No push over!!!

The Grand Girl has been a little sick...She has a bad cough, a slight fever, and last Friday a sore throat...She has asthma...So I started her on antibiotics last Friday...I dose her twice a day with Tylenol and she is taking two breathing treatments a day....She really is not feeling up to par but not so sick she can not go to school...BUT....

This morning she came out of her room and her hair was in two braids...It was not parted straight and she had on one black hair band and then a tan big fuzzy hair band on the other one....With having to take a 10 minute treatment it ran us a little behind and I told her to grab a brush she could not go to school like that...I re did her hair with only the sides pulled up. She got mad. Now when Mackenzie gets mad at me she will not say I am mad...she just pouts. Well, she pouted all of the way to school and then when we got there she started crying and did not want to go to school. She said she felt bad and I am sure she did.

She is getting out of school a day and a half early this week and it is the end of the semester so we have some tests. She really needed to go to school. She has a Social Studies test and a Science test tomorrow. So this morning I went into her teachers room to get her book for Social studies. She does not have a science book because he had to turn them back in last week...

Anyway he gave me another science study sheet...about substances, mixtures and chemical reactions...It was not filled in and I do not have a book...so we looked all of the questions up on the computer....They were all fill in the blank and the exact wording was not on the net...

Finally between Kris, Missy and myself I think we have all 17 questions correct...But I am not positive....Mackenzie was no help at all, she acted like she had never heard of anything the questions were talking about.

She has had to study all day except for three hours she slept....I have told her at least 50 times how she should have gone to school. A few minutes ago she came out of the bathroom and had her hair in two braids again. I told her she was not going to school in the morning with those braids in her hair like that and if she was going to get bad she had better do it now. Because in the morning she was going to school and if she was pouting I was kicking her out at the curb. I was assured she was not going to be mad. I am sure she will not want to stay home again unless she is dead dog sick because it will take a long time for her to forget this day..

Staying on the Porch...

Yesterday, Mackenzie, Benjamin, Melissa, and I went shopping for almost 9 hours.... I wore heels.....I came home and threw them in the trash...My feet still hurt...I am too old to run with the young dogs.....

Up Early Again...Sunday

I have been waking up around 3 AM for a few weeks now...I guess that is fine. I am not tired and it does give me a lot of time to read...

I took the MSN quiz this week,, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4250964/?score=50&resp=3,4,4,4,1,1,3,1,3,4,#anc_WEEKLYNEWSQUIZ
I only scored 50%...It is sorry to say but I do better on weeks where most of the questions about celebrities or gossip instead of where Obama picked up the Nobel Peace Prize and things that are a little more important... Last week I scored 90% it was all about Palin and Tiger....you know things about them are REALLY important...but that is what sticks in my head anymore..

We will be going to church this morning. Mackenzie and I will drive over to Missy's and ride the rest of the way with them.

We have finished our Christmas shopping. We picked up the last two gifts Friday. well, actually Mike did and for once Missy did not get the bottom end of gifts...She is a hard one to shop for. She never asks for anything....But now we have Benjamin and he asks for a lot. This has only started in the last 6 months. He never used to ask for anything. Missy would take him to the store and he rode in the cart and never asked for anything. Missy was proud of that and thought he was always going to be that way. But he has now grown into an ordinary child and most sparkly things he 'needs'. Missy tries to point out he does not need this or that he wants it...I don't think she is making a lot of head way.

One day Missy took Benjamin to a store and he threw a fit for some toy. Missy does not put up with that and took him out of the store and they left. Later he had calmed down and they went to another store. There he did not ask for a toy. Missy bought herself a pair of shoes. Afterward they came to my house. Benjamin was quick to inform me how' Mama got new shoes and I did not get anything. And this was not fair or funny.' He was still mad about it... But he was not whining...No, he spit out those facts in a very clear firm voice. He has definite opinions.

Mackenzie has been a little under the weather since Friday morning. She has a hacking cough. I started her on an antibiotic and breathing treatments for her asthma. I think she is a little better. I hope she is well by the time she flies home.

I mailed some Christmas Cards yesterday. I sent Betty's and Laura's to Betty's old address...I am sure she still gets mail there...I did not have quiet enough cards. Brother did not get one. I have several Birthday cards here I may just cross off Birthday and write Christmas on his...Or I have some used ones and I could send him one that was sent to me in years past...I even have a Christmas Letter I could send to him...It is from Mike's niece-in -law....It is a very nice Christmas letter talking about the 4 or 5 kids including the latest one they adopted from China.....If I had not just written about this in the blog I could have sent him that letter and he would have been confused....

