Memories

Grandma went back home yesterday. We already miss her very much.

On the way to the airport we were all getting a little teary eyed until Danielle said "Anytime I see Tiki squatting, I'll think of you."

Thanks, Grandma, for taking care of all of us--even the dog! We all remember you, in our own special ways!

Bitter/Sweet

Yesterday was my 7-week anniversary of "the fall." My only plan was to meet with the orthopedic surgeon in the afternoon to see how things were going. Little did I know I would mark this occasion by taking another trip to Urgent Care, almost to the exact minute! This time it was for Jarrett though.

Grandma had dropped-off Danielle and Jarrett at school and was back home to pick-up Liesl for preschool. Right before she left, the school called to tell me Jarrett had fallen on the slide and we needed to come "check him out." The way they said it didn't make me think it was too serious, so I had Grandma drop-off Liesl before she went to check on Jarrett. Fifteen minutes later I got a call from Grandma saying she was bringing Jarrett home so we could take him to the doctor.

When the two of them got home, Jarrett had a cotton ball taped to his left eyebrow and a scared look on his face. We went right back out the door and headed to Urgent Care. The nice thing is they open at 9 am and we were there right on the dot, so they got us in quickly. For the few minutes that we were waiting I was trying to get information from Jarrett about how it happened, but he wasn't talking because he was either in shock or scared. When the nurse took the cotton ball off, I was surprised at how bad the cut was and just went into prayer mode that it could be fixed with glue instead of stitches. After the doctor confirmed that we could just glue it, I was so happy, but poor Jarrett had no clue what that meant. He still wouldn't talk and the doctor was, of course, getting a little concerned.

They did the procedure and Jarrett was sooo good. The only sign of discomfort he gave was tensing up when they irrigated the wound. He held still for everything and did exactly what the doctor asked. When we told him they were all finished, he instantly relaxed and started talking. That made all of us less concerned and they let him go with no limitations. We got him McDonald's pancakes and Diet Coke and when he got home he scarfed it down and enjoyed taking it easy by playing Wii almost all day. Besides a little swelling, he's back to normal today:

The appointment with my orthopedic surgeon ended up going as smoothly as it could. They had me do weight bearing x-rays which was scary since I haven't stood on it this whole time, but I got through it quickly and by the time I was back in the exam room, the doctor had already seen them and was able to pronounce that everything was healing well. They showed me the x-ray, and while the doctor stepped out for a minute, Robert took a picture of it. I put it at the end of this post if you're interested in seeing the remodel. At least I have an answer now for how many screws they put in: 11.

I can start weight bearing on my ankle now, and hopefully be rid of crutches in one or two weeks. My ankle feels strong (how can it not with all that metal?) and the main thing I feel like I'm working on is gaining my confidence back. I had physical therapy this morning and they told me to bring a sneaker next time so I can start walking without the boot. Good news, but YIKES!

Off to a Great Start

It seems this blog has become a little self-centered lately. It's time to tell you how great the kids have been as they have grown and learned so much through this experience.

School started four days after my accident, which was a blessing and a curse. It's been a juggling act getting them to and from all their activities (thanks Robert, Mom and friends!), but it was good for them to get settled into a schedule.

Danielle has always been a good student, and this year's no different. She received an award in her school's awards assembly for being a "Radical Reader" and, as a result, an amazing writer. Her teacher commented that Danielle already has a voice in her writing and that she enjoys reading everything Danielle writes, even her spelling sentences.
Danielle also started piano lessons last month and is doing really well. She has a nice touch and enjoys learning songs that are familiar (Old MacDonald and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star).

Most importantly, Danielle has been a wonderful helper. Whether it's getting stuff for me, taking the dog out, or helping her brother and sister, she always answers "Sure!" when I ask and takes care of it right away. I'm so lucky she's my oldest!

For a while I've been concerned about Jarrett starting kindergarten. He's fine academically, but I was worried he wasn't ready socially. That fear was put to rest the first day of school. He loves it! We met with his teacher a few weeks ago, and she says he's got friends in class and even more on the playground. Recess is right before we pick him up, and every time we're greeted with a super sweaty and smiling boy.
His teacher does have concerns about his fine motor skills, but we've determined that's more attitude than ability: Either he doesn't want to do it or he wants to do it perfectly and won't unless he can. We work on it a little bit every day and he's getting more confident.

Jarrett's also a good helper, especially if Wii is a reward. I've thought about cutting his screen time down, but he probably would have gotten away with it when the baby got here anyway. One nice thing about Jarrett is he's very obedient and doesn't give me any trouble when I ask him to take a nap or get ready for bed. He's learned to do a lot of stuff on his own now and I don't think bringing home the baby is going to affect him one bit.

Liesl has had a lot of ups and downs with this experience. At the beginning she didn't seem too distressed by it at all. She was super sweet and loved spending time with me in bed while she watched Wonder Pets or read books. Preschool didn't start for her for two weeks and we had a lot of time together. She also got to to have Grandma here, who she's always had a special relationship with.

Photo by Grandma of Liesl cuddling with her

And then preschool started. She actually loves preschool, but the drop-off is a nightmare (it's been the same at nursery for about four months now). She latches onto you with all her strength and won't let go. Basically the teacher needs to come rip her away and you need to walk out as fast as you can. According to her teacher Liesl calms down quickly and will start to participate in class, although apparently she still has some attitude because she'll tell me herself that she didn't want to do something, and she didn't. In spite of that, she's always excited to show me the work she does the minute she walks through the door and says she had a great time.

I'm so glad Liesl was good for those first few weeks because now she's really giving us some attitude. I'm especially grateful that it took her until yesterday to figure out that if she's in trouble, she can run upstairs and I can't come after her. She's learned a lot of other tricks, but let's focus on the good. She can get all ready for bed by herself (or as she says, "All my byself") and she's skillful at getting anything in the kitchen (that's both good and bad). Interestingly, she's a very good only child--it's only when other kids are around that she makes trouble. If it's ever too quiet, I don't have to worry about what she's getting into because she's either playing with her toys or drawing.

I've been lucky to still be able to count my blessings through this experience, but even if I'm having a rough day, I know I can always count on these three.

10

This is how many pillows I have on my bed right now, either to support my ankle or my pregnant belly.Robert is barely hanging on the edge (some days more figuratively than literally)!