Braces

Riding Around

Autumn 2009 - Cathrin Gets a Camera (and reconnects with her dear, talented friends from video production days)

Our autumn has been spectacular in so many ways, yet tough in other ways.

I will expand on this topic, but, for now, videos...

Five-Six Things to Love about Volunteering in Kindergarten

1: The way the kids are bursting with pride when you sit down to read with with them, ready to show off their skills. And if not, the way they get proud when they do it.

2: How their eyes light up when you tell them what you like about their reading.

3: The probing questions out of the blue, like: "Do you have any pets? What are you making for lunch?"

4: Overhearing your daughter repeatedly telling her friends, "That's my Mom. Her name is Catherine. My Grandma, her mom, used to sing to her when she was little".

5: All those adorable eyes that smile at you and say, "we're glad you're here".

6: Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten. Remember Robert Fulghum? "...Share. Clean up after yourself. Learn some and think some. And draw and paint and sing and dance. And play and work everyday some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, Watch out for traffic, Hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder."

Driving away from the bus stop this morning, just me and my big empty van, no longer constantly eligible for HOV, I realized (okay..again I realized...what can I say? I'm a slow learner) THAT my kids are getting so grown up.

Annika is newly 6 and newly a little independent social butterfly. Well, she's always been a social butterfly, but now it's more of a fulltime job. This morning, she was talking to herself, practicing I guess for situations she supposed she might encounter later in the day. As she sat clumsily but persistently tying her shoes (another new skill), she mumbled, "Hi guys! (with enthusiasm), How are you?". There was no one around her, so I had to assume she was "practicing".

Then as she was climbing in the car, she quietly said (with feeling), "I'm so sorry". I asked, "what for?" And she replied, "oh, nothing".

And then Lauren is like a little 4th grade college student, so diligent and capable of amazing academic feats. She studies every night, and she's motivated to do all her homework and seek excellence in her projects. She is seriously making meteoric rises in her academic career. She's getting 100% on tests, her spelling has gone from sloppy to stellar in 5 weeks. And all this drive is coming from within herself.

It's weird how I can now step back from my role as super involved homeschooling mom, and watch my amazing kids go out on their own everyday. It still makes my head and heart spin some days.

Talk

Talk to me. Just like it used to be.

Plunge our hands into the cold creek, what treasures under the rocks?

Unwrap the picnic.

Look at each other, in total trust, and tell the truth.

What do I want to be when I grow up?

I’ve just been pondering all the moms I know, in the Woodinville MOMS and elsewhere, and all of their different titles. Every one of these friends of mine puzzles, to some degree, over how to spend the most “quality time” with her kids and still keep up some form of “career” as well, or at least the dream of one day having a career. There’s the ‘fulltime working mom’ (with kids in school and daycare) all the way to the ‘stay at home mom’ (kind of a misnomer as she’s hardly ever staying in any one place, including home, for very long). And we all become jugglers, fluidly defining our roles as moms and individuals.
As the kids grow up, they go through various stages which basically are leading toward their independence. That means our job as mom, if we’re doing it well, is on a track of planned obsolescence. It may seem so far off for most of us (even me whose kids are 9 and 6), but all childhood milestones-- learning to smile, crawl, talk, potty train, dance, do calculus--they all lead eventually to the same end: a grown up person.
Although we rejoice over our kids’ accomplishments, we also have our fleeting moments of yearning for things to never change. But that’s another great thing about being a mom: it forces you to continually accept change and roll with it. When my oldest daughter can go from an innocent, perfect newborn to a brilliant young scientist, runner, musician, and contributing community member in the space of TEN short years, I realize how quickly time marches on and how much growing and changing a person can do every year.
It’s inspiring really. If our kids can grow so much, can’t we too? Well, you might be saying, “we're not kids anymore, Cathrin”. But I don’t really buy that whole theory that kids learn better than adults. I believe with the right attitude we all have lifelong potential to learn. For example, I didn’t start learning French until I was 20, an age some “experts” might call “too late”. But I speak French fluently now, and my accent is even quite good. Five years after I started learning the language, I had the pleasure of astounding one of these so called language experts. Listening to my accent, this Linguistics professor kept insisting, “surely you had a parent or an aunt or someone who spoke French to you as a child? A playmate? A neighbor? Anyone? But I did not. He was so sure of his expert research that I don’t think he ever believed me.
All this is to say that I do not know what I want to be when I “grow up”, but I do believe that there’s nothing more fun than plotting out some dreams and plans and going for them step by step. Being a mom has taught me to change and grow alongside my blossoming kids. They aren’t afraid of trying new things. They’re not afraid of failing or of wasting their time. They just naturally go for learning with gusto. If we also have passion for a subject plus time, there is no end to what we can do. And the thing about the kids becoming more independent is it gives us more time to figure out what we are passionate about to also go for learning it.

