Meeting another famous person

Here again is another picture of me (and Michele) with a famous person. If you are a fan of Canadian Idol, you will recognize the man on the far left of the photo. That happens to be Rob James, the first Winnipegger to crack the top 10 of Canadian Idol. I have not yet watched this show but I know that he is in the top 10 because I read it in the Winnipeg Free Press today.

Michele and I had the opportunity to be involved with "The Huron Christmas Carol" one year. Our job was to be in the "green room" (or is it the blue room?) where the entertainers could come and relax and have something to eat. It sounds like a much more exciting job than it is. We were quite bored and not too many people stopped by to say hello. But these guys did. They called themselves "McMaster and James" and I really liked the way they sounded.

Rob James has NO idea who I am but was gracious enough to pose for this picture. I think I just might watch Canadian Idol next week to see how he does and to remind my kids that *I* have rubbed shoulders with someone famous.

Much has been happening in my life over the last couple of weeks but I haven't felt like blogging about it. It seems that many of my blogger friends are in a similar situation. The summers here in Winnipeg seem so short that we really try to make the best of them and we'd rather be outside than inside, on our computers. Today, my life in pictures.

The $50.00 hairstyle that Kristen promptly washed out as soon as she got home. At least she was in good enough humour to take this picture!

Kristen and C.J. before her graduation banquet.The Grade 12 graduate with her dad. One of my favourite pics.

From left to right, Ben, Eric, Kristen and Tim.

We also went to the Folk Festival. What a great time we had! You can read all about it on Heather's blog. I couldn't describe it any better than she did. A highlight for me was meeting Fred Eaglesmith. While his music isn't really the kind I tend to listen to, Fred is a friend from way, way back. We went to elementary school together. I was certain he would remember me but I was unprepared for his exuberant reaction when I told him who I was. We had a great (short) time of reconnecting and will get together for coffee when he comes into town next month.

My flower garden is growing and lovely, my vegetable garden looks very, very sad except for the tomatoes. The weeds are doing well too. So far, it's been a close to perfect summer.

Our Visit to the Naturopath

It was probably 2 months ago that Kristen and I went to see a naturopathic doctor. As I have blogged before, we were at the end of our rope with her frequent nausea and dizzy spells. We had been to all kinds of doctors including a neurosurgeon who we will never see again. So for the first time in my life, I went to see a naturopath.

Dr. Schrader was as kind, considerate and compassionate as any professional can be. He listened carefully, asked intelligent questions and I was very impressed by him. We spent close to an hour with him and when we were finished, he suggested that Kristen take a test that we would have to send to the US. The results would likely show us what the problem is and also, what we could do about it.

For the test, Kristen had to provide 3 stool and 2 saliva samples. According to her, taking the stool samples was "gross." I won't go into details about what she had to do but she took care of it like a trooper.

Finally, last week, we could see the doctor for the results. It seems that she had candida (too much yeast in her intestines) as well as a kind of parasite (something he had suggested as a possible cause at our first visit). Apparently there is some disagreement in the medical community about this particular parasite. Some believe that it is harmless, some think that it can cause problems. Regardless, we are going ahead with a regime that includes taking 5 large capsules twice a day. She has not had an attack in the week since she's been on this regime and her energy level has certainly improved.

One other challenge is that she's on a pretty strict diet. No sugar, dairy products (eggs are okay) yeast, mushrooms, dried fruit, bananas or peanuts. She can only have 2 fruits per day but lots of veggies. Considering that she has been surviving on bagels, cream cheese and bananas for months, this diet is quite a huge change. Almost all prepackaged foods have one of the forbidden ingredients so everything needs to be made from scratch.

Suppers won't be a problem but there will be no more bagels, or cereal for breakfast-all the quick, easy foods that teenagers are accustomed to eating. She also LOVES cheese and is already missing it. We did find some bread that is okay for her to eat and she says it's not bad so she'll be able to take sandwiches to work if she needs to.

We are hoping that once the levels in her intestine get back to more normal levels, she'll be able to add more foods to her list, perhaps in smaller quantities than before. I suspect however, that this is something she'll be dealing with for the rest of her life.

