A GIFT ...

Hi Friends!

Sorry, I haven't blogged for a while. I'll start first with my lupus news. On Wednesday I went to UCLA to meet with Dr. Karpouzas, the director of rheumatology, who specializes in cases of lupus like mine that affect the central nervous system and brain. Tuesday night I was worrying about the appointment, and when I prayed to God -- I clearly heard him tell me that I would be receiving a gift from Dr. Karpouzas with his treatment plan. Of course, I began to whine to God, saying, "But what if I have to do more chemo?" And then God reminded me that this might be the 6 rounds that saves my life by putting me into complete remission. At that point, I felt secure and no longer worried, but I was quite sure God was preparing me for more chemo.

On Wednesday, we met with Dr. Karpouzas. He is really happy with my progress -- lupus-wise. He hadn't seen me for 9 months, and the last time he saw me, I was looking really bad! However, he wants me to do the rest of the chemo cycles (6 more) as we originally planned. He said it was fine to stop in order to check my kidneys, etc. for damage. But 12 rounds is the standard treatment, and so we need to do it. He also feels I have fibromyalgia in addition to the lupus, so I am starting some new pain medication for that, which will hopefully help my hands and feet to feel much better. And he is working on tweaking some of my other meds. As far as the fatigue, besides being a symptom of lupus and fibromyalgia, he feels I am "snowed" from all of the meds I am on -- many of them cause drowsiness. And now I don't have the Prednisone as an upper anymore.

So, on Tuesday, I see Dr. Cohen to put this plan in action. I imagine that I'll start chemo ASAP as soon as Dr. Menco, the oncologist, can set it up. I am hoping to get 3 rounds done over the summer while the kids are off. Cameron is thrilled, because I was planning to make him get a summer job. However, we've now agreed he can stay home and help me around the house.

Wednesday night, Bill decided to rent a camper so that we could go camping this weekend. I think it was his way of dealing! So, we spent Thursday and Friday, getting things together. Then we spent the weekend at Lake Isabella, which was a lot of fun and very beautiful. I came home feeling quite happy and rested. I will try and post some photos tomorrow, as I took quite a few.

More then ...

Love,
Michele

STILL PUKING ON TUESDAY ...

Hi Friends!

Well, it's Tuesday, and everyone should be back at school -- but I have a house full of sickly children. Cameron and Molly stayed home today, because they still weren't feeling well. Isaac seems to be recovering quicker than me. He definitely has much better stamina! And Nate was the latest to be struck down -- he threw up twice during the night. Bill went to a doctor's appointment (cardiologist) and then to work -- so we're hoping he fares better than the rest of us. Last night he was feeling queasy, though!

So, I guess we're up for another day of resting and light schoolwork. Cameron has already hosted a Magic SchoolBus marathon! Tomorrow I am going to UCLA to meet with Dr. Karpouzas (director of rheumatology), so I hope we're all in better shape. Annie will be watching any kids who are still at home, and Bill will take me to UCLA.

More tomorrow when I know more ...

Much Love,
Michele

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

Hi Friends!

Today is Memorial Day and our 18th wedding anniversary. Bill and I were married May 25, 1991. I am glad that this year we opted for a pre-anniversary celebration on Friday night -- because it is still flu-central at the Bland's house. Molly recovered by yesterday, but I was feeling really sick. Then last night Cameron and Isaac started puking. It was a long night, and I think I'll be washing sheets for a while.

Bill had to do the LA Marathon without Cameron today, because Cameron was still too sick. So, that was kind of sad! He left at 2 a.m. and he was back by around 10 a.m. The Scouts all did well!

Other than that -- we are going to spend a quiet day at home resting and recovering. I'll try to blog more tomorrow.

Much Love,
Michele

SUNDAY!!!

Hi Friends!

Last night Heather and Will spent the night at our house. We were going to get up this morning and go to church. Somehow, that never happened. So Bill and I slept, and the kids played until Judi needed hers to come home for a family gathering at about 11:30 a.m.

Molly is feeling better today, but it seems to have hit me now. I woke up this morning with a temperature, vomiting, and diarrhea. Bill is teasing me that I have swine flu, but hopefully that's not it. I did have the flu shot this year, though, so I guess this is a mutant strain!

Bill and Cameron are busy making preparations for the LA Marathon today. They are riding their bikes in it tomorrow with the Boy Scouts. They are leaving at 2 a.m. in the morning, so I am hoping they go to bed early. I am very proud of them and all of their hard work and training! I would definitely be UNABLE to bike 28 miles.

So, I think we'll take it easy today, and I'll blog more tomorrow. If you see the LA Marathon on TV, watch for Bill and Cam on their bikes!

Much Love,
Michele

SATURDAY!!!

