Water, Art, and Chocolate

Talk about a packed Saturday!  This morning started with swim lessons.  

Wait, back up.  The day really started with chocolate chunk pancakes.  Which I guess means that today started and ended with chocolate.

For

the

win.

After pancakes, the boys packed up and headed to the pool for swim lessons.  It turns out that the pool was holding an Open House this morning, so the boys got to do more playing than usual and came home with goodie/promotional bags.  The boys are at an age when they are still thrilled by a free pen.  It is a beautiful thing.

After a quick noodle-heavy lunch, we headed to a local high school for the County Arts Festival whereat Michael's artwork was being showcased.   

So fun for him.  Slightly less fun for the lady on crutches who had to traverse an enormous high school to find the monster in question.  But we are very proud of him.  And his monster with twelve eyes.

Then it was home again, home again, jiggity jig so Nana could begin work on the four-layer chocolate cake that Ben had requested for his birthday.

A little background on the cake:  I have a confession to make. I have been watching a ton of Food Network shows lately.  This is a questionable activity on multiple levels.  First, I can't eat anything they make anyway.  Second, they make me hungry.  Third, I don't even like to cook.  Fourth, I really could find more productive things to do with my time.  And fifth, I watch them with Ben and then he gets "ideas."  Like the one he had while watching the Pioneer Woman's birthday episode wherein she makes a four-layer chocolate cake and homemade ice cream.  Ben immediately declared that it was the cake he wanted for his birthday.  Knowing that I don't like to bake with gluten these days and that his Nana can rarely turn down a chocolate cake challenge, I emailed her the recipe.

There may have been a few flaws in the recipe, because it fell apart and the icing didn't provide any support for the four layers.  Poor thing actually developed fault lines in the first 5 minutes of its existence.  Jason took these pictures quickly before large chunks fell off the sides.

Michael and Ben loved it.  Jason dubbed it the "mudslide" cake. Nana was disappointed and deleted the recipe from her phone.   However, I pointed out to her that if the success of a cake is measured by how much the target audience likes it, this cake was definitely a win.  Ben declared today the "best day ever" and would like Nana to make it every day.  

And after seeing this yummy chocolate monstrosity, Michael might be making plans on what size cake he wants for his birthday.

Doctors

I've had the pleasure of meeting with several doctors over the last two years.  This pleasure has been compounded by some truly fabulous conversations. (Please note that each of the following conversations was a different doctor.)

Me:  The pain in my foot has gotten much worse.
Doctor:  Well, let's get an x-ray.  I guess if it is broken I will owe you an apology.
Me:

Doctor:  So which bone did you break?
Me:  Fibular sesamoid.
Doctor:  I've never heard of anyone breaking that one.
Me:

Doctor:  So is it feeling better?
Me:  Well, it's been a week or so since the thought of going up the stairs has reduced me to tears.
Doctor:  Good.  It is getting better.
Me:

Doctor:  Do you think the broken sesamoid is what is causing you pain?  Do you really need it removed?  I have never heard of anyone being in pain from fracturing that bone.
Me:  The podiatrist seems to think so.  It is the only broken bone in my foot and the two casts, boot, and two rounds of physical therapy didn't help.
Doctor:  Well, let me know how it works out for you.
Me:

Not a Fluke

As I mentioned in the last post, Michael was sick Monday morning.  But then he seemed fine and ate everything he wanted, helped out with chores in the morning and went sledding in the afternoon and seemed none the worse for wear.  All of which made us hopeful that it was just a random occurrence and not the stomach flu.

Turns out, it was not a fluke.  Unless fluke means "infectious disease that spreads like wildfire among the children" rather than "either half of the triangular tail of a whale" or "an accident or chance happening" like dictionary.com claims.

In any case, our hopes were dashed this morning around 1am when the bug hit the child with the least ability to make it to the bathroom in time.  And thus it was that cheesy quinoa patties will probably be off the menu for a while.  Mainly because although a general favorite, I don't think that either Jason or I will be able to eat them for a while after scrubbing them out carpet this morning.

So this morning Ben is comfortably quarantined situated on a sheet covered chair with a blanket, his bowl, water bottle and pedialyte popsicle.  And I am covering every child I can catch in hand sanitizer and spraying a too-strong bleach mixture on all hard surfaces within a 5 foot radius of every place Ben goes.  Oh, and we are watching Harry Potter because nothing says sick day like a full-length feature film before 9 in the morning.

Snow Day

Today is snow day #......who cares anymore?

As far as snow days go, it started off really poorly and has since gotten much better.  And since I have a lot of recent snow days to compare it too, that is saying quite a bit.

I woke up this morning sometime after 3am feeling rather disoriented.  It took a few moments for me to come a few realizations.  In this order: Jason was not in bed with me, the hall light was on, and Michael was throwing up in the bathroom.