We see Dr. Schrader in 2 weeks and hopefully, he'll be able to give us some more good news.

We were at SuperStore yesterday, looking for things she can eat. Wes, Kristen and I must have spent an hour just reading ingredients and trying to figure out what we could buy. I am so grateful to be living in a place where there are options! If this were 20 years ago, it would be much harder to find something for her. Next week I'll buy some soy cheese to see if she likes that.


She's got a pretty good attitude towards all of this now as she was ready to do anything to stop the attacks. Thanks for all your words of encouragement, thoughts, suggestions and prayers.

Okay. Time for a new post. Even I'm getting tired of looking at those 2 lobsters! Problem is, I don't feel I have much to write about. The housework fairies have not yet found my house so I did the housework for most of the morning.

Yesterday I helped Kristen and her friend Kim study for an exam. I was very aware of the fact that this will probably never happen again. Even though the material was hard to understand for all of us and the girls were getting frustrated, I enjoyed myself. It's great to be needed and to hang around with my daughter, even though it's just studying. It reminded me of the many times when she would come home from school and do her homework while I was cooking dinner. I enjoyed those times.

I am keenly aware of the fact that I am entering a new phase in my life. My youngest child will be graduating from Grade 12 in a few weeks and it's been a hard adjustment for me. When my 4 children were young and I was feeling overwhelmed with them, I used to dream of the day when I'd have the house to myself and lots of time to do what I wanted to do. Now I don't even know what I want to do even though I've got the time. I never thought I'd have a mid-life crisis because I've always had interests and involvements outside of my children. I suppose we never really know how we will handle a crisis until it actually happens. Thankfully, I have a huge support network of people who love me and support me and I am confident I'll get through this.

I will leave you with a few photos of my garden. I am simply amazed at how these plants and flowers grow. From this:

And this:To this: And finally, this...

What's For Dinner?

We get to eat lobster once a year. It's too expensive to purchase but once a year, Wes is invited to a dinner put on by one of the sub-trades he works with that includes according to Wes, "The best Caesar Salad you'll ever eat," lobster and dessert. He finds that the hardest part of the dinner is deciding which dessert to choose because he is so full from the other delicious food. (He gets no sympathy from me)

One year, he ate so much lobster that he smelled like a garlicky lobster when he came to bed.

Anyway, there's always way too much lobster so those who would like, may take some home and Wes knows that this makes me very happy.

Tonight, lobster, pasta with sundried tomatoes and if I feel like it, a salad.

Yum, yum.

The Story of 2 Potatoes

It all started innocently enough with 2 potatoes. Ben and Carolyn decided to barbeque some steak and have baked potatoes for their dinner on Sunday night. Ben went out to light the barbeque and shortly thereafter, Carolyn went out to put the potatoes on. Kristen was home too, watching TV and doing her homework upstairs. A peaceful, relaxing Sunday evening.

Suddenly, the doorbell started ringing incessently. Kristen, hoping someone else would answer the door took her time in coming down the stairs to answer it. Sammy was barking like a crazy dog and she chased him into his kennel before she opened the door as Sammy has a tendency to run outside as soon as the door is opened. There was the unmistakable sound of fire engines in the distance but that was not unusual as we live just a few blocks away from a fire station. However, when Kristen opened the door she was not met by a person as she had expected but by a wall of fire.

She ran down the stairs to tell Ben that the fireplace was on fire (she actually meant the barbeque but she was in a state of panic and not making a lot of sense). Ben raced up the stairs and tried to put the fire out with the garden hose but was unsuccessful. Trying to put a fire out with a garden hose is not much more efficient than spitting on it. He then ran into the house to get the fire extinguisher and was able to put some of the fire out. (*Note: Fire extinguishers need to be charged more often than once every 12 years.) Just as he realized that this was more than he could handle, 3 fire engines came screaming into our quiet little bay with a crowd of fire fighters. They had the fire out in no time.

It seems that the hose where the propane goes into the barbeque got pulled away and propane started spewing out onto the floor of the porch. The barbeque is toast, the whole lower part of our deck needs to be replaced, the garbage bin is burned although the plastic garbage cans are still intact and not melted.

