I MADE IT & I must say I had a GREAT week! I surprised myself with how quickly I’ve adjusted. Well, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, I am in my jammies as I stare at the clock (11:14 am conveniently-LOL) & this week was EXHAUSTING! Day one was the hardest as I wanted to collapse after my fourth class, but each day, I get to come home to the most amazing girl & the best husband & that makes my day EVERY DAY! I have great kids & I was even nominated by one of my students as the first staff of the week. That means I get a really great parking space out front next week. Alexa made sure she was awake at 6:55 am every morning to see me off. She took pictures with me & Tom shot video of me going off to work. It felt like the day I returned after a two-year maternity leave, only this time it felt a bit better. I know this is good for all of us. Alexa will be starting school on Monday & next week SHE will be exhausted after a 5-day school week. Still, she is looking forward to meting her teachers, making new friends & learning. I’m sure she will have a great week & Tom will be seeing her off on her first day since I will be at schoolL. He will be taking all the pictures & tons of video. We will pick out Alexa’s outfit the night before & hopefully she will decide on a sensible pair of shoes since she has about 40 pairs to choose from (is that not crazy? Like I’m one to talk-LOL). Tom & Alexa are at the movies seeing Star Wars right now.

So, did you all see the Stand Up 2 Cancer special last night? Pearce did an awesome job & I thought the segment on Pediatric Cancer was so well done, along with the rest of the show. I cried when Forrest Whittaker (sp) read Mimi’s letter about her son, Angel Julian. You feel like you ‘know’ these people when you follow their sites, which are how I guess a lot of you, feel about Alexa. I called to make a donation last night after being on hold for a good four minutes. When ‘John’ asked if I wanted to make the donation in someone’s honor or memory, I told him ‘to Alexa my four year old daughter who finished treatment-my hero’. John wasn’t interested in hearing about Alexa, but he did want that credit card number-LOL. I’m sure the special will raise tons of money since we already know that Sidney Kimmel gave a generous personal donation of 25 MILLION dollars! How awesome is that man? Hopefully, they will be able to do what they said-find a CURE! That word just brings warmth to my soul. Please do not forget that Saturday the thirteenth is Childhood Cancer Awareness Day. I still haven’t seen many people wearing gold ribbons although we wear ours every day! Alexa cannot wait to wear her T-shirt to school next week. She wore it to the pediatrician yesterday where she hugged Dr. Hofilena and once again told him that he was her hero. Alexa had to get THREE shots yesterday. Not only did I forget to put embla cream on her leg, I also forgot Alexa’s school forms & the titer results from Sloan. Phew-where is my head? Anyway, it all worked out. Alexa asked if she would be getting a shot on the way & of course, we told her the truth-“no, you’re getting THREE!” She was very brave-so brave! She had seen this Wow Wow Whubbzy doll on television on Thursday. I took a chance while I was out running errands & went to Toys R Us. The woman who worked there had never heard of it, but directed me to a shelf that had some Noggin items. I could not believe my eyes when I spotted the one and only Whubbzy on the shelf. I called Tom immediately & we were both so excited! We gave her Whubbzy right after her shots. She hugged us both & told us and I quote-“You’re the best mommy & daddy I ever seen in my whole life. That’s why I picked you.” She actually CRIED in the car on the way to dinner. She said she couldn’t stop the tears as she was laughing & smiling watching her Whubbzy doll dance around the car because she was ‘so happy’ & that ‘this was the best day of her life!’ Can you imagine? Getting three shots in the leg as being described by a 4 year old as the “BEST DAY OF HER LIFE”. That should put things into perspective for you! I am off to hit the treadmill. We already planned on a lazy Saturday at home-a family sandwich day just like we like it! Hope everyone had a wonderful first week back at school & good luck to all that start this week. I’ll have pictures and video of Monday as soon as I can get back on the computer. Thanks for checking in on Alexa and for helping to spread awareness for the ‘littlest’ warriors. Wear gold if you can the whole month of September (even if it’s a gold curly ribbon-I have tons-just ask!). As always, love & hugs from our ‘team’ to yours-Debb, Tom and SHPWDLWTMBS-Alexa Renee

*Uncle Irv is still in the hospital. He had open heart surgery & needed to have a second surgery. Thank God he is recovering at Stony Brook. Thanks for all of your prayers, support & e-mails. We all appreciate it! Continued prayers for Kelly as she awaits results from her scans. Thanks!

U-TUBE VIDEOS OF ALEXA FROM LAST NIGHT:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KCv6Z7xIZFQ

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TFHa_1oB8-4