Noah's 6th Birthday & Kindergarten Awards Day

At the end of April, NOAH TURNED 6 YEARS OLD! That's right, my tiny, sweet firstborn baby boy is a big 6 year old (who also just finished his first year of school!)



The actual day of Noah's birthday, April 30th, was the day that I was in Birmingham for my whole body scan (which you can read about in my previous post). It was hard to plan a party since my RAI treatment was scheduled the week before his birthday and I wasn't sure how I would feel or how long it would take me to begin feeling better, so we just planned to have cake and dinner at my parents' house the night of his birthday and then planned a small, family party the following week at Chuck E. Cheese.  Noah had a great time at both of his celebrations and we are so blessed to have had our sweet boy in our lives for the past 6 years.  Wow, it takes some getting used to saying that he's now SIX!

 

 





The night after his birthday, Noah and I went shopping together to buy him a new pair of shoes and some clothes.  Most boys wouldn't exactly love a clothes shopping trip, but Noah is just thrilled anytime he gets one on one time with me or Jamie.  Sweet boy :) He wore his new shoes and picked out this hat... although it was a little too big and made him resemble the man in the yellow hat from Curious George.. needless to say, we passed on it.  Although we did find some him a few new bathing suits since they had a fun water day planned for the next day at school. (Although it ended up getting cancelled due to rain).



We had a bit of a cake catastrophe the day of his Chuck E. Cheese party.  I tried to keep it no-stress and simple so I ordered a dinosaur cake at Publix.  When I went to pick it up, I realized the cake was way too small so I decided to get cupcakes as well.  Well, EVERY single cupcake in the Publix bakery was pink and 'Mother's Day' themed and I didn't have enough time to make my own.  In addition, on our way out of Publix my dinosaur cake began splitting down the center! The lady helping me with my buggie (gotta love that Publix customer service!) told me to bring it back in and they would fix it but I was out of time and needed to pick Noah up from school.  I had to later make a run to Walmart where I found baseball cupcakes. I'm not going to lie, the pinterest, theme-loving part of me was bothered that our Dino cake and Baseball cupcakes had absolutely nothing to do with one another but it was just for family and there was no other option at that point.  I was able to gently put the cake together and thankfully, it held up until the party.

 

 

 



In addition to his big birthday, the school year was quickly coming to an end.  Noah had a great Kindergarten year and I can't believe his 1st year is already over.  He learned SO MUCH this past year and I'm so thankful for his wonderful teacher, aides, and therapists ... it's amazing to have people in his life that really, truly care and want to see him grow and learn and do whatever to help him get to that point.  He has learned the colors: red, yellow, blue and green consistently and will point to the appropriate color when asked.  He has learned the different types of weather: sun, clouds, rain, etc. however he isn't yet recognizing what the weather is doing outside, but when asked which one is the sun (or clouds, etc) he'll ID the correct card.  He knows and is pointing to picture cards to identify the other 4 students in his class, as well as his teacher, aide and "PaPaw" (the volunteer elderly man in his class).  He can now sign "boy" and will answer when asked if he's a boy or girl.  His fine motor skills have made some improvement and he is doing better at feeding himself.  His walking has gotten much better and his is 100% an independent walker.  In fact sometimes he walks so fast, it's borderline running (or at least speed walking!)  He can ascend and descend the stairs independently, as long as he has a hand rail to hold on to.  I'm excited that his teacher (and hopefully his aide) will be the same next year so he won't have to adjust to someone new.  Noah was honored at Awards Day and was one of 25 out of the entire kindergarten class who received the Bucket Filler Award. The award is based off the book, "How Full Is Your Bucket" and means that the honored students are known for being kind and sweet-spirited kids that help 'fill the buckets' of their peers.  Basically it's an anti-bullying program that focuses on being kind to others.  I was a happy momma to see my sweet boy receive such an important award.  He may not communicate, read, write, do simple math or any of the other things that you learn in kindergarten but it filled my heart to know that his sweet smile is a daily blessing to others... because it is MOST DEFINITELY a blessing to me!



 



Hello! Remember me?