A few random things about me

I grew up in Coquitlam, B.C., Canada, just outside of Vancouver.

I hosted a community radio show in Quebec City. It was a music show, and people called in with stuff they had to sell, and I announced their ads on the radio. That was in 1990. This was a French show and an entirely French station. I also helped produce a community affairs show there.

I taught English at Vancouver Community College.

I have not subscribed to cable with the hope that my family would read and practice music more. We do, but we still are often drawn to dvds, youtube or hulu.

I performed as a professional actor for a few years, acting in theatre, video and radio commercials.

I love Wes Anderson movies.

I homeschooled my daughter for two years for 2nd and 3rd grade.

I support local and/or organic farmers and food producers. I also believe in buying recyclable products and creatively reusing all kinds of stuff.

I worked in the video industry for a few years, doing graphics, camera, directing and producing.

I love improv theatre and would like to do more of it.

I have started two businesses (seems I start one about every ten years); one was a video and photography business and the other involved selling and creating reusable gift wrap and reusable gift tags.

I get a thrill from raising money or doing work for charities and the many deserving people suffering in our community.

Biography and Autobiography are two of my favorite genres.

Do you know your child's "learning style"?

Education is not about filling a bucket; it's about lighting a fire. William Butler Yeats

Every parent dreams their child will be on fire for learning, and knowing their "learning style" can help with that. This is a basic summary of "learning styles". It's simple, but you can use this information and quiz at the bottom as a jumping off point in deciding which curriculum or activities or projects will work to help your child learn.

If flashcards only help to frustrate your child and talking through an addition or subtraction problem just confuses him, perhaps the usual study techniques contradict his personal learning style.

Once you know your child's learning style, you can tailor his study habits accordingly. You study smart, meaning you use your best strengths, whether it's visual or auditory or kinesthetic.

Visual learners learn by watching. Use pictures, handouts, movies, and maps. Visual learners tend to study by themselves in a quiet room rather than in a group. When studying for a spelling test, visual learners often benefit from visualizing the words in their mind and then writing them out on paper.

Other helpful study methods for visual learners include:

• Use color highlighters
• Make lists and outlines
• Read books with pictures, maps, and graphs
• Visualize information to aid memorization
• Draw "webs" that connect all of the child's ideas on paper

Auditory learners learn by hearing. Group discussions, videos, lectures, and music all work with these students. They learn better when they read a text aloud or can discuss what they think. Auditory learners take cues from their teacher's tone, pitch, and speed and often find underlying meanings.

Roth recommends asking children to repeat what they've learned in their own words and then help them prioritize the information.

Auditory learners also can:

• Study with someone so they can talk about concepts
• Compose or listen to speeches
• Create jingles or poems to help memorize information
• Use a tape recorder instead of taking notes on paper
• Read instructions aloud
• Talk through a problem or explain it to others

Kinesthetic learners learn by doing. "Kinesthetic learners always want to touch everything and be involved physically with the material they're learning," Roth says. "As much as possible we want to provide something that they can hold or manipulate."

Kinesthetic learners learn best when their muscles or senses are actively engaged. They take a hands-on approach, learning from imitation and touch. Roth adds that kinesthetic students sometimes have difficulty because visual and auditory teaching methods are used most in schools, and abstract concepts are more difficult to hold or manipulate.

"Kinesthetic learners sometimes find science concepts difficult so I ask them to act them out. It helps them to better conceptualize a cell or an atom," she says.

Kinesthetic learners can bounce a ball as they recite their times tables or write a spelling word in the air to help them study.

