Capital City

The forecast today was for an all-day drizzle so last night we decided that we'd go to Montpelier this morning for the Capital City Farmer's Market, scouting at Hunger Mountain Co-op, embracing Sylvie having a kniption in the upstairs kids section of the spectacular Bear Pond Books and a walk-thru, make that run-thru of the Zutano flagship boutique. So after taking the dogs into the meadow to go beserk before breakfast, Sylvie wanted to pick blackberries for breakfast. I will NEVER turn down her request to pick fruit and actually eat it, although it was chilly and rainy today. I have to admit, I have a fear that one day while absent-mindly picking berries, that we will run into the blackberry bramble's other best customer-- a black bear. Hence I don't like wandering over there alone, even though it's 30' from the house, unless Michael is home or the dogs are outside.

I'm going to assume that Princess Sylvie followers know that Montpelier is the state capital. It reminds me of a miniature Madison, Wisconsin, minus the gigantic university. Burlington, however, is very much like Madison, not to mention UVM is right there, too. We parked adjacent to the farmer's market where Sylvie was happy to ride in the backpack and bark orders to both Michael and me. First stop was at Mink Hill Studios where we Sylvie picked out a batik dress that looks like a muumuu. It's pretty cute; nothing like that in Ridgewood NJ! Next stop was Ploughgate Creamery where we sampled two cow's milk cheeses that were delish. I read that the LaPage Farm has been growing organic fruits and vegetables locally year round for 3 decades. Their land is in Barre Town and has been farmed continuously by the LePage family since the Civil War. I bought gorgeous chiogga and golden beets and basil and regret not knowing the farm name. I was mesmerized by the husband, wife and daughter working the stand. This is a hard working family, evident in the deep lines in their faces. Could have been Blackwell Roots Farm since they primarily sold root vegetables. We marveled at Cate Farm's tomatoes. They're the most awesome and perfect organic tomatoes we've ever seen and tasted. They sell them at the Stowe Farmer's Market on Sundays, too. The farmhouse and seven greenhouses are heated with biodiesel, and their tractors run on it too (except for one that is electric)! That is very cool. We dodged having to buy hippie dippie crystals which Sylvie tormented us for and headed over to the book store. It was Michael's first time there and boy was he in for a treat because besides having to haul Sylvie in a backpack up a flight of stairs to the amazing children's room, Sylvie as if on cue, made a massive stinky poop. Good thing we were the only customers up there. After trying to point out several amazing books, we gave in and spent 20 minutes reading Max & Ruby books to a very content Sylvie. After escaping Bear Pond books only having bought the aforementioned book and a glitter snowflake sticker book, we ran into Samosa-Man for some food to go, back to the car for a diaper change, into Zutano to pick up an outfit for Sylvie and off to Hunger Mountain Co-op. Sylvie likes finding food items that she already has and then demanding them at the top of her lungs. I'm certain this is normal for her age although it's a drag. I refused to buy a giant container of vanilla rice milk or Annie's macaroni and cheese and Sylvie settled on a package of shredded mozzarella cheese, squash ravioli and then some cut canteloupe from the prepared food bar. We tried a new multigrain pizza dough whose name escapes me although we did buy one to make a pizza at home. Sylvie has gotten very into cooking and baking lately so I look to find fun things for us to make that are also healthy or healthier. Overall I couldn't help but notice that the folks in Montpelier, regardless of their age, look like they were cast from the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. A very limited palette of faded burgundy, green, beige and blue and a whole lot of flannel. I haven't been to Montpelier since last November and overall, was very impressed at all the great new retail shops and restaurants. We've often gotten stuck having no where to eat so seeing so many cool new places and bakeries was very refreshing. Can't wait to go back again soon.

We had every intention of taking Sylvie swimming at the Swimming Hole today but she was far more interested in wearing Ava's sparkly purple ballet tutu and imitating Paula Abdul in the Sesame Workshop "Zoe's Dance Moves" DVD. This would be one of the bizarre DVDs that I took me when I left Sony Music. Michael, Sylvie and I are equally mesmerized by Paula Abdul. It was shot in 2003, after "Forever Your Girl" and clearly before her American Idol career renaissance. The dance moves are too hard to master for anyone, adults included, without a professional dance background but it's very amusing and Sylvie tries very hard to imitate all the kids (and Paula and Muppets).

Sylvie's hair continues to grow back-- she has a 5 O'Clock shadow on her whole head. I am so excited that I can't stop rubbing her fuzzy noggin. She's been crying in pain and complaining of stomach aches and it's hard to tell what is causing it. The irony is that when she was first diagnosed with cancer, her complaints of a tummy ache were 1/10th of today's cries and moans. Michael and I share concerned glances before we try to console Sylvie. We haven't discussed it, but I know it terrifies us both.

We're watching "Teddy: In His Own Words" on CNN which is far more interesting than the other two programs on Vermont TV, "Dahmer" or the "25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania."

