2 Days Left!!!

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"

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!

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

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

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

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"

"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!