Z-Man and One year!

Mr Zakkai, Z-man, Zakkaious, Zapatch and so on, has earned his first prize from his chart! He is halfway through and doing a great job! He was thrilled to earn a new game for his Leapfrog Explorer that he got for Christmas. Yea Zakkai!!

And we were reminiscing on Sunday because it was the one year anniversary of my foot surgery. Wow, that was quite a hectic time! I know my mom and Ben will never forget that time with Eliana being so very sick and needing her own trip to the ER and me down and out for far longer than any of us hoped for!

***Bypass the next picture and scroll down fast if you're squeamish!!!!

There was my poor swollen foot in all it's glory after dropping the darn rotory cutter on it. Let me tell you that I highly would NOT recommend doing that!

 

In the past couple of months, I have finally been able to Zumba mostly pain-free, which is nice! I only notice issues if I wear the wrong shoes for too long or am really active. It will ache sometimes or randomly burn along the scarline, which is weird. And I cannot stand having anyone step on my foot (which happens frequently with children around!) or put pressure on the scar. Other than those random things, I am so thankful to walk and I hope I never take it granted again!

 

They say that you're as healed as you'll ever be after one year and I am happy to have reached that point! It seemed SO far away last February. I think it will take a long time to forget the pain of foot surgery/injuries!

 

It's also almost one year since Eliana woke up with her eye issues. It's crazy to think about how much has changed in a year.

Can't wait to find out where we are and what's happened next year!

Sunday Scraps.

 It has been a busy few days around here and that leaves me feeling totally uninspired at night time when it comes to blogging. Sometimes anyways. Do allow me to say that your comments always energize me to keep up! So thanks, peeps:) (well, those of you who comment, anyway. Ahem.)

This is what 8 loads of laundry looks like (minus the 2 stacks that were drying on the drying rack and on various chairs and surfaces:) I got a little behind on laundry due to a severe quarter draught but once we get down to no undies or socks or towels, it's time to buck up and do it! This would be $20 worth of laundry and 4-5 hours of labor.

I'm considered joining our family in a nudist colony or inventing an automatic washing machine/sorter/dryer/folder. Although really, I actually like the folding part. Thankfully, everyone pitched in and helped put it all away!

I have this pair of socks that I like. And don't like. They are a silky, soft cotton and I probably should've thrown them away months ago but good socks are hard to come by so I couldn't bring myself to do it.. See that "scar" that my sock has? That, until this afternoon, was a gaping hole.

How did it get that gaping hole, you ask? These socks are the infamous socks I was wearing on that fateful night last December when I dropped a rotary cutter on my foot.

Anyone else out there shudder at the same time I did?

These socks creep me out. The hole. The memories. Ugh. So today I finally took a step towards emotional healing (and sock saving) and sewed the hold shut. All that remains is a scar. Just like on my foot.

And last but not least, see these children? They're pretty cute and I love them:)

The end.

Back to Busyness.

 I am bone-tired tonight! It was a pretty busy day, probably my most busy day since walking and taking over duties.

*Zakkai had kindergarten screening this morning. He was very excited to see his school for next year. The teacher said that he is very good with numbers and asked if we see that with him at home. I told her that we have recently noticed an increasing interest in math with him. He definitely does NOT get that from his mama!

She encouraged us to work on letter sounds with him, even allowing him to watch Leap Frog's "The Letter Factory" to help. Luckily, we have the DVD so he got to watch it this morning. Poor kid:)

*Eliana is on day 6 of her cold and seems to be fighting an infection now. She was running like a faucet until yesterday afternoon when her nose suddenly got blocked up. She's had a fever off and on all day and has been pretty clingy. I really hope she can shake this soon so we can avoid a dr's visit!

*I had my last post-op appointment today! The dr is pleased with my progress and has referred me to have a session of PT for exercises and "gait training." I am having trouble walking on my foot properly which shouldn't be surprising since it hasn't been "normal" for 4 months now! Even if I have a crazy foot for the rest of my life, I am still so thankful to be walking and will not take it for granted!!