I've gotten so far behind on my blog that I don't even know where to begin! It's an endless cycle and I just keep putting it off, which only makes me further and further behind.  But with cancer treatment, building a new house (and having lots of decisions to make), a 6th birthday, and planning two upcoming trips (one including Disney which is time-consuming in itself!), it's been crazy busy and my computer/spare time is spent doing things other than blogging.  The reason for my initial procrastination was that following my endocrinology appointment at the end of March, I had to come off of my thyroid replacement hormones in preparation for my radioactive iodine treatment.  Several of the doctors WARNED me during my appointment that it would be hard and I would feel miserable.  However, I didn't really have a clue what they meant.  I guess I should've realized that if several doctors were telling me I'd feel terrible, then it would be bad!

On April 9th (the morning of Noah's Special Olympics) I woke up feeling terrible.  I had been off my meds for almost 2 weeks and it was as though a switch had been flipped.  I was dizzy, light-headed, weak, my arms and legs ached horribly and I was out of breath just walking from one room to another.  I was also very hoarse and sounded like some raspy, life-long smoker! Every day following got worse and worse.  I felt like I had the flu and I even vomited a few times.  My vision progressively got worse and I couldn't wash or blow-dry my hair because my arms would hurt so bad, as though I had burned them out doing tons of push-ups.  Even brushing my teeth was painful and it was hard to tighten my fingers/hand around the toothbrush.  I experienced insomnia at night and would go consecutive days without sleeping at all yet I was more exhausted than I've ever been.  I had severe anxiety, especially at night (part of the reason for the insomnia) and my mind would race over the stupidest stuff.  It was so frustrating NOT being able to just shut my mind off and fall asleep.  One thing that kept me awake at night was restless leg syndrome... my legs would get jittery and bother me and prevent me from resting.  And the last week without the meds, I got very swollen. My eyes, my throat near my lymph nodes and my hands were the worst.  I'm sure I drove my doctor crazy because I called her so often to make sure this was all 'normal', which every bit of it was.. she even said "I told you... it's miserable".  Coming off my thyroid medicine (and no longer having a thyroid) caused me to become severely hypothyroid and all of these symptoms were part of it.  Needless to say, Jamie had to take off work to care for the boys for 2 1/2 weeks.  I spent my days laying in the bed, which is about all I felt like doing! 

Two weeks prior to my radioactive iodine treatment (and a few days after I started feeling so sick), I had to start a low iodine diet.  Here's the 'science' behind it... the thyroid absorbs all of the iodine from one's diet, so by depriving the body of iodine, it makes the remaining thyroid tissue 'thirsty' for iodine.  Therefore, when they gave me the radioactive iodine pill, any remaining thyroid tissue 'gobbles' up the radioactive iodine which in turn kills the tissue, ridding my body of any remaining cancer cells.  The diet makes the treatment that much more effective.  And the diet was HARD.  I was allowed to have 5 oz. of meat per day (NO seafood or lunch meat; ONLY fresh chicken and beef).  If it had salt in it, it wasn't allowed.  I couldn't have dairy, anything from the sea (seafood, sea salts, etc), no bakery goods, no pre-packaged items (cereals, chips, crackers, breads, etc) and no red dye.  I did find a brand of bread that was allowed however, I had to limit the number of servings a day to 1-2 slices.  I basically ate fruits, veggies and small amounts of meat.  I'm not a huge meat eater so this was hard.  Everything had to be made from scratch and luckily I found some cookbooks online that helped me get through this, however, I felt so terrible that it was hard to motivate myself to cook.  There were alot of days that I didn't eat any meat and just ate fruits, veggies, nuts and some salt free crackers.  I guarantee I was consuming less than 1200 calories/day.  The one thing that kept me going (other than the hope of getting rid of the cancer) was that at least I would lose weight on such a restrictive, low calorie diet.... NOPE.  I didn't lose a single pound.  That's the beauty of having no thyroid/not being on thyroid hormones... i.e. NO METABOLISM to burn anything.  UGH! Talk about frustrating!  However, I made it.  It wasn't fun but I got through it. My mother in law has a friend that went through the same treatment and informed her of a lady that prepares diet restrictive meals for this type of situation.  My MIL offered to hire her to prepare 3 meals and 2 snacks a day for the 2 week time span but I declined that offer (I felt like I should know how/what I could eat without relying on someone else to tell me and do it for me).  I later regretted my decision and realized that I was a NUT to turn her down on that offer!

