Autumn in Hammond

Obviously, if you're a follower, you'll have noticed that it's been awhile since I've posted. It's just been a hectic time in our household. Hectic, busy, whirlwind even--but good. I've been loving every moment of it. (Okay, that's not entirely true--I could do without the hospital visits or the teething, but everything else? Bring it on.)

Fall has always been the start of the new year for me. I never got out of the school mindset after university and now that I'm a mom (and a mom calendar devotee!), I can't help but still think that way. Time has been slipping past and fall with it. I feel like I blinked and September has already zipped by me, without so much as a how-do-you-do.

It looks like someone came by overnight and haphazardly brushstroked paint onto all of our trees, then shook them to dry. The rich reds and mossy browns surround our house in the woods, leaves clinging to branches or floating atop the puddles in the yard. Clearly, fall has settled in.

It really did seem to happen all of a sudden. One minute, I'm photographing Avie against the vibrant greens of our lawn, and the next minute, I'm planning an outfit for her to wear to match the flaming golds and oranges of the trees.

One moment, I'm pulling out a sundress from the 'summer box' that I've been packing up, the next moment, I'm rifling through the hall closet looking for a warm jacket that still fits Brooke.

One day, we're enjoying a sunny bbq on the back deck, sipping icy lemonade, the next, we've got a pot roast simmering in the crockpot while homemade spice cake is baking in the oven and the whole house smells of homey goodness.

We've had so much going on lately that it would be difficult to get it all out here--and just when I attempt it, someone wakes up. Always seems like someone is waking up around here--and usually it's me in the middle of the night! (I shouldn't say that. Really, Avie only wakes up at night maybe once or twice tops every week. And, it's always easy to get her back to sleep. I have it pretty good. I just like to whine.)

Tangent aside, I'll just write what we've been up to in the last couple of weeks as the thoughts come to me.

...Labour Day weekend spent devouring roasted pork among friends and marvelling at a fireworks display that rivals the Hill's Canada Day spectacle (another amazing day, Hendriks clan!), followed by apple-picking with family at Cannamore Orchards....

...recovering from a nasty cold that hit all of us girls in time for our much-anticipated Princess Tea with Jax and Gracie. (By the way, our two beauties were the only children photographed with the Royal Court for the local newspaper.)....

...harvesting countless numbers of tomatoes and green peppers, then canning them to fill our pantry full of homegrown goods....

...planning, cleaning and preparing for numerous back-to-back October parties and get-togethers, including B's 3rd birthday this weekend, Thanksgiving at the Jolimond compound, our Fall Family Photo Fete, and Hunter's surprise Halloween party....

...prepping the blind for duck-hunting opener last weekend....

...coming together for a family photo shoot at the beach and the chaos that ensues when Grants and Jolicoeurs collide....

...finding time to attend a firetruck-themed birthday party (and getting a tour of the firestation! What an awesome idea--thanks for the party, Donaldsons!) at a friends' house and a house-warming/tree-planting shindig at my brothers'....

...preparing the house and yard for winter--tree-trimming, grass-cutting, pumpkin-collecting, chicken-plumping, flower planting....

...deciding to take on the task of sewing the whole family's halloween costumes for a change (what the hell was I thinking?!?)....

...hockey season resumes....

...football season begins anew....

...PVR new sitcoms and old favourites (welcome back, GLEEks)....

...buying B her first pair of skates and hearing Hubby delight in his describing how he watched her wonderment as she walked up to the wall of skates and pointed to the ones she wanted (I'm certain it comes as no surprise that the skateboots are pink)....

...embarking on a weight-loss challenge with my husband, sister and brother-in-law, in which my husband has been relentlessly working toward his goal, while I...well, I do what I do--and it ain't much. Meanwhile, I am still in the lead, I believe. Take that, treadmill. ;)....

...supporting cancer-related events, such as Hubby's Participation in the Run for the Cure this Sunday, and my taking part in a 12-hour scrapbooking crop for Elgin's Fund for Childhood Cancer last weekend....

