FLORIDA TORNADOS

The three tornado's blew through this normally quiet neighborhood last week beginning on Good Friday and ending early yesterday morning. The path of destruction was accompanied by high pitched screeching, squealing and occasional moaning. This is a picture of the destruction that was left behind. Most of the turmoil was contained in one room of our home but the remainder of the house and yard were not left unscathed.

SPRING BREAK 2013!
Kaelin, Finley and Smith combined last Saturday to create the "PERFECT STORM" and it will take Grand ma and Grand Pa days to shovel out of the carnage. But I wouldn't change it for the world!

What an awesome week we had with the Maryland Grand Kids visiting with their parents and Kent, Kristen and Smith popping in for the Easter weekend. The kids are FANTASTIC and played and played and played. A great time was had by all. Grandpa is exhausted! Grandma is pooped but glowing. I just love being with these little people.

Here's some photos of the past week to show you the highlights.

Celebrating Finn's second birthday. Presents for Everybody!

Elmo Pinata

AND CAKE !!!

Finn's party was on Saturday before Easter. Smith and his family came to help celebrate.  Then we Celebrated Easter Sunday with an Easter Egg Hunt and church.

 

A TRIP TO THE ZOO

PLAYING IN THE ZOO FOUNTAINS

BATH TIME !

AND A TRIP TO THE HOSPITAL WHEN KAELIN HAD AN ALLERGIC REACTION

THE GRAND KIDS ARE COMING . . .

OR ARE THEY ?   Just got a call from Keri who was driving to the hospital to meet Finn and Steve in the ER. Finn was arriving via ambulance straight from the doctors office because of possible pneumonia.  AHhhhhhhhhhhh  the joys of parenthood.  Needless to say Keri was upset and calling to cry on dad and mom's shoulder so she would be "together" once she arrived at the ER.  So far, no news.

Once again we have to wonder why we make plans in life.  Our plans last year all fell apart when Ger got his lung cancer diagnosis. So we aren't planning more than a day at a time.
Well, not really because I am planning on the kids coming to Florida for Easter. At least Smith will be here, unless his mom murders him in the next couple of days. Seems that Smith's toilet training isn't going as smoothly as hoped.  Just read Kristen's blog from a few days ago and Smith peed his pants TWICE in school. BUT, we have gotten two calls from Smith in the last 2 weeks telling us he did "Poopie in the potty" and very proud of it! (As well he should be!)  Hopefully a week with dad will help Smith stay off mom's radar. Kent is off this week for Easter vacation and is taking Smith for swim lessons every afternoon at 3:30. I know I would not want to be swimming this week thanks to the hurricane like wind and the lower than usual temperatures. Burrrrrrrrr !  But they are south of us so hopefully the lessons aren't bone chilling. Smith also got to see the Easter Bunny last weekend. He seems quite unimpressed with the whole thing. Smith did color some Easter Eggs last weekend and that was a hit.  IF Kaelin and Finn don't get here Smith can color all 18 of the eggs that I bought.

But we will think positive!  Finn will be fine and we will pick them up on Friday as planned. Keri had taken Finley to the walk in medical yesterday afternoon and they diagnosed him with a bad cold. They also said his oxygen levels were down so they gave him a "breathing treatment", something that Abby and Kaelin are quite familiar with . (No getting away from all these cousins inheriting the Lawlor genes.) Finn had a rough night and Keri knew he needed to see his own doctor this morning which brought him to the trip to the hospital. Poor little guy! And his birthday is TOMORROW !  Tell me he will spend his second birthday in the hospital!  I wonder if the huge toy tool bench will fit in the hospital room?  But I am getting ahead of myself and hopefully the little guy will be home for his big day. The planned second birthday party will be a bust if Finn doesn't make it to Florida. Party plans have been in effect for a month since I got the call from Party Planner and Big Sister Kaelin. She has planned an Elmo/Cookie Monster party and left Grand ma in charge of the details. The Pinata is bought and filled and the cake is ordered as of yesterday. Smith and I will have fun finishing off the cake if the Cavanaugh's don't make it.
Just got a call from Keri to say they WILL be spending the night at the hospital so Finley will be having his second birthday dawn in Civista Hospital, La Plata, MD.
At least the Maryland kids have been having a good time up till this. The family is planting a garden and these photo's are from the trip to Lowes to buy the supplies.

