The Last days of Summer photoset

September 1st already .. this summer has really flown.  I am back to full time work now and the kids start school this week.  Today it is wet and drizzly.  Yes, summer is really ending. You wouldn't have guessed it this past Saturday.  We had a gorgeous sunny day and temperatures reached a balmy 28 degrees! We took the kids (along with the rest of Sussex and Kent) to Camber beach near Rye.  The kids just loved frolicking in the water and sand -- it's one of the few sandy beaches around here. 

The weekend before, the kids and I spent an overnighter in Brighton while Peter took his father on a European jaunt.  Even though it was rainy and cool, it was great to get some ocean air.  The kids pigged out on sushi and back in the hotel room we played "tent" with the duvet cover.  Happy kids = happy mum.

So great to have the kids back at home. The quiet was great; having a tidy house great; the significantly reduced weekly laundry load was great -- but I really missed them!

By all accounts, they had a superb time in Nova Scotia with their Dad and visiting all their many cousins. Difficult to extract any details from them but I gather they did lots of biking, swimming and ... roasting marshmallows.  Well .. that was Pascale's account anyway.  One of the big highlights I missed was watching Jasper learn how to ride a pedal bike for the first time.  After a few falls, he really got the hang of it and without stabilizers! 

I miss my kids.

I had a birthday pass last week. I wouldn't say I usually get excited about birthdays but this year, I was happy to see forty-one. When I got home from my last round of Avastin, I came home to these beautiful flowers sent by my parents. I was all too pleased to mark the fresh beginning with the fresh roses.  Thanks mom and dad!

The kids are going with Peter to Nova Scotia this week. Sadly, I won't be joining them as the thrombosis risk is still high so soon after treatment.  It's going to be the first time I'll be away from the kids for so long ... and apart for that kind of distance. I'm not sure what I am going to do with myself (though I have an idea it may have to do with "sleep"!).

I do know I am really going to miss my daily fix of cuddles, huggles and kissies.

Yesterday, Jasper went to the nurse's office for his pre-school immunizations.  He had three jabs: MMR; diptheria, tetanus, whooping cough; and Hib Men C.  I was really worried about how he would react this time -- all his previous injections were when he was a baby. But I needn't have -- he was one brave little boy!  I just explained to him what was going on and he sat on my knee nicely and didn't even flinch.  He had a jab in each arm and on his thigh.  And that was it.  He got a sticker for bravery at the doctor's office and he's good for another ten years.

Another upcoming milestone this week as I go in for my last round of Avastin this Thursday.  Then I will truly be "done" with cancer treatments. Like Jasper, I hope I am good for at least another ten years.  Suffice to say, I won't miss the IV needles.

When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Jasper has recently been answering "a diver". Not sure where that comes from but I think it is due to recency effect as the topic of the week during the last week of school was all things "Under the Sea".  There's a slight problem, however.  He absolutely hates getting his face wet in the pool -- he hates it, he hates it, he hates it! When swimming, he can scream like a banshee should his face and eyes get wet.

So on the weekend, I took him to town to look for some goggles.  I didn't find the Zoggs we were looking for but I did find this cute kiddie size snorkling kit!  Jasper was so excited he needed to try the kit right away.  So here he is at bath time.  He's given us a whole new meaning to "free diving" and "free Willy"!

This past week was Pascale's last at school for the summer ... and it was the last for her at pre-school, Top Banana.  In September, she will be joining her brother at her new big-girl school.

We are so happy though that she's had a super start at our local school . The teachers all said she will be missed.  In her report card:

"Pascale is a lovely girl who can sometimes be a little shy and is now showing more signs of confidence when speaking to members of staff"

"Pascale can recognise some colours and shapes. She can count up to ten confidently."

"Pascale enjoys music and movement and will follow instructions and actions well -- making loud and quiet sounds with instruments."

"Pascale enjoys listening to stories in small and large groups.  Her concentration is usually long and she will persevere at a set task or self selected activity"

Ok.  Is this the same child? Shy? Follow instructions? Makes quiet sounds? ... and hello? Concentration is usually long?

I thought this was cute though. It was noted that she is able to initiate conversations and an example was cited:

Pascale: "We went to Paris yesterday"

Teacher:  "Did you?"

Pascale: "Yeah."

Teacher: "Did you see the Eiffel Tower?"

Pascale: "Yeah we did. We went up" (pointing up the ceiling)

During the last week of school, they also had sports day.  Here she is in action at her first sporting event and clearly demonstrating that she is mature enough to understand the important lesson "it's not winning that counts, it's the chocolate chip biscuit"! (ok ... I don't think she is exactly as competitive as her older brother).

It felt as though we were saying "farewell's" all weekend long.  Saturday, the kids and I went to visit the Miller's who are leaving for Munich; Sunday, we said our bye's to the Hepplewhite family who are moving to Switzerland.  The kids sure have mates in all corners of the world! Might need to add Oktoberfest and skiing in the Swiss Alps to our list of things to do in the forseeable future ...