Other helpful study methods for kinesthetic learners include:

• Manipulate models whenever possible
• Chew gum while studying
• Take study breaks to move around
• Read on an exercise bike
• Play charades or role play

Learning styles are not absolute. Children can use all three modes when they learn. "Everybody learns a combination of ways. Learning areas are not separate functions; the brain is not made up of segments but works together as a whole," Roth says. "The primary role of parents is to stand by and know their child and observe their child and to help them to succeed by helping the child to understand themselves. If they do that, they become the best parent because they'll understand the uniqueness of their student."

QUIZ: Is your child a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner? Answer the following questions to find out.

1. What helps your child work through a math problem?

a. Adding or subtracting from a pile of blocks.
b. Reading the problem out loud.
c. Writing it down.

2. When given a new building-block set, does your child:

a. Dive in and start matching random pieces together?
b. Talk to himself as he figures out where each piece goes?
c. Make a car just like the picture on the box?

3. What does your child enjoy the most?

a. Playing "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes."
b. Singing songs.
c. Looking at colorful videos or pictures.

4. Which is your child's favorite class?

a. Gym class
b. Music class
c. Art class

5. When given a spelling word, your child:

a. Writes it down to see if it feels right.
b. Sounds it out.
c. Closes his eyes and pictures the word before writing.

If you answered:
Mostly As: Your child is a kinesthetic learner.
Mostly Bs: Your child is an auditory learner.
Mostly Cs: Your child is a visual learner.

Darn it. Yayyyy.

I'm in that place of, "oh man, why didn't I"...

-start earlier (but I had a great summer)
-study my camera functions
-ask Louise to put a "campaign" link on her super high traffic website

I live and learn. I love making videos and blogging. I've learned that too. The written word is a special medium, but something about images and sounds opens up a whole world of opportunities for important stories to be told in a beautiful and possibly more accessible way.

And this morning, fog is floating from the ground almost up to the treetops. When I was little, this was the kind of morning that made me think the world was magic.

Annika is okay... in spite of us.

I've been working on a video project this week, and I accidentally left the camera recording on a chair when I didn't know it. I then had the chance to listen (no picture because the lense cap was on) to the girls and me going about our business. After a few minutes, I started noticing that Lauren and I would engage in conversations about homework or some such "serious" issue, and when Annika would pipe in, we'd not hear her. She had to repeat herself, at times loudly, for us to finally acknowledge her, or, worse, she'd give up trying to get a response from either one of us.

I was startled and sad.

It might be just that she was saying, "I've got a magic wand!" or "I love bunnies", and it doesn't seem relevant at the time, but it is. Because it's important to her. I've been making an effort the past few days to always affirm her statements or questions.

I'm so happy about her Kindergarten teacher. Annika's demeanor has become remarkably more calm over the past week and she's decided school is great. Today, she and I were driving when I heard the cute voice from the back seat quietly mentioning, "Mrs. Harrod says I do quality work". I looked over my shoulder quickly to see her beaming (of course I was too), in her special Annika way, almost like she's talking to herself and in her own happy world.

What I've been up to lately

This week I've been (re)learning how to make a video: producer, director, script manager, camera, talent and editor. Now I remember why I love this medium so much. I've had a looooooooooong absence from this artform and it feels good come back to it.

I've done one short job application video in my bid to become the Verity Mom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43FAPb6jrbE

Last week, I was preparing my kids to go to fulltime school for the first time. Lauren is just coming off of two years of homeschooling and Annika is starting K. After one week of school supply shopping and another week of "staggered start" for Ks, on Tuesday they both excitedly stepped aboard that yellow bus, their adorable selves, with their books and their warm lunches all tucked away in their backpacks. We were all smiles and kisses and waves, when suddenly, it hit me. I forgot to prepare myself for this moment when my little hearts would venture all alone (aka without me) into that big world.

The kids were great, but I had a minor emotional breakdown. It blindsided me, but I've got a lot of new adventures to enjoy: my job prospects, my video projects, driving with the volume cranked up on the stereo.

As well, I've been monitoring/observing/researching Annika's recent Epilepsy diagnosis and then the anti-seizure prescription. It's tricky to know if her behavioral changes are due to nerves about starting K (Kindergarten) or neurochemicals from starting the other K (Keppra), so I'm just doing some studies in the field before I make my final call on it, and I'm increasing her dosage slowly. So far, thank God, no more seizures.

