Turks and Caicos - Days 1 and 2

We got back last night from Turks and Caicos! We left last Wednesday and spent four night at Beaches with two other families. Even against my religion, we took Molly Anne out of school for three days. 

We saw some friends from our neighborhood in Turks at the airport…we had been on the same plane. She took this picture and sent it to her daughter who babysits for us! So cute. 

The kids were sooooo excited! We told them about this trip in December. Since Beaches is all inclusive, it was wild time…for the kids and for us! Maybe I should do a blog post all about the hotel! I think half of Charlotte goes there but it’s truly a kids paradise!

First things first - lunch and a drink!

We had dinner at Arizonas the first night which is a Tex mex place in the Caribbean Village of Beaches. Beaches has 5 different villages. We stayed in the Italian Village. Kids got drinks on our way to every dinner. Living the life! 


They don’t even know how lucky they are to get to have this experience!! 




All three of our rooms were the same. They had a kids room and the main room. And they were walk out, Ocean front. We loved having the ease of the walk out and it was pretty amazing facing that beautiful water every second of the day. 


Thursday morning I was up at the crack of dawn so I went to walk the property and get the lay of the land. Also saved some seats at the waterpark that was just behind where we were staying! 




The waterpark was awesome. Tons of slides, swim up milkshake bar, cheeseburgers for lunch, lazy river, surfing. 








Everyone loved the surf simulator! And the guy working it was so good with the children. 


You know I had to do it. Grady did awesome even at 4 years old!




We got cleaned up for dinner at Schooners on Thursday night. If you have a party that is 10 or larger, you can make reservations. It was convenient that we had 11.






Wore this dress. 


Grady’s adorable new shirt. 


We went to the show at the pool after dinner. It was truly spectacular and such talent! 


That’s the end of days one and two. Next up, Friday. 

Also not pictured, Grady had a big croup episode in the middle of the night after this evening. It scared the daylights out of me. I had the steroid to give him, the issue was that usually I crush pills and put them in chocolate syrup. Of course I didn’t have all of that. Kevin had the idea to give it to him in a chocolate chip muffin that we happened to have and that eventually worked. It was scary when I was trying to figure out to do. When I felt like he couldn’t breathe and zero healthcare help. Also, cold air usually helps him but no cold air there. It was just all a lot but we regrouped. I gave him the medicine again the second night (didn’t want to redose him but didn’t have a choice in a foreign country with no help) and he learned how to take pills. So that was a positive. I didn’t learn until I was almost 16 and I required lump crab meat to take pills in!!! 

Anyway, wanted to share this part because it’s not all roses when you look at these pics! Trust me, it wasn’t! But we did have fun. In general our kids are much easier to travel with now. 

Bathing Suits and Some

1. Always my favorite suit and comes in black too. Get it now because it’ll be sold out soon. Target!

2. I may have to try this suit this year. I’ve always wanted to order it and may soon! 

3. Love this frilly top! 


4. Three of my friends had these jeans on at a party on Sunday! I’m going to order when my size is back in stock. They told me that at 5’7” I should order petite so they can be worn with tennis shoes. They evidently run really long. And they feel like maternity because of the elastic waist!


5. Spring top that is easy to pop on for any occasion! 

Mills

Our little boy who is 10.5 years old has bone cancer (osteosarcoma) in his front right leg. He started limping on January 12th. We figured something was just twisted but I made a vet appointment for Monday night when we came back from the beach in case he was still limping. I ended up taking him and they gave him an anti-inflammatory and said let’s schedule an X-ray for Friday in case he’s not better. 

Unfortunately he wasn’t and I found out that afternoon that he had bone cancer. The rest of him looked okay by way of X-ray but that’s not 100% and we were on to the oncologist. 

Getting into a veterinary oncologist in a timely manner is wild. I blew up everyone in Charlotte’s phone, asked a couple of veterinary doc friends and called NC State. There was one particular doc in Charlotte that everyone told me we had to see. I couldn’t get an appointment with her for two weeks. I called back randomly on a Friday and asked if she had anything for earlier (even though we were on the waitlist) and unbelievably a Monday appointment had opened up (last Monday). This was 1.5 weeks sooner than I thought I could see her. At this point I already had begged for an appointment at NC State which I have for later in February in case we need it. 

When we went to see her, she literally walked into the room and sat on the floor with Mills. We talked for an hour. She is AMAZING. 

