Tuesday, November 30

Thank you for your support.!!!!

Thank you for all of you who helped raise money for good cause. :) We reached our goal.
When Nick first set up the website to raise money for St Jude , his goal was to get 1000 dollars. But soon he changed it and her last goal was 4000!!! YES!!!!! We reached that goal and even exceeded a little. :) Thank you all so much. Your money is very much needed to help all the kids in St Jude have second chance in life.

Now we are waiting 4th of Dec and My Dh Is ready to run. He is little scared but he sayed that no matter what- he WILL finish. :) Thanks Honey!! We love you :)

May I whine???

Yeah, I really need to whine. It is raining, and I feel like I am absorbing all the rain that is falling from the sky. The feeling is horrible. If somebody would squeze now, there would be puddle of water on the floor. Yaiks. I really dont like this Memphis weather. I like California rainy weather.
And I have this weirdest headace. It is not there but it is there. If you know what I mean. It is like this. I feel like somebody is pintching me from left side( towards back) of the head. The ace is not there but evey hour or so I feel this pintching sensation for 10 minutes and then pain is gone. And then another hour or so it is there again. It is very , very weird pain. And it lasted whole night . How annoing.
Now, I am not finished yet. It is my turn to whine and I do it as much as I want to , so bare with me.

Because Regina is on TPN and because of chemo , she rans to bathroom every hour or so. And I am so over this bathroom thing. She sits up every time it is time to go to bathroom and she starts whimpering and crying that she needs to go to potty. But listen to this. If I ask her during her 30 minute twisting and turning session if she wants to go to potty , her answer is no. And then suddenly she starts crying and tells me that I HAVE to take her to bathroom. Regina- I am sorry to anounce but ther will be no baby sister in our nearest future. I am not ready to do this. And I am thankful that you are testing me like this ( waking up every hour, taking her to the bathroom- it is like baby feeding times, diaper changes etc).

What else??? OH, and I am so over this perfume thing in the hospital. Some people spray the whole container of perume on them when enetering though those hospital doors. I wonder if they evey read the care package they get when they start going to St Jude. It says clearly to avoid perfume because Chemo kids are sensitive to all the smells. I have reminded some people -really , I have. To read theyr care package about what to do or what not to do. Regina has thrown up so many times because those perfume soaked men and woman. And There are even some hospital workers( usually, the top workers, or then the maintance, housekeeping staff) who are walking perfume bottles. So please, if you Enter St Jude, think about the chemo kids and my nose, (t is very sensitive).

I think I am done for today. If you want to know more about what I dont like just ask. I feel like sharing today. Lets make today SHARE DAY!!!!!


Monday, November 29


You see, what I am talking about, She thinks Ronald McDonald is handsome and Sponge Bob is just perfect.....What is wrong with her???

I hope you are not tired of the photos. I have to mention that my sister has some serious problems. I think being away from home( Estonia) has messed up something and she is mentally impared( sorry Sija).

Strawberry blond -- ok, fake blond...

Smooth Morining

We got to the Hospital around 8AM.
8.15 A/T
9.15 B Clinic
10.00 Medicine room

Yesterday her doc mentioned that she might need some blood today, but her hemoglobin was ok and even numbers raised a little, so she did not need blood. I dont remember that we ever had such a smooth day.

Tomorrow she only has medicine room. Easy enough.

She is feeling little down and not acting really well, but we all know that chemo makes our kids act weird. So It is ok to yell at your momma when you are sick , Regina.







Sunday, November 28


My sweet acorn( spelling)

View from our 4th floor window

Mary Kate and Ashlee- ( We know anorexia is serious healt condition)

We our out

We got discharged today!!!! Yes. REginas mood changed right away. She started eating and is acting all happy.

HEr counts look ok. Her hemoglobin is lower side, so tomorrow she will have to get some blood.


Saturday, November 27

We have ANC!!!!

