Day 230 - Okay, So I'm A LITTLE Tired...

Holy cow. How do Mom's do it? I couldn't settle in to sleep until 0100. The alarm went off at 0630. I have heard of this hour before, but I didn't want to believe that it existed! I had heard crying & movement around 0330 & then again at 0530. Oh boy, I have a lot to learn!


Jenn left for work at 0645 & both kids were wide awake. At least 2 of the 3 of us were. Harrison is 2 & Heidi is 5 months. I won't bore you with too many details. Well, maybe I will. Heidi is a beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed, smiling & content little girl. Harrison is a brown haired, brown eyed, little gentleman. They are incredibly well behaved - Mama & Papa must be doing something right!


We had breakfast, changed the diaper, bottle fed, coloured, sang songs (shhh, don't tell anyone!), watched Bob the Builder, played with Valentina & then Heidi went down for a nap. She slept for 2.5 hrs. In the meantime, Harrison, who is recently potty trained, had accident after accident. Me, not knowing the foggiest thing about childhood behaviour, figured it was simply because Daddy was away, Mama was away & here is this strange lady singing to me with her funny little dog... ?? We had a couple of #2 accidents. The first one, no biggie. The second one... Let me enlighten you...


After the first pair of wet undies, I couldn't find any pants for Harrison. As it was raining out & we would be indoors, I grabbed a pair of shorts. Then another pair. Then I finally noticed the basket of clean clothes in the living room. When I asked him if he was dry & he said 'No', but I could see the front of his pants told me otherwise, I thought, well, let's just change him in the living room. WRONG.


As I pulled down his undies to change them, didn't I just get an extra bonus falling out of his shorts. He was upset that he'd messed in his pants, so he was crying. When bonus #1 hit the carpet & I could see bonus #2 on its way down, I thought we better dash for the bathroom. Before I could pick him up, he stepped in bonus #1. As I picked him up, my hand cupping bonus #2 & his poor little bottom, Valentina makes a dash for bonus #1. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! We head downstairs, with the dog shortly behind. I put Harrison in the tub for a good wash & try my best to scrape the mud pie off of my hand, meanwhile I'm gagging & wretching with my back to the poor little toddler crying in the tub. We get scrubbed up & clean clothes on. 


I was really baffled, as he managed to finally pee in the toilet, but as I go to pull up his shorts, they're wet! We change them. No kidding, 10 minutes later he's wet again! Then another 20 minutes after that! I give up! Even the gummy bear 'treat' incentive isn't working! Well, Mama gets home & when I tell her the happenings of the morning, she said he's NEVER done that & she's never heard him so upset. (I'm thinking, oh my, I've scarred the poor child for life!) It turns out today was the day his 2 year molars decided to make  themselves known. Lucky me! 


After I knew that poor Harrison wasn't traumatized forever & he was happy to be with Mama again, I made a dash home & picked up my drugs, as it was time to start. I had to go for my ultrasound tomorrow morning. Unfortunately this meant I had to be in the city in the morning. Jenn had to work. Sadly, I couldn't convince my Mom or any of my friends to help me or Jenn out for a few hours. It was pretty disappointing, as Jenn's family really needs every penny possible! By the end of the night, she had to phone work & say that she couldn't come to work the next day. I felt terrible!


I decided to have a shower while I was at home, but before I even got in, I fell asleep on the bed! I woke up 2 hours later. Guess this Nanny thing is hard work! I drove back to Jenn's, but before I went there, I stopped at Safeway to pick up some Freezies for Harrison - just in case his teeth were bothering him again. Once I was back at Jenn's, we finished watching Alice In Wonderland. It was really good! I was so amazed by the creativity & imagination that went into it! Wow! By the time 1100 rolled around, I was beat. 


I hit the hay & that was that.
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Peek-a-boo!

Valentina enjoys the house!

Saying 'Cheese' while playing the cars game on my iPod. Kindergarten.com has some brilliant apps to teach kids animals, transportation, fruits, veggies... It's a great distraction from boredom in Ikea, at home, wherever... :o)

My little action man!

Miss Heidi quite content!

Day 218 - Downtown with the Browns!

I've decided 5.5 hrs of sleep isn't near enough! After being rear ended & driving home in a blinding slush/snow storm at 1/2 the speed limit, having to wake up at 0600 is just not my idea of a rockin' good time.


Nonetheless, I haul my butt outta bed & get everything packed up. I was off to the coast to see Jaco for a mere 4 days. Our last chance to see each other before I'm deep in the throngs of chemotherapy. Yay. Thankfully WestJet had a seat sale, otherwise it was a no go! 


