Sunday, December 14, 2014
Sick
Friday, December 12, 2014
Friday's Fabulous Five
1. It's less than two weeks from Christmas and I've already finished ONE (x five) project on my "make" list. I even wrapped it (them). Now, only 7,000 more to go. :) In seriousness, I am nearly finished with five pj shirts and I'm feeling pretty awesome.
2. I started a Book Club in my ward a few months ago. I'm so pleased with myself for pushing outside my comfort zone that I can hardly contain myself. This month we are reading "Little Women" - one of my all time favorites books. I was getting worried that it wouldn't get read, as I spend all my free evenings in front of the sewing machine, when I remembered that on one of the homeschool forums I read someone mentioned a site called Librivox, where there are free public domain audiobooks. Tonight I spent a decent chunk of time pinning, serging, and crying. What's not to love about a book that makes you cry with humility, sadness, joy, humor, and understanding?
3. Homeschool is going well and I'm so impressed with my own little women's progress. I struggle daily with mastering our rhythm and routine, but I expected that and life is a work in progress. My girls are starting to understand better the work of keeping our home running and help with their share with little complaining. The big girls are more than 70 lessons into their math book and Elsie can now read almost anything with a. Bit of work. I'll have to write more about it later, but despite being ready to lock myself in my room some days, it's going well and the girls enjoy it.
(the best helicopters and airplanes I've ever seen)
4. Lilie's arm and nerves are healing! Slowly, but it's happening. She's just started physical therapy and nearly cried when the PT massaged her elbow on Tuesday, however, he looks like Ben Affleck and I think she'd do just about anything he asked her to do. :)
5. We bought a fake, prelit tree. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I spent the morning shut up in my bedroom weeping huge tears of failure and resignation. I was raging mad at Nels for bringing up the dry reminder of Christmas trees past and wept bitterly. An hour later, I emerged red-nosed and declared that I could not live another year of coniferous demise and bit the (truly) evergreen bullet. I love it and haven't been sad about it even once since.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Goodbye, Baby
Well. I think we've made it.
We are past babyhood.
Potty training has been done for a while (we haven't bought diapers in probably two months, but I didn't want to jinx myself) and Clara can say her own name.
Goodbye, Cwawa.
I'm going to miss you more than you know.
(cue the tears)
How can you be so ready for something to end and yet want to go backward and start all over again at the same time? I honestly don't know that I'll ever feel like I don't want to have a little baby in my life. Especially MY little baby.
This is a hard time period for me. And I think it's going to last for . . . ever.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Dislocation
Last Monday, as my visiting teachers were over at our house, Lilie ran inside wailing,
"I BROKE MY BONES!!! I BROKE MY BONES!!! AHHHHH! HELP ME!!!"
As I looked at her arm, I could tell that something was definitely "off" and gingerly felt it, only to conclude that the entire bone felt out of place and she'd "just" dislocated her elbow. (You see, we've had prior experience with both broken arms AND dislocation, so I'm an expert now.)
If you like Lilie's "Bee Movie" from many years past, you should have been with us that afternoon. I sort of hate myself for the difficulty of keeping a straight face when my girl is in pain, but my goodness . . . she is something to behold.
"OH, WHY DID I DO THAT? I'M SO SAD I DID THIS! AAHHHHHHH! IT HURTS TO BAAD!!!"
Apparently, the girls had been playing on the swing set and trampoline and our resident dare-devil had made the carefully calculated decision that she could jump from the top of the slide to the trampoline . . . but had slipped before she even took flight. It's only about a four foot drop to the ground, but she landed right on her arm.
My visiting teachers were awesome and took the mayhem in stride (also having trouble keeping straight faces). We'd finished school and since we didn't have anywhere to go for the rest of the day, I was still in my fleecy "aztec-looking" leggings and an oversized hoodie. (Hot.) They told me that they could watch my kids while I took Lilie over to the Ready-Care. With that (miraculously) in hand, I told Lilie we would go straight there, I just needed to change into some "real pants". She yelled, "YOU DON'T NEED REAL PANTS!!!"
Hazel was very concerned about her sister, but the other girls are quite used to hysterics, so while I was quickly changing, they started playing and giggling. Lilie then yelled at them, "Oh! HOW CAN YOU BE HAPPY AT A TIME LIKE THIS??!"
Both properly dressed, Lilie and I made a speedy exit.
When Lilie was tiny, while playing with her daddy, she'd gotten "nursemaid's elbow" -- which is a very minor dislocation that can easily happen in toddlers. The remedy is fast and gives immediate relief. I was imagining this dislocation to be about like that.