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

This week was my first official 'work at home all the time' week. Which means I task mastered having Ridgewood Tree cutting back even more trees so that our backyard will hopefully no longer resemble a dirt bike course, meeting with Gary to see when we can finish the Big Dig along our driveway, registering Lucy for First Dog Training Center beginner class after meeting with a private dog obedience instructor who tried to sell me his $1000 program which surely is designed for Ridgewood residents and once again, getting to know our central air conditioning system better than I ever would have thought!

On the work front, it's been a hectic work week so I've literally fallen asleep nightly either with my face in my laptop or just plain worried about something work-related. I am grateful that I was able to take a yoga class Tuesday night, despite having to face a 22-year-old contortionist for 90 minutes that really challenged my yogi mind to the brink of failure-- I couldn't stay balanced for even a second because Cirque du Skinny Girl was literally bending and folding in ways I have never ever seen up close in a yoga class. I took my first Bikram class in 4 years up in Stowe tonight, too, which was hot of course and otherwise uneventful.

And as for Sylvie this week, she had a break from lab tests and scans. I managed to talk to the educational advisor at Tomorrow's Children to see if/why/how Sylvie needs an aide in preschool, then Maeve at Montessori Learning Center who said Sylvie really does not need one, Tracey to book the next physical therapy session AND to see if she'll go with me to MLC and advise the teachers about any Sylvie things. I also made an appointment to check out a French school that I want Sylvie to take an afterschool program at. Besides our wanting her to grow up fluent in another language--difficult I know considering neither Michael nor myself are fluent in another language although our Spanish is okay and Michael does speak a little French. I also want to keep Sylvie busy and challenged since she can't start ballet or soccer or continue at the Little Gym quite yet.

She has been trying to walk unaided lately and has several successful potty attempts every day. My friend, Michelle, gave me some of her daughter's clothes last week including 2 ballet outfits. Sylvie is obsessed with them, practices constantly and most importantly, knows that she can't wear a diaper under a leotard and therefore, she uses the potty whenever she's dressed as the purple princess.

Last night, I had an advisory meeting at The Whole Child Center, which is Dr. Rosen's practice. I really enjoy the meetings and getting to know both Dr. Rosen and Karen Overgaard better and also the other moms. We discussed a variety of topics which reminds me that I wanted to share the link to the John Mackey (CEO of Whole Foods, who I might add, Michael despises) op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal titled The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare: Eight things we can do to improve health care without adding to the deficit. I highly recommend reading it. It's brilliant. Between Michael being a small business owner and dealing with insurance bullshit (we are therefore on my company's insurance policy) and our constant amazement at Sylvie's medical expenses (excluding prescriptions) currently totaling around $990,000 and provider's reimbursements to date of $232,000, I cannot say we are in favor of the proposed legislation. Sylvie's doctors deserve to be reimbursed more than $50 per office visit if you know what I mean. I have to admit, I did just look up what Ron Paul's thoughts are on health care and yes, I would have voted for him in a presidential election.

We managed to drive up to Vermont this morning despite Sylvie screaming from the back that her tushy hurt for about 5 hours straight. We stopped at a rest area just to give her some more Colace.

Sylvie and I were wandering around Bear Pond Books in Stowe, she was looking for the tiny (and cheap!) Dover sticker booklets and I was trying to read her a book with a panda on the cover that looked more my speed than hers called "Zen Shorts." I was amused later when I was catching up on The Whole Child's blog blog and Dr. Rosen mentioned how much he enjoyed reading that same book to his own kids. I have to admit, it provides a much better message than "Walter the Farting Dog." I also just bought, as per his recommendation, Jon Kabat-Zinn's. "Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting," and look forward to reading it after I finish speed-reading David Sedaris' "When You Are Engulfed in Flames."

No Rain

Cute pictures from last weekend! Sylvie had a ball being a regular kid, hanging out with her friends, hogging a giant bed leaving us hanging off the sides and wave-jumping. Michael and I had an even more phenomenal time. Sylvie brought her favorite books including a sparkly mermaid book, which I don't think Matthew truly appreciated and Walter the Farting Dog which he enjoyed a LOT! (perhaps not a good book to travel with!) and Mouse Paint which they all enjoyed.

So I realize I'm a little wound tight when it comes to Sylvie's being happy. So after a pretty good week, we began the weekend with a visit from Tracey for some PT and then our friends Jason, Antonia and their toddler Joaquin, who were visiting from Berkeley, came over for a late morning playdate. Side note they brought delicious cupcakes too! Sylvie showed Joaquin how much fun it is to shoot medicine syringes (no needles!) filled with water into the sink. Good thing Antonia is a doctor so it didn't seem too wierd. After the usual lunch, afternoon nap ritual, we had a very special early evening visit from Rita who is better known to Sylvie as Nurse Tenderheart, her favorite clown at the hospital. Sylvie's new favorite past time is filling up syringes (no needles, obviously) with water and shooting them like water pistols. This also means she loves taking a bath. She hasn't loved taking a bath this much ever, I think. So after an early bath and changing into a Princess nightgown, Sylvie waited anxiously in the dining room window for Nurse Tenderheart to arrive. Rita came in bearing the most incredible balloon sculptures I have ever seen. Michael and I were completely mesmerized and dazzled. Sylvie was so excited to have a VIP visitor that she spent an hour showing off her ballet moves while Michael and I protected the balloons from Lucy and Lucky dogs. Sylvie's grand finale was peeing in the potty-- as soon as she peed, she yelled to me, "Let's tell the Clown! Let's tell the Clown!" Michael and I had early dinner plans or we probably would have asked Rita to stay over! Humor aside, we were so touched by Rita's kindness and warmth and Sylvie's adoration for her.

