up with us and we met my mom and dad for a quick weekend trip.

First Game of Season

2009-04-20T19:46:00.000-04:00

First game of the season and Joey is a superstar!!! Incredibly exciting to see him bolt down the field, challenge the opposing players and tend goal...especially since it has never just "clicked" for Joey. It usually takes him weeks...it is going to be a fun season!

Successful MRI

2009-04-20T19:25:00.000-04:00

5:30 am Friday morning, I am in the bathroom getting ready for our long day at CHOP when I hear this giggling coming from Owen's room...silly silly boys!

So general anethesia was no fun... but Owen did great and the MRI was successful. We should have the results in a few days...

In the evening we met my mom in Doylestown to enjoy the beautiful weather and have dinner outside...so cool to watch Owen completely loving Joey's mozzerela sticks such a switch for him!

"Failed Sedation"

2009-04-16T21:45:00.000-04:00

"Failed Sedation" that is how it is stated on the hospital forms. All drugged up for nothing, Owen had an MRI last Monday and they were unable to get the images. Labored breathing, elevated heart rate and a little boy that wouldn't stay still... After three attempts to get the image they called it quits and brought him back to recovery. So tomorrow we are off to CHOP again this week (Tuesday's visit was for a pentam and a flush) to visit general anesthesia for a second attempt. There they will be able to give Owen a different combination of drugs and instead of inserting tubes in his nostrils to help with breathing, they will be able to insert a breathing tube. If the MRI results show that the tumors have remained stable, Owen will be able to continue his stretch of no chemo!! The difference in him just over the past few weeks has been amazing...eating, constantly on the go, chatty and silly...

In other news...we were able to finally get a few days of skiing in over Spring Break...the first time Owen has been further than 2 hours away in a year. I'm working on a new computer so once I figure out how to upload my pictures I will post some from the trip. Hope everyone had a nice holiday!

...after an hour of playing around I figured out the photo gallery on my laptop...will add skiing pics tomorrow...I am soooo sleepy!

Where did Spring go???

2009-03-25T15:54:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday we took the boys to Castle Park...what a beautiful afternoon. Sitting in my chilly trailer ("learning cottage"),

I could really use another warm spring day!

Stopped...

2009-03-10T08:31:00.001-04:00

So the big news is that Owen has stopped chemo treatments. His team of doctors met and decided that the risk of his increased reactions to the carboplatin outweigh the benefits of him continuing the treatment. His MRI results have shown that the chemo made the greatest difference during the induction phase of treatment, causing the tumors to slightly shrink. Since he has started the maintenance phase of treatment, which he received 6 out of the 9 rounds, the tumors have remained stable. As long as the tumors continue to remain stable and Owen's visits with the neuro-ophthalmologist go well then Owen won't need further chemo treatments. His next MRI is scheduled for April 6th and he'll have a follow up appointment on April 13th to go over the results, flush his port and give him pentamamine (to ward off pneumonia.) If the MRI shows that the tumors are stable then Owen will just need to go to CHOP once a month for a check up and the pentamamine. He will continue to get MRIs every 3 months and his port will stay in until the doctors determine that he is completely out of the woods. So we are all cautiously optimistic!

MINE!!

2009-03-06T16:04:00.000-05:00

No...Owen has yet to learn the word "mine" but he definitely sees anything that Joey is eating or playing with as needing to be in his possession. Owen was given cheerios for breakfast yesterday and completely refused to eat them...but would gladly eat Joey's cheerios and then scream "No!" when Joey would try to take a bite. You can see his expression last night when Joey wouldn't share his Pokemon cards...Joey gives in very easily...Owen's pleased as can be!

2009-03-05T08:11:00.000-05:00

Love these pictures...

On our way home from the gym on Saturday, after my mon had given the boys hershey kisses for the car ride home...this is what I was watching in my rear view mirror. Joey does not have a hoodie on he is "Cornholio" (if anyone out there admits to having ever watched Bevis and Butthead) and Owen was happily letting the kiss melt in his hand and trying to lick all the chocolate up.

On Sunday we went skiing at Camelback. It is amazing that Joey jumps right back into the sport even though he hasn't been on skiis since last season. By mid-day he was a bit of a jelly-legged mess.

