Reunited And It Feels So Good...

Look at who is back in the saddle again!

Finally, we are through the drudgery of winter

and able to have horse therapy again.

 My friend's son came and helped us out today...

 and Kean was so very happy.

I secretly think he believes he is riding Maximus from Tangled.

After all, Maximus and Romeo are both white, neigh and snort a lot.

 I have to admit I love it too--

out in the sunshine, running alongside Kean and the horse.

Fun with exercise thrown in.

Bonus.

Have I told you how my little adrenalin junkie

squeals with delight and giggles while we all try to 

keep up with the trotting horse?

The Girls Chase the Boys

What a Spring Break we've had--- we played hard at the lake

for the first few days and then nearly killed ourselves off the second half.

My dear husband (many of you know I call him McGyver- because he 

can do everything) decided we were going to refinish our wood floors.

Holy cow-- what a lot of work!!!

Our wood floors actually are an old gym floor from a high school

in Arizona-- true hard wood, and I mean hard.

We sanded on those darn things for years it felt like.

 We put not one, but two coats of the hardener on it, plus

the top coat (with sanding and cleaning each time in between).

Let's just say we put in some incredibly long hours and I'm pretty

sure I won't be able to move tomorrow.

 We also carted the kids over to my folks house and ended up

staying there-- due to the mountains of dust and the

toxic fumes.

Last night we celebrated my dad's birthday and the birthdays 

of my parents' neighbors-- Janice and Bob.

(Janice is our dear miracle-- she wasn't supposed

to survive her cancer and yet is still with us and fighting hard).

 And as if we don't have enough on our plates with cleaning 

everything-- and I mean everything-- and moving it all back

into the house... we had to move Sadie and her baby, Rudy

down to the back pasture with the other cows.

 I swear it is a good thing there aren't cameras to capture

all of us chasing and hollering after these dumb cows

trying to get them to go where we want.

 Thankfully, we got them in with no extra drama

and it was crazy watching all the seven of the girl cows

we have chase Rudy around and check him out.

Byron, of course, said that is exactly how he and Kean

feel all the time- since they are "ladies men".

 I guess that makes us the chasers.

Check Ups

What a mean mom I am-- scheduling doctor's and dentist

appointments for the girls during Spring Break so they

don't have to miss any school.

 The good news is all three girls made it in to the

"Cavity Free Club".

 Kean stayed with Grammy and Grandpa-- kicked

back and watched his Tangled.

Love these good days for all.

Road Trip

It is Spring Break for our girls-- and we promised

them we'd play a bit and then work a bit around the house and yard.

So off we went for a long weekend to the cabin at Lake Cascade.

Kean kept us entertained in the car with his master yoga moves.

Oh to be so limber.

 It was gorgeous up in the mountains

for most of the time.

Kean got such a kick out of feeding Reese

on the porch.

 We had a bit of a struggle getting him to eat consistently.

I'm guessing he was just out of his element and will 

get back to normal now that we are home.

 And while Kean can't go anywhere near the water

the girls... that's a different story--

even though it was freezing.

 Don't ask me how but they found bait, a hook, a weight

and some old tangled fishing line

and decided to try and catch a fish.

We spent way too much time untangling fishing line

and tying on the old bait and hook.

 Holland manipulated   talked Greer into wading out into the lake

and tying off their fishing line to a piling.

They were oh, so determined to catch a fish.

They went back today before we left

and I know you will find this shocking-- but they did not

catch a fish.

They can't wait to try it again next time!

Case In Point

Aye yai yai... my girls are growing up too fast.

Tonight I dropped Holland, Greer and our neighbor Jaymie

off at "Teen Night" at their middle school.

How can this be?

And yet, while I'm thinking they are so grown up-- I was at the grocery store

tonight and get a very panicked phone call from home

telling me they had an emergency.

Could Dad and I get home RIGHT NOW!!!

I guess Kean had a blow out of somewhat epic proportions.

By the time we made it to the house, they had everything 

under control-- Kean cleaned up, bathed, in new pajamas

and even his hair combed.

 So back to my initial statement-- these girls are growing up

too fast (and sometimes, that's a very good thing).

Sleep Deprivation

So the good news is... Kean turned a corner and is finally feeling his old self.

The bad news is... he woke up at 1 a.m. and didn't go back to sleep

until 4:30 a.m.

Which, if I must interpret, means, no sleep for his mama

and not much for his pops.

Then he was up again a little after 7.

Dang Steroids.

He sure doesn't sleep well when he's on that drug.

And I sure as heck didn't know what to expect from him

for Speech Therapy today.

Get this, he dazzled.

Probably his best ever.

(However, I yawned all the way through the session).

 This was him after nap time (for both of us).

 We decided he makes a pretty cute Leprechaun.

Happy Saint Patty's day from Keanut McBarker.

The Incredible Hulk

Long few days hunkered down with the Keanut man.

Poor boy just wants mostly to be held.

If he wasn't so miserable, it'd be such a sweet experience-- 

getting to cuddle all the time.

You have to watch this video.

Here's the background.

Kean is on a boatload of medicine and most of them

he takes like a champ.

However, there is one drug-- his Steroids that are horribly bitter.

Most of the time, when he takes it, he shudders and groans--

just like he's turning into the Incredible Hulk.

It is hilarious to watch.

Here's from tonight at dinner:

All About the Food

I guess the best way to describe Kean today is partly cloudy.

He had moments where he giggled, laughed, played and felt fine.

And then he had patches where he whimpered and just wanted 

to be held.

We did get a decent amount of food down him-- so that takes

away some of my stress.

