Waiting . . .

is the hardest part.

As a person living with a chronic illness, I spend a lot of time waiting:

Waiting in the doctor's office

Waiting for prescription refills, test results, or insurance approvals

Waiting for pain to go away

Waiting for promising new medical treatments or research

Waiting for good news . . . or bad

All that waiting is a huge weight on my shoulders. It's a burden I carry with me every day. It's exhausting, and makes me quite anxious.

For about a month or so, I've been waiting for an upcoming visit to the Cleveland Clinic where I will be evaluated for a lung transplant. The organ transplant process is quite complicated, and I am complicated patient with a rare, incurable disease, Scleroderma. Earlier this year, I was turned down as a potential candidate by Loyola University Medical Center after more than a year of being watched by their lung transplant team. I was not accepted by them as a patient due to my various problems related to Scleroderma. I wrote a little bit about my Loyola experience on my archived blog, In Sickness and in Health.

After being declined by Loyola, I took a little break to re-group. Then my pulmonologist at Northwestern sought out other potential transplant centers with mixed results: Duke - no, too risky, University of Pittsburgh - maybe, but problems with my insurance coverage, then the Cleveland Clinic - yes, but . . .

Yes, they will take a look at me, my medical records and my history, and my complications related to Scleroderma. Yes, they will give me a series of medical tests, mostly pulmonary function testing, and I will meet with several members of the transplant team during my two-day visit. Then . . .

The waiting will begin again as we do not expect to have any answers during next week's visit. But we will have questions:

Will I be accepted as a transplant candidate? If so, when would I be listed? If not, what happens next?

The waiting is the hardest part.
Every day you get one more yard.
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart.
The waiting is the hardest part
- Tom Petty

Quote of the Week: Gratitude

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

~ Melody Beattie, self help author

What are you most grateful for? Take the 30 day gratitude challenge during this month of thanksgiving. I'm posting my blessings on my Facebook page each day, but you don't need FB, a blog, or a fancy electronic device to note your blessings - a journal, a scrap a paper, or a quiet moment alone with your thoughts will do.

My post on Day 4: Today I am thankful for a son who understands when his mom can't go to his soccer game because it's too cold outside, and she's not feeling well . . . I missed him score a goal :(

Please join me on this journey. From this day forward, I will post my blessings on both my personal FB page and the leMOMade page, where you can post yours as well. I also invite you to follow this blog on Facebook or by email by using the tabs to the right. Thank you!

Wing It Wednesday: DIY Halloween Wreath

Yeah, this blog has been looking quite bare for about 4 months or so! YIKES! That's scary ~ just like Halloween which is coming up next week. My front door was looking a bit bare for the upcoming holiday, so I decided to get my craft on and make a festive wreath by using a bunch of craft materials I had on hand around the house. In other words, I didn't spend a dime creating this wreath, nor did I spend a lot of time precisely measuring my materials. I just winged it.

Here's what I used:

A needlepoint hoop

orange tulle

black pipe cleaners

glitter

striped ribbon

scraps of cardstock and orange construction paper

a black Sharpie

spray adhesive and a glue stick

scissors

Here's what I did, and like I said, I just winged it. If you are looking for specific craft instructions, you're in the wrong place. I do OK, but I'm no Martha Stewart.

Anyhoo, I sat down on my couch and cut a whole lot of strips from the orange tulle, let's say about 6-8 inches long or so. I tied the strips along the needlepoint hoop, cut more strips, tied, repeated until the wreath was full and fluffy. I trimmed the poufs that were a bit uneven, then added my embellishments such as the pipe cleaner spider, a ghost made from glittered cardstock. (I just love glitter!), and a "Trick or Treat" label I printed from The Graphics Fairy (awesome free clipart on this site) that I attached with a candy corn striped ribbon.

Here's my finished product:

TA DA!

Do you have a craft project, recipe, or other good idea you created on a whim? Shoot me an email and tell me all about it. There's a button on the top left just for doing that! Thanks!

Summer Sips

Although the kids have been out of school for a few weeks now and the temperatures around these parts have been hot, hot, hot, today is the first official day of summer! Yahoo! With that in mind, LeMOMade is bringing you a pitcher of sweet summer goodness ~ Strawberry Lemonade. It takes a little effort but if you have some kitchen helpers like I do, it mixes up lickety-split!

Click play to see how to make this refreshing summer drink

Recipe courtesy of Everyday Food, June 2012.

Sue's Chef

I am so excited! I have a little chef in the house. My daughter Miss O enjoys helping out in the kitchen. She will chop veggies, she will stir pasta, she will bake cookies, and much more. One Saturday morning a few weeks back, she made pancakes for all of us - a little bit burnt, but overall a good job. Then a week or so later, we baked a homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie together. She cut all of the strawberries and the rhubarb for the filling - awesome!

Miss O likes to eat healthy, and she loves flipping through my Everyday Food and Real Simple magazines to find new recipes to try. Her latest dish, Herbed Ricotta Pasta with Corn and Zucchini, came out pretty tasty. She did most of the prep and cooking herself with the exception of grilling the zucchini. She gave that job to her daddy. She refused all my offers for help, just like when she was a little girl. "I do it myself," she used to say. Kids change in so many ways, but in many ways they stay the same.