Saturday was the usual... rain/sun/rain and more rain. When I finally got Sylvie to take a nap, I quickly made a Plum Cake with Honey Mascarpone to bring to our friends Jen & Sean's. Our afternoon plans had been rained out but we were all excited to hang out and watch the Yankees game. Sylvie and Patrick had not had a play date in a while so it was funny watching them interact. They have an equal like for play kitchens and Play-doh and equal dislike for sharing. Jen and I are also well-versed in the two places that are open by 8 am: Abmas Farm and the Wyckoff Bakery, thanks to our kids being up so early. After the previous year plus riding the train station together, Patrick & I have a special friendship and Sylvie & Jen do too. It's very cute. We may have to do an Abmas/Bakery run together just because it will seem less crazy if we do it together. Just before the Great Meltdown, we bid our adieu's, grabbed a few cannolis and headed home. Once at home, Sylvie ate a cannoli and was in such a great mood and put on another ballet show for us, this time dancing to Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" and Blind Melon "No Rain." When I say Sylvie is ballet dancing, what I mean is that she's holding onto a table or chair or railing and lifting a leg in the air or briefly raising her arms into a pirouette. She cruised over to look at a framed photograph of herself sitting on top of Lucky and said, "That's me before I got sick."

Huh. When did she get sick? Does Sylvie know when she got sick? As her ability to communicate improves, will she ever be able to tell us? We are consumed by this. Every single day. Michael asked her if she was sick when we went to the beach in December. I don't go as far as that. But it broke my heart knowing that Sylvie can differentiate between being sick and well.

This morning, Sylvie was in a great mood. We danced around to Little Feat, Blind Melon and Liz Phair. Not to self: Do not put Phair's "Help Me Mary" on Sylvie's next mix CD. for the first time since January, Sylvie went to the gym and played with her big-girl friend Katie. Michael had just run 5 miles in the crazy humidity and his intention was to bring Sylvie to the gym for a shake (and add a 'Good Belly' to it) but once inside, Sylvie was thrilled to play with her pals. After, we cruised home to change out of Sylvie's tulle Sleeping Beauty dress and into the orange Suzi Shelton dress that I bedazzled this morning with a sparkly music note, G clef and cupcake. My brother Scott came over with my niece Megan and we all headed to the South Street Seaport to see Suzi Shelton play at the Little Airplane Production studios. Our friends John & Meredith and their two girls were meeting us there too. Even Dr. Rosen and his family were there, too. John was very excited that his daughter Jordan is into Kiss. I told him Sylvie was getting into jam bands although she does have Kiss trading cards. Meredith and I traded stories about how our kids often embarrass us and it dawned on me that so much of Sylvie's insane behavior is just plain normal for a strong-willed toddler.

Sylvie was VERY excited to see Suzi. The venue was awesome-- tucked into the production facilities (home of The Wonder Pets and more) and looked like a living room. Once again, in the presence of Suzi, Sylvie tried walking without holding onto anything, dancing and more. We all had a ball despite the 1 pm showtime being right in the middle of most of the kids' naptimes. After, we said hi to Suzi it was definitely time to split because Sylvie was in her "Let's go Someplace Special" rage and in desperate need of a nap. I had hoped to see the tall ships, maybe duck in to J. Crew or get some burrata at the Italian restaurant on the corner but we hightailed it back to the car, ran to Commodities to pick up a few things and then back home.

This week is my first week working where I don't have to/ am not going to the office. I moved my work stuff home last week. Not having to commute will definitely ease the anxiety I was having over commuting and I'm eager to rededicate my commuting hours to Sylvie.

Sylvie does not have to go to the hospital for blood work tomorrow. Yippee!

"No" is the new "Yes"

This is what Sylvie says to me when she's trying to be funny and say NO at the same time. It says a lot about Sylvie!
We've had a great couple of days that began with an amazing weekend with our friends Gabrielle, Steve and their most awesome kids at the beach. We were a little nervous going into it and made a pact that if Sylvie was ill behaved, we would leave before it got ugly. But instead, she was a gem! In the company of kids her own age and especially older ones, Sylvie was out to dazzle them with her moves. We brought the baby stroller so Sylvie could push it around and essentially walk around without us having to support her the whole time. And of course, we brought macaroni and cheese! After lunch we headed to the beach. Let me tell you something, applying sunblock to Sylvie's whole body including her bald head is quite a task! I suppose it's not much different than a baby but still, I take it very seriously.

