happy new year 2012

Its been 6 months since my surgery to fix my broken leg (tibial plateau fracture. who knew I had a tibial plateau? not me)
I am done with physical therapy appointments, but am seeing a chiropractor for a little help with my ankle movement.

So, while I was down with my broken leg, I made Buzz finally get an xray on his bad hip. I cant even remember how long its been bad, but its been seriously bad for at least two years. Turns out he needs a whole new hip altogether. So, next Wednesday he goes in to get it. I wish it were as easy as that sentence was to write. Like, just stopping in at the pharmacy for the new hip. Alas, it is going to be surgery, and we are nervous and anxious, but also, I feel so glad that we can finally move forward to getting him to feel better. He has been in such pain for so long, I doubt he remembers what its like to just walk around pain free.

So thats our major news. I feel like for sure the last 6 months we have been living in major crisis. All non essential things got axed. Weve been cutting corners on everything. I think the next month is going to be more of the same, tough and crazy, but we will get thru and come out on the other side stronger than ever.

On the kid front, we’ve cut way back on activities and classes. A lot of it is financial, but also, needing to simplify the schedule for all our sanity and health. Most of what we are scheduled now is social, like open gym time and physical, like gymnastics for henry. Zibby and I are doing a clay class too. Zibby spends a lot of her free time drawing, coloring, creating paper craft stuff, and playing dolls etc. She has a rich imagination. I love to hear the stuff she says when she is deep in play. She turns 8 in a few weeks.

There was a craft fair at our homeschool group today. The kids had their own tables with their handmade crafts and they all bought, sold and traded each other. Zibby made TVs with remotes. She used all our saved shoe boxes, put foil on one side, drew a picture on it, and drew a remote on paper and covered that with tape. She sold each and every one! for 1$ each! I thought they were kind of silly, but I guess I am not her target market She also made book marks out of giant paperclips and ribbon. She sold all of those, too. She also got some really cute stuff, so I think all the kids had fun.

Henry is 4. He is seriously into the Wii-he loves Kirby games and Mario games. He plays every day. He also likes to play barbies, cars, legos, and magnet (what are those things called? the ones with the marble balls and the connectors?) He likes to cuddle, to pretend to be animals (turtle, dog, cat), and to hang out with the family.

Happy 4th Of Henry

Henry turned 4!

Every year I post about his birthday and I always say the same things, but they are still true. Henry is sweet and bright and fun and we all love him like crazy. He loves other kids and being part of a group. He madly loves Daddy and Zibby. He loves to cuddle and hug. He is helpful and enthusiastic and persistent.

Right now he is really into Super Mario Bros for the Wii. He plays every day for hours. When he is not playing, he is watching walkthroughs on YouTube. He has some Mario toys that he likes to play with too. He also still likes Toy Story, Woody and Buzz, and still likes Cars also. For tv, he likes pocoyo, caillou, pucca, mario bros show on netflix. He likes Despicable Me and Megamind and Tangled (movies). He can lie on the floor and play with his toys for hours. As long as someone is nearby He likes to put stuff on his head.

Henry also loves the park, the slides, to run and he likes balls and sticks. He loves Park Day and his friends (he likes to chase the older boys around-there is usually a little gang of them all running around)

Henry is 38 inches tall and weighs 31 lbs. He wears a size 4T clothes and a size 9 shoe.

He likes fried mozzarella sticks, chicken nuggets, noodles, bananas, apples, meatballs, corn, rice a roni, chocolate ice cream, grapes, pirate booty, bologna sandwiches, hamburgers and fries. He likes chicken noodle soup. and oreos. He nurses to go to sleep at night.

He is curious and social and often jumps to defend others. He says things are scrumptious. And he says “A-course!” and “buh-cuz” and tells jokes and always wants to be in on the action.

I still mostly pick out his clothes and dress him. He puts on his own shoes. He can work my iphone like nobodies business!