Canada Day was last week.  We didn't too much to celebrate but we did have lots of special visitors from home!  My childhood friend, Elaine and her family along with my cousin, Grace and her family were all in the UK.  Everyone came over to ours for a bbq and we had a nice time reminiscing and catching up.  On the weekend, we joined Grace, Matthew and Rob on a visit to Paris.  We loved the excuse to hop onto the Eurostar to play tour guide!

A Day at the Track

We went to Brands Hatch to watch our friend Martin compete in the Classic Formula Ford race. It was great fun ... and noisy!

Dr. David Servan-Schreiber has released his "Anticancer" book in English.  I want all my friends and family to read this book.

Read an extract here:  The anti-cancer diet - Eat your way to a healthier life

“ A courageous, sensible, and rational discussion on how integrative medical approaches may be used in the fight against this devastating disease. Anticancer is an absolutely indispensable guide for cancer survivors and anyone who wants to adopt healthy lifestyle habits in order to prevent cancer.”
—Dr. Richard Béliveau, author of Foods That Fight Cancer

Oh ... and you know what the best thing is about the book? Absolutely nil mention about wheatgrass.

It was a little strange to be sitting at a desk again looking over power point presentations and spreadsheets this past week, but at the same time good to be back. I guess I shouldn't be surprised but I did find it tiring -- after the last month of almost stopping all naps, it was an eye opener to have my body crying for short naps almost every day again.  Starting work was a bit like the first week of school but luckily, the other kids are being nice to me. I am in the same Middle East/Africa department, however, I am primarily with the Infant and Child Care category (diapers and wipes) now. Somewhere in there is a twist of irony as in our household, I am currently trying to reduce unit volume by getting both kids out of their pull-up nappies. It's not really working though so at least good for sales.

Exhausted after my first week, we did not do anything too energetic this past weekend. Jasper had another sushi blow-out at Yo! Sushi at Bluewater mall and on Sunday, we wandered around Leeds Castle where Peter and Pascale got lost in the garden maze and I had to summon help to get them out. That maze was tricky!

The other fun activity was paperwork of a different kind -- I found some super websites for making paper airplanes.  Gotta love the internet. I made and tested several models in the living room with Jasper over the weekend (ok, I'm no engineer but pretty good for a gal, hey?). The Concorde model flew the best!

Jasper pictured with the Tornado GR-4, Concorde, F-16 Falcon, and Stealth

(templates available here)

Another milestone was reached today -- my first day back to work after my lengthy absence.  I think all will go fine.  I have a phase-in work plan which entails four hours each day for two weeks, then five hours a day for two weeks, then six ... etc etc.  If all goes to plan, I will be back on a full-time basis by August. Hopefully this will be a soft enough transition for both me and the kids who are used to having me around (and vice versa)!  My biggest concern is wondering if "chemobrain" will affect my job performance. I do find that my memory is not great these days and performing simple math tasks ... ha ... good luck!  But whether or not this "mild cognitive impairment" is due to the chemotherapy treatments or simply due to a year's inactivity remains to be seen. As I have learned this past year, I will just need to take it day by day. All in all though, I am so pleased to be returning to work and I think it will do me well to be back in a somewhat "normal" routine again. 

In the meantime, I took advantage of the last week as a "lady of leisure" to do some nice things with my girlfriends and children. Activities included a decadent afternoon cream tea followed by a viewing of the ultimate girlie movie "Sex and the City" in Notting Hill Coronet; a mid-week, leisurely pub lunch at Chaser's Inn; and a visit to Michelin-starred restaurant of the week, Umu.  Wow! It's a good thing I am going back to work as I cannot go on affording this "live it up" diet in both monetary terms and in calories.  Over the weekend, we spent Father's Day at a friend's barbeque and celebrated Hazel's 2nd birthday AND we had a superb day out with the kids with the Goh's and Chen's -- dim sum at Peninsula followed by an afternoon at Greenwich Park. Everyone had a go on Jasper's scooter! Check out my photoset: A Day at Greenwich Park

The first week of June is such a busy time for us for birthday celebrations. Following Jasper's fourth and multiplied by ten, we also celebrated Peter's 40th this past week. We went up to London for the weekend and hosted a birthday dinner party at Bam-Bou in Fitzrovia.  The private dining room was a superb venue -- it was like being in someone's home with its oriental family room decor. The food was great and I think Peter enjoyed being surrounded by chicks as the females outnumbered the males that evening! Not a bad present, don't you think?

The kids came with us to London on the weekend and on Sunday we caught up with our friends Kevin and Michelle with their two munchkins too! 

