Live from Tormville!

True story

Sunday morning, on our way to Sunday school - our radio was having a hard time pulling in my Sunday morning country oldies station.

In an attempt to get something to come in better, my husband - the man who believes we should not play Christmas music until noon on Christmas eve - lands on a Christmas song.  And he keeps it there.  To say I was stunned would be an understatement.

I sat there quite tickled, and anxious to see how long he'd actually keep it there.  We still had a good twenty minutes left of our journey in.  That's a lot of fa-la-la's and ho-ho-ho's!

His surprise was even greater than my own when the second song came on, and I switched it.  Me!  You switched it, he exclaimed, obviously confused.

hmph. I hmphed.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, should ever sing about chestnuts. Chestnuts!  I've never liked that song, and I never will. 

A gathering of randoms

• The hubby is working in Chicago today - left at 6am, and should be home in time for bedtime stories
• Allan didn't hear his alarm this morning - very rare.  It's a good thing I decided to wake up and check.
• We finally made a Thanksgiving plan.  It's a process. We tend not to rush these things.
• My youngest brother came over yesterday. He tends to stop by once a week after checking my blog to make sure we aren't sick. The funny thing was that I was kind of expecting him and yet, I never heard him when he walked in, sleeping so soundly I was.  In fact, didn't even notice until I woke up and saw some books on the table that he had delivered.  I called him and said - really, you let an opportunity like that go?  I don't think I could have let an opportunity like that slide. I still haven't decided if I'm disappointed or proud.  (I would have used the opportunity to startle a sibling awake - have no doubt)
• I'm down two more pounds, for a total of 19.5 since August.
• Aldi's does not carry licorice.
• Story hour starts up again today.
• My next two weeks are heckuva busy.
• The nap felt wonderful yesterday. I'm so glad Kevin isn't me.

• For some reason, a smore sounds good right now.  I gave those up tho, for weight loss. The layout is another peek into my stamp class.
• I hung jeans on the line this week.  November.  I don't think I hung a single load in October, but I hung jeans to dry in November.  And they dried.
• I'm back into walking after two weeks of sick bug killed my stride. I keep trying to get to the store to be fitted for a pair of shoes, but it hasn't worked out yet, and it won't work out tonight either.  Why is it so hard, sometimes, to just get to a store?

• I *love* the timer on my washing machine. I remember when we first got it and I mentioned that feature, somebody - who shall remain nameless - scoffed.  Scoffed!  So I doubted myself.  But I'm confidant now in my timer love.  My time is easier to come by in the evening - so I'll toss a load in before bed, set the timer, and it's all set to come out and hang when I get home from my morning walk.  It's the little things, man.
• I keep taking out books on tape from the library, but I never actually listen to them.  I try, but it doesn't work.  But I haven't given up yet.
• The little boys have found pbs.kids for games this past week, and they love playing Curious George.  It didn't take me long to add two plus two when Brian - who is normally easy to sleep with, as he lies so still, crawled in bed with us one evening and was all sorts of twitchy and jumpy and hard to sleep with.  In the morning I asked him, "Brian - were you playing Curious George in your sleep?!  And he got excited, and he giggled, and he said, "Yeah! I was!  And I was Curious George in my dream jumping on the pogo stick"   I said, Yeah - I had a hunch.

Got that one checked of the list

Our Wendy turned nine a couple weeks ago, but since we'd been hit by the swine flu for over two weeks, her party never got planned and time just kept slipping away.  It was niggling me.  Wendy wasn't going to let me forget, but those two weeks of sick were pushing everything on the calendar back and the days were filling up. 

(Note my cake decorating skills.  I do Not write names on cake.  Tried it once and failed miserably.  I resort to sticks and stamps - so much safer)

I was sitting next to Emily's mom at soccer last week and she lightly mentioned, "We were thinking maybe  Wendy and Emily could have their party together, but.."  And I said, "but, what! Sounds perfect!"

Wendy and Emily are second cousins once removed, in the same class at school and on the same soccer team, and often in the same Sunday school class - a few of the girls they invite to their birthday are the same, so it was perfect - and a lot of fun.

 

Let's see if I can get this right, from L to R: Molly L, Wendy, Jenny D, Hope P, Emily K, Maija P, Elizabeth L, (and as much as those last two, Maija and Elizabeth, look alike here - I can't think of a single way they might be related) Shannon E and Callie D

The weather was certainly ideal. Most of their squealing came from the trampoline where they had a game of dodge ball going. 

