We Got Results!

Finally, almost a month since the much dreaded CT scan, we got the results. It appears the cyst is exactly what they thought it was - a benign, dermoid cyst. Not cancerous and not a barbell type that would have meant surgery to her skull. For the back story, here's The Birthmark and the Bump. I believed everything was okay, but as long as the doctor didn't call to let us know, there was that small, slim chance that he was wrong and it was bad. I can let that worry go! She's fine!
I was taken aback though, when, after telling me the good news, the pediatric plastic surgeon's assistant wanted to schedule the outpatient procedure to have it removed. The earliest appointment at the outpatient surgical center was Aug. 13.
After taking a gulp of air, I decided to tell the assistant to wait to schedule Mo. I want to talk it over more with Bry and get an opinion from my sister, the pediatrician, about doing it now versus waiting a little while. I know it has to be removed, as it can get infected, but this time, unlike the CT scan, she must be put under anesthesia and have a tube down her throat. Would it be better to just do it now or wait until she's 2 or 3?
For now, it's time to discuss and research the surgery. It's also time to be thankful that Mo's head is okay.

Story Hour- wait - Story Minutes

When I was a little girl, my mom would take my sister Jeanna and I (probably she dragged my little brother too) to the local library. Mrs. MacIntyre, a large rollie pollie woman with the kindest voice would read wonderful stories to us at the local story hour. While I really cannot remember the exact stories she would read, I do remember sitting in the library and being transfixed by it all. Some weeks we would go to story hour, some weeks we wouldn't make it. There would be kids ranging in age from 5 to babies and everything in between. Usually there were lots of books and sometimes a craft to complete. It was free and you came when you could.
Story Hour was great!
That's how I remembered it.
Fast forward to today. I am the mother of a 12 (almost 13) month old little girl. I check our local library, online of all places, to see about story hour. Apparently, the story hour of old has been retired. In it's place is an entire brochure dedicated to different age leveled story times. For 12-24 months, story hour is replaced with Baby Rock-N-Rhyme. As stated on the pamphlet, "Children 12 to 24 months and their parents can participate in this 20 minute program of songs, rhymes, and shared books". There's a program for 2-3 1/2 yr olds and then another program for 3 1/2 to 5 year olds. Okay, so it's not quite "Story Hour" but I thought happily back to my own memories of the library and so I signed Mo up. I also encouraged another mom to sign up with me.
Two weeks ago, the first class. I get there early. (for those of you who know me, I usually am late because of Bry, not me, so in the event I go somewhere without Bry I will usually be early or on time) I walk into the children's area of the library and look for the class. We are the first ones to arrive and I see a worker scurrying around.
"Excuse me," I say, "where is the Story Time meeting?".
I should note, I refuse to call it- Baby Rock-N-Rhyme. If it was being led by Alice Cooper or Ozzy Osbourne, then yes Baby Rock-N-Rhyme would be appropriate, but a public library- c'mon!! Storytime!
She points to a small little room, "It's in there, be sure to get a nametag". She whispers in a scratchy, raspy voice.
I grab Mo's nametag. It's a plastic tag with an old index card from the old filing systems reused as a nametag. Nice, they re-use here! Point for the enviornment.
I watch as a few other moms & kids come in. Some are wheeling up in their strollers, others are carrying their children and bags.
I admit it. I size them up. Do these moms look like they're friendly? More so, do these moms look like my type of moms? Do they make eye contact and smile, or do they cling to their child?
Disappointed, the answers are: Not so much, Not really, no real eye contact or smiles, and a few cling to their children. One turns out to be a grandmom, while another looks a little, for lack of a better word- crunchy. Luckily my friend M comes in with her little girl, G. Thank God I don't have to deal with this alone.
The scratchy voiced library lady comes out with a monkey puppet sing-songing some sort of welcome song. I really can't make it out too well, as her voice is kind of rough.
I'm assuming that we are supposed to walk in with our kids to the Story Room. Mainly I assume this since I see the other moms & kids walking it. M & I and our girls head in too.
Immediately M & I look at each other. The story room is small, tight fitting especially with 10 kids and their caregivers. The raspy library lady sits in the front on a chair with the puppet, while we all sit on the floor, backs against the wall, holding our kids. She then starts some rhymes. Behind her, on the chalkboard, are various print outs of some rhymes in different fonts and sizes. I'm glad my eyes are good because I can follow along with the rhymes as we go. M isn't as lucky. She whispers to me, "where are we?". I tell her wheels on the bus and off we go. Raspy library lady procedes to sing the wheels on the bus, sitting in her chair, oblivious to the fact she is in a skirt. She's throwing her whole body into it! Luckily we've got toddlers in the room, so they're not interested in seeing her goods, but unluckily us moms (and one grandmom) aren't so lucky.
It gets better!
As raspy library lady continues, M & I converse back and forth about how much her throat will hurt by the end of the class. I want to get her some tea with lemon and honey. M hopes she rests her vocal chords for the rest of the day by not talking.
After 20 minutes, two books and repeating a few rhymes, raspy library lady turns on a CD of music, gets out a bag of scarves (why? I still don't know!)and puts out a few board books. She mentions that her voice is always like that, and it doesn't bother her. Two songs play and then everyone starts to put the books and scarves away as raspy library lady grabs them and leaves.
No Goodbye song, No Good bye to the kids. Just exit stage Right.
It was so weird. My friend, M finally takes it upon her self to introduce her and her daughter to the few other moms that have yet to escape. My turn is next. I introduce Mo and myself and I learn the other moms names (they now have escaped me) and their kiddies. (I know their names though- Shane, and Robby).
We came back this past week and at least raspy library lady introduced herself Miss Liz and this week she sang some sort of goodbye song, but really that was it.
Storytime is a lot different these days. I came home and talked to Bry about my experience of course he showed no compassion for this awkward experience.
His response, "What do you expect Jac? It's free at the library?"
I guess I expected Mo to have the same sort of happy experiences at teh library that I associate with it. We shall see if next class raspy library lady- I mean Miss Liz- actually asks our kids their names! My guess is probably not.