First thing this morning, we dropped the girls off at the bus stop,

took the paper up to Grandpa Bodily's-- where Kean walked inside,

ditched his jacket and shoes, helped himself to the yogurt in the

refrigerator and walked over to the breakfast table.

 This morning he surprised us-- he got a yogurt out --

one for him and one for Grandpa Bodily.

 This evening we all headed over to the Moomey's house

to celebrate Ron's birthday.

Elly (an amazing cook) made a scrumptious dinner

and a dark chocolate and ganache cake.

Yum.

 So many candles-- Ron had to have some help from the Barkettes.

 Then that crazy Elly had to keep up tradition and help the

girls polish their manners at the dinner table-- with the ol'

whipped cream with dessert lesson.

 Finally, we kept Kean from focusing on feeling icky

by feeding Pete jerky treats.

It worked great.

Gotta remember that little trick.

A Hospital Snooze

Yess!!!

We have another hard Chemo day under our belts.

We are steadily rolling toward that September 13th end date.

Today our Chemo date was Shawna Hill-- she is wonderful

and was sure a delight to spend the day with.

 Kean did great, he wasn't even too grouchy about having to fast.

 The procedure to put the Chemo into his brain and spine only takes

about 15 minutes once he's under.

However, I couldn't get Shawna and I out of there fast enough.

I can't handle watching the procedures.

 What seems to always take the longest is waiting for Sleeping Beauty

to come out of the meds.

 Once awake, he tanked down cheesy eggs, bacon (no surprise)

and yogurt.

Which is a good thing since for the next few days, he likely won't

want to eat a thing.

That of course will all change once those lovely Steroids kick in

and then he'll be eating us out of house and home.

What a crazy ride we are on.

So glad we are inching closer to the time when

we get to climb off!!!

Snow Cones Trump Chemo Anyday

Ah, are we ever worshiping the sun over here.

A perfect 71 degrees today-- can't order up one much better.

When Kean walked with us down to the school bus, he stopped

dead at the shed at our neighbor's- Grandpa Bodily's house 

and wouldn't budge.

Of course, this is the same shed that houses the ol' lawn mower

he is so very fond of.

Lucky for us, Grandpa Bodily offered to take Kean for a spin

on the chariot (so I could go vote on the school bond).

 Let's just say we had two very happy boys who tooled around

the neighborhood (put putted might be a better description).

 I do believe Kean would live outdoors if allowed.

Reese too.

 And I do believe, she'd live on snow cones

(if allowed).

Tomorrow's another big day for the warrior boy.

Sedated Chemotherapy at the hospital.

Dreading it big time-- but also looking at it

another one down and another month closer to being

DONE!!!

Giving Thanks

Long  day for the Keanut man.

He had three therapy sessions at his little therapy school.

From there, we raced home, scarfed down some lunch, 

picked up Elly Moomey, stopped by his Orthotics doctor's office

to get fitted for his new foot braces

and then headed to the hospital.

 We had been asked way back to take part in a video St. Luke's

was shooting to be used for a donor appreciation dinner and an accreditation 

process.

The video is a tribute to the outstanding nurses who make 

St. Luke's a special place.

Of course, we have many, many nurses we adore-- but told

the producers about three nurses in particular we especially love.

So today, they had us and these three nurses come down to the

cancer clinic for interviews and video.

Silly me forgot to take any pictures of our part-- but here's 

as shot of an interview as we were leaving.

We talked about Liz-- my favorite nurse who took care of me

when I was on bed rest on the second floor for those 75 days.

(She also delivered Kean).

We then talked about Joe-- who was so cute and went above and beyond

in taking care of all of us when Kean was so sick and fighting for his life

after his diagnosis.

And finally, we focused on Penny, the nurse in the cancer clinic we

refer to as the "Chemo Queen".  She sings and dances for Kean

when they are accessing his port or administering Chemo.

These nurses have all made such difficult experiences as pleasant as possible.

We love them and were excited to give them some recognition

for all the extras they've done for us.

And yet, the woman in charge of the project surprised us with a large

gift bag for our family as a thank you.

 Talk about spoiling us-- the girls were thrilled.

Kean was in bed-- he literally cried from

about 5:30 until 8:30.

I'm hoping he was just exhausted from his big day and

from missing his nap.

There should be something in this pile of goodies

that will make him smile tomorrow!

Hail To The Queen

I must have some rebel blood in me

because Kean is supposed to be wearing a hearing aid on his right ear

and I'm lucky if I have enough energy (or care enough) to put it in.

His hearing loss- supposedly is minor-- so minor, he doesn't see the benefit

and neither do I.  I just see the struggle.  He hates it.

And in my book, he has enough on his plate, so I don't push it.

Well, today was reckoning day.

He had a hearing test (torture on the level of Guantanamo Bay).

Let's just say he didn't do too well.

Really, I should clarify-- he didn't cooperate.

In fact, the doctor is looking into having a brain mapping

hearing test while he is sedated for Chemo next week or

the next time.

He couldn't leave the hospital today fast enough!!!

 While Kean napped this afternoon, I got to go down to Reese's

third grade class to watch her dazzle.

The children were assigned to read a biography,

write a speech as if they were that person and then dress up

and give the speech.

 We read four books and Reese picked Cleopatra.

She loved all the wars, the forced marriage to her little brother,

the death of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony killing himself by sword

and then Cleopatra killing herself with a poisonous snake--

it read like a movie script.

She memorized her entire speech and rocked it.

 It was actually quite entertaining to hear all the other speeches.

The kids up today-- Einstein, Helen Keller, Sacajawea, Bill Gates,

Katy Perry and our little queen of Egypt.