Candy, Counts, and Crankypants

Oh, we had such a wonderful Halloween this year!  It was filled with good friends, lots of Halloween treats, school parades for each of the boys, and tons of fun activities leading up to the big night itself.  And, of course...there were plenty of adorable costumes. 

Dex as Super Why

Fionn as Robin Hood at his school parade

Fionn even had a wardrobe change this year just to keep things interesting.  Although he started out as Robin Hood early on the 31st, he ran into a phone booth and transformed into a pretty awesome Super Man as you can see in the below picture.

By the way, photo credits to the O'Reilly Family.  I did not take even one picture of the boys on Halloween night.  Lame Mama!

I will tell you what wasn't lame though.  My Sunday afternoon.  My beloved, Conor, graced me with some much-needed time to myself during which I took in an exercise class, ate a peaceful lunch, window-shopped, and saw a very powerful, very disturbing movie (Room).  Hey, it wouldn't be "me time" without an emotionally draining movie, right?  In all seriousness, it was a perfect afternoon and just what I needed to recharge.  Meanwhile, Conor took the boys on an adventure at the Audubon Nature Preserve where they built this cool fort!  (And subsequently refused to leave it, according to Conor).

After an awesome weekend, Fionny and I are at the oncology clinic for his monthly checkup.  Today is a procedure day so he will also be receiving a spinal tap and an infusion of a chemo med called methrotrexate into his spine.  Thankfully, we only have to have these spinal taps every 3 months now.  I can't believe we used to have to do this every week.  Sheesh!  It's amazing what you get used to doing when it becomes routine.  Fionn is Mr. Cranky McCranky Pants right now because he can't eat, but otherwise he's doing okay.  Watching Scooby Doo.  As one does.

Fionn's doctor was just in, and our boy's counts look awesome.  This is great news, but it also means that his chemo will be increased because they feel like his body can handle it.  This increase makes me nervous heading into cold and flu season, but we just have to hope for the best.  It's been such a great 6 months.  I'm just hoping our good fortune continues. 

Thanks as always for the positive thoughts and prayers!

Spirit in the Sky

It's impossible to know when the worst moments in your life will occur.  Impossible to prepare for them.  Impossible to know how to brace yourself for them.  But you always know when you are in the midst of one of these moments.  That, at least, is always crystal clear.

For my family, one of these moments came on October 12th at around 8:45 pm.  It was then that Conor learned that his older brother, Carey, had been found unconscious and unresponsive in his home and was being rushed to the hospital.  For an hour after the news came, we sat on the couch in tears, desperately trying to be hopeful that everything would be okay.  Surely this could be fixed.  Surely he would recover.  He was too young, too important, too loved.

We learned around 10 pm that night that Carey had passed away at the young age of 40 years old.  It was likely a heart attack, but we are still not completely sure.  We hope to know more soon.

The weekend that followed was one of the most painful of my life.  For me, most of the pain stemmed from watching those around me experience complete and utter devastation.  The loss of someone who was so special and so important that the absence of him seems unfathomable.  Standing on the sidelines of intense, overwhelming grief is so humbling.  I wanted to take their pain away, but I couldn't touch it.  I could only be a witness to it.  It was an entirely helpless experience.

But, as is commonly found, amid this grief, there was beauty.  There was laughter through tears and many, many shared stories and experiences of Carey's life.  There was strength and grace that was absolutely awe-inspiring from Carey's longtime love and soulmate, Brenda.  There was the unbreakable bond of a family that has already seen way too much loss.  It was a painful, beautiful weekend.  A dear cancer mom friend of mine once used the phrase "brutiful" to describe her life at the time.  Beautiful and brutal.  Brutiful.  That's what last weekend was.  It was altogether brutiful.

Here is what I want to remember from Carey's funeral weekend.  I want to remember standing in a circle with all of the siblings and spouses in front of Carey's casket, passing around a flask of whiskey and toasting Carey's life.

I want to remember the warmth of hugs from my sisters and brothers in law, the kind of hugs that last longer than casual embraces and have a truly healing effect.

