**TAMOXIFEN TEN***

[MaryAnnSingleton]

brand new shiny thread....our tenth !

[cakesandale]

Ta Daaaaa!

Number 10 already, just imagine. Thanks for doing that MAS, as always.

I am glad Celeste got down but a bit on your behalf that there were no firemen to gawp at.

Lots of positive vibes for all those nervous about kids' exams, and I am still vibing madly for Topsy.

Dd had a supply teacher yesterday who was more than a little strict by all accounts. Once upon a time this would have seriously upset her but now she is so much more robust. She and her friends were dancing around for hours last night singing that 'I think she's going bonkers' song, giggling and dedicating it to Ms Strict. Such a relief that she is less of a wuss now

Shuffling off now to review pics of chicks, intrepid cats and - best of all - cake.....

[KurriKurri]

Yes thank you MAS for the shiny new thread
Your polenta cake looks really yummy - so moist -I'm drooling a little bit
And Celeste looks regal as ever - she is a girl who retains her elegance even when she's climbing a tree - that's class!

Thinking of you Topsy - I hope you are OK , loads of good thoughts coming your way.

Cakes - I love the Ms Strict song - and yes great that DD is gaining confidence

I remember my sister and I had a song for a very strict teacher at primary school, it went:

Mrs Best
Lost her vest
She found it in
A blackbirds nest.

and

Love to all xx

[pinkstarlight]

ooh nice new thread.

mas...your tree and the cat story reminds me of when my son was about 3 taking his sisters to school he saw a cat just ahead and decided to run towards it the cat took one look and dived up a tree.later when i came to collect the girls after school this poor cat was still up the tree being a chicken i went and explained to my friend who lived across the road so he could explain to the owner what had happened anyway the fire brigade came out got the cat down.the next day you wont be believe it on the way to school we saw the same cat and my son starting shouting "hello cat" the cat only went and dived straight back up the tree.decided to give that street a miss for a couple of weeks when we next walked up the street my son saw the cat he still didnt understand the cat did not want to be friends ran towards the cat causing the cat to run away suddenly it stopped dead turned round chased my son causing my son to run for his life and leap in my arms. i cried with laughter but at least finally he learned his lesson.

its a beautiful day here would love to spend the day gardening but instead i have to go shopping,then later to the doctors for more blood thinning injections and somehow a few days ago during my sleep scratched my neck and it just wont heal and is starting to look nasty also my nose is constantly running and its going down the back of my throat causing me to cough not sure if they can do anything about that but its really annoying.

[cakesandale]

Tee hee KK! Dd came home with another song she'd learned - one of those clapping ones kids do. But they've moved on from my day (and yours too, judging by the very wholesome Mrs Best song). It was one of those that goes through a person's life ("When Lucy was a baby, a baby Lucy was. She went gurgle, gurgle, wah, wah..... you know the sort of thing)

The 'When Lucy was a teenager' line was something about leaving her knickers in her boyfriend's car I nearly drove into a tree!!! DD said 'That would be a bit of a silly thing to do wouldn't it Mum?'

Pink, I just spat my tea out reading that about DS

Your immune system sounds pretty depressed. Get thee to the doctor's, woman!

Yesterday I heard a very distressing story about a child of dd's acquaintance who seems to have been viewing pretty unsuitable films. No wonder the songs have got a whole lot racier

[KurriKurri]

at Lucy and her carelessly abandoned knickers

And Pink at your DS the cat chaser.

I hope you get something to sort that scratch out - sounds nasty. How is the arm problem now - are the injections helping, or is it still causing you pain? Hope it is improving.