I was quite upset, as when I arrived home, I hadn't felt well & my neck was HUGE. I had decided to cancel my trip to San Francisco to see Jaco & Ami & her family. I was very bummed about having to do this. I had also dashed any hopes of flying to the coast to see Jaco the following week. By the time I had spent enough time at home, resting & getting on track with me supplements, my neck had gone down a lot & softened up. However, my flight to California would have been, gulp, $1000!!! I was shattered. I managed to talk to Ami a few times & there is a glimmer of hope that I can still see her in September when she's back for her best friend's wedding. FINGERS CROSSED!!!


So, with Westjet on my side, I booked a record low flight to Vancouver & back from Victoria. I think it was $270 return. (!!!) Mom took me to the airport for 0745 & as luck would have it, my flight was delayed by an hour. I called Krystle & let her know not to dash off for the airport anytime soon! When I landed in Vancouver, OH MY GOSH!!!! I was so excited to see her! She is due with Baby Boy Brown in August & she has the most beautiful belly & is the most beautiful pregnant Mama I've ever seen! Krystle & Ross were colleagues from ships, but since we've left ships, our friendships have grown & I'm so grateful for them both! 


Krystle took me to a place where she gets her eyebrows threaded. I had previously heard of it, but never had it done. I'm VERY particular about my eyebrows & generally only go to the same girl at Merle Norman to have them waxed. When Krystle told me it was only $5 & I'd most likely be losing them during chemo, I thought, why not? It was so cool! It didn't hurt a bit & the lady was so fast! At first I didn't recognize myself - debushing accomplished - but the more & more I looked at them, I realized I finally had beautiful eyebrows! Yay! I'm hooked! Now I just need to find a place in Calgary!


Our next stop was her Mom's house. Krystle has the most wonderful mother. She is an amazing woman, with so many talents! She sewed ALL of the bridesmaid dresses for Krystle's wedding & each one was a different style. She's the kind of person you feel like you've known forever & you're completely comfortable being around them... We didn't stay at the house for long, as we were off to IHOP for lunch. We were meeting Krystle's sister, Mikita, & her niece, Camilah, there. Mikita is due two months after Krystle & she is also having a boy! They will be like brothers! I couldn't believe how much Camilah has grown! She has the cutest little smile & listening to her talk made me smile... Her high pitched little 'Hey!' Melt my heart!


We strolled through the mall close to Krystle & Ross' place & visited Krystle's aunt for a moment. We headed back to Margarita's house & we enjoyed a cup of tea & cookies, while having some chats about this & that. Before we knew it, it was 5 o'clock! Krystle & I headed to Metrotown for a little shopping - Krystle knows all of my weaknesses! But she also finds me the BEST deals! I found a necklace with an old family seal on it. It's a dagger with French writing around it. Translated it means, 'Courage without fear'. I figured that was definitive of my months to come. It will be the first necklace I will wear regularly in over 2 years! I can't wait to have a 'normal' neck again!


We headed home to their new condo. Ross came down & met us at the car. Oooooh! So excited to see the Proud Papa!!! Their new pad is gorgeous!!! I'm so excited for them! They showed me the baby's room, the BBQ patio, Krystle's ever-creative decorating touches, and WOW! The stunning canvas from their PERFECT wedding day! Krystle, again, creative, put together a beautiful wedding album of all their favourite moments from the day. She did an amazing job! I wish you could see a digital copy of it! You can check out her photography here: http://www.krystleimages.com 


We watched an episode of GLEE & the Big Bang Theory. I think I'm a closet nerd, because I really loved the Big Bang Theory! I laughed out loud! I was very impressed with Ross' setup. He had the TV connected to the computer so Krystle & I watched GLEE while he monitored his other downloads! Nice! Oh & we enjoyed a loaded baked potato during our feature presentation! :o)


Pretty soon it was bed time... They made the couch into the craziest sofa bed ever! I was so tired from a full day of adventure! It didn't take long before I was out for the count. 


Lekker slaap!
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Light packing!

Eyebrow threading

What a gorgeous little girl!

She's a heart breaker!

Chillin' at the Pad!

Krystle's crazy talents!

Day 147 - Nodular Sclerosing Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Stage 2B

Yes, it's official. Today was the day I received the pathology report stating that yes, you do indeed have those nasty little cells in your body we like to call 'Cancer'. 


I started the day off by having a little jaunt on the treadmill & I even managed to run for 10 minutes of my 30 minutes! Mom was impressed at how long I could run for. I didn't think 5 minutes at a time was much to write home about, er, much to write on the blog about, but here I am! My brother showed up half way through the workout & commented on how I wasn't getting anywhere. Ha ha. He was impressed when I put Valentina on the treadmill & he watched her trot away...