Monday was a snow day so Joey got to go with us to CHOP. The roads were covered on the way down, traffic moving slowly so it took about 2 hours to get into the city. Owen made it 3/4 the way through treatment before he broke out in hives again. Treatment was stopped and Owen's vital signs were monitored for about at hour. You can tell how much Joey loves his brother because he is always sitting as close to him as he can get. In the car, Joey sits in the middle seat...at the hospital he will sit on the side of the chair until Owen pushes him out of his space :) Joey is so good with his little brother...even feeding him ice cream after his treatment to help him "feel better." I was actually really glad for the snow day...a selfish part of me feels like taking Joey out of school each Monday to go with us because he always lightens the mood of the day.

Shower Time

2009-03-01T19:52:00.000-05:00

Silly Boys...both ended up in the shower together

Gearing up for a big day tomorrow. Should be

interesting with the pending snow storm.

A fun weekend...went too quick...finally got skiing with Joey, Me-Ma and Great-Dad (my mom and dad). Conditions were cruddy...what can you expect from the poconos but the company was wonderful...will post pictures tomorrow.

ROCK STARS

2009-02-25T09:47:00.000-05:00

while I have a million and one other things I should definitely be doing right now this post is for you Michele B!

Recently my sweet little boys have morphed into ROCK STARS! How we love rock band! The biggest problem now is taking turns on favorite instruments...joey and I both love the guitar so we take turns one of us singing one of us jamming while Owen backs us up on the drums.

Fun Times!

Update on Owen... He has had "off" from chemo treatments for the past two weeks. We were at CHOP last Monday but Owen just needed his dose of antiobiotic to ward off pneumonia. Next week we are back "on" and he will get his normal chemo doses. During the last few treatments

Owen has had reactions to the carboplatin and they have gotten progressively worse. The team of doctors met and decided that with this next treatment, Owen will be given four pre-medications to help ward off any reaction. They briefly went over the "what ifs" depending on how he responds next week but I will think about that after we see how he reacts. I promise (Michele) that I will be better about my updates!!

Last week since Joey had off for President's Day, Joey and Joe went with Owen and I down to CHOP. Owen was so excited to have them both there. Joey was thrilled that he would get to play the video games and have soup (we usually take him to AuBon Pain at the hospital...he loves their soup...funny kid). I love this shot of the two of them together. If Owen would let him, I am sure Joey would be right in that chair with him. Owen on the other hand loves to have his own space!

Monday = CHOP day

2009-01-26T21:19:00.000-05:00

Our little man decided to wake up at 4:30 this morning and was on the go all day long. All went well at CHOP. His blood counts were good, even though he has been fighting this wicked cold. He zonked out about 30 minutes into treatment (after getting Zofran and Vincristine) but woke up extremely aggitated when the Carboplatin started. The nurses immediately stopped the drug, gave him some Benadryl and he settled right back to sleep. After checking his vitals they started the Carbo again but instead of administering it over 1 hour they slowed it down to 90 minutes. This was the third time Owen had this type of reaction...completely uncomfortable, aggitated and difficult to soothe. So I am sure that they will slow down the rate in which he recieves his chemo and continue to give him benadryl with each treatment. So other than that, things went smoothly.

He loves to show his belly button :)

January Pictures

2009-01-24T20:08:00.000-05:00

A quick week

2009-01-23T19:41:00.000-05:00

Boy did that week just fly by! I am sooo glad it is Friday night. I just put Owen to bed, checked in on facebook (which after much persuasion from some friends and my brother I have decided against better judgment to try it out) and I am getting ready for a long session of Rock Band with Joey. Joey is really good on vocals and I am having a hard time deciding which I like better the drums or guitar. We really need a third member of our band but Owen stinks :) and Joe has still not succumb to Joey and my pleadings to join us. We need to get better to duel the Porco family now that they are also addicted. Personally I would like to get better at the guitar because I know my buddy Alex sometimes needs a fill in and her band rocks! blogging...facebook and rock band I am starting to feel uber-geeky and need to get out of the house more!

On Monday I took the boys to the high school for the MLK community service project. Such a great experience especially for Joey. He gets involved right away and just starts working alongside the sixth graders. So nice that when we leave the first thing he asks me is if we'll do it again next year.