Hi Friends!

I am still not feeling well, so yesterday I stayed in bed all morning. I elected to homeschool the boys on Monday (Memorial Day -- which we'd usually take off) instead of Friday due to how I was feeling as well as what we had planned for Friday night.

So, the boys were very cooperative and played nicely together all Friday morning while I slept. I got up around 12:30 p.m. and the boys and I took down tent city. We also got all the laundry put away (which was a lot after our plumbing issues!) and some general clean-up done before it was time to pick up Cam and Molly from school.

After school pick-ups which included Heather and Will coming over -- I showered and started to get ready for my anniversary date with Bill. Molly helped me choose the perfect outfit!!! We had tickets to see a concert in Los Angeles of 38 Special, REO Speedwagon, and Styx. Shirlene came and took Nate, Isaac, and Will to her house in Palmdale for the night. Heather went back home, and Cam and Molly had the house to themselves. They were spoiled, though, by Aunt Annie (or Alice) who brought them meatball subs from ToGo's. She also nicely brought us milk from CostCo, so I guess we're spoiled all around!

Bill and I had a great date. The only thing that could have been better is if I was feeling better. The concert would have been better without the headache! We drove partway to LA and when traffic was bad -- we stopped at Denny's for dinner. We then made it to the Nokia Theater (right next to Staples Center) by 7 p.m. for our concert. It was really good, and it lasted until almost 11 p.m.

Unfortunately, partway through the concert we received word from home that Molly was running a temperature and puking everywhere. Luckily, Cameron called our neighbor, Jeff, and he came over to help. They got the situation under control, and told us that everything was fine!

So, after the concert, we stopped at New Zealand's Ice Cream for smoothies, and then we came home. We made it home by 1 a.m. Cameron was waiting up for us to relive the gory vomitrocious details! We checked on Molly who was sleeping, and we gave her tylenol and
anti-nausea meds. She threw up several more times during the night, so it was a long night!

Also, Cam and I checked on the hamsters late last night and discovered one dead hamster. We also had one hamster struggling and caught up in the fluff. So, we had to distract Mama hamster, and rescue the struggling one. Then we put all the hamsters together in one central nesting location for her. That is, of course, what everyone wants to do at 2 a.m. in the morning!

I slept in until noon today, and Bill got up with the kids. Shirlene brought them all back around 8 a.m. this morning. This afternoon, Bill and Cam are at Cajun Fest for Boy Scouts. The rest of us are just hanging out around home.

I hope you all are having great weekends!
More tomorrow ...

Much Love,
Michele

THURSDAY!!!

Hi Friends!

I never got around to blogging yesterday. It was a busy day, but as of now it's just a blur. I just know that I spent a lot of time cleaning the sewage back-up out of our garage laundry room. I also went for a walk with the boys in the SUNLIGHT!!! So, I guess I pushed it a bit too much, and the lupus body was not pleased with me. I woke up with my usual red face and spots all over my body. Also, I was very very tired and had lots of pain in my hands and feet.

So, I took it easy on myself this morning. We had a late start to homeschooling, and you have to love it when you can teach school in your pajamas! I managed to get showered by the time I needed to go pick up Cam and Molly from school. So, I considered it a success that I had homeschooled and showered for the day! After picking up our kids and collecting Judi's kids who have been hanging out here after school -- I worked around the house and did laundry, laundry, and more laundry! I am still working on it, and I have about 3 loads left. I hadn't done any for a week due to all the craziness and our plumbing issues. Let me tell you, 6 people make a lot of laundry in 7 days. Tomorrow we'll work on putting it all away!

Judi continues to do well at home and is recovering slowly. I have mostly been helping out with the kids as well as visiting with her each day. So far, Jeff has been staying home from work -- but soon he will need to go back. Her Mom has taken Family Medical Leave, and she will be staying with them for a while. She's a really nice lady, and we should all have a lot of fun torturing Judi with her exercises!

Tomorrow night Bill and I are going out to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We will be married 18 years on May 25th. However, on that day Bill and Cameron are doing the Los Angeles Marathon with the Boy Scouts on their bikes. So, we'll celebrate tomorrow. We are going out to dinner and then to a concert with Styx, REO Speedwagon, and 38 Special. I am looking forward to it. It will work out well, because Shirlene always takes the little boys on Friday night. And Cam and Molly are thrilled to have the house to themselves.

I'll sign off now and go switch one more load of laundry before bed. Bill is currently piling up all the medical bills. We have finally gotten insurance to pay their parts of all my bills, so now we are paying our share. It only took a year to work it all out, but OH WELL! It will take a serious dip into our savings, but it will be nice not to have them hanging over our heads anymore.

Much Love,
Michele

NORMAL, CRAZY WEEK ...