REMINDER!!!!
Nick is running St Jude Half Marathon on December 4th. All the money donated will go to St Jude . Every dollar counts. We want to thank you everybody who helped out with donations.
We have almost reched the goal set. :)

http://stj.convio.net/site/TR?px=1008061&s_tafId=1023&pg=personal&fr_id=1023&s_oo=kkIJAr30BH-PLhYs3lnipg
200!!!! Yes, her ANC was 200 this morning. Doctor told us that we can get out of St Jude tomorrow, but we still have to the sidekicks . ( meds)

Regina is doing really well. Yesterday she and Nick had serious conversation about babies and kittyes. lol
Regina told Nick that she wants to have baby sister Audry/Audri ( not sure which spelling she meant). And she wants to have kitty Ceisy/ Keisy/Caisy.
She can have her Kitty, but I am not so sure about baby sister. Somebody else can have it for her- not me. :lol


My mom back in Estonia is having really serious healt problems. She can not feel her legs- she has problems with central nerv system- I am really not really sure how to explane it for you, but I know it is serious. Doctors told her that soon her whole body maybe paralysed and that means bed rest rest of her life. I hope they can find some cure for her and her condition does not worsen.


Friday, November 26


Fourt floor elevator. Fourth floor is all painted using sports theme.

GABRIEL AND NICK

Friday..

We are still inpatients. Regina has no fever, but we are still in because doctors want her counts do recover before they discharge us.

Regina is doing good. She gets really crumpy after she gets benadryl. She gets sleepy and irritable and moody. And wants nobody to talk to her.

Gabriel is doing great also. He adjusted to this little apartment really well. He really does not care where he is at. Just like his mommy ;)

I mentioned yesterday that I will go do some shopping today. We went to local Oak Court mall. It is a small mall . I went there around 8. Mall seemed really empty. But then I went to Macys and it was packed with people. I got some new clothes for kids. Clothes that where onsale really did not appeal to me that much , so I ended up spending some dough for good clothes.

Thursday, November 25

i am so tired now.

Friday has not started yet, but I allready feel tired when I think about my shopping day tomorrow. Yes, I left My DH to hospital overnight and me, sija and Gabriel will wake up early and head to the stores. I hate crowds, but Sija is really exited about all the sales going on tomorrow.

After we left RMH today I felt suddenly hungry- can you belive it? I ate like a pig, but I felt hungry. H U N G R Y. So I went to Target house and I ate the whole 9 inch pumpkin/pecan pie I baked yesterday- IT was heavenly. It was soo good I just could not stop. After I finished eating, I started feeling really fulll. TOOO FULLLLLL. I was about to throw up. But now I am hungry again, and I have no pies to eat- I just feel like eating pies today. lol.

Regina is still not eating anything and her counts remine zero. I want her counts to recover so she can start feeling better . She has one more round chemo left! Yes for Regina!! She is such a little fighter. And smart fighter. With every round of chemo she gets smarter. She knows all the names of meds, she knows what makes her throw up, she knows what nurses do with meds ( crush them up and mix it with cherry cyrup she hates, ) , she knows that benadryl makes her extremely sleepy and vincrystine makes her throw up so does cyclo.... something.
She knows that one day she will be completely cured and she is looking forward to that day. :)

We know the reason..;.

why Regina has fevers. Today doctor told us that finally they found a reason. She has viral infection. Nothing that she got from outside. IT is something we all have in us. But since her immune system is so week, she even can not fight the little viral bugs that are natural parts of our body. Now doctors are preventing her infection to get worse. She is on 2 different antibiotics. THey are trying to wean her off from vancomysin( very storng and powerful antibiotic).

Me , Sija and Gabriel went to Ronald McDonalh house for lunch. It was big but really tasty mistake. I ate 5 pieces of different pies, and turky and ham and everything else I have been wanting to eat all year long, but did not. Starting from tomorrow I have to go back to my normal , healthy balanced diet. ( with no extra sweets and calories. )

Regina seems doing ok in the hospital. We are trying to find her activities to do and she is ok with whatever we give it to her. :)

Happy Turkey Day! :D

Wednesday, November 24

Thank you!!!

A Thanksgiving Prayer
T
hank you Father for the blessings you've given this day.
H
elp us to remember, Thou has shown us the way.
A
nd give us strength to help those in need.
N
ever letting us forget, Thy merciful deeds.
K
eep us in Thy tender loving care.
S
ave us, O Lord, when we are in despair!
G
ive us grace as we walk through life.
I
nspire us to seek our brothers amid the strife.
V
ictory in Thee will be our guiding star.
I
n courage we march not caring how far.
N
ow we ask for the most important thing.
G
rant us salvation to escape death's sting.
Copyright by Jim Smith

How to observe Thanksgiving.
Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses
.Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
~~Author Unknown.~~



Fever, no fever, fever...