I feel lucky and full of love when we snuggle together and Im so happy he is part of our family.

Happy 4th Henry!!!

Gratuitous Henry Sleeping Shot

My Super Hero

busted summer

Today is a gorgeous early fall day here in Chicago. Its sunny, breezy and the temp said 68F.
The windows are all open and the now familiar strains of Super Mario for Wii are going non stop

Buzz has taken Zibby to a movie this afternoon, and Im home with Henry.

This summer has been kind of a bust. That is because I broke my leg on July 3. Breaking bones is no fun. I broke my right arm when I was 5, and then my left arm I broke twice during the 4th grade, and then had 2 surgeries on it to fix it a year later. I had figured I was done with broken bones! And I dont think I have to tell you that breaking a bone as an adult and parent is much worse.

To make a long story somewhat short, Henry had fallen (or jumped?) into a pool and was drowning. I jumped into the shallow end and as I landed and pushed off to swim towards him, I jammed my leg, feeling pain instantly. We got to Henry (me and another friend) and he was ok, but then I could not walk out of the pool! An ER and several Orthopedic Surgeon visits later, I had surgery to correct a tibial plateau fracture. I was then told I could not put any weight on it for 8-12 weeks. It then takes a few more weeks after that to be fully walking again.

Im at week 7 post surgery and the Dr has said I can start Physical Therapy and put a little weight on the leg. There is a lot of scar tissue inside where the surgery was done that is limiting my range of motion, so that I can bend my knee just a little bit and everything is sore and my muscles are all gone…its going to take some hard work to gain it all back. I remember having to do lots of PT for my arm 25 years ago, too.

So, Ive been stuck at home for most of the past 2 months, which is frustrating and can be lonely for me, but my kids too! Luckily I have an amazing community of friends who have taken the kids out several days a week and of course, Buzz is doing so much. Its been challenging and stressful, but Im doing my best to stay positive and gracious.

We will never forget the summer that mommy broke her leg! I can tell you that!

baby steps

A little while ago, Zibby and I went to participate in a research study on “nature”. I decided to do it because I thought it would be interesting, it was for both of us to do together, and we would get 25$, which I was going to give Zibby to spend at the American Girl store for her birthday.

First: We drove to a local college, met the lady and went into a room with a table and a tv. Zibby and I sat on one side, and the lady sat on the other side and she filmed us. She gave us a stack of laminated photographs and asked us to sort them as we wanted. I have never seen Zibby act so weird. She was acting shy and goofy, talking in a high pitched voice, baby talking, and kept hiding her head into my body. It was completely unnatural and odd for her, and was obviously about this encounter, “being tested” or being asked to perform. The lady was completely non threatening and hardly talked to us at all, and was really friendly and non committal about anything. I was glad she didnt comment or otherwise make a big deal about how Zibby was acting.

The photographs were of different scenes. Some were animals, some were trees or lake pictures, some were birds or fish. Some were of flowers. Some had multiple items in the picture, some had just one. We sorted them a few different ways.

Then I had to fill out a questionaire about our level of physical activity, interaction with nature, outdoor activities, now and in my own childhood. It made me realize a couple things.

For one, while I do really value the idea of being outside and doing stuff outdoors, it does not come naturally to me (har har).
We live in Chicago. When its nice (may-october) we go to the playground several-most days a week, and the beach usually once a week. But we drive everywhere and hardly ever go for walks. There are several reasons I can think of. Im sure there are ways around every objection I have, but I just havent thought too hard about any of it, to be honest. I mean, I just thought, “well, we live in the city!” but I know plenty of people in this city with kids and they do lots more than we do outdoors. but another real limitation is that my children really really do not want to wear outerwear. Neither willingly consent to jackets, coats, mittens, hats, etc. Its hard enough to get clothes and shoes on them. Sometimes I wonder if I can ever civlize them, or if we need to move to warmer climate.