Hi Friends!

I haven't blogged for a while, but it's been a busy several days. On Friday we took Molly to Disney's California Adventure. The short story is we had a fantastic time, but we didn't get home until after 2 a.m. Annie again took tons of photos, which I'll get around to posting someday. Thank goodness we don't have anymore birthdays until July.

Also on Friday, Cameron received his class ring at school. He is thrilled about it, and he has been wearing it ever since. I'll try to get a picture of that tomorrow. And Bill and the boys hosted a pool party for our Bible study group Friday night. It was a barbeque pool party, and it sounded like fun!

I spent all of Saturday helping the Malone's. Brian, Jeff's brother and my deceased friend, Julia's husband, was getting remarried. So, first I helped Jeff get all the kids ready for the wedding. I curled Heather's hair, and she looked like a little princess! Then, after they left for the wedding -I went to the hospital and spent the day with Judi. She had a broken femur which was completely reconstructed with a rod and screws at the knee. She also damaged her kidney, broke a rib, and had collapsed her lungs. And of course, there were numerous bumps and abrasions as well. Anyway, she had a rough day on Saturday. Specifically, they had tried to take her off of oxygen, and she was just not breathing well. I ended up having them reconnect her. Also, they were doing much invasive testing. So, she needed a hand to hold, and when he returned, Jeff needed someone to talk to and help him make decisions. I was glad to do it after all they have done for me!

I slept in on Sunday, and Bill went to the dump as it was Free Dump Day. Bill and the kids went to church on Saturday, but I was too wiped out after Friday's fun and Saturday's stress! In the afternoon on Sunday I cleaned up the house. You can imagine what it looked like after my absence of two days. Then Cam, Molly, and I went to Smart and Final for groceries. We have a system now where every 2 weeks they help me with a "big shop!" They each push a cart for me, and they help me with the heavy items. We also went out for lunch at Carl's Jr (payment for teenagers is always in food!) and to Borders where Cameron was on a search for a movie he had been wanting. We were successful, and he was very happy to find his movie on sale for only $8. We later watched it -- Romeo + Juliet, it was Shakespeare's original version set in modern times. Think gangs, etc -- but they still talked in Old English. It was very cool.

Also on Sunday, they released Judi from the hospital. So, I went over and helped her get settled in. She is doing really well considering the extent of her injuries. They have a hospital bed set up for her downstairs, and she can walk small distances with a walker. I helped her wash her hair, which she hadn't been able to do for almost a week, and that really lifted her spirits. I saw the pictures of her car, which they had to pull her out of. I also saw the pictures of the house/tree she hit, and pictures of what her leg looked like after the accident. It was bent at a 90 degree angle and not at the knee. After seeing the pictures, I was just thankful that she is still alive!

Monday was a fairly typical day. The boys and I did our homeschooling. Annie stopped by on her way home from Anaheim with our usual Big Gulps. We made cookies and cards for Judi and visited her. We also took her kids over to our house after school, and they stayed for dinner.

One funny story from Monday -- after picking up Cameron and Molly from school, Cameron decided he'd like to stop at 7-11 for a snack. He always takes his wallet to school, and he had plenty of money -- so we stopped. After getting all of his food, etc. -- he realized he didn't have his wallet, and I didn't bring my purse. So, I had to leave Cam and Molly at 7-11 and go home to retrieve his wallet. They were pretty glad to see me when I returned.

Also Monday night we went to the dollar store in the evening, and we found many treasures! I always go for a few things and walk out with about 100, but it is still cheap entertainment! When Annie and I got home, Bill was snaking the drain in the laundry room. It was backed up, and we couldn't use the kitchen sink, dishwasher, or wash machine without it all overflowing!

He was not successful, so today we had Rescue Rooters over in the morning. $600 later and we're all fixed, but I'm not looking forward to doing all the laundry or cleaning up the garage tomorrow! As it was, we had to run the dishwasher 2 times tonight to catch up on dishes. Also today, we had the maids in for cleaning, and someone bought our mini-quad. We recently bought Isaac his own 50 motorcycle, so everyone had pretty much outgrown the quad!

I did get some homeschooling done, and then this afternoon -- I SOS'ed Annie to come watch the boys. I was having some problems of a female nature, and needed to go and see the gyno! Not fun! I will not go into details, but it is lupus-related and there is a treatment plan, and trust me -- you don't want to know more.

We still have the baby hamsters. Mama Fluffy is doing really well, and she is beginning to trust us around the babies. They are growing black fur and are very cute.

I will write more tomorrow...

Much Love,
Michele

HAMSTER NEWS!!!