She had a good plan. Have him seen by a cardiologist to be sure a spot on the X-ray on his heart was nothing (it was nothing).  Have him seen by an Ortho surgeon to see if he’s a candidate for amputation (we aren’t sure of this, thinking not because of an ACL repair 5 years ago). Amputation is the preferred way to get rid of what he has as long as it hasn’t spread. And she scheduled him for an in depth CT scan with a radiation oncologist involved in that scan so in case radiation became the preferred way to go, the pre planning would be done. 

CT scan happened last Wednesday. While he was under, they also removed a cyst that turned out to be benign, and aspirated another spot on his left side that was benign. I found out on Monday night that the CT scan was also relatively clear. A enlarged lymph node was found that we may investigate but no macro spread of metastatic cancer. They were shocked! Evidently osteosarcoma is not typically in the leg as a primary source. 

So now, how do we treat it? Over the last two days, I’ve talked to the oncologist and the radiation oncologist about options and asked them a zillion questions/options/opinions. The answer is - it’s a hard decision and we still don’t know what is best for Mills and us. Some options:

1. Amputation plus chemo (leaning towards not this because I cannot imagine amputating a 10.5 year old leg with his rear legs already sort of compromised).  All four vets I’ve talked to have said amputation completely removes the pain which is why it’s recommended. Have to consider it if four very smart docs told me this. Chemo to kill all of the micro osteosarcoma cells in his body. 

2. Radiation plus chemo. Two kinds of radiation - palliative or stereotactic. Both different in many ways, including cost. Stereotactic is best if the lymph node looks okay. It’s a much more directed and aggressive treatment. Palliative is a bit more reactionary and kind of a last resort. Also chemo for same reason as above. 

3. Do nothing now and see how the next month goes. They do think the growth of his lesion is slow moving because of how happy and moving around he is. He’s still running and walking and normal other than a slight limp. It was caught very early. 

There are other considerations too.  The lesion could break down his bone and cause it to fracture which will occur over time. There are bone strengthening meds we can do. We could put him through the radiation and chemo then his bone could fracture the next week. Also, the time we could gain depending on which option above we chose is to be considered. 

Lots of things to think about. And we have to act quickly. If you’ve been through this and have any advice or insight, please comment below! Thank you! 

At the end of the day we will make the best decision for Mills that we can. We won’t make him miserable to extend his life for us. 

We LOVE our Mills! 

Five Fun Weekend Things

We had five “events” on the calendar for this weekend and they were all great!

Friday night was dinner with Kevin’s parents at Wagon Wheel for Kevin’s upcoming birthday!

Saturday morning was Molly Anne’s basketball game then she had a birthday party at Sky Zone. I took Grady and let him jump too. It was a long few hours but the kids had a blast!

Zip lining was his favorite and Molly Anne liked the silks. 


Mills and Kev hanging out on a Saturday afternoon. You wouldn’t know this boy had surgery on Wednesday. 


Saturday night we went out with some friends from our old neighborhood who we love hanging out with. We had drinks at CO then dinner at Porters House. It was so good, per usual. 

Sunday morning we got to attend Parker’s first birthday party! It was so sweet and she’s adorable! Can’t believe she’s already one!


Wrapped up the weekend hanging outside and getting our act together for the week. I’m semi overwhelmed thinking about all of the things but day by day and hour by hour. Have a good week y’all! 

Five on Friday

ONE: Valentines treats for the kiddos teachers. Meyers rose scent multi surface spray with a dish towel or heart napkins!

TWO: this boy always wants to ride like this. Definitely won’t ride in the third row. It’s like this or at the base of the kid’s feet!

THREE: made Natalie’s brussels salad and it was such a nice side to have on hand this week!


FOUR: Mills had a little surgery this week then it rained and I didn’t want the stitches to get wet. Dish towel to the rescue! Still waiting on answers for him. Hoping to hear today or Monday. Ugh! The good thing is we are with the right doctor and have options for a plan. 

FIVE: This $10 Rao’s lasagna is legit. It had been in our freezer for awhile so I popped it in the oven on a busy weeknight. Had it with steamed broccoli and oranges. Kids liked it! Not as good as homemade but fine! Anything Rao’s is so good. 

Y’all have a great weekend! 

Thursday Looks

ONE - I saw this dress and had to have it. I can't wait to get it in the mail! They also have a bathing suit in the same pattern that looks flattering.

TWO - this dress. Look at the detail in the next picture. It's pink and orange! Fits true to size.

THREE - I love a fun shirt with white jeans. 



FOUR - love the versatility of this top! Could dress it up or down and wear for a lot of holidays!



FIVE - a classic dress!

Hope you're having a good week where you are! Cannot believe it's February!