the adventures of brain tumour man and superchuck: Packin' it in

Well, no news is good news. We are back in the hospital, but a little better prepared on what to expect with one weekend under our belt. Today was clinic day, they haven't hooked up her chemo yet as I type this, but it should be going before midnight. They have to have her well hydrated and her PH at a certain level before they can start. We spent the day playing in the playroom so it goes by quickly. Tomorrow will be the more difficult day as she will be room bound while her chemo is going (24 hours). Sunday and Monday I expect she will be on the tired side but will want to hit the playroom and have playtime with mommy in her room. I can guess that we will have watched The Wiggles about 15 times before we come home! We have called in some recruits to help watch Nathan when Stefan and I spell each other off - we try to keep his trips to Children's to once a day.

Some highlights from our break:

We went to Sechelt for our second camping trip! We spent a night camping, and a night with Grandma and Grandad and had a fantastic visit. The kids were great again. This trip we did have to have chemo. We later joked that perhaps one day I can provide tips on 'camping with chemo'!
A play date - it was so nice to have an actual playdate for Charlotte (and Nathan too)!
A dinner out with friends who were in town from Whitehorse - the lovely couple we saw married in Hawaii in January.
I've come to the realization that I shouldn't bother ordering Charlotte her regular bagel with cream cheese from Timmy's and should just order her a side of cream cheese!
Nathan climbed steps. I didn't see it, and no repeat yet - but all of a sudden he was in the kitchen when I had left him in the family room (a two step climb). I have yet to see it (or get it on camera) - stay tuned!
My little girl continues to amaze me. She is such a strong girl. She now pretty much is fully co-operative for the nurses and Dr.'s (and loves to help). She's been great at taking her pediasure (a meal replacement drink that many parents have a hard time getting their kid to drink - it was a process for us, but she now will even ask for the stuff). This should mean no need for a feeding tube in the future. She weighed in at her heaviest so far at 11.4 kg today!
We learned that the next phase, delayed intensification, is the hardest. Charlotte has handled everything so far really well though, so no reason to think the next phase won't go okay too.
Our third annual blueberry picking expedition. We have hit the same wonderful organic u-pick blueberry farm 3 years in a row now. The first year we went is one of my all time favorite Charlotte memories. She would have been about 15 months old at the time - not walking or even crawling. She plunked down with that bucket of blueberries, and ate to her delight. I loved the happy smile on my dirt covered little girl. This annual trip is about the only time my girl will eat blueberries - I guess she just likes them fresh! This year - it was again sheer happiness to watch Nathan enjoy a healthy helping of blueberries (and dirt)!

I'll leave you with some pictures from our annual blueberry picking trips: