In Which I Update...

The Mother-in-Law...

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Is recovering wonderfully. The surgeon removed most of the tumor in surgery and only had to remove a teeny bit of brain. There is a smidgen of the tumor left, but it will be wiped out with Chemo and radiation. The tumor was a very aggressive cancerous kind. My Mother-in-law is a champ. She had her surgery Friday and is already up and walking around. She is completely coherent and still has her memory in tact. She gets to go home tomorrow.

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While she was in the hospital, her hubby painted their room and put wood flooring throughout their house. Ha ha. That man kept himself busy so he wouldn't miss his wife so much. ;)

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I think I'm going to buy my Mother-in-law this pin. She'd get a big kick out of it.

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The Foster Child...

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Poor Miss Q. We are torturing her soundly. Since she has been with us she has visited an Endodontist for a root canal, an Orthodontist to get braces, and an Oral Surgeon to have three of her upper teeth removed. When she came to us she was on pain meds because her mouth hurt so much. Poor girl. We've been trying to get things better for her, but first we have to torture her. And the torture will continue next week.

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She is going back to the Oral Surgeon to have two more teeth removed. This time at a hospital.

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Here's the part where we feel sorry for me. The Oral Surgeon who will accept her insurance...he's a three hour drive away. Last time Hubby took two days off work and drove her down. This time it's my turn. I get to load up my other four kiddos and drive and drive. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but I'm pregnant. And the magic 12 week date has come and gone without me feeling much better. Oh well. That's why they invented saltine crackers. ;)

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This trip to the oral surgeon should be the last bit of torture. Then she just has to deal with braces for a couple of years. Fortunately, our Orthodontist is local.

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Costumes...

I am sewing costumes again. Nope, not for Halloween and not for my kids. I am helping with costumes for a local production of "Forever Plaid". I thought I would be one of many helpers. Nope. I am one of two. But I got the easy part...all be it time consuming. The other lady is sewing plaid jackets. Do you know what a bear it is to try and match plaid seams together?? It is horrid! I am responsible for white tuxedo jackets, white tuxedo shirts, black tuxedo pants, plaid bow ties, plaid cumberbunds, plaid suspenders, plaid pocket squares, white pocket squares, tartan sash, and shoes. I think that's it...

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Anyhoo, the directors wanted all those items MADE!!! Aaaaahhh!!! Luckily, I have a few brains left in my head. I started looking online and found a great dealer of cheap, used tuxes and accessories. I just had to make adjustments to the items. I shouldn't say just. I spent a full day fixing the tuxedo shirts and the white jackets so the matched. One jackets collar had to be completely reworked. Fortunately it was all handwork. Why fortunately? Well, because my prego body decided it wasn't enough to attack my stomach. My head needed some attention too. I did all the handwork laying flat on my back on the couch. I just held the jacket up over my belly and sewed away.

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I still have to get the pants hemmed. I just received them Saturday and have a fitting scheduled for tonight with the "Plaids". The bow-ties are sewn. All that is left are the other plaid items. But those have to wait until I get the scraps and leftovers from the plaid jackets.

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As for my own children, they will be wearing costumes from previous years. All except Joe. I don't have any boy costumes his size. With everything else we have going on, the Hubby and I will probably just don our matching Hawaiian outfits and call it a day.

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The Baby...

Can I just say that the number FIVE sounds so weird to me. I just keep saying it over and over in my head. Five. Five. Five. I can't seem to wrap my mind around the fact that I will be a mother to Five children.

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The baby is healthy. My doctor did an ultrasound at my last appointment. When I looked at the monitor I thought the doc's hand must be shaking because the image was so jumpy. But no. It was my baby. That kid was all over the place. The funniest thing was that the kid is using my uterus like a trampoline. The kid would bend his/her little legs then push off from the side. He/She would go sailing across the uterus, then settle back into place like a feather drifting down. It was funny to watch...for now. I sure hope that kid settles down before he/she gets much bigger. I've had jumpy, active babies in utero before. They are very uncomfortable to play host to...