I want to remember how comfortable my two sons, as well as Carey's other nieces and nephews, felt standing beside his open casket.  They weren't scared.  It was Uncle Carey.  They wanted to be near him.

I want to remember the hulking figures of all these football player buddies of Carey's from college, dressed in their Sunday finest, paying their respects.  There was such a bond there, such a love.

I want to remember the moment when Brenda realized that Carey's funeral was on the same day as George Wendt's birthday.  George Wendt was "Norm" from Cheers, and this was also Carey's nickname. The laughter through tears of that moment.  Oh, that was a good one.

I want to remember watching Carey's coffin leaving the church to the jaunty tune of "Spirit in the Sky."  He didn't have many wishes for his funeral, but on this detail, Carey was clear.  Give me a proper send-off with this damn song.  And dammit, we did.  It was perfect.

I want to remember the party after the funeral.  The weather was beautiful.  Crisp and cool but sunny.  There was a fire pit.  All the kids played football in the grass.  I felt Carey's presence.  I think we all did.

There is no way to prepare for the worst moments of your life.  But I guess we can control how we respond to them.  Also how we remember those who have left us.  I choose to remember Carey as an uncle.  Not just an uncle.  The best uncle.  Throwing his nephews and nieces up in the air, swimming with them, putting them on his shoulders.  He simply lit up like a Christmas tree when he was around the Crimmins Littles.  And they adored him.  We all did.  Rest in peace, Uncle Carey.  We love you so much.

boring/beautiful

I know I've been super-inconsistent in my posting lately.  I sincerely apologize because I know there are people out there who depend on the blog to let them know how Fionn is doing.  Well, you can rest assured that no news is always good news on our front.  And lately...lately we have been in the glorious situation of having NO NEWS.  Fionn is doing great.  He is a normal 5-year-old boy.  He is the boy with the blond curls.  Not the boy with the cancer or the bald head.  He has tons of buddies at school.  He is thriving.  Flourishing.  We are boring.   It is thrilling.

We had our monthly clinic appointment today at 1 pm.  For the first time on the way to the hospital, Fionn complained about going to clinic.  "Mom, I'm missing recess, lunch and free choice time," my new kindergartner said with a frown from the backseat.  This is coming from my kid who adores the hospital.  Worships his doctors.  Craves the food (yes, we ate lunch there today).  It is his home away from home.  A place that he has been known to pine for when we are not there.  A place he has several times refused to leave even when his counts were actually fine to go home.

But a funny thing is happening as we spend less and less time at the hospital.  It's becoming less like a second home and more like a...well, a hospital.  Dr. Shalabi told us this would happen.  She said that she feels both happy and sad when this happens to her patients.  Mostly happy, of course, because of what it means for the child.  But sad for the loss of the relationship.  I totally get that. 

Everything looked great at clinic.  We were "in and out" in 2 hours which is record time for anyone who regularly visits our oncology clinic at Children's Hospital.  Fionn's counts were great, despite his runny nose and mouth sore (both of which mean he has some sort of bug which usually makes his counts plummet).  His doctors said he looked great.  He is gaining weight and height like it's his job.  And I guess it kind of is.  Ha.

Being at the hospital today was a bit strange though.  Walking to the cafeteria, I felt the ghosts of the last year following me around.  It was a little weird.  Here I am walking hand in hand with my seemingly perfectly healthy little boy with his full head of hair, and I can literally see a slide show of past moments that have been lived here.

The emergency room where we first rushed with Fionn in our arms.  (Side note: I will never look into that ER waiting room without picturing Fionn sitting there, vomiting into that god-awful pink bowl.) The elevators where we rode up to ICU with Fionn once he was diagnosed and needed immediate emergency dialysis for his failing kidneys.  The surgical waiting room on the 2nd floor where we waited with a wailing, hungry, miserable Fionn as he waited to get his port placed in his chest.  And of course, the 4th floor, where we first began to fight Fionn's cancer.  Those long, well-lit hallways at 4 East are part of my soul, I swear to God.  Oh, the many, many tractor rides we have taken down those long, well-lit hallways. 