Last night around 4, Regina wanted to go to potty. I carried her to bathroom. She felt really hot, so I called nurse and told her to take Reginas temp. She had 38,8 fever. She got some tylenol and fever went down. Today has been fever free.
Sija Regina and Gabriel are in the hospital now. Regina acts like a boss there. Do this, dont do that, you have to color this way. Poor Gabriel. lol

Yesterday when I picked Nick and Gabriel up from Airport, gabriel ran to me. Oh, boy , was I happy to see him. He has grown a little. And he is cute as ever. And the best of all, he has really good manners. Nick really work on that. :)


Tuesday, November 23

Still in ...

Regina had light fever this morning 37,8. So we will be on the fourth floor at least next 48 hours( probably our thanksgiving dinner will be betweek those 4 walls). I was looking forward cooking this year, but there is always next year. :)

All her cultures came back neg. SO we relly don't know what causes the fever. They took samples from her line and let it sit for 48 hours, to see if something grows ( bacteria). Hopefully not. And we just hope that the fever is caused by G shots and bonemarrow trying to engage in Reginas bones. :D

Today she feels pretty good. She is slowly starting to reveal more about herself to the nurses and doctors. Most of the nurses know her pretty well , and they know what kind of questions to ask, to make Regina open up. :)
Regina is doin a lot of crafts in the hospital. Childe life volunteers have trouble to come up with new things, since she has done every single craft twice. And she refuses to do it third time. :lol Poor volunteers. lol

3 more hours and Nick and Gabriel will be here!!!!! YES!!!!!

Monday, November 22

Fever!!!

I spoke to soon. While I was here in Target house typing my entry, Regina was in the hospital bewing admittedn with fever. I dont know for how long we get to stay to St Jude this time but pray for a short entry. .

Diana

Regina and her TPN

Rainy day in many ways

Yes, it is raining in here today.
And Regina is under the bad weather. Last night she fell asleep around 12 at night. Then she woke up every hour and when it was time to wake up around 9 am this morning , she was tired and whiny and did not want to wake up.

Today she had labs drawn and her counts dont look to good. her ANC was 200 her platelets 2700 - which means she is receiving platelets right now. And her hemoglobin is slowly going down also. She is not very active and all she wants to do is sleep. She tells me that she is cold( our heater was set max) . We where drippin' wet and she was chillin' cold. Warm blankets dont help much. She gets antibiotics for her little boo-boo that looks red and does not want to heal( on her arm).

It is 2 pm now. I stay to Target house until 3 , because I have to wait after Liberty Mutual guy who will check the damages on my car. Then I go back to hospital. Until then I send my best thought to St Jude and hope that Regina does not catch fever tonight.


Sunday, November 21

About me

I woke up this morning with strong need to write something. But I really was not sure what . SO I finally decided that I tell you more about myself.

Hi!!! My name is Diana. In St Jude people often ask me where am I from. So I tell them I am from Ca. "Oh, I see, but you have accent???" Well, I am really from Estonia and I Was born to speak Estonian( not Russian, Estonia and Russia have love/hate relationship- dont ask more questions).

Oh, but where is Estonia?? , they ask.

I say you know where is Finland?? Do you know where is Latvia, Lituhania, Baltic sea?? Estonia is somewhere there.
"ok" , they say, and wonder away.

In year 1997 , 11 November I met my Husband Nick. I was 19 year old and had no plans getting married in near future. I was with my co-workers and we where having fun . The place where we had fun was middle of nowhere. lol Middle of open water. We met on a board of cruise ship Regina Baltica.( Yes our daughter is named after the ship). He was on his way back to Sweden and I was on my way to Sweden also but with work issues.

He asked me to dance, and we had fun . I asked his phone number. Called him after 2-3 days I think, ( did I really do that????).
Then In december he sent me ticets to visit him in sweden. I WENT TO SWEDEN !!!! I stayed for a while.

Then In february I went to sweden again . And big things started to happen. One morning when I was ready to go back to Estonia he handed me envelope. I had no idea what the envelope was hidden inside.

I opened it up and it included 2 ticets to LONDON!!!!! He remembered . I told him that I wanted to go to London. It was my dream destination. At a time I was obsessed with Princess Diana and I wanted to see the country she lived.
London was beautiful.