We'll make an insurance claim and hopefully get a better looking deck out of the deal. We didn't tell the insurance adjuster that Wes was out that very morning measuring the deck because it needed to be replaced. Wes had also prayed that God would provide the funds for us to replace the deck. Hmmmm.

Incidentally, even with all the fire and smoke, the potatoes are still raw.

We're selling the tent trailer

Yesterday I took a little walk down the proverbial “memory lane.”

We have a tent trailer that we are planning to sell and Wes and I had to clean it out last night. We brought a broom, bucket and cleaning supplies and I was approaching this as a job that had to be done. I have never loved this tent trailer but going through the stuff in there brought me back to our days of camping and I was a little surprised at my feelings of nostalgia because truthfully, I don't really like camping too much. I don't like having to use public washrooms and showers, I don't like the cold, clammy feeling you get when it rains in the night. I don't like the fact that you can never keep things neat and organized (at least I can't) or that laundry needs to be done in a laundromat.

I think that it was the items that I found that brought back the feelings of nostalgia although as you will see, the events were not necessarily enjoyable at the time. I think it was a little like going through all your stuff before you move and knowing that everything you touch at one time, had a purpose and therefore could evoke some strong memories.

I found at least a dozen bungee cords which reminded me of a very unique feature of the trailer. On one of our first trips we discovered that the door popped open when someone weighing more than 75 pounds slept on one of the wings. The first time this happened was at (you guessed it) 2:00 AM. I heard the door pop open and hopped out of bed to close it, thinking that the latch had simply not caught when we first closed it. I had just gotten settled when sure enough, it happened again. It was a sleepless night. Someone would roll over and POP there it would go again.

The next day we had a solution figured out using a web of bungee cords. I just hoped that if anyone had to go out during the night they’d remember the bungee cords, otherwise there could be some trouble. Imagine a slightly uncoordinated 6 foot tall 14 year old stumbling around in a tent trailer, slightly larger than a kitchen table.

When we first bought the trailer, the ad suggested that it could sleep 6. That is a bit of an overstatement as the largest bed was somewhere between the size of a twin and a double. I love Wes and don’t mind sleeping with him but sharing a bed that small results in a fitful sleep. I was always sleep deprived on my camping holidays.

I found several decks of cards and was reminded of the time Michele and Kristen were playing some crazy game. They are aunt and niece and have the very same competitive streak. They were getting more and more animated as the game progressed and our friends were getting a little concerned that it wouldn’t be long before they would come to blows.

The blue tarp reminded me of the last camping trip we took about 2 years ago, at Clear Lake with a group of friends. That was the coldest, rainiest trip in my memory. One night we managed to get a wood stove going in one of the shelters. It was windy and rainy so we got a few tarps and used them as a wind break. We spent a lovely evening in the shelter, huddled around the wood stove. We melted pennies, roasted hotdogs and marshmallows and had a great time.

Going through the drawer (yes, there was one drawer) I found sunscreen, mosquito spray and “After-Bite.” We’ve never had really bad mosquitoes on most of our camping trips but we’d never leave home without our mosquito spray. As I was wiping down the ceiling, I found a number of mosquito carcasses and remembered my nightly ritual of death where I pursued every bug with all my power so that nobody would wake up in the morning with a fresh bite.

We took out our dining tent too. I LOVE dining tents and a few years ago we had to replace ours. The only one we could find that was high enough to accomodate the height of Wes and our sons looked like a circus tent with blue and white stripes. It’s a great dining tent and stands out like nothing else in a campground. I remember spending lots of time in it on rainy days. I also remember eating in it. When we camp, Wes does most of the cooking and we generally eat very well.

I found the green coffee pot that I just love to use and was reminded of how good coffee tastes when you’re camping. And the glass wine glasses. Wine does not taste good unless it’s in a wine glass and we made sure that the glasses were well packed so they wouldn’t break.