Family Ties

We're on our way up to Vancouver today for Alex's birthday party. Annika says, "Alex is my favorite cousin. I'm going to marry him".

Lauren replies, "You can't. If you did, your kids would have two heads."

Then later, Annika introduces me to her stuffed animals to whom she's been conversing for about an hour: "Panda", she coos, "this is your new Grandma."

Moms and Money

My friends at the Woodinville Moms Club are mostly stay-at-home or parttime working moms, and we chat about many things. Our conversations most often involve our kids, like who's allergic to what, or who mastered the dog paddle last week in swimming class. We also talk about our husbands, our extended families, our hobbies, our dreams for the future... You know. We're women. We know how to chat. As if it isn't enough that we get together and shoot the breeze for hours at playdates, we have "ice breaker" games at our business meetings to find out even more details about each other.

We share a lot, yet with the exception of the topic of 529s, I cannot recall a conversation among us about our financial lives. So, I asked my Moms club via an email "survey" what they cared about in their personal financial lives and what they are doing with their money.

Not surprisingly, every Mom who responded to my "Money Survey" is putting aside monthly money for their children to participate in enriching activities, like music, arts or sports. And they all dream of being able to financially help their kids with some form of post-secondary education.

They(we) also dream of having enough money in retirement, so most have IRAs and/or 401ks.

As a club, we are certainly venerable fundraisers too. In fact, our chapter recently won the national club award having done the most community charity work and raising the most money.

But surprisingly, all the Moms who responded about their personal finances told me that they, like me, left most of the saving and investing up to their husbands. Our husbands' employers have 401Ks, and we have those or IRAs from before we became stay-at-home moms, but since it's mostly his employer now, we leave leave the investing "up to him".

Moms are the heart and soul of our communities. And our financial situation, if I may have some poetic licence here, is the blood that keeps that heart pumping. We benefit from a firm grasp on the many tools available to us to grow and use our money wisely. Can we get as excited over new financial products as a great new pair of shoes (for ourselves or our kids)? It's a tough call at first glance. I mean, you know how difficult it can be to find a really great pair of shoes. But, when I think on a deeper level about the importance of a healthy financial life, I become extremely curious to find out what makes credit unions better for our community, for example, or why one checking account has advantages over another. I guess these are stepping stones in my learning journey to to the day I can have an intelligent conversation about Amortizing and Annual Percentage Yields.

What do you think of these hot topics?

Big Yellow Butterflies

Annika and I were captivated by the delicate fluttering of these colorful creatures. A few times a day we would stop and follow a gorgeous monarch as it flitted across the yard of the Youngs' incredible property in Eastern Washington. It's right on Lake Palmer which is a sparkling jewel in northeast part of our state.

We just came back from a 4 day trip to their lodge up there, and it was an absolutely fabulous vacation. The girls all had a blast. The men got to do their gold panning (no bling for the ladies, but they had fun trying) while we ladies went to explore the nearby town of Tenasket with its many evident artists, gardeners and health food enthusiasts.

Anne, Dana, Joseph and Amy are all precious and super fun friends. Dana works so hard to keep that place up, and to get everyone out having fun in his boat. Anne is also the ever gracious hostess. Their girls and ours are like peas in a pod. The tubing and boating was exhilerating, and the lake was warm and so refreshing.

Oddly, we didn't take a single photo this year. We have some from last year's trip (which was in June and not as warm...we actually got pretty cold on the boat). Anyway, the memories of the warmth (in everyway) of this trip will surely be in our memories forever.

Now it's time to work on my job application for the Verity Mom. I'm so excited...

They're both going to school fulltime!

Since I have homeschooled for the past two years, and since Annika is only 5, this is the first time I've ever faced sending both my kids to school full time. What will I do with myself? I don't know, but I am reveling in the open-endedness of this question.

Meanwhile, I'm tackling the somewhat dizzying list of school supplies that I need to get them. 15 glue sticks each? I just checked Rite Aid for binders. Ten dollars? Well, I've really only just begun. I know I can find a more economical way to get them equipped. First stop, our bookshelf in the garage to recycle some binders, and then I'm just positive that Fred Meyer or Target sell cheaper glue sticks.

