Scanxiety.

Where to begin since we last talked? Ok, I guess this time I'll go in chronological order.

Wednesday was Natalie and Daniel's last day of preschool. I brought cupcakes in for Daniel's birthday, so I couldn't get away with not bringing them into Nat's class, even though her birthday isn't until Memorial Day. She's great at the emotional-blackmailing.

The Griffith Chronicles, Part 100

Never a dull day around here. Why should Sunday be any different?

Saturday night was cake time. I baked and frosted and baked and frosted until my blood sugar shot up by osmosis.

I dare you not to come. Just kidding. Please come.

I've written before what incredibly awesome friends we have. Well, let's talk about this Team Eve BBQ & Family Fun Day Fundraiser that they have been working so hard on---

I -heart- fried chicken.

Tonight, our friends and friends-of-friends made Chick-Fil-A look like a clown car. It was packed! We couldn't even find a parking spot.

Matt dropped me, Nat, and Dan off to go eat inside. Good luck finding a seat! Dan found his best friend from preschool and sat down with her. He told me earlier that he wanted to marry another girl in his class, and when I asked why not Cammie, he said, "Because Cammie is my friend. We don't marry our friends."

Daniel, Beta Version

I am thinking of releasing a Daniel doll with a pull-string that says five phrases:

1. I need to go potty! (When he's about to go right then and there.)

2. I'm afraid. (Used as an excuse not to do things, like clean his room or turn on the lights.)

3. I'm thirsty. (A filler phrase, for when he can't think of something interesting to say.)

4. I'm hungry. (Said every 7 minutes while awake.)

4 a. I'm still hungry. (After a snack of two cheese sticks, a pb&j, and some crackers.)

5. I don't like that! (Said anytime he walks through the kitchen and I am fixing something for the rest of us that is not cheese sticks/peanut butter and jelly/crackers.)

Sugar Rush

On Thursday, Daniel, Eve, and I took Natalie to the dress rehearsal for her ballet recital. Eve looooves ballerinas. Well, she loves them the first two dances. Maybe even the first four dances. But by the time the Village People come out, she's done with bow-wa-weenas.

The Wise One Returns

So, I have this friend whose daughter has beaten the beast twice. She's pretty much the Dumbledore of all things Wilms, and so aptly sums up anything I could try to write, but in a much more articulate way.

-fin-

Yesterday was the day. Eve's last chemo day. Hip hip hooray! It was finally over with, although much more anti-climatic than I had anticipated. There was no ticker-tape parade, no high fives with the doctors, no straight answers to my questions.

Don't you know what causes that??

Yesterday, my friend Mark and I attended the Cornhole for a Cure fundraiser sponsored by the N.O.R. Foundation. The two of us were the only people with matching t-shirts, so people were very intimidated by us, thinking we were some serious cornhole players. As they should have been. Here we are, pointing to the bracket that clearly shows we blew away the first two teams we played against:

Remember me?

You know you visit the pediatrician a lot when you call to schedule an appointment and you are identified before you identify yourself.

The last six months, in 2 min. 45 sec.

For those of you without a child with a life-threatening illness, you probably have never heard about Songs of Love. It's a pretty awesome organization that will write and record a personalized song for your child. Eve's song arrived several months ago and has been a hit around our house. Thanks to Carl Allocco for taking the time to give Eve the gift of song. Click here to become a fan of his on Facebook.

And here's a recap of Eve in pictures from Eve with hair, to Eve with no hair, to Eve with bad-ass scar. Thank you to Jo Garvin of Jo's PhotoMojo for documenting this chaos. Become a fan of her on Facebook, too!

The New Normal

Recently I was asked if Eve is aware of her illness. I doubt Eve thinks any of what she goes through is unusual. This is our new normal, and she just goes with the flow.

She often looks indifferent when people call her brave. Doesn't everybody go to the doctor twice a week for blood counts and blood pressure checks?

Who moved my cheese?

How hard was it to have National Turn-Off TV week during double Griffith surgery week?

20% of you said, "I can't figure out how to make dinner with these damn kids in the kitchen."
30% of you said, "I can't figure out how to go potty with these damn kids in the bathroom."
50% of you said, "I can't figure out how I am supposed to keep Eve still during Dan's surgery and then come home and let him rest on the couch without my beloved boob tube."

20% of you haven't mastered the art of one-armed cooking with one child on your hip, and one child on each leg.

30% of you are too modest.

50% of you didn't know that the no-TV rule only applied to Natalie, and luckily Nat was at a friend's house all day long when Dan had his adenoidectomy so we could eat popcorn and lay on the couch all day long. Score!

But the real question is...how hard is it to NOT get into this 6 lb. 10 oz. container of nacho cheese?? (Daniel didn't even weigh this much as a newborn.) And why is the purchase of said cheese in the top three events of my weekend?

Maybe it's the self-imposed quarantine of the last six months that has considerably lowered my excitement threshold. Whenever Eve is declared N.E.D. (no evidence of disease), maybe I will up my standards to something like Brie.