Hope4Peyton

There are reasons why we have a dog. Something large, furry and hard to kill accidentally.

Back when Peter, Nathaniel and I lived in Colorado we had goldfish. There was a trip to Florida where we forgot that we had fish and left without feeding them. Peter came home first and he was amazed to find that the fish were still alive! But unfortunately, because he forgot to feed them AFTER he’d gotten home, most of them died anyway.

Did we give up? No! We Mayhews aren’t quitters. We got more fish.

So, one day while cleaning out the fishbowl, I put the fish in a transition bowl by the sink. Nathaniel had learned this new trick (he was two years old at this point) of opening the dishwasher and standing on the door so he could see all the stuff on the counter. Peter called me in the middle of the fishbowl washing and I walked away to answer the phone. When I came back, the bowl with the fish in it was GONE! Nathaniel had dumped the bowl of water and fish into the sink…of course not the side that has a drain, no, he dumps it into the side with the garbage disposal. Out of three fish, I could only see one. The biggest one was trapped in the plastic that covers the drain and was flopping madly around. I snatched him up and stuck him in a glass of water. But I still couldn’t find the other two fish. Only one place they could have gone.

I’m on the phone with Pete, with my hand shoved down the garbage disposal and the fish are really ticked off with me, flopping around furiously and I can’t get a grip on them. I’m bawling now, because the fish have worked themselves so deeply into the garbage disposal that I know there’s only one option.

From that day on, the one remaining fish always sort of glared at me whenever I walked by.

Now, that whole lovely PETA-approved back story was to set up my sink/animal fiasco of today.

Why me?

Nathaniel’s taken on this new hobby of catching lizards. He proudly comes in with whatever new scaly thing he’s stalked and captured and then he sticks it in a box/cup/bowl…whatever. Well, he made a huge mistake of leaving his latest prey on the coffee table and when Peyton cleaned off the coffee table today, the cup went into the kitchen. I had no idea until I noticed something floating in the water while I washed dishes. After I drained the sink, I found a little shriveled up drowned lizard at the bottom of the sink.

So, of course I did the first thing any good mother would do, I took a picture of it. Then I rewashed all the dishes, completely grossed out that there was dead lizard all over my stuff. Uggggggg

Why me??

Beyond the lizard incident, Nathaniel had a great day! He got to go to GameWorks with is big buddy Eddie. GameWorks is basically the arcade that you wished you had when you were a kid. It’s just awesome! They ate dinner there and had a rocking good time. Nathaniel won the Dance Dance Revolution, Eddie won the race car games….seems fair.

Nathaniel and Eddie, voted “Most likely to be chosen at dodgeball”

Peyton does this overnight puff up on the 2cnd day post-steroids. It’s as if the drugs and the food need time to really get in her system. And today you see this dramatic change in her face and belly. It’ll go away in about a week, but she looked normal at the football game yesterday, she looks like Marlon Brando today.

I want to share some much needed prayer requests.

Delaney Potterbaum is a little girl with an Optic Glioma, a brain tumor. Her tumor recently turned aggressive and then she took a huge turn for the better. She’s now home, recovering, starting physical therapy, but left mostly blind. She’s always been an active little girl and now because of her vision loss she’s bored, she’s frustrated and her family is working hard to try to find ways for her to use her creative mind that is being trapped by her blindness. Please pray for her awesome family, they are so positive and constantly thankful just to have Delaney each and every day.

Sydney Sims(Neuroblastoma) requires a huge amount of prayer right now. She and her parents are in NY at Sloan Kettering getting her MIBG results and waiting on bone marrow results. There is just so much unknown for Sydney right now, they don’t have a treatment plan in place yet and her body has been through so much. Her family is separated with her brother here in FL and her parents with her in NY and it could be weeks before they are together, so please just keep them wrapped in prayer.

Maddie Bridges (Rhabdomyosarcoma) and her family is preparing to leave for Jacksonville for 6 weeks. She will be receiving proton radiation on her tumor site and we just pray for her to handle the treatment as well as possible.

Baby Leo Astacio (Neuroblastoma) had good news in that his tumors are either shrinking or stable. His family had a wonderful trip to Chicago to see a Neuroblastoma specialist and she was able to put some peace in their hearts about holding treatment and seeing if his body will fight the disease on their own.

