My Wordless Wednesday is a photo of Flowers sent by my daughter and son-in-law to my mother for Mother’s Day.

I’m proud to announce that I’m City of Hope BlogHer Ambassador! I’ll be sharing the important information about the City of Hope Women’s Cancer Program at BlogHer. In case you don’t recognize me from my photos or from my BlogHer name tag, I’ll be wearing an “I’m All In” Button. When you see me, please ask for a button so you can let other BlogHer attendees know about City of Hope too.

City of Hope is creating a movement to improve research and treatment of women’s cancers. They also are working to increase the number of women who are diagnosed with breast and gynecological cancers survive. They are asking for all of us to get “All In” to help realize these goals.

Many of my readers know why I’m All In – my mother’s recent diagnosis of breast cancer. I’ve also had an aunt who died from ovarian cancer, an aunt through marriage die from breast cancer as well as friends and coworkers who were diagnosed with breast cancer.

I’ll be writing more about the City of Hope and it’s Women’s Cancers Program during and after BlogHer. You can learn more about it from me at BlogHer when you get an “I’m All In” button. If this isn’t incentive enough, Twitpick a photo of a button and you’ll be entered into a contest to win a $10 Sephora gift card (up to five winners will be chosen).

A $30 donation from Mom Central will be made to City of Hope for my blog posts. I’ve asked for the $30 Sephora gift card to be donated as well. If it is not, I will donate it to a local breast cancer support group.

I’m going to try to give you a brief update on what’s being going on in my zany life. It’s been a while since I’ve written about my personal life. I used to write a lot about my family and my own stuff on this blog and it felt good to share. Plus it helped me to cope with the bad stuff too. So here goes…

My daughter, Alicia, got a job as a librarian in Kansas. After getting her Masters Degree, she was getting frustrated with not being able to find a job in the field that she loves so much. It’s been a difficult time for her, especially because she’s been very unhappy in her current job, so this news is a Godsend.

Sammi, my 11 year old daughter is enjoying her summer. She’s a bit worried about starting middle school, but I know she’ll be fine. We’re working on preparing her for this new experience and she’s been keeping in touch with friends from her elementary school that will be attending the same middle school. We learned that she needs to have her tonsils and adenoids out, but nothing fits into our schedule for the summer. We have a cruise coming up and she’ll be on her 7th day of recovery when I leave for BlogHer. There’s no way I could handle being away when she still may not feel well. The only alternative we have is for her to have surgery while she’s in school.

My husband, Shawn hasn’t been doing very well. He was told that he needs back surgery so we’re looking for a good doctor. In the mean time, he found out that he has a hernia and may need surgery for that. He’s been out of work and is hurting really bad. He can’t stand the pain any more and is going to ask the doctor for an emergency referral to a surgeon. First he was told to wait until the end of the month, then another doctor would see him on July 19th.

My Mom is doing well. She’s feeling much better after her treatment for breast cancer. Her memory is much better and she’s back to driving and taking care of herself. She, Sammi and I are scheduled to go on a cruise July 18 – 25th. I’m hoping that Shawn feels well and doesn’t need surgery while we’re gone.

I’ve had my ups and downs with my health. I’ve had a flare up of the Rheumatoid Arthritis, but I’m doing better. I’m under a lot of stress over Shawn. I feel guilty that I’m going on a cruise while he may need surgery. I’m scared that something will happen while I’m gone. Why can’t surgeons see patients right away, especially when they’re in pain?

I have some hard decisions to make and they’re weighing on me. It’s also scary because Shawn is the one that I rely on for so much. Now that he’s unable to do a lot, I’m doing more and feeling it too. I’m so thankful for him, his patience and his compassion.

I found these Summer Boredom Busters to share with you. You may be in the same boat as me… it’s summer and school is out.  Soon I’ll be hearing those dreaded words, “I’m bored!”  There’s so much to do outdoors. So many books to read, friends to hang out with even online and other types of games to play, but without the structure of school, lots of children find themselves bored.

Thanks to Dr. Z and Me and Primrose Schools, here are the 11 Summer Boredom Busters I’ve promised you:

1. Boredom Buster Jar: At the beginning of the summer, sit down with your family and brainstorm a list of activities that can be done alone or that you can enjoy doing together. Encourage your children to share their own ideas and help you decorate and label a simple jar as the family “Boredom Buster Jar.”  They’ll feel more involved in the project and more likely to think this is a “neat” idea, if they participate in the creation and idea generation. Next, write everyone’s ideas down on slips of paper and as a group decide which ones should go in the jar. Anyone in the family can pull any idea out of the jar to fight the summertime boredom blues.
2. Stories Alive: It sounds too simple, but reading is one of the most important ways to keep young minds engaged during the summer. Make reading even more fun by finding ways to bring the stories to life. For example, in the book Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, children create a make-believe town in the desert out of rocks, boxes, and their imaginations. Read the book with your children and then challenge them to create their own town with materials they find in the backyard.
3. Art Start Box: You’ll need to gather basic art supplies-child safe scissors, glue, markers, tape and construction paper. Put them in a special box along with empty oatmeal boxes and paper towel rolls, colorful magazines and bits of aluminum foil. Occasionally add a special surprise like chalk, stickers, or stamp pads so there’s always something new for the children to find. Even if you normally have these supplies around the house, it’s fun for children to know that the Art Start Box is just for them. They’ll probably have some good ideas of other household items that can be recycled to fuel their creative energies.
4. Family Performances: Break out old clothes or costumes and encourage children to make up characters and create a play to act out.  They are the directors, actors, and producers.  They can also make musical instruments out of pots/pans, wooden spoons, empty canisters and have a parade; or everyone can play along to your family’s favorite songs. Record or video the performances, and enjoy the replay.  You’ll also be capturing a bit of family history everyone will enjoy for years to come.
5. Family Dance Party: Crank up the music and encourage your entire family to boogie down. Dancing gives children a great outlet for self-expression through their own motion and helps build self-esteem. It also enhances motor and coordination development by incorporating skills like jumping, landing and leaping.  Dancing is a great activity that can involve the whole family and doesn’t take very much preparation.
6. Fort Building: Children love to build all kinds of structures–from small towns to large towers. Constructing forts or tents is an activity that can keep children focused and problem solving for hours. All the items you need can be found around the house- some chairs, cushions, blankets, and of course adult supervision.
7. Cookbook Fun: Have you ever shared your favorite cookbook with your children?  Take it out and ask your children to choose a recipe to try. Measuring can be a fun and easy way to keep math skills fresh.
8. Summer Scrapbook: All you need for this project is a spiral notebook. Encourage everyone in the family to draw pictures of favorite activities and collect mementos from special events throughout the summer.   Children love to go back through scrapbooks and albums and tell about what happened at each occasion.  They will also be building their storytelling skills at the same time.
9. Listening Game: Lie down in the backyard, in the den or at the park and listen.  What do you hear? Do you hear what I hear? Can you imitate the sound? This is similar to watching the clouds and naming the shapes, and it encourages everyone to slow down and focus on listening.
10. Camping Out: Pretend to camp out in the backyard. Plan a meal, pack a backpack and set up a campsite. You might even decide to spend the night!
11. Scavenger Hunt: Make a list or picture cards of common household items and have your children find the items on the list. Invite friends or neighbors to join in the fun to make it a competition.

My daughter and I have been doing some crafts for the first time in almost forever. It’s been fun and gets her creativity going (as well as mine).

Disclosure: I am entered for a chance to win a gift card in exchange for this post.  No monetary exchange took place.