When its not nice, its MUCH harder to do anything outdoors. And lots of indoor activites cost money. I do try to get the kids into gymnastics classes, or other physical activity classes, but thats usually once or maybe twice a week for less than an hour.

Doing the questionaire, I realized that this is pretty much how I grew up, although I did grow up in a suburb. As a child, I had TONS more time outdoors by myself or with other kids and no adult supervision, in yards, in the neighborhood, on bikes, etc. We did walk to places as kids together, like the school playground, to other kids houses, to the candy store. We walked to school. We had free reign for approximately 6 blocks radius of our house, Id guess.

But as a family, we did not walk places, and we did not do sports or outdoor activities together, except going to the beach. I think we went tent camping once. maybe twice. Our vacations were to our condo on the beach or west to visit family. We were a family of board and card games and watching tv and movies. I think that me and my siblings probably participate in one sport type activity a year, but I dont think that was particularly encouraged and not pushed, ever. We had a pool, but it was indoors.

Id like to be more active, myself, and Id like to give my kids that experience, too. Try hiking. Try walking along the lakefront. How do YOU do it?

happy earth day!

I was just thinking the other day about my Soda Stream sodamaker…(no, I dont work for them, nor do I get any compensation for them) I bought it a couple of years ago. At first I used it quite a bit, but I wasnt really a fan of the soda flavors (or some of their ingredients) so I used it mainly to mix with fruit juice, when I thought of it.

On the plus side, I used to buy A LOT and I mean A LOT of canned or bottled sodas, and I have hardly bought any. Its hard to justify the expense of it, when I know I have the soda maker at home. So I have saved a TON of money, which is great. Now I see that they are coming out with some new (natural) mixes that I am excited to try. I love that the bottles are bpa free and resuable. I love the convenience of it. I love how inexpensive it is!

Its just one of the ways that we can save money and create less waste (packaging).

I’ll raise my glass of soda to Earth Day!

I get by with a little help from my friends (and my cpap machine)

Last summer I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I did a sleep study overnight at the hospital and everything. They recommended I get a cpap machine but I didnt do it. I came up against some health insurance stuff and in hindsight, I think I was just too sleep deprived to make good decisions about the whole thing. In retrospect, I was depressed, overwhelmed, beyond tired, and just trying to cope. By January, I had reached my breaking point. I was having way more bad days than good days. I was sleeping all weekend long, I was grumpy, depressed, and had no energy to do much of anything. I finally got a couple of nudges from people around me, and decided I would do whatever it took to get the cpap thing going.

I had gotten a machine for free from a friend, but it was missing parts. I got all the parts, and a very generous friend gifted me her extra mask, only to find that the machine had a broken part and wouldnt work. I started doing online research and made several calls to my insurance provider and the DME (durable medical equipment) provider. I eventually decided to pay out of pocket for a particular machine that I wanted, and it has been about a month since I started using it.

Almost immediately, I saw and felt a huge difference. I actually felt rested. When I woke up in the morning, I was actually awake. I no longer have to nap everyday (and by nap, I mean, fall asleep against my will while sitting down) I feel so completely better that I can hardly believe it. One night I was really stuffed up and couldnt use the mask, and the next day was AWFUL. a return to the land of groggy. Im so glad I finally got it together and started treatment.

Life is good.

happy anniversary to me

Its been FIVE years!!!!

Wow.

Here’s to another five years

marching onward

Happy March!

Instead of lamenting over the lack of posts and apologizing etc…Im just going to march onward. get it? its march. ha ha.

Life, as usual, just keeps going on and on. Zibby turned 7 last month. We had a party with johns side of the family at chuck e cheese (fun) and then she had an all -girl party here at our house with her friends. They painted finger nails, watched Beezus and Ramona, played games, did yoga, and had fruit and chocolate fondue. She got a lot of wonderfully fun gifts that she has been using non stop since. My sister came up for the house party with her two girls, so we got to visit.