The boys got to play a little WII on Sunday:) They were tandem-bike racing and even though this pic is blurry, I just love how much Zakkai gets into it!!

 Little Miss still likes to remind us who's boss by ocasionally ripping out her bows or taking her glasses off:) She is doing really great with her glasses for the most part~only taking them off when really mad or having a moment of orneriness. We don't think her prescription is strong enough so chances are they'll have to increase it when she gets re-checked in a few weeks. (the dr purposefully cut down her prescription b/c it's so high) It just stinks that "trial and error" costs $. Boo.

 This is how E likes to climb into her car:) Nevermind that the door opens.....

I got some new glasses, too! They are kid's glasses since they fit my face better. It's nice to have glasses to wear more often to get a break from contacts!!

Our friend Mr J. came over the other day and surprisingly our gun-shy baby took to him like fish to water! She stood there staring at him for several minutes and started talking and before we knew it, she was in his lap! I don't think he realizes how lucky he is to get that kind of reception:)

Ciao!

Warning: Long post!!

 Lots of progress is being made over here! First of all, I am really happy to say I think I've finally turned the corner after 5 miserable days. Yuck. I don't remember the last time I've had the flu but let me say for the record that the flu shot is probably a good idea!

Especially if you have a few germ-carrying children living with you!

Also, I am......ready for this? WALKING!!! I have made it through 2 days crutch-free now! I am not ready to be traipsing all over the neighborhood or anything but definitely can get around the house. It feels SO good to be able to do things again: helping prepare meals, washing dishes and carrying my sweet girl!

I am so looking forward to gaining strength so I can do normal things like walking through a store or to the park or even standing for longer periods of time, which is kind of painful. At the orders of my crazy-doc, I had to buy some Crocs to wear so I could have a looser, more comfortable shoe to wear. Even if they are ugly.

So I am the proud new owner of some Raspberry and Gray colored Crocs. Please don't judge me. I know I'm not cool. But they are helping me as I re-learn how to walk without the pirate-peg-leg-gait. Definitely not cool.

Missy Darlin' is 17 months old now! She is picking up new words like "Dint" (Drink) and "Peez" (please), "Doo-doo" (Choo-Choo) and "Doddie" (Doggie). She loooooves to tell us about every train that goes by.....which is a lot when you live right next to a train track:) But her little train sign and "Doo-doo!" never gets old:)

She is getting VERY picky with her food. I was in a really happy place called Denial, thinking that the picky stage would skip right over her. Right. She turns up her nose at old favorites, making it very hard to figure out what to feed her. Some staples that we know she will always eat are cheese, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli and most meat. Little stinker!

She is getting so tall and loving walking around everywhere. I just realized the other day that I haven't seen her crawl lately. For awhile after she learned to walk, she would crawl a few times a day. But it's gradually stopped over the past week or so. (wiping tear away).

She is doing great with her glasses! She barely put up a fight today and seems to actually like them. We are noticing instant correction with her eye, which makes us SO happy!

I got to put my sweet angel to bed tonight, all the way through with no "help" needed. It was wonderful. To give her a bath, get her all cozy, rock her and read her a story. I am so thankful.

 This kiddo is maturing so fast! He has calmed down so much, not throwing as many ridiculous tantrums (although they still burst out from time to time!). He is more sensitive to things like being left-out by his brother and neighborhood friends and fairness. He is riding the line between wanting to be little boy and play in the bathtub and race cars and wanting to be like big brother, who doesn't want to play the same things much anymore. It makes me feel sad for him because I don't want him to stop being a little boy yet.

Cute story: He came home from preschool a couple weeks ago with a sticker on his shirt. I noticed it and asked about it. He said, "I got this sticker from playing Salom at school." I said "Salom? What is that?" He explained that "Salom" was something they played during free time and his teacher, Ms Dredsen, gave out some stickers.