My radioactive iodine treatment was scheduled for April 23rd so Jamie and Collier brought me down to UAB the day before where I had to have blood work, then dropped me off at my aunt's house in B'ham.  I spent the night with her and she took me to the hospital that following morning.  I got checked into my 'special' room around 1pm to discover it was covered in plastic and the floors lined with paper.  It helps in protecting the room from having any radioactive iodine being left behind once I receive the treatment.  Several different doctors came in and talked with me about the procedure then around 3pm, several nurses and radioactive technicians came in drapped in gowns and masks holding a very heavy tungstan steel container that contained my 2 small radioactive iodine pills.  I swallowed them whole with a tiny sip of water and everyone high-tailed it out of my room.  After 15 minutes, the radioactive officer came in to measure my radioactivity and then I was left alone to fend for myself.  The nurses could only spend 20 minutes max in the room with me so they had to limit their exposure to me, and pretty much left me to myself with the occasional call to check on me or see if I needed anything.  My only job was to drink as much water as possible to pee the RAI all out of me and to take frequent showers.  The good news was that I was officially off the low iodine diet so once I was allowed to finally eat, I ordered lots of room service.  TOO MUCH.  I hadn't eaten since 9am so by 4pm, I was ready to eat everything on the menu (UAB gives you a 'room service' menu, like a hotel.  The whole presentation tricks you into thinking that it's going to taste much better than the hospital food that it actually is.)  I ordered 2 entrees, 2 sides and 2 desserts.  I wish I could say I was embarrassed when I called in my room service order but I had no shame. It was a reverse no-iodine diet at its best! I guess it was a good thing I ordered options because hospital food is, well, hospital food and I ate about half of what I ordered.  Following my late lunch I fell asleep, completely missing out on dinner that evening.  It wasn't awful being in the hospital but I was bored.  I was so drained that I did a lot of sleeping and just watched tv.  They had warned me that I might have to stay 2 days depending on my RAI levels but after drinking lots and lots and lots and LOTS of water and taking 3 showers in a 24 hour time span, I was released the following day, late afternoon. 

My mom had driven up to B'ham so she picked me up and we headed home.  The next 6 days were spent at my parents house.  Part of the rules were that I had to use a seperate restroom (flush the toilet 2 times and clean the seat each time), clean/wipe down anything that I touched, stay away from children and pregnant women for 4-5 days, stay 2 arms length distance from all others for 2-3 days and wash my clothes and dirty dishes seperately from everyone elses.  The RAI is excreted through bodily fluids: urine, sweat, saliva, etc.  THANKFULLY, I was able to start my new dose of thyroid medicine 2 days after my treatment and was told I should start feeling better after a week.  However all of my hypo symptoms got worse before they got better.  It wasn't too bad being at my parents house but I missed the kids and Jamie terribly.  I came home from the hospital on a Wednesday and finally begged Jamie to bring the boys to come see me on Saturday afternoon.  I couldn't spend too much time with them but at least I was able to see the for a brief amount of time.  Noah was excited to see me, but Collier's feelings were hurt and he wouldn't have anything to do with me for the first 15 minutes.  I know they were both probably so confused as to what was going on and why I wasn't at home with them.  They came back over the next day, and since 5 days had passed I was able to actually spend time, hold them, play with them and give them lots of lovin'!  I still didn't go home because it was very important for me to use a seperate restroom (and the rental house only has 1 full and a 1/2 bath that's in Collier's room and rarely gets used) but Monday afternoon, I headed to Florence to see Collier and wanted to be there to pick Noah up from school.  Afterwards, I had to head back to Birmingham for an early morning appointment on Tuesday -- my whole body scan, which would let us know if my cancer had spread and if the treatment was doing what it was supposed to.  Jamie's mom came over to watch the boys so I could get on the road to B'ham and both of the boys realized I was leaving.  They both started crying and Collier was clinging to me and wouldn't let me put him down.  It literally broke my heart and the only way I was able to walk out of that door was that I knew this was the last day I would be away from them for all of this.

