Saturday, May 30, 2009

Piano Recital

It's hard to believe another year of piano lessons are now behind us. Tonight was the recital. Here are a few videos of each of them. (Sorry for the grainy appearance and the fact that a couple of them cut off before the kids were finished playing.)

Jake played two solo pieces and one duet with Brittney.
Brittney played one solo piece and one duet with Jake and one with Tyler.
Tyler played one solo piece and one duet with Brittney.


Here's Jake's first piece (Morning Song). He started the evening off by being the first performer.


Brittney's solo piece:


Jake and Brittney's duet (When The Saints)


Part of Tyler and Brittney's duet (The Entertainer)


Part of Tyler's solo piece


After the recital, we headed out to have our traditional ice cream. It's a tradition started by my dad and step mother after the kid's first recital way back when.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Oh my.....








Welcome to spring!?!???

We had been enjoying really warm weather here.

It had been a beautiful spring

...up until today that is.

Oh my....

Monday, May 18, 2009

Long weekend

It was a quiet weekend here at our house. Tyler and Brittney headed off to Spring Forth which is a youth retreat/camp. A few youth groups from Newfoundland were there as well as one from New Brunswick.

That left us and Jake home alone. It was rather quiet lol. Jake was looking forward to being "an only child" but half way through the weekend he told us how much he missed his brother and sister (I hope he remembers that the next time a battle breaks out).

We took Jake to Timmies (Tim Horton's a coffe shop chain) a couple of times for hot chocolate and donuts. We went out for breakfast and went shopping. I think he enjoyed having us all to himself... but did I mention how quiet it was?

Tyler and Brittney had an awesome time. Apparently, camping facilities have greatly improved from the 'olden days' when I went to church camp. Our cabins were just that...cabins. No fancy walls (just the studs where we were encouraged to write our name, where we were from and the date), no heat, no washrooms (one huge washroom area located down a long path). There were about 10 - 12 bunk beds per cabin and that was it.

Tyler and Brittney's cabins were, by the descriptions we got, much improved. There were 3 - 4 bedrooms per cabin. There was a washroom with a shower in each cabin as well as heat and many things, games etc. to do. The food was awesome and there was too much (if Brittney can be filled up....that means there *was* too much food...she loves to eat and people are amazed at the amount she can pack away.)

The campers returned home....tired but happy. Hopefully, they get well rested tonight.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

ME/CFS Awareness Day



As many of you know....I was dx with CFS just before Christmas 2008. I think, it was a quick dx according to how long it takes for most people with CFS to be dx, but it seemed an eternity for me. Many, many unrelated symptoms, many various Drs. and specialists, many tests. The more I investigated, the more unanswered questions there were and the less we knew.

The second last appt. though, before visiting the Dr. who was finally able to dx me, was most disappointing. After almost a year of sometimes very frightening symptoms, I was told my problem was ......

Gas.

I was insulted and humiliated. To think I'd been so sick for so long...been tested for breast cancer, (among other cancers) as well as many other illnesses.....and then to be told it was gas. I may not be a trained medical Dr., but was quite sure it was more than just gas. I left that appt., disgusted....I really just wanted to crawl into bed and stay there. My attitude was quickly becoming "either this 'thing' (whatever it was) is going to finish me or I'll get better on my own"....either or....it was better than this.

If the last appt. (the one where I finally received dx) hadn't been already booked for months, I would have cancelled (and actually the thought crossed my mind). Thankfully, I did not and went to that appt. That specialist (an internist), dx me right away. He got what I was saying. He did not look at me like I was talking Martian. He did not look at me like I had three heads. He knew where I hurt, before I told him. The dx was made fast and more importantly correctly.

Thank you, Dr. Joshi!

I am so thankful for the internet. Finally, with a dx in hand, I was able to start my own research. I was amazed at some of the things I read.....there it was in black and white..... my condition, feelings symptoms and struggles summed up...right there before my eyes.

The name, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, is such a misleading name and one that really makes a lot less of the disease than what it really is. Yesterday (May 12) was CFS Awareness Day, although it was not a very good day for me, so I missed it (yesterday, I was painfully aware what CFS is).

I've asked for permission to repost a couple of excellent posts about CFS. When/if I get that, I'll copy and paste them here. In the meantime, you can read them for yourself. Both of them are excellent descriptions of CFS and what it is really like.

This one, CFS Warrior, is written by a person who had just been awarded their PhD before being struck with CFS. In the profile on the right hand side bar of the blog is a brief look into what life was like just before the dx. The above post goes into a bit more detail of the fight with CFS.

and..

This one, Renee's Reflections, is written by Renee. She is living with CFS and Lyme Disease. In the post above, she lists some of the symptoms of CFS.

Both are so worth the read for anyone wanting to learn more about what living with CFS is really like.

(Just as an update for my own situation ....through many avenues.....such as these two above-noted bloggers who have left many tips, links, info etc. about this disease, as well as my own reading, research, the help of a homeopath, speaking with others who battle this, I'm making some good progress. I have a way to go yet, but I'm hopeful. I've learned I need to evaluate my progress over months rather than days and that helps immensely. Looking back to where I was a year ago....I have improved greatly.)

Edited to Add:

I received permission from both bloggers...but am having difficulty getting some of it copied and pasted here properly.....(computers....grrr...)....the alignment seems to be off here, so I encourage you to check out the above links. They sum up symptoms and what life is like/can be like with this illness.