I was totally thinking it was some cultural thing they were playing since they celebrate a lot of different cultures/holidays. So I was surprised (and amused) upon further questioning to find out that "Salom" is a place where girls go to get their hair fixed but boys can't go there.

I still haven't figured out why he's getting Salom stickers if boys don't go there but I didn't ask. He got two Salom stickers that week:)

His little boy-ness that I want to remember: He still gets "psketti" face after he eats spaghetti, he loves to come sit in my lap, he loves to play in the bathtub for long periods of time, he talks to himself while he plays, he loves to pick out all his own clothes (very proudly) and regularly mismatches or puts shirts on backwards (so cute:), he announces almost every time that he has to go potty, he's sweet and tender, developing his self-confidence, wants to be loved and included, screams and laughs the loudest and has the most beautiful blue eyes ever!

My Samuel is such BIG kid now. To the point where we are adjusting disciplining/rewards to fit now. (ex. being sent to his room instead of time-outs or losing privileges instead of toys) He's maturing so fast and while it is a good, normal, happy thing, it also makes me sad!! How is this kiddo already 6 1/2??

He doesn't like to take baths anymore, just wants to wash himself and get right out (much to the sadness of Z). We've offered to teach him how to take a shower so he can be quick but he's not too sure about all the water running over his face:) He doesn't play with Thomas the Train anymore, his love since he was 2 1/2! He constantly complains of being "bored" even though he has tons of toys. The thing that really tugged at my sensitive mommy-heart was when I noticed over the past months, that while giraffees still hold a place of honor in his bed, he doesn't always notice if they fall out right away. He's quick to pick them up and tuck them up by his pillow if you tell him but he's such a big kid now. (of course, today he brought giraffees in for inspection, showing me holes and various things to perform mommy-surgery on:)

He rolls is eyes at our humor and says "Oh, brother!" He sneaks up on us, hoping to overhear secret adult conversation, convinced we are having all the fun without them.

But he still loves hugs, he giggles and belly-laughs when you tickle him, he feels things so deeply and cries easily (like his mama!) because of that beautiful, sensitive heart. He's still that same sweet boy we welcomed into our life 6 1/2 years ago......he's just bigger. And more mature. And that takes some getting used to.

I just love these kiddos and all the joy and noise they bring to our life!

Friday's List

* Another beautiful sunny day here! Z was begging to play outside by 830am:)

*Made it through solo half day #3 this week! One big solo day to come tomorrow....I'm nervous!

*Eliana is finally forgiving me for my lack of mommy-ness for a few weeks. She is loving being around me, calling me "Mama" and snuggling lots!

*I have a love/hate relationship with March Madness. I've never ever cared for basketball until I joined the annual family brackets for the first time last year. And here it is again and I remember now why I love and hate it! I get too emotionally invested:) Darn upsets!!

*We surprised Z this afternoon by using a little bit of his birthday money to buy him a scooter, since he didn't get much for his bday. He was SOOOO happy! It has red handles and light up wheels:)

*Missy looked like a beautiful cornflower today in her blue dress and flower hair clip:) She got lots of compliments when we were out today.

*She also threw a toddler tantrum in the store when she had to be picked up b/c it was time to go. It didn't last but a minute. Love that she's at the age where distraction is so easy!!

*Samuel came home from school today and said, "Mommy, guess what?! At school today our room was a mess! A leprechaun snuck into our room and leprechaun's a really messy. There was even a footprint on my desk! It left a piece of gold for all of us. But it's not real gold, see? (holds up green fake gold piece). Mommy, are leprechaun's real?"

*Tried to put my baby to bed for the first time in 5 weeks. I ended up in tears while rocking and reading to her because it's so frustrating to not be able to do what I want and need to do. It takes so long to do everything and B had to come help get her dressed because let's just say that things started to fall apart.

I never would've guessed I would be at this point over a month after surgery. This week I felt so hopeful that I was finally going down to one crutch and feeling like I'd be walking next week. I ended up back on 2 crutches last night and part of today because I overdid things and paid for it. I know I am making lots of progress but...

