Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Monday, April 25, 2011

New, Recent, Of Late, Fresh

Two weeks have gone by without so much as a Wordless post to satisfy you... I hang my head in shame and blame it on the new foot, the new house and the new job!

So quick updates - new foot is still healing but I'm completely frustrated by the fact that I still can't wear a shoe. I know I was promised a long recovery, but I've been promised that with other things before and have managed to push my way through to make it 1/2 of truly allotted time. Not so this time. It's been 5 1/2 weeks and while my incisions look great and are healing nicely, don't let the looks deceive you - it's definitely not up to par internally! It swells dramatically into a sausage foot a couple hours after I get up and moving - it's not pretty! The area under the incisions gets hot from the inside out. There's still pretty consistent pain and I've pretty much lost all range of motion in my big toe. I can flex the 3 toes in the middle while the biggest and smallest just sit there, stiff, mocking me.

The new house is great! We've been there 2 weeks now and I've actually gotten some new furniture and things hung on the walls, so it is starting to look lived in. All boxes are unpacked but there are still some bare spots due to just the increase in size and lack of stuff to fill it up. I'm really okay with that for a while. My only internal dilemma now is that I'd like to get some cool, updated, more modern decorations, but then what do you do with the hodge podge, eclectic mix that you've already acquired? Some of it has sentimental value and has value in keeping, but I love the idea of making things new and fresh. What to do? Hmmm... Repainting the basement is on the to-do list for next month, but otherwise we are settling in nicely and we love our neighbors. We've spent a lot of time with them and it's been fun.

Today is day 5 of the new job. I think I like it, but it's all new and shiny and pretty right now, so it's got my attention. The environment is fun and creative but as with anything new, there is a lot to learn. I'm a bit of a take-charge kinda gal and I like to know the answers or at least where to find them, and so far, that's not happening! It will, I'm confident but I'm not patient with myself. Oh, by the way... I now work here.

The new routine has been the most difficult adjustment over the past 2 weeks. Our mornings are a crazy mad dash of who-are-you-child-and-where-do-you-have-to-be? See, we moved out of district for the kiddos but are letting them finish up the school year at their current locations. Good for them, bad for us! Moving out of district means loss of bus service and a 15 minute drive into town to take them to school. School starts for 2 of them at 8:10 and for the other at 8:40. I have to be at work at 8:00 and it takes 20 minutes to drive there. See my dilemma? Oh, but extracurricular activities make it even more complex! Here's my schedule:
Monday - Sis has band at 7:30, Wy gets dropped off & waits outside until school starts, Beebs goes to latchkey.
Tuesday - Wy has band at another school at 7:10, Sis has speech at 7:30, then Beebs goes to latchkey.
Wednesday - Repeat Monday schedule.
Thursday - Wy has band at yet another school at 7:00, Sis gets dropped off & waits outside until school starts, Beebs goes to latchkey.
Friday - Wy has band back at the school from Tuesdays at 7:10, Sis gets dropped off & waits outside until school starts, and Beebs goes to latchkey.

Everyone begrudgingly goes to afternoon latchkey until Dad or I can pick them up. Not only is this a crazy driving schedule, it's a crazy cost schedule! I think there should be some kind of multi-kid discount for latchkey, you know, like your insurance policies?! The light at the end of the tunnel is that it's only until the first week of June and then we're home free for the summer! So, I'm hanging on to that as firmly as I can!


Overheard at our house:
Our 6 year old has apparently decided to rename our dog Waffle and is consistently referring to her as such.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Snapshot

Let me give you a quick snapshot of my last 48 hours. There has not been one time when Todd has left town, be it for business or pleasure, that has not left behind some odd excitement for me to endure. This week has been no different.

If I really want to give you a complete picture, I have to actually back up to before he left on Monday morning. Last Thursday, Beebs came down with the stomach flu and couldn't keep anything down, or in, until last Saturday. Keep in mind that it was also my first week back to work after my surgery and we were closing on both houses on Friday. Actually, we were completely homeless for about 2 hours as we lost possession of the old and gained possession of the new. Thankfully, Grammy stepped in and kept the sick kiddo while we worked through the move on Friday and Saturday. (Insert here: many, many thanks to the people who helped move, begin unpacking and feeding us - we couldn't have done it without you all, truly!)

Fast forward to Monday morning, Todd has left for an out of state business trip, Beebs is recovered and everyone is trying to get into our temporary routine for the rest of the school year. We head into town (yes, we get to use that term now!), running late for band and start the day. Meanwhile back at my beautiful new home - EGADS! Throughout the day, the entire garage has been covered in dog vomit and diarrhea with a smell like nothing I've ever encountered before, and let me assure you, after 15 years between child care and developmentally disabled adult care, I've smelled many, many putrid things. I mean, it filtered out to the driveway and beyond the closed garage door! Apparently pond water and a city dog don't mix very well... Of course, I have no idea where to find a hose at this point since we've lived there 2 days! Thank goodness my dad came to my rescue and brought me a hose and helped me flush out the garage! I then quickly fed the kids and took Sis back into town for softball practice. The boys and I hit the grocery store, picked up Sis and headed back home.

In the midst of unpacking the groceries that evening, we lost a cat. Some of you know Ginger and her darty little self and might assume it was her, but you'd be wrong! Fat Boy somehow got out. Of course, I didn't realize he was missing until I heard a cat fight at 10:00p.m. and finally found him under the enclosed deck around 12:00a.m., scared stiff - literally. I couldn't get him out so at 12:30a.m. I gave up and went to bed. He spent the night out there and by 5:45a.m. he had a friend who had joined him. I again tried to get him out, with food, with sweet nothings, spraying him with water, with swear words - nothing worked, so I left for work. Again, my parents came to my rescue while I was at work and dad removed a section of the lattice and mom sacrificed to fingers and a shirt to rescue him.

After that, Tuesday night had to be better, right?!? Ummm... wrong. Dinner served, kids bathed, lots of handy work done around the house - everything was going great, until 10:00. I started to feel a little nauseated, so I decided to hit the hay. At midnight, I bolted straight up, mouth watering and knew I better not stay in bed. I had the full effects of Beebs stomach flu until about 4:00. I was able to fall asleep until 6:00 and then had to get up to take everyone to school and head in for my last day at work. There's no calling in sick on your last day and when you don't have the luxury of bus service for the kiddos!

We ended the night with one more bout of pond water repercussions for the dog, but that's it. I mean, that's a pretty uneventful last 48 hours, right?