This Summer

I wanted to speak in glowing terms about how much I love our summer. The weather has been awesome and hot. The girls have gone to two great VBS camps, one at Duvall where I helped a bit, and one at Annika's former preschool. We have had the precious gift of time to slow down and just enjoy each other and the moment. We've had a chance to prayerfully contemplate what we can accomplish this coming year. We've spent time with friends, and it's been amazing. Other than those couple organized events and teeing up the girls' various lessons (sewing, music, French), the girls and I have just been hanging out, working on some new recipes, going to the lake to laze about for hours swimming and relaxing. I've been losing weight. The sun, the heat, my new attitude since "discovering myself in France", it has all just seemed SO rejeuvenating.

The one thing which has been our little source of challenge is Annika's Epilepsy diagnosis. We've been watching her closely since her first seizure (well, her first full throttle one) 6 weeks ago. So, even though we've been seeing docs, researching treatments, doing tests etc, I have to admit that I've been a bit in denial that another seizure would even happen. Her MRI was normal. Her EEG is not, and it shows the specific part (left temporal spikes) indicating her type of centro-temporal epilepsy of childhood. I was hoping she would just not have another seizure and I wouldn't have to delve too deeply into the whole question of regular meds, but on Saturday her tongue went numb for 5 minutes (but she was fine after that) but on Wednesday, she had a full blown seizure. This one lasted 45 minutes and I videotaped portions of it to document it for the doctors.

There's nothing you can do during the seizure but be calm and hold and reassure your child. I wanted to freak out and scream because my baby seemed to be suffering so much, but I stayed soothing at the time. I remembered that the docs in France had given me an intrarectal sedative to give her if the seizure lasted longer than 30 minutes. Well this one did and right at the 40 minute mark or so, it started to get worse, more shaking and then gurgling in the throat, unresponsive to me, so I tried to call around to our Pediatrician for advice on how to give it. I had mentioned this to the docs here, but they were not really commital about whether they recommended I give it. So, the first office staff at my pediatrian's office said, "Why not leave a message with our nurse advice line and they'll get back to you within three hours?" Three hours? My daughter is seizing in my arms. Okay, so Lauren went and grabbed the Neurologist's number. Again, office staff says take her to ER. Again, this is a physical impossibility as she's seizing in my arms. What am I going to do, throw her in the back seat? People! Okay, I can't get upset...I must remain calm and soothing.

I didn't know exactly how and if to use the sedative because of the denial I guess. I had hoped against hope and as usual denial didn't work. So, anyway, then I had to call 911. I just wanted advice, but what I got were about 10 firemen and medics and an ambulance ride to Children's. The seizure finally subsided and ended a few minutes after they arrived, but, still, what a relief to see them.

Later that day, Karen came by and watched Annika and the girls while I went to fill Annika's prescription. I nearly lost it at the pharmacist's counter when she put the anti-seizure medicine in my I hand, but I made it to the car to have my little break down. It was a relief after an Academy Award worthy day of acting calm and reassuring.

So, it's on. I a mom. I am scared, and I have a lot to learn about epilepsy. My daughter has been prescribed, and, gulp, is taking a drug that affects her brain chemistry. I am going to research everything I can about ketogenic diet, and though the original, pure diet seems so impractical, there are apparently "trials" going on about a new "Atikins-type" diet and they're trying to measure its effectiveness. That sounds promising!

I will talk to our fabulous Pediatrician on Monday, and I'm on the waiting list for a new Neurologist.

She took her first dose of Keppra Wednesday night after her seizure. It was prescribed by her Neurologist on the phone from the hospital. So far, her reaction to his phone-in dose has not been great, so I'm going to have to talk to him asap. I know it's his job to stop her seizures, but it's my job to raise her and make sure her life is good. So I need to decide which is worse: the seizures or the meds' side effects. So, I'm going to record our experiences here.