I heard a joke once that said that the most effective alarm clock for a parent would be one that sounds like a child throwing up.  Apparently for Jason that is true.  I sleep like the dead and am a little slow.  For middle of the night emergency situations, the boys (and I) are lucky to have Jason.

Not the worst way to start the day, but definitely low on the list.  Luckily, that was the last of that.

The rest of the morning went much, much better.

Although, admittedly, just the absence of any more vomit was an improvement.

The rest of the morning was full of school work and chores.  Since I had prepped the boys the night before with a liberal mix of threats and promises (I hear any complaints and I will add extra chores AND when they were done they could play on the Wii), the chores and school work went pretty smoothly.  Of course, it helped that Josh caught the spirit of many hands make light work and his brothers followed suit.

They dusted, vacuumed, picked up, washed windows, read scriptures, played piano and cleaned their bedroom.

Like I said, much, much better.

And then this afternoon the boys went sledding out back so I think they will most likely consider today a success as well.

Now I get to think up a whole new list of chores for the boys to do tomorrow and pray that Michael being sick this morning was a fluke and not precursor to other boys (or mom or dad) being sick in the wee hours of the morning (or really any other time).

And...wait for it...most likely plan a similar day for Wednesday because in this county we don't do school when there is snow on the ground.

While I've Been On The Couch

Sadly, the world did not stop and take a break while I have been on the couch.  Activities occurred, projects were due, and lessons were attended.  Curiously, there wasn't as much school attendance as one might assume there would be over a two week period thanks to snow days.  Luckily, I have friends and family who have caught some of these moments I have not been able to be there for.

The second quarter awards ceremony was held the Tuesday after my surgery.  My friend was kind enough to send me this picture of Josh and his A&B Honor roll award.  Math was apparently his arch-nemesis this quarter and brought him his first B.

And Michael completed his first school project on a wild animal.  He chose the lion.  After reading a few books about lions and other big cats, he and Jason put together this shoe box habitat.  Pretty cool stuff.

When asked where lions live (not what their natural habitat is, mind you) he wrote down that lions live in the savannas, forests and zoos.  The teacher took off one point for the zoo answer and wrote a note to gently remind him that lions don't live in zoos.  I and the National Zoo would beg to differ.

Jason also helped Josh with his circuit project.  Although technically I was able to put weight on my foot by this time, I was not what one might call "happily mobile."  After a marathon shopping excursion to three stores with three boys to get all the parts, Jason helped Josh build a "operation" game.

It involved wire, wire strippers, tape, a light bulb, a ginormous battery and a Vibram Fivefingers shoebox.  And it works!

Time did, however, practically stop here in the front room of our house the last three weeks.  I have watched so many episodes of Lego Ninjago and Phineas and Ferb that I have sometimes felt that I was trapped in a horrible Twilight Zone episode with no escape from kid cartoons.  To break up the tedium, I also made it through two seasons of What Not To Wear.  Luckily there are only two seasons, because I was beginning to develop an irresistible urge to shop for clothes (a feeling utterly foreign to me under normal circumstances).

Eventually it occurred to me that I needed more meaning and purpose in my life than old episodes of a TLC show, so I started doing some reading.  I got caught up in a biography of Catherine the Great before I realized how long the book was.  That is a drawback to the Kindle - it is easy to miss the important detail of length if you aren't paying close attention.  So I was bit shocked to discover that I had only gotten through 3% of the book after hours of reading.  It is a good read, which is fortunate because there is a great deal of it to be read.  I haven't finished it yet because in the midst of her coronation, I was introduced to cross stitch.

Before the surgery, I bought two cross stitch kits and they waited two weeks for us to be formally introduced.  I bought two because I wanted to make sure I would have enough to occupy myself.  Silly Irene.

Behold!  Eight days of finger pricking work!

Yes, that is a headless geisha, why do you ask?  (And yes, I vastly underestimated how long this would take.)  I do enjoy it and look forward to finishing it; I just don't know what to do with it when it is done.  Where does one hang a 5x7 cross stitch of a geisha standing near cherry blossoms?

Oh, and we took some pictures.

In any case, my days of being mostly stranded on the couch are done.  As of last Friday I was given the go-ahead to start walking on my foot.  I guess I should have warned my foot that this day was coming, because it definitely was not ready for it.  I had envisioned waking up Friday morning, throwing my crutches to the wind and running around the house doing all the things I haven't been able to do for the last three weeks.

What actually happened is I stood with my crutches and gingerly put pressure on my foot and then grimaced through the resulting pain.  The pain that still continues.  Not good and not what, according to my doc, was supposed to happen.  Since opposites attract, Jason and I have opposing views on the topic.  Jason (half-full) thinks since the doc said he had to fight a bit to get the bone out means that there was more trauma to the tissue than normal and it will take a little bit longer to heal.  Oh, and that I should probably be taking vitamins.  I (half-empty and oh-my-gosh who drank my water that is gross now I can't drink it) fear that there is some permanent damage done to the nerves and tissues in my foot and I will never be able to walk pain-free again.

