Ugh, ouch, and OMG that hurt!

So, way back when I was pregnant with Emery I noticed the side of my left foot hurting, like I had cracked it or something. I have a fairly high pain tolerance and just complained here and there and totally ignored it for way too long because I really didn't have time to deal with it. Pregnancy, newborn, toddler, kindergartner, karate, work, house, etc... my schedule is booked. Then last summer came and there were times that I could barely walk on it. I'd limp around like a lame duck, looking pathetic, and then just getting really, really, really pissed. I played Dr. Google and diagnosed myself with planters fasciitis of the left foot and tried stretching and all of those good things that Dr. Google says to do. Then I went to my doctor who confirmed what I thought and told me to get some good insoles and stay off of it because really, "rest is the best medicine." Umm, toddler, kindergartner, karate, work, house, etc.... rest does not fit in with those others words. So I did what I could and it got worse, and worse, and worse. My high pain tolerance was seeming less and less tolerable. Long story short I went to the podiatrist who ended up giving me three cortisone shots in the heel (holy mother of God they are like 10x worse than any IVF shot) and that would work for a little while and then the pain would return.

Now I can think of one good reason to have surgery: hello, we are hitting Disney World in less than 10 weeks and I have got to be able to do some walking!!!!! Considering I could barely walk the rodeo I knew I'd never make Disney in this shape. On the other hand, I could think of about a zillion reasons not to have surgery. Toddler, kindergartner, karate, work, house (two story house w/all the bedrooms up at that), etc... I'm telling you, you have no clue how valuable a foot is, until you can't use it!

Long story short (as if it's not too late for that), he said surgery, I said no. Then he said surgery again and shoved his thumb right into my heel, causing me to crumble into a zillion bawling pieces and I said bring it cause I think I'm going to die now. So, after postponing it one more time I finally gave in and had the surgery last Friday.

Recovery has been tough. Real tough. The Princess does not understand why I can't be at her beckon call and Chase is worried, but really he's more into the crutches and knee walker (look it up, pretty cool). Fortunately, Jeff has been awesome, he really is the.best.husband out there! The stairs are my worse enemy and even little things like going to bathroom, I know TMI, are a total nightmare. I know it was the right thing to do, but OMG this has kicked my butt. I am using muscles that I didn't even know existed and ache all over. I was told to take two weeks off minimum, but unless I want to pay $240/day back to the district, that was not going to happen. Since I didn't want to pay $240/day, I went back to work today. I now know why they say to take off. Ugh. I'm beyond exhausted and can barely move. Fortunately I have awesome co-workers who have been going out of their way to help, which I'm very grateful for.

Now that I've rambled, here is my new fashion accessory. If I'm going to wear a boot, then it's going to look good! ;o) Please ignore the dirty toes, the t-ball fields and playground are so dusty that after one step, you're covered.

Now, if you're not squeamish and can handle nasty pictures, here's a picture of my foot three days past surgery. It was briefly unwrapped, checked, and rewrapped Monday afternoon. Once I saw it I knew exactly why it hurt and was quite eager to have it covered up again. Can we just say gross? Stitches come out next Monday.

So, right now I'm just praying and begging that it heals right and I'm done with all of this nonsense for like... ever! This my friends, has just knocked me on my ass.

****I am grateful for
1) a smooth surgery
2) awesome coworkers
3) the evenings when I can rest!!!
4) every day of recovery that is behind me!
5) never having to do this again (I pray)

Some fun and totally useless information.

Fun blog post for the day. Thank Amber!

1. Age: 34
2. Bed size: king
3. Chore you hate: 99.9% of them
4. Dogs: Three (French Bulldog and two boxers, just lost our English Bulldog, Molly, a few weeks ago)
   
5. Essential start to your day: lovin' from my three sweeties
   
6. Favorite color: pink and blue
   
7. Gold or silver: I like both
8. Height: 5’ 3"
   
9. Instruments that you can play: a little piano
   
10. Job title: Teacher and Mom
11. Kids: Chase - 6, Emery - 1
    
12. Live: Texas
    
13. Mom’s name: Darlene
    
14. Nicknames: Don't really have any
    
15. Overnight hospital stays: 2 different ones when I was 13 for a very severe staph infection; when I had my two children; 4 days after Chase was born I was readmitted for what we later found out was my gallbladder; then gallbladder surgery
    
16. Pet peeve: smokers (blech) and know-it-alls
17. Quote from a movie: "Don't make me light my butt" Raymond from Princess and the Frog... butts are VERY funny around our house
18. Righty or lefty: Righty
19. Sibling: Two - William and Katie (my twin in heaven)... technically I have more half siblings than I can count thanks to my father... at least if I ever need an organ I'm good! ha!
    