BUT on our way to England , Nick did something. He pulled out little box. I had feeling this might happen. We where in the airplane and he PROPOSED!!!!! At that point we had lived together only for 2 weeks. GRAZY!!!

I sayed YES. I was 19 and I sayed yes. What was wrong with me.????

In 1998 March he moved to USA. I stayed to Estonia. Then in 1st of June I moved to USA also. ( New Jearsey).

12.28.1998 we got married. We flew to Las Vegas and got married in Excalibur hotel chapel. It was just 2 of us.

9 Months after we got married Regina was born, then we moved to CA. Then june 22, 2001 Gabriel was intorduced to this world.
And that all it is. THE TANS.
Nick is 12 years older than me. ( but he behaves like he is 12 years younger) MEN!!!!!

Before we came to ST Jude I was full time collage student.
I started up studing nutrition but I changed my major to culinary arts. Cooking is my passion. I love cooking.
My specialty is rosemary/ carlic roasted leg of lamb or ribs. One day I hope to open my own little place. ( I DREAM about it ).
I olso love eating and since I do love to eat a lot I work out a lot. My favorite cardio workout is biking. In good days I bike about 30 miles( 35 minutes)

I love dancing- more clubbing. I love trance, dance, hip-hop rock, hip-hop, euro dance. My favorite coctail is Cosmopolitan. I love zinfandel ( red).

I do a lot of scrapbooking( now I have about 9 scrapbooks). I love taking photos and working with photos....

....

Saturday, November 20

Geting ready for Thankgiving!!!

About Thanksgiving!!!
http://wilstar.com/holidays/thanksgv.htm


Some EASY recipes
Creamy Ginger Pumpkin Pie
Recipe courtesy of Andy King


2 15-ounce cans pumpkin pie mix 1 container Cool Whip Light 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 eggs 1 graham cracker crust
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Follow mixing directions as instructed on the can of pumpkin pie mix. Blend in 3/4 Cool Whip in lieu of milk and fold in ginger. Puree in the blender and pour into graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees, and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes. Let cool and garnish with Cool Whip and/or pumpkin seeds



Chive and Garlic Mashed potatoes

to 6 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter 4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed 3 sprigs fresh thyme 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Put the cut potatoes into a large pot, cover them with cold water, and add a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain well. Meanwhile, in a small pot heat the cream, butter, garlic, and thyme. While the potatoes are still warm, press them through a potato ricer or food mill into a bowl. Stir in the warm cream a bit at a time, straining out the solids, until the potatoes are fluffy. Season with salt and pepper and gently fold in the chives. Serve immediately.
Other Recipes from this Episode
Citrus-Marinated Grilled Turkey
Green Bean Casserole
Turkey Gravy
Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Sweet Potato Pie with Crunchy Cranberry Topping


Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes

3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 3/4 cup heavy cream, plus more if needed 3/4 pound shredded smoked Gouda Salt and freshly ground white pepper
Place potatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
Return the potatoes to the saucepan and add the butter, cream, and cheese. Mash the potatoes, stirring to incorporate the seasonings. Season with salt and freshly ground white pepper. Serve warm.


OUR ADDRESS

2 very important B clinic ladys and regina.

Friday, November 19

Reginas new career


FOR CAROL!!

Thank you!! Regina is giving us the best manicures now!! Our nails are pretty and pink!! :)




Regina had great day. She was such a little chatterbox today. Very active chatterbox. I think nobody ever heard her talking that much at once. She sure made miss Keidy and Renee to laugh by telling them how to make turkey and spiders. ;lol



For CAROL!!!

Thursday, November 18

Hurray for Regina!!!

3 doses down , one to go!!! Wohooo!! She did awsome during her third round. Chemo affected her little this time. ANd she even did not throw up when she got her stem cells back!!!! YEY!!. We got out of the hospital around 6.30. We where supposed to get discharged around 4pm. We waited and waited and waited and then I asked from nurse what is going on. She told us that her counts has to come back from lab and then they can let us out of here. Well, it was 5 and no counts, 5.30- still nothing. Finally they found out that the shooter system was down( they insert blood into little containers and shoot it down to lab( kind of like in the grossery store banks, where you but money or checks or whatever whey need into clear containers). So she found somebody who could take reginas blood down and finally after 30 minutes of waiting( from 6 to 6-30) we got out !!!!