Justin Gaudineer (Neuroblastoma) is home from his trip to NY for surgery. He’s doing very well and is starting up a big week of chemo here at home. He’s such a fighter and he just needs lots of prayer as he continues to heal and battle his cancer.

In the face of all that, it seems petty to complain that Peyton’s eating around the clock. She’s so happy and healthy, her cancer is in remission and we are thankful every day for the lessons that she teaches us. I don’t know why cancer has to touch our lives, I hate that anyone has to watch their child suffer, but I know that God has a plan and a purpose for each of us.

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
–Anissa

As if to say “Hey, I can produce lovely weather as well…including, but not limited to, mellow temperatures, crisp night air, cloudless skies and a soothing breeze”, we enjoyed our day at the Bucs game in beautiful weather.

For those of you that know Florida weather, you can skip the next paragraph. For those unfamiliar with our weather, I’m sure you picture Florida life being one great big beach party, lounging around outside enjoying the salt tang in the air. In reality, we basically run from air conditioned building to air conditioned building, cursing the time it takes for the air conditioner in the car to bring the heat level down to a temperature which doesn’t make you feel as if you’re being baked alive. It starts about March and it doesn’t quit until November.

They don’t put that in the brochures now do they??

“Come to Florida, experience life as an ant under a magnifying glass!”

I’m only hoping that Atlanta weather is more accommodating. At least if there is going to be scathingly hot weather there is the chance that it will be followed by something resembling another season.

Yes, Peyton DOES have a hair bow to match every different sporting event!

This is Greg and Peyton

(All these great pictures are courtesy of our dear friend and neighbor Greg and his wonderful new camera! Thanks for capturing a great day and giving us at least one picture of Pete and I together!!!)

The football game was awesome. We got to share the day with lots of our friends, the Bertoch and Storch families were in attendance and we got the chance to taunt Doug Powell (Adelaine’s Dad) who had seats in the third tier….that would be just 4 inches from where the jets fly over the stadium….while we basked in the second row seats and the thrill of only being able to really see what’s 20 feet directly in front of us.

We discovered that free tickets are great unless you’re in the throws of steroids.

“Peyton wants another hot dog.”

“She just finished one.”

“She wants another one.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“GET her a hot dog!”

It comes down to the point where we can either spend the rest of her college fund feeding her need for processed meats or we can just leave and hope she doesn’t come unhinged and bite the arm off some stranger walking next to us.

Several amusing things happened today. While watching the jumbo-tron, there was an ad for the United Way and there was a picture of the cutest little bald kid….wait, that’s our cute little bald kid…I’m all “HEY! THAT’S PEYTON!”…and Pete’s all “when did she start doing commercials for the United Way?” Hmmm, good question. It was a picture that we took during her wish trip and we got to spend the day meeting the Bucs players, but I didn’t realize they were going to use it on the jumbo-tron. It would be wrong to sue the United Way for not getting our permission to use the picture, right??

Then, as we were leaving the stadium a guy just came up to me and said “Stay right here, I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t leave.”

Ok.

Standing right here.

Not leaving.

Obeying the command of the stranger.

I asked Pete if he thought this was just some gag to see how long we would stay in one place before we realized he wasn’t coming back.

Then the very nice man came back with a Bucs teddy bear that’s the same size as Peyton. He just said that his heart was touched by her.

I don’t know if he realized that she was a cancer kid or if he just felt sorry for her because we obviously have forced this horrible hair cut on her.

But his gesture was very nice and in the car she made sure I seat-belted the bear, she gave “Lily” all of her beads and put a hat on her. Lily is now officially part of the family.

Rachael had a wonderful day with her friend Alyssa. She spent most of Saturday there and then went back for more today. Wendy, the mom, gave a glowing report of Rachael’s manners and sweetness. That’s just awesome to hear! It’s nice to know that when your kids are out of your sight they act like civilized humans and are actually liked and welcomed back. A HUGE thanks goes out to the McPikes for a fantastic weekend of fun for Rachael.

Nathaniel went to a birthday party for one of his classmates with a friend of ours. He spent the whole afternoon eating crap and candy and came home with a wicked headache and tummy ache. Go figure.

