A view from the top of the hill

You know the feeling that you have when you are sitting at the top of the first hill on a roller coaster? And, yes, I am aware that my question is a personal one, what do you feel right in that moment, right before the train takes off? Me, I feel a sense of anxiety, childlike-glee, a sense of awe and wonder at the beauty around me, and relief in a matter of moments. That is exactly how my weekend and most of the week have felt.

The Sturgeon household started its first week of Mom's Slowing Down with Easter Vacation. Since I was feeling pretty good (as in having normal moments that could be sustained briefly), we decided to hype up the Marshmallow Drop we read about on the flashing sign at the park entrance near the house. Sadly it took plenty of selling to the kids, but moms and dads were ready to see this for themselves. SO with family rallied, and poor planning on my part for what my health needs would be for this event. (water, who needs it?, chair/blanket? I am not going to get that tired.) We were ready for thousands of marshmallows to be dropped from a helicopter. (My poorly shot video should dissuade you from thinking "thousands of marshmallows" is as big as you think. BUT they did do it 3 times, ages 4 and under, 5-7, 8 and up.)

I hope that my pictures will work right (as in not overlap), but it seems to be escaping me!!!!!!!

What the heck has Aunt Nicole
gotten us to do now.....

Catching up, we have lots to do!!!!

Yeah, I picked mine up from under a
dirty boot and ate it anyway! So?

Cousins!!!! Oh, I mean Captains!!!

Cousins!!!! Oh, I mean Cuties!!!!!

Collective Awwwwwwwwe..... 

The Green Eyed Monster that is jealousy.

Easter weekend had lots of fun, even with a day on the couch thrown in for a good reminder. Easter the Bunny had fun and so did the kids! Plus, I took another leap, no I will call it a release of responsibility, and completely enjoyed letting the Thill Family do Easter dinner. It was wonderful as always! Well, except for Uncle Kevin's latest sabotage of the bits of good manners my children possess. If you thought the pooping stuff out shows from Christmas were funny, then this will crack you up. BUT if you have your own Uncle Kevin, this will crack you up and then you will nod your head with the knowledge that this is going to bite me in the ass at the worst possible moment.... mooning. Yes, they have both unsolicitedly dropped trou' and made some snarky remark. (which, for those who haven't heard my personal favorite unlearnable moment, is a step up from throwing frozen/semi-frozen/maybe-cold dog turds at each other one Christmas). So audience participation #1 what have you done to break bad habits? comment below (and not FB so I can keep the suggestions tied to the post) Please! 

This post is about this week's roller coaster ride from the station to the top of the first hill. I have to say that I am grateful that I have the knowledge that there will be sunny days that I get to enjoy. On Tuesday, I shirked nearly every real responsibility that I had set up for myself, made the trek to the park with the kids, my mom met us there after her bike ride, and we blasted off Rocket Balloons for an hour then played on the playground. Of course reality of how far I can actually push "good days" is starting to sink in. BUT IT WAS SO FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Relief from the oh-woe-is-me has been a true effort in Push Past. Push Past the idea that I can't enjoy life as I fight to get better. Some times it takes a cocktail and day in the freezing cold and snow with a best friend to make you realize that moving forward is allowed to be FUN. (see pic of two goofballs who are at the Tiger's game bundled up) So for that, Julie is hereby my Head Cheerleader. :) For her efforts to keep me from spending a fortune at the ballpark, she also gets a badge as an honorary Burke. (however, I still spent a fortune on Tigers stuff at JCPenny--I just got three times the amount of stuff!!)

Distraction came in the form of new invitations to BzzCampaigns. I got my most recent package--Kids Claratin. So far I have given it to them twice, and it seems to do what it says. Jake's runny nose got some relief and his eyes seemed to perk up. Eliz, not so sure she is an allergy case yet.... If you have kids with allergies I have some coupons to pass out ($3 off). Audience participation #2, let me know you will use them and I will send to as many as I can! AND I got a second invite which is more of a challenge. Live Below the Line is apparently an effort to see if you can live off $1.50 for food and drink from May 7-11th. I have accepted, and I don't think organic juicing fits into that budget. BUT it is something to consider in a broader picture, and I am going to ponder it. If you aren't a BzzAgent yet, and you like to get free stuff, tell people what you think about free stuff, like to give people discounts on the free stuff that you try, and don't mind filling out survey's now and then, I suggest I quick trip to www.bzzagent.com. Let me know if you have heard of Live Below the Line, or if you are thinking about challenging yourself/family.