It's all so clear.  These moments.  They are part of me.  Part of our family.

But now I walk through the halls with a smiling, healthy boy who is doing karate moves every so often in the hallways when he thinks no one is looking and saying "Sound the Octo-alert!" at random times.  Anyone passing by might think we were just visiting this place.  They wouldn't know that we have history here.  That our son was saved here.

But we know.  And we are forever changed.  And I'm okay with that actually.  Most of the time anyway.

I'll post again soon.  Thanks as always for keeping us in your thoughts and hearts.

Gold

I haven't felt much like posting lately.  And not because things are going badly.  Quite the opposite.  Things are going so well for Fionny.  He feels great and looks great.  His golden curls are spilling out over his neck, so much so that he recently had his first haircut since diagnosis.  Our boy also started Kindergarten a couple of weeks ago.  He is playing t-ball on the weekends and meeting lots of new friends.  He is happy.  We are happy.  We had our monthly clinic appointment today, and Fionn's counts are perfect.  We are beyond thankful.  Beyond grateful.  Life is calm.  Normal.  It is good.

Riding their "electric car" in the backyard

I think lately what I've been grappling with is something that I can best define as Remission Guilt.  Obviously, I am so grateful and relieved that we are at a good spot with Fionn's treatment.  Last year was really hard.  This summer simply felt like a dream in comparison.  Playgrounds, pools, picnics, vacations.  It felt too good to be true a lot of the time.

My little tree hugger

Yet there are so many kids, a few whom we know personally at this point, who spent this past summer fighting for their lives.  And there are others still who have already been taken from this world due to this terrible, horrible disease.  It's hard sometimes to feel happy when there are so many who are still suffering.  I'm not sure how to reconcile these feelings.  Happy for Fionn and yet sad for others.  Grateful for our family's current status and yet anxious about the hardships of other families.  I am relieved and joyful and also mad as hell. 

This feeling has doubled for me this month. You see, September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.  Due to connections I have made in the cancer world, my Facebook feed is filled with tons of gold which is the color for pediatric cancer awareness.  Sometimes this is a positive thing.  There are success stories and joyful updates all the time.  But there are so, so many other posts that speak of suffering.  Fear.  Loss.  Grief.

It's no wonder when you think about it.  Every three minutes, a child gets diagnosed with cancer.  Every three minutes, folks.  Think about that for a moment.  Every three minutes, there is a family somewhere who is learning that their former, normal life is over.  Gone.  Every three minutes, there is a family who is looking at their child and wondering if he or she is going to survive the next year.  Maybe it's just my world now, but I feel like pediatric cancer is everywhere.  Just this past weekend, I learned of the nephew of a grad school friend who was just diagnosed with leukemia.  He is two-and-a-half.  Dexie's age.

So what do I do with these feelings?  Sometimes I really don't know.  For better or for worse, I'm not a person who prays.  But I do keep people in my thoughts.  I hold them up to the light and send positive energy their way.  This is certainly something, and I do not diminish the power of prayer and kind thoughts.  But we have to do more.

What our kids really need is research.  And funding for this research.  Pediatric cancer, despite killing more children than any other disease out there, gets a puny amount of funding from the National Cancer Institute.  Less than 4%.  It's wrong.  In fact, it's disgraceful.

People ask me often what they can do to help.  This is what you can do.  Donate to cancer research.  In fact, make it something you do every September in honor of Fionn or any kid you know who has been given a cancer diagnosis.  That's what Conor and I are doing tonight.  We plan to make it a tradition every September.  Each year during this month, we will "go gold" for Fionny and all those other kids out there who are missing out on a normal childhood due to cancer. 

Now...let me be clear.  Most of us are not millionaires here.  It doesn't have to be a lot, folks.  Really.  Every little bit helps.  If everyone gives a little, it IS a lot.  So the question is where.  There are so many places to donate.  It can be very confusing.  In the cancer world, there are 3 organizations that I hear great things about time and time again.  Everyone seems to feel that they are doing good work.  They are: St. Baldrick's, Cure Search, and Alex's Lemonade Foundation.

http://www.stbaldricks.org/
http://curesearch.org/
http://www.alexslemonade.org/

Folks, this is the only blog post I knew how to write this month.  Nothing else seemed to make sense.  Nothing else felt right.  I hope you understand, and I am sorry (kind of) if I sound preachy.  I'm sure my next post will return to our regularly scheduled programming.  But tonight...I just had to do it.