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This is a picture of the babe getting ready to jump. I still can't decide if I think the babe is a boy or a girl. But since I usually get it wrong anyways, I guess my prediction doesn't matter much.
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Where's The Punchline?

So a funny thing happened yesterday...

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My Mother-in-law called up. She could not remember if she had sent out Joe's birthday card or not. She didn't think she had, but couldn't find it anywhere in her condo. She laughed and said her memory was failing her since she's so old. I laughed and told her that I would keep an eye out for the card and call when it came. She described the card to me...Green envelope (Joe's favorite color) and regular card size. We talked some more, catching up on each other's lives. She told me a few more stories about her old, failing memory. It was really funny. We laughed and laughed about the bad stuff that accompanies aging. Just to be sure everything was alright, her doctor ordered a few tests that she had done that same morning. She was sure everything was fine. Nothing wrong but her getting old. I again promised that I would call if the card arrived in the mail and we hung up.

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A couple hours later I picked up Joe from Kindergarten yesterday. The mail lady came at the same time. Joe's birthday card had arrived, but it wasn't green...it was white. I laughed thinking of my Mother-in-law's comments about her failing memory. I also laughed thinking of what she would say when I told her the birthday card had arrived and was a different color. I just knew that my Mother-in-law had probably searched her condo top to bottom, front to back at least three times and probably cleaned each time as well...just searching for that card. I knew that she would laugh about all that time she had used up when she could have been reading or doing something else. I was excited to call her and tell her that the card had arrived. I knew she would be relieved.

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When I got inside, I had four messages. One was from her. It was a short message. The doctor had called with the results. She has a brain tumor. As I heard that, all I could think was...what's the joke? Is it April's Fool? No, we're in October. So, where's the punchline?

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I called her back. She tried to play it off. The tumor is on the right side and only 6 cm, she said. It was a short call. She really wasn't in the mood to talk. That's alright, I really didn't have much to say except Wow and I love you. Before we hung up, she told me that she had found the green card and would put it in the mail tomorrow. I laughed and told her that a card had arrived today from her. She couldn't understand it. Then said, "Well, I guess that tumor really is affecting my memory."

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I got a call a few minutes ago from a dear Sister-in-law, Hubby's oldest sister. Mother-in-law was admitted to the hospital at 11:00 am. She couldn't keep any thing down and her headaches became so severe that my Father-in-law took her to the hospital. That is HUGE! While there, someone took another look at the test results. The tumor isn't 6 cm. It's the size of a small chicken egg.

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They're waiting to hear back from two other hospitals. It's a bit of a race to see which hospital can locate a neurosurgeon first. Then she'll be transported to that hospital. And that's all they know right now. They'll call me when they hear more.

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And I still can't help but wonder, where's the punchline?

Teaching

The November/December Class Schedules are now available at JoAnn's. Can I just say, it is so exciting to me to see my classes listed. I have had many jobs in my life. They have all been jobs of convenience and necessity. And many of those jobs, I did not like at all. Despite that, I plugged through and performed each job well.

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This is my first official job that I will not only love from the get go, but will also get to grow and expand my skills in. I am just so excited! And I have such a feeling of satisfaction and contentment. They are such nice feelings to have. :)

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These are the samples I made for a few of the classes I will teach. It's kind of funny, but a few of the items I will be teaching I would never have thought of making. They were such fun to complete though. And my kids absolutely love each item. I let them each pick out the fabric for one sample. After the sample comes down off the JoAnn wall, the child that picked the fabric will get to keep the sample item.

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Sewing 101

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Sewing 202: Fleece Robe

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Teen Sewing 101: Wristlet

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Quilting 201: Mini Quilt Coasters

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Other items I will be teaching, but don't have pictures of, include: Reusable Gift Bags, Fleece Vest, "Hole in the Barn Door" Quilt Block, "Steps Through My Garden" Quilt Top.

Questions & Answers

Question #1

What did those two pink lines on the t-shirt mean?

Answer: The lines mean I'm pregnant. I thought it was a cute picture and a clever way to announce the pregnancy. The two pink lines mimic a pregnancy test. One pink line is a negative test result, meaning you're not pregnant. Two pink lines is a positive test result, meaning you ARE pregnant. And the gal in the picture is not me. Just some random model in a super cute tee.