Sometimes there seems to be no reason.

I was going to go into detail about a friend's battle with cancer, but sometimes less is more.
I am so sad. I feel helpless and heartbroken.
How can someone who is such a good person have to deal with a devasting illness and a grim prognosis? My mind can't wrap itself around this news.
So I ask for prayers.
Please pray for K and her family.
Please pray that her pain will lessen as the diet changes and family support work.
Please pray that she will remain strong.
Please pray that she will beat this because she deserves it.

Still waiting.

I called the pediatric plastic surgeon this morning to see if they had the results from the dreaded CT scan.
It took me 15 minutes to figure out which number I was suppose to call. I called what I thought was the correct number, but after listening to the voice go over all the options- of which none were the correct one, I got a live person. After explaining who I was, why I was calling and whom I wanted to speak, she gave me another number and hung up. I called that number. At least there was no voice directory. I got a live person immediately. After explaining yet again who I was, why I was calling and whom I wanted to speak I was informed...
the doctor is on vacation...
until next week.
So basically we wait until then.
I have caught myself staring at the bump every so often. Trying to figure out what Mo will look like without it. Trying to imagine what surgery will be like when/if they remove. Finally, I have let my mind wander to the what if it is a barbell type cyst- only a few times. It scared me too much that I won't let myself think about the fact there could be, even if it's only a slim chance, a cyst inside her skull equal in size and shape as the cyst on her forehead.
I refuse to let myself worry about that possibility.
I trust the doctor when he said the chance of such a cyst is slim.
Of course I would have preferred if he said that the chance of such a cyst was non-existent, but what can I do?
So now, we wait.

Because my kid is too cute,

I had to share.
Yummy!