Last night Regina had to get some blood. She had very weird reaction to blood. Her legs got really itchy and red . At first doctor thought it is nothing, but then the redness started spreading and after 15 minutes both of her legs where red and rashy. They gave her some Benadryl and it helped a lot. Now she has to get premeds every time she gets blood or platelets( it adds extra 30 minutes in medicine room).


It is 10 pm now. I got really hungry and I was crawing for chocolate. For my luck I had half box chocolate cax mix. SO I got really creative. I took the mix, I added 2 tbsp of peanutbutter, , one egg, 5 oz of apple sauce, water, cinnamon, 2 tbsp sour cream and I mixed it all together. Our apartment smells soooo good now and I am allready eating my cake! It came out delicious!!! oh, the power of chocolate!!! I am so happy now!!

Good night!

Dh and Gabriel will arrive next tuesday!! I can not wait. At least then I have somebody I can pick on;) Love you honey!!!

Wednesday, November 17

:)

Med free day.!!! Today is her rest day. She just gets fluids. And tonight she will be hooked up with TPN again. SHe havent had a bite of food since sunday morning. :(

She is way to attached to me. I love it but the same time I even can not stay to the bathroom without hearing her scream - WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE SO LONG!!!!! lol

OK. I hit the gym now. I need to shred 5 lbs before thanksgiving next week. So I can eat more. lol ( how logic is that ) lol


Carol!!! Thank you for the great packs!! Regina has been enjoying the Disney princess books and sticky board( I guess that what it was called).

I told her that soon the packages will stop and she has to be happy with whatever I buy for her- and she told me that NO, Carol can not stop sending her packages because she will be tooo bored without her fun stuff. HUH?????
Does it mean i'm boring??? Carol, I think she likes you more than me ;)

Tuesday, November 16

I know who you are and I will hunt you down!!!

Today started just great. SOME stupid jerk or jerkinna decided that it is ok to bump somebody elses car. YES!! It happend in ST Jude parking lot. Security guy called me because they noticed something was wrong with my car. ( piece here and bump there and RED color attached to my beautiful silver bumper.

I am mad because person was jerk enough to just drive off. NICE and EDUCATED person will always leave a little note with his/her phone number on it. BUT OH no, this person was in such a hurry to get out of the parking lot , she /he probably forgot . HIT AND RUN!!!!

I hope you have nightmares !!!!!!!


On a good note. Regina continues doing well. :) Only thing is that she can not keep her magnesium down. And I told that to her nurses many many times. They told me they see what they can do. But so far nothing. When it is her turn to take magnesium again ther is another nurse and knows nothing about Reginas sturgle to keep Magnes. down. :)



Monday, November 15

So far so good!!

MRI!!!!! All the scans where clean. No signs of cancer anywhere!!!!! Spinal fluids where clean also. YES!! Yes!! Yess!!!!!!
But doctor did mention that she had more white cells( I think) in her brain, but she said it is caused by chemo and it'll clear away. :):)


Regina was watching tv. Suddenly she sat up and told me that she can not see. I paniced. I ran out of foom and told her nurse what was going on. When I got back to room , Regina had started conversation whit roomservice lady( she was sweeping the floors). lady asked if Regina wants to borrow her glasses. And REgina shouted-- IT IS A GREAT IDEA!! I NEED YOUR CLASSES NOW!!! wow, where that came from. Shortly after that she started throwing up and then doctor and nurse arrived and her vision was back. That was the weirdest thing ever. Chemo really does make them feel the ways , us, parents can not predict. One moment she is happy and ready to play, then suddenly she has the worst mood swings and then ,- she gives me kisses and hugs and tells me how much she loves me and then suddenly she tells me she hates kisses and hugs because they make her throw up. But I understand- I have to. ( At least I try to ) ;)

Sunday, November 14

Regina and Chemo

Today they started her third round of chemo. So far she did really good- if to compare other 2 times. She did not throw up as many times as before. I guess it is because her nurse today just knew what she was doing.( giving her premeds in advance). Now REgina is sleeping and I have little time for my self.

Last night she threw a little fit about me not taking her Coloring pencils to hospitals. I told her to go to the nurse and ask the nurse, but all nurses had where cryons. So now I have to find her some coloring pencils, and sooner I find them the better it is. lol

Before her chemo she even had nice size brakfast( hash browns and milk), but thanks to chemo nothing stayed in :(

All you really need to know is that she is doing good and her blood pressure in perfect.

