Where Does the Time GO?

Eddie is now in first grade.  First grade is proving to be really easy.  He's doing his second year of Spanish and started Chess this year.  He loves Chess and I'm sure will beat me as soon as I remember enough to play a game with him (it's been a while since Uncle Kevin taught me).  He did gymnastics this fall and really enjoyed it, but the 30 minute trip each way was too much for us, so we're going to keep trying to get him into a gym closer to home.  He is into the social side of school and tries really hard to behave--priding himself in never getting in trouble.  Too bad he can't bring that mentality home. 

Josie is in her final year of preschool.  She is definitely ready for kindergarten, but is enjoying her time.  She started ballet this year and absolutely loves it.  It's funny managing the social lives of a preschooler and kinder.  They are extremely excited for Halloween this year and are both dressing as black cats.  Eddie and Josie love wearing matching outfits--which can prove difficult when one loves pink and the other blue.  Send me a note of you have resources for brother/sister outfits.  It's harder than you'd think!

Josie has become really independent AND helpful since my foot injury (and I just re injured it last week).  Eddie has other things in mind in terms of helping out.

Best head to bed...will try and upload photos...but want to see the end of game 2 of the World Series....

My poor neglected blog...

Between Facebook, twitter, and the hecticness of life, combined that the iphone ap for blogger is horrible, I never post here anymore.  Harder to upload photos too.  Waiting for Den to stop working so we can go to bed.  I would go to bed myself but I would just lay there, so I might as well play on the computer...

Just 2.5 weeks until school starts.  I'm both sad and happy.  Sad because I was sick the last 3 weeks and while I am back up to about 85%, still limited in what activities I can do with the kids.  I had a 2 page typed list of activities we were going to do this summer.  Not among them was sit on the sofa all day and watch the kids play with their toys.  Last summer Eddie had his really bad rash that dominated our activities and this summer it's me.  Hopefully we'll catch a break next summer. 

At least we are rounding a corner.  Need to always find the positive.  Plus, I've been in PT now for 4 months and I think I'm getting close enough to where I'll be able to make the 2 mile round trip to walk Eddie to school this year.  Very excited about that.  So excited that school starts because I'm ready for the kids to have a routine again.  I think it's hard for them because I've been so sick that the routine has basically been survival mode and anything goes.  I really wish we had Eddie in year round school.  I think it's a better model--he's forgotten so much this summer.

Finally time to turn in... 

Anyone still out there?

It has been an interesting several months.  Sept. 23 I got a moderately sprained ankle walking Eddie to school.  I was almost healed a week later and then very severely injured the ankle.  That time I went to the doctor and he ordered an X-ray, which turned out to be fine.

Month later (mid Oct), still not better, got referred to an orthopedist.  Got a boot and was told to gradually wean myself from the boot as my foot feels better.  Improved nicely until the Sat. before Thanksgiving, following doctors instructions, I was walking 15 feet from my dining room to my kitchen and I felt intense burning pain in my foot and ankle.  Got an MRI on Tuesday which showed a bone bruise.  This is basically like taking a hammer to the bone and you have lots of tiny fractures.  

Orthopedist said it would take 6 weeks to heal and to then start PT.  6 weeks of PT for 3 days/week and Josie had more playdates and I imposed on more people than I'd care to think about.  5th week of PT, I asked a Therpist I'd never worked with prior to that if she thought I could visit Costco without having to use the wheelchair.  She said as long as I used my boot.  

Got to the back of the store and was in immense pain...and I had kind of been riding on the back of the cart.  Ortho again...thinks I have an overuse issue.  Says to stay off my foot and use crutches.  Month later, in early March finally starting to feel better and can walk around my house almost the whole day.  Pushed too hard and ended up with another MRI to rule out stress fracture. 

Ortho convinced it is an endocrinologist issue, but neither of the doctors I see think this is the case, but I did get a blood draw just to be sure.  Fast forward 3 weeks and I'm once again feeling better, but just walking around the house manage to overdo it and I"m back on crutches. 

Had apt today with a foot/ankle specialist.  Had another set of xrays, more extensive than the first time...about 6 different images.  He was puzzled as everything looked fine on MRIs (bone bruise still present, but starting to heal and ligaments still torn).  he thinks I have a stress fracture that just isn't showing up on the MRI.  Said that he would try the boot again and then if in a couple weeks I don't see improvement, he would recommend a cast for 6 weeks and then PT after that (guessing for 6-8 weeks).