There were lots of things about that tent trailer that I didn’t like but somehow, with the passing of a few years, those things don’t seem to matter so much. I’m glad that I had the chance to spend a few hours in it again and gain a new perspective. It’s in the yard at Wes’s office and last night, briefly, VERY briefly I thought, perhaps, I wouldn’t mind spending a night in it again. Sanity prevailed and I knew that I could loose any fond memories I have if I were to spend a night in it again. And I sure didn’t tell Wes.

There are aspects of camping that I like very much. Although my children wouldn't all fit now, I loved the snug as a bug feeling I had when we were all tucked into bed in the trailer. One year we listened to Stuart McLean CDs before falling asleep, first giggling and eventually, laughing out loud at his hilarious stories. I enjoyed camping with friends and family and remember walking from one campsite to another with my coffee cup, always finding someone who would have a pot brewing. I'll miss the campfires too.

These days, we're finding that we really love to stay in Winnipeg during the summer. There are festivals and events happening all summer long, right in our own back yard and if I go away, I'm afraid I'll miss something here. We won't need the tent trailer, that's why we're selling it. So for now, we won't be doing any camping.

I'll just be content to remember the great times we had.

Changes

Ben’s moving out-again.

Ben married Carolyn in the summer of 2004 and like all good, healthy couples, found an apartment of their own. While their marriage was a happy occasion, it was also a time of re-evaluation for me. My children are growing up, becoming independent and are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.

Eric moved out just a few short months after Ben. About 6 months after that, Ben moved back to our house-with Carolyn. They live in the basement. It’s not as bad as it sounds and I find that when I tell people that my 25 year old son lives in the basement of my house with his wife, I find myself speaking faster and faster so I can explain that it really isn’t as strange as it sounds. “You see, we have an apartment in our basement
itsaselfcontainedsuitewithitsownkitchenandbathroomand
theydoalltheirowncookinganditsnotreallyasstrange
asitsoundsandIkeepmynoseoutoftheirbusiness…”

Well, I will no longer have to explain myself. Ben and Carolyn are moving out again, into their own house. It’s an exciting time and I’m really happy for them but I’m going to have to deal with Ben moving out again and the fact that my children are growing up and they don’t need me the way they used to. Sigh.

The good news is that we already have someone to rent the apartment in the basement. The fact that we have such a low vacancy rate in Winnipeg is good for us although not good for those people who are looking to rent.

So, my life changes once again. Change is good. It keeps me on my toes. I'm looking forward to getting to know Briane, our new tenant (and her dog!).

Kristen's Visit to the Doctor

I just got back from a neurologist’s office with Kristen today. I don’t remember his name but let’s just call him Dr. A.R.Rogant. Or maybe Dr. M.Y. Shitdoesnotstink. Needless to say, he didn’t help us at all.

We got there at 8:55, for our 9:00 appointment. He had us wait for 20 minutes although there was nobody else in the office. I know this because we had to leave our shoes at the door so that we wouldn’t mess up his new carpet and our shoes were the only ones in sight. So, there we sat for twenty minutes, both of us barefoot, patiently waiting for the good doctor to call us when he was ready.

When we entered his hallowed personal corner office, he looked at me and said, “This is Kristen?” I smiled and answered yes. He then asked Kristen to explain why she was there and as she is in the habit of doing, suggested that I give the history. Dr. A. R. Rogant believes that because it is Kristen’s problem she should be the one talking and he told us so. We decided to ignore his wise counsel and I proceeded to give a brief history of what has been going on for the last 3 years. He then asked Kristen a number of questions and she answered them all for him as best she could. We assume she passed the blood pressure test although Dr. A.R. didn’t say anything about it. I also assumed that she passed the tests for dizziness because she did them successfully and didn’t fall over once. Her reflexes are excellent. (He didn’t say that but I could tell) He typed something into his computer while Kristen sat with the blood pressure cuff on her arm and I sat on my chair wondering if I could sit on my feet because they were getting cold.

He asked her if she drinks coffee or coke (No). He asked if she liked school and how her grades were (Good and honour roll). Medications? No. Birth control? No. He asked if she ever tried taking Advil when the episodes happen and she told him that she had tried it but it didn’t help. The fact is, Kristen is in good general health, does well at school and to look at her, you wouldn’t think there was anything wrong.