Sylvie was so excited to splash in the waves that she and Michael were soon running out into the surf. Sylvie had an amazing time which means we did too. I got a little nervous before dinner and was prepared to make a getaway if Sylvie did anything remotely embarrassing but with the exception of Sylvie insisting on watching a Barbie movie, she didn't make a fuss. Michael, Sylvie and I slept together which made Sylvie VERY happy and made us VERY tired when by 6:20 Sylvie was sitting upright demanding to go downstairs and you guessed it, eat a bowl of macaroni and cheese. And 1/2 an avocado. And a Barbara's fig cookie. The next time we are all at Commodities, I am making Sylvie pick out a new cereal. I'm getting exhausted making POUNDS of macaroni and cheese every 3 days. On Sunday, Gabrielle and I went out for a run while Steve was superdad looking after 4 kids under the age of six. It was probably Gabrielle's slowest run ever! I kept telling her to go ahead and leave me in the dust but she was happy to run at my turtle pace. My fast walk might be faster than my normal gait.

I think I made a mistake by bringing one of Sylvie's favorite books called "Walter the Farting Dog" which we bought at a little book store in New Hope last summer. Being a pet owner, dog farts are pretty standard conversation around here although I realize it might not be so standard otherwise! (sorry!!!!!!). Note to self: do not let Sylvie bring the book to school this year!

Later, we went back to the beach where Sylvie once again was a little fish. Then we dug for baby crabs until Sylvie got obsessed with the paddle tennis. Before we overstayed our welcome, we had a quick lunch and headed for home!

Once we had retrieved the retrievers from my parents house, I made a golden beet tart and headed over to Andy & Catherine's for dinner. Samantha and Sylvie were playing in the basement where I realized that as sympathetic as Samantha is towards Sylvie's illness, she's still over a year older... So when I was checking on them in the basement, I found the barricade that Samantha made with Poland Spring bottles to prevent Sylvie from escaping and reaching the stairs. it was kind of funny.

Yesterday, I had to get back in hospital-mode. Despite the massive protest, I put Emla cream on Sylvie's chest along with some Glad Press and Seal and headed to the Reuten outpatient clinic. As I pulled into the parking garage, Jette's dad's giant red truck was in front of us. Sylvie was so excited! And so began our most awesome day with Jette, her sister Nevada and her dad Paul. Nevada carried Sylvie inside where she and Jette treated Sylvie like their little sister and Sylvie loved playing the role. They brought her into Carmen's office where for the first time since April, Sylvie stood up on the scale and the height thing. I nearly cried. Then, the girls came into the exam room while the nurse inserted her port to draw blood. You'd think we were at the circus when all of a sudden, the clowns burst into the room! Sylvie was thrilled to see Nurse Tenderheart! I almost forgot the serious matter at hand: Sylvie's Alpha feta-protein level.

All of Sylvie's blood counts are normal, like that of a healthy child. Normal ANC, platelets, hemoglobin, liver function, magnesium, you name it. We said goodbye to Jette and her family and headed home, not knowing the AFP.

I caught up on work while Sylvie slept and later that afternoon, Jette, Nevada and Paul came over and we went swimming at our neighbors' Norman & Robin's house. They've so generously opened their pool for us to use and after frolicking in the water for literally over an hour, bald little Sylvie in the Cinderella swimsuit that Samantha gave her was a little worn out. Jette and Nevada had a ball too. They're great swimmers and were happy to float Sylvie all over the pool and show off their underwater tricks, cannon balls and swan dives. Shortly after we got home, Michael arrived just in time for Annette to call with Sylvie's AFP: 25.4.

Two weeks ago it was 25.1 so essentially, the number is the same. No news is good news! We're stable. I mean, stable in a dangerous situation but at least it didn't go up exponentially. I asked Annette what happens if it stays in the 20s and she assured me it will either go up or go down.

In the meantime, Sylvie and her pals had an awesome time. Jette & Nevada put barrettes in Sylvie's few strands of hair. They made her feel special and beautiful. They are all beautiful. Sylvie had an amazing day and so did we.

Walk This Way

Sylvie's eating is officially back ON as she continues to eat insane quantities of high-cal mac n cheese and Barbara's "Fig Newtons." Every day she's getting stronger and stronger and although we had really hoped she'd be her normal self by now, we realize that every day is really a gift and equally important, Sylvie dances to the beat of her own drum and when she feels like walking unassisted, trust me, she will.

Lucy was spayed and had her eye surgery this week so it's a little challenging having a walking & wounded & sedated huge puppy wearing a giant plastic cone around her head (that Sylvie calls her "helmet"). Sylvie is especially sympathetic to her.

Early this morning, Sylvie (after eating a bowl of mac n cheese) demanded we all go outside for a walk while she pushed her stroller and baby. We leashed up Lucy and headed up the driveway. The pavement was covered with earthworms from all the rain which had both Sylvie and me grossed out. Sibel came outside around 8 am and they walked over to Samantha's house.

Sylvie was so tired that she came home and demanded a nap before 11 am. Post-nap and after more mac n cheese, we met my parents at the Preakness Pool so that Sylvie could show me her moves in the pool. She was so excited and proud. I had to put a lot of sunblock on her nearly bald and very shiny head!