Something exciting happened at our house! We have great news about the hamsters. The hamsters had babies. We are planning to call the boys Carman, Petra, and Michael Jackson. We think there are 3 boys, but we can't be sure. We'd call the 2 girls Brittney Spears and Hannah Montana. When we saw the babies we were super-excited!

The babies look like little miniature naked mole rats. Their eyes are closed. There is skin over their eyes. Their skin everywhere is see-through, and you can observe the organs of the babies. Fluffy is the mom, and Teddy is the dad. Fluffy made her nest on the top level of her cage. The babies are in a bunch of fluff just like her name. Sometimes she leaves them for a few minutes while she gets herself some food so she can produce milk. Then we can see the hamsters up close. When Fluffy is with the hamsters they are below her nursing. Then you can't see them.

Teddy has his own house now. We bought it at PetSmart today. It is 3 stories, and now he has a better house than Fluffy and the babies. He had to be moved from the babies, because boy hamsters eat the baby hamsters no matter what! First we put him in a big bin. Then we went and bought his new cage. We are planning to buy a great house for the baby hamsters, too -- but we can't move them yet.

All the hamsters are doing fantastic. Fluffy is a good Mom. We did have one scare when one baby got lost. Fluffy went downstairs to eat, and the baby wandered away from the nest. When Fluffy came back, she didn't notice the baby was gone. The baby was crying for his Mom. We had to use a plastic spoon to place him closer to his Mommy. Then they found each other.

We are happy to have baby hamsters. Since we'll have these hamster from birth, they should live a long time. They are cute. WE LOVE THEM!!!

THE END

--by Nathaniel Richard Bland and Isaac John Bland

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAMSTERS!!! AND FLUFFY IS FERTILE...FERTILE...FERTILE...

Hi Friends!!!

I have everyone sound asleep...everyone except me...can't sleep...imagine that!!! It occurred to me that I forgot some of the most interesting events of the day!!!

When arriving home with the Malone kids and Cameron at 3:30, I was greeted with freaked out/hyper kids (Nate, Isaac, and Molly). Annie informed me that Fluffy (yes -- the female hamster we got two days ago!) had given birth and was eating her young. Can you say, WELCOME HOME, MOM!!!??? Nate and Isaac were just hyper and excitable, viewing it as a scientific experiment. Molly, our resident drama queen, was in hysterics over the whole experience!!! We all had a long discussion about how animals can be, and then we seemed to move on.

Fast forward...after our trip to Wiernerschnitzel...the boys insist that they can see babies that the mom is nursing. I chalked it up to wishful thinking, but sure enough LATE in the evening we discovered that she indeed had 5 more babies that she hadn't eaten and was taking care of!!! So, we were all thrilled and it took forever to calm down again. And then we had to take Teddy, the male hamster out of the cage, so that we wouldn't have anymore hamster cannibalism. Males will eat the young no matter what, so we were planning to mate the hamsters, and then remove the male hamster into another cage in a week or so. FYI -- female hamsters ovulate every 4 days and only carry the babies for 16 days. So, we figured within a week or two -- Fluffy would be pregnant. We just didn't realize we bought a pregnant hamster!!! I'm not upset, but the timing could have been better to say the least. I will call the pet store tomorrow, though, and see if they will give me a discount on more hamster supplies since they basically sold me a knocked up hamster!!!

Meanwhile, Teddy is in a makeshift cage made out of a rubber-maid toy bin. Don't worry there is ventilation. Because by the time we realized we had 5 babies, it was 10:40 and too late to go out and buy a cage anywhere. By the way, the mama hamster is joyfully running in her exercise wheel stopping by the nest every once in a while to nurse or check on her young ones. I don't remember having that much energy after giving birth, but Oh Well!

So, that's quite a story... and between that and Judi and all the kids --- it made for quite a day. Can't believe I forgot to blog about it earlier, but my brain was really frazzled then. I guess 7 kids and a severely injured BFF will do that for you!

I'm going to give sleep one more try... I'll have the boys post about the hamsters tomorrow as part of their schooling. It was funny, because today I felt bad that not much "learning" was done -- but God definitely provided our science class in animal husbandry today. And tomorrow we'll be continuing on that as well as doing some art projects to decorate Judi's hospital room.

Much Love,
Michele

WAY-TOO-LONG WEDNESDAY ....

Hi Friends!