Tuesday Owen had chemo and we got the test results back from the MRI. Chemo went as usual although Owen is now receiving a slightly higher dosage of Carboplatin since he has maintained the necessary weight for the past few weeks. We were warned that he might be more nauseous this week but other than an awful cold, he has reacted as he normally does. The MRI results showed that the tumors remained stable. The doctors view this as positive which can be somewhat frustrating and hard to understand because by now one would hope the tumors would start to shrink. I was told since optic gliomas are slow growing tumors they expect them to also slowly shrink. Owen goes back for his next treatment on Monday. I am really hoping he shakes this cold so that we don't end up in a three night stay at CHOP. So we are planning to lay low this weekend and get through it.
Happy Weekend... Oh, I am still having technical problems so still no new pictures. I must say seeing the boys faces up on this page is my favorite part of blogging so I am hoping my wonderfully tech-savvy husband will fix the problem soon...that is not sarcasm Joe.

Computer issues

2009-01-18T16:28:00.000-05:00

We have been having some major computer issues which is why I haven't blogged recently. At the moment I am surprisingly able to get on the web but not able to access any pictures, so I will give everyone a quick update before I start to have issues again.

Owen has had two weeks off from chemo. He is really moving around...yesterday he skooched on his butt from the sunroom to Joey's room (which is up three steps and across the length of our house.) It is pretty interesting because he is just starting to try some crawling along with his skooching and cruising. The cool thing is that he is independently getting where he wants to go which completely pleases him. He definitely gets stronger on the weeks he has off. His next round of chemo starts Tuesday. We will also get back the MRI results from last week's scan. It ends up being a very long week when you have to wait for such results.

Everything else has pretty much been the same...playing outside in the very little bit of snow we have (I'll post pics when I can)...watching the Eagles bomb...looking forward to MLK day and a few hours of community service with the boys at the high school. Happy weekend!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-30T21:33:00.000-05:00

We had a nice time Christmas Eve sitting in church with my family, a tradition that I have had since childhood...After we returned home we all opened up our Christmas Eve PJs, a tradition Joe and I started the first Christmas we were married...Christmas morning after the kids opened presents from Santa, Joe's parents and my parents along with my Nana came over for brunch and another extremely large round of gift giving began, a tradition that started just two years ago after we finally moved into a house.

Since Christmas day we have pretty much laid low. Owen has had a nasty cold so we have stayed home and rested. Days spent playing Wii, reading Tale of Desperaux with Joey, finishing Twilight which my 6th grade girls insisted I read (it was good), knitting, playing Thomas, riding bikes (I don't think what Joey is doing is even close to being called riding, but at least he is trying...thanks Dad). Saturday night I did get to go to a rocking concert with my friend Alex. We saw the Robert Randolph Family band at the Electric Factory and it was pretty amazing. Joe also got to go watch the Eagles crush Dallas on Sunday so we both got a chance to "get out." Hopefully we'll get a chance to "get out" together soon. Last night we had a fun visit with Rick, Becky and the kids; Erin, Bryan and Alannah, playing games at Dave and Busters and catching up. So nice to spend time with them...always wishing we lived closer.

Pics from the last two weeks

2008-12-18T23:27:00.000-05:00

Owen's treatment went well Monday...definitely not home by dinner...best part of the whole day was Owen's "growl off" with his buddy Kevin. Kevin gets treatments most Mondays. He is 5 and loves Sponge Bob. He usually sits across from us in the Day Hospital. He has always pretty much ignored Owen until last week when he found out Owen can growl...a low, loud gutteral growl...and here started the growling contest that has been held while both boys are hooked up to their IVs getting chemo treatment. It is funny to watch how people in the Oncology unit react to these two funny little boys. Mostly everyone- nurses, parents,patients - get a kick out of them. I think they lighten things up.

Pictures from the last couple weeks...

A Brief Update

2008-12-14T21:03:00.000-05:00

Boy I am really behind... I will try and post some pictures in the next few days. Owen had chemo last week and everything went well. After waiting for nearly 2 hours to see the opthalmologist, Owen did very well and was finally "cooperative" and completed all of the vision tests. Everything looks good and Dr. Lui doesn't need to see us until June!! Woohoo!!

The past week was somewhat overwhelming...booked schedules and Owen was up sick three nights in a row. All of us very sleep deprived just trying to get through the week...spending this weekend just catching up.

Tomorrow Owen has physical therapy at 8am and we need to be at CHOP by 10:30. He just has to see the neuoroncologist and get his chemo treatment tomorrow so hopefully we'll be out of there before dinner :)

Today Joey danced around gleefully stating there are ten days left until Christmas. Joe and I just looked at eachother...guess we need to get on the ball.