Having a week free of blood tests was AMAZING. We'll be back at the Reuten Clinic on Monday for lab work and so the game begins again.

Never a Dull Day

What a day! What a night! Sylvie was up on and off all night long. Her stomach is finally getting back to normal. It's been less than a week since she stopped receiving TPN nutrition intravenously at night and instead, is entirely eating real food. A novel concept. That being said, the change in digestion coupled with her weekend Bactrim antibiotic and daily Magnesium still causes her much grief. In addition, Sylvie can't determine what the stomach pains are related to (food, nausea, constipation, infection) but since Michael and I have made such an effort to repeatedly say, "If you eat, your tummy will feel better" that at 1 am last night, you guessed it, Michael was in the kitchen heating up Macaroni and Cheese for Sylvie who insisted it would make her feel better.

At around 2 am, Lucy the puppy's stomach was making such crazy sounds that I took her downstairs and reluctantly opened the patio door into the black of night and sent her outside to go to the bathroom. She disappeared and I don't know who was more scared-- her or me. There are lot of things out there in the black of night... deer, fox, bear, who the heck knows. All I know is that I am terrified just running from the car to the mudroom at night. We have motion detector lights but still, I'm scared silly. Finally Lucy came back and we tried to go back to sleep. Sylvie was up practically all night and Michael, Lucky and I took turns sleeping with her in the other room. It was like musical chairs only it was a queen size bed with Sylvie in the middle. I had gotten up before 6 am on Friday so this morning, there was no way I could get up before 6:30. Michael took one for the team.

Michael went to Jamie's on Main and Harvest Market to pick up breakfast pastries while Sylvie was a little wind-up toy trying to walk all over the place. I was so proud of her. She was like that all day long! She was also super excited because I showed her my teeny make-up bag that I keep in the closet. Sylvie LOVES playing with make up. It's like her own sparkly palette. We both end up wearing blue eyeshadow, eyeliner on our cheeks and hands. She carried the case with her all day long.

It was supposed to rain by 1 pm so at 9 am, the family Hughes headed to Wiessner Woods for a leisurely hike. I planted stickers all along the trails for Sylvie to find. She thinks the Woodland Fairy left them for her. We made it up to the Candy Tree where I stuffed a bounty (about :30 seconds before Michael and Sylvie followed) and Michael got a Tootsie Pop. The candy is supposed to only be for kids but since we replenish it with chocolate and dog biscuits all winter long, we take the liberty of sneaking a piece of candy here and there.

After the Wiessner Woods and under a perfect sky, we took everyone to the Stowe Farmer's Market. Sylvie misinterpreted "Farmer's Market" for "Pharmacy" and was very upset! Once we got out of the car, she was a little better. The Farmer's Market is usually a pain with Lucky because she lunges at every single dog however with Lucy in tow, she was pretty content to hang out on the grass with Michael or under a picnic table. Sylvie is always a very adventurous eater at the Farmer's Market. Today she ate about half a loaf of rosemary focaccia bread and a cheddar pop over. In fact, when Michael polished off the rest of it, she got insanely pissed off and screamed at me for eating it all. The nice vendor was all sold out, too. Michael had a Black Diamond BBQ brisket sandwich for lunch and I had a Pakistani egg roll thing. Michael has a very funny name for it that I won't write for fear of sounding like Archie Bunker because we are really the farthest thing from Archie's.

We drove home and dropped off the dogs. Sylvie was sleeping in the car so we decided to take a trip to Stowe Hollow Blueberries which is a farm with over 4,000 blueberry bushes that you can pick or just buy, all on the honor system. Of course we didn't bring the address, thought it would be easy to find only it was on North Hollow Road instead of the Lower Hollow Road that we searched aimlessly for. Tomorrow we shall revisit.

Upon entering the mudroom to our happy and exhausted dogs, I noticed a few drops of blood on the floor. My first thought was that the puppy was hurt, maybe Lucky bit her or she got her foot torn up during the hike. Upon inspection... nada. And then, it dawned on me... SHE'S IN HEAT!!!! I flipped her over and sure enough... 48 hours before getting spayed, she's in heat?!?! Oh shit. This called for immediate action. Quickly Michael got a pair of new in box DKNY tidy whities that his mom got him for Christmas about 5 years ago (not his style!), cut a hole for a tail, ripped a seam to make a tie since Lucy's waist is not a 32-34, and a Seventh Generation Size 3 diaper and voila-- a doggie pull-up!!!! Michael is indeed, the Diaper Genie for the day. They make accoutrements for such an occurrence however the closest pet store is in the Burlington/Williston area, 35 miles away. Lucky has an appointment with Greg Goodson at Stowe Veterinary Clinic tomorrow morning at 8:20 so I am hoping they will have some "real" doggie pull ups they can give us. Then I have to call Dr. Laurel Gess (our friend Richie's sister-in-law) who is Lucy's vet in New Jersey and ask her what to do. Lucy is also booked to have her eye surgery. Most vets do not like to spay a dog in heat however selfishly, I'd prefer to not have to deal with this for potentially 3 weeks. Not to mention male dogs from miles away are going to be sitting on our back porch. I really do not know the last time I've laughed so hard as watching Michael diaper up Lucy. Lucy could really care less about wearing underwear too! Good thing she is a Golden Retriever and not a Rottweiler. She has to stay in an enclosed area until it's done which means no Quiet Path tomorrow and we have to be very careful walking her!

