Random Thoughts by Mandee

I thought it was time for a new post but don't have much to write about. I am nearing the end of the tunnel affectionately called..."My Sister's Wedding". Somehow I was hired (free of charge or course) to be the wedding planner. I would like to think that I was chosen because I find joy in making things pretty or because of my love of all things decor but really I think I was appointed simply because I have no life and the only one available all day...EVERYDAY. I will take lots of pictures and share, but only of if the miracle of making a LDS gym look a little less like well a gym actually occurs.

There will be yummy desserts though! I am now the proud owner of 2 Sephra Chocolate fountains (anyone want to come over for some chocolate) and 20 pounds of premium milk chocolate. There will be strawberries (of course), fresh pineapple, frozen bananas, berry kabobs(that is just a fancy name (hey that sounds just like those Fancy Nancy books I read to Madelyn) for blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries skewered together on a stick of some kind, homemade rice krispy treats, cream puffs, pretzel rods, peanut butter balls, slivers of a walnut tart that is to die for, etc, etc, etc. AND....for those who don't like sweets....there will be nachos and homemade salsa. We are a family who loves food but especially MEXICAN food. We wouldn't know that to do with ourselves if there wasn't a tortilla chip in close proximity.

I will be glad when the festivities are over and I KNOW Dallan will be VERY glad when it is all said and done. Then his wife won't have any more excuses for NOT getting the house cleaned up. Having said that maybe I don't want it to be over because as you know....I LOVE A GOOD EXCUSE!

Let's see what else....I am excited that the new season of So You Think You Can Dance is almost here. Although I don't think it could possibly top last season. Madelyn has only 18 more days of school left and then comes the DREADED summer. 2+ months of being locked up in the house because it is too dreadfully hot to go outdoors. I think we will be spending LOTS of time at my grandparent's cabin, but they don't know that yet.

Here is one final random thought and then I must get back to doing something...do you think it's bad that I love watching the Biggest Loser while eating a drumstick (ice cream not fowl) all the while thinking it would be nice to lose a few pounds?

THAT'S MY BOY!!! (embarassing body talk, please read with caution...especially you Heather James)

Over the years Dallan and I have had several "talks" regarding the issue of whether or not you should teach your children the correct names for their body parts.

PLEASE KNOW I DIDN'T WRITE THIS POST SO WE COULD DEBATE THIS ISSUE.

I AM PERFECTLY OKAY WITH BEING WRONG!!

Me? I am old school. I find it a little uncomfortable when I hear certain words come out of a two year olds mouth. But that's just me! I know this parenting theory can cause confusion. Take Madelyn as an example. The other day she noticed a girl wearing a shirt that was well let's just say, having a really difficult time concealing the top portion of the owner's body. Upon seeing this girl Madelyn looked at me and said....Mom, I can see that girl's elbows", I thought about correcting her but AGAIN was a little uncomfortable with the thought of my baby girl talking about breasts, so I left it alone. In my opinion there will be a time and a place for "those" conversations. Dallan on the other hand disagrees with my philosophy. I don't understand why he is adamant about this. It isn't like he has done extensive research. No, I believe the real reason Dallan feels so strongly is because he has never experienced one of those truly embarrassing moments when your child says something so extreme, so ridiculously shocking that you actually want to run and hide, until now....(lucky for him this happened in our living room and we were the only one's around to hear it)!!!

Here's how it all played out.....Jackson has a really big belly. So big in fact that Dallan has made up a little song about it. "Big Belly, Big Belly, Big Belly Jackson, Little Belly, Little Belly, Little Belly Madelyn (Madelyn likes him to sing it saying that she too has a big belly. Can you imagine him singing that to her when she is 16?) all sung to the tune of "10 Little Indians". So there we were, just the three of us....Dallan, Jackson, and me. Dallan was singing his little song and after the first big belly verse Jackson spoke up and this is a quote..."No daddy, Jackson not have a big belly, Jackson has big penis". I don't think I have ever laughed that hard in my entire life. Dallan was speechless. When he asked where he learned that word (and NO I didn't teach him to say THAT!!!!) I explained that I had taught him the proper name for it and did so at HIS request.

So what did we all learn.... Well, Dallan realized that it's okay to be "old school" and that for the time being having his boy use the term "pee,pee" is MORE than OKAY with him.

And me....I learned that I LOVE teaching Dallan a lesson every now and again, especially when the results involve his ears turning red from embarrassment.

Now that was a moment when I thoroughly enjoyed feeling a little uncomfortable!

Modern Day Miracle......

Several weeks after Christmas my grandfather was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer. The tumor was very large and had connected itself not only to the back of his throat but onto the base of his tongue. He is 91 years old and the prognosis wasn't good. Upon meeting with the surgeon to see if removing the tumor was even possible they were told that if he has surgery he would never be able to speak or eat again. Him and my grandmother decided that they would opt for no treatment and hopefully the doctors could make him comfortable. They were told that he had less than a year to live. Along comes my sister in law.....a couple members of her family had had progressive cancers and again were told by doctors there was no hope of remission and they too had little time left. Not happy with what they were told they sought alternative solutions. And they found one...MEXICO! Of all the places in the world they chose Mexico and they chose Doctor Vargas. Both members of her family were treated and were cured. For days my sister in law asked my brother to call my grandparents and give them Dr. Vargas' phone number. He wouldn't do it. He explained that they had made their decision and that my grandfather who NEVER goes to the doctor would surely NEVER go to MEXICO! Luckily for us she bugged him until he finally caved in. They sent this Mexican doctor all his test results and upon looking at them he told them he could help my grandfather. The cost would be around $20,000. Now while all of this was happening my grandparents received a renewal slip for their safe deposit box. My grandfather told my grandma that they should cancel it because there was nothing in it. She went up to the bank to cancel and make sure the box was empty. She had teased my grandpa that it would be funny if the box was full of money (my grandpa hides money and sometimes forgets where he hides it!). He was confident the box was empty. Well it wasn't. In the safety deposit box was the exact amount they needed to go to Mexico. I am not saying the money magically appeared but it had been saved or forgotten about until they needed it. So the two of them, my mom, and my aunt boarded a plane bound for San Diego and from there they would head on over across the boarder. Long story short....on his first visit he had several weeks of low dosage chemotherapy. He never once got sick and never lost any of his hair. After the chemo was several rounds of radiation. This was the hardest part. Approximately 4 weeks later they returned home. His throat was sore and nothing tasted the same (side effect of the radiation) but he was starting to heal. Several weeks later they went back to his primary care doctor for an MRI and found the tumor had shrunk about 50%. Just this last week they went back to Mexico to have the tumor surgically removed. Now remember the surgeon here explained that my grandfather would never speak or eat again should he opt for surgery. Doctor Vargas ensured my grandparents that the surgery would be simple and virtually painless. We didn't believe him. We were wrong. They were able to remove the entire tumor and three days later they were back on a plane headed for home. He was eating, drinking, talking and laughing. He will go back one more time for another round of chemotherapy and radiation just to make sure they get any residual cells they may have missed. This round will be even lighter than the first treatment he received. The prognosis.....complete remission. My family was amazed at how many people around the world travel to see this doctor in Mexico. Each time they have gone they have heard countless stories of how people had been healed AFTER being told they had little time left to live. I am thankful that my grandfather is recovering and that we have more time to spend with him. He is more like a father than a grandfather and I will forever be grateful to my sister in law whose persistence was the answer our family was in need of.

Are You Serious??

I just saw this on CNN. Here is the link....www.ashleymadison.com....when divorce just isn't an option. SERIOUSLY????