Tuesdays for Tuesday

We have a plan! Well the drs have a plan and we think its a good one. Tuesday is going to start chemo/radiation to shrink the tumor. It will be outpatient so that means she will be in the hospital for half the day and then home where she belongs. The radiologist is pretty confident he can shrink that tumor down to a small enough size for surgery or even shrink it completely. Then they are going to NYC. They have the top neuroblastoma hospital in the country there and they are anxiously waiting Tuesday's arrival. If she needs surgery, the top surgeon in the country will be there to perform it. And then she will start antibody therapy. They do this instead of the stem cell transplant and it seems like a better course of action in Tuesday's case. The good news is that they have had success in cases just like Tuesdays. There is real hope now. The family is in much better spirits with a plan in place and we all feel confident that Tuesday will fight and win. I asked JK if there was anything else besides praying that we could all do. She said "send the hands." She really wants to have that whole room covered in everyone's hands traced with messages for Tuesday. So please send me your hands. Or email me and if I know you personally I will give you their address to send them directly. Lets cover every square inch of that hospital room with our hands. All it takes is a little time and it would mean the world to her family. Trace the hands of everyone in your family. Have your children get the hands traced of all the kids in their classrooms. Lets bombard them with hands! Just think of how beautiful it will be and how much faith and strength it will give them!

Now there is the issue of the cost of going to NYC. We all know its incredibly expensive. Luckily a dear friend of ours has offered up her home and she only lives 20 minutes from NYC by train. So that is amazingly generous and an incredible gift. But they are still going to have to pay to park, ride the train, eat, etc. And it adds up quick. So I need your help. I am not asking for money (though if you have any to spare it would be wonderful). I am asking for ideas. I need ideas of ways to raise money. Ideas that will work.  My brain is pretty much fried so I need some help coming up with great ideas. Tuesday's family has so much to worry about, I want to be able to take away one of the stresses.  Please put on your thinking caps and help me figure out a way to help this family!

Pray your hearts out PLEASE

Yesterday I received a phone call that absolutely terrified me. It was my dear friend JK, crying. Of course the worst went through my mind and then I was told words that left me in shock. Tuesday has another tumor.  A little over a week ago we were all celebrating Tuesday's no evidence of disease clearance. And now, as quick as lightening, she has another tumor.  She had a 2cm by 2 cm calcified spot in her abdomen after all chemo and the scans. Everything came back clear.  But then something wasn't right.  Tuesday started having horrible pain in her abdomen. On Christmas Eve they took her to the ER and they thought maybe she had a bowel obstruction. They did xrays and nothing was there. Then they decided it was her bowels telescoping which is common after major abdominal surgery in little ones. But JK knew it was something else. Yesterday they did a CT Scan. the 2x2 "calicified" spot was now a 9x7 mass. It is growing rapidly. It is cancer.  The drs are all stunned. How could this happen? For a cancer to grow so quickly after 5 rounds of chemo is unheard of. They currently have no clear treament plan. They sent her home yesterday with a bunch of pain meds and are taking the weekend to confer with drs around the country on the matter and create a game plan. Monday she will have a PET Scan and a consult and hopefully they will come up with a plan on how to beat this. There will be no stem cell transplant at this time.  We were all gearing up for that endeavor but I guess God has another battle in mind first. I am not going to lie, the odds are highly stacked against her. This is why it is so important that you pray.  Let God be flooded with all of our voices asking for him to help Tuesday. Tuesday has been such an inspiration for so many. She has brought God back into many lives who had pushed him away.  Her family needs strength and she needs to beat this. For all of us. Please pray for Tuesday.

Pittsford Park

As a mom new to Orange County, I am always on the hunt for new places to take the kids.  Park reviews from parents who know what it is like to chase toddlers around really help me out because they help me get a taste for what I am getting myself into.  I am sure there are other people in the same boat as I am so I figured why not start reviewing some parks on my own?

My first review is of the newly remodeled Pittsford Park in Lake Forest. I have to say, this park rocks. There is something there for all ages and abilities. And lucky for me, its very close to my house. I grew up going to Pittsford Park whenever I was in town visiting my aunt and uncle and it wasn't much to sneeze at back then. Now it has a three play structures, including one that is wheelchair accessible, all in close proximity to one another. While there is no gate completely enclosing the park (always a huge plus in my book)  there is a large gate along the front of the park, preventing the children from getting anywhere near the street.  The ground around the play structures is covered in that space age, fall friendly, rubbery stuff that prevents children from getting as many playground related injuries as we used to.  You know what else kids these days don't get the joy of experiencing? Burns from sliding down metal slides on hot days? I swear we are raising a generation of wusses, but I digress... There is a sand box with some really cool built in sand toys, a zip line (low to the ground to avoid serious injuries), a draw bridge, a four seater teeter totter, slides galore, swing for toddlers and big kids, seats that spin, plenty to climb on, and a lone rocking zebra amongst other things. There are plenty of benches strategically located so parents can relax while still having a good view of their children. Some are even covered. There is also a gazebo that is perfect for birthday parties and tennis courts a stone's throw away.  There are barbeques, a fitness/walking trail, and restrooms.

