Too much Craziness on the Home Front....

Ok, the shortest version of what's been going on around here I can possibly tell you.

My mother-in-law, Sharon, found out she had a cancerous lump in her breast and had it removed.  It did not affect the lymph nodes, but the gene for the cancer is still present in her blood, which makes it very possible for her to get the cancer again.  She will be starting treatments on March 4th; 18 weeks of chemo and 4-6 weeks of radiation after that.  Her treatments will happen in Great Falls.

My father-in-law, Dick, had knee replacement surgery and had complications due to not enough blood in his system after the surgery (note to self, don't go to Great Falls Clinic for surgery) and ended up having vision issues after his release from the hospital.  He was readmitted to the hospital closer to home in Havre where they found out he had had a small stroke at some point in the past and thought his corodit arteries were 60-90% blocked.  He had tests done and it turns out that after 2 units of blood at the hospital his vision returned to normal and after more tests found out one artery was completely clean and the other 40% blocked.  They won't do surgery until the artery is 70% block or more.  Now he is working on recovering from his knee surgery.

About a week after most of the craziness with my in-laws calmed down for the time being, Preston got croup and I was unfortunate enough to get sick from him.  We are both mostly recovered now, thank the Lord.

All of this has taken place in the last 3 weeks, so I haven't had much time to focus on much else.  I'm anxious for my mother-in-law and pray that the chemo and radiation treatments don't have the worst effects on her.  I am anxious about how this is going to affect Jason and little family unit.  I constantly am praying that we all make it through this phase in my mother-in-law getting better as sane as possible, but especially for Sharon because she has to go through the hardest part, the treatment.

I am extremely thankful that Jason, Preston and I will be able to escape from the craziness for a few days.  We will be traveling to Minnesota for one of my soul sister's wedding on Feb. 26- March 2.  I wish we could stay longer, but the following Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and Jason is pretty much required to be around for that.  Some much needed relaxation about too much craziness on the home front.

How I entertained a 15 month old by myself for 48 hours.....

It is getting colder outside and snowing at least once a week for the past two weeks in Fairfield, MT. There are not many places to take my son Preston for long periods of time that he can run around in, except the church where Jason's office is. So most mornings, Jason takes Preston with him to coffee time at the local restaurant called Cozy Corner Cafe and then takes Preston to the office with him. Preston runs around the open fellowship hall and then either takes a nap or doesn't before the guys come home for lunch. This does not happen every morning, but most mornings.

It gives me time to get things done around the house, like cleaning or some laundry, or work out and read a bit of the book for book club for a while. Sometimes I work out and then work on one of my many crocheting projects that I'm trying to finish. So what I'm saying is that most days, I get some form of time to myself.

Last night, today and part of tomorrow, it is just Preston and I, while Jason finishes up his last stint at 1st Call Theological Education, which is required for 1st call Pastors in the ELCA. So I am trying to come up with ideas and then implement them to keep Preston occupied this morning and this evening. Luckily this afternoon there is a break for Jason so Preston and I are going to meet up with him and some of our friends for a little bit, so I don't have to worry too much about entertaining him then. I have to run some errands too before and after we hang out with friends this afternoon, so that will burn some time too.

That is the background for the next couple of days...

This morning, in order to take a shower in peace, I put on one of Preston's favorite tv shows, "Super Why". I was able to take a shower and get dressed without him banging on the bathroom and bedroom doors. 30 minutes of quiet so I could get ready for the day. It was amazing. I am now updating this post as he watches a little more tv. Many people would chastise me for using the tv as entertainment so I can get things done around the house and for myself. I say to those people, "Hey, I just got to take 30 minutes for myself with no distractions. I win!"

Okay, free time over. Now time to find something else to entertain the munchkin. I'll report back later today on how things turn out.

Later on yesterday....

I distracted Preston with some more of his favorite shows and then got him ready to head to Great Falls after feeding him lunch. Lunch consisted of a peanut butter sandwich, beets and some pineapple with milk to drink. Then we headed to Great Falls where I proceeded to drag him around all over town. First to Barnes & Noble, then to hang out with friends for a bit at Starbucks. We went to Michaels, ate a Subway for dinner, went to Target and then to Sam's Club. We left the house around 1pm yesterday afternoon. We got home around 8pm last night. Needless to say, we both had a pretty busy day, so Preston basically passed out from exhaustion when we got home and I had the rest of the night to myself to do whatever I wanted.

That is how I entertain my 15 month old on rare occasions. Today is another story. Today he has been entertained with reading books, playing with toys and watching his television programming simultaneously. He is also a bit more needy today, so no putting on his favorite show and having 30 minutes to myself to get ready for the day. Today, I'll probably have to wait for Jason to get home before I'll be able to take a shower, or I can have a screaming, temper tantrum throwing kid bang on the door of the bathroom while I take a shower. No thanks. I'll wait for Jason to get home. Preston and I might go for a quick walk outside today to get out of the house for a few minutes, but it is going to be a more low-key day today.

Entertaining a 15 month old changes everyday. Some days are easy, some days are hard. But everyday is worth it.