Keppra Day One:

She was so sleepy on Wednesday afternoon (being post-ichtal, aka post-seizure) because apparently a seizure is really a ton of physical work. She was sweating a lot during it. The paramedic told Lauren it would be like running to Albertsons and back. One hour after I gave her 100ml, around 5pm at night, she started really amping up. She was wound like a top. She was jumping on the chair, and then went flying right off of it onto the floor on her face. That was very odd. An hour later, she was talking to Kevin on the phone, and she could not keep still, smacking her feet together (looks like it would have hurt and it looked so odd for her because she's usually so gentle and sensitive), and she was also slamming her feet down on the bed...laying on her back and doing a dolphin type movement that ended with her feet slamming down on the bed, over and over. It reminded me alot of the way Beau is at night, like just trying furiously to get energy out. But when she finally closed her eyes to sleep, she was asleep in 2 seconds it seemed. Also, odd for her.

Keppra Day Two:
.8 in the morning. Really hyper and talking back to me. I found it so odd that she would do that because she doesn't usually. When I told her it's unacceptable, she was sorry and seemed herself again, so it was just momentary. Little later, still hyper, running everywhere instead of walking. Slightly odd. Then, she fell on her knees getting off the toilet. Very Odd...this has never happened before. Then later she tripped over a clothing rack in Fred Meyer and scraped her foot on the rack. Quite odd. Somewhat hyper the rest of the day...general sense of being wound up, but I can't say it's way beyond the norm...sort of like Christmas eve hyper though or something. Or hungry or tired hyper, but it lasted pretty much all day and had nothing to do with hunger or sleep. .8 before bed, starting to get really hyper, but when she's told she really needs to go to sleep, she just closes her eyes and bam, sound asleep.

Keppra Day Three
.5 in the morning. Pretty normal all day. .5 at night. Hyped up but slept well. One fall over the door step.

Keppra Day Four
.5 in the morning. Pretty normal today. She started to hype up just before bed, running across the couch and seeming kind of insecure and needing attention (so atypical for her). Gave her .5 just 5 minutes before bed and she went straight to sleep. No unusual falls (even though she jumped down about 6 stairs to the landing, and was constantly dancing around on her tip toes like Angelina Ballerina). I don't know how she's going to start K if she doesn't settle down. Or maybe we can find another solution to the seizures.

Day Five
I didn't give her the med all day. She has a good day, no falls, and she seemed to be herself. I gave her 1 ml. right before bed and she seemed really hyped up for about 30 minutes, insecure, kept wanting more hugs, and FINALLY fell asleep.

Day Six
Dr. Chattra, aka, "Our Hero", said that I did the right thing to reduce the dose. It's just not worth it to have Annika falling and behaving strangely. I'm going to see the Neurologist on Wednesday.

Day Seven
Low dose am and pm, and no problems.

Day Eight
Even the Neurologist says to give the low dose. And, he even said that, upon ramping up the dosage slowly over several weeks, if she doesn't tolerate it well, without any side effects whatsoever, we will simply "fire the medicine" because there are other options. This is fabulous news.

It is such a relief to have this under control. I know everything is going to work out.

I guess I won't even need this Keppra diary unless there are anymore strange behaviors to report. This is just so fabulous.

Le Mans and "La Noirie"

On our way to Paris to get Kevin, we stopped in Le Mans, famous home of the annual car race and also home (until they move to Brussels in a month) to Berengere and her family.

Her father hosted us at his chateau which he now runs as a bed and breakfast. I was shocked by this property's immense beauty. It's an 18th century country manor, which has been beautifully maintained while retaining the character of the hundreds of years of history. If you're really still you can hear and see the stories that took place here over the past few hundred years. I was overwhelmed by its splendor, and I can't wait to spend more time here in the future...the home is one amazing area but the grounds as well have a splendor of their own...7 hectares of trees and paths . Let me just add some photos and let you see for yourself.

Stunning.

This is Monsieur Lardy, aka Bernard, serving us a beautiful French breakfast: juice, croissants, baguettes, jam, and coffee.



Happy guests.

My room.

The girls' room.



Another fabulous guest room. It used to be Monsieur Lardy's Grandparents' room.


M. Lardy pointing out portraits of his grandparents.


The dining room.




One of the salons.


Eloi in the garden.



Bernard's parents and his siblings in about the 70s.


Two generations later...his grandkids (and my kids of course) looking for bunnies that live on the grounds.

The 7 hectaires that make up the grounds are spectacular.




A gazebo where all Berengere's kids and her siblings' kids bring their musical instruments and do concerts on summer nights. It's a Waldorf educator's dream.




On the lawn in the sun.