I'll never taking walking for granted again.

*We seriously make the best homemade pizza ev.er. I'm not boasting, it's true! Okay, I'm boasting. It is AWESOME. We've come up with a new secret ingredient that just puts the pizza, which we've been perfecting for a few years, over the edge. Wow. Come on over and try it!

*One of the highlights of today? Buying.....Girl Scout Cookies!!! Mmmm! It's been years and years since I have had some and I looked it up last week and realized they were selling some at a local store this afternoon so we stopped by on our way home. The girl scout was THE cutest little girl and she had pink glasses:) Her mom said she just loves her glasses and has since she was a baby. Girl Scout won me over by saying, "Are you going to buy cookies?? You're pretty!!" Charming:)

*Happy Friday!

The light!

 Wow, it was another beautiful day today! It started out a bit gloomy and rainy but ended up sunny and warm enough for the boys to throw their bookbags on their hooks and run outside to play:)

Even Little Miss is in the spring spirit. She begs to go outside! She had these weird random tantrums at the end of last week and we couldn't connect the dots right away until she realized we weren't so bright and started bringing her coat to one of us to put on and standing by the stroller. On Friday morning, she was ready to walk Samuel to school before everyone else; coated and strapped into her stroller HAPPILY for at least 10 minutes or so!

She also finds her shoes and tries to put them on (or throws them in our laps!) and just hangs off of Ben whining and letting him know in no uncertain terms that she is ready for fresh air! It's pretty cute and she has the best time ever when she's allowed out of prison to roam the backyard!

"I'm such a big girl now!!"

Yelling directions to her brothers while they played outside yesterday:) She's quite the boss these days!!

Today I had my very first partial solo day. It was tough and tiring but I did it! Ben helped me prepare as much as we could last night (making lunches,etc). The hardest parts for me were getting around in the kitchen to get E a snack before nap and getting her upstairs for nap.

It involved both of us crawling up the stairs, me trying to guide her into her room instead of into her exciting brothers' room, and trying to figure out how to get her into her crib on one leg while snatching the back of her skirt to prevent escape #2!

Finally, we figured it out and she slept peacefully so I got a good break while Z was at school.

Hardest day down!

I went down to one crutch this afternoon to see how it would go and I think I can do it if I am careful. Or at least for half of the day anyways. There's a light at the end of this long tunnel!!

And I'm running towards it! (in my mind anyways.....:)

Sunshine Baby!

Hi, there! Well, it's the end of 4 weeks of being babied for me. Back to (modified) reality tomorrow. Ben goes back to work and we are working on plans to help me survive!

Ben has been a champion these past weeks, especially this last one. He threw himself into the role of Daddy-Mommy with gusto and pretty much burned himself out by yesterday. He swung from dreading going back to work because he really did enjoy spending so much time with us to this morning looking forward to going back because he is TIRED!

I said "Welcome to my world!!" With appreciation and love, of course;)

It is nice, though, to have him wear my shoes for awhile and see that it's not as easy as it may sometimes look. I'm not usually sitting on the couch eating bon-bons and having the children fan me with palm leaves.

It's a good thought though.....:)

I am a little nervous stepping back into some of my roles again. I get tired much more easily and there are many things I can't do yet. But I suppose I should take my own advice from this New Year's and take it one day at a time, one small goal at a time.

Did you notice that the font is bigger?? (I heard you, Grandma!) I have worried at times that the typing is too small or too fancy for you to read so please speak up if you have trouble. I aim to please:)

Ready for something cute? I thought so!!

One of the happiest little critters around!! This girl is just brimming with life, joy and spunk!!

 "I very busy, Mama. Taking my baby for a walk!"

The boys got some "new" clothes from their Grandma and have SO enjoyed picking out new shirts to wear each day. They love being able to wear short sleeves now that it's 60 degrees every day!!

(once again, B is talking the whole time in the backround:) I couldn't erase this video though because I love to hear that sweet "Mama!")