It was then that the good Doctor looked at her and said something like, “So this really is a minor inconvenience, isn’t it.” There was a moment of dead silence. I looked at Kristen and the shock in her eyes, I'm sure, mirrored mine.

Being the tolerant, friendly Canadians that we are, we assured him calmly that this was NOT a minor inconvenience and that this was affecting her life (and mine) in a pretty negative way. I told him that she had missed a lot of school and in Grade 9 missed a number of her exams and I knew she couldn’t do that in Grade 12. I wanted to yell at him: “THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM! A VERY BIG PROBLEM. WHY DO YOU THINK I WOULD BE WASTING MY VALUABLE TIME IN THE OFFICE OF A SHITHEAD LIKE YOU!” But, I controlled myself.

Dr. M.Y. Shitdoesnotstink then suggested that it could be a type of migraine. That was the most intelligent thing he said during the entire appointment. He told her to avoid caffeine and take a couple of Advil. I was thinking of suggesting that perhaps he needed to see an ear specialist to see if his hearing was good because she already told him that SHE DOESN’T CONSUME CAFFEINE AND ADVIL DOESN’T WORK! HOW MANY YEARS DID YOU HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL TO BECOME A NEUROLOGIST WHO PRESCRIBES ADVIL TO A DESPERATE TEEN?

Thankfully he didn’t try to shake my hand when we left-probably thought that touching me was beneath him. Besides, he gave me the heeby geebies and I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

As soon as we got out of the door, Kristen announced in no uncertain terms that she would never, ever see him again and I concurred. NOT IF HE WAS THE LAST DOCTOR ON EARTH!

We are none the worse for wear after this episode and we are grateful that other doctors and specialists we have seen are very different. As a matter of fact, we saw a naturopathic doctor a couple of weeks ago and he was wonderful! I’ll write more about that another time, when we get the results of a test he recommended.

The health care system here in Manitoba has flaws, there is no doubt about that. But I have found in almost all cases, the people we have dealt with are friendly and compassionate. Even my own doctor, who seems rushed most of the time, is a kind woman. Unfortunately, it is people like Dr. A.R.Rogant who give many of the health care professionals a bad name. I’m glad I won’t have to deal with him ever again.

A Disclaimer

Some of you may have read Michele's blog over at the laundromat. I must tell you all that I did not read her "I'm From" entry before I wrote mine. When I read hers, I was amazed to see how alike they were.

Well, she is my sister (the one whose life I saved by my screams) and we are similar in many ways. I think it's cool that we are from the same place.

I Am From...

I read Heather's essay and thought it would be fun to do my own.

I am from a shiny blue bike with flowing ribbons and a plastic handlebar carrier. I am from rattling old Ford Trucks that smelled of electrical tape, WD 40, and chicken barns.

I am from the big brick house on Ontario Street with a back kitchen, sloping floors and draughty windows. I am from Saturday renovations, falling plaster and “I can’t stand living in this mess anymore” cries from my mother.

I am from the heart of the Niagara fruit belt. From glorious, fragrant Blossom Sundays to chilly Thanksgiving Mondays. I am from dusty roads and hot, muggy summers. From the cool and quiet of the Bruce Trail on humid afternoons and Kinsmen Pool and family drives out to the country. I am from flying down Mountain Street at crazy speeds and always grateful that I
didn’t fall.

I am from birthday presents in the early morning, Sunday afternoon fires in the living room and silly April Fool’s jokes. I am from Berendina Heremina and Arend Jan, Lina Wilhelmina and Englebertus, Johanna and Johannes. I am from Wikkerink, Hoornenborg, TeBrake, Bierman.

I am from heavy smokers and big eaters. I am from lovers of good food, Dutch chocolate and homemade wine. I am from relaxing Sunday dinners, chili on Friday nights and Saturday night hamburgers. I am from jam making, vegetable freezing and fruit canning. I am from the first family on the block to own a gas barbeque.

I am from chasing birds with a salt shaker and saving a family of baby squirrels. I am from the cottage and "dadmade" motorhomes. I am from Florida at Christmas time, from tent trailers and Walt Disney World and freshly squeezed orange juice.