Did you ever have one of those days? Well, I'm having one. I spent the first part of the day at the hospital with Judi. She is still at Simi Hospital. They decided not to move her to WoodLand Hills until tomorrow. She is in a lot of pain, and she wasn't looking very good -- so that was hard. Her Mom, Jeff, and the kids were there. I took the kids home with me in the afternoon, and they hung out here with my kids, me, and Annie. We went to Weinerschnitzel for dinner to try to take everyone's mind off of the situation. At 8:30 I took the kids over to their house and started getting them ready for bed while Annie stayed here with my kids. Judi's Mom came over shortly after and relieved me, so that I could go back home. Honestly, though -- I'm glad to help and feeling like it's my turn to be there for Judi after all she's done for me. After all, a true friend is there for you no matter what and whenever you need them. Right now Bill is at his usual Wednesday night Men's Group -- we figured we needed the prayer!!!~ Now I'm going to put kids to bed!
More tomorrow ...

Much Love,
Michele

UPDATE ON JUDI!!!

Hi!

I have an update on Judi. She is still at Simi Valley Hospital, and she is going into surgery to have a rod put into her leg.

Love,

Michele

P.S. -- This is Judi at my birthday party.

Prayers for Judi!!!

Hi Friends!

This will be short as it's been a bad day. But I am blogging to request prayers. My good friend, chemo buddy, and neighbor -- Judi Malone was in a serious car accident today. Her front tire went flat causing her to lose control of her car. She ended up hitting a house in our neighborhood. She totaled the car and was seriously injured. She is currently at Simi Valley Hospital, and we know so far that she has a broken hip and pelvis as well as internal injuries. They are trying to stabilize her before moving her to Kaiser in Woodland Hills. I had her kids with me this afternoon, and of course -- Will, Heather, and Justin are very worried about their Mom. We took them swimming, and Annie brought pizza for dinner tonight in order to keep everyone's mind off the situation. The kids are now back at home with their aunt and uncle who will be staying until we hear more from Jeff -- who is Judi's husband. When I hear more, I'll let you know. In the meantime, please keep her in your prayers. Good night!

Love,
Michele

THE BLAND ZOO!!!

Hi Friends!

Just a short note to let you know that all of us at the Bland zoo are doing well. Now besides the 6 of us zooey Bland family members, we have Bingo (the dog), Bo Bo (the cat), Alex (the lizard), and Fluffy and Teddy (the hamsters). The boys spent most of the day researching hamsters on the internet, and they're pretty excited about the prospect of hamster babies. Today they married Fluffy and Teddy to keep it legal. Fluffy wore a white napkin for a veil, and it was quite cute. Right now we're going to watch The Brady Bunch Movie before bedtime. We only had time for Chicken Little last night as the day got away from us!

More tomorrow...

Love,
Michele

MEGA HAMSTER MONDAY!!!

Hi Friends!

This is a special story written by Nate and Isaac about their homeschooling today.

Love,

Michele

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Hi!

We'd like to introduce you to our two new hamsters. They are both teddy bear hamsters. Isaac's hamster is a boy named Teddy. Nate's hamster is a girl named Fluffy. We are hoping they have babies. They like each other, and we just saw them kiss earlier. They have also been grooming each other.

We used to have hamsters, but a while ago they died. We really wanted to have hamsters again. So, we saved up our money and today Mom took us shopping. First, we went to Theresa's Pet Store. There were no hamsters there -- just a lot of reptiles, guinea pigs, and bunnies. Cameron already has a lizard, and Nate is allergic to guinea pigs, and Mom says bunnies are too much work.

So, next we went to Big Al's. That's where we found our hamsters. They were right next to a really noisy bird. It was so loud it almost broke our ear drums! Isaac picked Teddy, because he was a teddy bear hamster, and he had already chosen the name Teddy before we got there. Nate picked Fluffy because she was a good match for Teddy. They look alike. They are black with gray fluffy hair sticking out on their rear ends.

When we saw them in the pet store, Teddy was really calm. Fluffy, however, was hanging on the roof bars of her cage like a monkey. She is a wild woman! On the way home, she ate through her travel box, and we barely got her home in time before she could have escaped.

They really like their cage. They have a tube with fluff in it. They have a wooden house and an exercise wheel. Their cage has two stories. The top story is the kitchen where the food and water is. The bottom story is for sleeping, playing, and using the bathroom. They have a tiny litterbox, which they have already started using.

We are holding them as we write this. They are so cute and soft. When we talk to them, they answer us by shaking their heads for yes or no. We really love our hamsters, and we think they are very smart! They seem to understand us, which makes them the smartest hamsters in the world!

-- By Nate and Isaac Bland

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Hi Friends!

I'm sorry that I haven't blogged for quite a while as we were having computer issues. Bill upgraded our computer, and we had some technical difficulties. But, it's back up again -- so I'm in business! This past week seemed to speed by. On Thursday, we had Open House at Hillside, which is Molly's middle school. I went with her, and that seemed really important to her. In the beginning of the year, I was too sick, and as a result I hadn't been able to meet most of her teachers. So, it was nice to finally get the chance.