Michael took a nap while Sylvie continued practicing walking. I woke him up around 4 pm and sent him off to Bikram Yoga. When he returned nearly 2 hours later and dripping in sweat, he joked that everyone in the class was so skinny-- the men looked like skinny road cyclists in speedos. Sylvie continued trying to walk around, play with my make up and eat, eat, eat. We made cheddar popovers together too! Luckily they're so easy to make because she finally stopped blaming me for eating her lunch.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus 1 teaspoon room temperature for pan
4 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 cup
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease a 6-cup popover pan with the 1 teaspoon of butter.

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor or blender and process for 30 seconds. Divide the batter evenly between the cups of the popover pan, each should be about 1/3 to 1/2 full. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the popovers to a cooling rack and pierce each in the top with a knife to allow steam to escape. Serve warm.

Our fellow gardeners in Ridgewood pointed out that this is the worst tomato blight season ever and that most if not all of the community garden's tomato plants have to be pruned or ripped out and burned (not composted). It's caused by a). the rain and b). that Lowe's and Home Depot sold contaminated seedlings and c). Because the plots aren't rotated and most garners tend to plant tomatoes, the soil is prone to it. We've had pretty decent tomatoes so far having planted organic seedlings but will none the less take all the necessary precautions.

I just realized that when I took Lucky to the Quiet Path sans Lucy, that I was wearing sparkly bright blue eyeshadow that Sylvie put on me earlier. Man, we must have been a sight.

Tomorrow is tune up day in Vemont: Car inspection, trip to the Veterinarian and then we'll drive home. We usually stop at Max's Tavern in Springfield for lunch on the way home but I'm a little embarrassed dining al fresco with a golden retriever puppy wearing underwear and a bald toddler. We'll pack sandwiches from Jamie's on Main instead!

AAAh Vermont

And like that, we all piled into Black Car and headed up to Vermont on Friday morning!
We haven't been to our house in Stowe since November and have been dreaming about it for months and months.
Sylvie calls it her Mountain House. We call it heaven, literally.

I don't know the last time I smiled this much. I was so excited to cruise through downtown Stowe past Jamie's on Main and The Cakery, home of the best hummus sandwiches EVER and incredible baked goods. After unloading the car and dogs, I cruised over to Stowe Seafood to pick up some arctic char for me and salmon for Sylvie. I had a piece of swordfish marinating in cilantro and soy for Michael ready to go on the grill. Next stop was Harvest Market (affectionately called Harvest Mark-Up for reasons I need not explain) where I bought a bag of Pete's Greens, local hydroponic tomoatoes,Point Reyes blue and fig balsamic. Dinner was almost complete. A final stop at the local Shaw's for mac and cheese, butter, milk, bread, vanilla ice cream (Ben and Jerry's of course, duh we're in Vermont) and Polar sparkling water, Michael's favorite. Sylvie was mad at me because I finished the macaroni and cheese that I had bought for her and Samantha at Whole Foods the other day. And since we were very far from Whole Foods, I picked up several boxes of Annie's and also all the ingredients to make some from scratch.

When I got home, Michael took Lucky and Lucy to the Quiet Path for a romp. It was Lucy's first time, also her first time swimming.

And so we settled into being at home, our other home.

Dinner was great and after Sylvie fell asleep in the big-girl bed, Michael and I fell asleep watching the Yankees-Red Sox game. We're in Red Sox country up here so we always wear our Yankees baseball hats much to the chagrin of the local population.

Sylvie woke up before 5:30 and was starving. We started off with a scrambled egg and moved onto Macaroni and Cheese. She must have eaten for hours. I had long since gone and returned from the Swimming Hole and she was still eating. Here's my EZ kid friendly recipe:
1 lb pasta
2 cups whole milk
1 stick butter
1/4c flour
8 oz mild cheddar cut into tiny pieces if you don't have a grater
1 bag grated mixed cheeses
4 oz fontina cheese also cut into tiny pieces

Prehead over to 350.
Cook pasta as directed and strain.
Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and stir until slightly browned (1-2 minutes)
Add milk slowly and stir. Don't scald it.
Stir milk until it thickens. A few minutes.
Turn off heat.
Stir in cheese.

Mix cheese and pasta and pour into pyrex or whatever you like.
Bake for 20 minutes.

Sylvie specifically forbids us to eat it which is fine because it has about a million calories. If you want to make it more 'adult,' use 2% milk, add a little nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Today was the antique car show in town, a favorite of ours. We went back to the quiet path as a family unit today, Sylvie and I cruised through town, played outside and had an AWESOME day!

For a weekend, we are a normal family.

