7 Years...

Happy Anniversary to Me!!

No, it hasn't been 7 years since I got married.  Not 7 years since our first date, first kiss, first baby, or anything else like that.  Not even 7 years since I started teaching.  But it HAS been 7 years since I found out that I had leukemia.  And, no, it's not even 7 years since I've been in remission.  Because, technically, I'm still not.  But I suppose I'm about as close as I'm going to get...until a new treatment comes around.

So, you might ask, "Why in the world are you celebrating having leukemia for 7 years?!"  Why celebrate more bone marrow aspirations than I can remember (though I've been lucky enough not to need one for the last year and a half)?  Why celebrate having to take an oral chemotherapy pill everyday that gives me side effects ranging from slight hair thinning and fairly strong fatigue to abdominal cramping and severe bone/muscle pain?  Why celebrate the reason I cannot have more kids? 

Well, the reason is this:  Because after living with leukemia for 7 years, I am just that.  Living.

My type of leukemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), is not a particularly aggressive form of leukemia.  We caught it early enough, and I was lucky enough, that it was quite treatable.  But the doctors told me not long after I was diagnosed, that if it were to be left undiagnosed and untreated, it would run its course in 7 years.  I would only have 7 years left to be with my family.  7 years left to work...to play..to laugh...to love.

So, here I am 7 years later:  working, playing, laughing, loving...and healthy (relatively speaking).  So, yes.  Today, I am celebrating.  I am celebrating the doctors and the medical treatment that have gotten me this far.  I am celebrating those who have gone before me, who might not be here today.  I am celebrating the fact that, while it could be so much worse, it isn't. 

I celebrate, because I am blessed.  Happy Anniversary to Me.

Babies...

We all know that I've got (and have had for quite some time) a bad case of Baby Fever.  And surprisingly, no amount of cowbell has done the trick.  Well, this summer I have been repeatedly blessed with opportunities to get my baby fix.  I've got some lovely enablers in my life...and I am grateful!

Firstly, I have gotten to spend a fair amount of time with my bestie's baby, Quinn.  She was born in December, so I've had the pleasure of getting to hold her and hug her and play with her through various stages of baby-hood.  But it's been 3 weeks, and I'm going through withdrawals.  I mean, look at this sweet face!

But that's OK.  Luckily, several of the weekends that I haven't been able to spend with Quinn, I've been able to spend with my new nephews.

My sweet Jackson (my baby brother's baby) was born in June.  I wasn't able to get down there to meet the little guy until the end of July, though.  And let me tell you.  It was worth the wait.  He was just precious!  And you should all be impressed by my restraint.  I only flooded facebook with, like, 20 something pictures.  I thought that was pretty good!  Now he's over 2 months old, and he's already changed SO much!  I love his sweet crooked smile.  He just melts my heart!!

My sweet Noah (my older sister's baby) was born the day after I got back from visiting Jackson at the very end of July.  Since we had just gotten back from a weekend trip, we had to wait a little bit before getting to meet this little guy, too.  But we were lucky enough to not have to wait too long.  We got to meet him and hold him and kiss him on day 10!  He was just so little and so perfect!  I can already tell he just loves his Aunt Tracy SO much!!  I just love him to pieces!

And this weekend was the piece de resistance.  I got to be with BOTH Jackson and Noah.  Together.  For a whole weekend!!  They both got baptized on today, and I was absolutely thrilled!  While my mind has been racing with worries and anxieties about school starting on Monday (TOMORROW!), these boys have been making my heart sing with joy.  I am blessed to be their aunt.  I am blessed to be their godmother.  I am just plain blessed!

End of Summer...

As we are approaching the final days of summer, I have mixed emotions.  While I am SO sad to see summer end, I am SO ready for a break from my awesome kids.  (Albeit, I'll be trading days of my own obnoxious wonderful kids for days of other people's entitled amazing kids...but that's another story.)  My kids also have some mixed emotions going on.  This last week, they have been fluctuating somewhere between completely and totally bored to...wanting to kill each other.

Today was a perfect storm of those two feelings.  I had to resort to drastic measures:  toilet paper and bubbles.  Toilet paper?  Hmm...down to my last 4 rolls.  That's OK, I'll go to the store tomorrow.  Bubbles?  Hmm...don't actually have any.  That's OK, I've got dish soap, kitchen utensils, straws, and duct-tape.  Throw in a specially created playlist of the kids favorite jams (from Taylor Swift and B.O.B. to Aerosmith and the Beastie Boys), and the end result was 5...that's right...5 hours of argument and gripe free fun.  Take a look:

TP Bowling

TP Fight/Dance Party

...all cleaned up quickly in order to do...

TP Mummies
(which, of course, required one of them to be still and quiet for a good 10 minutes while the other one quietly concentrated on getting the broken, wrinkled TP to stay put)

...also quickly picked up so they could go outside for...

Homemade Bubbles

 ...and...

 Water-hose Fun
(AKA...do not come back into this house until that soapy mess is cleaned up)

Whew!  I did good.  We're all cleaned up, back inside, and what do I hear?  "Now, what can we do?!"

SHEESH!!!