20. Time you wake up: butt crack of dawn (ha, told you butts were funny in our house)... seriously the alarm goes off at 6:00
21. Underwear: whatever is clean
    
22. Vegetables you dislike: cabbage... ick
    
23. What makes you run late: I have a 6 year old and a 1 year old, enough said
    
24. X-rays: foot, leg (staph infection)... I really think that's it
    
25. Yummy food you make: Enchiladas and Chicken N Dumplings
26. Zoo favorite animal: Giraffe
    

If you blog. fill out your own ABC’s and leave me a link in the comments so I can check out yours.

****I am grateful for
1) love the weekends!
2) a good surgery (more on that later)
3) a quick recovery (I pray)
4) rest
5) 9 weeks of school left until summer!

Rodeo 2011

This year we frequented the Houston Live.stock Show and Rodeo twice. On the 15th Jeff and I went to see KISS and then last Saturday we took Chase to see Brad Pais.ley. I have never really listened to KISS, but Jeff loves them so I was more than happy to go. Even though I've never really been in the KISS Army, the show was good, that I'll admit! Brad was awesome too, he always is. We didn't take the camera because there are so many people and so much walking that we didn't want to deal with it, but we did snap a couple of pics with the phone. Here's Chase in front of the freshly hatched chicks:



Here he is totally enthralled with Brad Paisley

The parking was horrible and they seriously need to get that under control but the rodeo/concerts were worth it. Not to mention the one-on-one time he got with Mommy and Daddy - priceless!!!!

****I am grateful for
1) one-on-one time
2) two great concerts
3) a night out
4) a great rodeo
5) I know surgery will go well on Friday, I have faith

The Cow Outfit

I've had so many people comment on this outfit:

We had rodeo tickets for last Saturday to see Brad Pais.ley (love him) and then Sunday the baby shower theme was cowboy/cowgirl. I wanted something cute for Emery to wear that would be cool and stylish so that the other babies wouldn't make fun of her. ;o) So off to the store I went and then to the sewing machine. I think it turned out so cute and it really wasn't nearly as hard as I was afraid it would be. Yes, I stayed up until four in the morning making it, but that was just because the holes in the pant legs are so tiny that they are really hard to sew ruffles on! Besides, isn't that what Mommy's do??

Now that I know how easy it was, I see lots of summer tops like this in Emery's future! Here's the whole outfit:

Adorable!

*****I am grateful for
1) my sewing machine
2) cute outfits
3) my Nana that taught me how to sew
4) creativeness
5) fun things to do

A Baby Shower of sorts

Each year our awesome RE hosts an annual "baby shower" in honor of all of there patients past, present, and future. It is great because you get to see all the people that rooted you along and stood beside you through the good times and bad. They love it because they get to see all of the babies they helped bring into the world. My RE amazes me because he remembers every single persons name and story. This man is one of my heroes and I will be forever grateful for him and all the other wonderful people that helped get us our sweet babies!

They always have a yummy lunch for everyone and lots for the kiddos to do. This year our kids were in love with the petting zoo and that was the only thing Emery was really interested in doing. If this kid doesn't grow up to be a vet, I'll be shocked! Here are a few pics from our day:









Afterward we had lunch with my mom, brother, SIL and niece. The kids loved this statue, again Emery didn't want to get off. I'm telling you, in love with animals! She totally needs a pony!!!!


I love days like this one!

****I am grateful for
1) our awesome RE and his wonderful staff
2) reunions
3) great weekends
4) gorgeous weather
5) 9 1/2 weeks of school left until summer, I can do this!

A-dorable! (Flashback Wednesday... totally made that up, can you tell?)

I could just eat these two up. She was obviously a little older than he was when these were taken, but not by much. As much alike as they look, she just looks like a girl to me and he looks like a boy. So freaking adorable!


****I am grateful for
1) Spring Break, I'm lovin' it
2) pre-surgery appointment done
3) beautiful weather
4) electronic coupons
5) Disney is less than three months away, which means school is out in less than three months!

When it rains, it pours...

I wouldn't even believe this myself, if I hadn't been right in the middle of it. On Monday, we had to have our 17 year old cat, Chigger, put to sleep. I'm telling you, when it rains, it pours. Chigger was passing huge bloodclots (I know, TMI) and our vet said that something like that was never a good sign and that with her age, the best thing to do was to let her go. So, we did. *sigh* Now the first thing people are asking is if we think that Molly and Chigger could have gotten in to something. Trust me, that was our first concern with Molly. However, these incidents are not related in any way. We ran blood work on Molly, lots and lots of bloodwork, and it never indicated that she has some kind of toxicity from getting into something. In fact, we had almost hoped for that because then maybe we could have reversed it. In the end, it looks like this has been something that has been creeping up for a few montsh and we just dismissed the small signs as getting older (missing steps, not being able to jump on the bed as easily, peeing in the chair, etc). As for Chigger, she was a 100% indoor cat and the inside of the house is baby-proofed, so they think it was purely something to do w/old age. Good times baby, good times.

