Tubing, Pancakes and Relentless Snow

My laptop got dropped and the hard drive had to be replaced which is why I haven't blogged for a while. My fingers are far too big and clumsy to blog from my phone or iPad! So much has been going on the last 2 weeks. We've done lots with the kids but also both been very busy at work.  I'm able to do about 70% of my regular stuff with my arm now but still struggling with anything heavy or awkward or twisty. I'm going to physio 2 x week and meet with the hand surgeon again on Friday to have another x ray.
Anyway here's a couple of pictures from the last 2 weeks ....

Tubing at Mad River Mountain. One time was enough for Danny.

Pancake Day celebrations with the Brits

Snow snow snow. When will we ever see grass?

 In addition to tubing and pancake day we took the boys to see the Lego movie and we had an Oscar party at our friend Maureen's house. Soccer season is also starting but our first practice was cancelled because of the relentless snow. I hate the snow. We've also volunteered twice at our local soup kitchen and attended various children's birthday parties. In fact it's been quite a busy and stressful couple of weeks to be honest. It would be nice to have some down time so that I can catch up on housework and other tasks that have been put aside.I can't remember what it feels like to be "bored".

But that's ok. Every day might be absolute chaos but at least I get to spend it with these boys.

First Yearly Zoo Visit

We got up at 7.30 am this morning and hit the road to take the boys snow tubing but we got the date wrong on the event (doh!) so turned around and set off home. To salvage the day we stopped at the zoo. The boys had a great time as you can see. And it was sunny with no ice! It was only 40 F (4C) but I'll take it. Anything is better than ice.

There's not much difference in height now with these two

My Love & My Arm

I should change my name from Pamela Jane to Calamity Jane. As well as breaking my arm I have broken my Mac laptop. So I'm typing left handed on Craig's old dinosaur. I have also dropped my phone THREE times today. What a muppet.

So what have we been up to? Well Valentine's Day was perfect. We set the boys up with snacks & Minecraft in the basement and me & Craig had a curry. Prawn poori, popadums and mango chutney and chicken tikka marsala to be exact. Craig also got me a bottle of pink bubbly and some daffodils. I got him some apple pie moonshine - how romantic!

My Love

We've had teacher conferences at both kids' schools. Both have done great. Not perfect, but then I'd probably be worried about something if they were perfect kids. To keep things real I shall relay the story here of me going to the bathroom this week, passing by their bedroom door as they had gone to bed and hearing Daniel say to Jack  "wanna smell my finger?"

At his conference, Danny's teacher said to me & Craig "He's ready for kindergarten" and I envisioned it and got a lump in my throat. My baby going to school this Autumn makes me sad.
Jack actually came to his conference with me and sat shaking, so nervous that he might be in trouble. His teacher is so nice, so kind, and I realized he was terrified of me being disappointed and that made me feel terrible. So my goal is to help him at school without getting impatient at him. That's hard for me - I'm not an elementary school teacher for a reason. In other words I have little patience, but I'm trying to be better. Both of our boys adore us and have so much fun with us that I want to cherish it and keep it going as long as I can.

Lastly I'm going to do a little post about my arm. If you are squeamish then stop reading & looking now. I'm doing this for me - to record my progress.
Physio is tough and I have a long way to go. They told me I'll be "good" after about 8 weeks after surgery (for me that's end of March) but will take a year to feel normal. I'm actually relieved to hear that because I've been getting nervous about what I can't do and how immobile my hand is, but it's normal. I just have to give it time.

War Wound

Right arm is swollen and I can't straighten my fingers (yet)

Longest Winter EVER

Last week was a doozy. I had two doctor's appointments and a trip to the physio, I travelled & got stuck in Boston, schools were closed for 3 days and we got more snow. Lots and lots more snow. Go away snow!

This weekend I thought I'd catch up with housework at least but Craig got a cold and, well I was just exhausted. So another lazy post from me, while I play catch-up. Here's a few pictures of my last few days...

An x ray of my new bionic arm

We built an igloo with the boys.

50th Anniversary Beatles concert with my Brit Expat mates

 

 

 

 

An early birthday present: my favourite album framed

Arm Surgery

I had surgery on my arm on Tuesday. They sedated me and put a metal plate and screws in my arm, near my wrist. I was nervous about being sedated more than anything else, but it was actually ok. The nurse told me that I told them about my nightmare ER visit where the doctor wrestled my broken arm and then I asked her when Adele was bringing a new CD out. All pretty tame ramblings compared to what I could have come out with!

They blocked the nerves in my arm so that was very weird. Having this limb attached to me that I couldn't feel. When I held onto the hand it felt like I  was holding someone elses' hand. Another very strange phenomenon was that I could swear my arm was across my chest, I could feel it and even feel some sensation like cold and itch, when it was in fact laying by my side completely numb. How weird!

I was told by everyone to take lots of medicine before the blocker wore off. It didn't matter. It would have made no difference. Between 12 and 20 hours after surgery was the most painful time of my life. Starting at 11pm that night I cried, writhed in pain, groaned a lot and begged for medicine every hour or so. Neither of us got any sleep and we were completely shattered yesterday. I spent at least 6 hours on the couch in a drug-induced stupor. Poor Craig had to see to me and had the kids too, since the schools were closed for two days. He has been amazing.

Today we both perked up a bit, the kids were back in school and I'm not in pain anymore. We are both back at work tomorrow so that's a good thing. I need to get back to normal!

I'll see the surgeon on Monday so hopefully will get a new picture of my bionic arm. Jack has already scanned me with his metal detector and marvelled at my beeping arm!