Question #2

What did you mean by "Operation: Get Released from Nursery"?

Answer: I was again trying to be clever, but I guess it's more of an inside joke. Sorry about that. Here's the scoop. When I first moved to this ward, I was called to be a nursery worker...the one position that I was crossing my fingers not to get. My BabyCakes had just reached the magic age of 18 months. I wanted to drop his active little rear in nursery and go enjoy Sunday School and Relief Society. When the Bishop called me as a nursery worker (which I immediately accepted and have been diligent and dependable in the calling) , the Primary President felt a little bit bad about it. I laughed and told her that if I really wanted to get out of the calling, I knew how to do it...It would just take me nine months for my plan to come to fruition. No Bishop in their right mind will keep a brand-new Mom in nursery. I personally thought it was hilarious to refer to my pregnancy as "Operation: Get Released from Nursery". I still do. ;)

Question #3

So when is your baby due?

Answer: The baby is due April 21, 2010. I'm currently in my twelfth week of pregnancy. I usually wait a little longer to announce my pregnancies...in case something goes wrong. This time, however, I felt it was necessary to tell the kids. I have been super sick for the past eight weeks. My ears have been ringing, my sinuses clogged, nasty gunk dripping down the back of my throat, nauseous and light-headed, and all the other fun stuff that accompanies the first trimester of pregnancy. You know, I hear there are some women who delight in being pregnant. I think those women are crazy!! Anyhoo, I've been sick and my kids noticed. And they just started back to school which means all the lectures on germs. The turning point for me telling the kids early was the day Anne told me that she didn't want to sit by me because she didn't want to catch my germs. Sheesh! Normally, I would have laughed that off. I mean, there's no way she can catch what I have. But in my crazy emotional state, I was very much saddened by her statement. So I told early and now Anne will sit by me.

Question #4

Why are you doing foster care? Do you need the money?

Answer: I'm going to address the second question first. NO. We don't need to money.

Next, Why are we doing it? There are many reasons why we are providing foster care.

1) We believe that every child is a Son or Daughter of God and should be treated as such.

2) We recognize that not all parents know how to parent. Sometimes they need a break from their kids so they can pull themselves together and learn how to parent. Foster care provides that.

3) Not every foster family in the system is a good foster family. They need more families, GOOD, loving, kind, caring, families to help out. And, not to sound arrogant, we are a nice, loving, kind, and caring family. We can provide a safe and loving environment for a child in need.

4) My degree is in Family and Human Development. I seriously considered getting a Master's in Social Work. I had a scholarship in the bag and admittance to the program guaranteed. After really thinking it over, I realized I don't want to be the social worker who pulls children from a home, monitors their parents' progress, watches as parents meet or fail to meet goals that determine whether or not they will be reunited with their children, decides if it's safe for the child to return home and deal with the consequences if their decisions turn out wrong, and so on. Nope. I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be the Momma that, when a social worker pulled the child from their home, would love and care for that child while their parents got better. I would be the Momma who would show them what love, caring, kindness, safety, and security looked like. I would love them and take care of them until their parents could take them back. And Hubby was right on board with me.

One final note about the money. So far, I have received one check for about $500. That check was spent before I even got it. Now, before you get your knickers in a knot...I spent it on Miss Q. I did take her cute little self down to the Orthodontist and got her some braces. An expense not covered by the foster system. I have a monthly payment plan set up to pay off the balance for the braces. Those things are EXPENSIVE!!! The money I receive for the foster child is used for the foster child. Another rarity among foster families.

Question #5

Why was Cakes running around in just his underwear last week?

Answer: Ummm. You kind of just answered that one yourself. The Cakes has been diaper free for two full weeks. The first week, it was just easier to keep him in only underwear. He hasn't quite mastered the pulling up of pants over his round rump. He can do it, but it takes some time. I didn't want him to be hindered by that while potty training, so I opted for undies only. I love having a diaper free house. It is such a wonderful feeling to know that everyone can take care of their own potty needs. I am going to thoroughly enjoy this while I can. :)