Allergic reaction

I started the chemotherapy for my skin cancer on January 27th.  I was to apply it for 3 weeks 2x a day.  The directions said it would turn red and crusty.

So diligently for almost 3 weeks I put it on and I stayed out of the sun.

On Tuesday, the 14th - it was getting so painful I couldn't bare to put the drops on and it was starting to itch.  Everyone said my nose looked really bad.  So I took this picture and sent it to my doctor.

Within 2 hours, he was personally calling me to tell me I was having an allergic reaction to the chemo and I had an infection.  I was to immediately stop, get an antibiotic and put on hydrocortizone ointment immediately to start the healing.  If it isn't looking better by Monday, I am to make an appointment to see him in his office.

Today, 3 days later, it already feels better and looks better.  I wonder how I was supposed to know the difference between the red and crusty version of the medicine working and the allergic reaction.  Oh well, hopefully I got all the cancer since I put on the chemo for almost all 3 weeks.

New Posts

Snowshoeing Trip

New Train

Searching for a Trumpeter Swan

Another trip for the Swan

Great Wolf Lodge

Pets and Animals

First Dance

Pets and animals

On February 3rd, we got a new pet, a hedgehog.  We named him Jitterbug.  He is learning to relax around us and put his spikes down so we can handle him and pet him.

We also found this gorgeous hawk in our birdbath one afternoon.  He let me get pretty close to get his picture before he flew away.

Our crazy turtle, Skittles, all relaxed and enjoying her heat lamp.  We regularly find her in this position.

Oreo...what can you say about this crazy cat that likes to fetch balls.

Oreo's friend visits him every morning.  They seem to chat to each other through the window.  The squirrel is not afraid at all.

We have a large flock of these little birds.  They swoop in every afternoon, eat some suet and then leave again.  We haven't figured out what they are just yet but they sure are cute!

First Dance

A local homeschool group put on a Valentine Dance for 7th-12th graders.  I mentioned it to Cairn, thinking that she would say no but she surprised me and said she wanted to go.

I said she could go as long as she took a girlfriend.

Cairn before the dance.  We braided her hair wet the night before so it would be super wavy for the dance.

 

Cairn let Skylar help her get ready.  Skylar was super proud!

We headed out to pick up her friend, S, and went to the dance.  Both girls were super nervous.

The girls walked into the dance and immediately sat down at some couches in the back of the room.  After a short while, a couple girls walked over and introduced themselves and the 4 girls ended up hanging out together the rest of the night.

I stayed and the other mom stayed too so we ended up chatting the whole time.  I couldn't get any pictures during the dance because it was so dark.

It was a very typical dance - boys on one side, girls on the other.  Eventually, they all started dancing but no one asked anyone to dance.  They all just danced together.  It was very cute.

The lights came up at the end of the dance and I was able to get one picture of all the girls.

A very successful and fun first dance!

Great Wolf Lodge trip

A friend of mine set up a group rate for our homeschool group to go to the Great Wolf Lodge that had opened in Colorado Springs.  I surprised everyone with 2 nights at the lodge as a Christmas present and it was finally time to go.

 We headed out as soon as Dad got home from work.  We wanted to check in so we could check out the water park.

First, everyone had to get their ears.

We then went to our room to change and then head to the water park.

After everyone had a great night sleep, we got up and went to breakfast and then headed out for the day.  It was supposed to be in the 60's so we thought we could see the Air Force Academy and do some hiking.

We headed to the Air Force Academy first but it was closed for the day so they could do an exercise.

Next idea...we decided to check out a candy factory since it was pretty chilly and we wanted to wait a bit for the sun to warm things up.

The candy factory doesn't do tours in the winter, so we went to the Money Museum.

On the way there everyone decided they just wanted to go swimming so we gave up on the museum and headed back to the hotel.

The kids swam for awhile and then we checked out some of the other amenities at the hotel.

They had a ropes course.

The kids played on the ropes course for 30 minutes.  Then we headed out to dinner.  We wanted a quick dinner so the kids could swim again.  They swam until the pool closed at 9 PM.

Everyone hit the bed exhausted again and slept through the night.

The final morning, we had breakfast and as soon as the pool opened Dad took Skylar and Andrew to the pool while Cairn and I packed.  We had to check out by 11 AM but we could stay at the pool until 9 PM.  We decided to stay until the kids were ready to go home.

Around 3 PM, the kids were exhausted and ready to head home.  There had been a big ice storm the night before so the roads were pretty icy and slick.  We saw one roll over accident but otherwise everything was fine.

We could home, showered, ate dinner and headed to bed.  Everyone was exhausted again but we all agreed we had a great time.