Happy Thanksgiving....oh wait that was last week!

2008-12-05T21:33:00.000-05:00

Wow...it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving was over a week ago!

Thanksgiving was a jam-packed day:

8:30 am Turkey Trot Race

Joey ran his second race, Owen rode in his first...me pushing him along trying to catch up. Joey and I talked about pacing and running together...Joey "yes yes'd" me until we heard the gun go off and then shouted to me that he would be just "a little bit" ahead. Joey ran this second race, much like his first: sprintsprintsprint ....completely stop (catching his breath until another boy his age would pass him)...sprintsprintsprint...completely stop and so on. Owen and I ran at a steady pace, but Joey still managed to beat us by 15 seconds! At one point I could see Joey sprawled out in the grass panting on the side of the course, but he got up a few seconds later and started to sprint again. Funny funny kid...

1pm McQuillan's House for Thanksgiving Dinner

The boys and I met Joe and his parents house after he got done his football game with the guys and we got cleaned up after our race. Spent a couple hours eating Eileen and Mary's yummy food and sitting around talking. A very nice afternoon...

5pm Trip to Long Island, NY to visit "Trubenbach clan"

I decided to take the boys up to Port Washington to spend a few days with my parents, brother and his family and my mom's family. It was so nice for Joey to spend time with all of his cousins and for everyone to see Owen...it has been awhile. Spent Thursday night, Friday and much of Saturday EATING, watching movies, playing with Owen (Joey basically disappeared for two days completely attached to the hip to Aiden) and kitting...yes thank you Alex for my inspiration to start knitting again. I left New York stuffed, feeling loved and cared for, needing much exercise, proud of completing a hat for Joey for X'Mas and totally craving more of my Aunt Amy's Butternut Squash Soup!

So this week...I got to the gym 6 days to work off all that Turkey-day (weekend) gluttony and got back into the "normal" swing of things. Owen's MRI of his throat and chest came back negative (no tumors) and the ENT doctor diagnosed Owen with reflux and put him on Zantax. The doctor determined that Owen has a slight excess of tissue attached to his vocal chords and the reflux causes inflammation of the tissue which is probably the cause of the noise Owen makes at times when he is sleeping. We are also hoping by treating the reflux, Owen's feeding habits will improve. After visiting the ENT, Owen had his chemo treatment and everything went as usual. Up next...Chemo on Monday followed by the dreaded neuropthalmologist appt. Hopefully chemo won't run late and we'll actually make this appointment and let's hope Owen is finally "cooperative" although I highly doubt by their standards he will be...

Happy 90th birthday Nana!!

Big Weekend

2008-11-24T02:31:00.001-05:00

Handed out report cards on Friday. Got the kids off to Grandma and Pops'. Picked up the Porcos and headed off for PSU, the first time I have been away since APRIL. This may not seem like a long time, but for a traveling girl, it seems huge. I didn't really talk about it much but it was a little hard to leave Owen for the first time since he started his treatments. But I knew both boys love to spend time with Grandma and Pop so that made it easier...the fun

times tailgating helped too. I love time spent with Aimee and Dave...thanks Dave and Joe for trying to keep us warm and toasty...

Today Owen, Joey and I are heading down to CHOP. Owen is scheduled for an MRI of the neck and chest. The doctors want to be sure the MRI checks out clear, since there have been some concerns about his eating and breathing at times. Joey has the week off for Thanksgiving

(nice huh?) so he has agreed to come with me. I love spending time with him and hope I am not being selfish in dragging him along. He is a great source of entertainment and distraction for both Owen and I, but he has never been with us for an MRI. I am hoping it won't be too much for him.

I am starting to look forward to Thanksgiving. I am sure once this MRI is done and conferences are out of the way I will be excited for the holiday. Dinner at the McQuillans and then a trip with the kids up to Long Island for a couple days...looking forward to seeing my brother, his family and the Trubenbach clan...

A beautiful day at Peace Valley Park

2008-11-17T20:40:00.000-05:00

As a sixth grade teacher, things get completely

hectic around report card time. The marking period ended Nov.7th, hence 10 days without blogging...so I figured I would take a few minutes out of report card comments to post some pictures. These pics were taken two Saturdays ago...just hanging out at the park...throwing some ball...skipping rocks...big brother Joey catching Owen at the bottom of the slide. Fun times...