We had a playdate and got to take a short walk. Couldn't pass up the opportunity for this photo opp! (next time we will convince Jakey's buddy to get in there too!)

And finally Chemo day was here again, treatment #2 down, 6 more to go! For my non-math friends, this makes my chemotherapy 25% done!!!!!

This time I had two chemo buddies, my mom and Elizabeth. At the last minute, she decided (really it more like insisted) that she wanted to join us, so we packed a bag of fun for her and were off to a long appointment. When the nurse poked into Pete-the-Port, I warned Elizabeth I might cry and asked if i could borrow Eeyore for a bit. I think she was a little nervous herself, so she didn't hand him over. She did however give me her furry jacket and said that it feels just like Eeyore and is more like my blanky (problem solver or self-serving doesn't matter because I am the one who has more than once given her jacket as a lovey to keep the peace). She also decided that the IV-pole is named Lumiere. It apparently reminds her of the candelabra from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.


This week I will be tackling diet and exercise. This is where the real participation is requested. I am planning for a high fiber, low fat concept. I am not very good at sticking to anything strict so, I guess my real request is for favorite recipes that fit this style. If you have the desire, links to cancer diet plans. AND if there is a nutritionist out there looking for a challenge: Our real need right now is a month plan/sketch that will keep my innards moving (I spared you the nightmare of that story for now), fights breast cancer, lowers cholesterol, tames ulcerative colitis, and is still kid friendly....

(and if that isn't up your alley and you have been dying to share some cancer/breast cancer related site or information with me with me please do!!!) 

Bzz - Maybelline

Well I must be off to a good start, I just got an offer for Maybelline SuperStay 24™ 2-Step Lipcolor. I am actually kinda excited. I have been trying to take better care of myself and try new things; I think it will be fun to see what is out there in the makeup world and to see if it will fit into my quick "beauty" routine. As a woman who really doesn't have the first clue about this stuff, it will be interesting to see if this stuff can hold up to its 24 hour claim. AND better yet, if it can survive my 24 hours. If it can do what I do, and be simple enough to actually be used for more than special occasions.......... it may be a keeper!

Bzz - Factor Tree

I have had some unique opportunities lately. One of which was stumbling upon the site BZZagent.com. They give me free trials or samples and then ask me what I think and I have the responsibility to write a review and talking to other people about the opportunities they have given me. I am hoping for bigger and better rewards as I get more experience, but I am appreciative of simple tasks to start with.

My first assignment was to review a program call the the factor tree. The following is what I read before I agreed to try it.

A better way to learn math

Every student learns differently — shouldn’t your child be taught math in the way that works best for them? The team at The Factor Tree think so. Which is why their online supplementary math education platform adapts as your child learns, to ensure your pre-K to 6th-grader is always taught in the way that gets the best results.

What makes the Factor Tree so effective?

• Provides the practice and repetition needed for a child to truly master key math skills
• Use a skill-adaptive progression algorithm to pinpoint each child’s true skill level
• Provides parents with helpful reports, metrics and notifications to track their child’s progress
• Combines a state testing-compliant curriculum, world class educational theories and innovative technology to create a better learning tool

Visit thefactortree.com to learn more about its distinct approach to education and sign up for your free one-month trial.

Sounded like something that was right up my alley as a math teacher and parent!!

I started from my role as a parent. I sat down with my 5 year old and we worked through the first few problems. After counting items on the screen for what felt like an absurd number of questions (really it was probably like 5 questions but the image didn't change and all she had to do was count) she was over the novelty and wanted to move on to other sites. I don't think I will be able to get her to sit still and just do drill type problems. We will try again later this week I am going to try to adjust her level to be higher than Pre-K.

I thought perhaps it would be a great tool to use with my almost 3 year old. I made him a user, and we started counting and pointing. He wants more control over the computer and button pushing but the site requires kids to type the answer in the box. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN without frustration for both mother and son.

Sooooo I decided tonight to put on my teacher hat and see what I thought of the older ages program. Perhaps it would be a good tool for my high school students who need some remediation. If a child is truly struggling with math topics then the problems given here are not going to help them feel better or understand more. The questions I did were fraction addtions and subtractions. The formatting was confusing; I missed several questions because what I thought was a mixed number was actually a large fraction (5 5/100 was 55 over 100 and not 5 and 5 hundredths). The use of parentheses was also confusing. Again, if this is intended for remediation or to help a struggling learner these are just the kinds of mistakes they already make and no help is really offered. I will not being adding this to my list of good places for students to get help.