Three things

I have three things that I want to report on tonight before I get back to the mounds of dishes and piles of garbage leftover after cleaning out my refrigerator.  There is a plus side to the power outage... I had some very old c*ap in my fridge and freezer that must have been buried in there since the ice ages.  It was actually liberating to throw away the freezer-burned, family pack of pork chops that was dated 2009 (how it even made it here in my move from Long Beach is beyond me).   Clearly, I'm not exactly big on cooking ;) 

FIRST - I have several "Happy Birthday shout-outs.  Colleen, what can I say?  You make me laugh constantly.  You lift my spirits.  You have been my friend since Kindergarten and even with 3,000 miles between us I feel as close as ever.  I love you.  Hope you had a happy birthday. 

Catherine is friend who I've known for 12+ years, and we've only gotten closer as time goes by.  She is a wonderful cook and she used to have me over for dinner often, especially when I was still living in Manhattan.  I miss those nights with my girlfriends... indulging in delicious food and talking about silly stuff.  She refers to last month as "Sulltober" - or a similar mash-up of her last name and the month of October - and I couldn't believe it was November 2nd when I looked at the calendar today.  Sulltober came and went and I missed her bday completely.  Happy birthday Catherine, I hope you are having a fabulous weekend in England (you fancy b#@$!). 

My friend Christina, who is one of my nearest and dearest, got engaged last week on her birthday.  We celebrated over champagne at my house last weekend and I am just over-the-moon happy for her and her fiance.  Christina and I have been friends since we were 16 years old, and she is a very, very close friend of mine.  I love her with all of my heart and can't wait to talk "wedding" with her so I can focus on something that is so much more fun than chemotherapy, bloodwork and anti-anemics.

Today is also our love Yasmine's birthday.  Yaz, you are so special to us.  You, Anthony, Eva and Theo bring so much happiness to our entire family whenever we are all together.  I hope you know how much Ty and Gavin love you.  Sending GIANT hugs and kisses from me, Lou, Ty and Gavin tonight.  We love you.

SECOND - G-Love.  I just want to share something adorable that Gavin did tonight.  Since Ty became neutropenic, I wasn't able to take them to a studio to get their pictures taken for Lou.  Instead, I tried to have a "photo shoot" at my Mom's house this morning, and it was a ridiculous failure.  I bribed Ty and Gavin with a trip to the candy store and these were the best shots I could get.  Not exactly frame worthy :) 

I am sharing this because our trip to the candy store resulted in Gavin choosing two Pez dispensers - I couldn't get him Buzz Lightyear without also getting Woody.  He absolutely insisted on having both.  The funny thing is that he played with those two Pez dispensers like they were his best friends for the rest of the day.  He had me put on the movie, and he showed his new friends how they were on TV.  He had them watch the movie with him until bedtime and then he took them to bed with him.  It was the cutest thing.  He tucked his Pez dispensers under his blanket as he went to sleep and I felt so happy.  It was just adorable.

THIRD - SuperTy update. Ty is still doing well, but I started his GCSF shot today which will cause him bone pain over the next few days :(  When we got home today, we caught him scooting around the den and hiding some of his toys.  When I asked him why he was hiding them, he said "cuz I be sill-wee".  He is silly.  I love him so much.  He is such a good boy.  Here he is with his first science kit that was gift from cousins James and Ryan for his birthday.  I believe he is reading the ingredients on his fruit snacks. 

Goodnight everyone.  Thank you for keeping tabs on our special boy.