1 Month Post-Chemo

It's been a month since I finished chemo. I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it feels to have energy again. I didn't realize just how drained I was until I felt good again. Each week over the last 4 weeks I felt myself getting stronger and stronger. I can finally say I feel pretty much like my old self again, energy-wise.

I took another picture of my hair growth, so this is 4 weeks (1 month) post-chemo as compared to the last photo which was 2 weeks post-chemo. It's not a ton of growth, but enough to notice:


I started radiation yesterday (Tuesday, March 10th) and will have a total of 21 treatments. They are quick and painless. The worst part is having to wear a very constricting mask that holds your head in the exact same position each time so you can't move your head. They do that so they can be sure they are only shooting the beams of radiation where they need to go and not anywhere else and that they shoot them in the same place each time I go. They have marks on the mask to help guide them with that.

Other than radiation, I'm trying to put all thoughts of cancer behind me and move on with my life. I'm trying to get healthier, too. Ever since I had Logan I've been a bit overweight and I'm tired of carrying excess baggage around and want to feel good about myself again. I started a diet and exercise plan on Thursday. My goal is to lose between 25 and 30 pounds. I'm keeping a food diary and writing down EVERYthing that I eat, calories, fat grams, carbs, and protein and also I have started walking down my street from my driveway to the end and back which turns out to be 1.2 miles each day. I've done this every day since Thursday. I'm really, really hoping to keep myself motivated and lose some weight and feel and look good again.

I do have some not so great news to report, though. Part of the thing that sparked me to have the neck biopsy done in the first place (which led to me finding out I had cancer) was the hives/rash I've been battling. Interesting enough, the hives almost completely disappeared from the chemotherapy. With each of my 4 chemo treatments the hives seemed to lessen and lessen. By the last one, I thought the hives were completely gone. So I figured that the hives must certainly be caused by the cancer after I was reported as being cancer-free after my last treatment. Unfortunately, the hives are back. They showed back up almost exactly 1 month after stopping chemo. I still don't know their root cause, but as always, they get worse whenever I'm hot (like outside mowing grass or exercising) and/or they get worse during my menstrual cycle. I am going to see how radiation goes, but if after 21 rounds of radiation I'm still breaking out with hives then I'm going back to my general doctor to see if he can run more tests. I hate living with them. They itch and become painful.

I know I've been a lot of trouble begging you all for prayer requests, but if you could please pray for me to stay cancer-free and pray that my hives disappear once and for all OR that I find the cause of them I would appreciate it sooo, soo much!

A Happy, Picture-Filled Post

All this talk of cancer is really not the most fun thing to talk about... so, for a change of pace, I thought it would be nice to share some pictures of my most favorite thing on Earth: my son, Logan.

In all the craziness that's been happening lately, I completely forgot to share Logan's Santa picture. We had a heck of a time getting him to cooperate this year. Finally, we had to bribe him with a candy cane and he had to not know that Santa was there... so Santa crept up behind him for us to get this shot. And yes, this is as good as it gets for our "Santa Picture" of 2008... by the way, this photo was taken on December 20th, Logan's 2nd birthday. Ironically, his Santa picture from last year was also taken on his birthday... how's that for doubling as a birthday pic AND a Santa pic?!



These next shots are just a couple that Lee snapped of Logan and me cuddling while watching t.v. last night. I'm not wearing make-up so be warned, these are scary. But hey, it's me and my boy... It doesn't get any better than that!





Now, for something "crunchy", since, after all, I am the "crunchy mama"...

I had a sweet mama in Canada from my cloth diapering board knit these pants and hat up for Logan with yarn that I sent to her. They are 100% wool so they not only work as pants, but they are also a waterproof diaper cover for over Logan's diapers. They're called "scrappy pants" or "potluck pants" because they're made from lots of left-over yarn scraps all worked up together. It's a great way to recycle yarn that otherwise wasn't going to be used, AND the pants end up matching literally every shirt Logan owns! Kind of reminds me of a "coat of many colors" type of thing! Here's the little model showing off:







That's all folks!!

Jumping on the bandwagon...

It seems that you aren't anybody unless you have a blog... so here it is, my very first post in my very first blog.

I don't lead the most exciting life, but if you care to read what's going on in my world, what new things Logan is doing, or what new hobbies and interests (or obsessions) I'm entertaining myself with this week... be my guest!

I will begin by giving a brief description of me, and my daily life:

My name is Carly, and I'm a daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, and wife, but most importantly, I am a mother. My biggest accomplishment is my beautiful son, Logan. The day my son was born is the day I realized my life really and truly has meaning and purpose. My child is my everything. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband, Lee, and my family and friends... but no one and nothing even compares to the way Logan has fulfilled my life. He was born on December 20, 2006, almost 5 weeks early, and he was a tiny little guy at only 6 lbs. 3 oz.

Today, at just over 10 months old, Logan is about 24 pounds, and he LOVES to eat. He also LOVES getting into any and everything now. He started crawling at 9 months old and about 2 weeks ago began pulling himself up to standing. I can't believe how fast he is growing up.

Besides being a stay-at-home-mom to my gorgeous boy, I am the wife to Lee. He works as a Navy recruiter in Chattanooga, and works a lot of long hours to provide for our family. He is a hard worker and not a complainer... and when he is not working and is at home, he is extremely helpful with Logan. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful, helpful, loving husband.

My life consists of taking care of my little boy, keeping our house cleaned up and presentable, and taking care of mundane tasks like our bills and grocery shopping. Exciting life? No, not really. Would I trade it for anyone else's? Not in a million years. Being a wife and mother are the top two things I always knew I wanted to be. It is so fulfilling to look into the eyes of the man you love and then look at the beautiful little baby you created and know that this is your world and these people depend on you to keep their world the way that it is and how they wish for it to be.