We arrived at the Ready Care with Lilie practically screaming, where they deliberated for 25 minutes on whether or not they could "squeeze her in." About 5 minutes after we finally got into a room, a nurse decided we should just go down to the ER. (eye rolling)
All this time, I keep thinking, "How big a deal can it be? Pop that thing back in place and put the poor kid out of her misery! The ER? That seems excessive..." Yes. I'm critical when I'm trying to not be worried.
Turns out REAL elbow dislocations ARE a big deal. Once we got into a room, they had to do an x-ray before all else. Had she broken anything, they would have just taken her into surgery. But, OH, the pain of positioning for those x-rays! She let everyone on that floor know that she was NOT HAPPY about moving her arm!
Poor girl. She was a wreck. She just kept saying, "Why is this happening to me? Why did I do this? AHHHHH! I can't do this anymore!!! My poor little arm!!!" She was given an IV (which she barely noticed) and administered morphine, which barely took the edge off the pain. They dimmed the lights and she started into a meditative "Oooooommmmm . . .."
With the IV and x-rays done, they were finally ready to put the bones back in place. Even with the morphine, she was going to be in a lot of pain, so they gave her a heavy dose of ketamine to drug her up and make her forget what happened next.
I was amazed at how hard they had to pull to get that humerus back in joint and SO thankful for modern medicine. After another x-ray they were able to splint and wrap.
All told, Lilie's elbow was out of place for close to 3 hours. She is one tough cookie -- even when she didn't think she could take anymore. It took her more than an hour to come around - with great hilarity in the process. Before she was verbal, she made some awesome faces.
And once she could talk . . . SO funny.
Lilie? Lilie. Do you know where we are?
"Uuuhhhhhhhhhhh. Yeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh . . . H, H, Hooooooooooo. Dooooooooooocc."
Yeah. We're at the hospital. The doctor fixed your arm.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrmmmmm. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrmmmmm. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmm . . . . "
Does it feel like your head is full of fluff?
"YeeaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaahhhhhh!"
All while her poor little pin-point eyes couldn't focus on anything!
"Moooooomm! You have twooo eyes!"
Lilie, I always have two eyes. :)
"Ooooh! Yooou have FOOUR eyes!"
Then she started throwing up. Over and over. Darn morphine.
She was instructed to keep the splint on and report to the orthopedic surgeon in a week.
She's done well. The first five days, we were grateful for the hyrdocodone, but she's finally doing well with just some ibuprofen. Her elbow is still REALLY swollen and bruised and I've been extremely concerned that she still has very little feeling in three of her fingers. She can't bend her pointer finger or thumb at all.
At the ortho today we got a good understanding of why my concern is currently unfounded.
Yikes!! Dr. Pennington said that to even dislocate your elbow, it has to tear the ligaments. With as badly as Lilie dislocated hers, all those tough little ligaments got shredded. She'll remain in this splint for at least another two weeks and then we'll reevaluate. Hopefully as the swelling goes down she'll regain feeling and mobility in her fingers. Until everything heals up, the risk of re-dislocation is high, so we'll only be doing some small bending exercises. Mostly just waiting.
Hooray for some fun bathing days in the weeks ahead and a creative Halloween costume! :)
"I BROKE MY BONES!!! I BROKE MY BONES!!! AHHHHH! HELP ME!!!"
As I looked at her arm, I could tell that something was definitely "off" and gingerly felt it, only to conclude that the entire bone felt out of place and she'd "just" dislocated her elbow. (You see, we've had prior experience with both broken arms AND dislocation, so I'm an expert now.)
If you like Lilie's "Bee Movie" from many years past, you should have been with us that afternoon. I sort of hate myself for the difficulty of keeping a straight face when my girl is in pain, but my goodness . . . she is something to behold.
"OH, WHY DID I DO THAT? I'M SO SAD I DID THIS! AAHHHHHHH! IT HURTS TO BAAD!!!"
Apparently, the girls had been playing on the swing set and trampoline and our resident dare-devil had made the carefully calculated decision that she could jump from the top of the slide to the trampoline . . . but had slipped before she even took flight. It's only about a four foot drop to the ground, but she landed right on her arm.
My visiting teachers were awesome and took the mayhem in stride (also having trouble keeping straight faces). We'd finished school and since we didn't have anywhere to go for the rest of the day, I was still in my fleecy "aztec-looking" leggings and an oversized hoodie. (Hot.) They told me that they could watch my kids while I took Lilie over to the Ready-Care. With that (miraculously) in hand, I told Lilie we would go straight there, I just needed to change into some "real pants". She yelled, "YOU DON'T NEED REAL PANTS!!!"
Hazel was very concerned about her sister, but the other girls are quite used to hysterics, so while I was quickly changing, they started playing and giggling. Lilie then yelled at them, "Oh! HOW CAN YOU BE HAPPY AT A TIME LIKE THIS??!"
