Hope4Peyton

Yesterday morning there were construction guys blocking the entrance to the school. They were putting down some sort of markers for whatever project they were undertaking and Nathaniel was watching most intently.

“What are they doing there, mom?”

“Putting something in the street.”

“I hope they’re not land mines!”

Because the most common source of our suburban decay in Brandon is land mines. That and too many Smoothie Kings.

Nathaniel’s had a phenomenal run of “WHAT??!!” moments lately.

My dearest friend came to visit some weeks back with her 3 daughter and they always leave chaos in their wake, but this time they left more than that. Nathaniel came out of his room last week and I couldn’t figure out what looked wrong about him…but something definitely was.

Then it dawned on me… his jeans were flare-legged, trimmed in frill and the pockets had cute little zippers on them…plus they made his butt look nice and trim. My son was wearing GIRL PANTS! When I told him that they were GIRL PANTS he got the most stricken look of panic on his face and came darn close to just gnawing his legs off at the knees in an attempt to get the pants off as fast as he could. It probably didn’t help that I teased him that his boy bits were going to shrivel up and fall off if he stayed in the GIRL PANTS too long. I know, I know, wrong wrong, but still a very funny moment….Peter didn’t appreciate it either.

Now, for the past two weeks, before he gets dressed he comes out and asks, “Are these GIRL PANTS?” In the same tone I would ask, “Is this sandwich made of asbestos?” Son you been wearing those same pants for a year now!! Recognize your own clothes, please. He is such a boy. Forget about whether his clothes match, he’s just worried that they’re gender specific.

Then this morning he asked a truly profound question, “How do ugly people have babies?”

Really? I think that’s something we all ask every now and then.

“The same way as everyone else, Nathaniel, it’s not a genetic deformity.”

“Well, what I meant was why.” Oh yes, sit on your perch with the beautiful people, boy.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone has someone who thinks they’re beautiful and sometimes it’s more about what’s inside than what’s on the outside.” I’m reduced to answering in clichés.

“Ok, I get it.”

Then I had to push my luck, I should have just let it go. Let it GO!

I said, “Your dad thinks I’m beautiful and that’s how we got you.”

Rachael pipes up from the back, “But Daddy wears glasses.”

OUCH!

So, how does this sound?

For sale: One 6 year old girl, cute but mouthy. Comes with clothing, accessories, and crippling observations of the world. All offers accepted and will sell to best offer.

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
–Anissa

A very special mom I’ve met through the wonderful world of Caring Bridge is a mom named Alayna. Her son Joey’s website has brought me untold laughs and giggles and snort-coffee-out-of-your-nose moments.

I HAVE to share her with the rest of the world, because if you haven’t read some of her posts, you HAVE NOT LIVED!

Here’s the link to the site!

I have 3 specific dates you have to check out:

May 18

November 25

October 9

Truly, if you take the time to hunt up these 3 specific posts, you will not regret it and will spend the rest of your day chuckling whenever you think of them.

Thank you, Alayna, for sharing your unique and fabulous take on parenting!

f.r.o.G.
–Anissa

I promised my friends that I wouldn’t post about last’s night adventure in scavenger hunting until all the effects of said event had left my system. Seeing as how my feet hurt, my bum hurts, my left arm is a little sore for some reason it could be a while before I’m actually allowed to post anything.

A huge thank you to each and everyone involved in making the night so much fun, for allowing the families to participate because I know we all needed the chance to cut loose and be crazy for a night. It was nonstop insanity.

Before I post ANY pictures of the night, please remember that my lovely team members and I had a blast looking for those dresses….almost as much fun as we had in them. I had bought my top-ish type garment with the expectation of wearing it over jeans. That idea was quickly nixed by taunts of “You’re a chicken! Bwock Bwock Bwock!” Apparently the team that is humiliated together stays together. Renee was the only one that walked away from the night with any sense that she might be able to re-wear the outfit she hunted in…the rest of us are planning to burn our outfits!

In preparation to wear a garment that was fAAAAAr too drafty for my comfort level, I had to go on the hunt for shorts to wear under it. I got a pair of jogging shorts that worked perfectly and were so needed in the event that required we bounce and struggle our way through one of those huge inflatable obstacle courses. Nathaniel’s response to the utterly un-momliness of my “dress” was “That looks nice! You look pretty…all you need are some pants.” Pretty much my thoughts on it.