Saturday, November 13

We are ready!!!

Our bags are backed and we are ready to go---- to Inpatient again :D

I know you all want to hear about MRIs, but I can not get hold of anybody who can tell me about her MRI's. So we really think that there is nothing to worry about!!

Last night there was Talent show hosted by alpha something , something. And at first REgina told me that she just wanted to see what other kids are doing, but then she saw another young boy ( I guess her age) singing and she decided that she wanted to sing. YES!! It was her Idea! So she sand ABC song and she looked really cute doing that ( real girly)

Then today we went to see SPONGE BOB movie!! YES!! The whole theater was full ST jude ( Target house, Ronald McDonald house and Grizzlies house) kids. It was funny movie. Regina did lot of laughing. Later we had nice lunch with Kailen( she did not feel very well today, chemo made her little sick). And of course Regina got pics taken with Sponge bob and Patrick!! Oh, and I forgot to mention big pucket of free popcorn and Sprite!!! Thank you one more time for fun morning/noon.
In about 5 hours we go to st jude and nurses will hook her up with fluids, and tomorrow will be her first and the worst Chemo day.

She reallly does look great and act great. :) She almost looks like normal, healthy her- without hair :)

Carol--THANKS!! What a surprise!! Book included even Estonian folk clothes- but let me just mention that Estonia has over 20 different folk clothing styles( each for every corner and county :). I think I am going to scrapbook that Estonian set :)

SB, Sija Keilen, and Patrick.

Sponge Bob, Regina and Patric!!!!

Regina Singing ABC

Thursday, November 11

My little joke cracker! lol

Regina was in such a happy mood in the hospital. :) She started cracking jokes in A/T and s havent stopped once. She spoke to everybody today and since not lot of people have heard her talking it was a big surprise for everybody to see her running around and just looking cute. :)
Her physical therapist was really really pleased how Regina looks and acts and she sayed that Regina does not need PHYSICAl therapy. SHe is to perfect for it. YES!!!!

We were waiting in the B clinic( bone marrow) waiting area and we were kind of tired of waiting. SO I told regina to go ahead and go see what is keeping them that long LOL. I thought she will say NO, but she ran to b clinic, and started shouting- WHEN IS MY TURN. but since she is so short, nobody could see where the sound was coming from. So I lifted her up and told her to ask again, and she did ask. lol

Then I told her to ask for schedule for tomorrow. And she asked- WHAT"S THE SCHEDULE, LADY???? lol That was the funniest thing ever. She just made my day. I wish she was like that all the time..

Oh, I almost forgot- she was acting all happy and then I told her that I want to take a pic- and guess what??? SHE stopped laughing , turned her smile upside down. and just looked like I was hurting her feelings! lol When I was done with the picture, she started laughing again and was back to her happy REGINA! lol I often wonder, what is going on in her little head???

Don't forget to think about us tomorrow. IT is MRI and Spinal tap day!!!! We have to be in the hospital 6.30 in the morning!!!

Wednesday, November 10

Today ...

Today we decided to go to the hospital. Not because something was wrong with regina, but because we wanted to see how Chillis handed 2,5 million dollar check to St Jude. Yes, chillis raised 2,5 dollars nationwide. Original plan was to raise 2 millions but they exceeded that 2 millions. :) Thank you Chillies for caring. :D

Now I am stuck with horrible headace. I thought my head will explode. Nothing seemed to work. No tylenol, no water, no icepacks, not hot pag.. Pain is not that intense anymore but I have lot of pressure and numb pain close to neck and midhead. I never had that kind of headace before. I hope it is just because of stress. ..
Tomorrow regina gets labs drawn to make sure everything looks great and she is ready for her chemo :)


Good lab vibes please:D

Tuesday, November 9


Keilin, me and Regina who did not want pic to be taken

Regina Keilin and purple bear

Care bears movie

Mom, I really like Care Bears, they are my favorites :) That is what Regina told me :) Movie was fun. Lots of snacks ( cookies, popcorn, salty natchos, vegetables , ice tea and lemonade. Regina enjoyed fruit salad. :)

Before movie started Target House Manager handed Care Bear DVD to all the kids. And THEN purple Care Bear showed up. Regina jumped up from her chair and raced to hug purple Bear. It looked funny. After movie all the kids got to take pics with care bear. cute:)

Care Bears and SPONGE BOB!!!

lalalalal
Tonight in target house our Care Bear fans get to see Care Bear movie on big screan.
THEN SATURDAY!!!!!___------ Target house kids and parents get to go to movie to see SPONGE BOB- it is a private screaning. Movie comes out in 2 weeks, but target house kids get to see it first for free :) THank you Nicolodeon :) That was really nice thing of you to do for our kids :)

Monday, November 8

Schedule for upcoming week.

