Sorry for the lapse, I know you are all at the edge of your seats waiting for an update!

I'm going to have to blame it at least partly on my new iPad. It was a SERIOUSLY generous gift from my awesome co-workers...thanks awesome co-workers! It's going to be great to have with me in Arkansas so I won't have to lug my computer around, but it's been quite the time-sink this past week getting it set up and figuring out what it can do.

I've been feeling great. I'm pretty much back to my normal self...well, minus a little hair! I love being home. It's nice to have a break from the medical madness and to have time with the family and time to relax. Honestly though it almost feels like a full time job keeping up with paperwork...catching up with bills and insurance claims, submitting things for reimbursement, making sure I'm keeping everything organized, etc.

The kids are definitely excited to have me home. Olivia was a little apprehensive at first, which I think was partially because she fell asleep on the car ride to the airport and partially my head scarf. Once I took it off they both agreed it was pretty funny that I have a "boy haircut". Oden told me I looked like him, and Olivia insisted on drawing a picture of me.

The big excitement of the week was a certain 5 year-old's big birthday bash! It was a Spongebob- themed swim party and she definitely had a blast. She doesn't even really know how to swim yet but she's getting really comfortable and brave in the water, especially seeing all her friends swimming and going under and jumping in. She even decided she would take a leap off the side...I almost had a heart attack from across the pool, but she popped back up (looking a little stunned) and got her feet under her. It seemed like it was about 500 degrees in the pool area, which was tough for all the adults who were dressed for the 45 degree weather outside. Everyone survived though and maybe the pound of water weight loss through sweating helped balance out the piazza and cake. ;p


I also have to give a shout-out to some fabulous friends for helping to pull the party together. It was a huge to have some of the details taken care of, and to have help with setup and cleanup!

Now that it's Tuesday I'm gearing up for the trip back on Thursday. I'm sad to be leaving again, but I'm ready to move forward with the first transplant. A fellow blogger and TT4 participant put me at ease a little bit about what to expect so I'm feeling a little less anxious.

Lastly at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I want to thank everyone again for the love and support. We have the most amazing friends and family and your thoughtfulness and kindness is greatly appreciated! Please know that I appreciate everything even if I don't always have a chance to personally respond to every message. Also thanks to others in myeloma-ville who are finding the blog and commenting or sending messages, please keep 'em coming! A lot of people have been commenting on my positive attitude and sense of humor, and I guess wondering how I'm managing to keep that up. I won't lie and say it's always easy and going forward it may get harder, but I made a commitment to myself and my family not to let this drag me down. It's absolutely the shitty end of the stick, there is no way around that, but last time I checked it's the only stick I've got. I figure I better clean it off and get on with it. Or for another analogy...the cards have been dealt so now we need to play the best hand. This means not spending time feeling sorry for myself and focusing my energy on getting well. So forward we go!