...getting the whole driveway paved at a moment's notice....

...Avie hitting two milestones in one week: she learned to sit up and popped both bottom front teeth....

...CT scans, ECGs and echograms, blood tests and chemo treatments for Brooke, all of which she takes in stride and has come to accept as part of her weekly routine. Hopefully, Peanut, this will no longer be the case come January!

...the usual everyday events: laundry, dishes, tea party with Brooke, itsy-bitsy-spider with Avie, colouring books, playdoh, stuffed animal parades, groceries, baths, party plans, clean toliets, vaccum up cat hair, dig up potatoes and carrots, make apple pies, repeat....

And oddly, amidst all this chaos--simplicity. Time at home, rare as it might be, doing nothing.

Curling up on the couch with the dog at my feet and the cat atop a freshly laundered fleece blanket in my lap, while the two girls play quietly on the floor beside me, the fading light of the sun setting their reddish blonde hairs ablaze. A fire dancing merrily in front of me, taking the chill out of the air. The flames licking over wood split by my Hubby's own hands. Homemade chicken pot pie bubbling in the oven, the aroma wafting throughout the living room. Hot chocolate steaming in a mug in my hand, marshmallows melting into chocolatey oblivion. Hubby hovering over a pot of soup, watching as the vegetables we grew bounce to the surface and listening to the sportscasters muttering football stats in the background.

Cozy and picturesque, no? Add some Bublé and some knitting needles and it could be categorized as damn right quaint.

These simple moments are the ones I live for. And, although I love the vigor and vibrancy of spring and summer, I find that these comfortable at-home family moments only ever seem to take place when the world is winding down, settling in for the long and dark winter months.

It always seems a little sad to me that the world is at its prettiest, the people at their warmest and the earth at its most generous just before everything turns dark and cold and quiet. And yet, it's a comfort to know that everything will start up again once spring returns.

Regardless, I look forward to this time of year from the minute the last leaf drops from its perch, but must remind myself each year to actually take the time to appreciate it. Soak it in. Enjoy it.

And, now that the girls have finally gone down for another nap, I'm going to do just that. I have a kettle boiling in the kitchen and a new magazine that needs perusing. So, even though there is a bucket of freshly dug potatoes that need washing, dinner that needs defrosting and a mermaid tail that still requires a few stitches, I'm going on the porch to just revel in autumn.

.

Random whatevers

Woke up this morning from a dream so remarkable that it would have made for a fantastic video game if only I could remember the thread of the plotline, rather than just fragments of my dreamself telling my dreamHubby ''Do you remember that cool time-travelling video game I used to play when I was pregnant with Brooke?'' (I don't play video games, so I know this wasn't just deja vu.)

Hate that. I woke up to B crying that Bunny had fallen on the floor and completely lost the details of the dream, which I just knew would have made for a phenomenal story if only I could have remembered it. Besides a few sketchy moments, all I can remember is the end of the dream, which simply morphed into an odd re-cap of the Friends Show Finale, as prompted no doubt by my watching Friends re-runs last night.

(In case you were wondering, my dream version of the Finale ended with Phoebe primping for Rachel's farewell in a bathroom with Ross and Joey. She then turns to Joey and asks him to help her stuff one of her black gloves with a giant foam finger (the kind you get at sporting events) before jabbing her own hand into it.

''I want to make sure that the last thing Rachel sees makes her smile,'' she explains before the whole group traipses outside to a time-travelling manhole and watches as Rachel travels backward 10 years to the wedding day that never happened and instead of seeking out Monica at Central Perk, she beelines it for an ill-fated Starbucks, forever erasing a decade of sitcom hilarity. Meanwhile, as everyone is waving goodbye and Rachel is disappearing into the ethers of the time continuum, Phoebe raises her hand and gives her the finger. Would have made for a much more dramatic ending to the show, no?)

