Boys Update

Owen's treatment went well on Monday. He had to sit for an extra hour in the big blue chair to get one additional medication. He seems to have had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic we were giving him orally twice a week to prevent against a type of pneumonia. The doctors decided to switch to another type of antibiotic, one that is given once a month through his port. It is a one hour drip and his blood pressure was taken every 15 minutes (which really annoys him-he tries to get the cuff off his leg.) But as usual, he was such a good boy. He played with Joey and his toys for a little over an hour and then napped for about an hour. Next week he has one more treatment in this cycle and an ophthalmologist appointment and then we are off for three weeks.

Joey started football on Monday. Tackle football! He has practice Monday-Thursday, 4 days a week from 6-8pm. This week he practices with just helmets (conditioning), next week full pads (contact). It will be a transition for all of us...a lot of work for him and a total commitment for us...I am just glad he has stopped crying when he takes his helmet off...

It is going to be a long season!

Wild Weekend

* Playing at Me-Ma and Great Dad's house


* Trip to Northlandz to see the longest model train display in the whole WORLD (not sure this is a fact but it sure felt like the longest display...but the kids, Uncle Chris and Great-Dad seemed to love it!)


* Splashing around at the pool (I took some great shots but Me-Ma and Great Dad were in every picture and Mom would kill me if I posted a picture of her in her bathing suit...which I totally get)


* A wild and funfilled weekend with 4 silly, energetic boys and two exhausted grandparents! Thanks Mom and Dad!

@ the pool with Uncle Chris

We love Uncle Chris!!! My brother came over tonight to go to the pool, have dinner and hang out. It is wonderful to have him in town for a few weeks.

I miss him when he is not around.

Such a Stinker!

I captured these pictures when we were waiting to see the doctor at CHOP on Monday. This part of our visit tends to be when Owen gets the most restless and fussy...right after his port is accessed, waiting for the blood counts and for Dr. Cole to check him out, just about nap time. Yesterday he was in such a silly state...he has certainly developed a strong personality! Owen kept hitting the wall and looking at me...giggling hysterically (he seems to find it funny to do things that will get a reaction out of you...usually things he probably shouldn't be doing). He also found it funny to keep smacking Joey with his turtle and then stuffing it in his mouth. Joey just adores his brother and plays right along.

Treatment went well...typical visit other than a rash Owen has developed on his legs and arms. The doctors think it might be a reaction to the antibiotic he takes weekly to prevent a strand of pneumonia. They plan on switching his meds and seeing if it makes a difference.

Pics from Sunday's race...

You did what???

"I did something you might not like" -Joe

I got back from Aimee's house the other night, to find out that Joe gave Owen his first haircut. No pictures...although he told me he saved the hair. Owen definitely needed his mullet cut...thankfully Joe is no barber so I had the chance to clean up the cut the next day. Joey was our official photographer.

Today Joey had his first race. A one mile fun run for Big Brothers Big Sisters. He completed the race in 9 min. 40 sec. Joey has two speeds...SPRINT: I call it the "angry run" because he runs with all this venom and vigor and STOPPED: bent over, hands on knees, chanting I can't do it. He repeatedly followed this pattern and still finished in under 10 minutes. So proud!!

The 5k race was held before Joey's race. It was great to have him, my mom and Owen cheering me on. I finished in 27:43...which I was happy with since my first 5k in June I finished in 31:00.

I'll download the race pics tomorrow...cranky Owen is loosing patience with me!

"Cousins"

Joey and Owen have 3 adorable cousins, Toddy (Joe's sister Eileen and her husband Todd's son) and Patrick and Findlay (my brother Chris and his wife Shannon's sons). He loves playing with them and looks forward to when he gets to visit with them.

But the cousins he constantly refers to and talks about are his NY "cousins": "When are we going to see the cousins???" "I miss my cousins." "I never get to see my cousins!"
Definition of NY cousins: My Aunt Amy and Uncle Frank's kids: Julia, Liam, Kelly and Aidan. Joey is obsessed with them!

This past weekend we were invited to Charlie's fourth birthday party in Queens, NY. Charlie and his sister Emma are my Aunt Laurie and Uncle Chris' kids. It was great to see everyone and spend time catching up. I enjoyed talking with my grandma and Aunt Amy and watching my grandpa and brother play bocce ball. The kids had so much fun running around trying to peg each other with water balloons. Joey thought the trip was "Awesome"...not surprising. ...we definitely have to work on his range of vocabulary before September.

32 more...

Owen started his maintenance phase of chemotherapy on Monday. Everything went fine except for some unexpected news. Joe and I believed that the maintenance phase would be ten treatments given over 10 months. How exactly we came to that conclusion we are not completely sure. But this is what we both believed would be the next step for Owen. Totally manageable...life would return to somewhat normal only having to make the trip to CHOP once a month. Were we wrong! Most likely when we began this "adventure" we read the maintenance "road map" incorrectly. As it turns out, Owen will have 8 more cycles of treatment which consists of 4 weeks "on" (once a week treatment for 4 weeks) and 3 weeks "off" (no treatment for 3 weeks) and repeat this cycle 8 times. Total of 32 more treatments over a span of 56 more weeks...we were blown away by the news to say the least. So now after a few days the news is beginning to settle in. Just a change in mind frame...juggling of schedules...decisions about Owen for child care when I go back to teaching in the fall...all manageable, just a little sad that Owen has to go through so much still. He'll have a number of MRIs during the cycles to assess his progress and hopefully after all of this he will be done.

So it was a long, mentally exhausting day. We dropped Joe off at work after we were finished, stopped at Wegmans for dinner stuff and to appease two cranky little boys I broke open the marshmallows on the way home. I had to get a picture, although it barely picks up the extent of the sticky, gooey mess. Totally worth it for the two smiley faces...but does anyone have any great tips for removing marshmallow from fabric???