To be honest, I really don't think it will solve the issue because the real issue is that I keep being on the verge of being healed and then I push too hard too soon and something stupid like an overuse issue happens.  I just don't see how wearing a boot for a couple weeks will do the trick because invariably i will just get back to where I seem to go over 4-6 weeks.

He said if after a cast and PT, I am still not well, then he'll refer me to pain management so they can try and isolate the pain and figure out ways for me to deal.  The most depressing thing about that prognosis is that I never realized how active I liked to be and how much walking I enjoyed, nor how I just took it for granted.

I have an apt for another foot/ankle specialist in a couple weeks (made the apt over a month ago).  He has a reputation for solving issues that previously have been mysteries, so hopefully he will be of help.

To say I'm at the end of my rope would be a gross understatement, yet I try and remain positive because there is just nothing else I can do.  I follow doctors instructions.  Part of me wonders if it is something else like cancer or something where I can't heal...couple friends have suggested lupus.  

While I appreciate everyone who asks about how I am or what happened and I completely understand the motivation for doing so, I have grown tired of the sorrowful looks, the confident advice from people without an MD behind their name and having to repeat my story over and over.  I have learned to use humor, to try and avoid answering the questions, etc. When I borrowed crutches from a neighbor over 6 months ago, I never dreamed I would still be using them.

At this point, I'm just hoping to be able to walk my kids to school next fall.  It used to be I hoped for prior to the end of the year, but i keep having to revise my timeline.

Hello Again!

It's been so long, I'm not sure if I should try and capture what we've been up to or just jump right into the photos. These are clearly a month old, but we finally discovered our local pumpkin patch--and it is FUN--in that corny sort of old tyme fun sort of way. Plus they have awesome kettle corn everywhere you turn.
We had such a good time that I had Den take the kids out the Saturday after Halloween to their pumpkin 'drop/smash'. They dropped the state fair winning pumpkin, over 600 pounds, from a crane.

Den is currently in the same City, staying at the same hotel that he visited the week before Thanksgiving --and I am still hobbling around.

Eddie is enjoying kindergarden and we had a good conference with his teacher--Den was out of town, but we called so he could feel like he was there. I can only hope that Josie gets this same teacher when she comes through. She is so calm and kind. J is not a fan of her teachers at preschool and I think the feeling is mutual. J seems to have just dug in and realized that she will enjoy the aspects of preschool if not the teachers. We will get through the year.

I have really noticed the kids temperments and personalities this year, more than ever before. It is fascinating to watch and see where before I always thought Eddie was so shy, he is definitely a social animal and where I always thought J was my social kid, she seems a bit more impacted when someone doesn't return her advances.

I'll try and post more. For some reason picassa hasn't 'found' the photos I uploaded from November....

Bubbles and Crutches

There is something about October that is not kind to us.  Last year it was bronchitis and swine flu for me and bad bad colds for the rest of the family.  This year it is a sprained ankle with ligaments that are taking forever to heal and pre-cancer on my face.  The pre-cancer earned me a twice yearly visit to the dermatologist.  But the worst thing of the whole month for me was getting the ointment for the pre-cancer on my lips.  I have never had such intense continuous pain in all my life.  Even 2 c-sections did not hurt this badly for this long.  For 2 weeks it was extremely painful to talk, for anything to touch my lips--from water to food.  This picture is the day after I got the ointment on my lips...I just had a little bit of a fat lip at this point, but it continued to swell. I now sport a brace on my foot and a month later still have the crutches.

For the last 6 weeks we have all 4 been passing around this awful cold with hacking cough--the kids and Den seem to be having the worst problem shaking it.  We actually passed it to Cookie--and she never gets sick.

We have tried to still have some fun.  Den was hanging out with the kids while I worked on a recent Saturday.  I love the photo Josie took of Den and Eddie.  Like Eddie, she is getting good with her camera.

Eddie seems to be enjoying kinder and learning a lot.  He comes home with a new tidbit almost daily--from onomatopoeia to really starting to read--he'd been recognizing words, but refusing to really read--'you do it'.  Now, he wants to read the books they send home from shcool each night as homework. 

Josie is settling in at preschool.  I think she likes it, but I don't think she is as excited as she was at the beginning of the year.  Something about having to be quiet when others are talking, and getting repremanded for washing her hands too long (ie playing in the water) does not sit well with her.