Mo happy



Get this damn hat off of me!


Checking out her Bitty Baby from Gran & Grandpops


Whatcha doing in there?




Thanks again Ashley for the beautiful pics!

The Story of the Tastykake

When I was little, my dad worked nights for Conrail.
Yes there was a time where I thought my father was an engineer. Not the type that designs things, the type that sits in the front of a train and gets to pull the whistle and wear this hat. But no, that wasn't his job. He was "Network Control", whatever that means.
Anyway, as usual, I'm off the topic.
So my dad would work 11 pm to 7 am. On our birthdays he developed his own tradition. I know some families have pancakes or french toast or eggs for breakfast. I bet a few of those out there reading this would have their mother (or father) make them their favorite breakfast for their birthday. That was not the case in our home. On his way home from work, my dad would stop at Wawa and pick up our favorite Tastykake. We then would sit at our dining room table, place a candle or two into the dessert, and sing happy birthday. Then it was off to school or to play for the day.
Each one of us had our favorite. I loved the peanut butter Kandy Kake. Unfortunately, they were often too hard and the chocolate would crack. On occasion, the candle would fall out. My brother was a fan of the krimpets, I think or was it the cupcakes. My dad and my mom really didn't care too much. My sister, however, was another story. The only Tastykake she would eat were the jelly krimpets. No cupcakes, no butterscotch icing, and no peanut butter.
As we got older, my dad left Conrail and so went his night hours. He still would get us the Tastykake for our birthday. I think sometime when I was in college, that tradition stopped with me. I'm assuming it stopped with the other members of my family too. That is, until this past January.
My dad turned sixty on January 20. I was racking my brain with some gift for him. My mom, brother, sister and I talked about throwing him a surprise party. Money was tight and so that option was put on hold until 65 or his retirement. (Whichever comes first!). I thought about getting him tickets to a Phillies game or something else related to his beloved team, but that to me wasn't too original. And then, it dawned on me as I was walking through the grocery store and saw a display.
Tastykakes would be the perfect gift! At first I was going to mail 60 actual packs of Tastykakes (Not boxes, packs). After some thought and discussion with Bryan over how ridiculously much 60 packs (that would 120 cupcakes/krimpets/kandykakes) would be. I decided to do five boxes of cupcakes.
Follow my math: Five boxes of cupcakes = 60 cupcakes
1 box = 6 packs of cupcakes, 1 pack = 2 cupcakes
I boxed up the boxes of tastykakes, with 60 candles and a little card explaining the gift.
I told my mom to have my dad open the box in the morning. Unfortunately, he didn't get the box until close to noon, but he loved the idea behind it. He was a little pissed that I spent $7.00 to ship them. But hey, it was worth it!
For Moira's first birthday, I made a point of getting her her birthday Tastykake. I ended up settling on Butterscotch krimpets.
She seemed to enjoy them!

Taking the candle out before she dives in.


So yummy she can't keep her eyes open!

Krimpet is TRASHED!

I hope to keep this tradition up with my own family now. So, if you see me at Wawa on April 1, February 18, or September 2, you know to point me in the direction of the Tastykake display.

Party, Party, Party!!

Mo's party hat which I made and she refused to wear!