Dog Days

At the beach with wonderful friends last week

It's been a helluva summer.  And in the best possible way.  We had our freedom.  No hospitalizations.  No ER visits.  A summer of health and normalcy.  A summer with friends and playgrounds and vacations.  A summer that every child and family deserves to have, but so many in the cancer world do not get to experience once a diagnosis comes into their lives.

I think that part of the reason that this summer was so very wonderful for us is that we are so aware of how different a summer can be with a kid who has cancer.  After all, last summer was so very, very different for us.  Fionn was newly diagnosed.  Our world was still spinning.  We spent the majority of June in the hospital.  After that, Fionn had a PICC line for half of July which meant that he couldn't get his arm wet.  So no pools.  No spray parks.  Getting Fionn's port in mid-July was a huge improvement, and he was finally able to run through a spray park by the end of the month.  But still...we were in the trenches.  Home care and weekly hospital visits.  Long chemo infusions on days where we should have been running around at the pool.  Fionn lost his hair.  He also lost muscle in his legs and needed to be carried up the stairs a lot.  We couldn't make plans or play dates or do anything without hesitation.  Life felt like a struggle at times.  A lot of times.

Fionny after his port surgery

So perhaps that's why this summer was such a joy.  Yes, the boys were complete rascals most of the time, and I had days when my patience was paper thin.  Of course.  I'm human.  But it was hard to stay annoyed for too long. Good God, we were outside!  We went through countless bottles of sunscreen this summer, and that was such a blessing!  If there is one thing (and there are many things) I have learned from being a Cancer Mom, it is this.  Normalcy is the best gift.  Man, it's just the greatest.  It should not be taken for granted.  Ever.  And I won't.  I will have my bad days, and I will scream at my children, and I will have a 4 pm cocktail to get through the evening.  And I will make mistakes and feel annoyed at myself.  Also, I will feel worn thin and so in need of a break.  But at the same time, I will be appreciative.  I will realize that there are moms and dads out there who would do anything (truly, anything) to have those problems.  They would do anything to have a kid who is so full of energy that he is tearing the house apart with his antics.  Anything to have the luxury to gripe about the emotionality of a two-year-old with an applesauce addiction (it's a real thing, people) as one of the day's biggest problems.  I carry that around with me at all times, and I am grateful that I do.  It provides healthy perspective.  And we can all use some of that sometimes if you ask me.

As the dog days of a truly wonderful summer come to a close, we are preparing for another exciting chapter in our lives.  Fionny starts Kindergarten on Monday!  Can you believe it?  Our little dude in Kindergarten?  Sometimes it seems crazy to me that we are already here, and other times I can't believe Fionny has only been in this world for 5 years.  What an impact he has made on our lives and the lives of those who know him.  We love our Fionny boy!  I'll update again through tears at some point next week, I am sure.  Until then...

Fionny on his first day of preschool last year

The Luck of the Irish

Last year, as you all know, we had to miss Irish Fest with the Crimmins Clan due to Fionn's recent leukemia diagnosis.  We were all so bummed to miss it.  But no one more than Fionny himself.  He loves the Fest.  It is a time for staying up late and riding the Sky Glider.  It is a time for dancing to pulsating Irish music and waving green glow sticks in the night sky.  It is a time for bear hugs from aunts and uncles, and corn dogs for dinner.  But more than anything, it is a time for cousins. 

I always try to adequately express how much Fionn loves his cousins, but I feel like I can't help but fall short.  Yet I'll try again.  Y'all, Fionn simply adores his cousins.  Worships them really.  Several times throughout last weekend, I watched him drape his arm across a cousin's shoulders and give him/her a spontaneous squeeze.  Once I heard him say, "I love you" as he leaned his little blond (curly!) head in toward one of them.  It is good for a Mama's heart to see such love.  Such a special bond.