On Friday, after home-schooling I went grocery shopping. Then in the evening, Bill came and picked me up and we went out on a date. Shirlene picked up Nate and Isaac for their usual Friday night sleep-over. And Annie came over to get the older kids and treated them to dinner at Islands and dessert at Baskin-Robbins. They were watching Madagascar 2 when we got home. I really feel that we and our kids are blessed to have such caring friends!

Bill and I met some of his friends from work at a movie theater in Camarillo. It was opening night for the Star Trek movie. I enjoyed the movie, but those trekkies are really hard-core! Some of them were even dressed up like Spock with the ears, etc. One of Bill's colleagues was the first person in line. He got there at 5:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show. So, we got good seats thanks to him! After the movie, Bill and I went our own way to spend some time alone. We went to dinner at SoupPlantation. It was nice to get some time together.

On Saturday, we all seemed to have a busy day. In the morning -- we all had preparations to do. Cameron cut the lawn, Bill got the pool ready, and I made the cake and did decorations for Molly's swimming birthday party. The other kids and Brandon helped. Bill also needed to print out flyers for the Boy Scouts because they were participating in the Simi Valley Street Fair on Saturday. Bill and Cameron did the Street Fair from 12-6 p.m. Bill manned the booth, and Cameron worked on garbage detail. They pay the Scouts to do that on an hourly basis. The more they make and have in their account, the less we have to pay for things like summer camp. So, of course, we like Cameron to work at events like this as much as possible. He had a good time, and he came home with a green anole lizard, which he bought for only $5. Her name is Alex, short for Alexandra. We have spent the weekend building her habitat and observing her. She's a lot of fun to watch. Very fast and very acrobatic!

Molly had a nice pool party with 4 girlfriends, and then of course -- all of us and her neighborhood friends. It was from 1-4 p.m. She had a pink, strawberry theme with strawberry cake and pink lemonade, etc.

By the time the girls all left, Brandon got picked up, and Bill and Cam got home -- it was time to go to Saturday night church. After church, I made dinner and went to bed before the kids. I am still struggling with fatigue, but it's getting a little bit better.

I slept until noon today, and I am currently still in my PJs, so I am definitely having a nice Mother's Day. I got some lovely roses in a beautiful vase from my family, so that was very nice.

I also got a special letter from Cam, my 16 year old autistic son, which reads --

Dear Mom,

I love you and several things about you. To start with you are fun. You also enjoy anything I make even if it doesn't look as good as everyone else's made products. I hope you have a a great Mother's Day. I hope you enjoy my letter.

Your loving son, Cameron.

P.S. I love your garden.

And he hugged me today! It doesn't get much better than that.

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So, today we're just vegging out. I think my family will make dinner for me. And we're planning on going swimming and then watching my two favorite movies -- Chicken Little and the Brady Bunch!

Right now I'm going to shower, and then I'll go and hang out with the kids. Bill was up early this morning, so he is taking a short nap.

Much Love,

Michele

WEDNESDAY!!!

Hi Friends!

Not much new going on today, and I am still really tired ... no matter how much I sleep ... so this will be short. I am multi-tasking and helping Molly with her English homework right now. She is doing vocabulary words. We need to eat dinner (left-overs), and then I've promised Cameron we'll all watch Hercules with him. It is currently his favorite movie.

Molly's birthday party promises to be eventful on Saturday! I received a call from her principal stating that there were flyers for it up all over the school. They took them down, and Molly is not sure what happened, as she just gave invitations to 20 of her closest friends. You have to love teenagers!

Other than that, it's really warm today -- got up to almost 100 degrees, so the kids spent a lot of time swimming. Bill just got home, and he's off to his Men's Group.

Please pray that my fatigue goes away. I've been sleeping 12 hours each night, and I am still exhausted all day. Sometimes I can barely move. Not sure if it's the lupus or side effects of all the meds.

Much Love,
Michele

TUESDAY!

Hi Friends!

I couldn't think of any lessons plans to make Nate and Isaac responsible for blogging today, so I guess it's up to me. Today I wasn't feeling the best (very fatigued), but I muddled through. In fact, now I seem to be catching a second wind. It figures, doesn't it -- that always happens when I should be going to bed for the night.

This morning and afternoon, Nate and Isaac and I did our usual home-schooling. We focused on finishing our library books, which were due today. I also bought a new dice game that involves counting by 10s and adding, so we were able to have a fun math class. And for PE we have new badminton equipment, so that was fun. We also discovered that badminton rackets make great bubbles if you dip them in bubble solution poured into a frisbee.

The maids came today, so I am enjoying my clean house. Except that they felt the need to dust our desk, which was a mess. So, now my stuff and Bill's stuff is all mixed up. Next time, I'll tell them not to bother.

