Henoch-Schönlein Purpura - Are You Freakin' Kidding Me? (Also known as my 200th post)

This is a post about HSP.  If you are reading this sometime in the future, and you have stumbled upon this blog, please know that I am not a health care professional, but I am a mom documenting our family's history.  So please read on, but know that this is our story, and should not be used to diagnose or treat HSP.  If you think you or your child has HSP, trust your gut and go to the doctor.

It all began a few days before Christmas. 

Miss A had a high fever one night (Dec. 23), and we decided that she should not come to the Nativity practice. 

On Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), I called and arranged to have Miss A seen by the doctor at the clinic in town. 

School Christmas Traditions

What's not to love about Christmas?

Here is a recap of some of the fun things the girls got to do during Advent, leading up to Christmas.

Longtime Traditions.  

Still Laughing

Seven years ago, Eli and I made the best decision ever... and we're still laughing about it!

We got married following a great big nor' easter in Miramichi  with 90 cm of snow,

celebrating with our family and friends

(who came to partake in scarf-dancing, Bon Jovi-singing, and cowboy boot-wearing fun!). 

Daddy's Christmas Present

Christmas cheer is so much fun to share!

Once school was out, the girls and I found time to make Daddy's Christmas present.

The project was Miss G's idea.

An Angel's Work is Never Done

The girls were invited to join the Christmas Nativity Pageant on Christmas Eve night during the Children's Mass for our church.

We practiced a few nights over the weekend, and I made the angel costumes for the Nativity play.

Miss G was an angel.

Christmas Memories with Gramma and Grampum

Saturday was our first official day of Christmas vacation, and Gramma and Grampum invited the girls over to the house for a few hours on their own (without Mommy and Daddy).

The girls were very excited!

They helped to decorate Gramma and Grampum's tree, had hot chocolate WITH candy canes in the mug, decorated gingerbread cookies, and had plum pudding (actually, chocolate pudding, but Strawberry Shortcake has a strong hold on the girls!).

Miss G's Grade 1 Christmas Concert

Tuesday was Miss G's big Christmas Concert Day!

On Monday, the school got to see the dress rehearsal for the Grade 1 to 5 concert, and that's my big chance to figure out the best place to sit for the best concert pictures of my girl.

I managed to sneak down to the gym to catch her matinee performance, and Daddy got to see the whole afternoon show.

Miss A's Christmas Concert

I was just looking at the girls' Christmas Concert picutres from last year, and my-oh-my they were cute!

But some of these ones... well, it's just too hard to pick a favourite year, and so I won't.

This year, Miss A was in the Preschool and Kindergarten Christmas concert, "Waiting for Jesus... Songs from theh First Christmas," along with my Kindergarten class, so I went from teacher (directing the class in song with gestures and my off key voice, but with loads of enthusiasm) to Mommy in as much time as it takes to get 26 kids off the stage and for me to get my big camera hung around my neck.

Daddy was away this week, and scheduled to land in Yellowknife a few minutes before the concert began, so above you can see Miss A searching the crowd for Daddy. 

She had just asked me, "Mommy, is Daddy here?"

Miss A and the Ledge

Christmas traditions are repeating themselves once again this year, and Miss A got to go to the Ledge this year to decorate a Christmas tree, just as Miss G did last year, and as every Kindergarten student in Yellowknife has done for nearly 20 years.

The tree decorating for Kindergarten classes at our school was last Wednesday, December 5th.

I had a chance to come by in the morning to wish Miss A a fun time, but I had to stay behind at school this year, because I had a Kindergarten class of my own to take later that morning! 

Daddy's work is very close to the Legislature building, so he was able to meet Miss A at the Ledge.  This was taken at 9:00 am, dawn... before sunrise. 

Now, THAT'S cold!

It's been about 10 to 12 degrees BELOW normal temperatures for this time of year for weeks now, and you can imagine my excitement over breaking so many cold temperature records.

Apparently, last winter WAS abnormally "warm."

So, the lakes are frozen, the snow behaves oddly in the cold temperature: 

snow below -20 behaves like cold sand, it squeaks, and it doesn't get removed from the roads, so snow tires really are a necessity.

On Saturday, it was cold, and both Eli and his buddy, Barry, were off and eager to go on a long snowmobile ride... the first of the season.  The girls and I went shopping.

They left around 10:00 am and planned to be back around 3:00 pm, not-so-coincidentally coinciding with the only daylight hours we have right now.

 

Eli was back home by 3:00 pm, and had a warm-up shower before I got back from shopping.

Once I brought my shopping bags inside, Eli casually said,

"So, Barry fell through the ice today."

Japanese Celebrity

I am fully aware that I have been slacking off of the blog postings lately.

I have a few explanations:

1. Report Cards (my teacher friends will know that this is the only explanation necessary to inspire a full whirlwind of procrastination techniques)

2. Three-Way Conferences with parents and students

3. Advent activities leading up to Christmas

4. Weird stuff

This week, it is my goal to update you on the weird stuff because, let's face it, that's why you love me.

So, today, I will tell you about my day as a Japanese reality TV star.

Konnichiwa!

On Monday, a Japanese film crew arrived to follow around me and my class.  I knew about the filming in advance, as a child in my class is a member of a family that agreed to the filming.

The Japanese show that the crew was videoing for is called... and, truly, I can't make this stuff up...