The kids and I got back on Saturday afternoon from a trip up to see my parents, but all of those stories and pictures will have to wait. I just wanted to jot down a few quick things before they slip out of my mind.
Anna first - We rounded out the string of appointments with her neuro-oncology appointment last Monday afternoon. Anna used her walker for the entire visit and completely impressed the nurses on P4 as well as the steady stream of doctors that check in with her during these appointments. But then she was pretty exhausted by the time we got home.
We received a few pieces of good news from the appointment. First, Anna will have an initial appointment at a gait clinic in September, to assess her current AFOs and see if what, if anything, can be done to improve her walking. Second, for Anna's next MRI (2 years out of treatment), she will NOT need another lumbar puncture. Her oncologist thinks that whatever benefits she would see from the procedure would not outweigh the risks and the discomfort that Anna experienced last year. Hooray! And finally, I got up the nerve to ask what language we should use now in reference to Anna's cancer. The official term is "remission". We'll take it! We probably could have used this word earlier, but never asked for specific permission :)
The kids and I also did a check-in on Tuesday morning with some of Anna's school team for 4th grade. Her OT and PT wanted to see where Anna's skills were so we could start working on that logic puzzle. We also met her resource teacher for the year and said hi to her aide (who will be the same as last year!). (Kate and Ethan had an enjoyable time having the run of the school building since no other kids were there.)
Kate next - If you ask Kate if she's looking forward to school, she will say "no". She is going to miss all of her playtime. Unlike her older sister, structure is hard for Miss Kate. But we keep reminding her that once school starts she will have access to her teacher's classroom library, as well as the school library. Hopefully that's enough of a draw.
Ethan's up - I miss hanging out with this boy. I think we are going to have fun together once the girls are back in school. I'm sure he's going to miss his sisters, but he and I are going to have so much more freedom than we have had these last few months.
Unfortunately, Ethan had a bit of a bike accident last Sunday evening. He was going pretty fast down a hill in our neighborhood, missed the turn, and ended up crashing in someone's driveway. It's a good thing he was wearing his helmet, but ended up with a bump on his forehead, a nasty cut on his chin, and some road rash on his elbow. The incident was traumatic for him at first, but he came around to dealing with it pretty well.
Other stuff - We had a fun pool playdate with some friends last Tuesday afternoon. We haven't taken the time (or had much of an opportunity) to set up specific playdates this summer with friends, but sometimes life is like that. The ones we have had have been good, and our own kids are each other's closest friends anyway.
Tuesday morning as I was trying to do a couple of loads of laundry before we left, the washing machine broke. A neighbor let me do my last load in her washer, which was such a blessing, but it turns out the washer is beyond repair. Well, not exactly. Matt said that he could replace the parts, but it would cost only about $50 less than a new washer. So, we will be having a new washing machine delivered sometime on Monday. Then I have A LOT of laundry to do :)
The garden finally picked up. We have been alternating cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, zucchini, and sweet corn, with fresh peaches every day. Last Sunday Matt and I canned 14 quarts of salsa and then we canned another 14 quarts this Sunday. I also made some spaghetti sauce and some chili sauce somewhere in there. We picked and froze the first half of the corn the Saturday before our trip, and the next round I'm planning on doing on Monday with the kids. The timing of our trip came at a rather inconvenient time in terms of the "canning season", but we are making it work.
Hopefully I'll have a chance to document our trip up north sometime soon!
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