And Missy, if she hadn't already, completely mushed me up into a sugary puddle this weekend by FINALLY, consistently calling me "MAMA." Not "Dada."  Not "Mada." (a combo!) Just "Mama!" And I think it'll stick this time instead of lasting for a day and having me go back to "Dada."

All weekend she has been saying "Mama" in the sweetest voice you ever heard, just to get my attention and make sure I'm watching her!

This girl has some charm and she knows how to use it!!

Happy Sunday!

Spring Time....

In February?! The weather has been SO mild, a far cry from the "worst winter in at least 60 years" that was predicted a few months ago.

Today it was over 60 degrees, albeit with lots of wind. Zakkai was out playing at least 3 times today:)

Here he is a couple of days ago having fun in the driveway! He hasn't minded being outside by himself and spends long periods of time digging up the gravel driveway. It's fun to peek out the window and watch him:)

 And finally it was warm enough for Little Miss to go outside, too! She definitely gave her Grandma a run for her money today because she is a BUSY bee.

 Zakkai did some plowing on the tractor, preparing his fields to plant tomatoes, corn, pickles and green peppers:)

 He seems to have been the least affected of all of us through these past 2 1/2 weeks, soaking in every bit of extra love and attention he has gotten from Mugga, Grandma, Papa, and a couple of my aunts. I'm totally going to be old hat when we get back home!

 My two littlest chickies:)

 Miss Thang is officially, officially a WALKER now! But she did take a break outside and did a little fancy fast crawling for old times sake:)

 Even I got to enjoy the fresh air and the still, quiet view from the front porch:)

Can't believe how big she's getting! Her daddy's going to be surprised when he sees her walking everywhere!

Samuel has made a full recovery from his flu, as of this morning. He sounded SO much better on the phone tonight. He said he can't wait to give me a big hug on Saturday when our family is finally reunited!

I wish I could say that I am headed home fully mended and walking~oh, how I wish! That may not be the case but I have made some progress and hope to begin taking small steps (with both crutches) next week. I am just so anxious to see Ben and Samuel and feel whole again. I have missed them so much!

We've really been working to find all the silver linings in this situation~ a good practice, for sure. While it has been very rough on us in many ways, a lot of good things have come from it, too. Especially extra time with our family, whom we miss all the time.

Hope your day was full of silver linings!

Eliana's New Skill

We had our very first outing today!! Well, I suppose I should say my first outing:) We were all feeling a bit cagey and, as you know, Sunday was rough so it was exciting for all of us to get some fresh air. And for me, to feel "human" again:)

It was worth the extra pain of the rest of the day, seriously. We went to the mall and got our newest walker some new shoes! She screamed like she was getting shots when her feet got measured but it was all good in the end.

She got to ride in my wheelchair with me. Oh yeah.

We also made a brief trip to Target, where we met my sister. I got to be even more cool with a smooth ride through the store on a motorized cart. With my foot propped up on the basket. All I needed was streamers and a bell and the picture would've been complete! I had to take over driving from Zakkai, who was sitting on my lap, when we almost ran over my 7 month pregnant sister and crashed into a few displays.

That was slightly mortifying:)

Samuel is doing so much better tonight, thankfully! He finally stopped throwing up this morning and perked up this afternoon. I could tell from talking to him that he is weak but glad to be feeling better.

And now I leave you with a peak at Eliana's new skill! She LOVES it.

The dog hates it.

The Chronicles of the Gimp

I'm not exactly a picture-taking guru these days. As a matter of fact, most of the time my camera's not within reach and it's not too easy for me to get up and find it! Eliana took my camera downstairs yesterday so now I just need someone to bring it back to me.....:)

Today was a very happy day for my Z-man! He got to spend a wonderful morning with my Aunt. They did puzzles, went on a walk, dug in the gravel driveway, ate mac and cheese (he informed her that he does not usually eat the boxed kind, as it isn't good for you! Haha), and just had a great time!

