Dance in December

A went to perform at nursing homes with her dance company. They did three shows for the different groups at the home. I caught the last show for the group of women and one man who are in true nursing care.


The show went well and the guests seemed to enjoy it. In the picture A is dancing to White Christmas and all the ladies sang along.

She had visitor's day at her normal studio, but it was the night I had my surgery. This past Wednesday, her extra ballet class had visitor's day. I went for the last 15 minutes of class to watch.






She's such a pretty ballerina!

Christmas Programs

We had three Christmas programs before school let out for break. First up was J & M in the band concert.


You can listen to them play if you wish.




I'd say they aren't bad for 1 clarinet, 4 saxophones, a trombone and bass guitar.

Last Monday was the grades K-3 program. It was something about spies and stopping someone from hating Christmas. I don't really know because you couldn't actually hear a thing.  But B looked cute in his spy get up.








And they got to visit Santa.


Tuesday night was the grades 4-6 program. Again it was hard to hear and figure out what was going on. It was something about time travel. Strange.







B was responsible for taking that last video. I apologize in advance

I personally prefer a traditional concert with traditional songs with fewer dance moves. Maybe word will get back to the school before next year.

ice day

An ice storm blew through Dallas. They canceled school early on thursday before the bad weather hit. they were lucky that all predictions came through. we were coated in an inch or so of ice. Kids enjoyed playing. We all snuggled in on the couch and watched movies. It was a good day off.








The new tree took a big hit. The center top of the tree split off. DH propped up the remaining ice laden branches with some random scrap wood. keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of it is safe.




We survived the weekend, sticking mostly at home. Boys spent a lot of time playing outside. Sunday was spent getting ready for school, finishing all the work they didn't do last Thursday. Somehow, they cancelled school again today. It's a good excuse not to go back to work today, but the "I'm bored!" wails are getting old.

Operation

December 2. Wrist Repair Day.

Here are pre-op photos.





You can see the dinner fork bend to the wrist and how my hand was cocked to the left. Fun.

It was suppose to be a local day surgery with a local block of my left arm. The block didn't work so they put me completely under. I ended up staying in the hospital over night. That was probably a good thing because I was in a lot of pain, even with the push button pump thing. They gave me a big dose of something around 10pm and started oral meds every 4 hours. I would have been a mess at home, I know because Tuesday night was pretty bad. I couldn't get comfortable, everything hurt, awful.

I had post op visit on Wed with the p/t. She made a splint for my arm and told me i was too swollen, which was causing pain. I am under strict orders not to use my left hand. No pushing, pulling lifting, etc. I also had to spend two days with my hand elevated above my head and do hand exercises multiple times a day. More fun.









The elevation did help. The pain in my fingers and joints is much better. This morning, I was able to hold my hair with my left hand and put in a pony tail. It's the little things. My next appointment is on the 12th, a follow-up with the surgeon and another session with the p/t. At some point I have to go back to work. I can tell I am feeling better because that is starting to seem possible. I don't really want to go, but I can probably do it.

birthday at TCU

Saturday was B's real birthday. TCU had a game that afternoon. DH & the boys joined S#2 & family for a day of tailgating and football. They had to leave early, so we got up to give B his presents.




My one handed wrapping consisted of amazon boxes folded close and bags left over from the party the day before. He didn't seem to care and there wasn't a big mess.















B had a great birthday day at the game.

8th Birthday Party

We had planned B's birthday party for Friday afternoon. We were very lucky and had beautiful weather, especially since the party was a flag football game. I ordered a cake from Sam's Club with green icing. i was delusional and thought I could decorate with a broken left wrist. I was close to losing it and was definitely frustrated, so DH stepped in to help. Who knew he had it in him??


He did the straight lines. I couldn't keep the bag steady all the way across the cake. I added the hash marks and line numbers. A did the letters. it was a family effort.


They walked over to the park to play football. The boys played two games of flag football, switching up teams so everything was fair. DH and J served as coaches/refs.






B again conducted while the boys screamed Happy Birthday at him


It was such an easy party. I would definitely do this one again.

Thanksgiving

Despite my broken wrist, we had a good thanksgiving. A was a huge help in the kitchen. She and J made the cake and ice cream for B's birthday cake. She chopped most of the veggies for the day. She helped S#5 make the green bean casserole & mashed potatoes. I made gravy. I wasn't totally useless.

boys getting their required minecraft time in for the day



A's excited to be in the kitchen



girls peeling potatoes



ugly bean dip went fast, so good despite it's looks



Grandma chopping some fruit, ninja style



Frankie in line for some food



B conducting a rousing round of 'happy birthday to me'

crash

friday evening, i left work to come home. the temperature was hovering around freezing and it was raining. i checked maps and the tollroad was a solid red line. i decided to take a parallel side street to avoid the mess.  i turned left at the first light to go south. i stopped at the next light and realized that i should have turned at the second street. darn. i sat at the light considering what i should do next to get home as quick as possible. the light changed and i started to drive. half way through the intersection i saw a flash in my periphery. i remember saying no, thinking this can't be happening. then there were airbags in my face and smoke and dust and pain. someone ran the red light, at full speed, no brakes.






the police & fire department came to take care of things. the husband drove up to get me. we went straight to the emergency clinic.  i broke my left wrist. boo.


i spent the weekend with my arm in a splint. in pain. lots of pain. i didn't get a doctor appointment until late this afternoon. the first thing the nurse said was 'what the $%^^%^ were they thinking, they splinted the wrong side of your arm.' i broke the radial side, they splinted the ulnar side. no wonder i had so much pain, the break in my wrist was not stabilized. because of that, my arm was quite swollen. the doctor described it as a classic dinner fork break. from the side, my wrist is curved like the side of a fork. dh said looking at my wrist made him queasy, so for the faint of stomach, i made a link to the pictures. click if you choose.

link to wrist 1
link to wrist 2
i was given two choices. fix it or don't fix it. the fix it options is surgery putting a plate and pins in my wrist. i asked what the don't fix it option meant. he would cast it and let it heal all crooked. i asked who chose that option, he said sometimes the elderly. i choose fix it. surgery is scheduled for monday afternoon. fun. in the mean time, they put a cast on to stabilize the break. i chose orange.



now i have to face insurance claims and car shopping. and take more pain killers.

p.s. now you understand why i quit using the shift key. please forgive me.