Knights and Princesses came together at Bodiam Castle on the weekend to help celebrate Jasper's 4th Birthday. Thirteen kids and twenty adults -- wow! Good thing we had lunch in a restaurant so I didn't have to manage clean up!  Jasper, on the other hand, cleaned up "real good".  Amongst other noisy, multi-pieced, "take up way too much space", "oh .. by the way .. need batteries" toys, he got Lego, Power Rangers, Hot Wheels, a Lightening 'Storm' McQueen, Geox sandals, a scooter ... and a very cool helmet!

Flickr Photoset - Jasper's 4th Birthday

Somewhere in the back of my mind I can recall operations management theory and that scan result really did come JIT ("just in time") -- the weekend after I got my results, we went to Fontainebleau to attend my ten-year MBA INSEAD class reunion.  It was fantastic to see the faces of so many old friends and former classmates ... even better to have been in a position to tell them "no, not a CEO of any global conglomerate but I AM alive and plan to be around for a very long, long time!"

We had some very nice dinners with friends -- Friday night at L'Angelus in Barbizon and Saturday night along the River Seine at Ile-de-Truites.  The weekend culminated with the Summer Ball held at the Château de Fontainebleau. It was a stunning venue and though drinking stamina has significantly diminished since my student days, I still managed to party until 4:30am!

After the Ball weekend, a group of us went to the Loire Valley for a post-reunion chill at the beautiful Château de Reignac near Amboise and Tours.  Jasper and Pascale came along with us too and they quickly grew accustomed to "Château life"!  Who can blame them? Luxurious bedrooms, beautiful salons and furniture to jump up and down on, a stunning library with DVDs, home-cooked toddler food served with silver cutlery and fine linen ... and loads of attention from the "grown-ups"!  We all had a good time. The best part was simply slothing around the salon rooms sipping bubbly Vouvray with friends.

Click here for Flickr Photoset - Chateau de Reignac 

Click here for more photos from the Summer Ball

On our way home from the Loire, we had a stop in Honfleur, Normandy.  We stayed in a lovely hotel in the centre of town, Hotel des Loges and the quick trip turned out to be very worthwhile overnighter. We visited a gallery (Le Divan Bleu) and met its very colourful owner and artist, Jean-Claude Van Blime. What an inspiring individual!  He's a former CEO of Johnson and Johnson and has been painting the last sixteen years since his retirement at the age of 60.  And an accomplished artist -- he's the official artist for the United Nations -- I can only dream of finding such a passionate and creative outlet in my "second career"! Both Peter and I fell in love with his Pollock style immediately and we ended up purchasing a painting he completed only the day before.  It's called "Duke Ellington" and I know we will enjoy it for many years to come.

 <<--This, boys and girls, is a beautiful sight.  It is a photograph of a completely clear thorax and abdomen.

I had my first CT scan post-treatments last Tuesday and went to see the oncologist today for a review. I wasn't expecting anything to appear, but was still nervous all week.  Luckily, as expected, I had completely normal scans and everything is on track for me to beat this thing.  For now, I'm considered in "complete remission".  In the medical world, I am not considered completely "cured" yet but I will take what I can get.  This is very good news.

I have been celebrating having finished my chemo treatments all month long.  I am due to return to work in June and taking advantage of the time to live it up while I can.  This has meant a rather good streak of fine meals at Michelin-starred restaurants the last few weeks! 

Here is another lovely photo -- me and my girlfriends "doing" this past week's Michelin lunch at Zuma. Love those fancy, fruity, non-alcoholic cleansing cocktails! The party will most certainly continue at my ten-year MBA reunion in Fontainebleau this coming weekend. 

    

Jasper's school held a fun fair this past weekend. If there was any doubt, I think Pascale is really looking forward to joining her brother at the same school in September now!

There were a few moments of utter madness ... but we did it -- we enjoyed a full week in Paris with the kids. As it happens, we chose a good week to pull the kids from school for a "cultural excursion" as the recent cold snap suddenly turned to summer like temperatures.

Most people do not really associate the "City of Lights" with children but actually, the city has loads to offer kids. Jasper and Pascale really enjoyed running around all the magnificent courtyards, boating on the Seine, puppet shows in the park, going up the Eiffel Tower, eating pain au chocolats and macarons, watching the street performers on Ile St Louis and sailing boats on the Grand Bassin in the Luxembourg Gardens.  Most of all, the kids just enjoyed all the playgrounds littered around the city.  I think they just about explored all the kids' areas in Paris: Place des Vosges, behind the Notre Dame, in Les Halles, underneath the Institut de Monde Arabe, the Rond Point on the Champs Elysees, the Jardin des Tuileries ... and last but not least, the wonderful playground at Luxembourg Gardens.

Needless to say, anti-cancer diets were out the window during our week's vacation -- hope nothing pops up during this week's CT scan. As far as I know,there are not too many anti-oxidants or cancer fighting enzymes in croissants, confit de canard, caramel a la fleur sel macarons or eclair chocolats ...

Mais c'est la vie. La belle vie.

Paris Flickr photoset here.

Full screen collage presentation