Then "babysitter #2" came along for the next shift and that happened to be the one and only Grandma! She immediately drew Zakkai into the fun task of baking cupcakes. He was waiting anxiously to do this alllll morning:) He didn't get to have any cake or cupcakes on his bday so I am so happy that he had fun making some today! He got to sample one before dinner and tried to trick his Mugga into another one for after dinner. Thankfully, Grandma was still there and caught onto his sneaky scheme:)

Eliana surprised us all with a good 3 1/2 hour nap today. She would've even kept going but we had to wake her up for the shift change. She was probably extra tired from that 2 1/2 hour talking/laughing spell in the late hours of the evening last night....

I got pretty emotional after talking to my Samuel tonight. I miss him so much! He has the cutest little voice on the phone and hearing him say "I miss you, mommy" would be enough to break even the toughest of hearts! I know he and Daddy are having a great time bonding in the bachelor pad but we all can't wait to fit the pieces of our family puzzle back together again.

I am same old, same old. I figure I may have to do some heavy duty exercise after this whole shebang is over with~except for my arms! Crutches are a great way to get definition in your arms! Not that I would recommend you needing them......But I'll have an extra pair here sometime that you can borrow for fun:)

Until next time....
Love,
Gimpy

Recovery.

So, a lot of people have been asking about my recovery from this ordeal. If I haven't answered you, promise I wasn't ignoring you ~ I just didn't know.

I didn't get good answers before the surgery. You all know how last week went and I was pretty preoccupied with my crazy (but very nice!) dr and all the clearance appointments she made me go to and trying to prepare for this week.

Apparently recovering from foot surgery stinks. I had this insane idea that I'd be laid out for a few days, given that I was at least warned that the first few days would be miserable, and then hobbling around on a crutch or two with my boot, back to busyness by the end of this week.

What, am I freaking crazy????? No one warned me that surgery is like trauma to your body and that you'll feel like you got hit with a mack truck anytime you do anything drastic like, oh, take a shower or go to the drs! And that doesn't even count the healing of the surgical site itself.

I am taking some serious nappage over here. Yesterday at the drs, I was so wiped out, I was shaking and apparently pure white since the dr made her nurse run and grab me some water to sip on and forced me to lay down until color came back to my cheeks. Apparently she's had people pass out on her before:)

Okay, so for real, I'm laid out for awhile. No weight bearing til Tues when she'll give me the go ahead to just start to begin to slightly bear weight with my crutches. Um, taking care of 3 kids (one of whom doesn't walk), cooking, cleaning, driving, laundry, etc just does not happen too well when you have one leg and 2 crutches.

Samuel keeps saying, "I wish you didn't drop a rotary cutter on your foot, mommy." Me, too, Buddy. Me.too. If I could rewind time, I would.

In all honesty, we're kinda reeling over here, trying to figure out how to fly crippled for a little while. Ben and my mom seriously deserve medals for everything they are doing.

I'm asking for your prayers. Once again. This isn't the end of the world; people go through MUCH more than this. It's a minor glitch in our busy life! But a glitch, it is. Samuel is extra emotional about things, Zakkai is latched onto my mom like white on rice, Eliana is still recovering, just in time to get some molars, Ben and my mom are exhausted and I'm laying with my foot in the air feeling incredibly, overwhelmingly guilty and helpless. It's a lot right now.  I am wishing for the millionth time that we lived closer to family because I know that's what family is for: Loving and supporting each other through rough times and happy times.

I promise to try not to complain too much. But I'm also learning that it's okay to reach out when you need a little help or some extra prayers. And I hope that you'll reach out to me when you have those times, too, so I can shower you with my love and prayers. Actually, now would be a great time since I can't do much else;)

Day 3

in case I haven't lost you all as readers, thought I'd post a quick update:)

*It's been a rough weekend for all of us!

