Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So many people call me the Paparazzi of the family.....I consider it a compliment :) May is always a busy month for us, but this is a slideshow sample of a few things that the kids were up to. From My Fair Lady to Maggie's b-day (and her Day at Disney with Dad) to Amanda's first Communion (and then crazy broken arm). Also, the Junior Games, 4th grade play for Sean, and finishing up baseball. Add in state testing for the kids (not Ian) and Open House. I'm sure I missed something along the way, but as May comes to a close we are saluting the troops on this Memorial Day. Good ole' bbq, Collin's famous potato salad, watermelon and apple pie.

I really need to stop it with the 'what a difference 24hrs. makes' style posts. Remember this--

http://hall6inca.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-difference-day-makes.html Well, here it is only appropriate once again.

On Saturday, 5/15, Amanda made her First Holy Communion. She was just beautiful (even though she wasn't thrilled to have to wear a dress). We were so proud of her. After her evening Mass, some friends joined us at Dave & Buster's for dinner and arcade play. It was fun and a great way to celebrate Amanda's day.

Fast forward 24 hrs. ............after a fall down stairs at the the local high school during the Junior Games (kids' track meet), she was once again in the ER.

Two broken bones in her lower left arm ......nasty (can you see the warp?)

She was a champion patient. After sedation to set the bones we headed home with a splint. Hopefully she'll get a cast next week after confirmation that the swelling has gone down and it is healing well.

Aside from not being comfortable when she sleeps, she is handling it well. Never a dull moment.

Recently a few of my friends have posted Gratitude Lists on their blogs. Occasionally I just need to be a copy-cat b/c I'm all out of ideas or simply too tired to be creative. It's been a crazy (crazier than usual) week with no end in sight so I'm going to try to accentuate the positive and try to create a better mood..........

Gratitude List
1) I'm thankful for good friends, especially ones who share breakfast with me at Panera Bread.
2) I'm thankful that Maggie's camera came back to life after she dropped it within two hours of getting it as a b-day gift.
3) I'm thankful that Amanda is able to audition for Wizard of Oz and that today is the last day of auditions.
4) That Ian had a great baseball season and that his season is DONE!
5) That Sean's teacher pushed back his book report deadline b/c it's PowerPoint format AND I can't help him b/c I don't know how to so we have time to ask for help.
6) That Sandee and her kids are able to attend Amanda's First Communion this weekend.
7) That we have birthday cake! Cake makes everything better.

TIME
As the days roll by, I find myself measuring time in small increments all starting at Halloween 2009; I guess you could call it Tumor Time. I don't know. It's strange. There are so many things in life that are measured or recorded as milestones and people often refer to them on a regular basis. For example, dating "we've been dating six months" and then marriage "we've been married six months" and ESPECIALLY when you have children....."the baby is six days, six weeks, six months old".

And sometimes it seems surreal when you measure other things; like the fact that my Dad has been gone for almost 21 years. Longer than he was in my life.

I tend to think of this new 'tumor time' much like most people would a major life-changing occurence. I hear people all the time mention that they are 'five years sober' or 'two years cancer free'. It is a BIG DEAL! And the fact that six months ago, Amanda couldn't talk, walk, or swallow is nothing short of amazing. So today we are celebrating six months post-tumor for Amanda and all of the changes it has brought to our home. Six months that has made me appreciate being a Mom even more. Happy Mother's Day to me and all the amazing Moms out there!

It's May 5th.....Cinco De Mayo; Sean has a baseball game so that means about as mexican as my kids are going to get for dinner is Nachos from the snack bar. BUT -- I have been trying to continue in my cooking adventures overall. And I'm happy to say the family is actually consuming what I'm making so it's a good thing!

Last night, I made Spicy Chicken Shawarma -- from Cooking Light, April 2010. It was really easy (made easier by my neighbor who had ground ginger and coriander b/c I didn't!). And probably one of the best parts was that it was all from scratch and tasted so fresh. AND it didn't take very long to make.

While the chicken cooked, I cut the cucumber, tomato and onion; prepped the yogurt sauce. I also steamed the artichokes and prepped the fruit. THAT WAS IT!

Healthy, well-balanced meal :)

Well, if you don't count the butter that everyone dipped the steamed artichokes into.