But I did it, I shamed myself for the team and we had a ball! We went as the Cheetah Girls and we got some great “please tell me you’re dressed like that for a really good cause/look how nice they are to let those ladies out of the special home” kinds of look! I do have to tell you that if I had never made it out to the scavenger hunt and done no more than leave the house and then walk back in, it would have been worth it all…the look on my neightbor’s faces when I walked out to the van was PRICELESS! The radio volume went down and their chatter went completely silent…I am the soccer mom across the street and I just came out in leather boots and cheetah ears! Gives them something good to talk about.

It’s fun to stay at the….

We had to do so many really wacky things over the course of the night! Just to name a few:

-Talk strangers into swapping shirts
-Singing the “I wish I was a Oscar Meyer Weiner” song to a table to people just there to eat dinner
-I had to eat a ball of wasabi, Renee had to down a bowl of Dip n Dots in 15 seconds and I to eat 5 suicide wings from Hooters…my lips are still numb from that one!
-We had to convince a woman to lie on the ground and let a guy hold her hair in a caveman pose
-We begged a group of kids in prom dresses to “Vogue” Madonna-style for us

-We had to make an animal out of a toilet seat cover…which aren’t the easiest things to find in the bars of Tampa

-Natalie bedazzled a strange, bald man’s head with pretty yellow stickers

-We intruded on a birthday party to take pictures with the birthday girl

Because I don’ believe in protecting the innocent and, frankly, there wasn’t a lot of innocence last night…from the left is Holly, Natalie, Renee and me!

-We drank a lot of drinks identifiable only by color and I had to drink a lot of beer because no one else on my team wanted to (just to really impress those of you who will get this: I drank a boot of beer in 38 seconds!)
-Holly had to make sweet, sweet love to a statue…you know I would love to post THAT picture, but I just can’t…oh I want to so much…but I can’t
-Renee gave up an undergarment to Coyote Ugly’s collection
-Somewhere in the world there is a picture of Holly and me in the classic “Star Wars” movie poster pose, Luke and Leia style….Holly got to be Luke
-We found some awesome 6 foot Amazon woman to give Holly a piggy back ride, I’m not even going to go into the tale of the guy we mistakenly had give me one…stop laughing, Natalie!

Taking pictures of it all….and really…that’s just the tip of the crazy iceberg.

There was somewhere around 30 teams, 6 or 7 teams made up of families from the Center and it was fantastic to see people supporting such an amazing cause. I cannot begin to tell you how much fun we had. I have not laughed so much in I don’t know how long. So many friends from the CCC were right there with us, just reveling in the silliness of it all and always remembering the tremendous reason behind it all…the Children’s Cancer Center and the joy and love it brings into our lives.

Thank you so much to my wonderful teammates…Natalie Willis, Renee Jones and Holly Wirth, extraordinary women I’m blessed to know and to have as friends.

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
–Anissa

This morning was beyond hard, so far beyond sad it isn’t even worth saying anymore. Kaylie’s service was brief and touching, the grief of her family piercing and that tiny white casket a tragedy. At her side was a sea of beautiful flower arrangements, tributes to the love so many felt for her.

Some of the families from the Center and Sharin, one of the staff, chose to go out for some decompression time after the service. It was exactly what I needed. We talked, we laughed and it was a beautiful way to end a tragic morning, loving friends and knowing that we share a bond beyond words.

Please pray for some dear friends:

—Brooke Martin had a bone marrow aspiration on Tuesday and the preliminary results show that there is 4% Leukemia blasts (cancer cells) in her marrow. There will be more tests and we pray that they show it is NOT a relapse. She just finished her treatment days ago, please pray that it stays that way.

—Joshua Czorapinski (name: JoshuaCzorapinski) was just diagnosed with a testicular relapse of his Leukemia. His spinal fluid and marrow were free of Leukemia. He had also just finished up treatment last month and he needs our prayers around him for a full remission and healing.

—Jimmy Reichert is still preparing for bone marrow transplant and his body is taking a real beating from the high dose chemo and full body radiation treatment. Please lift his whole family, mom Christy and sisters Ashley and Lindsay, in prayer as they all cope with the demands of his treatment.

—Justen Jones needs a successful treatment plan for the tumor cells in his spinal fluid and the tumor on his brain. His family need many answers, please pray for clarity and confidence in the options available.

–Connor Hernandez is fighting so many issues, relapsed Leukemia, infections, a failing bladder, Aspergillis.

–All the families coping with grief, loss and emptiness, finding the way to continue life without their child.

–Each precious child fighting with all they have for all they hope to be.

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
–Anissa