Peyton’s eating this round of steroids has been pretty vicious. When she finishes one meal, she’ll actually start planning the next one. We were in the car, leaving Cracker Barrel, having just filled her to max capacity and she’s in her carseat talking to herself. “And I’m going to have a hot dog, strawberries, a banana and some green beans.” I asked her if she was hungry again already and she said no, she was just thinking about her favorite foods.

We ran out of hot dogs, strawberries, and eggs at around 9 PM tonight. There is a very good chance that when Peyton wakes up she’ll be very hungry and then very angry. God have mercy on us all.

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
—Anissa

Friday the kids and I got the chance to go to the first official Brad Richards Foundation event. Brad is just a tremendous guy with a huge heart for the community. Beyond his Richy’s Rascal’s program, his foundation is building up programs to include recognizing and awarding youth hockey players and organizations and to acknowledge and appreciate our military. Brad just rocks! He’s such a quiet guy, untiringly sweet and accommodating to the many kids and family members to whom he gives so much. He knows the kids by name, he asks about their health, he genuinely cares about the people he’s able to help. Kasey Dowd, the executive director of his foundation is a spectacular lady, the one who keeps the wheels moving in a positive direction. She has such a loving relationship with the families and each child is made to feel special and unique. We are so thankful to have the opportunity to be a part of their events and to just give a small thanks for their heartfelt work and generosity.

After the announcements were made about the growth of Brad’s foundation the kids were treated to some fun out on the plaza in front of the St. Pete Times Forum. There was the blown-up maze, the rink set up for some street hockey and a thing…I’m not sure what the call the “thing”….essentially the kids became a human foosball table. Kids were lined up in rows, and stapped to each other so they had limited mobility and then they were given sticks so that they could attempt to get the ball into the opposing goal.

Nathaniel and Peyton were pretty into the street hockey. Nathaniel took his turn as the goalie and had a fantastic time! I asked him if he thought he could do it on an inch wide medal blade while standing on a sheet of ice and he laughed at me as if to say “Mom, you really need to think before you speak.”

Peyton attempted to get in the hockey play with a stick at least a foot taller than her, but the older kids were faster and if not better, at least had better hand/eye coordination. She was getting frustrated with that when Brad took a moment to stop the game and let the little ones come in for a few swings at the goal. Seriously, Peyton got hockey tips from Brad Richards….and next summer Nathaniel will be hiring Andre Agassi for his tennis lessons! I did learn one really important lesson about hockey…one should never attempt to take pictures from directly behind the net…That whole ball in the forehead thing only had to happen once….don’t let it be said that I’m a slow learner!

The kids truly enjoyed every moment they spent with Brad and their friends. Thanks to Brad and Kasey for giving us yet another great experience!

Peyton with Thunderbug, last year whenever she’d see him she’d go running for cover under the nearest surface…oh how far we have come!

Human foosball

Nathaniel geared up for a first attempt at street hockey

Rachael just being cute Rachael

Peyton working the hockey scene in her own glamour style

Brad Richards as your hockey coach…are you kidding me???

I’ll bet Brad’s never played hockey with someone in a hair bow before!

Today was low key and mellow. Rachael went off for a play date with her “BFF Forever” Alyssa. BFF forever…for those not hip to the lingo, that’s Best Friend Forever…so the way they put it, BFF Forever makes them actually Best Friends Forever Forever. That’s a long time to be best friends, but I hope they do it. From all reports the girls had a wonderful time together with plans to do it again tomorrow. Alyssa and Rachael aren’t even in the same class, Alyssa is in the second grade to Rachael’s first grade status, but I guess that their friendship is showing that it can withstand that HUGE age barrier.

Nathaniel had his partner in crime here for the day. He and Ryan enjoyed a day full of boy type stuff….playing with legos, indulging in some video time, pretending to battle with each and every weapon they could get their hands on. Something I read said that a child’s play proved to be a sign of their future ambitions, so I guess I can comfortable guess that Nathaniel is either going to be a engineer, a computer whiz or a Jedi. I hope that Jedi package comes with good benefits package.