Both properly dressed, Lilie and I made a speedy exit.
When Lilie was tiny, while playing with her daddy, she'd gotten "nursemaid's elbow" -- which is a very minor dislocation that can easily happen in toddlers. The remedy is fast and gives immediate relief. I was imagining this dislocation to be about like that.
We arrived at the Ready Care with Lilie practically screaming, where they deliberated for 25 minutes on whether or not they could "squeeze her in." About 5 minutes after we finally got into a room, a nurse decided we should just go down to the ER. (eye rolling)
All this time, I keep thinking, "How big a deal can it be? Pop that thing back in place and put the poor kid out of her misery! The ER? That seems excessive..." Yes. I'm critical when I'm trying to not be worried.
Turns out REAL elbow dislocations ARE a big deal. Once we got into a room, they had to do an x-ray before all else. Had she broken anything, they would have just taken her into surgery. But, OH, the pain of positioning for those x-rays! She let everyone on that floor know that she was NOT HAPPY about moving her arm!
Poor girl. She was a wreck. She just kept saying, "Why is this happening to me? Why did I do this? AHHHHH! I can't do this anymore!!! My poor little arm!!!" She was given an IV (which she barely noticed) and administered morphine, which barely took the edge off the pain. They dimmed the lights and she started into a meditative "Oooooommmmm . . .."
With the IV and x-rays done, they were finally ready to put the bones back in place. Even with the morphine, she was going to be in a lot of pain, so they gave her a heavy dose of ketamine to drug her up and make her forget what happened next.
I was amazed at how hard they had to pull to get that humerus back in joint and SO thankful for modern medicine. After another x-ray they were able to splint and wrap.
 |
| This is my favorite picture of the night. She was SO out of it! Her eyes were open, but no one was home. :) |
All told, Lilie's elbow was out of place for close to 3 hours. She is one tough cookie -- even when she didn't think she could take anymore. It took her more than an hour to come around - with great hilarity in the process. Before she was verbal, she made some awesome faces.
And once she could talk . . . SO funny.
Lilie? Lilie. Do you know where we are?
"Uuuhhhhhhhhhhh. Yeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh . . . H, H, Hooooooooooo. Dooooooooooocc."
Yeah. We're at the hospital. The doctor fixed your arm.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrmmmmm. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrmmmmm. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmm . . . . "
Does it feel like your head is full of fluff?
"YeeaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaahhhhhh!"
All while her poor little pin-point eyes couldn't focus on anything!
"Moooooomm! You have twooo eyes!"
Lilie, I always have two eyes. :)
"Ooooh! Yooou have FOOUR eyes!"
Then she started throwing up. Over and over. Darn morphine.
She was instructed to keep the splint on and report to the orthopedic surgeon in a week.
She's done well. The first five days, we were grateful for the hyrdocodone, but she's finally doing well with just some ibuprofen. Her elbow is still REALLY swollen and bruised and I've been extremely concerned that she still has very little feeling in three of her fingers. She can't bend her pointer finger or thumb at all.
At the ortho today we got a good understanding of why my concern is currently unfounded.
^^above^^ This is what her bones are supposed to look like (taken today).
^^ The above are the x-rays taken last Monday at the ER. ^^
Yikes!! Dr. Pennington said that to even dislocate your elbow, it has to tear the ligaments. With as badly as Lilie dislocated hers, all those tough little ligaments got shredded. She'll remain in this splint for at least another two weeks and then we'll reevaluate. Hopefully as the swelling goes down she'll regain feeling and mobility in her fingers. Until everything heals up, the risk of re-dislocation is high, so we'll only be doing some small bending exercises. Mostly just waiting.
 |
| Lilie with her customized sling at the ortho today. The size "small" sling we got from the hospital was too small (the medium was too big) and the angle was all wrong with the splint, so I made her a new one. Of course her consolation monkey from the hospital had to have one too. :) |
Hooray for some fun bathing days in the weeks ahead and a creative Halloween costume! :)
Monday, September 22, 2014
School is in Session
So. We started school.
Yikes! I was terrified.
But do you know? Do you know that God is good? So good?
Last time I wrote I was in Utah. It was a lively ten days. Exhausting, but I felt so glad that I could help and spend time with my family in the process. I fell even more in love with my nieces and nephews and got to spend a lot of quality time with my amazing Genny. (I love her!)
Late in the week, because I'm a sucker for both wild spontaneity and the mountains of my childhood, I decided that I'd join Genny and (her) Ben on an overnight trip up to the cabin . . . towing along my TEN charges. We were all wearing a little thinner by Friday and a few mountains to roam and explore were just what we needed.