Jason might just be a little bit more sane than I.

Let It Snow (Again and again and again)

I lost count of how many snow days we've had so far this year.  I don't think we've actually had a full week of school since Winter Break, so it has been quite a few.  My favorites have been the ones when Jason was home as well as the boys.  The boys, however, love every single one of them.  At this point, they ask every single morning when they get up if there is school because so often the answer is "no".  

I used to like snow.  Then we moved to Virginia.

They. have. got. to. go. to. school.

Feel free to play the world's smallest violin for me.  This is a first world problem for sure.  The reality is we are safe and warm in our home with plenty of food.

And we have internet access and Kindles so Jason and the boys can bond over Studio C videos on YouTube. 

And the boys love each other.  (Although this is picture is a wee bit deceptive - I took this while Michael was "rocking" Ben to sleep while singing "Rock-a-Bye Baby".  At the end of the song he would throw Ben on the floor, Ben would laugh hysterically and jump back in Michael's lap to go again.)

And our current snow storm brought excellent packing snow so Josh made himself a tunnel fort.

And Jason made Michael a fort.

Oh, he made Ben one, too.

So, really we have it good.  We just have a grumpy mom who would really, really, really like her space and quiet time back.

What I Learned

It has been almost a whole week since my surgery.

So, let's not do that again.

I mean, it went fine.  I've seen the x-rays and the bone has indeed been removed; however, it will be a while yet until we know if the removal has the intended effect.

Dad came over that morning and watched Ben for the day.  Ben was almost in tears before we left, but when I asked Jason about it he told me that Ben was upset that it was taking us so long to leave.  He just wanted to hang out with Opa.  And this Ben proclaimed as "the best day ever."

I had the surgery in a surgical center where they "only operate on healthy people (nurse's words, not mine).  I guess this cuts down on complications and infection.  The worst part of pre-op was the anxiety and the nice lady digging in my arm to put in the IV.   Thankfully, after the pain and exhaustion and anxiety and hunger and thirst (fasting since midnight) reduced me to shaking and almost to tears, she went and got the anesthesiologist.  I realize that this anesthesiologist is probably very skilled in many areas, but his ability to painlessly insert a needle on the first try is what I appreciated the most that morning.  Everything went pretty well after that.  I walked into the OR (a very chilly room) and lay down on the table.  The operation was going to be done with local anesthesia and sedation.  The nice nurses covered me with warm blankets and that is the last thing I remember until waking up in the recovery area.

Not remembering is good.

Anesthesia is bad.

The bone was apparently rather "stubborn" (doctor's word, not mine) and took longer than normal to remove.  Of course.  In my family, we don't do "normal".  Which meant they had to give me more anesthesia.  In my family, we don't do anesthesia well.

The doc gave me tylenol with codeine for pain afterwards.  In my family, we don't do narcotics well.

But, I really shouldn't complain.  We went home and I parked myself on couch in the supine position.  After a couple of days, I moved over to ibuprofen .  An ice pack, pillows, Netflix and I am pretty good to go.  Mom came out the next day and has been instrumental in our survival as for the first 4-5 days after the surgery sitting up for any length of time caused me to feel woozy and nauseous (doc thinks my body is metabolizing the anesthesia drugs very slowly and codeine was not the best choice).  We've all been spoiled with good food (eggs, sausage and french toast for breakfast - the boys are going to be devastated when she leaves).  She may be ready soon (or already be ready) to leave the chaos that is our house, but we've been so lucky to have her here.

And then, yesterday, my furry friend up at the top of this post arrived.  Rachel sent him to commiserate with me.  I have to admit, he looks like he has had an even tougher time of it than I have.  We have named him Sir Gimps-a-lot and the boys love him.

After all this, I have been taking stock of what I have learned:
1.  Ask around to family members about what painkillers do and do not work for them.  Might be useful info.
2.  When I have a foot problem, go straight to a foot doctor.  Turns out podiatrists are not just for the elderly (although, you may have a hard time proving that by looking around the waiting room).
3.  Consider having surgery at some time other than during prime "snow day" season.  Ugh.  There were very good reasons why we chose to do the surgery now rather than later, but now, more than ever, I need the kids to be in school.  Yelling at them while being stuck on the couch is less effective than being able to chase them down while yelling at them.  Just kidding.  (Sorta.)
4.  There is such a thing as too much Lego Ninjago.
5.  I really, really dislike Windows 8.  This may seem unrelated to anything else, but Mom has her laptop here and this operating system is driving me crazy.

In any case, one week down and two to go until I get to try out my foot.