Peyton and I had a good snoozey kind of day. She slept terribly last night, her steroids are kicking in and they’re doing a number on her. She’s finally kicked the worst of the cold, just a hacking cough is left. Now she can’t sleep, her legs hurt and she’s easily riled to vengeful anger. Yesterday her little buddy Will was sad after we parted ways and told his mama “Peyton wasn’t loving me today.” Sorry, kiddo, unless you sport a plate of scrambled eggs and green beans, she’s not loving much of anything these days. At Cracker Barrel (where else?) this morning she scarfed down four scrambled eggs, two pieces of sausage, two bowls of green beans and two containers of jelly….no bread, just licking that jelly out of the little bowl with a look of absolute bliss on her face. But really, who hasn’t done that at one point or another?

Tomorrow we are being treated to another Buc’s game. Hopefully with the weather being a little cooler the game will be bearable. When I offered the game to the kids, Nathaniel and Rachael both passed with a birthday party and a playdate with Alyssa as preferable options. Ok, seriously kids, we’re talking front row, end zone seats! But I guess their priorities are a little out of whack and they are going to go with their friends instead. Peter, Peyton and I will be rooting for the Bucs and trying to figure out how we’re ever going to work up any enthusiasm for the Falcons if we’re offered tickets to an Atlanta game in the future.

Atlanta is a full on go situation. We are scrambling to figure out the best way to handle the whole transition thing and chances are high that Peter will be going up to a bachelor pad for a few month and the kids and I will follow for the full move when school is out for the summer. “Bachelor pad” sounds so glamorous, but more than likely it’ll be Pete in a tiny apartment with a Sam’s size package of Ramen Noodles and one lamp on the floor. That’s pretty much how I found him when we first started dating. Pete has this deep love for hammocks. I think hammocks are fun too. But he makes the comment that instead of a bed he could just get a hammock….yeah….and my response was “Dude, you’re 35 years old now, if you sleep in a hammock you could end up permanently crippled. Not to mention you could roll over, fall out and break a hip or something.” He didn’t appreciate that assessment of his youthful self, but has agreed to go with the traditional bed option. Marriage is all about compromise, my friends, and occasionally about letting your spouse know that they’re out of their ever loving mind.

Don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour tonight!!

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
–Anissa

ps….some requests were made for t-shirts in the Pootique, which are now available. There are grandon, granddaughter, brother, sister and friend options in the “I wear gold for…” shirts. If you have a specific shirt you’d like made, just let me know, it’s simple to do and I’d love for you to able to support the special child in your life. A reminder that profits from the shirts with the Pediatric Cancer Foundation logo will go straight to the PCF for research funding. So, if you’re thinking about a gift to share, who can’t use one more shirt in their life???

I will not, however, be adding anything in the line of “I wear gold for my neighbor’s brother’s best college friend’s pediatrician’s manicurist’s son” on there any time soon.

Halloween. I love this holiday because it’s a chance to explore the kid’s creative sides, to watch them indulge in their characters and because this it the day every year that I am reminded of a deep and undeniable truth….I freaking LOVE Tootsie Rolls. Wow, how do I go a whole year between eating them?? It’s like eating a little brown piece of plasticy-leathery-chocolate-esque heaven, but oh is it ever so good.

It’s a wonderful guilty please, much like Dirty Dancing and wishing that leg warmers would come back in style (just for a little while).

We drove across Brandon to visit MaryAnn, the exec director of the Children’s Cancer Center, and got treated to a trick or treat session in the ritzy area! But we came to a stunning realization. It’s really not better to trick or treat in the rich area because the houses are so big, the lots so huge that you have to walk forever to get to the next bucket of free goods! We prefer to trick or treat in our little neighborhood where the houses are closer and we can get more loot for our walking radius.

As you can see, we have spent way too much analyzing this.

I hope all of you had equally wonderful trick or treating experiences and spend the next few weeks coasting down from your blistering sugar high.

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
–Anissa

“To the rescue!”

Of what, I’m not entirely sure….perhaps a legion of Pamela Anderson stunt doubles. I think there’s a good chance that Peyton’s expectations of puberty are soon to be disappointed.

Check out the sword action!

I let her go out in a lot of “unusual” outfits, but I seriously have to draw the line somewhere.

f.r.o.G.
–Anissa