****I am grateful for
1) the years we had
2) no furbabies in pain
3) Rainbow Bridge
4) time eases pain
5) after the storm, comes the rainbow (surely ours is just around the corner)

Happy 6th Birthday Chase!

Dear Chase,

Six years ago today the world got a little sweeter, a little brighter, and a whole lot more awesome! I can't believe that's it been six whole years since you came into our lives. Time is going entirely too fast and I honestly believe you are growing inches every single day. You are a joy to be around and make the days better just by being you. You are an awesome big brother and a great little man. You make me want to be better and I am so thankful that I was chosen to be your mom and share your life with you. Don't ever change and always remember that you can do anything you want and don't let anyone tell you different!

All my Love,
Mommy

****I am grateful for
1) birthdays!
2) 6 awesome, irreplaceable, totally unforgettable years!
3) all the years to come
4) that smile
5) time

The Unsinkable Molly Larson - 10/12/01 - 3/3/11

The last few days have been some of the worst of my life. The last few months we have noticed a few things with Molly that we just chalked up to getting older, she was 9 1/2, and never gave it a second thought. Things like not being able to jump on the bed very well, missing a stair, and the most recent, peeing in a chair (very unlike her, she NEVER did that). Wednesday mornign when we left for work she was fine, her normal self. Then at 5:30 I got a phone call from Jeff saying that I had to get home right away because something was wrong with Molly. Fortunately my school is only about three minutes from our house, so Chase and I came straight home. When we walked in Molly had vomited and defecated (which she then walked all through), and was laying on our kitchen floor unable to move, drooling profusely, cold to the touch, and non-responsive. We rushed her to our vet where her heart was beating at 220 beats a minute and they said they think she had probably been having seizures most of the day and was in shock. They got her stable, started an IV, put her on meds to stop her brain from swelling and ran a stat EKG. I worked for a vet for years and could tell by the way they were talking that it was not good.

Chase had freaked out so we had my MIL come get him and Emery to get them away from the craziness and his mind on something else.

Once we had Molly stable, we transferred her to the emergency clinic for overnight care. Their biggest concern was that she had a brain tumor. We prayed that during the night we would see some kind of improvement, but Molly continued to seize and remained on valium and anti-swelling drugs in order to keep her from being in pain. The next morning, Jeff transferred her back to our vet.

Thursday afternoon Jeff and I made the decision to let Molly go as her prognosis was not good and I couldn't bare to think of her in pain and we both knew she could not live on valium the rest of her life. I thought it best, and Jeff agreed, that Chase not be present when we went to say goodbye. Our Molly was gone and I didn't want to have Chase see her in that condition and I knew he would never understand why his dog didn't recognize him. At 4:55, our sweet Molly earned her wings. It was one of the hardest decisions we have ever made.

Looking back, I think those little signs were leading up to this. Especially the one where she peed in the chair a couple of weeks ago. I have no doubt she had a seizure, since that happens with one. They offered to do a necropsy on her, but we chose not to because we couldn't bare them doing that to her. In the end, our vet feels it was some type of cancer. I hate cancer.

Molly was Chase's bestfriend, his constant companion. She was our baby before we had babies. She was Emery's playmate and a guardian to us all. I have no doubt that she would have laid her life down for any one of us. Our little family will forever have a hole because of her death. She was the perfect dog.

Chase has not had a very good weekend. He's having a difficult time understanding it all. His birthday is tomorrow, so that does not help any. We have chosen not to get another dog right now and will probably let him pick out another bulldog this summer when we have his birthday party (we are waiting so he can have it at the water park). I miss Molly so much, it was an awesome 9 1/2 years with her, but I sure would have liked to have 9 1/2 more.

****I am grateful for
1) Molly, she was the best dog ever
2) those 9 1/2 years, thank you Lord for letting her be in our lives
3) time to heal the pain
4) Molly is not suffering anymore
5) The twins and Molly are playing in heaven, and one day, we'll all be together again

The Joys of Boys - Gas Crisis Solved!

I am not really sure how we got on the subject, but this morning Chase and I were talking about the rising gas prices and how expensive it has gotten. He got very quiet for a minute and then asked me if I knew why gas had gotten so expensive. I asked him why and he responded with, "Well, the gas people are charging a lot of money so that they can afford to go to fun places like Disney World and Seaworld. They are rude like that!" I was laughing so hard I about wet my pants. I think Chase has got it all figured out. Give them a trip to Disney or Seaworld and gas prices will go back down. If only it were that simple!



***I am grateful for

1) the joys of boys
2) that little brain of his
3) reasoning skills
4) priceless moments
5) those 5 minutes of Chase and Mommy time on the way to school each morning