Daniel at Five

Well our boy is five. It feels like a big milestone, maybe because it means he'll start kindergarten this Autumn.
He had a low-key day today as the polar vortex part 2 hit us (-11 f this morning) and schools were closed. But he got some very cool presents and he's had fun.

Why yes you are

He's such a different boy from 12 months ago. His confidence has soared. He's doing well at pre-k and starting to join in where he wouldn't have. He's still super tall but as skinny as a spring bean because he rarely eats. He's intelligent, loving, headstrong, independent and funny. Really funny. Also really perceptive, seeing things most people pass by.

I asked him a few questions yesterday ...

Favourite color  - Blue
Toy - Minecraft toys
Film - Despicable Me 2
Friend - Rocco
Place - Chuck E Cheese
Thing about being 5 - Having cake and getting cards
What do you want to do when you grow up?  "I want to own a shop called makin' bacon and make bacon".

Happy Birthday Daniel!  We love you so much and we are incredibly proud of you.

Danny's Tea Party

After school today we had a tea party for Daniel. It was loud and rambunctious and at times chaotic but that's ok. He loved it. The Minecraft cake was amazing, made by our friends Heather & Duane. It was the talking point of the party and the kids all wanted to eat the creeper. For those of you, like me, who know nothing about video games, Minecraft is like crack for kids. They are obsessed with it.

So our little boy had a great time and didn't cry or get shy being the center of attention like he has in the past. In fact, when we all sang Happy Birthday to him he looked so happy that he shined. It was a lovely moment.

The birthday boy

Making a wish

The Minecraft cake was the highlight of the party

Kids arguing over who gets the second slice after Daniel

What a motley crew

Snow Day

Today we had plans to go bowling but Mother Nature had other ideas. We had white-out conditions and then snooooowww! Lots and lots of snow which put us at a level 2 emergency. While I  did some left-handed, half-assed housework Craig took the boys for some fun outside ...

Danny's BD Weekend

Since I'll be in surgery on Tuesday, we have decided to start Daniel's birthday celebrations this weekend. And I  want to make a fuss of him because he's the 2nd child, and rarely does our family life revolve around just him.

Daniel at 5

We started last night by watching "The Croods" and having pizza delivered. The fun family moment was disrupted briefly after Jack drank milk too quick and barfed everywhere, but all-in-all it was fun.

Today he went to parkour with friends then to a play date at one of their houses. Then we met several friends at Chuck E Cheese, which is hell on earth for parents but a place of great joy for kids. I didn't take any pictures of our time there or Daniel with his best friend Rocco as I was running about buying pizza and tokens and making sure none of the kids got kidnapped.

The day ended perfectly with us all snuggled up on the couch, with a roaring fire, watching The Croods again. It was a great start to our boy's 5th birthday celebrations.

Lefty Day 5: FOOD!

Here's the x-rays from my break. When I went to meet the surgeon yesterday guess who was there? The ER doctor who put me through the most excruciating pain of my life on Saturday night! I nearly fainted. I think if he'd have touched my arm I would have screamed and kneed him in the goolies. I'll never get over that pain as long as I live.

The radius bone broken (below my wrist). Now I know why my wrist was bulging out - eek!

The same spot after the sadist doctor wrestled and pummeled the bone back in line. It's not lined up right though.

A nurse gave me a new splint and she was such a sweetheart. She told me she had a similar experience with the bone reset/reduction thing when she was a teenager. I did ask the surgeon why it hurt so much and he said I did a really good job on myself. I crushed the bone "like cornflakes" he said. Nice! So I am set to have surgery on Tuesday, on Daniel's 5th birthday. That sucks but we can spoil him all this weekend. We have a lot planned.

One thing that has blown me away has been the generosity of friends. There has been a constant stream of food into our house - soup, chili, a full roast chicken dinner with roast potatoes, salad, City Barbecue delivery and bread, to name just some. I've also had friends taking Daniel to pre-school, offering to take me shopping and just checking in daily. It all means so much to me. I'm almost embarrassed how nice people are being to us! I hope that I can repay some of this if ever a friend is in need.

Lefty - Day 3

I  have come to the conclusion that the ER doctor did a bit of a botch job on me. I have met several people who've had their broken bone reset and it wasn't an agonising experience like mine. He's also made the splint so uncomfortable that I'm barely able to sleep. Craig told me today that he heard the nurses complaining about him and his lack of a bedside manner. Bedside manner? He was a masochist! He grabbed my broken, swollen mangled arm and crushed it as hard as he could.

So I'm meeting with an orthopedic surgeon in the morning. I'm hoping they tell me that it's healing and they can put a cast on for a few weeks. But since I can feel the bone moving they'll probably tell me I have to have a pin set by a surgical procedure. Whatever they decide I cannot wait to get this splint off!

Friends have been amazing - bringing food, seeing to the kids, and covering my work load. I  feel humbled.

On a lighter note, I have compiled some of the more bizarre or difficult challenges this injury has caused ...

Craig is still horrified that the ER nurse looked at him with disgust then whispered to me "was this domestic abuse?" 

Bart is determined to jump on my splint. He's been following me about and eyeing it with menace.

Brushing my teeth left-handed results in toothpaste in my hair and all over my clothes. It's like being a child.

Been wearing my daily contact lenses for 4 days now.

Lesson learned - shave legs, armpits and rogue hairs whenever you get the chance. Because having your loved one help you shower, get dressed and put deodorant on is embarrassing enough without looking like a yeti. And having the surgeon fiddle about with my arm tomorrow while I have under arm hair is just too much to bear. The shame!