Concerts are held in the summer on the large lawn area and in the winter they have a snow day. This year it is on January 24th with presale going on January 13-15th. Check this link for details. 

Overall I highly recommend this park and judging by the number of families I have seen enjoying it, I am not alone.  Pittsford Park is located at 21701 Pittsford Dr., Lake Forest, CA, 92630.

For more information on this park check out Fun Orange County Parks!

Lake Forest Victorian Christmas

I think I may have gone a tad Christmas crazy this year. I have been trying to get the kids to as many holiday festivals as I can. I have gone so crazy that I haven't had enough time to post about the great places we have visited.  Once again, better late than never.

On the first Saturday in December, the City of Lake Forest holds a Victorian Christmas celebration at Heritage Hill Park.  It is a day filled old fashioned holiday fun and activities. There was candle dipping and butter churning for the older kids and trains and old fashioned toys for the little ones.

There were Christmas carolers, a puppet theater, antique farm equipment, and old fashioned water pumps for the kids to enjoy.

The kids loved the Native American exhibit and the trail that overlooked the horse stables.

But the highlight for us was not Santa (yes, he was there!)

 

It was the monkey who takes your dollar and shakes your hand. Such great fun for all.

Wild Animal Park Festival of Lights

Last Friday we met up with our friends Tonya, Jayden, Marisol and Flynn for the Festival of Lights at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. This year marks the 20th and final year of the festival. Next year it will be moved to the San Diego Zoo under the name Jungle Bells. The festival runs until January 3rd so if you are in the area, check it out and be a part of the final festival.

Once night falls the park is transformed with holiday lights, craft activities for the kids, a holiday light show, black light puppet theater, a snow hill, and animal presentations. Oh and of course, lets not forget Santa!  I managed to get my kids to pose with Santa by having them sit on my lap and then the ever so clever Santa snuck in behind me and smiled. Hey- you take what you can get with two year olds.  A note of warning- after the lights go down, most of the animals go to sleep so if you want to get your fill of animal fun, come before the sun sets and then plan on staying late for the lights. We have a season pass ( a dream of mine since I was a child) so we just came for the lights and all we ended up seeing was an opossum. Not that the kids seemed to mind. They were happy to be running about with their friends, taking in all the beautiful scenery.  Oh and if all of this wasn't enough to make you want to come out and enjoy the park, here is my final selling point: they have hot chocolate with Bailey's. Yummy!

Snow in the OC

Yesterday I looked out Ben's window and I saw snow! No, not in our front yard. Lets not be silly. This is, after all, the same place that allowed me to take my tshirt wearing kids to the beach in December. It was covering the mountains near our home! We live very close to Saddleback Mountain. It is only about 4000 feet high so it very rarely gets substantial snow. It was so nice to look out the window and see palm trees and snow in the same view. Much of the high desert was also deep in snow. More snow than they have seen in many, many years. I know for many of you snow is a common occurrence but for us in Southern California it is anything but.  The fact that this storm hit so close to Christmas only adds to the excitement! And so without  further ado I give you snow in the OC....

Check out Candid Carrie for more great Friday pictures.

Its a Small World After All

Note to self: if the weather has been bad all day and things have turned to tolerable, head to Disneyland.

This week has been filled with rain. We are discovering the leaks in our new home and watching to the gutters turn to streams. It has also been filled with visitors. My best friend Chrissy and her family were in town for a winter vacation at Disneyland. They have since left but now I have another set of friends in town for their family Disney vacation. Needless to say, a season past is must when so many people visit my neck of the woods for a little Disney fun.   Monday the kids and I met up with Chrissy to visit and get that ever important season pass. I was a bit concerned because of all the rain we had been getting all day but lucky for us the water stopped falling from the sky just as we arrived at the park.  Sure things were wet and chilly but the park was relatively empty. We walked on most rides and I think our longest wait was ten minutes. I have been to Disneyland many times but never have I been able to walk on rides.  The kids were in heaven running around the park, meeting the characters (with no line I might add) and hanging out with some of their favorite people. They even got to ride some rides they had never experienced including Peter Pan, the train, and a newly revamped Its A Small World.

I had been dying to take my kids on Its A Small World. It is such a huge Disney tradition. Sure its campy and the song stays in your head for weeks but what little kid doesn't love that ride? This year they redid the ride with a whole new holiday theme. The animatronic children sang well known holiday songs in different languages while dressed in native costume. Everything was brilliantly decorate. The kid's  eyes were as wide as they could possibly get as they gazed at all the sparkles and lights.  The outside of the ride was covered in lights and decorations. It truly felt like Christmas. 

Main Street had its tree in the lit up front and center. It was covered in enormous red and green bulbs. Lights were strung from store top to store top. Cinderella's castle was covered in white lights that gave the illusion of snow and more lights blanketed the castle as the night went on. 

 

The whole experience made me fall in love with Disneyland all over again. When it isn't 95 degrees outside and wall to wall people, Disneyland truly is a magical place.