All these oaks were planted by Bernard's great or grand father.

Awesome hiding area for kids in the woods. This is a perfect setting for a great children's story.



It inspires one to do cartwheels and flips.

Yes, it's amazing.

And Berengere was amazing to make us dinner. Their hospitality was overwhelming...tabouli salad, fresh strawberries, yogurt, and, of course rillettes and baguette.

The gravel area is like a giant sandbox for the kids.
And just about 20 mintes away is the bustling city of LeMans.

Strolling through the old city.

A cathedral in LeMans. It has the tallest ceilings of any cathedral in France.

I just remembered to take a shot of Francois and their house as we were walking out the door and saying goodbye at the car.



The Lardy-Liger family were wonderful hosts. They made us a beautiful classic French dejeuner which we took in their lovely garden. The roses were in bloom, the kids were happy to see each other and play and the weather was perfect. They served us pork roast, and rillettes (traditional Le Mans specialty), and greens with baguettes and wine. It was such a wonderful meal and Emily got to reconnect with this family as well (we all used to be neighbors in Redmond Ridge) before going off to the train station for her Paris adventure. I got to hear about Francois' latest software project...it's almost intuitive notetaking software for Macs and iphones. It should be great, and I can't wait to use it when it's done.

Paris with the Yamamotos and The American Church

We went on June 13; Annika and I took the TGV from Rennes to Paris while Lauren stayed in Dinan with Emily. They went to the Dinan Children's festival while we took part in the wonderful tourist adventures of Paris: the Louvre, the Bateau Mouche, summer evening late dinner and strolling around the lively neighborhood in the city of lights. Annika went out for ice cream with Aunties Kim and Jeanne, while T and J and I went out on the town. Oooo, la, la. John was there, or course, as well as Corrina and all the sisters' kids. It was truly a great Yamamoto Europe tour 2009.



Kimi, Julianne, Me, Tamiko

For me, the Yamamotos are the sisters I never had. To them, I'm yet another sister to add to their ranks...4 to start the troop, and then two adoptions some 20 plus years after Jeanne, number 1, was born, and now me...I'm number 7. Well, they haven't had a new one in 15 years. Also, once you're at 6, what's one more? Well, I'm just so glad to squeeze myself in there.

When Annika was sick last week, I got an outpouring of support from everyone and I am so grateful for it all, but I was especially relieved by the loving phone calls filled with valuable advice from my "sisters" Tamiko and Julianne. Juli told me to stay in the center of the circle, or the center of the wheel, and I have been exploring that metaphor lately with our friend Peter. Tami mentioned something about a "divine appointment" which is also an interesting metaphor in the context of having several neurologist appointments at the hospital and upcoming in the future, it's important to remember the spiritual side to this (or any) disorder. Aimee, in an email, mentioned Annika's indominatable spirit and I need to keep that in mind as well as the holy spirit's healing and guiding force.

But I digress....back to that first weekend in Paris:

It was also a great adventure to see and stay with Laurie at the American Church. The room was a beautiful refuge, made even more wonderful to finally reach when we arrived from a scary cab ride around midnight or 1am. I asked the driver to take us to the "American Church" and he sort of started going off like a volcano spewing hateful words about America and twisted violent fantasies about what he wanted to do to George Bush. I tried to be calm, even mentioning that George Bush is gone now, and he explained that he is from Morocco (not sure why that country was particularly implicated) but he said that George Bush will never be gone to the Morrocans until they see him boiling in hot oil, every inch of his body scarred and mangled and on and on. I could practically see the hot rage coming out of this guys eyes as he glanced at me in his rear view mirror, trying, I think, to discern my reaction. I tried to remain calm. I really began to worry when a young couple stopped beside us, opened their window and motioned to speak to him and asked him for directions. He got all agitated and started looking at his map, and yelling "just a second, you are so rude to bug me, but I'll look it up for you". The couple had a startled look in their eyes and then they looked at me with a sympathetic look and then they quickly took off while he continued yelling at them to not ask if they're not going to wait for the answer.