Tangent aside, I also woke up to autumn in the air. A cool breeze wafted through the windows early this morning with the scent of falling leaves on it. Won't be long before the trees start to turn. Can't wait. Love the fall. Well, frankly, I love the beginning of every season, but especially the fall....

Cozy sweaters, crunchy leaves, crisp apples, tart cranberries, new leather boots, bright bonfires, copper and gold wherever you look, and celebrations galore! Love it.

This weekend was also cause for celebrating. On Friday, we discovered that B's CT scan came back clean, which was wonderful news! Looks like the chemo is working. You can only imagine the dancing all four of us did that night.

On Sunday, we baptized Avie (she looked simply sweet in her little dress and was so good at the ceremony. Not a peep from her or little LG. The same could not be said for B and the twins, however. Those three were running all over the place, giggling like fiends.), so we had a little get-together with family back at our house. Not exactly the bbq weather we were hoping for, but still a great little party. And, of course, both Avie and B were spoiled. We finished the day with $65 in ice cream cakes, but totally worth it!

On Monday, we got the full report from the oncologist. As it turns out, the receptionist was not wrong--the CT scan did come back with no trace of any cancer. The doctor went on to explain that yes, the lesion on the lung had completely disappeared, but there was in fact no change in the kidney.

According to the CT scan folks, there is no tumour there. They feel that there never was any. They weren't convinced of it from the get-go and now after nearly two months of weekly chemo treatments and no change to the spot, they are even less convinced that it was ever cancerous. They believe it to be a part of the kidney that collects the urine.

They only treated it as a tumour in its infancy based on the Washington group's analysis. It was a better-safe-than-sorry scenario and now the CHEO radiologists are even more convinced they were right with their diagnosis in the first place. I hope they are right.

Of course, that means that the only way to truly tell if the spot is not cancerous is to perform a biopsy on it. Brooke will have to undergo another surgery, but the doctors won't do it until after her chemo treatment is completed. So, likely early January.

In the meantime, we'll wait for the Washington group's analysis of the CT scan. Hopefully, we'll know what they think soon. Still good news at the moment, so we'll take it.

As for B: She is doing well. Week 7 chemo came and went as usual. (Another double dose, but she tolerated it smashingly.) A small amount of water came back up after a hasty drink on Monday night, but that was it.

Her blood count numbers are back up, so she is no longer neutropenic (sp?), which is great. She has lost considerable amounts of hair (a lot of it fell out in Week 6, not so much this week), so I will have to start getting her some warm hats soon. (If my kid weren't so damn cute, I'd compare her now wispy, fly-away hair to Gollum's from The Lord of the Rings. I won't, of course, because she is my daughter and that little CGI-guy is creepy as hell, but you know what I mean.) She hasn't been bothered by the hair loss, though. In fact, she seems to like her short locks at the moment. Much cooler for the summertime.

In other news, country life has its downfalls. I had to interrupt this post for a half-hour, while I tried to sweep a chipmunk out of the house. (Thanks, Ferg, for bringing the terrified critter indoors.) It skittered from room to room, into a closet, down the hall and has now found its way into the walls (from behind the dryer).

I can hear it chittering somewhere overhead. My only hope now is that it finds its way out again and doesn't burrow into the insulation and die. Trying to locate a putrid chipmunk corpse trapped within the walls isn't exactly what I consider a good way to spend a weekend.

To breath again

I feel as if I have been holding my breath for two months now. The news came back about 20 minutes ago--it's gone. All of it--lesion on the lung and lesion on the kidney--no trace of either!! And nothing new. Nothing but healthy goodness. I'm beside myself with joy!

Of course, she still has another 18 weeks of chemo, but this is fabulous news and I couldn't wait to share. Hubby and I will meet with an oncologist Monday and see the scans ourselves. Happy tears are pricking my eyes right now.

It will be a real celebration of life this weekend.