Jeff came over to help Mom with one of her new projects. They chit chatted while I did my best to get ready. I'm so not used to this. How do 'normal' people do it? I workout, get food ready, get supplements ready, shower & it takes me 4 hours! And no, I didn't even talk on the phone!


Of course, the battery was dead in Contemplate, so Mom went to get the booster cables. She has boosted the car 3 times now, but still struggles to know which one goes on first, etc,etc. Hey, don't look at me! Red's hot, black's not! She was getting mad because the handles are really tough to squeeze & she couldn't get it wide enough to go onto the post. Yeah, sure... I even surprised myself! I did it! No problem! Must be all that raw food! Ha! 


Contemplate was back in action & Valentina & I were enroute for Tom Baker Centre. Our first stop was blood work. The Lab Tech was surprised to see my black bag moving, until she saw little eyes looking back at her! After Valentina was finished charming the techs, we walked through the corridor to Foothills Hospital. 


Neil, who hosts our weekly prayer group, met a lovely young lady named Alma, by chance one day. It turned out that Alma had Uterine Cancer & she had her surgery on Tuesday. I had never met her, but I did leave her some serrapeptase. I also left her some Winalite pads to get her going. 


It was pretty crazy going to the hospital with my dog, to see someone I've never met before, who has just had intense surgery & just popping in to say hi! In any case, I found Alma's room & WOW! She is drop dead gorgeous! How anyone can look that stunning after having surgery & being confined to a bed, is beyond me! She was in good spirits & anxious to get on with life & heal. She showed me her stitches. Wow! Poor thing! I've never seen such an incision. (I haven't seen many) She is 34 & desperately wanted to be a Mom. They removed her Uterus & Cervix, but left her ovaries. She told me the only way she could have a baby would be through a surrogate mother. If you know anyone!!!!!! :o) Seriously! I look forward to getting to know Alma better & sharing our roads to health & vitality! She enjoyed Valentina & of course, Valentina was happy to have the attention!


Soon it was time for my appointment. My regular Oncologist was away, so I had the 'Substitute Teacher' today. She was nice. She kind of reminded me of Sarah Jessica Parker in a curly haired, slim, fit, same nose kind of way. 


My blood work actually looked really good! Slight anemia, but most everything else was normal. Even my WBC is normal! I'm thinking that is due to the fact that what I'm doing is working! :o) 


The Doc told me I'm up for ABVD. That means my ticker takes a lickin' & my lungs bid Adieu to their scuba adventures. We talked about BEACOPP & CHOP & many other acronyms. She was very patient & answered all of my questions as best she could. 


We all know how I feel about chemo. Well. She told me 6 months of chemo, every 2 weeks. I asked about a scan & she said they would scan me at about 3-4 months. However, she said that the lumps would be gone after the 1st or 2nd round of chemo. ???? Isn't that a bit of overkill? Of course, they want to be sure they have got it all. But then she added, they are doing tests now to see if they can actually shorten the duration of the dosages. Pardon my ignorance, but why would I take 5 more months of chemo if the first month gets it? And then there are the side effects. The metal taste in my mouth - gee, nothing to do with the toxic garbage you've just pumped in? The hair loss - no biggie, please, take the stuff on my legs, arms & face first! And keep it! The nausea - more drugs for that. The dead taste buds, the tingling in my fingers - possibly permanent... the list goes on. I could drone on, but you'll get bored regardless of what you believe. 


They want me to come back in a week. I'm still processing. Don't panic. Don't stress. Don't worry. I'll be just fine. Nothing will change, just because they found a few cells they didn't like. I'm still feeling great & there are no new problems! RELAX! I'll keep you posted!


After I paid $12.25 in parking... in change... The poor kid at the booth knows me well by now. He laughed & asked if I wanted a receipt too! It was mostly dimes today. If I have to keep going there I'll go broke on parking alone! Can you imagine? I would have to go Thursday for bloodwork & Friday's for treatments... That's a killing in parking fees! I'm in the wrong industry! :o)


My next stop was the Apple Store. I dug out my old wireless keyboard & hooked it up. I can sit back & blog... but it's a bummer to have to move & use the trackpad. So, Magic Mouse... it's a pleasure to meet you! I love MAC! The folks at the store are so helpful & friendly. I chatted with the fellow about several different Mac products. Obviously my budget doesn't allow anything more than a mouse, but a girl can dream! I told him about my photography & he even arranged a session with one of their trainers to help me out & learn how to make the most out of my Mac for my business!!! Once you go Mac, you never go back! :o)


Next stop: Community Natural Foods - Downtown - Where I don't get accused of shoplifting! Supplements & groceries... Ouch! Painful bill! But they were having an info-session on green smoothies... Interesting!