Dex playing at the county water park with Liam

Because it had been 2 years since we attended the Fest, we anticipated the trip more than usual this year.  We even added an extra day to our time at the Fest.  It was so nice to have this additional time with the family and also to explore Milwaukee a bit more.  We love Milwaukee.  It's a wonderful little city with so much to do and such a character all its own.

Riding the bus at the Children's Museum

Driving a boat around the lake (with some help)

In terms of the Fest itself, it was great as usual...but HOT! Luckily, the Fest had the splash pad going strong which helped the kids cool down.  It was here that one of my favorite Fest moments occurred.  Our Deaglan became obsessed with his cousin, Annie.  And she was all too happy to be his object of affection.  But Deaglan was very persistent.  He WOULD NOT let her out of his sight.  Pulling her hand, following her like a little shadow.  At one point Annie came up to me and said with an adorably exasperated sigh, "I just need a BREAK!"  I absolutely validated that, yes, we all need breaks sometimes, especially when Deaglan is involved.  She perched on the concrete wall next to me for probably a millisecond.  Then she hopped up.  "Okay, I can go back in there now!"  And back to Deaglan she went.  I wish I could recover as quickly from Deaglan-induced exhaustion!

Annie following around "her" baby, Deaglan

Even Deaglan runs out of steam sometimes though, as you can see from the next picture.  He did not want to be in my arms, I will have you know.  Only Auntie Shannon would do. I passed him on over. Within a few minutes, he conked out like he'd been drugged.

Well, I would be remiss if I didn't document that this also happened at the Fest.

Yep, that's me going in for the embrace with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (a.k.a. My Husband) during the annual 5K race to Irish Fest.  My crazy other half.  He decided a few weeks ago to dress up for the 5K race.  Yes, there is a costume competition at the end of the race, but that normally involves a bunch of people wearing green leggings and four-leaf clover socks.  Not, um...this.

But my Conor is not a normal guy.  And I mean this is the best possible way.  He decided that he wanted to bring some smiles to the faces of the patrons of the Fest.  Well, mission accomplished.  Conor was in countless selfies throughout the morning, and everyone who ran past him couldn't help but laugh.  I mean, it's so ridiculous, right?  I know I'm still smiling about it.

 

Conor was not the only one from the family in costume though.  His brother, Colin, was also dressed up as a Ghostbuster.  So this interaction happened when they came upon each other on the race path.

Ah, this crazy family.   How I love them despite their craziness.  Or maybe because of it.  It's unclear sometimes!

That's it for now.  I will leave you with this little Mini Marshmallow who is the picture of health and happiness right now.  The luck of the Irish indeed.  We are so very, very grateful.  Words cannot express.

We Have Arrived

Finally.  After 14 months of treatment, we did it.  We successfully avoided the hospital for one entire month.  No ER visits.  No clinic visits.  Heck, I didn't even email or call Fionn's doctors in the last 4 weeks.  Amazing!  Instead, we have been living.  Enjoying the heck outta this last month of summer before Kindergarten starts (i know!  don't even get me started).  The boys and I have been busy having lots of play dates, adventures, and just good old fun with the backyard hose.

(We've also been playing with food dye and Fionn's science kit as the blue mouth and hands in the above pictures reveal.  Thanks for the gift that keeps on giving, Mom!)

After a whole month off, we returned to the hospital today for Fionn's checkup.  Fionn also had his scheduled spinal tap (or "poke" as he calls it).  He did great as usual.  He was the first kid on the docket which always helps since he can't eat anything until after the procedure.  By 10:45 am, he was already awake and chomping on a cream cheese bagel while watching Planes: Fire and Rescue.  (They even had new movies on the hospital TV -- it had been that long since our last hospitalization!). 