The following day (the day of my appt.) was Noah's 6th birthday and it was so upsetting that I didn't get to see him off that morning.  I had an early morning appointment and was at UAB for about 5 hours.  The scan lasted around 2 hours (laying on a machine, similar to an MRI machine, with my arms strapped to my side and with a machine about 2 inches above my face.)  Finally I was able to leave and head home to my birthday boy and the rest of my family.  Since I was by myself, I spent majority of that ride home praying for a good report and for healing.  I was nervous and scared but keeping my faith in God to bring me through all of this.  Right as I pulled into Florence, Dr. Bahl called me and gave me the news... the Radioactive Iodine was doing what it was supposed to do and there was no signs that the cancer had spread anywhere.  I could finally say that I was cancer-free!  Relief, joy, thankfulness and emotion washed over me and the waterworks came on.

The past 6 years have been HARD.  My family has been through alot of crap... with everything that took place following Noah's injury at delivery and ongoing treatment/therapy, my dad being diagnosed with multiple myeloma and enduring 18 hard months of treatment, then me dealing with thyroid cancer for the past 8 months (and it being discovered just months after dad went into remission).  It seemed once we finally got to a good place, we were hit with another obstacle.  I can't say that I understand WHY but I know God has a purpose through all of this.  Thyroid cancer is known as the 'easy' cancer.  Yes it has a very good outcome and the treatment isn't continuous chemo or radiation but it's still hard and it's still CANCER.  Even though the statistics say that you're chances of remission are high, you still worry about the 'what ifs.'  Emotionally, there were times when I was fine and then out of nowhere, I would be driving down the road and break down with the reality that I had cancer, 2 small children that NEED me and just 31 years old.  In the past 5 months, I've had 2 surgeries, spent 3 weeks in the bed sick, went through RAI treatment and another week in seclusion from my family.  So I can't exactly say it was easy.  Its still quite the emotional roller coaster that you go through with any type of cancer diagnosis.   I've learned alot through it.  I've learned to trust in God's plan like never before.  I've felt the joy that comes from resting in the comfort of the Lord, despite the chaos going on around you.  I've learned that my husband is AWESOME.  He picked right up when I felt so bad and played mom and dad to our kids.  I hate to think of this, but I know without a doubt that if something ever did happen to me, the kids would be just fine.  He kept our house clean, kept the boys from starving, still managed to go into the office and work, bathed and loved on and read to them at night.  They left the house in clean clothes, with brushed teeth and combed hair.  They got their daily medicines.  Collier even developed a cough and Jamie called the doctors office, talked with the nurse and got cough syrup called in at the pharmacy.  That's a monthly occurrence for a mom, but it meant so much to me that Jamie did it himself!  I realize I may not have given him enough credit in the past.  He literally did it all!  I've learned about different types of friendships.  There were some friends that overwhelmed me with their love and show of concern.  I've learned that I want to be that to someone going through a tough situation.  It's easy to get caught up in our own busy worlds of tending to the kids, getting up and going to work everyday and just sending a text (or FB message) saying we are praying, and thinking we've done our part.  However it means SO MUCH more when someone does something thoughtful: whether that be a phone call (in a time where convenience, such as texts and email is the norm and phone calls are few and far between), paying a visit, sending a card, or a small gift to let them know you care.  A little extra effort goes a long way!  And even though I wasn't lying on my deathbed (even though I felt pretty terrible at times), there were times where a sweet gesture was the highlight of my day and was all I needed to have my spirits lifted.

Our Little Olympian

Being the mommy to a little boy that has special needs, I probably won't ever get to cheer him on from the stands as he gets a base hit or throws someone out at first base.  I most likely won't get to see him catch a pass and run it into the end zone or make a free throw shot.  We may not get to have those typical little boy experiences with Noah but we do get to enjoy the annual Special Olympics.  So many mom's have been posting their photos to Facebook of their kids playing in their first t-ball game for the season, since it was Opening Week.  THIS is our T-ball game!  Noah's 1st Special Olympics was this past Tuesday and it was a big day filled with fun.  Noah's class rode the bus to Muscle Shoals' football stadium (which is a treat in itself, in Noah's eyes) where a parade was held for all participants as they marched in to the stadium.  There were other classes there cheering them all on and celebrating in the fun.  Noah was on Cloud 9! Especially when he walked off the bus to see me, Collier, my mom and my grandmother waiting there to welcome him.  He marched on with his class in the parade and we joined them in the stadium for the Lighting of the Torch ceremony.  A special prayer was said by one of the participants over the intercom that brought a tear to alot of those around us... "I pray we all win and thank you God for allowing us all to be here and play today... and I pray we all WIN!" Another sweet girl was given the priviledge of lighting the torch, which signified the beginning of the games. 