[pinkstarlight]

kurri..my arm still aches a little bit sometimes but its so much better now to what it was.at one time i couldnt even straighten it,but it moves now lol.had a bit of a panic attack last night when my other arm started to ache,then i realised all my joints were aching but it soon passed.

if you think my cats story is funny i should tell you about when i took the kids to feed the ducks and we had a unexpected geese incident.

the kids were having a really nice time feeding the ducks when suddenly a flock of guesse came flying through the air from nowhere crash landing in the water skidding and up out of the water surrounding us.the very angry hungry geese wanted feeding my son being him threw a full loaf of bread up in the air sending them into a frenzy.so while the geese were fighting each other i said to the kids quick run.problem was i ran one way and they ran the other but my daughter still had her bread which the geese soon cottoned on to and chased them with nowhere to go the kids leapt up on to a bench.terrible mother i am i cried with laughter while my son suddenly became some kind of karate expert including all the noises while my daughters screamed for help.a young couple having a romantic picnic nearby was also howling with laughter and saying "bet you never expected that did you" eventually convinced my daughter to throw them her bread grabbed both the younger ones hands and we ran with them chasing us out the park. funnily if i ever say shall we go feed the ducks the kids all scream "no"

[topsyturner]

Morning All

Sorry I didnt report back yesterday .
was kept waiting over 2 hours to see my surgeon .

Long and the short of it is , I go in at 7.30am on Monday morning (yes this monday !!) for a mastectomy and node removal .
She had a slot free , and said there was no point in waiting .
Gives me less time to think about it too I suppose .

Don't know much more right now , will know 10 days post surgery when they get my pathology reports through .
But it's almost definite I will have to have some form of chemo .

My 11 year old son goes on his first school trip away from home on Tuesday , so have been frantically sorting out all the things he needs for that .

I told both my son and my 8 year old daughter yesterday that I was going in hospital for an operation and I would be out on Thursday .
I haven't mentioned cancer yet , as we don't know what my next step post surgery is . And I don't want DS being upset when he is away from home .
They accepted what I told them with no questions .
I am amazed , as my daughter is a nosey madam !

So that's all I can tell you at the moment .
Apart from as of today I am unemployed !
Phoned round my mindees parents yesterday , and they have decided that they will be moving on .
Have spoken to tax credits and I am entitled to money , but will take 4/5 weeks to come though . So that's a blessing .
Have spent the morning on the phone to various banks , with varying degrees of success .
Am now waiting for them to call me back with any ideas of what I can do .

Hope you all have a good weekend , I am going to spend mine with my husband and children , doing fun things !

Keep the positive vibes coming please

[amberlight]

Topsy, vibes aplenty for you. Plan as much fun as you possibly can, before during and after. Well, during could be a bit of an issue but I tend to end up with the staff in fits of laughter in the pre-op and recovery rooms

re the stories of the children's exploits. Mine's doing his A level today, having forgotten to take his suit and shirt into school (er, he was wearing his casuals), so he's now doing his exam in a posh dress shirt and bow tie, as those were in school! Lads, can't get them these days...

[cakesandale]

Well, topsy, It is as well to be getting on with things. A fab and relaxing family weekend is absolutely the way to go.

I only had a lumpectomy, I am sure that if there is anything specific that would be useful for you to know one of the relevant ladies will fill you in.

And well done for telling the kids. I told my dd (then 5) everything except the word 'cancer' and she dealt with it fine. I am sure your kids will too. It might be good to tell their teachers as well, in case they talk about it, or find the going tough on occasion. DD was fine but she did mention it from time to time and the teachers had had time to work out what was appropriately supportive.

I am truly sorry the parents were not more supportive, they do sound like a mean spirited lot. But I am impressed with how business like and dynamic you are being about sorting your finances.

Things will work out OK. Don't overdo it. x

[cakesandale]

amber - sounds like ds goes to quite a posh school! I hope he does brilliantly in his exam, regardless of attire

[amberlight]

Not very posh really, no. Quaker school so very relaxed, but it's private (he has a variety of disabilities and state school decided they didn't want him but it's 6th form leavers riot party tonight, hence the posh clobber

[KurriKurri]

Topsy - what a whirlwind of emotions you must have had over the last few weeks - I'm glad you have a date for your op, and that it is soon so you can get it out of the way - I had a mastectomy and node removal - so if there anything you want to know about the op and the practicalities - ask away.

Also sorry that your parents have deserted you, - but you sound very organized with your finances, so try not to worry about that side of things. (By the way, I'm sure you know this already but just in case you don't, - cancer patients are entitled to free prescriptions, you can get a form from your GP).

Have a good weekend and we'll all be rooting for you on Monday

Pink - your DS sounds a character love the image of him throwing the bread in the air and riling up the geese

Amber - good luck to your DS, I'm sure he'll do well even if he is dressed a little formally Has he got many more exams to go?