 Fingers are crossed for Finn's SPEEDY recovery from what ever he has.  The doctor's have ruled out what he does NOT have but there is no word on what the poor little man does have. At least they are working on it!

And then there is the latest up date on the London Lawlor's. The return to the states has been moved up from mid July to EARLY JUNE !  Hooray !  Abby will make her first Holy Communion in May and then pack and return to being residents of Atalanta, GA.  Roman will have to start all over again getting used to his new surroundings but at least they will have the entire summer to
settle in and get used to things.  We are really looking forward to having them all back in the states and only an 8 hour car ride away rather than an 8 hour plane ride. Even with the price of gas it is still cheaper to drive!

What aisle can I buy them in?

MAKE MY DAY !

If only I can make my eyes stay open maybe I could make some sense. We have made it through the major portion of the "winter visitors" and boy are we tired.  I must make an effort to discourage folks from visiting for more than 36 hours. Our friends Jim and Kathy did it right. They made the trip over from the Tampa area, visited overnight and left. Awesome visit, lots of talk and good vibes and they didn't make me tired.
Now we will make the effort of gaining strength before the Cavanaugh Clan arrives at the end of the month. In the mean time I will attempt to make myself get up and get some thing done around here. Getting up in the AM is daunting on a good day but when I have to get up to make breakfast for Ger, make the bed, make time to make lunch and dinner I would prefer to cover my head and make my way back to dream land.
I need to make an appointment with the chiropractor before I make the wrong move and throw this Oh so aching back into a tail spin. Maybe I will also make an appointment for a massage to make my muscles relax a bit.
That makes sense to me !

BRAIN OVER LOAD

My brain is like the old Model T Ford . . . .   it chugs and sputters along and then every so often it just gives up the ghost. The other day there was a flash of light from my eyes,  a puff of smoke from my ears and that was that !  Brain Over load !  You can always tell when that happens because I don't have the energy or brain power to write. And so I vegetate ! I would prefer sleeping for about a week but that isn't happening. Even though I have not gotten up before 10 for the past 2 weeks.  I am not sleeping well and it isn't until Ger gets up in the morning that I finally fall into a sound sleep. But since he is waking at 9 that is really only an hour of good sleep each day. I think what I could really use is some good old fashioned GIRL TIME ! I am missing our annual "GIRLS WEEKEND" with my 2 bestest of best friends.  Time to kick back and just veg and laugh with some eating and drinking sprinkled in. It has been ages! Jeanne was in Florida for a month, which was way too short a time and we did not really get time together.  Husbands were here too and it was better than nothing but she left way too soon.  Sharon is in Florida now but once again husbands are here along with Aunt Ann Marie so Sharon and I have not yet had an opportunity to just get together and laugh.  I NEED SOME SILLY TIME.  The ball is in Kathy N's court for when she and Jim visit next week. I am so looking forward to seeing her as she is a really super great lady who's company I really enjoy.  All those years ago before children G and I used to vacation with Kathy and Jim on Cape Cod for the week before 4th of July, (when the rates were low). We had a lot of laughs those days and then we had kids . . . Say no more. Not to say we don't love our kids but those days BK (before kids) were fun. Of course we were a LOT younger and full of adventure then but the laughter is still there.

Aunt AM and I were just talking about some of the young women in our lives who are in such need of "ME" time.  I often hear the girls saying, "I just need some time to myself", or "We haven't had a vacation in years"!  I remember saying the exact same thing when I had kids. Alone time would be 15 minutes locked in the bathroom and vacation was an afternoon spent in one of the neighbor women's back yard with some of the other neighbors, a gallon of wine, some snacks and all the kids running around together like maniacs and us not giving a damn. Ger still reminds me of the day he came home for dinner only to find an empty house. He called my neighbor asking if I was there and telling me to come home and get dinner started because he had to go back out. My friends also remember that day!  I do remember walking home with the kids with quite the buzz on cursing Husband up one side and down the other. The kids were just as pissed to be taken away from their friends at such an early hour of 4:30!