We hanve nothing much to do until friday morning.
Tomorrow Regina has Physical therapy check up- they just make sure they can walk on her heels, on her toes, threw stuff jump and run- nothing special. Same old, same old

On wednesday we have nothing, thursday just A/T( assesment and triage) to make sure her counts are fine

FIRDAY IS SCARY DAY!!! MTI!!. I know she will be fine, but MRI always scare me. And because of her Friday MRI her schedule is little messed up. She was suppose to admitted on Wednesday( this one), but since her MRI is on friday she will be admitted on saturday- 4 whole days - I was so hoping that they can do something about moving her MRI after chemo, but well, it was sheduled 3 months ago and everything is pretty much full. And nobody knew that regina revcovers so fast from chemo. :)

So saturday we start our 5 day horrifying adventure to chemoland. I'm not looking forward her throwing up and not eating . I don't want her to loose 5 more lbs. She gained one lb back since last chemo, but she will loose it for sure. :(

Right now she is sitting on the floor and assembles her 3 D puzzle dinosaurs. She is really good with that. THose dinosaur pieces are very, very small, but she is getting them together. :) good job Regina.


Sunday, November 7

The Incredibles

...were incredible. We went to see it today. Regina loved it- she loves everything now. And of course she laughed out loud whenever she thought it was supposed to be funny. :lol

Saturday, November 6

Reginas Favorites!!!

Favorite food-Ikea Meatballs, Carls Junior star shaped chicken.
Favorite candy- lollipops( square shaped)
  1. snack-cheetos
  2. toy-deddy bears
  3. disney princess- jasmine, Mulan
  4. connect the dots, coloring books, reading books, mathematics
  5. Games- candyland, cards
  6. Computer cames- blues clues, Dora the explorer, gameboy advance games
  7. Colors- RED, purple and Pink
  8. Car-Mercedes
  9. favorite hobby- scrapbooking, coloring
  10. Music-Hilary Duft, Britney spears, JOJO, ashley simpson
  11. Tv show- lilo and stich, sponge Bob and those funny singing vikings( she does not remember the name of the show)
  12. Tv Chanel-Cartoon network
  13. Book-All the fairy tale stories or anykind of books. Regina loves books
  14. Favorite store- book store, Kroger, Toysor us, Craft stores
  15. Shape-diamonds
  16. favorite clothes- my little pony and barbie clothes
  17. dessert-doughnuts
  18. Drink- milk and orange juice
  19. nail polish color-red, purple and pink
  20. day- day when she can go back to shool
  21. animal-cat
  22. favoirte thing to do in the hospital- crafts
  23. fave thing to do with mom- play with my mom and bake cookies
  24. what do I want to get for Christmas-princess castle, crafts, lot of stickers, dollhouse, Play kitchen that talks, kids dvd, princess pillow and blanket, panda bear , black and white bear with a bottle( I dont know what she is talking about), money- so I can by stuff ALL by myself,princess plates and cups, sponge bob stuff, trucks for my brother gabriel, and all the other things that are red pink and purple oh, and I need nailpolish - a lot of nailpolish so I can paint all my fingers different colors( that Is Regina talking). and I want fairy princesses

Regina cone wild. She just keeps telling me all her favorite things( thank you Carol). She is way to funny today. She just talks and talks, and talks and asks questions and makes sure I listen to her. I am not used to her taling that much at one time. It is to much for me to process at once. :)

Good night. I feel sleepy now. :)


I am stuffed!!

We had good day. Regina keeps surprising me with her moods. SHe was on her best behavior today. She was cracking jokes all day long- Oh yeah babe, I drink milk and because of that I have storng bones lol

Kailen and her mom spend afternoon with us and during dinnertime we all went to Ronald mcdonald house for dinner. OH food was great . G rilled chicken, burgers , sweet potato something, vegetable casserole, cakes, pies bread . I am stuffed. :00



Regina and Keilin and Candyland

Saturday.