An exciting time

2008-11-06T20:17:00.001-05:00

Joey has been to the polls to vote with me every election from the time he was 4 days old. This year was the first opportunity Joey had to cast his own vote. We have been very involved in this presidential election, watching news programs, reading articles and having many conversations about the candidates. It's pretty neat to view these procedings through an 8 year old's perspective.

we miss you Pop-Pop

2008-11-03T05:15:00.001-05:00

It's been one year today...we miss Pop-Pop so much.
The two boys just amazed and delighted him.
Nov. 2000 -Joey's birth
May 2008- Owen's birth

Party Time

2008-11-02T13:10:00.000-05:00

EIGHT years ago!

2008-11-01T06:35:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Joey!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T22:01:00.000-04:00

The pumpkin is finally in bed,

Lego Batman has fought the villians,

and Pippi has washed the orange out of her hair...

a successful Halloween...can't wait until next year!

Way To Go Phillies!!

2008-10-30T23:05:00.000-04:00

Psyched after the amazing finish to the Series last night, a wide-awake Owen and I took off for Modell's this morning at 4:30 am to get our World Champion T-shirts. After an hour and 20 minutes in a line of excited fans, we came home to wake up Joey and Joe with our surprises.

Now it is nearing midnight...I am running out of steam but Joey's costume is almost done---good thing since he made the difficult decision to go to school instead of the Phillies parade tomorrow...

First Steps!!

2008-10-27T19:53:00.000-04:00

Owen took his offical first steps during PT this morning. He has been working on in for the past weeks but his steps have been more like a falling lunge. This morning he took real steps from his therapist, Karen, to both Joe and I. So much excitement...didn't even think to grab the camera.

Joey's football season came to a close yesterday...he had a tough game...sometimes he gives up way to easily, but we're working on it. The football party was a lot of fun for the boys, one of the coaches even made a DVD of season highlights. The head coach shared some anecdotes about each player. Joey was beaming when coach handed him his trophy and told everyone how Joey had made him the most proud. The coach thought Joey was going to quit after the first few practices, but Joey had stuck it out and got better and better each week (let's just forget about Sunday's game.) It was a great moment for Joey.

Chemo was very very long today...everything seemed to be backed up from the get-go, but as usual Owen did very well. Another specialist got added to the must-see list, an ENT. Last week I video taped Owen while he was sleeping and shared the tape in which he was making this loud whistling snore, with Dr. Cole. After the MRI one of the nurses mentioned that she thought Owen might have something called "Strider" because of the loud noise he made while sedated. He can be the quietest sleeper but on the flip side he can probably be the noisiest. So we'll have him checked out, since it may have to do with why he is not swallowing very well. (Aim, he loved that "scrapbowl" cow today)

Looking forward to some quiet nights at home now that football is over...getting to the gym a few evenings and finishing Joey's Lego Batman costume...Gonna go snuggle with Joey and watch those Phils!!

updates on the boys

2008-10-25T17:29:00.000-04:00

Wow it has been awhile since I lasted posted....

Owen had two weeks without chemo treatment, and then a MRI last Thursday. We got his results from Dr. Cole, the neuroncologist, on Monday. The tumors have stayed stable and the contrast has become less bright. The doctor assured us they think this is a good thing, but has not found any research to explain exactly what it means. I have to do more research myself, but so far it is my understanding that NF affects children and adults so differently that there is much that is still unknown. Anyway, Owen continues on with the same plan of action. Four weeks of chemo, two weeks off, and he'll have his next MRI in three months to check on his progress. He is continuing to make progress with his gross motor skills...getting very close to walking and he is starting to even move around on his belly more, trying to scooch forward to grab for things. He sees his PT, Karen, every Monday before we head down to CHOP and he really works hard for her. He is scheduled to see the feeding team at CHOP in two weeks for an evaluation, hopefully we can get him eating more.

Joey's big news this past week...his football team played the half-time football game for the Temple game at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Eagles. Driving down 95 on our way to the game, passing the stadium, Joey admits he was really scared because of all the people that would be there. But once he was sitting with all his teammates in the stands you could see how excited he was. On the field, he was jumping up and down hardly able to contain his excitement. What an incredible experience for all the boys. Tomorrow is Joey's last game of the season. I am pretty sure he is ready for it to be over for the season...I myself am a little sad.