But now when the girls need a weekend away either alone, with a friend or some times even with their husbands I can't complain because that means Grandma gets asked to babysit and that is a GOOD thing. None of my friends or I had grandmas around to help out when we really needed a break. Good thing we are living longer these days.

But what happens when Grandma needs some ME time ?

IT MUST BE MARCH

You know that old saying, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb".   Well, our March comes in with a suitcase!  It seems that the world has had quite enough of the Northern snow and cold and decided that they NEED to come to Florida for a visit. And what better place to go than the Lawlor's B&B. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on how you look at it) G and I have done such a good job of entertaining guests that they insist on returning.

This year it will be interesting . . .  after 7 months of cancer fighting I don't know how we will both respond to house guests but we are giving it a try. Fortunately for all of us Aunt Ann Marie is the first visitor to arrive. She is, as I have mentioned numerous times before, THE PERFECT COMPANION/HOUSE GUEST.  She goes with the flow and knows when to go outside and read her book and leave us alone.

We just don't know how Ger is going to handle company and I honestly don't know how I will do either.  Ger tires so easily and has been quite happy just sitting in his chair for the past 7 months that adding another person to the mix will be interesting.  Ann DOES like to talk. Normally Ger can keep up with her with no trouble but this may be different. My listening skills have been reduced to "selective hearing" so I should be OK. And there is always the computer to turn to when things get to intense.

At the same time that Ann is staying with us our good friends from NY are arriving for a months stay here in PBG. The came down last year and we had a grand time going here and there. BUT, again, G has not been going and doing anything. So if we aren't going that means people are coming HERE. I love company but find it totally exhausting these days.  Maybe I can put AnnMarie to work and she can entertain and I can sit?  That is an option!  I actually would LOVE to be going places so maybe I can leave Ann Marie here and I will go with my BFF and get some good girl time in.  It's good to keep my options open.

Before Ann leaves G and Ann's brother and sister-in-law from Boston are arriving for about 5 days. They will be staying at their big brother's house here in PBG so there will be a family reunion for the 4 siblings. That is AWESOME! and a great treat for all. Can we all guess where we will end up gathering? We just have the perfect home for entertaining so I hope they will all come here even if it means my having to cater and clean.

Once Ann leaves we have another couple from NY visiting just for an overnight. Again, I am looking forward to seeing them and having a distraction from "just Ger".  We haven't seen Jim and Kathy in ages and our friendship goes back about 45 years. I am really looking forward to that visit.

Once they leave there is a week to recoup and then, TA DA, finally, the best of the bunch, KERI AND STEVE, KAELIN AND FINLEY arrive for a week !!!!  

I figure by then I will be so in shape from all the other house guests that we will be ready for some little people for grand ma to play with.

Hopefully Ger will survive all this.  It will mean him moving from one chair to another but I think he is well enough now to handle that. As for me, I am thinking I will break into that unused supply of pot pills that G no longer wants to take. I can probably us a little extra energy.

IT'S NOT ALL GLOOM AND DOOM

So . . . .   Seven months into the whole cancer world and we are still alive and kicking.  Ger isn't kicking as high as he used to but he is kicking! I am choosing not to kick him as often as I did and that is a good thing.  Husband has actually become a gentler person through this experience. God has given us an opportunity to see each other in a different light and to learn a little more about what makes each other happy. Isn't that amazing !

Since our diagnosis back in early August of last year Ger and I have had A LOT of time to be together. We do well in those circumstances normally but this has tested our limits. Ger still gets pissed off quite easily when he thinks I am acting like his mother but he is also beginning to see that he needs me in his life right now and maybe, just maybe I am not his mother but his wife. (He has ALWAYS had mother issues.) These days G has been a lot more tolerant of my "care giving". You all know that the man can't find food in a grocery store and he gets lost in a paper bag but when he is gagging to hold down dinner he now lets me get him some ginger ale. What I'm saying is, G has become more aware of my trying to help rather than looking at me as an annoyance.

