Year end

Thursday was the year end event hosted by our local homeschooling group T.E.A.C.H. It's a great way to finish off the school year.

The first part consisted of a variety/talent show and I've always felt this part offers benefits on many levels. Most obvious, it allows each child opportunity to be up in front of a group. It also allows each one to perform or demonstrate something of particular interest to him or her. In addition to that, it showcases many different available activities to take part in...many of which may never have been thought of. It's great too too to sit back, watch the children perform/demonstrate and to see their beaming smile when they are done.

Tyler, Brittney and Jake performed their piano recital pieces, so there wasn't any extra preparation we needed to do (other than practice).

Jake always has trouble understanding why he can't be on stage for much longer.

"What do you mean, I can only perform one song?"

while Tyler is the opposite..."Do I *have* to play?"

We attempted to address this issue in a different way this year --- Jake was able to perform twice (once in a duet with Brittney and once on his own), Brittney in two duets and Tyler in one duet....all the while still only taking up three spots. (Last year, Jake took matters into his own hands....he was limited to one song...but once up on stage, he just played his song over and over. That all too familiar feeling of panic I get in the pit of my stomach whenever he gets up in front of people was starting to surface. I had just leaned over to Larry and mentioned *somebody* was going to have to go up and get him off, when thankfully, he stopped on his own accord. I don't think most people even noticed...as it was a short piece of music. Even though he'd gone through it 3 or 4 times, it didn't seem that long. Most people said they didn't know......but *we* knew.)

After the talent part of the evening, Certificates of Graduation were handed out. Initially, Tyler wasn't sure if he wanted to take part in this as he would be the oldest (not that he is oldest in the group...just the oldest one who was taking part). After seeing Jake and Brittney getting so excited about the evening though, he had a change of heart....which we were glad of. Somebody has to be the oldest...right?

Next participation ribbons and prizes were handed out for the various contests held over the year. Food followed while a slide show was presented. Each family had sent in a few pictures and one family put them together (set it to music and added captions. It was really well done and the captions they came up with were great!)

The end of the evening was for socializing and checking out the work table. Anyone who wanted to display items/work they'd done over the year (ie projects, art work, stories etc.) could do so. Many talents covered by the kids in our group.

All in all, it was a great evening. (I do find evening events quite taxing -- not so much then but find I pay for it the next day or so. I've (begrudgingly) had to stop taking part in most of the evening events I'd like to do for me, but do my best to attend events for the kids. It's all a matter of pacing myself.)

No more pencils....

no more books ....

no more teachers (well...ya actually they still have to see their teachers all year long...lucky...aren't they? lol)

School is done for the summer!!! Yahoo!!

We finished on Friday, filed the year's work away, got the books for next year out and set up...all ready to go. Today, we worked on our goals for next year...how far we want to be and by when etc.

We're still in the 'transition' stage .... somewhere between bookwork and some newfound freedom --- which they seem to translate into....we can stay-up-as-late-as-we-please ..... sleep-as-late-as-we-want.....eat-whenever-and-whatever-we-feel-like line of thinking. Once they learn (again...we start every summer off like this) this line of thinking does not work here for us....our days will run smoother and we'll be in full summer mode again.

We have a few things planned for the summer. We're heading back to Ontario for a visit. This will be our first trip back since moving here...and we're all eagerly anticipating it. We have friends to visit along the way before heading to our hometowns where we will visit with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and many friends.

Brittney will be staying on for three weeks, visiting with her long-time friend. She'll then be flying back home to NL, which she is so excited about. She's never been on a big plane and flying on one has been something she's wanted to do for a long, long time (but mean ole Mom and Dad wouldn't let her fly into Toronto on her own). Sooo...I guess it will be just me and the guys coming home.

As far as jobs...Tyler and Brittney both have casual type jobs. Our neighbour travels a fair bit for her job and she has Brittney look after her cats. Tyler cuts her grass and does odd jobs for her as needed. Last year she hired Jake to pull dandelions from her yard.

Our annual church retreat is this weekend and they've hired Brittney to help with the daycare/babysitting. She'll be going with a family from the church and spending three days there. She is ecstatic...she loves children...this is a dream job for her.

Jake is a little put out that he does not have a job...but he usually comes up with a way to earn a few extra dollars. I'm sure this year will be no different. ;0)

Interspersed around all that...there will be lots of bike riding, roller blading, basketball playing, hiking, exploring, whale watching (hopefully), pogo stick jumping, swimming as well as lots of sunshine and enjoying the great outdoors (hopefully as long as the weather co-operates!). Of course there are the usual chores....lawn cutting, house cleaning, wood stacking etc. etc.

Yes....we've been anxiously awaiting the summer. It's here...and we couldn't be happier!

