Did I say tonight? I meant tomorrow night.

Earlier today I blogged that we planned to have our Christmas celebration tonight. We charged the video camera and while Cooper had his afternoon nap I started to put together a great riding toy that cousins Missy and Nicole and aunt Susie had sent for Cooper (thank you so much!). I opened the box, grabbed the manual and right away I realized it needed to be charged for 18 hours before it can be used so I assembled it, plugged the battery in, assembled another toy and then made dinner. At first we were thinking we'd still go ahead and have Cooper open his gifts tonight. Once he was up from his nap we had dinner. About an hour later he got sick - all over himself and me. I'm not sure if it was something he ate (probably - there was at least one new thing he'd never had before - plus he'd been acting fine/normally leading up to getting sick) or if it's a virus that caused it. Either way, we want him to feel good when we have our family Christmas celebration so we decided to wait until tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be feeling better and at least we know his exciting new toy will be charged and ready for him by then too. I'm so excited to see his reaction to the fun things that await his discovery.

One week post-chemo, Christmas preparations in full swing

Thankfully, I am feeling a bit better each day. I am still out of breath quite a bit but it seems like each day it's a teensy bit less so. That is a relief because a couple days ago I was rethinking my decision about having a blood transfusion and yesterday I made some calls to find out what it would take to arrange for a private blood donation from a very generous friend who is O- (universal donor blood type). If each day continues to be a bit better then I will wait and have my numbers tested next week to see where I'm at before proceeding with a transfusion. If my red blood cell and hemoglobin counts are still extremely low next week then we will proceed with a transfusion so that I'll feel better and be more ready, stronger, in time for surgery mid-January. I've been very busy with work, getting ready for Christmas, and looking ahead to the next chapter of treatment (even had my first radiation oncology consultation yesterday - more on that later). I've baked more (cookies, brownies, banana bread, muffins) these past two weeks than I had probably in all my previous years combined. Doing so is not strenuous, allows me to sit and rest while they bake, and makes me feel productive and festive. Besides baking, I've finished wrapping the gifts, distributed baked goods to our beloved neighbors and friends, and even hosted a little get together "gold party" this week during which my friends and I made some great spending money by selling our unwanted jewelry to a rep from a local gold refinery - it was a lot of fun. Bob was home and helped do a lot of the legwork so that I wouldn't do more than I could/should handle. Esperanza was super helpful too, helping to clean up and do laundry while Cooper napped. We're so lucky to have her. Last night I had a few of the neighborhood teenage girls over for dinner (had lots of leftovers from the party) and to decorate the sugar cookies I baked. It was great fun decorating the cookies and watching Cooper have an absolute blast being silly with the girls. I'm excited to officially be on holiday break as of tonight and am looking forward to the fun Christmas eve, and Christmas day festivities we have planned. Staying busy helps me focus on the positive, staying rested while being so busy is challenging but important so I do my best to be both busy and rested. Sounds funny, doesn't it? Well, Christmas eve day is upon us now. I hope everyone is ready - or at least accepting of (and not concerned about) not being ready. :) I wish you all the most wonderful, safe, peaceful and love-filled Christmas. Cherish each moment and hold your loved ones close. God bless you! Merry Christmas! Love, Julie