Monday, October 11, 2010

Hair's to Love!!

So... Kiara has been asking for a while to cut her hair.
I haven't wanted to because I love her beautiful long hair and truthfully she does too. She just really hates having it brushed. Her hair was about an inch below her bottom. I was only going to trim it to just above her bottom, about 5 inches, and I was coerced into cutting more. So we decided if we were going to cut it we would at least donate it. It really took me about 5 mintues before I could actually make the first cut. She was so excited and I was crying! It is still long but just not as long as it was. It was worth it just because I know she loves it. So I guess I can push my feelings aside for hers. I'm just jealous, when I was her age, my hair was short and I wanted it long so bad. It was actually short and permed, I looked like orphan Annie.
We have been looking online for a place that will actually give the wigs to girls undergoing chemotherapy. I'm going to call Maine Children's Cancer Program tomorrow and see who they recommend.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

YUMMMMM!!!!

It has been a while since I last posted and I have had so many things I have wanted to blog but I just can't seem to make the time. So here is my attempt to start blogging again.

About a week and a half ago Denisa taught the Relief Society how to make Carmel apples. Then yesterday we had her come to Young Women's and do it again. We had a wonderful time with the girls.

Well... I decided that for a family activity I wanted to make some. So as soon as the kids arrived home from school we went right to work. Since my hands were busy with the Carmel the camera didn't come out until we were just about done.Now if you know the Hurley family at all, you will know that any messy family activity like this must be made into an even bigger mess before we are truly done. (A favorite of ours is the whipped cream squirted in the mouth. We have lots of pictures of this.) Well since we were adding melted chocolate to our already too sweet apples we decided that everyone should have a little squirted into their mouths, except Mommy of course. As you can see Donovan LOVES this activity. The giggling was almost too much for me. Half way through Brian said we should have gotten out the video camera.And Brian still managed to get me with the white chocolate.
We used walnuts, Heath bits, mini M&M's, chopped up Reeses, and we even tried Nerds. (We'll let you know how that one tastes, I'm not too sure about it.) We drizzled milk and white chocolate. They look so yummy and I can't wait to have some, after supper of course.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Kindergarten Here I Come!

The day after school got out for the summer, the kindergarten teachers put on a Kinder Camp for the incoming kindergartners for the next school year. They all went to school for a couple of hours and played games.They sang songs and played outside. It is a great time for them to meet their fellow classmates. At the end they went on a bus ride to Dutch Treat and got an ice cream. Donovan had a great time and he is so excited for school to start.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Princess Savannah's Court

A couple of years ago Christine, Miss Harrington to the kids, organized a Relay for Life team in honor of Savannah. It is called Princess Savannah's Court.
This years theme was a Luau. We had the idea to make candy lei's to sell at our tent. Between the Jones' boys, Nicki and her kids and Kiara, Donovan and I, we made over 100 lei's. Dustin made a great salesman! He even sent some of the other kids walking around selling them to the people walking around the track. I had a hard time watching the Survivors lap but the kids loved walking the Kid's care lap. Kiara wanted to carry Lady as she walked.As we were walking around the track and the sun was setting the sky turned pink. Everyone we passed said that it was Savannah letting us know she was there. At 10 pm they turned all of the lights off and lit all of the Luminary bags that were placed around the track. Every bag represents a person. The in honor ones represent people who are currently battling cancer or who have survived cancer. The in memory ones are people who have passed away from cancer. Kiara and Donovan wanted to decorate their own bags for Savannah. I printed off a picture to put on hers from Mommy and Daddy. Looking at all of them lit is so beautiful but also very humbling. Hearing Savannah's name read on the list of non survivors was really hard. I had lots of people there to support me and overall it was a very good night! Thank you, Christine. I am so glad you love my daughter enough to honor her memory in this way!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Inheritance

My brother, Sean, moved to Arizona just after Christmas this past year. All of his stuff has been in a storage unit and he asked my mom to go through it all, sell stuff that he didn't need and store the rest of it. I spoke to him on the phone the other day and we were talking about it, he told me if I wanted anything to just take it. I said "Even the Carl Yastrzemski signed baseball?" He said yes and told me there was also a signed lithograph in there as well if I wanted it. COOL!!

Ok, now I know this is going to be disappointing to all of you loyal Red Sox fans, but I have no idea who Carl Yastrzemski is. I like the Red Sox and I support them but all I care about is if they win or lose, I have no clue about the players. However...Mr. Yastrzemski signed this ball and the lithograph specifically for an auction that was held for Savannah when she was first diagnosed with cancer. That being said, having a signed baseball and lithograph by a famous Red Sox player is WAY COOL!!!