Thank you and update

The last couple of years have been a real struggle for me health wise. I've blogged about it before, so I won't rehash it all but am still hopeful to return to a somewhat normal life.

I'm learning I must re invent myself....which isn't easy. I have a million things I want to be doing....but many days have not enough energy to do even one. It's a learning process for sure.

I had so many unrelated symptoms followed by numerous tests --- some of which required me to be pumped full of 'garbage' (dyes and such) that caused me to have severe adverse reactions. It made me worse...instead of better....and all of that to be dx with Gas. Well.....I've really all but given up on modern medicine. Quite frankly, I am terrified to entrust such an important thing as my health into that scenario again. Even if I wanted to, I simply don't have the energy to do so. (For example when I first went to the Dr., I could not lift my arm. With barely any checking she told me it was frozen shoulder and I needed physio. I countered with I didn't think it was my shoulder as I could move my shoulder fine...it was my arm....it hurt in my armpit and the muscle area of my arm and I felt so swollen in the whole area. Nope...against my better judgement (but what do I know)...it was frozen shoulder. Fine....a month later off to physio I went...and guess what? The physio people said...hmmmm .... it's not frozen shoulder...you are really swollen and need to go back to your Dr. ASAP....they were afraid of breast cancer. What if it had of been breast cancer? I wasted a whole month (and medical resources that could have been used by somebody who really needed those services) all because she had no interest in listening to what *I* had to say.

Thankfully, there are other avenues open to me. I have found it most educational reading the blogs of those who also have CFS. I am thankful they take the time (even though they are sick themselves) to write about their struggles (makes me realize my symptoms *are* real and not just in my head), what works for them and what doesn't.

Through these blogs I have found a book, written by a Dr. in the UK. She has treated CFS patients since the early 80s...and what I read in her book was just amazing. She *gets* it. I've implemented some of her suggestions and had some success.

This illness is multi-faceted. There are many things to deal with...it's not a one size fits all cure.

I've been visiting a homeopath and again am pleased with the results I've had here. (For one thing...there are many....the recurring hives I encountered ever since having the CT scan have all but stopped.)

Besides the debilitating, ongoing fatigue, the post exertional malaise, the burning muscles....I've had this incredible amount of swelling which nobody has been able to help me with. I had a fleeting ray of encouragement when I visited one specialist. He said he could see my soft tissues were swelling (he noted swelling in areas I hadn't noticed yet...hence my ray of encouragement). That soon went out the window though when he said he was certain I've been like that for a long time...probably born like that (which it hadn't and I certainly wasn't born like that...I would have noticed all that swelling. I've always been thin and for a time in my life..I used to get asked if I was anorexic). No this was something new to me and it had only been going on since this illness started....but again...what do *I* know...he's the expert...insert another eye roll here).

I've been searching and searching to find out just what this swelling could be caused from. I'm certain it's not gas (insert eye roll here)....as it's all over...my fingers, my arms and legs, my face, my stomach..... My waist was 10 inches larger than it was before I became ill and it seemed to be getting worse. At one point, one arm was 1.5 inches larger than the other one. I came across a fellow CFS blogger and was intrigued when reading his posts, he stated his face was so swollen his mother did not recognize him when he got off the plane.

Bingo!!

Finally someone else who had swelling. I left him a message on his blog and he responded it was backed up lymphatic system. He left some suggestions for me to try....one being a mini trampoline/rebounder. I googled that....and WOW! So...I used some of my birthday money and bought myself one.

It's way to early for me to say this is the answer...but my waist size now fluctuates 5 inches. I do feel better (sometimes)...and think it is helping somewhat with the overall swelling. I do have to pace myself though...the first time I used it I was on it for 5 minutes and then slept for (an unrefreshing) two hours. I paid further for it too...the post exertional malaise lasted for a day and a half after that. I am slowly increasing my time, trying not to over do it, but it is a hard balance to reach (and it all seems so ridiculous to me...I used to have vigorous workouts...lasting minimum 30 minutes...and now I have trouble with 5 minutes of low level activity?....yep...a learning process for sure).

I am interested in what do you all think? Here are some pictures taken of me over the past year or so. Can you notice any difference in the swelling?

You can click on most of the pics to enlarge them.


The way I looked before I got sick:





Last summer (I'm in middle of the picture wearing white..the one with the fat face). I am amazed when I look at this pic at how puffy my face is. This is the last pic I have of myself. It got worse.



My birthday....after a few days with the rebounder:



A week or so later than the last picture.



Does it look like my swelling is going down? Or is it just wishful thinking on my part?

I'm still only using the rebounder for about 10 minutes a day (2...five minute sessions). I really have to balance using it but not too much....the post exertional malaise is something else.

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.

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....

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.

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.