FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL...

Hi Friends,

This week started out with me taking my megadose of methotrexate on Saturday. I'm now up to taking 6 at a time, next week I will go up to 8 at a time, and then it will be time for bloodwork. I am hoping for a cure, but for right now methotrexate isn't a ton of fun... makes me fatigued, sick to my stomach, and very dizzy. So, I take zofran and pain meds to counteract that and I rest a lot for the days following...

I've been filling my in-bed time with lots of fun things. The kids and I watch NetFlix movies, or they create characters on their on-line games for me. Then I watch while they play for me. My favorite game right now is KungFuPandaWorld. They made me a panda because Panda's are friendly and flowing. Anyway, it's a cute game and time well spent with the kids.

On Saturday Bill and the boys completely cleaned and organized the garage. It looks great. They also took a drive (just 1 mile down the road) to Twin Tigers Tae Kwon where they are hoping to take lessons. It looked good and they are going to check out a class on Wednesday. Since Nate and Isaac are homeschooled, I think it's important to have them involved in some quality activities/programs with other kids their age. Also, on Saturday my kids did what we call the home blessing hour (basically they do the weekly chores). It was really sweet to see. Isaac mops all the floors wearing soapy socks, Nate vacuums the sofa, and Cameron vacuums all the carpet. The boys also clean out the truck each week and put meds in their containers. Molly is a hard-working young lady -- she does all the laundry, changes the sheets on all beds, dusts, and brushes the cats. They have daily jobs they do too -- but this house is easier for us to keep on, and the floorplan and area all suit us better.

On Sunday Bill took Cam, Molly, and Nate to church and I stayed home with a sleepy Isaac. I was really feeling ill. It seems that for now it's - methotrexate side effects + the lupus/fibro pain. It would be nice if I started the dreamy remission and then the methotrexate would be worth it! We'll see. Anyway after church, Bill and the kids went grocery shopping and then made tacos for dinner. They were the bomb:-)

I stayed up way late last night (till 3 a.m) watching stuff on NetFlix. I've watched Tuesdays with Morrie several times. It's the first movie I've watched that explains what you learn about living when death is hovering so close at times. I really relate to the characters in that movie. And when I'm not watching that, I've been watching the last 2 years of Grey's Anatomy. I love that show and used to watch all the time, but I stopped when I was really sick. So, now it's nice to catch up...

Shockingly after staying up that late, I still managed to get up and drive myself to the dentist. My appointment went really well, considering I hadn't been to one for 2 years. I had no cavities and the bleeding was minimal with the cleaning. My platelets are low, and so there was concern that if there was too much bleeding, it might be hard to stop. And I have no cavities. I do, however,need to have some of my childhood silver fillings replaced. So, we can hopefully get that done in the next month before it's October when I am scheduled to do 2 cycles of Rituxan.

I came home from the dentist, and I went to sleep until about 1:30. Then I lay in bed with Nate and Isaac and watched Grey's Anatomy some more. I have the two of them sucked in, too! We made macaroni and cheese for lunch. After that, Nate asked me if I'd take him to check out the nearby skatepark. So, I did...it's so big, nice, and close. It's across the street from Channel Islands High School. I watched my skater dude do some awesome tricks and spectacular crashes. It was so much fun for both of us, and we stayed about an hour. We got home and just had time to do our daily 15's (household tasks assigned to different people) and then Bill was home to make dinner. I did a breathing treatment and rested a bit. And soon it was time for our Before Bed Routine. Since school starts on Wednesday, we started enforcing our 10 p.m. bedtime today. And we have a shower schedule from 8-10 p.m.,since they all like to shower at night.

Tomorrow looks busy, too with a dental appointment for Bill and Molly, and an orthodontist appointment for Molly, too. We also need to turn in some last minute paperwork at the highschool. And we're going to have Cam tour Molly around the campus so that she has some idea of where to go for her classes. And of course, the skatepark was so fun that I promised Nate and Isaac they could go on Tuesday.

As far as my health goes -- having a lot of trouble with my lungs,joints,nervous system, and again brain - which causes a severe headache and memory issues. So prayers are much appreciated. My outlook on life is good, and I have a great team of doctors - but I also have some serious problems. It's complicated to be me <3

More soon...
Much Love,
Shel