Next Stop: Fishman's Dry Cleaning. Again. I'm in the wrong business. $225 to clean my gown & put it in a box. Not just any box! An airtight preservation box. I told them to clean it first & see if it's worth preserving! 


Next Stop: Costco - returning the blender I bought last week. I didn't even open it, as I decided to get a slightly better one. No, not a Vita-Mix, but a nice Oster one. It reverses. I like that idea. I wandered around Costco, as one does, and end up with things I didn't have on my list, but can still use! Like the MEGA bag of Whiskas cat food for Adios. Saves me a few trips, I suppose! 


Next Stop: Marlboro Mall: Sears. I phoned on Tuesday & it was a task & a half. I called 4 different Sears stores & after no answers, hang ups, disconnects, poor customer service, lack of skill/knowledge, I FINALLY found my blender! And it doesn't go on sale until Saturday, but they gave me 10% off anyways! Thank you very much! I'm so excited to use it!!!


Next Stop: Gas &... Don't shoot me... It was a bad day... Fast food joint. I will be paying for it in so many more ways than just cash. I paid cash. I ate it. I got a headache. My tummy didn't appreciate the garbage. Fair enough. I deserved it. But... The worst punishment - I bought Valentina a hamburger patty. When I gave it to her, she dropped it in between the seat & the console. I can't get it & neither can she. Oh is that going to be rank come mid-July. Gross, gag, puke. So, I hang my head in shame & disgust. 


Next Stop: Home. I pull up to the house & see something moving under the deck. And then the stench hits me. It's a little Pepe le Pew! A little skunk is snooping around under the deck. Hmm. Small problem! How do I get inside? He's not too fussed about high tailing, er, hopefully not! Getting out of the way! I call Mom inside the house & she doesn't answer. I call again. What's a girl to do? It's not as though I can hop out & holler at it & chase it away. And you thought I smelled bad from taking DMSO! We're talking about a whole new level of stinking! :o) I call Mom again & about the time she answers, Pepe scurries from under the steps around the backside of the house. I tell Mom of our friendly visitor & make my way inside. Even unloading the car was potent. I think Pepe must have left us a memory on the deck, as it was a mighty bit strong! Thank goodness Valentina didn't make an encounter... I can't even imagine! Actually I can, last year my cat, Adios, made friends with Pepe. Got him right on his face. 


Have you ever bathed a cat? Poor Adios took it fairly well. The woeful yowls were sounds I've never heard from him before! 


Today was also the 1st anniversary for Jaco & I. Mom bought 'us' a dozen roses & gave us a card. The card was perfect. It had 2 wiener dogs on the front - dog + dog = heart. It made me smile! Jaco - I love you more today than I did yesterday & all the days before & you have made me the luckiest girl I know. Really. I love you & I miss you & I can't wait to see you again! Soon! Very soon!


I had news of a wonderful friend from ships. Sadly her mother was killed while riding a bike. The mother died on the exact same day as the father 13 years earlier. If you have a moment to send some love & healing for her & her sister's poor broken hearts, that would be appreciated. My heart breaks at their untimely loss.


Lastly, as I'm about to go cross-eyed from typing three blog posts in one night... My dear friends, Dave & Michele, got engaged! In Namibia! We think under the same tree where Jaco & I got married! How crazy is that!? I'm so excited for them both! I can't wait to hear all about it! And... my dear friends, Krystle & Ross, who were Bridesmaid & Groomsman, are having a baby is August & on Saturday, they have an ultrasound to find out the baby's sex. They have invited me to go online & see it with them! I'm smiling like a goofy girl right now, but I feel so honoured to be included in their magical moment! Thank you for making me feel special! 


What a day! I'm beat! I'm crawling into bed with my little girl & I will see you tomorrow! 
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Blood work about to happen. Note the armband on the floor. Ew. At least the Technician was friendly & she liked my dog! :o)

Dr. Owen's waiting area. I thought the African Elephant was slightly depressing considering it was our 1st anniversary when we married in Africa & here I am, FAR AWAY from my wonderful husband & about to receive the crummiest diagnosis thus far. (Yeah, my pity party is long since over!)

The card & roses Mom gave Jaco & I for our first anniversary. The card had 2 wiener dogs on the cover & said something about the longer couples are together the more alike they begin to look!

Pretty Roses!