Stormy!!!

Hurricane force winds predicted for the North coast today. The weather warning says 140km / hour winds. 110 TO 120 here! The lights are flickering as we speak. candles are ready, dinner and snacks ready, wind up radio on the ready!... quick post before we lose it!

Spring cleaning.

I think I have been a little ( maybe an understatement!) down in the dumps for a bit here. Overwhelmed! Things seem to be lifting though. I think the whole asessment process gave me a lot of clarity and also rallied a bit of extra support , which I really needed.
Yesterday I spent the entire day doing some spring cleaning, only managed to do the kitchen. Our neighbour redid his entire property last year, including levelling his entire yard and levelling the huge slope in his yard. They had the bobcat going for the entire summer last year! We got the joy of a huge increase of dust in the house. Since I was pretty darn overwhelmed and pretty immobile with the joint stuff, I didn't get to ANY of the deeper cleaning all year. I felt like I was doing well just to keep the surface stuff livable! So I did every single nook and cranny of the kitchen.... washed walls, moved and cleaned underneath and behind everything, dusted the ceiling , washed the floors... everything. It feels so different in there! Clean and fresh and ready for spring ( kind of like my mental state right?!) Put up the window shelving to find some space to start seeds for the garden! Yay!
Things just feel on the right track again. Sprouts, ferments, flowers, plant starts, good creative food again. Whew. So nice to feel that fog lifting! Really looking forward to spring.
Spent the morning watching homesteading videos with the kids, planning and learning how to use the second hand greenhouse we got last year. Just about to dig around in the crawl space to find some pots and trays, and dig out the seeds to see what we have to look forward to!

Aspergers!

We finally decided to go for an evaluation for my eldest son through a private psych. Last meeting she handed me the book " Aspergers Syndrome and Your Child". She said that the final report will have that in the notes with " probable ASD " or something of the like. Then we go through the pediatrician and Speech and occupational therapists to confirm if we would like to go for full ministry Autism stuff. Sounds a bit scary. I still need to talk to some other moms about that I guess. It sounds as though you are assigned a social worker ... which I would liek to hear a bit more about. The psychologist was eying my younger guy, wondering when we will get him evaluated too. sigh. I know full well that they are both on the spectrum.... but still... It is pretty overwhelming. I am so happy to have some recommendations in place, and all of it written into his learning plan. The supports, even with homeschooling , are going to be helpful... not to mention that it will be in place if they ever go to public school.

Eldest has been going to a weekly after school program with the local kids for an environmental club thing. I was hoping that it would be helpful for him to meet more people. I know the mom who teaches the class and she tells me that he is doing great. I peeked into the class the other day and everyone was in a circle thing with the chairs. He had his pulled back from the group by about 10 feet. I kind of hate it when people tell me " he is fine... doing great" when obviously he could use a little more help or encouragement. I feel like they are just thinking I am overly concerned and trying to appease me! My son told me that everyone stares at him all class, but nobody talks to him.... but " thats ok , because I prefer being alone anyways". Meh. Not exactly my intention when trying to encourage social outings! Always a bit of a shock when you hear that he is doing well, but when you finally observe the behavior it seems the opposite.

We are doing well anyhow. My health stuff is still a mystery so far.... with a few things ruled out now, I am going to a rhumatologist to rule out ( or likely confirm) a connective tissue disorder. All of my symptoms actually fall under the umbrella perfectly. Since I have lost strength over the last year from feeling unwell, my joints have gotten progressively worse. They are all super loose and floppy, going out many times a day. Both the physio and chiro have been commenting on how super hyper mobile I am. I was so active before that my muscles were really helping keep me all stabilized! I have had these issues from birth... so this would be a huge relief to finally have a diagnosis and have a plan in place to get strong again! Hiking and biking , here I come!

The reason I haven't been around much...

I have been dealing with some pretty hard core health issues for the past 10 months or so... a bit too private in the details here, but the surgeon suspected a mass in my reproductive organs. My mother passed away from breast cancer a week after her 30th birthday ( I turned 30 this summer, so psychologically this was poignant timing) and her mother died of ovarian cancer in her 40s. I was put on a wait list for an ultrasound, and stayed there for 5 months. I called a couple of weeks back and they said that it would be 4 more months of a wait. Drs are so busy up here, and I wonder if there is some stigma with trying to fast track your patients... mine wanted me to wait and get the specialist to do it. Meanwhile I have been in pain constantly, affecting pelvic joints and pressing on nerves all through my pelvis, back and bladder. I couldn't hike much, or bike much( it hurts to sit... so that is a lot of pacing!)... and I was moody and distracted. The helplessness of waiting was turning into regular panic attacks. I have been an irritable mess. And I dropped 30 pounds without trying. I have been no fun at all really!( poor kids. they are all amped up in their behaviors and I have been in no place to deal or be patient properly)
I saw the surgeon last Friday and he got me in for a scan the next business day ( what a relief!) . I haven't heard back yet.... good news? The tech said that my intestines all looked swollen and gassy. Next stop colonoscopy!
So.... it would have felt a bit false to put up photos and stuff through that period.... not really up to it. I kind of withdraw through periods like that.

Happy Halloween!

Had an impromptu trip down to my folks this week( a one day trip with a friend who is a professor in the city)... 6 hours in the car , and too much anticipation was just too much for the boys. I think that they get glutened every single time from feeding the dog a million biccies and all of the doggie kisses that come after. The last few days have been pretty trying! It was still fun though. I took them to the arena to pay in the snow.... then they rode the escalator a million times in the mall giggling like mad! Grandpa was fun too!
Now for halloween plans... youngest insisted that he was going to wear a pumpkin ON his head this year... It work out surprisingly well! Eldest is still on the Greek mythology obsession and plans to be Zeus. We made him a plywood lightening bolt a sheet as a toga, and a wreath on his head made of ivy. I told them that I will take them trick or treating this year and will trade them their goods for a small Playmobile toy. Just for the experience of it all. I will probably pick them up some sort of allowable sucker and a piece of good chocolate as well. But in the meantime? The Great Pumpkin of course!

Backdated Tofino trip

We finally made our way out to Tofino for a day trip this summer. While I had been before , growing up on the Island, my hubby had never been. It ended up being a chilly day, but was gorgeous anyways. The road out there felt a bit sketchy though... people who are used to it sure drive fast! I sure love the coast!

Going to rally up the boys to get up into the bush for a bit today. Hoping to have caught the tail end of the chantrelles... maybe grab some oregon grape root while we are there. Get out the rain gear!

Finally back!

Just hooked up our new, used rebuilt computer! That only took us , what...6 months to save up for? Soooooo nice to have a computer again. Missed the music and online documentaries most of all. Homeschooling is so much nicer with it too!
Busy and lovely ( short seeming) summer, really crummy gardening.... life just flying by! Here are a couple of piccies! ( I had to BEG the boys to let me get a photo of them for Great Grandma. Youngest is hardly ever seen without sunglasses these days... both indoors and out)And... we have a household friend! This is our sweet little indoor bun! She is litter trained and just the sweetest most playful thing ever. A military woman got called off to duty and couldn't keep her anymore. The boys benefit so much from having her around. Sweet little snuggle bun!