We pulled up to the cabin late and after tucking the giggling mass of bodies into beds, I headed out into the night air. Wrapped in a blanket, I sank onto the warm deck and soaked up the stillness and the full moon as it rose over familiar mountains. How many times in my life have I sat on that deck and studied the heavens?
So familiar.
I talked to my Heavenly Father. I let him know how overwhelmed I felt and how afraid I was. I've never homeschooled before, was I being naive? Would my kids fall behind? Would I be able to keep a schedule? Would I have enough to give? Would we be able to find friends? Would I have the time to talk to Amber or read a book or make my bed?!
I told him that I wasn't sure I would be enough.
And He told me that He is. I'm not, but HE IS. More than enough.
I wept and just soaked it in. He loves my children. He loves me.
I can't tell you how many times in the last three weeks since we started school that I have wanted to just fall on my knees in gratitude for what He is giving me -- and them. It hasn't all been sunshine and roses, but somehow even the challenges are exactly what we need. They are some of the biggest reasons that I'm choosing this route.
It has become very clear to me that this path is not just for my children. It's for me.
How generous He is to allow me to learn with so much grace.
Often times, the immediate feedback from Facebook trumps my posting here, but I want to share this
post from my FB this week:
"I'm happy. --- I should maybe just leave it at that, but true to form, I'll elaborate.
"I've been taking my two oldest girls running with me in the morning (doing a couch-to-5k program so that we could ease in slowly and I didn't burn them up with my longer legs). The first day (maybe 2) I desperately wanted give up. Dragging 2 whiney girls along for 2+ miles isn't exactly the most awesome way to kick off a morning of homeschool . . .
"However! since then, it's been so, so good. They are rockstars and we've been able to discuss so many life and immediately applicable lessons. Lessons about how we get a chance to shape the people that we want to be and how attitude makes ALL the difference. I am a lucky mom. Homeschooling has been really hard some days, but I'm also really thankful that it's been giving me a chance to work on some of these things with my kids. Being a parent is awesome."
Yikes! I was terrified.
But do you know? Do you know that God is good? So good?
Last time I wrote I was in Utah. It was a lively ten days. Exhausting, but I felt so glad that I could help and spend time with my family in the process. I fell even more in love with my nieces and nephews and got to spend a lot of quality time with my amazing Genny. (I love her!)
 |
| picnic with 12 little munchkins and my Genny |
Late in the week, because I'm a sucker for both wild spontaneity and the mountains of my childhood, I decided that I'd join Genny and (her) Ben on an overnight trip up to the cabin . . . towing along my TEN charges. We were all wearing a little thinner by Friday and a few mountains to roam and explore were just what we needed.
 |
| Moon Cabin + delphiniums |
We pulled up to the cabin late and after tucking the giggling mass of bodies into beds, I headed out into the night air. Wrapped in a blanket, I sank onto the warm deck and soaked up the stillness and the full moon as it rose over familiar mountains. How many times in my life have I sat on that deck and studied the heavens?
So familiar.
I talked to my Heavenly Father. I let him know how overwhelmed I felt and how afraid I was. I've never homeschooled before, was I being naive? Would my kids fall behind? Would I be able to keep a schedule? Would I have enough to give? Would we be able to find friends? Would I have the time to talk to Amber or read a book or make my bed?!
I told him that I wasn't sure I would be enough.
And He told me that He is. I'm not, but HE IS. More than enough.
I wept and just soaked it in. He loves my children. He loves me.
I can't tell you how many times in the last three weeks since we started school that I have wanted to just fall on my knees in gratitude for what He is giving me -- and them. It hasn't all been sunshine and roses, but somehow even the challenges are exactly what we need. They are some of the biggest reasons that I'm choosing this route.
It has become very clear to me that this path is not just for my children. It's for me.
How generous He is to allow me to learn with so much grace.
Often times, the immediate feedback from Facebook trumps my posting here, but I want to share this
post from my FB this week:
"I'm happy. --- I should maybe just leave it at that, but true to form, I'll elaborate.
"I've been taking my two oldest girls running with me in the morning (doing a couch-to-5k program so that we could ease in slowly and I didn't burn them up with my longer legs). The first day (maybe 2) I desperately wanted give up. Dragging 2 whiney girls along for 2+ miles isn't exactly the most awesome way to kick off a morning of homeschool . . .
"However! since then, it's been so, so good. They are rockstars and we've been able to discuss so many life and immediately applicable lessons. Lessons about how we get a chance to shape the people that we want to be and how attitude makes ALL the difference. I am a lucky mom. Homeschooling has been really hard some days, but I'm also really thankful that it's been giving me a chance to work on some of these things with my kids. Being a parent is awesome."
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