Fionn's numbers are looking great.  He is right where they want him to be in terms of his ANC which was 1870 today.  Apparently, the ideal range for Fionn's ANC during Maintenance is between 1000-2000.  If his ANC rises above 2000, they start to worry that his bone marrow is being overactive and could possibly be starting to produce some immature blast cells.  If this happens, they would increase his chemo to settle the bone marrow down.  As it stands right now though, Fionn's bone marrow seems to be behaving itself.  We are in good shape.  Thanks as always for your kind thoughts, prayers, and support.  We are lucky folks to have such wonderful people backing us up.

Mississippi Queens

I have to say that I have been blessed with having a lot of wonderful lady friends in my life.  There are times when I truly do not know what I would do without them.  No matter how much I adore my husband, I will always need my girls.  Always.

My Mississippi girlfriends are especially dear to me because I have known them almost all of my life.  Heck, Andrea and I were even in the hospital at the same time (being BORN!).  Kristen and I used to walk through a wooded path to get to each others' houses when we were just in grade school.  Mary and I attended probably every birthday party the other one ever had.  Emily and Jennifer...well, they were the new kids on the block.  They became my friends at the ripe old age of 8.  I cannot say enough about these wonderful friends.  They are kind.  They are funny.  They are unique and special.  They make me laugh like no one else can, and being with them feels like coming home.  I cherish them.

Last year when Fionn got sick, my girl's weekend away with these ladies got cancelled for obvious reasons.  Once Fionn got to a more stable place in his treatment, we rescheduled it for the exact same weekend the following year.  We would keep our plans the exact same.  Our destination would be Oxford, MS where my dad and Julie have a condo. 

I have been eagerly anticipating this weekend for months.  And it did not disappoint.  While in Oxford, we walked around the quaint square and did some shopping (a huge luxury without two boys hanging off my arm).  We had a nice dinner out at The Snack Bar on Saturday night.  We enjoyed Bloody Marys (note: plural) at brunch.  But mostly...mostly we just talked.  Talked and talked and talked.  And binge-watched Sex and the City.  Because, you know, what else spells Perfect Girl's Weekend? 

I should add that it was nearly perfect.  Our group was not quite complete.  There was a huge hole left by the absence of our dear, Meg, who wasn't able to make it.  We missed her beautiful smile, infectious laugh, and effervescence.  We love you, Meg! 

So...you might be wondering what my rascally boys were up to while I was having this Perfect Girl's Weekend?  Well, let me tell you.  My amazing husband and amazing parents were escorting them through a fun-filled weekend in Jackson, MS!  The boys had a blast.  Swimming, seeing Minions in the theater, playing on the playground when it wasn't too hot (it hovered in the low 100s the whole time), going to the Children's Museum in Jackson (which is spectacular).  But, mostly, they loved spending time with my Mom, Dad, Julie, Uncle Jay, and some of their cousins.  Per normal, here is a photo montage from the trip. 

Reading Dr. Seuss with Gaga

Being tickled by JuJu

Four-wheeler with cousin, Butler

Swinging with cousin, Laura Vaiden

Getting pushed by Jim

Lunch with Uncle Jay

Hanging at Jim and JuJu's house

Nothing says "vacation" like Fruit Loops!!

Taking Ellie for a walk with Gaga

As you can see, it was a great trip.  My only regret is that I couldn't clone myself and be two places at one time.  As much as I loved being with my girls, I hated missing out on fun with my boys!  They truly had a blast.  Last Monday, as we prepared to leave, Fionn declared, "I don't want to go home.  I want to stay here forever."  That's a resounding endorsement if I ever heard one.  And a very tempting proposition...

We have clinic on Monday which includes a spinal tap.  I'll check in again briefly then.

Cousins, Cookies, and Cancer Research

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of goodness.  I'll start at the beginning and work my way forward.  First of all, weekend before last, I had a much-needed weekend away with some grad school girlfriends in the Shenandoah.  It was a relaxing, fabulous weekend filled with lots of laughter, long (uninterrupted!) chats and even some hiking.  Could only have been better with our sixth wheel, the lovely Sarah Van Orman, who wasn't there in body but very much in spirit.

I arrived back to the DC area to find that our wonderful Minnesota family had arrived.  We had been eagerly anticipating the visit of Conor's sister, Shannon, and her family for a LONG time.  Fionn was all aflutter about his oldest cousin, Griffin, coming to our neck of the woods for a whole week.  The excitement was nearly more than his little person could handle.