It is 8.30 in the morning. SUn is shining but I guess wether is still little chilly outside.
I thought that we will go to childrens museum today but regina seems not very interested, so instead we are going to Wolfchase mall. It is a big mall with merry go round. And regina loves Merry go rounds :) Keilin and felicia ( reginas friend and her mom) will come with us. They have day off from hospital so we go and have some fun together. Keilin has ALL( leukemia) and she is here in memphis for 3 weeks , then she goes back to home and then they come back again and so on until her treatments are finished. SHe is cancer free now( no evidence of disease in her) but she still has to get chemo I think for more than a year.

I baked some cressents yesterday because regina requested them. She even ate them and today she requested them again. Lucky for her there were 2 of them left ( I wonder who ate them last night?? NOT ME ??? NEVER. lol)

OK. Update you later about how our day was. :)

Friday, November 5

Beautiful day!!

It is beatiful here today. Sky is blue and weather is nice and chilly- not to hot, not to cold. Sija woke up around 11 am and after she did we went to Pink Palace. It is museum/ IMAX theater and everything else all toghether. Regina had fun.
Weather was just beautiful and we went to overton Park. Regina and sija did some swinging and after some swingind we went to grossery store.

Store was filled with fresh bakery smell. It smelled nice but not so nice for Regina. She threw up right Away she smelled it. So she and sija went to dollar store and I did my grossery shopping. Now we are back in Target house. I got my favorite papa Brims pork Rinds( those really tough ones) and I just love Papa Brims. So cruncy and yummmm( I know some of you are rolling your eyes over HOW CAN YOU EAT DEAD SKIN - lol. I just love it.
Regina had some cheetos and now she is getting ready to scrapbook ( surprise from Carol). I told Regina to wait when I receive my Ofoto halloween pics but she is not eager to wait. She wants to scrap now. OK. Her wish is HER command. :)

I'm going to gym now. I have to bike off those greasy rinds or I end up myself looking like one great pink fatty pig. :) oink oink oink oink. hehe ;)

Life is beautiful- sometimes :)

Overton Park

Autumn sky

Grazy swingers!!!

Upside down- Sija discover how much fun she can have with one simple swing LOL
Me and my kids

Regina in front of Pink Palace
Me and my kids

Bingo Night
Me and my kids

Thursday, November 4

Weekend off.

Since Regina is doing awsome we get 3 day weekend. NO hospital for 3 full days. What should we do with all the free time in our hands???
Next week is going to be really nerveracking. She has MRI scheduled on thursday. MRIs are the worst. It reminds us the harsh reality. Regina continues to do great and we want to forgot all about what is going on, but sadly , these reminders never let us forget.

She will be admitted for third round of chemo on next friday. ALLREADY!!! TImes flyes so fast here. It was not that long ago when we moved here, and now soon it is time to leave. :) We all wait when we can go back home but I feel sad . I'm so used to being around kids with cancer. I know more about all kinds of brain tumors and leukeemia and other types of cancer than I know about cooking ( how sad is this?) . I know that in the future I want to be more active about educating world about childhood cancers/tumors. I want to learn more about different studies, I want to meet familyes who are facing the same kind of decisions we once we did.

Carol!!! Once again you made Reginas day!! You continue to surprise us with your kindness. And your cards make us always smile :)

Thank you :)

Wednesday, November 3


Steven and Regina
Me and my kids

California

Yesterday we had 100% Califronia mood in our little target House apartment. Our friend Steven and Kathy visited us . Steven was here getting his 6 month check up/MRI. He had the same type of tumor as Regina. :)

It was really nice to talk to Kathy and she has tons of information to share.
Please click on your left to Our Friend Steven link to read more about what Kathy had to say :)

Tuesday, November 2


Regina and Nurse G.
Me and my kids

Good News !!!

Reginas counts look great. Her bonemarrow engaged very well. :) It means that she does not have to get GCSF every day. And tomorrow we dont have to go to hospital. We still have to go to routin check ups( to check counts) and if her counts and she is ready for next transplant/chemo round, we'll be admitted again( in a week or so).


Monday, November 1