No Rain

Yeay another day without rain! Yippee! Sylvie went swimming the past two days! And two baths! That's more than in the past 8 months combined! During Sunday's downpour, we literally danced around the house listening to Eddie Rabbit "I Love a Rainy Night" and Sylvie equally liked Eddie Vedder's cover of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" from the pretty delightful I Am Sam soundtrack that immediately follows in alphabetical order in my iTunes music library. "Who is that?" she asked about Eddie Vedder and I said he is the singer from the band Pearl Jam but that Daddy really REALLY doesn't like the way he sings.

I went to work yesterday despite being exhausted and leaving a still recovering from puking all night Sylvie at home. Honestly, I felt like shit for leaving her and going to work. Tracey was coming over at 9 for PT; my mom at 10 and Sibel called to let me know that after drinking a lot of seltzer, Sylvie was feeling better. It was hard not to be distracted in my infamous crappy cube and stare at my Blackberry waiting for the ominous 201 996 XXXX number to show up. Finally I called Annette and left a message. A few hours later, good think I'm not a nail biter, Annette called me back to say that Dr. Harris was at the other clinic (where all the long term survivor kids/adults go for wellness visits) but that she could tell me Sylvie's AFP was 25.1 which is lower than last week's 26.5. It's still high enough to indicate VERY bad things but 25.1 is much better than say, 27.9, right?! I sighed.

I missed both of my earlier trains because I got held up in a meeting in which I had nothing really to contribute and my eyes were glazing over because either I have an ear infection that's making me dizzy, my eyes burned from looking at my watch every 5 minutes or I was just plain distraught with anguish over being late to see Sylvie since it's one of my new steadfast rules: don't be late, dammit! I did the sweaty shuffle to the train and angrily called Michael to say I would be getting in at 7:57. Not his fault, naturally.

Sylvie was super tired yesterday from her day at the Preakness Pool with my mom. Her bald head is getting a little sun tan. I wear SPF 50 even in the winter but kids (and adults!) need Vitamin D and it's also a cancer preventative.

Michael drove to work early and is going to enemy territory, CitiField, with his bro this afternoon. We're hoping to take Sylvie to her first Yankees game this year. She's pretty good at yelling "Go Joba!" and even has a set of trading cards that she carries around.

Up All Night

Last night's celebration was cut short by Sylvie throwing up hourly for the entire night. We think it's the magnesium but will ask when Dr. Harris calls us this morning.

In case any of our friends and family want to rock out with Sylvie on 8/23 at the Suzi Shelton show at Little Airplane Cafe, tickets are on sale to the general public so call quickly! The Little Airplane Café is located at Little Airplane Studios, 207 Front Street in the South Street Seaport. Doors open at 12:30 pm with the concerts beginning at 1:00 pm. For more information, call (212) 965-8999. Admission is $8.00 per person pre-ordered and $10.00 at the door.

More later.

P is for Pool, Peas and Potty

And P is also for Diddy who is playing a defense attorney on the CSI Miami episode we're watching on TiVo. Michael and I are unwinding from our first AFP Monday in which we get to sweat out the 24 hours until we get the results of Sylvie's blood test. That aside, it was a GREAT day filled with swimming, eating vegetables sort-of, the first real bath in 6 months and peeing in te potty! A monumental day in the Hughes Household.

I took Sylvie to the clinic before 9 am and despite having to do a diaper change in the trunk of my car and fearing Sylvie had C. diff again (it's the TPN and Magnesium), we had an awesome morning. Sylvie was in a GREAT mood and was even nice to Carmen who took her vitals. 35 inches tall; 22.6 lbs. Terry came in and Sylvie was psyched to see her. Terry was not supposed to be working but saw Sylvie on schedule and came into the clinic. When I'm carrying Sylvie and she gets excited by something, her legs start "running" while I'm holding her. It's very cute. They were going a mile a minute at the sight of Terry. We went to an exam room and Sylvie and Terry together drew about 5 vials of blood. They're a little team. Odd as it may sound, it is very endearing watching them sit side by side while Sylvie inserts the colored vials into the syringe-thing and helps draw her own blood yelling "C'mon blood! C'Mon blood!"

Then we went to the playroom where Jette and her dad Paul were hanging out. It was a full house today. Siobhan was there and I thanked her for coming to the MRI last Thursday with us. Sylvie's favorite cute-girl volunteer, Stephanie, was playing with the Play-doh veterinary kit. She's the best Play-doh maker ever, next to Sibel who is crafty at everything.

We met with Dr. Harris and Annette and once again, Sylvie was incredibly cute and nice to them. She proceeded to eat cottage cheese, mozzarella and Pirates Booty at a record pace in the middle of the exam so Dr. Harris declared that if she can have an appetite like that, even if it's sporadic, then she no longer needs TPN. We talked a little about the Alpha-fetaprotein count and at 26.5 we can't kid ourselves that something may very well be brewing but remain very hopeful.

Annette removed the port, despite Sylvie's protests, and we were on our way!