[pinkstarlight]

topsy...hugs to you its so much better to get it over and done with quickly,i hope you have a great weekend with your family and i hope your young man enjoys his holiday.

amber ..i just wanted to wish your son good luck for today.

im off shopping the highlight of my day is shall i go to morrisons or asda hmmm

[amberlight]

About six more to go, spread over the next month. Plenty to keep us all occupied....

[SparkleRainbow]

Oh Topsy. I am sending you good vibes and big hugs. I agree with the others that at least the agony of waiting is cut right down, although it does put you under a bit of pressure in terms of feeling organised. I hope you have a good family weekend, and I will be thinking of you on Monday. I am so sorry the parents have decided to move their kids, they may come back when you are back on your feet, but one step at a time I guess.

Pink, your body sounds like it is at a really low ebb, which is not surprising given what you are goling through. I hope you get to the gps and he/she can suggest something. In the meantime.....feet up!

at formal exam attire.....does he get extra marks for being the best dressed? Hope it goes well for him amber.

at Lucy with her easily lost knickers, and cat, geese stories! Drooling emoticon needed for lovely cake!

Cuddles for the adventurous celeste, who is looking regal and beautiful as ever.

[MaryAnnSingleton]

wow,I go away for a bit and come back to a thread taking off like mad !
Topsy- huge hugs and will be thinking of you on Monday - it's better to have it done quickly as the waiting around makes for more anxiety,though of course it must seem like a big rush to get things sorted,esp for ds going away. Well done for telling your dcs too. Am sad that your now ex-employers are so mean spirited.
pink- you are having a rough time fab stories about cat and geese though
amber- lots of luck to smartly dressed ds today- hope he enjoys his party tonight.

[cakesandale]

Your cake looks fab MAS!

I think we have the very same galvanised watering can as you (Celeste pic) - sadly mine has sprung a great big hole. Not surprising as mine is ancient, but plastic ones just don't have the same character

I saw wubbly's post news but I hope she is doing OK

[MaryAnnSingleton]

yes,hope she's ok- it didn't seem the place to ask more
I got that watering can free when I was a bookseller at Waterstones-part of a window display (I also got a Ken Hom wok,but from a different display)

[smee]

Huge hugs from me too Topsy. Sorry to hear your news, but it's good it's so soon. You sound like you're handing it all brilliantly. Hope your DH's okay too. I'm had nodes removed and mastectomy too, so ask anything you want.

On telling children, I was given some advice which helped me tell DS. It was to be honest but stress the positive. So yes it's cancer which is scary, but the great news is we found it in time, so the doctors will cut it out/ give me drugs, and then we can get back to normal. All true but hugely reassuring to children and also gives them something to fire back at anybody who makes not very helpful comments in the playground or wherever.

No time to write more, but hooray for thread no.10, pics of chicks celeste, cake and cute DD's and for Cake's bold DD. Wishing all DC's well with exams too. Pink, you win mother of the year award for abandoning your DC's to geese.

I am doing nothing other than failing to work. Fortunately DH is picking DS up today so I have a couple more hours. Better get on..

[smee]

I can't seem to see a wubbly post. Hope she's okay though.

[MaryAnnSingleton]

it was on the trouser thread I think

[KurriKurri]

I've PM'd you Smee

[smee]

Thanks Kurri.

[pinkstarlight]

smee..lol i know but in my defence i did do a military style rescue to get my children back even if i did laugh first.

little confused about the wubbly post but i do hope they are ok.

by the time i got doctors my voice had gone all funny and ears really ringing,eyes running but no temperature anyway he prescribed me something for hay fever as he says it ties in with my nose running and cough.

went shopping at asda in the end ,the dogs very happy charging round with his new toy and keeps going round the family to show everyone.

[smee]

Pink, I approve of your style of mothering. Sounds very similar to mine. Glad it's hayfever in a way - at least there's lots you take to solve it. I used to get it quite badly every year, but this year nothing. Chemo's obviously got some uses.

Happy weekend to all. Hope all those on treatment are not feeling too ropey. Topsy, remember we're here if you want to ask anything before Monday. x Smee's off to the pub in a bit. Hooray for Fridays.