In other news, I ordered a print out of the blog in book form from Aug. 2005 (its inception) to Dec. 2006 from blog2print.  It was over 300 pages and I love it.  It includes all the comments, photos, etc.  I'm going to now print out each of the following years, just to have.  The kids really liked paging through all the pictures and I like having something in book form for the shelf.

More camping Photos

Here's the rest of the photos. I wish I could remember what the kids said their favorite part was about making smores. I think Eddie liked just eating all the marshmellows (we polished off 1/2 a package) and Josie I think liked the chocolate. Neither was crazy bowled over by roasting. There is time yet to teach them the fun of campfires...

Camping Part 1

About a month ago we took the kids camping at a great spot around 25 minutes away. It was a rousing sucess and the kids have been begging to go again ever since. We did the whole bit--cooked dinner on the one-match fire (the last picture is of them watching Den light the fire). We made smores and woke up a little cooler than expected. It was perfect weather too.

Potatos!

The main reason I'm not posting to blogger is because I can only upload 4 pictures at a time and that drives me crazy. I'm too lazy to learn new software (typepad, etc.), so here we are. I guess I only upload to facebook directly from my phone...

Anyhoo, Cookie had been telling us to harvest the potatos for some time, and Den said it wouldn't be time until later in SEpt. Well, later in SEpt. was too late and they had started to rot and sprout. Great if you want to have a later fall crop, but not if you wanted to eat right away :(

We did manage to get a bag or so--maybe between 7 and 10 pounds of potatos and the kids had a blast, each taking turns with the shovel and sifting through the dirt.

We had white and red. The white did much better than the red in terms of still being good.

First Days...

I let out a sigh just before I started typing. Conflicting emtions to be sure. With 2 days under his belt, Eddie continues to have a great time in kinder (I can't spell kindergarden). We were so rushed to get out the door on the first day because the bus was so early and it took us 15 minutes to roust Eddie from bed. Not because he didn't want to go, but because he wanted to stay in bed. Then he just slow rolled and chit-chatted his way through the morning. All of a sudden I realize I hear the bus, which unlike k-prep the stop is 10 houses away.

J and I dashed out the door while Den had Eddie slurp down his OJ. We hadn't gotten his teeth brused as Den and Eddie dashed out the door behind us, watching the bus pull up to the stop. Den had moments before commented on how he was not going to enjoy the stress of making the bus each morning. I directed Den to pick up Eddie and run for the bus. Halfway down the street it started to pull away and we yelled for it to stop. Happily some parents down there got him to stop and our sweet neighbor captured some photos of Eddie boarding the bus. These are all after school.

To avoid bus mishaps, they put a big green K sticker on the kinders. They sit in the very front of the bus and the driver is instructed to ensure each one is met by an adult. Despite this the system has still had some mishaps with kinders (and other students) being let off at the wrong place, etc.

Eddie knows his bus number and everything. However, we will be morning walkers (uphill both ways) as it is just about (just under) a mile and we are hopefully going to walk with several other families who seem to enjoy the morning stroll.

I asked Eddie who he sat next to in school and he couldn't tell me. When a neighbor kid asked the name of his teacher he didn't know. However, he was able to tell me he got to (was instructed to)play on the computer. That they lay on towels we send in on top of a soft rug for nap and that it's a fun place. Nuggests emerge here and there.

Josie had her first day of preschool today. She has the same teachers Eddie does and they all inquired about him (ones from both years). It's such a warm and friendly place. Apparently a couple preschoolers were crying at drop off but Josie did great. Can't believe she picked this green outfit to wear, but she was happy.

I asked her who she sat next to and she replied 'Jack' and who sits across? 'Jake'. She was pretty forthcoming about the events of the day in the way a 3 year old can be. Out of 11 kids in her class, 3 are named Jack, one Jake, one Joseph, then Josie, someone named Quinn, Rory and then a couple regular names.

Both were exhausted this evening and went to bed at 7:30. Time for me to shuffle off as well...

The Basement Stairs

I've been wanting to remove the carpet on the basement stairs for some time. Cookie, Den and Josie have all cut their heels on the carpet tacks sticking out from the worn out carpet (we guesstimate it's 30+ years old). Den hasn't been interested in doing anything because we hadn't decided exactly what to do after we removed the carpet.

I didn't let that deter me, and one Sunday a couple weeks ago I just got it in my head and got Den to agree to help score the carpet and with a couple brute force areas. It's so much better now, but I think we'll put carpet down this fall...