The Not-So-Bionic Arm

I was a bit unrealistic about the impact this surgery would have on my life. I thought that I would be up and at 'em a few days after the procedure, doing many of my regular activities, albeit one handed. Thank goodness Rophone had different expectations when he arranged to take a few weeks off work. 


I would say that I am doing about what he expected-- napping a lot, checking my email, napping some more... I am a bit of a lump, I must admit. Rophone is a fabulous husband, and I'm so grateful for all he's been doing to take care of me and the kids. He seems to have inherited my exhaustion and a few of my aches and pains as well. Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty!


I hope to be better than ever soon so I can give Rophone some relief and properly snuggle the kids. Until then, well...... I'm gonna go take a nap!

For Reals

Having Surgeon Bud in residence means I have experienced surgery dozens, maybe even hundreds, of times. Tomorrow I have to go in and have surgery yet again. But this time something is different-- it's for reals. 


I have an ulnar nerve entrapment and it needs to be un-trapped. I had a dream that the doctor offered to throw in a tummy tuck to sweeten the deal-- I can't tell you how bummed I was when he told me (in real life) that it was a no-go. Life is so unfair.


Hopefully all of the many and varied surgeries Bud has performed on me have prepared me for the real deal. 


I hereby declare tomorrow a holiday.


Happy Ulnar Nerve Un-Entrapment Day! 


Hope you do something grand to celebrate.

The Excuse

Big has come up with a new excuse as to why he can't do things when asked. The conversations usually go a little something like this:


Me: "Big, can you please pick up the toy you got out?"


Big: "No, I'm sorry. I can't do that. I'm just a little bit sweaty."


Me: "I think you can still do it."


Big: "No, no, I really can't. I'm just too sweaty."


Aren't guys always sweaty?! Not much of an excuse if you ask me!

A Friend

My friend, Laura, just opened her very own Etsy shop! I wish her all the success in the world, and maybe she'll give me courage and inspire me to do the same someday. 

Elevensies!

A few weeks ago, Pen celebrated her 11th birthday. Eleven! It's so hard to believe. We had a quiet family party on her birthday, with plans to have a friend party a week later. After her requested birthday dinner of pot pie was consumed, she opened her presents.

After presents, of course, came the cake. I kept it simple with a white cake frosted with chocolate pudding, since I knew I would be making something again for Pen's friend party the next week.

We celebrated Pen's birthday with friends by doing something she's been wanting to do for ages-- ever since her last friend party. Ice skating!


To make things easy at the rink, I borrowed an idea from Bakerella and made some cake pops. Not having to worry about remembering everything that goes along with serving birthday cake was great. 

I just took the cake pops to the rink standing upright in a block of styrofoam. That way, whenever the girls felt like having one they could just step off the ice and pop one in their mouths. The pops, along with the hot chocolate catered by the rink, were the perfect skating party treats.


Pen had a fabulous time skating. At first, a little rusty, she had to hang along the wall.

But after a break for some cake pops and hot chocolate...

... she was ready to venture out into the middle of the ice.

Happy Birthday, Pen!

Challenge Update

I realize that it has been a while since I have posted any photos from my Challenge journey. So, I thought that today I'd treat you to a few. For those of you who are following my year in photos on that other website, this might be a bore. But, there are a few who don't, so this is for you. 


The Challenge has often been a struggle the past few months. Some days, I'm not super happy with any of the shots that I capture, but I post one of them anyway. The fact that I don't always have great shots is very true to the life I lead-- not all days are great. With 4 kids, some days can most certainly be more rocky than others! I think that's what this photographic journey is all about, though. A chronicle of my life as it is. The highs and the lows.


Even in the midst of my photographic doldrums, however, I have been able to capture some shots that I really love. 

Are you ready for more? I know viewing this many photos isn't for the faint of heart. Or for people who don't like me. 


But, if you like me, or are brave, or actually find the photos interesting, feel free to continue. 

That's it! (Phew!) We're done!


A lot of these photos may seem unremarkable, but I like each one for a different reason. For some, it is because of the angle at which I snapped the shot. For others, because of the emotion and personality I captured. In the case of the food shot, it is because food is very hard to photograph and have it look appetizing. 


For almost all of the shots, they were chosen because I felt some sort of creative surge and growth when I was taking the shot.


Creativity. Something which I never thought I possessed in any great abundance. This challenge has caused me to realize that not only do I have a creative bone in my body, but that I might actually have several. 


And for that I am grateful.

An Afternoon with the Boys

I spent the afternoon playing outside with the boys today. Big and I shot baskets...

...while Bud rode around us on his bike.

I know that you're so surprised that I took pictures of the process.


I love this shot of Big trying to grab the ball that rolled through his legs:

At one point, Big passed me the ball ("I'm gonna throw you a bounce pass, Mom.") and told me he wanted me to shoot so he could get the assist. Yes, he's two. And, yes, he understands the assist thing. Weird, I know. (But so awesome!)

When I caught the pass I immediately took the shot. 

A total air ball.

In shock, I said to the boys, "Your mom just shot a total air ball!" 

To which Bud replied, "It wasn't a total air ball, Mom. It hit a leaf when it bounced on the ground!"

Thanks, Bud. 

He's 4, you know.

A few minutes later, Big accidentally looked into the sun and exclaimed, "Ahhhh! The sun just poked me in the eye!"


Gotta love my boys.

Posing 102: The Silly Face

How to do a silly face pose as demonstrated by Bud, the posing pro:


First, place your fingers in your mouth as you stick your tongue out.

Then, pull your lips to the side. Silly face, see?

But, be warned! If you pull too hard, it no longer looks silly. Just painful. 

Thanks for the demonstration, Bud!