I don't know if that is God's doing or maybe it is all just a big joke being played on me. We ARE dealing with CHEMO BRAIN as one factor in this change in G. All that poison and radiation has surely effected some/many brain cells. I know G appreciates my book keeping and scheduling skills in keeping track of appointments and bills. He even has admitted that he needs help in figuring out what pills to take when. (All while accusing me of thinking I am a doctor.) But add to the brain draining chemo and radiation and this person I am married to is a trip and a half!

So half his brain is chemo addled . . .  now the doctor adds some POT PILLS to increase his appetite. Having never been a user G and I did not know what to expect, but as I have written before, it was fun to watch. Mr. Fuzzy brain is now having trouble keeping track of his feet and where they are taking him. I find him wandering around the house at times trying to figure out where he was going or what he was doing. (That is my usual state. I find myself standing in the middle of a room without a clue as to why I was there.) But G is FUNNY!  Now we add to this brain some mild narcotics and boy do we have a comedy act in the making!  G had a pain in his side the other day. From his description I figured it was just a muscle pull. But since I am often reminded that I DO NOT have my medical degree we decided to let the oncologist know about this new development. She prescribes a mild pain killer containing narcotics.

All I can say is Ger is orbiting some where around Mars and trying to have a conversation with him is like talking to a tree. Just as an example, this transpired 2 nights ago:

Me . . .  "Ger, you left an empty water bottle in the kitchen. Do you want to save it to refill ?"
Ger . . .  "NO!"  "I am going to save it so I can refill it."

Who's confused?  I am thinking I will start taking some of the pot pills so that my brain can get on the same level as G's and then maybe we will make even more sense to each other.

READY TO TRAVEL

Not that I am going any where but I AM READY !  This cancer crap has been a bummer in more ways than you can imagine.  Our big complaint is that we have not been able to travel like we did. But all that is soon to change!

Ger is doing and looking so much better just knowing he does not have any more chemo on the calendar. He tires easily and has a ways to go before we do any big travels but he is on the mend.
Getting email from our family in England is NOT helping to calm our travel bug. The latest news is from les Alpes, France. The London Lawlor's are skiing for the week in the French Alps. The kids have the week off so this trip was planned for them. Kyle is NOT a fan of skiing, I'm not too sure how Bridget feels about it but the kids are loving it. This is the third winter they have flown to France to ski and will probably be their last opportunity before they return to the states. I think Roman and Abby wanted to try snow boarding this trip. They can ask Aunt Keri and Uncle Steve for pointers on that. Keri and Steve spent a few vacations snow boarding way back when they didn't have children yet. I don't know that they would try it now but they could give advice.

I'd like to go to France! Or back to England! Or maybe even Vero Beach. But for now we are staying around home. But that doesn't mean I can't plan and dream. If I were able I would be on a plane today heading for Maryland to see Kaelin and Finn. Kaelin celebrates her fifth birthday on Wednesday this week and I would give anything to be there for the celebration. A week or two later and I might have been able to convince Ger to go but it is just too soon after his last chemo for him to make a trip like that. So I will be patient and wait for Keri and family to come to us the end of March. The time is passing awfully fast these days so I know they will be here before I can blink but right now I have a bug in my bottom that is wanting to get in the car or on a plane and GO some place. Not that I don't have a TON of things to do here but none of that is fun. Like income taxes!  BLAUGH !  Thank goodness we don't have much money and no property except the house. NO stock, no millions hidden away in the Caymen Islands, nothing much to declare. This all makes tax time a pretty easy process. But there are still all the receipts from donations to gather and sort. Still all the retirement income forms to gather and don't forget the HUGE (ha  ha  ha  ha) Social Security benefits. Thank goodness we have great medical coverage so that isn't a problem. We are blessed in all we have and it only takes me a day to gather and sort forms and paper to send off to our tax man. No way am I doning this myself. I figure if the government is coming after me for taxs I want some one between me and the IRS.

Now all I have to do is tear myself away from this computer and get working on the tax papers. I will put on the FUZZY PINK ROBE to stay warm, (it's only 45 degrees here today! That's like 20 below to you folks up north.), I'll head to comand central out in the garage with my giant old desk and all my files and hunker down until I get this done.

Then I can start day dreaming about traveling again. Or maybe not if the government takes too much of our money!