The week with the Baileys did not disappoint.  It was a perfect mix of down time here in the neighborhood and also seeing some sights around the city.  Here is the highlight reel from their visit.

Carousel at Wheaton Regional Park

Entering a simulator ride at the Air and Space Museum

Swimming at The Beach (ball pit exhibit at the National Building Museum)

Catching a ride from Uncle Mike on the way back from the Farmer's Market

Driving Mr. Dex around the Farmer's Market

Story time with Griffin in the playroom

More story time...this time with Uncle Bill

The Baileys ended their tour of our nation's capital by taking a tour of our local grocery store...and purchasing all the necessary ingredients for baking OODLES of cookies for last Sunday's lemonade stand.  Then Shannon, the resident family expert baker, spent hours on Friday afternoon baking the most delicious triple chocolate chip cookies ever.  I learned so much watching Shannon bake.  She makes it look so easy.  Now let's see if I actually retain any of it!  Somehow she was able to also capture Fionn's attention long enough to render him helpful in the kitchen.  This is a rarity (sort of like a near-extinct bird), so it must be photographed extensively.  One never knows when such a spectacle might occur again.

At the end of the baking session, we had 5 Tupperware containers chock full of cookies.  Thank you so much, Shannon, for lending your skills and patience to this incredible effort.  It meant so much to us -- and reduced our lemonade stand preparation stress considerably.  We love you!

Fionny's 2nd Annual Lemonade and Cookie Stand went off without a hitch.  We were lucky enough to have the assistance of Cookie and Lemonade-Selling Extraordinaire, Lilly Thornblad, who manned the stand with Fionny and helped keep things in order.  Just like her sweet mama helps me keep myself together when things get a little crazy, Lilly helped our boy manage the busy stand.  She poured lemonade, gave handmade receipts and just brought an extra dose of sweetness and smiles to the event.

Lilly's beautiful mama, Corey

Oh, and this little dude didn't exactly hurt sales either.  "Cute kid!  Get your cute kid here!"

This guy wasn't too shabby either in the cute department.  Especially wearing his special "I Wear Orange for My Big Brother" t-shirt which was made by the wonderful Shuette family last summer.

In terms of customers, we were happily overwhelmed at times.  It was very well attended.  We had neighbors from down the street, preschool buddies from a few miles away, and even friends from nearly an hour away.  All making a point of being there to support our boy.  If there had been a minute to catch my breath, I would have surely lost it again with the sheer loveliness of it all.  

The Benson Family

Fionny's buddy, Mason (in the green shirt) used his own allowance money to pay for his lemonade and cookies.

Then, at the end of the event, we had a few special visitors.  The Mayor stopped in for a cup of lemonade.  That was cool.  Gotta love a small town.  And, last but not least, the local fire station rolled in on their fire truck to get a thirst quencher from our boy's little stand!  Fionny personally invited them the previous night at the movie event they sponsored in the park.  It was so, so kind of them to come by.  Oh, it meant so much to Fionny.  And I mean, really, who doesn't love seeing a fire truck rolling up to your house...especially when it's just for fun and not because your house is engulfed in flames!

I am also happy to report that our grand total from the stand was a whopping $708!  That's even more than we made at our first stand last year.  Combined with online sales, we have raised a total of $2611 this year!  Just so you know, our fundraising page is up all year round, so please know that you can donate anytime even if you missed the actual stand.  And, as always, all donated money goes toward pediatric cancer research.  Here is the link one more time:

http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/1155822

Whew.  What a crazy/wonderful past 2 weeks.  And we have more crazy/wonderful to come.  Tomorrow we head to Mississippi for a visit with my family.  This trip will also include a weekend away with my high school besties.  I know, I know.  ANOTHER girls' weekend, Casey?!  Really.  Yep.  Sure 'nuff.  In case you ever doubted it, Conor is a good man. Hope everyone has a great end-of-July, and I'll report back sometime once we return.  Cheers!