All the while, this guy was also yelling at me that Quai D'Orsay (where we wanted to go) was a long street and how was he supposed to know where to go on it. I repeated several times to just take us to that street where it crossed Pont Alma (a famous landmark) and we'd walk from there. He continued ranting and raving about the size of the street. At this point, I really began to worry that we were in the car with a lunatic. I was considering how to unstrap Annika and get us both out safely without him freaking out and doing something erratic. Meanwhile, he insisted, "what is your ancestry? Who are you? Where do you come from?" I replied, of course, "Canada". And Annika understood just enough of our French conversation to pipe up, "I'm American". I suddenly started a coughing fit. And I don't think he understood her words. Then he said, "what do you got back there...a boy or a girl? And then, "how old is she?" And then "does she do well in school?". I really wanted to be out of his car and we were getting close to the church. Then he started yelling at me that it was really hard to reach that other side of the street from our direction (as if I designed Paris). Perhaps it was just a culture clash and people are used to constantly yelling at each other in Morrocco. But I didn't want to take the chance, so as soon as he stopped again, I opened my door, told him we'd walk the rest of the way, paid the fare, and I grabbed Annika and jumped out of the car. What a relief.

It was scary, but we made it to our safe haven, the American Church in Paris, and once my adreniline calmed down, I slept so well in that quaint room tucked into that gorgeous building. We awoke early to the sounds of the organ and band practicing. It was like the music was celebrating, "you are safe". Then Annie and I went out for a nice breakfast in the wonderful Paris neighborhood where the church is situated. What a sweet morning. Annika was so excited to see the Eiffel tour on our walk back to the church. Then we heard Laurie Wheeler do a beautiful sermon that day...she spoke about her scoliosis and the "remedies" she endured as a child. She spoke about how she learned that she was in her body, but her body was not her. It was a story with alot of sadness (especially I imagine for her parents) and certainly so much suffering for Laurie, but in the end it was totally a story of victory over disease and spritual triumph for Laurie. This video below is actually from two weeks later when we went to the church after Annika's seizure and her subsequent stay in the hospital which made Laurie's sermon even more memorable.



This video is taken as the band is practicing before church while some of us early birds file in. I know, us, early, it's a miracle. Well, this was a 1:30pm service.

Out of the hospital and out on the town

I haven't had those quiet moments (well, not simultaneously while having internet connection) so I haven't written a blog in ages. I have notes though, so more is coming for sure. We stayed at Berengere's dad's place before going on to Paris to get Kevin, but then the seizure happened, and two days in the hospital threw a wrench into our plans. But for now, here's some photos of Annika that you were anxious to see, mom.



She's out of the hospital, and out on the town.


A fountain...all moms know right away how difficult it was to keep them out of there after this angelic photo was taken.


That's the American Church behind us (we went yesterday and it was fabulous). Also there's some other monument beside it which looks familiar but not sure.


Place Trocadero



I didn't want to put any photos of her with the electrodes on her head...too weird science...but here's one of Annika and her roommate at the hospital, a sweet little guy named Loic. His parents (dad shown here) are from Madagascar. It was great to have such a wonderful family in the room with us, and we're going to stay in touch.

More to come of the Lardy-Liger family and our wonderful time with them.

Photos of the last two weeks of visitors and fun...the Wheelers and the Kings

I couldn't get a bunch of Don's photos...especially the ones he photoshopped into panoramas...Windows just rejects them, but hopefully I can work that out later. We had such a great time. For now, here are a few photos:


Un ballad au bord de la Rance; I am showing Beau and Julianne one of my favorite walks...so happy to be taking it with my dearest friend. Later, she and Don and the boys found another glorious bike path that I took yesterday.


Storybook port and a rainbow.


Dinard at dusk.



The Kings in a castle.


Les enfants dans la ville.


That's our little temporary home in the middle.


Beau navigating.


The sanctuary at Mt. St. Michel.


Hot mamas in cold Dinan. We had a couple of so so weather days during their stay. It's hot again today though. Well, that's the typical Brittany vacation experience. You just don't know what you'll get no matter the time of year...it's been compared to Oregon...at least for its unpredictable weather and its spectacular beaches, but I think that's where the comparison ends.


Our little port through Don's lense


One of our favorite places


Lauren trying to keep up to Dane...undeterred by the fact that he's on a bike and she's not.


It looks like they're the only ones there.


Really, they're joined by thousands including the Wheelers, Garth and Roberta



Laurie...not a good photo of her, but the only one I have.