And now I can mentally scratch that off the long list.

Happy Monday!!

The desk is clean

I woke up before everyone else this morning and got to work.
My list is long, and a lot of what I need to do has to be done here on this desk.  And yes, that is clean - we have space issues.  I can *almost* fit a two page 12 x 12 layout on here - but do have to do some shifting.

I'll be here most of the day.

Random:

• Someone asked if we're all well at this house yet.  For the most part.  We officially had the bug for two weeks and one day.  Brian fell asleep on the floor yesterday and slept for three hours in the middle of the afternoon, which NEVER happens - so he might still be fighting it off, and I'm in the wretched non-producing cough stage.  Which I hate.  It's very hard to stop once I start - so I just try not to start.
• I have to bake a cake today, which could be interesting when considering the cough.  I might send the hubby to Costco.
• The hubby is planning to go to an all day carving class today - it's something he often does on the first Saturday of the month, schedule allowing
• Soccer this afternoon.  Depending on how I feel, I might call the hubby home and send him.  I'm being careful to pace myself.
• It's indoor soccer, though, and I like the visiting.
• And the escaping from the house.  This house was WILD last night, despite all my "could you please all find something else to do and just settle down" as my living room SHOOK.  They settled down after dad's glasses broke and I exhaustively reported that I tried to warn them.  They love when I remind them.  They've failed to realize that they are getting bigger and my living room is still the same size.
• Winter is going to be long
• Two weeks from now I'll be in Denver.
• heee
• Happy Saturday!

Spica Cast - FAQ

I've been wanting to do this post for awhile.

As my long time readers know and remember, our Brian broke his femur when he was jumping off the back of the couch (and landed on his sister) just two days after his third birthday in March of 2008.  I was blogging at that time, and chronicled our journey as part of my daily ramblings.  

Why am I bringing this up again now?

What my longtime readers might not know is that I get emails at least twice a week from parents who have found those posts and have questions.  You see - while I was blogging during that time, it never occurred to me that even while I was Googling, anxious for more information and hope, that soon other parents would be Googling and coming across my blog.

I say that, had I had my wits about me and realized, I would have been more detailed, taken more photos, but the truth is - I was running on autopilot, tired and doing all I could to just get from day to day. 

So I answer the emails, and I don't mind, and I answer the questions.  But more and more, I don't get to them the same day, and then I feel badly.  And I'm not always here.  Denver, y'all.  Two weeks! 

So I thought I'd put here a bit of an FAQ and add to it over time.  This post will then become part of our Spica Cast page and hopefully help someone when they are Googling at 2am.  I remember that. Hang in there!

FAQ 

Also - please keep in mind that my answers are based solely on our experience.  Our Brian was three at the time, and we learned as we went.  My first bit of advice for all little boys in casts - the one thing that I do wish they told both my husband and I is - point it up before you put the diaper on.  You know what I'm sayin'.  Trust me. 

And don't ask me why my questions are all in different colors - typepad is not liking me tonight.

• How is Brian doing now? Does he have a limp, or any other complications?
• Brian is doing wonderfully.  Five weeks after his cast was removed, we decided to take him to physical therapy because we were seeing a limp.  In just five weekly sessions, he was walking perfectly normal.  As his mother, I find myself constantly watching his running, his jumping, his crouching - and while I sometimes imagine that his leg does get tired/weaker after a long walk at the zoo or a long day of play,  it really is healthy and normal.
  
• After he had the cast put on, how long was it that he'd startle awake (screaming/shaking/night terrors) just after falling asleep
• I'm remembering that that lasted about seven or eight days.
  