Later in the evening on the day Miss O made dinner, my husband was reminding the kids about being kids for as long as they can, and to avoid acting grown up too soon. "OK," said Miss O. "Tomorrow, I am not cooking dinner."

If you would like to make Miss O's pasta dish, here is the recipe from the June 2012 issue of Everyday Food. She omitted the dill, used frozen corn instead of fresh (she just let it thaw a bit before adding to pasta), and bow tie pasta instead of campanelle.

Herbed Ricotta Pasta with Corn and Zucchini
Serves 4

• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 pound short pasta such as campanelle
• 1 3/4 cups corn kernels (from 2 ears)
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving grilled zucchini, chopped. (about 3 small to med. sized zucchinis
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

To prepare zucchini: Slice thinly lengthwise. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Grill until tender, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Chop into bite-sized pieces.

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook past 3 minutes less than package instructions; add corn and cook until tender, 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup pasta water, ricotta, and Parmesan. Add pasta mixture, zucchini, basil, and dill and toss to combine. Add more pasta water if necessary to create a light sauce that coats the pasta. Season with salt and pepper and top with more basil and Parmesan if desired.

Do you know some kids who like to cook? Do they have a yummy recipe that they like to make or try? Do share ~ send me email, just click the tab in the left sidebar.

Plenty of love to go around ~ a guest post

With the magic of modern-day technology, I’ve been fortunate to connect with moms from around the country who are an inspiration. Kelly B. from Florida is one such mom. A former high school classmate of mine, she has lovingly opened her heart and her home to children in need. Right now, she and her husband have five children under six in their care including their young son Isaiah. They welcomed him as a baby into their lives through adoption more than five years ago. This is Kelly’s story in her own words:

Growing up, Mother's Day was just another day on the calendar to do something nice for your mom, give her a card and tell her, “I love you.” Some of the same things that you would do on any day of the week. After one failed marriage that ended at age 29, I often wondered what it would be like to be a mom and if I would ever have that opportunity. I remarried and went through several years of fertility treatments, disappointment, and heartaches. We finally decided on adoption and that too was disappointing. We were finally matched with a young couple and a month before the baby was due, she changed her mind. That day was the worst and the best day of my life. Later that evening, I received a phone call after celebrating my 40th birthday with family and friends. The voice on the other end of the phone said they wanted me to raise their son. She wanted him to have everything she never had. That night I became a mom to a five month old boy.

My son is the greatest blessing! I will forever be grateful to his birth mother for making a brave and unselfish decision for her baby. He is now 5 1/2 years old, and it astonishes me as to how the time has flown by. He will start kindergarten in the fall. It is a joy to wake up every day and see his smiling face and for him to tell me, "Mommy, I love you!" or "Mommy, you are the bestest mommy in the whole wide world!" He also has a nick name for me and calls me "Mama doll" and I call him my "Baby doll".

Last July, we made the decision to become foster parents. I resigned from my job as a medical biller at a chiropractor’s office and we started attending training classes; while I reorganized and prepared our house for additional children. We became licensed right around Thanksgiving of last year and had two young boys placed with us. We've also had a few others in between that have come and gone. The boys are currently still with us; as well as a new placement.

It is a rewarding job being available to mother these children. To love them, comfort them, provide structure, guide them, teach them and so on. Nobody ever said it would be easy. With love and patience though - it's such a joy to see them smile, hear their laugh and giggles and see a sparkle in their eyes. More kids to call me "mommy”. It's taken some adjustments for my son to not be the only child. I have pointed out to my son that I will always love him and that we can love many people; that there is plenty of love to go around. I cherish our moments together! I also am blessed to share these memories with my mother and my grandmother. They are the two most important women in my life. I may not have been blessed with the ability to have biological children of my own but God guided me to be a mother - where I was needed.

I want to thank Kelly for sharing her story on leMOMade. She is truly an example of a woman who has turned lemons into lemonade by making the difference in the lives of many children. Do you have an inspirational story to share? Send me an email using the link on the left, and I will send you the details about how to do so.

Just laugh

Sometimes life as a mom gets hetic! It's busy right now with the end-of-the-school-year stuff and the anticipation of summer vacation. At such times, it's good to just stop, take a breath, then LAUGH!

Here are a few quotes about parenting that make me laugh:

When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out. ~ Erma Bombeck

That's just like staying in the bathroom for much more time than you need to just so you can have a minute or two to yourself!

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~ Phyllis Diller

Where does all the stuff come from, and when you put it away, why does it show up again later?

The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. ~ Lane Olinghouse

This happens more often than not - "MOM, can you . . . ?"

In the book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms" author Kristine Carlson devotes a chapter to this very topic. She writes:

On those days when everything seems to be going wrong - or does go wrong - you just have to step back and laugh. Laughter is a great healer. It lets out pressure and stress, and restores perspective.

I just finished reading Carlson's book, and I wrote a review about it on my other blog - 2friends3things1blog. If you would like to WIN, yes WIN, a brand-new copy of the book (I'm keeping mine), you can post a comment here, on the 3 Things blog, or follow LeMOMade on Facebook - see the link in the right sidebar. A winner will be chosen at random on Memorial Day!