I am from going to church twice on Sunday, from hard pews and singing harmony. From church organs and out-of-tune pianos. I am from the church with a hole where the bell should be. I am from waking up to the sound of the church bell next door and watching the beautiful, blushing brides on Saturdays. Peering from behind the curtain in the dining room, dreaming of the day it would be my turn.

I'm from Holland where life was hard for my parents and grandparents but became harder still with the WWII occupation. I am from a grandfather who died as a result of “friendly fire” to Oom Henk who never stepped foot in Germany even though the border was so close he could spit into it. I am from a mother and father who left their country of birth, knowing that they would never live there again. I am from the Queen of Holland who visited my uncle in his home and used his toilet.

I am from the family whose dad was in the Lions club, the family who owned the only Laundromat in town. The father who “picked up” a swimming pool “for a song” and supplied us with shovels to start digging. I am from red clay soil and mosquito bites. I am from the mother who got mumps when she was 35 and slammed her finger in a car door when she was 38. I am from the father who had a snow laden tent trailer fall onto his head just before leaving on our vacation. I am from busy Ontario Street where my hysterical scream saved my sister’s life.

I am from shoe boxes filled with pictures, a crazy poodle and pretty birds. I am from green shag carpeting and macramé light fixtures, orange flooring and a lime green kitchen, a freezing toilet and an uninhabitable rec room. I am from the back room, full of junky memories.

I am from the growing shade of the maple tree in the backyard, the smell of freshly mown grass and weedy gardens. I am from the parade route in town and the veranda at the front of the house. I am from love and tolerance, pride and prejudice. I am from many who have gone before me. I am a daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother.

I am from all of these things. I am me.

Happy Birthday Carolyn

In honour of Carolyn, my daughter-in-law.

there was no morning sickness
no stretch marks
or varicose veins
no pain of labour
or ecstasy of birth
no episiotomy
or prenatal depression

but as surely as ben is my son
and by virtue of your love for him
you are my daughter

when i look into the mirror
i see all of my children
the furrows on my forehead
the laugh lines around my mouth
the greying hair

and i see you
in the small diamond i wear in my ear
the diamond
your birthstone
that will remain there
in sickness and in health
until death do us part

Spotted in my garden on April 18, 2006...

Happy Anniversary to Me!

As of yesterday, April 13, I have been a blogger for one year. I must thank Heather for putting the idea into my head.

It's been fun getting to know some of you by reading your blogs and receiving your comments. As I read through my year of blogs I realized that this has been a great way for me to record my thoughts and responses to what's happening in the world around me. I think it will be really good to read this blog when I'm 80, to remind myself how I've grown (and stayed the same).

Unlike my journal which has stuff in it that I would not want anyone to read, I have been able to share some of my journey through blogger.com. It has been personal and goofy; painful and (dare I say?) profound at times. It has helped me to focus my thoughts in a way that writing in my journal does not.

It's been a great trip and I intend to continue this part of my journey.

A Solution of Sorts

Sammy is unfortunately, not afraid of the 1.21 m. Picta Dieffenbacia. It actually looks pretty good up there on the landing so I think I’ll keep it. The following photo shows you our solution to Sammy’s sneaking upstairs. I wish I had thought of this earlier because it would have saved me some money and a trip to WalMart.

You may see that there is a spindle missing on the back of the chair. Tim seems to have miscalculated the distance between the 5th step of the stairway and the floor.

The shin is healing nicely and the spindle has been added to the "things to do" pile.

My Springtime Garden

I planted a perennial garden last fall. I couldn't wait to see what it would look like in the spring so I was just thrilled when I came back from Florida a week ago to see the snow melted away. I am absolutely amazed to see new growth just after the freezing temperatures of the winter. It reminds me of the promise God made to Noah and his family after the flood:

"As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease."
-Genesis 8:22



My new garden is coming up nicely as you can see.