• How long after the cast was removed before Brian started walking
• It took Brian ten days before he stood up and took steps on his own.
• What did you do about the cast smelling?
• That was the worst.  We used baking soda, a hair dryer, an ozonator - everything we could think of and some of the information we definitely got too late.  The advice I was given by another experienced parent is to get up into the cast as far as you can reach with wipes each time you change them (Brian - being just potty-trained, went back to the diaper for the duration of the cast - he wasn't digging the whole urinal business) and take time to blow up into the cast with a blow dryer (be careful of not getting too hot, we used the warm  or cool setting) to keep it dry.
• Do you worry about it happening again?
• Yes and No.  My kids (we have four) groan and roll their eyes because I don't just say, "quit horsing around"  I say, "quit horsing around because we don't need another broken femur"   Mostly, I don't ever want to hear the sound of a break again, and I never want to feel so helpless as a parent during that whole wait to get to the hospital/surgery portion of it all.  But I don't worry about Brian specifically, that he's somehow weaker for it - in fact, they say generally they are stronger in the way that the bone heals creating a thicker bone
• Does Brian now have one leg shorter than another?
• No, he does not.  My understanding is that this comes to be strictly because of where the break is in relation to the growth plate.  It's something that was doublechecked at Brian's six week follow-up and found to be okay.  I do know of several friends who broke the same bone and do have one leg now shorter than the other, and with the help of a simple lift in their shoe, they've gone on to play many sports, live normally and have no long-lasting issues. 
• Did you find therapy to be helpful?
• Extremely.  If you check back to this post, I'll edit to add some of the easy/can be done at home exercises that we/they did with Brian.  These will not be shared in an attempt to replace a real live therapist which we found completely invaluable, but as some things that you can try at home if you are hovering the should we/should we not border or your insurance doesn't cover it.  Check back - this post - within the week.  

I'll add to this post as I remember other questions - and I'm always open to answering emails, I'm just not always as quick to respond as I'd like to be.  It's a busy life.  A good life, but a busy one. 

Hang in there -

short and sweet

I'm one handed this morning - Mark (our 2 year old) is in full-on human contact mode and has been since 10:00 last night.

So for now, some must shares:

• Technique Tuesday has completely overhauled and updated their website. I want to swim in it, it's so clean.
• Souvenirs of the Season is running again this year as a self-paced class with me there, of course, for fun and games
• And third - if you scroll way down there on the left sidebar, you can see what kind of one handed trouble I got myself into after midnight last night.  I'm in way over my head this time.  I'm blaming Debbie, and Mark.  And Katrina too, for good measure. 

The whole week has shifted

I love lists
And arrows can be fun too

Now - on Monday, I actually felt good - so technically a lot of those things on my list should have been done.  But Monday was the first day of my Get it Stamped! 101 class, and here's a fact - I always pace the first day of class.  Always.  I should have known better when I made that list.   But now the students are all settled, the teacher harassing has begun, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves and I'm not pacing anymore.

But then I got sick.

hmph

I felt much better yesterday - a slight chill started to hit me again at about dinnertime, but I took a long hot shower, freshened up and felt better.  I went to bed early again.

Today - I'll start puttering.  I can't sit for too many days.  I won't, however, walk my two mile morning walk, and I'm thinking it might be good to push off grocery shopping for one more night.  I won't deny that I'm a little worried about the next step in this stupid bug only because I'm prone to getting pneumonia very easily.  That hacking going on in my house is not fun - and I'm going to avoid accelerating or worsening it with all I've got. 

Because I'm going to Denver, y'all.

hee.  Denver.

And I hate pneumonia.  

Other randoms:

• Mark is getting better - he actually smiled yesterday and his cough is lessening
• Yesterday was an ideal day for the kids to be off school (teacher work day)  - the boys were thoroughly entertained by Wendy which helped me rest up
• The sheets on our bed have been washed more in the last two weeks than they've been washed in the last year
• I made our own laundry soap Monday night using the Duggar's recipe.  It comes out to less than .00218 cents per load on my front loading washer.  I started using it yesterday.  To wash the sheets
• I'm not ready for the holidays. 
• I'm not ready for winter.  I realized last night that part of what exhausts me about the dark months is that I have to put so much energy into entertaining the kids from 5-bedtime or else the bickering is over the top.  So it's a concentrated effort put into entertaining all four of them at the same time.  Wendy had dishes last night, so that took care of her, the little boys only want their dad so that took care of them, and I played a few rounds of Rummikub with Allan tucked away in his cozy room. 
• We play  a lot of games in the winter, make a lot more trips to the library, and I'm more prone to pulling a kid out of the at home dynamics to take with me on errands. 

Markie's awake - and he's not smiling - time to run.....
Happy Thursday!

it got me

I can't help but wonder if I'd actually slept the past few days, or if I hadn't taken a hit off the kid's begging stash, if I would have been able to keep my head above this bug with a stronger immune system.

Or if holding the sick Markie for 3 days/nights straight had me doomed, regardless. And I wouldn't change that.

