Tuesday, May 26, 2009

PSI Rocks!

Emily & Megan's softball team is still undefeated! Go PSI! Both girls made base hits each time they were up. They're having a blast playing this year. Daddy's been assisting with coaching the team & is always out on the field providing positive reinforcement. Just minutes after the game ended, the bottom fell out. Here are a couple of pics from tonight's game...


Emily watching Megan get pads put on to play catcher...not the safest position to play, but I'm dealing with it!


Emily being told to play short stop...a much safer position!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Jennifer & Steven's Wedding

Today, Megan's teacher got married at Jone's Chapel at Meredith College. They were blessed with a gorgeous day for a wedding!

Mr. & Mrs. Cordleone
Mrs. C with her class

Megan & Mrs. C

Meg & her friend Seoyeon

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Disappointment...nah!

While reading this post, you may think that I'm feeling disappointed, but that's not the case. Let me explain.

We're HUGE American Idol fans in this house. We watch it together as a family & most seasons, we make our own choices of who we favor. Megan chose Bucky Covington a few seasons back...that says a lot about our dear little Megan. Emily chose the guy that looked like Chicken Little...they sky is always falling for Emily, so this choice was also not a surprise. This season we ALL chose Adam Lambert & after watching him sing with KISS last night, we were all convinced he was going to be the winner. I mean who else can wear the platforms & comfortably rock out with Gene Simmons? Adam was a natural! So when Adam wasn't chosen as the next American Idol, we all immediately agreed that he was better off not having his wings clipped by the AI record label. Now, he'd be able to sing what he wanted & not ever have to worry about singing about hurricanes & mountains. Ugh. Anyway, it worked out for the best for him...no disappointment.

This morning I had my weekly check-up with Dr. Lyle. Have I said it before that the man is AMAZING? I'd noticed that the right side of my stomach was a bit swollen. Turns out it needed some fluid drained. Common after you remove the drains. No big deal. There's also a piece of skin on the radiated side that isn't quite healing like it should. I was borderline upset about it, but he said it's VERY common for this to happen to skin that has been radiated. There just isn't a ton of blood flow to the area. I was almost to the point where I was going to be disappointed, when he explained that in about a month, he was going to go back in & replace the skin & move some more tissue to the right side to make the two breasts absolutely perfect. Lucky thing is, he saved some tissue on the right side in anticipation of this event. The next procedure will be MUCH more simple. In & out, nothing major. Whew! I have my own little sculptor that's on my side & making sure I'm put back together again just right. How could anyone be disappointed with that? Count your blessings, my friends...count 'em.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Update

What a week. So much to update...

Post-surgery update: I'm feeling unbelievably good. Looking at the evidence of what I've had done, you wouldn't think I'd feel this good, but I count my blessings daily & right now there are so many to count. Besides feeling good, the surgery was a success. The twins are looking better every day. I'm still AMAZED when I look down every day. I have breasts! And they look nice! I know to some it would be a huge sacrifice (no pun intended) to give up their belly to make breasts...wait, who am I kidding? Although the hip-to-hip incision is a bit uncomfortable, it was necessary to get the job done & Dr. Lyle performed beautiful work. I had two additional drains removed on Thursday and will likely have the remaining three removed tomorrow. At that point, I should be able to stand in a shower again. Don't get me wrong, I've loved the sponge baths from T, but there's something about feeling running water from your head down to your toes that makes you feel clean. It will be the longest shower I ever take. Count on that.

House update: T has been busy replacing all the lighting in the house from gold/brass to brushed silver. I LOVE all the new lighting. He's also been busy in the yard...laying mulch & planting flowers for me. The outside looks beautiful! The yard still needs work, but we're getting there. We're getting more & more settled every day.

Girls update: PSI (their softball league) is UNdefeated!!! I haven't been able to get to a game yet, but hopefully, this week, I'll get to see them run the bases!

Emily sang the National Anthem with her chorus group at the Durham Bulls game last night. We were able to record the game at home so she was able to see herself on tv.

Megan has been the social butterfly of the new neighborhood. She goes out on her scooter & makes friends with every girl she finds. We have quite a few neighbors that have children that are Emily & Megan's ages. And the neighbors we've met so far are so nice! I'm looking forward to hearing the whole story about the beer cans on the Christmas light hooks...could we have possibly moved to another Wisteria Lane?

That's it for now...time to watch the Survivor finale!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day

Being a mom is why I was put on this earth. This mother's day is by far one of the most special I have ever had. To be given another year to be a mother to Emily and Megan is an incredible gift. I love you girls more than you can possibly imagine & I promise that the time we have left together will be more than enough to make you understand how much you mean to me!

And happy Mother's Day to my mom, too. Thank you for always being there for me & accepting whatever I've thrown your way!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. It's your special day....enjoy it!

Friday, May 8, 2009

They're Baaaack!

Against better judgement, I'm typing this from my hospital bed & even though I'm off the morphine drip, I'm fairly certain there's enough left to entertain a few of you out there!

The surgery was a success! I honestly have the most amazing plastic surgeon...not to mention a nice looker, too. I have my mounds back & he got rid of my stomach! I mean it's really GONE! Before he sewed me back together again, he inserted a "power ball" (I have no idea what it's really called), but it's a seperate pack that runs pain meds directly to the incision, so I've had NO pain whatsoever. I got up yesterday & walked a little & have been up more today. Still not feeling anything really bad. If things go well tonight, I will be released tomorrow & be able to spend Mother's Day at home. What a blessing!

More later when I'm more lucid...

Thanks to all for your constant prayers & to all that have visited me in the hospital & sent flowers, gifts, etc., etc. We did it!!!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Tomorrow's the BIG Day

Nothing like a little American Idol to take your mind off of the fact that you're about to be cut open in the morning! Even though this post has nothing to do with American Idol, can I just say that Adam is by far the most amazing Idol contestant EVER??? Holy cow...the Larson girls were feelin' a "Whole Lotta Love" in the house tonight! We were actually fortunate to be able to watch Idol tonight considering a few hours earlier, we were all packed in to the coat closet while a tornado swirled around our neighborhood. When the news lists the n'hood next to yours as a place where there was a possible tornado sighting, you take cover...FAST. It brought back memories of growing up in Oklahoma. Except in Oklahoma, we had an underground tornado shelter! All is fine & it doesn't appear that the tornado actually touched down in Cary, but other parts of the area did receive damage. And I thought I was supposed to be relaxing the night before my surgery!

Anyhoo...I'll be taking a few days off from blogging. Not only because I'll be having surgery, but because I'm sure you don't want to read my garbled postings while I'm recovering on morphine! I could use extra prayers for a successful surgery & speedy recovery.

I am grateful for this whole experience...it has utterly changed my life...for the better....

Saturday, May 2, 2009

We Are NEVER Moving Again

A couple of years from now when HGTV offers us a million dollar, state of the art home that overlooks the ocean, or when Publisher's Clearinghouse shows up at my door with balloons and a check for 5 million, or I win the NC lottery, remind me that I really love our new house & nothing is worth packing & unpacking EVER again. To be honest, I really didn't do much packing because of the minor surgery I had on Monday. Hubby did ALL of it. I also didn't do much unpacking because my parents, girls & hubby did most of that, too. And we hired movers, so I didn't move much, either. BUT, the little I did do was enough to keep this girl in on a Saturday night...away from a few of our friends who are celebrating the fact that they received great news from their oncologists this week! (Congratulations Thierry, Kim & Kerri!) We're 85% unpacked...95% if I don't look in the garage! And we're about to spend the evening curled up on the couch watching Twilight with the girls. I'm sure that will spark its own blog tomorrow!