There's Always a Bright Side

In my last post I mentioned that Kristen got sick during our vacation. We had passes to Disney and wanted to take advantage of them so even though she wasn't feeling good, we went to the Magic Kingdom where we rented a wheelchair for her. That was the best thing we did because it allowed her to enjoy the day with us and it got us into the attractions, without having to wait in line!

Sick and Tired

It usually happens at night, when I'm asleep. I hear a knock on my bedroom door and a whispered, "Mom?" I know what's coming. This has been happening for 3 years.

I get up and ask her if it's pretty bad and she just nods. We go into the spare bedroom and open the window wide (even if it's -30 outside) because the cold air feels good on her face. I get some Gravol, a glass of water and the book we're reading and I settle down beside her. On a good night, I can go back to bed within an hour. Other nights it can last longer than two.

When I became a parent, I knew interrupted sleep was part of the deal. While I expected to be awakened regularly with young children, I didn't think it would be an issue with a 17 year old.

I remember the day 3 years ago when it all started. It was Easter Sunday and I figured that she had eaten too much candy. But the nausea and dizziness continued for several days so I took her to the doctor. She had a bladder infection so antibiotics were prescribed and I thought she'd be back to her old self in a few days. Little did I know that this was just the beginning of visits to doctors, specialists, internet searches and sleepless nights.

I am blogging about this because we are at our wit's end. We cannot figure out what is wrong with Kristen. Three years ago it was so bad that she didn't write most of her exams in Grade 9. She couldn't read without becoming dizzy and then the nausea would set in. I studied with her and that worked well but writing the exam would take all of her energy for the day and she'd spend hours in bed. For most of the summer of 2003, she hung around, had little energy and very little appetite. She lost weight and the sparkle in her eyes disappeared.

By September, she seemed to get a lot of her energy back and we thought that whatever it was, she had recovered. We thought that maybe, she had just pushed herself too hard that year and her body was simply rebelling.

For the next few years things weren't too bad except for weekly or bi-weekly episodes which usually happened at night, where she would experience nausea and dizziness. I would call these attacks because she would also get really anxious and kind of panicky. After several hours she would settle down and while the next day was hard for her, she usually recovered.

Last week, while we were on holidays, she got sick again-just like three years ago. She has eaten very little in the last few days and has actually lost some weight. Her energy level is extremely low and today is her first full day back at school. We went to the doctor who diagnosed her with Irritable Bowel Syndrome although I do not believe that is a proper diagnosis. She has none of the other symptoms (cramps, diarrhea) and the attacks do not seem to be linked to food in any way.

Is there anyone out in blog land who has experienced something like this? Can you give me some advice? Do you know of anyone else who has similar symptoms? We are so tired of dealing with this. It is heartbreaking to see her this way. She is finishing Grade 12 and has projects and exams to deal with now. She is planning to work next year, before she starts university but the way things are now, she will not be able to do that either.

I suspect that it is related to stress. I made an appointment with a naturopath, we have already done the psychologist thing and my doctor doesn't seem to have the time to sit down with us and figure this out. Gravol is about the only thing that she consumes these days along with bananas, yogurt and an occasional piece of toast.

It’s not Celiac’s, lactose intolerance, crohn’s or colitis. Contrary to my doctor’s diagnosis, I don’t think it’s IBS. She’s had blood tests (it’s not Mono) but it’s something and we’ve got to figure it out.

So my blogger friends and anyone else who reads this, I’d appreciate some advice. In the meantime, we’ll just try to get through this and I’ll keep you all posted.

There's No Place Like Home

Guess where I've been for the last 10 days? Even though you may have never been to Orlando, Florida, you probably recognize the castle in the picture. Yep. That's right. We spent several memorable days at Walt Disney World. The weather was gorgeous, the grass was green and the sun shone down upon us every day. We had a wonderful time.



I must confess, it was hard to leave the warmth and sunshine and come home to Winnipeg. I was thrilled to see that so much of the snow had melted while we were gone and even more pleased to see this:

Word of the Day

Today's word is "smenita." It could almost be someone's name except that kids at school would probably call her Smellnita. I've been trying to leave comments on some blogs and they all have that same word. I type it in, and get that blasted note telling me to type in the letters as they are shown. Aaaaaugh!