En route home we stopped off at the big Whole Foods in Paramus where Sylvie picked out some frou frou key lime cheesecake with pink flowers on it. Sibel had lunch ready when we got home and Sylvie chowed down. Immediately following, they went to Samantha's so I could catch up on some work. Sibel called me to see if they could go to Graydon Pool. My first thought were the microbes in water and my total support for The Pool Project in building a clean, clear water pool. Then I figured that Sylvie would never even dip her toe in the water and would probably just eat some ice cream and head home. So I armed them with sunblock, an SPF 50 bathing suit, an Ariel towel and kickboard and off they went. I called Tracey to reschedule Sylvie's physical therapy and she happened to already be at Graydon Pool. Sibel and Sylvie ran into her so Sylvie was very intent on impressing both Tracey and Sibel with her moves. In no time, Sylvie polished off a Strawberry Shortcake ice cream bar and was kicking along the stone wall in the kiddie section of the pool. She kept telling Sibel to not touch her and that she knew what she was doing. I kept texting Sibel that Sylvie had no sense of balance and couldn't swim and not to let go! They had a ball.

Michael came home from work and Sylvie spied the bottle of Virgil's Cola on the counter. I told her that in order to have some soda with dinner, she had to eat some peas. My new rule, effective immediately. Must try new healthy food items in exchange for eating the crappy ones, beginning with the peas. Michael was annoyed at me because Sylvie went from great to psycho during his first 5 minutes home but I was hellbent on not letting Sylvie drink the coveted soda unless she tried the peas. In Sylvie fashion, she said "Later! Later!" and so I acquiesced. Michael grilled some salmon for her and while she was chowing down, she looked at me and said, "Mom, I'm ready for the peas." I was so excited! She ate about 10 which are ten more than she's had in a year. Last time she ate peas, was over a year ago when she put them up her nose and sneezed them out. We had then switched to edamame because they were too big to fit up her teeny nose.

Michael and I then went out for a run and when we returned, I ran a bath for Sylvie-- her first "real" bath in over six months! Imagine that for a second. Sponge baths for six months... More recently, whenever we'd even suggest the tub, Sylvie would get hysterical. But tonight, she practically leapt into the tub and was swimming away, floating on her belly like a mermaid. And playing with her Princess action figures. She was having a ball. It was her longest bath ever. The only good thing about her having only a few strands of hair is that it dries in about ten seconds. She kept looking down in the tub and finally said, "Mom, can I sit on the potty and pee?" Indeed this was a big moment! I wrapped her in a Cinderalla towel, put her on the potty and for the first time, she went to the bathroom! Michael and I picked her up and had a big family hug.

"Can I have my Hello Kitty present now?" Sylvie asked matter-of-factly. My girl means business!

She was so proud of herself. She couldn't stop smiling. Neither could Michael nor myself.

Swimming, Peas, Bath, Potty-- you may take these things for granted but they were the highlight of the day- the week- maybe the past month.

Sylvie fell asleep a very happy little girl and hopefully we'll have some good news tomorrow.

Communal Sigh of Relief

From what began as a horrific week ended up far more upbeat with a not-quite-cancer diagnosis, cancellation of emergency surgery, Pizza Fusion with pals, making new friends, cupcakes from Ladybird Bakery and Suzi Shelton singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" to Sylvie inside her tent. Sylvie showed off her ability to stand (finally!) and Suzi even had Sylvie waking while pushing her baby stroller. This was a very big moment. Sylvie had a smile on her face that we have absolutely positively not seen for 8 months.

We had originally planned to go to Vermont early this morning but we were so emotionally fried from the week's events and also want to see our new nephew. We postponed it again.

I like that Sylvie has no idea what transpired over the previous week and hope that this Monday's appointment at the clinic is uneventful. If we can ascertain that Sylvie is eating like a normal toddler, perhaps we'll forego the TPN which would also mean that Sylvie could finally a). get a bath and b). go swimming. That's right-- when the port is accessed, no bathing...

As always a lot has changed. While we had envisioned having a huge kinderrock concert party this fall celebrating Sylvie being cancer free, perhaps we'll still plan the event but it we will be celebrating how every day when we walk this planet as a family, it is a true gift (and this applies to your family too).

In the meantime, we are going to rock out to Suzi Shelton on 8/23 at Little Airplane Productions down in the South Street Seaport. Little Airplane produce The Wonder Pets and have a new cafe where they are booking some of the 'biggest' kids music artists in a very intimate environment. It's a super cool space and hopefully you can join us and then we can convince Suzi to book shows on this side of the Hudson River although her daughter is in love with OJ, Lucky and Lucy so I think we might get a return visit!!!! There are definitely more kids here than in Park Slope-- Ridgewood is the new Park Slope (wink, wink)!

Doors open at 12:30 pm. Shows start at 1:00.

Location: 207 Front Street
South Street Seaport
New York, NY 10038

Tickets: $8 in advance
$10 at the door

To order tickets, please call Little Airplane at 212-965-8999 or email cafe@littleairplane.com. Seating is limited and tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Suzi is going to hold off emailing her email list so that Sylvie's friends can get a jump on the tickets and we can have a little party in the Seaport.

Hopefully we'll see our friends from the Five Boroughs there.