Noah's class moved from station to station where they got to participate in fun games, such as bowling, going fishing, softball throws, and races.  Some of the games were a little too advanced for Noah but he could care less.  He had just as much fun just being there and watching everyone.  Several high school students were volunteers to help with the children and Noah loved the attention he was getting from his 'helper'.  It was really special to see so many high school kids, football players, cheerleaders, grab the hands of these sweet kids and help them get around from station to station, all the while enjoying the day themselves.  Jamie made it back in town from his trip to the Masters, around 10 that morning so he was able to join us at the stadium.  I'm so appreciative that our community puts this together for our sweet kids and I look forward to each year.  Unfortunately, I've started feeling really bad as the result of preparing for my upcoming treatment and have been experiencing alot of weakness, fatique, dizziness so I wasn't able to stay for the whole day.  At lunch, Noah's class went to Chuck E. Cheese for pizza and rides and I was so upset that I had to miss this, but I just felt too bad.  Regardless, I know that Noah had a very fun, special day!

(See Noah up there in the stands? He was sitting with his friends)

 

 

 

 



 Noah and his teacher, Mrs. DeFoor

 These boys missed their daddy!

 

Sweet brothers holding hands (or Collier pulling Noah somewhere) :)

Spring is Slowly Springing

Our Spring has been slow to arrive this year and we've experienced quite the wishy-washy weather the past month! One weekend it's beautiful and warm and the next week it's been cold and rainy.  Noah's Spring Break was FREEZING and wet and we pretty much spent the week relaxing indoors.  Even Easter was a yucky, rainy day. 

The ONLY picture I was able to get of the boys dressed on Easter morning while at my Grandmother's house

One particularly beautiful weekend in March we were able to enjoy the sunshine and took the boys down to Cypress Creek, on my in-laws property right across from where we are building our house.  The boys LOVED it.  It made me that much more excited to get our house finished and move out there.  The kids had a great time throwing, as Collier calls them, 'wocks' into the water and exploring the property.  I can't wait until we are able to take them fishing, riding in a canoe or just playing in the water. 



We then, of course HAD to finish our afternoon off with yummy Fro-Yo from the local frozen yogurt shop, where you can choose between tons of different toppings and sauces.  Such a treat!

Then this past weekend, much to our delight the beautiful warm weather returned! Since Jamie and dad were in Augusta for the Master's Tournament, Mom and I took the boys to Spring Park, along with the rest of the Shoals area.  I had been eager for my train-loving 2 year old to see the BIG train and get to ride on it.  To my surprise, he was scared of the train (along with the carousel, which I can't say I enjoy since I always get dizzy on any carousel). The first time around the track, he cried for a little bit and clung to my mom. By the second time around, his face lit up and he was happy as can be.  All of a sudden, he proclaimed, "A CHOO-CHOO!!" as though it was just dawning on him what we were riding on and that he actually liked it.  Who knows!? Noah on the other hand, loved EVERY. SECOND.  Noah and I even rode the roller coaster for the first time.  He smiled in the beginning and he seemed to enjoy it.  It was pretty rough and jarring though so I think I can speak for the both of us when I say I was ready for it to end a few minutes into the ride.  I was curious how he would do on this particular ride since we have a Disney trip planned for the fall... and I think it's safe to say that he'll love the rides.  Now Collier... well, I'm not so sure.  Let's just hope his feelings change by the time September rolls around!

 

 
 
 
 

I adore this last picture of Noah, with his eyes closed, laughing and enjoying the warm sun and the breeze as he's riding along on the train.  He looks so happy.