Zibby still has partly pink hair. She loves fashion, clothes and makeup. She likes Barbies and American Girl. She loves to swim and play in the water. She is very social and has lots of playmates and friends. She always makes friends at the park when we go.
She can recognize lots of words and likes to write and draw. Her favorite tv shows are iCarly, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Hannah Montana. She likes steak and mashed potatos and broccoli and raspberries and chocolate and chips.

We are all learning how to play games on the wii and we do that together as a family.

Henry is 3 and is very intensely interested in his Cars brand cars (Lightning McQueen, Mater, etc) and Buzz LIghtyear. He can ply for hours on the floor with all his guys and be very happy. His favorite shows right now are Caillou, Bubble Guppies, Pocoyo, and Wow wOw Wubbzy. Henry is very sweet and eager to please. He loves chicken nuggets, chocolate ice cream, noodles and pizza.

I have been busy lately working on my genealogy, both my side and John’s. Its been fascinating and fun. Last night my dad gave me a huge bag of photographs from his childhood and his mothers family history book. It was like hitting the jackpot. there are several typewritten personal histories of various family members dating back to the 1800s with tons of detail and full of personality. I looked thru the pictures last night and there were lots that I had never seen before. It was really wonderful. I am going to scan in many of them.

Thats pretty much whats been going on around here…just waiting for spring weather so we can get outside more….

one of those “what does your life look like” posts

I wrote this to a friend who was asking me what our “family time” looked like…

well, I try to keep us balanced…its hard not to get over scheduled, but if I do, something always falls apart and we end up missing really important stuff cuz we are just burned out or sick..and we also like to chill at home, so I have to keep that on my mind, too…(I remember when I worked for myself in Real Estate, our manager advised us to schedule our time off as a real event so that we didnt overcommit)

this coming week on monday we have a birthday party to attend in the afternoon, then tuesday with (trip to a museum with this friend and her daughter), wednesday is homeschool open gym, plus one optional evening activity (a friends dance recital ) on thursday I have a friend coming for lunch and then in the evening we might go caroling (which zibby has never done and would be fun to try) and then friday we spend with johns family and sunday we will spend at home…

pretty busy week! I also have to run some errands and fit in one more playdate/gift exchange with some friends..

next week monday is zibbys playdate with sophie, tuesday I have open at this point, wed is coop, thursday Im considering going to the Museum of Sci and iNdustry to see the tree display and friday is NYeve…plus zibby has a friend who is out of school this week that we’d like to get together with.

as for dinners, yes, we do usually eat dinner together, I like to cook (Mostly)…sometimes in the evenigns I have meetings to go to or errands I have to run, but the kids like to hang out with john at home…on the weekends either john takes zibby swimming at one of the park district pools or we go as a family (henry doesnt always like to go or his nap schedule is wonky so he doesnt go sometimes) and we do try to do “cultural” things like go to plays or various museums (john likes the childrens museums and we go several times a year-maybe every other month we hit one)

we like to go to brunch on the weekends (johns favorite meal out of the house), we have 9 local nieces and nephews so there is usually a family party once a month or so to go to…sometimes I line up activities for john to take zibby to (like a movie or a dance performance or something) that henry cant go to cuz of age/interest…or I take zibby somewhere just me and her (ulta or sally beauty!) etc.

my philosophy is mainly to try to do fun, interesting things, go cool places, hang out with friends and community (mostly homeschoolers and la leche league people that Ive developed friendships with) see family when we can, talk, laugh and eat good food and try to be as nice to each other as we can.

so there is a snapshot of what our life looks like, right now, in the holiday winter season of 2010 with our kids, who are Zibby, our daughter almost 7 and Henry our son, who is 3.25

spooning

this morning, I went in and laid on the bed by zibby, who hadnt gotten up yet.
she asked me if we could spoon for a minute, so I said, sure!
as she snuggled up to me, I told her I loved her soooo much.
she said she loved me too.
I said, because Im your mom.
she said, no. because you’re my friend.

thats what its all about.