Thank you, Sean!

Polka Dots!

Donovan came running out of the bathroom the other day and said "Mama, I have polka dots!" I said "What?" Then he proceeded to point to his nose and said again, "I have polka dots!"

I have been wanting to blog it for quite some time now but I have been so busy with work that I rarely have time to do what I want to. I love my work, so it's ok, but it is nice to do something I want for a few minutes.

I told Donovan today that I wanted a picture of his polka dots. This was our first attempt...Then he told me I could take a picture of his polka dots if he could take a picture of me making a funny face.... Lucky for me he doesn't have good aim, at least with my camera, other cameras he does, mine is just too heavy!

This was our final shot! Aren't his polka dots cute?

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

When it rains, it POURS!!!

Well this has not been the best weekend for us! And not a lot of it had to do with Memorial day. I should have known with the way we started it out!

Friday evening I needed to get some work done, just ordering dance pictures for the school I photographed last week. I wasn't motivated staying at home so I decided to pack up my stuff and the kids and go to Marie's house to hang out. This way I could have someone to motivate me when I lost the motivation and kids to entertain my kids so they would stay out of my hair.

I was doing well and the kids were having a ball playing outside, riding bikes and playing in the sandbox. We didn't really have any bickering with the kids either (it usually happens at least a couple of times.) All of a sudden Dustin comes in the house carrying a rather calm Donovan who's foot was bleeding (he usually freaks out at the sight of his own blood). He set him in the shower, it was bleeding pretty good, and Marie and I investigated the source of the bleeding. All Donovan told us was that he stepped on a toy in the sandbox. My kids are like me, we hate shoes, they are just a necessary evil most of the time.

After cleaning his foot as best we could we noticed a little puncture wound on his heel. I carried him to the dining room where I was working and looked at it a little closer in better lighting. A few minutes later one of the kids, I don't remember which, came in the house carrying an old board with a nail sticking out of it. Donovan told us that it was what he stepped on. So I called the doctor, she said he should be fine until I reminded her that he isn't immunized.

Let me pause for a moment and tell you not to lecture me about immunizing my children, I have heard it all before. Our decision not to immunize them was a choice Brian and I made after a lot of studying, research and prayer before Savannah was born.

I called Brian on my way to the emergency room and I was glad I did. I had not been to the emergency room since before Savannah died and they chose to put us in the room that they frequently put Savannah in. The PA looked at his foot and was about to send us on our way when I asked him if Donovan needed a tetanus shot. I really wish that they would look at the chart before the come in to see the patients.

The nurse came in with an assistant and 2 shots because he hadn't had any before. The assistant went to hold Donovan down and I told her to get her hands off of him, she was scaring him. I proceeded to tell her that I had done this for the past 3 years and I knew what my child needed and he did not need her to hold him down. Now I understand that some kids need that but I wasn't about to let them scare him when he didn't even know what was going on. I calmly explained to Donovan what they were going to do and then told him how Sissy would sit in my lap and squeeze my hands if it hurt. He climbed into my lap and let the nurse give him the shots, both of them. He didn't not start crying until after she left the room. We told him how proud we were of him for being such a big boy and that it was ok to cry if it hurt.

Because I didn't get my work done Friday night I had to do it Saturday, again no motivation. I started out having a hard day, I think it was combination of being in the emergency room and it being Memorial Day weekend. Marie came to my house with her kids, her son mowed my lawn, it needed it! And she visited with me while I tried to get some work done. She needed to leave at 2:00 for an appointment, I still was not doing well. I wanted to go, but knew I needed to get my work done. She quite literally twisted my arm and told me I needed to go. She was very kind to me and gave up her appointment to get her legs waxed so I could get mine done. I needed a little pampering! Thanks Marie! (By the way, I did finish my work Saturday evening!)

On Sunday we were informed by our landlady that she has sold our house and we have 6 weeks to buy a house (we've been casually looking) or find a new rent. We have been looking at buying a house but we did not want to make a quick decision.

Monday we went to the parade and then to the cemetery. We cleaned up Savannah's site a little and bought her a beautiful pink hanging plant. Kiara and Donovan frequently play on the little wooden bridge that crosses a tiny stream in the cemetery. They like to slide down the railings, well Donovan got a splinter. I completely forgot about it until this morning when he showed me that it was turning a little red. I got out the tweezers but I couldn't get it out, so I had to get a needle. Again, he was a very brave boy, he did fuss and cry while I was trying to get it out but he didn't try to pull his hand away. We put some medicine and a bandaid on it (bandaids cure everything).

I need a calm week, PLEASE!!!