It was over 80 degrees today, so the kids did lots of swimming today. Molly had early release day at 12:30 again, but she stayed for her WEB leader training this afternoon. She'll be helping with 6th and 7th grade orientation next year when she is in 8th grade. She has also been recommended to be a teacher's assistant next year. I think these will both be valuable experiences for her.

So, we picked her and Cameron up from school at 3:00. Then I took the 3 younger children to the public library. We dropped Cameron off at home, and he was thrilled to have some "alone time." After checking out our books and videos at the library, we made it home by 4:30. I was really not feeling well by this time -- so I lay down for an hour before it was time to make dinner. I wasn't sleepy, just my whole body was sore and fatigued. Nate was very sweet, and he came upstairs and read to me from one of his new library books.

After that, I was functional enough to make dinner, and we had to have it ready by 6:15. Tuesdays are Scout nights for Bill and Cam, so we're always on the move. After dinner, the kids swam some more. I did dishes, put away laundry, and packed lunches for tomorrow.

Right now I have all three of the younger kids in bed. Nate and Isaac built elaborate tents in Nate's room, and they are both "sleeping" in there tonight. So far, I still hear a lot of talking, but they are having fun, and that's what's important. My Scouts haven't returned yet.

I am going to take a shower and watch some TV before bed.
More tomorrow...

Much Love,
Michele

A SEARCH FOR FRIENDS ...

Hi Friends!

Nate decided to write a fictional story about a ring-tailed lemur for his zoo writing project. He used the animals he met at the zoo for inspiration. I like his imagination, and how he does interesting things with assigned projects.

Love,

Michele

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A SEARCH FOR FRIENDS ...

There once lived a lemur on the island of Madagascar. His name was Jack. He wanted a friend. He had no friends at all, and he was very lonely. He didn't even have a family, because lemurs don't stick around to raise their babies.

He searched the entire island of Madagascar, and he could only find a friend who was a spider. The spider seemed nice, but there was a problem. Spiders and lemurs don't speak the same language. So, they made do with sign language. It worked OK, because spiders have 8 legs and lemurs are very flexible.

The spider, named Josh, decided to come with Jack the lemur on his search for friends. Next they stumbled across a 100 year old sea tortoise named John. He weighed 1000 pounds, including his shell. Although he moved very slowly, he was wise because he had lived a very long time. Josh and Jack decided that not only would they make friends with John, but they'd also ask him if he knew of any other animals looking for friends.

"Yes," said John. "A mountain lion who lives on a volcano. People are afraid to visit him because of where he lives. He would love friends like you!"

So, Josh climbed on Jack's back, and Jack climbed on John's back. They slowly started off around the island of Madagascar and found the mountain lion, named Jim, had come down from his volcano. He was looking for friends, too, on the sea shore. So, they chatted for a while, and now Jack the lemur was in a group of 4 friends. He was so happy!

Next, they asked Jim if he knew of any animals looking for friends. He had a great view of the whole island when he lived on top of the volcano. He knew of one lonely baboon, whose family had sadly died during a cheetah attack. Jim wanted to be friends with him, but he had always been afraid to approach him, thinking he would scare the baboon off. "But I don't think he'll be afraid of a lemur, a spider, and a sea tortoise," he said. "You could introduce me and tell him I mean no harm."

So, off they went on a search to meet the baboon, whose name turned out to be James. In Madagascar, by the way, all the animals have J names. Now they were a group of 5 friends. They asked the baboon if he had ever seen any other lonely animals while he was swinging from trees. "Well, I've seen a king cobra snake who is always alone, but I don't know if he's friendly!"

They put Jim the mountain lion in charge of checking out the snake. It appeared he was the only friendly king cobra in the world. His name was Jamie. They played and laughed together for days and days!!! They became so close that they were like family.

So, the lesson in this story is -- if you're lonely, be brave and make friends. Sometimes they will be very different than you. But if you have friends, you'll be so happy and never have to feel alone!

by Nate Bland (4th grade)

THE END

P.S. --Meet the inspiration for my story:


These are animals I saw at the Moorpark Zoo -- a lemur, baboon, mountain lion, and tortoise (who was 86 years old). We also saw a tarantula, but we don't have a picture of him.

ISAAC'S DAY AT THE ZOO ...

Hi Friends!

Today Isaac and Nate will be blogging for me. As part of their school field trip to the zoo, they are each writing a story about their experience. I am posting them on the blog today.

Love,

Michele

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My Day at the Zoo...

I went to the Moorpark Zoo yesterday. I saw the best monkey in the whole world! He has two mohawks. He is cool!

I climbed on a boulder that had an inside which broke in half. The boulder had ancient writing on it. It was huge!