Amidst the rain and windy weather yesterday, we celebrated Mo's first birthday! Of course, the weather did not cooperate as we had 21 adults, 2 toddlers and a dog in our townhouse. Yes, there was a very well behaved dog - Dolly who belongs to our dear friends Steve & Lynsay who came to celebrate with all the two legged guests.
Things were a little tight, but the food was yummy, the cupcakes- enormous, and the liquour as always flowing.
The party did start off on a little bit of a sour note. As Bryan and my friend Ashley's husband Chris went to get the food from one of our favorite resturants. If you know us in real life, you know that we LOVE good food! As I have mentioned before, I could never stomach paying full price for clothes or shoes or a purse, but dropping a hundred (or on occasion a few hundred) dollars on a meal is something we enjoy doing. So instead of slaving away in the kitchen, Bry and I decided to have the dinner catered.
Back to the story, Bry & Chris headed to the resturant as I sat here with Mo and welcomed our guests. They left a few minutes before 3, with the food due to be picked up at 3. I really thought nothing as 3:15 came and went and no Bry & Chris. Then it became 3:30, no food or guys. By 3:40 all of the guests were crammed into our tight living room and we waited. Finally a little after 3:45 they come in, barreling through to the kitchen.
Two problems:
1, the BLT pasta (bacon, lettuce, & tomato pasta) is usually made with spinach. Unfortunately my sister is HIGHLY ALLERGIC to spinach so we asked for some other green. The cook had written it down, but apparently forgot. So while Mo & I entertained our guests, Bry & Chris were sitting at the bar in the resturant drinking a great house drink waiting for the chef to re-do the pasta. That's what took so long.
Problem 2 - We had ordered clams casino. YUMMY! However in transit from car to kitchen, Bry spilled the clam juice all over himself. I'm talking down the sweater, and polo and kahki shorts and undershirt. As he went upstairs to shower, all our guests ate! I don't think anyone realized he was gone as everyone seemed to be face down on their plates.
That was our only issue the whole day- weather and clam juice! Not too bad right?
Here's a quick recap of the events:
Everyone enjoyed lunch and liquor.
Mo and Aiden entertained everyone as they ran around and shaked maracas.
Mo was actually demure with the cupcake. I thought she would trash it, but actually most of the cupcake stayed in tact. She ate a little icing and then just stared at it.
Everyone enjoyed my GINORMOUS cupcakes*.
Moira opened her gifts as Aiden helped.
Our friends and family were way too generous. Moira got some adorable outfits, her first American Girl Doll- the Bitty Baby from my parents, a Hybrid Anywhere Chair from my sister, a ball pit from Lynsay, Steve, & Dolly, a giant life size stuffed Golden Retriever from my mother-in-law, and an adorable book from Ashley, Chris, & Aiden. She made a book through Kodak Gallery of Mo's first year. It is a hardback book and has so many beautiful pictures of Moira throughout this first year. It truly is something we will treasure forever.
As my sister always says, Ashley always comes up with the most creative gifts. For my baby shower, she bought me something for each month/holiday of the year. Needless to say, I plan on stealing this idea for a few other friends/family members. For Moira's birth she had a photo she took of Mo in the hospital turned into a pencil sketch and had it framed. For Mo's baptism she bought Mo stock in Tiffany and had the slip framed.
Overall we had a wonderful day! We are so lucky to have such kind and thoughtful friends and family! We missed Uncle Casey, Uncle Bill, & a few others and hope that they can share the fun for Mo's next birthday!


This picture was technically not from the party. It was from Mo's first birthday photo shoot!

Mo & I before the party got too crazy!

*I must explain this one. I enjoy baking and so I thought I'd bake and decorate cupcakes for the party. Since places like Crumbs and Sprinkles are making jumbo cupcakes the fad, I thought to myself "Self, I can do that! How hard could it be? I went to Michael's and bought Wilton giant cupcake pans and the papers too. I had a yellow box cake mix and I was planning on making Martha Stewart's one bowl chocolate cupcake mix and her easy buttercream icing. (Unfortunately the recipe can only be found in her magazine, however she does have great recipes for other flavors!) I assumed that one cake mix would make 12 cupcakes, since the mix usually yields 24 regular cupcakes. I figured that 12 would be a reasonable estimate.
I WAS WRONG!
These cupcake pans are deep.
Really deep.
How deep you ask?
Deep enough that with the box of yellow cake mix I could make SIX, that's not a typo, only 6 cupcakes with the box. GULP!
Luckily I had an extra cake mix and so we had some unplanned, but yummy rainbow chip cupcakes too! I will add pics of these ginormous cupcakes once someone sends me a picture.