*Eliana finally turned the corner this afternoon. Praise the Lord! She has been beyond miserable for days now, constantly crying in this pathetic moaning way. She's had these heartbreaking "sick eyes" but after her second nap today, she perked up and ate better, played better and the best part? Even started smiling again!! Let's hope, for daddy's sake, she sleeps better tonight. He's getting a good taste of what getting up in the night is like;)

*I am hanging in there. This isn't fun, no bones about it, but I am so thankful the worst is over. No more anxiety over the surgery. No more "what ifs," about the surgery anyways. Just healing and moving on.

*Friday night and yesterday were miserable for me, quite honestly. Thankfully, after not being able to get ahold of my dr, we were able to talk to a dr friend of ours, whom we love (Thank you!), and she was able to give us advice on pain medicine. I can't take strong pain medications, due to strong sensitivities, so I was sent home on Motrin and told to "tough it out." Nice, huh? Motrin every 8 hours was NOT working so now I have a round the clock relationship with Motrin and tylenol. Thank you, Miss E, for helping us take the edge of my misery!!

*So here I lie, with my foot above my heart, only able to make short trips to the bathroom with my crutches. I am being waited on, hand and foot (no pun intended...haha), reading books, taking naps and receiving periodic visits from the boys. I attempted my first shower today and even though I paid for it dearly, it felt so wonderful to wash "hospital" off. Although, I wonder how long it will take to get the iodine off.....

Here's to good sleeping tonight for all of us!
*

Last Hoorahs.

Please forgive me for all the surgery posts! It's been consuming my mind a bit lately:)

Today I had yet another drs appt to ease my OCD dr's mind and everything is a GO for tomorrow morning at 9am.

I want to thank you a million times for all of the kind words of encouragment, the prayers and thoughts. I woke up sick to my stomach this morning, just so anxious and not able to eat but suddenly late morning, after a call from the hospital nurse, my anxiety just .....disappeared!

It was the weirdest feeling to be without it. I didn't even question it, I just enjoyed it:) And thanked God for His peace. And after things went well at my last check-up with a specialist, I felt even more free and just ready to do this thing.

Believe me, I know this isn't major surgery or anything and there are people going through so much worse out there. It's just my first surgery and my dr being "anal" (her words) with all of her anxieties didn't help me one bit this week!

So thank you for all your support! E is improving slowly and we are praying she will have a smooth day tomorrow.

If you want to know any updates, please feel free to call/text Ben or my mom. If you need the numbers, you can email me. Before 7am, that is;)

See you on the flip side!

Sometimes Life is Stinky.

So......today hasn't been the greatest day, unfortunately. Wish I could have a post with funny stories or cute pictures but instead, do you mind if I just lay it all out there for a sec? Thanks!

The "wrinkle" that I mentioned last night has turned into a wave and now my surgery will be cancelled for Friday. I am incredibly frustrated because I have been so anxious about this whole process and SO ready to get it done and move on! The podiatrist has referred me to see another specialist due to some condition she thinks I might be developing (which I disagree with) and she refuses to do surgery until it's checked out.

So I had an appointment set up for tomorrow morning (my 3rd drs appointment of the week) and the office called to "confirm" this afternoon and said the dr will not see me and didn't give a rip that everything is all set up for Friday. So I can't even get in to see him til the end of the month!

I am really frustrated with my podiatrist for not even discussing this when I saw her 3 weeks ago, when it could've been taken care of. So all this running around like a nutcase to (oh, let's count them....1,2,3.4,5 ) appointments in the past 3 weeks is all for naught.

I would really appreciate your prayers as I figure out what to do and for the timing of everything. And please pray that I do not have this condition she talked about!

And then Little Miss is sick:( She was totally fine this morning but just before today's dr appointment, she woke up from her nap crying and crying. She was up to over a 102 temp by 4pm and took 3 naps today between 11 and 5pm. She is clearly miserable and so she could use some prayers, too!

I know soon this will be nothing but an annoying memory and in the scheme of things, it's really not that big of a deal. It just stinks for now!

