A few months in review

It has been a few months since the last blogging... updates in this sassy house of Spalding...

The month of August brought us more recovery time, very lazy days, warmer temperatures and happy children. 


September was a month of beginnings... Kailee started 2nd grade. Gracie started Kindergarten. I started physical therapy. Jon started to freak out because he really was having rhinoplasty -- surgery on his nose!

September also brought a new baby to Auntie Ria's collection of nieces and nephew... Makenna Danielle was born September 7. She was 6 week early and weighed 5 lbs 1 oz and was 19" long.

October has brought us beautiful colors, falling leaves, lots of wind and Sunday School. We also had a baby shower for Makenna, welcoming her into the family.

We also had a fun day that included a hay ride, pumpkins and good friends!

Well that's our quick update from the last few months. Jon is recovering nicely from surgery and I am still slowly mending... Life is good!

Today...

It's days like today that make me appreciate my life. My sweet em's played nicely in their new Walmart 8'x5' pool. They loved that they could stretch out, float and even use their little boats in there. Best $25 spent yet! 2 hours this morning and 2 hours this afternoon was spent doing splish splashing fun. They were the pruniest children I had ever seen but they were also the happiest too. I am so blessed that they have been so well behaved for me since surgery. We are coming up on week 2... and the follow up where she'll assess and take off the steri-strips. I'm ready kinda... and kinda not. Once those come off the incision is really exposed and that makes me nervous. The brace has been rubbing the incision and there's no way to avoid that unfortunately but maybe the doc will have some ideas on how to baby the area a little more. We're still pretty swollen and achy. It seems like the muggier it is outside the worse the leg feels... since it's cooled off a little this afternoon it doesn't feel "as bad" as it had (thank God)! 

1 week

A lot can change in a week. It's been just that: 168 hours since surgery commenced. The first day was a real B! but the 2nd day was a little better. They discharged us at noon, Jon treated me to an ice cream and we made our hour trip home. The past week has gone by so slow but yet so fast. I was feeling really quite "good" today. I didn't have any pain med's only motrin all day. However, the winds have changed and now my leg is aching making me wish I had that push button pain medication. My girls came home today after a 2 day stay with Grandma Deb and Grandpa Lou, which was so nice! Mom gave me the break to allow myself to sleep and get homework done. I'm so blessed! 
In 1 more week I go back to the doctor to have her take off the strips and give me the rehab instructions. Praying for only 8 weeks.... but I have a feeling 16 is in my future. Oh well, I'll take it, at least I'm here to embrace it and I have my family!

Lists and the Unexpected

I'm a really big planner... I love lists, it's how I stay sane. I need order and structure in order to maintain the household, the chitlins, the husband, school.... the list can go on. It's when a monkey wrench is thrown into my mix that I cannot function; my entire being goes into shock when there isn't anything I can do to change this. Being the planner I am, I had our summer scheduled around some events that were deemed important... all that came to a halt the other day. I have been told I need surgery to check the site where the Giant Cell Tumor was located... this. is. a. problem. 3 years and 11 days from the first GCT removal surgery I will be under going it yet again. It was the longest process the first time; I'm very concerned about this time around. Luckily the chitlins are 3 years older and will be a bigger help. (I'm sure of it.) So now all of our deemed important events are in limbo or not happening at all. Limbo is not fun for a planner. I'm not a fly by the seat of my pants kind of a girl. With the last surgery I had a month to plan and grasp the idea; this time I have a week. Barely long enough to get an insurance company to call me back! 

The essentials I learned from the surgery: 

• Have easy snacks on hand for the kids.
• Be sure to drink tons of water!
• No codeine for me. 
• Thank my mother endlessly.
• Show appreciation to my husband. 
• Get lots of easy pull on loose fitting shorts.
• Night gowns are a must!

Well, even in my moment of chaos; I make a list to make myself feel more in control of the situation. I have made the "freezer meal" list, the "must get grocery list", the "household to-do before surgery" list, and the "essential homework to be finished" list. I better get started on some of it. 

Vacation Day 5: April 3

Saturday, April 3, we had the opportunity to invade Uncle Lou's friend's pool! They invited us over for margarita's by the pool, swimming and a water gun fight! The only people who swam were Gracie, Kailee, Jon and Lou's friend Mark. Everyone had a marvelous time!

Can you tell these two little punks were having fun!

Those smiles never left their faces the entire time they were in that pool! 

Vacation Day 4: April 2

Day 4 of Florida vacation was lots of fun, we woke up early to go to Fort Myers Beach (we weren't getting stuck in 2 hour traffic!) so we could see the sand sculptors.

 See the traffic was much better!

However the children were just as goofy!!

 Even Grandpa Lou and Kailee were pretty funny!

The sand sculptures were so cool... but the kids thought that the "kids zone" was even more fun!

 Kailee and Uncle Lou are besties!

So glad we were driving the opposite direction! The line of traffic was backed up miles to Fort Myers Beach!

 Somebody has a wiggly tooth!

 These grand-girls are tired after a long morning walking around and playing on the beach.

 Me and Mom



Vacation Day 3: April 1

Day 3 of our Florida vacation Uncle Lou was off work, so we had a lazy morning and attempted to go to Fort Myers Beach... the wait in traffic was over 2 hours (at 10 a.m.!) so we went to Sanibelle beach. It had a huge selection of sea shells! We brought home a gallon baggie full!

Looking at all these Kailee pictures probably had you thinking, "where's Gracie" well, she sat in the sand and wouldn't look at the camera so I have lots of these shots...

We were at the beach for 2 hours and time flew by! I couldn't believe how fast 2 hours went, there was a nice breeze, the sun was hot and the kids were very entertained playing in the ocean and moldable sand! Look at those sand castles! I couldn't get close enough for "good" pictures because of the crutches darn it!