ODDS AND ENDS

Kendrie -- Day 350 OT

Blaine -- feeling good enough that the kids are getting on his nerves again. Or, maybe it's feeling *bad* enough that the kids are getting on his nerves???

**OK, Lisa, and anyone else living in a caffeine-deprived state, I’ve toned down the freneticism (is that a word?) of the music on the site and have chosen a much more calm, soothing selection from Trans-Siberian Orchestra. In through the nose ….. Out through the mouth. But you should enjoy it while it lasts, because I can already feel the musical frenzy building up inside of me again.

**Thanks to all of you who took the time to visit Ali’s site and take a quick peek at the adorable Santa Clause cookie plates they are selling this holiday season as a fundraiser. Thanks especially if you ordered one for yourself! Marey told me mine were mailed today (Wow! Are they speedy or what?!?!) and I can’t wait to see them. Mainly, I can't wait to serve up a big ole' plate of cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, then as soon as the kids go to bed, eat all the cookies myself, leaving a few crumbs for "authenticity". It's no coincidence that Santa's favorite cookies and MY favorite cookies are the same!! Please remember this is a fundraiser Marey and her girls are doing to help two other pediatric cancer families deal with their transplant expenses, and an extremely worth-while cause. If you didn't get the opportunity to visit Ali's site and check out the plates for yourself, please be sure to do so.

** To that end, one of the families that the fundraiser will benefit received extremely bad news yesterday shortly after I posted my own update. Please visit Baby Donovan’s site and leave a note of encouragement for his family.

**And if I could steer you in the direction of one last site, there is a really touching, powerful update on the site of one of our All-Kids friends, Fergus, written by his mom Lauren. Fergus is doing well on treatment, but recently passed the 2-year anniversary of his diagnosis, a time that cancer parents can tell you is often bittersweet. Lauren did a great job telling the story of Fergus’ diagnosis and expressed very well the overwhelming emotions that many parents go through at that difficult time. (Although for the record, Lauren was WAY more cool and collected than me!) Please stop by Fergus’ site and wish them well for the remainder of his treatment protocol.

**Lastly, regarding the guestbook on Kendrie's CB site …. Thank you beyond measure to those of you who leave messages for us to read, letting us know you’ve checked in. Occasional notes are good, but regular, or even daily notes, are even better. (Hmmm, maybe I need to get more IRL friends???) Your notes make me laugh, and smile, and are helpful and informational and downright hysterical at times. I’ll confess, I even get a little bit sad on the days no-one signs in (I know, I need therapy). But, I simply couldn’t take one more single computer generated guestbook entry advertising ** YOUNG**HOT**WILD**NUDE**PORN**GIRLS **, etc. etc.

So, if you’ve been to the guestbook in the past day or two, you might have noticed that there is now a verification screen required before you can leave a message. It takes all of two seconds to enter four numbers, which will allow our friends and family to leave us notes, but not allow the spammers to gain access. I certainly hope you can understand the need for the added step and won’t let it keep you from leaving your messages, which are often the highlights of my day. (Again, with the therapy.)

That’s it for now. I’ve got some flashback Friday photos to post tomorrow, but hope in the meantime you’ll visit the sites of Ali, Baby Donovan, and Fergus.

Thanks! Love, Kristie