Thank you, everyone, for all of your prayers, good wishes and positive energy. It has paid off.

Must jet. She wants me to help her build a puzzle and frankly, there is nothing more in the world I want to do at the moment.

Decisions, decisions

Am torn. Bought two lovely dresses while shopping with my sis the other day (pre-Bublé concert. MB rocks!) and not certain which one to wear to Avie's baptism. Thought I would put the dress dilemma to a vote. The plum, button-up shirt-dress or the heavier, teal belted dress?

Yes, I am well aware that both dresses scream 'fall fete' but there aren't many sundresses left on the racks at the moment. Ya gotta do watcha gotta do.

Week 6 scan

Yesterday was the Week 6 scan. All things considered (including a 4-hour wait and Brooke now being neutropolic*), the scan went very well. Was over within a half hour and home shortly after. Brooke was starving when we got home, so quickly downed two bowls of Grandmaman's Lac St-Jean blueberries and a fistful of Timbits. Back to normal after that.

Now, we must wait for the results. We were told that we should have them by Friday. The waiting is killing me, but luckily we have plenty to keep us busy this week. Avery is to be baptized on Sunday, so we are having a small family party back at the house should B be up for it, so plenty of preparing to do.

Luckily--or perhaps unluckily if my mind keeps wandering to the results and I need something to occupy it!--Hubby's mother and tante were here watching Avie yesterday and not only cooked us dinner and made us six bumbleberry pies (some for the party, some for the freezer) but washed all of our floors! This is in addition to the complete house cleaning they undertook a week prior. Thank you, Monique! Thank you, JD! Much appreciated.

Still, there are some areas to declutter before the shindig, outfits to put together, camera cards to download and free up, food to prep. I love throwing parties, so hopefully, Avie's special day will distract me enough this week.

I will also try to distract myself from the waiting by finally replying to e-mails and returning phone calls that have been accumulating over here in Jolimondland. If I owe you an e-mail or a phone call, I sincerely apologize for not getting back to you sooner. Do know that I have not forgotten you! I think about it everyday!

In other weekend-farmer news, we ate another meal yesterday that was entirely homegrown. We are quite proud of ourselves!

Stay tuned for scan results later this week. I'll post up as soon as I have heard....
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* Neutropolic: Her neutro-polys level is now below the normal range, which means she is at a higher risk of viral infection (e.i.: she is much more susceptible to catching other people's colds, flus, pneumonia, etc.). With that in mind, we must now be much more diligent in ensuring only healthy people come to visit the house and must avoid places where she can pick up any viruses. I have now become a Purell mother. Good times.

A break in the clouds

B took an early nap today, so Avie and I took the oppurtunity between downpours to walk to the garden to see if we could finally find something with which to fill our veggie baskets. (Yes, ever-hopeful-me brought two baskets, just in case.) We were late in planting much of our garden this year what with the whole hospital spiel, so we haven't seen much harvest yet. Well, the July weather has certainly paid off.

The tomatoes are so plentiful that the cages have fallen over, although few of them are red as of yet. The corn silks have changed to a lovely mocha colour, which makes me think that they will be ready soon. The zucchinis were huge, so I plucked two off to add to my basket. Grilled zucchini on the bbq may be in order!

I also picked a peck of peppers. Our peppers have never done well in the past. This year, we not only have a lot of green peppers, but the ones I selected this afternoon are easily the size of a Nerf football or the length of my hand from fingertip to wrist.

We wandered over to the radish and carrot patch and found many of the bitter little cherries peeping out of the moist, fragrant soil. Yum.

The whole garden needs some serious weeding. I tried to clear out the sunflowers and the smaller veggies, but it was difficult with Avie in the Bjorn. Too bad, too. All this rain loosens the soil and makes it easy to yank out the bigger weeds. I considered going back now that Avie has gone down for a nap, but the skies have just turned black and another summer storm is rolling in. Hope I don't lose my Internet connection again....