I spent yesterday on the couch
When my husband got home, I took my book, my bowl of stew, my tall glass of water and crawled into bed with my jammies on, at 5:30.  I stayed there until 6 this morning.

Today I'll be on the couch again, the headache is still lingering, but it feels like (knock on wood) that the fever has broke.

bah.

Happy Monday - sorry I'm late.....

.....I was busy getting ready for the first day of class - Get it Stamped! 101 started this morning (and the first class is up and ready to inspire!)  Here's another sneak peek - something I was playing with over the weekend.  Holographic embossing powder is my new best friend - and my kitchen literally shines.   ;) 

Happy Monday!!

And if someone could give me hope that Markie will get over this bug soon, and be a little bit more, well, happy - that would be great.  He's been kicking and screaming for the last hour and a half.   Bah.

halloween recap

On Friday night we carved pumpkins - not a moment too soon.  Markie was still in pretty rough shape so I had to do a lot of consoling while dad was helping the other kids and Mark just wanted dad.  Dad has so much more fun carving pumpkins than I do.  It's that whole carving connection thing.

 

Allan started his a little bit earlier - he does his all on his own now - and the less people at the table, the better the dynamics.  I had the thought, as I'm typing this, that Sunday morning breakfast might go more peacefully if we just got school desks for everyone and ditch the whole dining room table thing.

Note the carving hold - he could really get into it - I wish he'd do his own some year and really go to town.  This one he's carving is at Brian's request.

This is my view from the couch where I was holding Mark and trying to occupy him for a few moments.  It was not an easy task as I tried to convince him that the other kids wanted their dad too.

And there's my pumpkin.  A quick 2 minute thing  = it fits my busy life, and I love the whimsicalness of it (that should be a word)

Brian's pumpkin on the left and Wendy's on the right.  She thought the puking pumpkin we did last year (or was it the year before) was so great, she couldn't wait to do it again. 

And then it was Saturday.

We dug out the costumes
Wendy started soccer
Had Santa Fe Chicken for dinner (p. 155 - it works MUCH better with Minute Rice)
And started decking out the kids

 

This one decked out himself and ran the streets with a friend.  I told him to have fun, because it may well be his last year.   He said, "mooooooooooooooooom"   He's not ready to realize that he's growing up.

 

This one struggled a little bit - she wanted to wear this costume - but it was too cold for short sleeve shirts, too windy for witches hats

And she forgot that she actually doesn't like face make-up because her hair gets stuck to it.  So with 15 minutes to begging time - we were washing off face paint and trying to find an alternative

I had to have her do her own scrubbing at first while I helped Brian get dressed.  His costume was a gift, and was so delightfully perfect for him - size and everything.   He came home with the report, "Mom, people asked me where my princess is"  and he thought that was just too funny. And he absolutely could not take his eyes of the spooks on the sidewalk for this photo.  Could.not.

We got most of Wendy's make up off, but enough was left to give her a pale "oh - we did that on purpose" look.  I tried to make her a colorful witch - pink shirt, pink boa and a black kerchief in her hair to help deal with the wind - but she was having none of it.  She'd passed over the line into grumpyhood so I had to tread carefully.

And this one stayed home with me. He's still pretty miserable.  He's a grumpus lumpus when he's sick.

Uncle George came over and helped me pass out treats.  He said it was way too cold to go trick or treating and I agreed.  He hasn't been over for about three weeks, so it was fun to have him on a night when we could enjoy that extra hour (time change) with him.

I wish I counted our beggars this year - as the number seemed to have gone up after steadily declining for the past 12 years.  The first year we moved here we had 300.  Last year we had 75.  If I had to guess (Darn, that I didn't count) I'd guess we had about 125 last night. 

We also noticed that the costumes were a lot more original and cost effective.  My favorite was the little girl who was dressed up as a cook, with a chef's hat and a pot, complete with a wooden spoon, for her candy. 

My kids came back with about five pounds of candy each.  I'm trying to talk them into selling it - there's a dentist in town who's buying it for $1/pound and sending it over to the troops.  My kids aren't on that wagon yet - they like all that chocolate.  

Everyone home again, showered - Wendy snuggled up next to the sound of the guitar while studying her Sunday school lesson.  She fell asleep in this exact position just two minutes later, just after saying that she was having a hard time memorizing the meaning.

And now it's Sunday.

I'm home this morning with the little boys - one who still has a fever and one who won't stop hacking.

Happy November!