Trying to think about things that are true, things that are lovely, things that are pure and things that are right. Looking for the peace of God that surpasses all understanding!

Ramblin' Tuesday!

Howdy! (that's for all my Texan relatives:) It was the craziest day today but we managed to survive!

*Eliana is walking a bit more now! She took about 14 steps on Sunday~the most ever! And has done a big chunk each day this week. Yikes! I was beginning to think she'd be a lifetime crawler.....

*I went to the podiatrist today and found out I do have a severed tendon and will be having surgery shortly. Only I could do such a ridiculous thing that would end up with such consequences! I have several appointments lined up in the next 2 weeks including: an MRI, another appt with the podiatrist next week to discuss results and surgery dates and an appt with my reg doc in 2 weeks to get medical clearance for take-off, I mean surgery. Wow. It kind of hasn't sunk in and I think I'll leave it that way for a bit. No sense getting myself worked up over my fear of surgery and having to recover ALLLL over again.

*Ben keeps making ridiculous jokes/puns like "Well, you have to just get your foot in the door.." and "Just take it one step at a time" and "You need to have both feet on the ground." He does make me laugh and if this helps him deal with it, then he can go ahead and use my injury as a joke board! Feel free to join in.

*Zakkai is turning 5 in only a few short weeks and is happily helping to plan a party. I hope we can still have one now! He is also getting invitation after invitation from fellow preschool birthday-ites and get this: one invite even specifies what kind of gift to buy!! Wow again.

*Made and ate lasagna tonight and it was good! Okay, okay, so I didn't have a miraculous healing and am now loving lasagna. Sorry to get your hopes up that I will lead a normal life now. It was Mexican lasagna. No mushiness. No ricotta cheese. Even the baby gobbled it up!

Off to attempt exercising with strange men in biker shorts! Okay, that sounded weird...

The Tornado

What you are about to see is only a small glimpse of what the baby tornado is doing to my home on an hourly basis. This particular destruction took approximately 1 minute or less to occur. Prepare yourself.

I had a dr appointment this afternoon for my foot (more in a moment) and when I walked in my front door, I saw, scatter allllll over the living room floor, two kinds of big legos, Mr. Potato head and all his accessories, a play piggy bank and its coins, the shape sorter and its shapes, the picnic basket and its play food and some cars.

And when I looked questioningly around the room, all 3 male fingers pointed in the direction of Eliana.

Who will now be renamed the "Baby Tornado." Can I hire a cleaning lady???

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So I have been referred to see a podiatrist (appt next Tues) for a possible laceration of the tendon on my 4th toe. My dead toe, as I have come to think of it fondly. Or maybe not so fondly:)

Until then, I have to buddy tape my toe to the one next to it and put on some cream that is supposed to help with the burning that comes from the nerve damage. Boy, I really did a number! Why did I have to be born so klutzy???!

We'll see what happens.

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I found the boys some snow pants today on clearance because apparently you should wear snow pants during the cold winters! The kids aren't allowed to do a lot of things on the playground at school if they don't wear them and they will be having recess on all days it is above 10 degrees.

Samuel and Zakkai have never had any and they are thrilled to pieces! They wore them around the house this afternoon:) I bought bigger sizes so they can last 2-3 years for each of them.

As a matter of fact, they love them so much that they have decided I need a pair, too! haha.

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I'll leave you on a funny note. Tonight I attempted Zumba again, modified. There is this middle aged guy who has started attending the class. He stands out because he is, after all, the only male in the class. And it could also be his skin tight biker shorts and muscle shirt, too.

Or maybe the way he gets so into the moves, you get a little distracted feeling like you've suddenly entered a zumba/kickboxing/ballet class. Anyways, I admit a giggle slipped out tonight when Mr. Biker Shorts got carried away with his movements and what he was doing and when the teacher darted over to turn up the music in the middle of the song, he started running after her!

Oh, it makes me laugh now to think about it! At least he's having a good time and that's what it's all about.

Oh and exercising, too:)