True story...

When the person standing next to you at physical therapy not only hears your tendon pop, but also hears the explicit painfully growled following the pop...the therapist will order you to get back in the Boot and to stay in the Boot.  On the shiny side, you won't have to complete your set of squats.

My version of "Don't go crazy" and my ankle's version of "Don't go crazy" are not the same, apparently.

I really, really don't like the Boot.

The end.

Culture...

The Concert Ballet of Virginia held their 37th Winter Gala this weekend and we had tickets... courtesy of a local mom's group I am part of.

It was a delightful afternoon of live orchestra music, ballet and time together as a family.  The venue was one of the beautifully restored historical buildings downtown.  We all dressed up for the occasion, though I seemed to have misplaced my "formal" fracture boot*.  The boy voluntarily changed out of his jeans with the monster patch on the knee...he's growing up, this man child of mine.  And his dad even wore a tie.

A weekend full of memories.  An oasis in this crazy life of ours.



*After studying my bone scan, the orthopedic doctor determined that my bones were fine.  However, the group of tendons on the inside of my ankle are in dire need of attention.  Physical therapy started last week and I was, rather sternly, ordered to remain in the Boot until further notice.

If it's not one thing, it's the mother...

Just about everything that could go wrong last week, did.  I was flying solo with himself spending the week down south for a training gig.  Over the course of the week the water heater flooded the basement, two fish died, and we dealt with nasty weather the entire week.  But then Saturday night he was home! Only to go back to work Sunday night.

Monday ended like this...

We're really not sure what I did.  I woke up Monday morning to an ankle swollen up the size of a grapefruit.  I have some fancy pictures that show a stress fracture on the ankle bone.  I'll be going in for even fancier pictures next week to see just how bad it really is.  But for now...I'm in this flippin' boot for another week and a half.  

But the plumber finally received approval from our home warranty company and replaced our water heater this morning.  So we've got that going for us. 

Clearly, I'm not cut out for this...

So far this week I have killed one fish, almost lost another, killed the water heater, flooded the basement, and spent an entire day without the internet.

In the "plus side"...all cats, dogs and children *are* still alive and were fed proper meals at appropriate times.  However, I think it's very clear that I cannot, and should not, be left without adult supervision.

Himself comes home tomorrow.  The entire household just breathed a massive sigh of relief.

Today...

I made from-scratch cinnamon rolls with two of the best kitchen helpers ever (though they are still a little on the short side.)

Cut out and sewed a new ball gown for the wee girl's Ariel barbie.

Taught the boy how to sand his pinewood derby car (spaceship) with the grain and then wet sand the second coat of primer for an ultra smooth surface.

Lounged in bed, reading and surrounded by cats.

Played Mermaids with the wee girl in the bath.

Helped the boy make his own lunch for tomorrow.

Somewhere in there several loads of laundry were completed, dinner was fixed and consumed.

Read multiple bedtime stories.  Assured one child there would be no thunderstorms tonight and repeatedly reminded another that it was bedtime, put down the book and lights off, please.

Completed the parent questionnaire/letter for the boy's gifted screening.  That was certainly a joint effort between his dad and myself!

Gasped in shock as I looked over the week's weather forecast.  The projected winter weather makes my tropical blood beg for mercy.

Thought throughout the day how grateful I am for this amazing little family and even more amazing partner to share it all with.

Placeholder...

Life has pretty much been a blur since October.  I stumbled across this today and it seemed apropos...

And, yes.  My coworker/partner is hot.  So I've got that going for me.

Just another day...

To celebrate our final Friday of Winter Break, we made our bi-annual pilgrimage to the Highly Respectable University Hospital an hour west of us to meet with the wee girl's pediatric rheumatologist.    

The cold and wet have been rough on her.  Back in November at her 5-year-old Well visit, her pediatrician expressed concern that more joints looked like they were being effected by arthritis.  Her pediatric ophthalmologist later declared her baby blues perfect...but still performed a more in-depth exam due to her being in the middle of an arthritis flare up (due to the type of arthritis she has, her eyes are highly susceptible to inflammation...if it's not caught right away and treated it could cause permanent damage.  Hence, her legion of specialists.)

The doctor we saw today, the one who from the very beginning has been our guide, our calming force on this rocky three year journey once again calmly quieted our fears of this disease taking over more of her wee little body.  He wasn't entirely convinced that other joints were effected.  He did advise upping the dosage of her current medication--based more on the fact that she has outgrown the previous dosage  than on the fact that her disease may or may not be spreading.  While our hope has been that she would be off of the medication by this point, staying on the same track we've been on and not adding any additional meds is still a positive thing.  

Since Himself was working today (and has his own eventful and zany story to tell), it was just me and the two kiddos on the trip.  They both behaved spectacularly well...as well as any highly active 5 and 7 year old can be expected to behave, really.  We rewarded ourselves with a special lunch before we left the mountains and headed home...

During our visit today the doctor also delivered the news that he is retiring in September.  We have one more visit with him in June.  I will always be grateful for the time he's spent with us--patiently answering all of our questions and offering guidance.  Never once has he made us feel rushed or like we were over protective parents.  During our very first visit, as he calmly explained to us what our wee tiny daughter's diagnosis meant, he never once rolled his eyes at my tears.  

He offered a recommendation for a pediatric rheumatologist who recently joined one of our local hospitals.  Over the next couple of months I will be contacting him and finding out what we need to do in order to make a smooth and successful transition (hopefully he's accepting new patients).  While we will miss the one, finding someone local will certainly be easier on us all!