I have new heelies. I wore them to zoo. I practiced using my heelies and going down hills. Dad and Molly each held one of my hands and pulled me when I got tired.

The End

--by Isaac John Bland (Kindergarten)

WE TOOK OUR ZOO TO THE ZOO ...

Hi Friends!

It's been a busy weekend. Friday night we had Bible Study at our house. On Saturday, I largely spent the day recovering from my Friday flower buying/planting frenzy. I slept until 1 in the afternoon. Then, Cameron and I went to Smart and Final grocery shopping. It really is the smaller, faster warehouse store. We spent most of the afternoon shopping and unpacking our treasures. Then we went to 5:30 church on Saturday night. After dinner, I went back to bed.

Today we took the kids to the Moorpark Zoo. Nate and Isaac have just finished their animal unit studies in science, so it was tied into that. And it made for a fun Sunday family day activity. We were there for most of the afternoon. Then when we came home, I helped Molly with her most recent school "torture" project. She had to write a newspaper article on the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church on November 1, 1517. So, we successfully finished that, and now it's getting close to bedtime for everyone. I also gave Molly a manicure/pedicure with acrylic nails. We're hoping that will keep her from biting her nails. Tomorrow night I have a meeting for my home-schooling program at 1st Baptist Church in Thousand Oaks. So, tonight I will make sure I have all of my paperwork in order.

Much Love,

Michele

STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS ...

Hi Friends!

This is how far I've gotten in the front yard with planting. Two weeks ago, I did the area around the tree, and this weekend, I did the front flower bed. There is still one more flower bed that I want to rip apart, and then I will plant daisies in it. My all time favorite flower! But, I'll wait a few more weeks as I'm really sore from all the planting thus far. My hands and arms were not moving well on Saturday. I found it depressing that planting flowers could cause that much pain. But they are pretty, aren't they? And they make me happy each time I go out front.

Much Love,

Michele

FRIDAY!!!

Hi Friends!

Today has been a busy but fun day. I'll blog a bit before going to bed. Last night (or I guess I should say early this morning) Bill arrived home from his Virginia business trip at about 1 a.m. We sat up and talked for a bit, and then we went to bed. Unfortunately, I couldn't fall asleep. So, I got up and took an Ambien, and I finally fell asleep at 2 a.m. Then I got up early to drop Cameron and Molly off at school at 7:30 a.m. this morning. Bill took Nate to an appointment with his psychologist at 9 a.m. The appointment went well, and we continue to make slow and steady progress with Nate's mood and behavior.

Meanwhile, Isaac and I spent the morning shoe shopping. He needed new shoes, but he is very picky about what "feels right" on his feet. Today when the salesperson measured his feet, we discovered that one foot is a half size bigger than the other, and his feet are very narrow! So, I think that's a major part of the problem! Anyway, we spent quite a while at Payless. I kid you not -- he tried on every pair of boy's shoes in size 13 and 13 1/2. He hated them all. So, we left with no new shoes. At least we found Molly a new bookbag and some socks while we were there, though. So, it wasn't a total loss.

By the time we got home, Bill and Nate were home, too. We went to Big 5 Sporting Goods, because Nate wanted to buy Heelies (skate shoes). They also had them in Isaac's size, and he bought a pair and loves them. The boys each paid for 1/2 of their shoes with allowance money. That is because the Heelies cost $40 and $50, and we do not usually spend that much on shoes! But in the end, everyone was happy -- even Bill who came along to get some new running shoes and hiking boots, which he found on clearance.

We came home and had lunch. Then I went to Home Depot, and I bought soil, cedar chips, and flowers for our front flowerbed. We spent the rest of the afternoon working on it, and I must say it looks great! We planted minature roses and zinnias. I'll post a picture of it tomorrow.

When we finished the planting, I took Nate over to Shirlene's. He's spending the night in Palmdale with Brandon. Isaac didn't want to go today. In the late afternoon, I showered all the dirt from working outside off me. I also did a few things around the house, and then made the kids dinner.

Heather and Will (from next door) are spending the night tonight. And we had Bible Study from 7-9 p.m. tonight. So, it was a full house! Everyone left around 10 p.m. Cameron went to bed, and the other kids are all camped out downstairs in the family room watching X-Men. Looks like Heather and Isaac have fallen asleep already, though -- and Will and Molly look pretty groggy, too!

I'm going to head off to bed. This weekend, I am hoping to go grocery shopping and to the drug store on Saturday. We'll also go to 5:30 church. Then on Sunday we will be going on a family outing to Moorpark Zoo. We just finished our animal chapters for science in homeschooling. So, rather than do school today, we decided to do it on Sunday when all the kids can enjoy it!

I'll let you know what actually happens as it unfolds ... tomorrow...

Much Love,
Michele