Oh, that made me think. Remember the time Rhea King and I bought a bunch of old pictures from a thrift store and I took them to one of our reunions a few years ago and told Fleta I had stole these from Mama and now I did not know who any of the people were. Clayton and everyone else was in on the joke, except Fleta....Every half hour or so Clayton would pick up one of the old pictures and comment on it and it would get Fleta going again about what relative they might have been...Then Clayton notice there was a black lady standing in the foreground in one picture....I guess if I go to hell for that Clayton will too....

I Kid You Not....

I just got back from having treatment...They always give me a big dose of Benadryl and it does sometimes make me sleepy....I was laying in the recliner SOUND asleep....A lady walks in and has some home made fudge...I heard the word fudge clear across the room and instantly snapped awake!

Sisters...

I took this picture of myself yesterday...Do you notice anything new Sisters?...Yes Erin I know the mirror is clean for a change...Kenzie has to clean it now...

I got the car washed yesterday at 1...It was much warmer then. I picked Kenzie up with the top down. I had it up for a few days which is totally against my beliefs with a convertible but it had been raining..

Last night Knezie and I picked out all of the clothes she is packing to take back home. She has so many she can just leave them all there if she wants too....You know my girl is no dummy and she will have to do her own laundry up there. I'll bet she can work it out where she leaves with all of her clothes dirty and does not bring any of them home.

We got her a new pair of fur lined boots to wear up there 150 bucks originally for about 12 bucks at Ross...I love that store for shoes...and yes for almost anything else. She will need the boots it was 7 degrees yesterday in WA... But the day she gets there the high is to be around 45 so she should get there just fine.

I have been getting up so early it is sinful....Well not really because it gives me time to read my Bible passages...I have to keep up with Betty...You know since I do not work I am able to read a lot more than Betty...

I have Christmas cards I need to get ready to send out...I have plenty of time but I thought Kenzie would want to help with them so I have been waiting...She is much busier than I am so I may have to just send them out alone...

Today is treatment day. Also have to see Cavalcant. That is no big deal. He does rub his hands over me to check for lumps but he does it with one foot out the door...He does not want me asking any hard questions that would make me feel bad like how long do you think I will continue to feel good..So the visit consists of, 'Helen, you look great. You feeling good? Lets see (the rub)...Looks really good. Keep up what you are doing..' then out the door. I have found out if I want to ask anything it needs to be when he asks, 'Are you feeling good.' I can not answer yes or no if I want to know something extra...I have to start out 'well,.....' even then after I ask he will sometimes ask again, "are you feeling good?" If I answer him I will not get an answer to my question..

You know he has been dealing with patients like me for a long time. He starts out telling you he is going to do this treatment for maybe 6 months....I am sure he judges your attitude and makes the time line as long as he thinks you can handle in your mind...Mine seems to be 6 months...With some people I am sure he thinks their mind can handle it longer...You know when we did Chemo he told me 30 treatments...about 6 months...Well towards the end of 30 I was doing a count down and at treatment 28 I went in and I was sick. He said maybe we should skip this week. I told him we could skip this week but that meant I would come back for only 2 more treatments. I could not come back 3 more weeks to make up this treatment.. He said, "oh." and gave me the treatment that day. I think he understood I was at my wits end...

So when he changed the chemo treatment and it was that awful stuff that sent my blood pressure through the roof and I was dead dog sick. I went to him for the 3rd treatment and I was going to refuse to take it...I think he could tell because he brought it up we need to stop that and try something else...That is when he put me on this Herceptin that I have now been on 19 months....He originally told me 6 months...I think it was about the year mark I finally said...when he asked, 'How are you feeling,' This Herceptin seems to make me feel better after I have a treatment how long are you going to leave me on this...' Then he answered...'Just as long as we can.' I am sure by my saying what I did he knew my mind could handle it... I had all ready figured out the answer...When you go in and sit my his patients week after week it gets pretty easy to figure out he is going to keep you on SOME treatment as long as you will stand for it...I have talked to patients taking treatments for over 20 years..

I know he really looks at the blood tests and scans and how you look ...this tells him more than what you say to him. He is a very good doctor.