Not the Best Way To Start Off the Summer

The short story: I lost a fight with a pool umbrella.

The longer version: We had been at the pool, and we could see rain on its way, so we were packing up to leave. The wind really picked up quickly, so (trying to be helpful, please note) I started to roll down the pool umbrella so it wouldn't blow away. As I was turning the crank, a huge gust of wind hit the umbrella and yanked it out of the table. Needless to say, my finger was in the wrong place at the wrong time. At this point, it's starting to rain, the wind is crazy, and there's thunder and lightning. Kind of a madhouse feeling as everyone is scrambling to leave. I knew I'd hurt my finger, but I was surprised to look down and see the poor thing - twitching and crooked. Once we were in the van, I said to the kids, "Hey guys, I think I'm going to have to go to the ER."

I got dressed and left Jordan cooking his specialty (chicken nuggets) for dinner, and I drove myself to the ER (thank goodness for automatic transmission). When I was checking in, the guy asked, "Have you been here before?" I had to laugh. "Why yes, I have - many times - just never as the patient." Jason canceled his appointments at church and drove to the hospital instead.

As luck would have it, my good friend Terah was working in the ER that day and made sure I was assigned to her. The whole time, I'd been trying to think positively...hoping it was just dislocated. But when she walked in, my x-rays in hand, and opened with "Wow!" I knew I was in trouble. Turns out, I had a comminuted fracture. Not one to beat around the bush, Terah explained that "comminuted" basically means "pieces," there were at least 3 fractures, and she was pretty sure I'd need surgery. What??? I was stunned, to say the least. (Of course, my first thought was for our annual beach trip that weekend. This was totally bad timing...)

Here I am, fresh from the ER. (Yes, all of that for one finger.) Jordan quickly dubbed me "claw mom." At this point, being right handed, I was pretty much useless.

I hurt my finger Tuesday evening, but the orthopedist couldn't get me in until Thursday afternoon. (We were holding out for the guy who specializes in hands.) He confirmed I'd need surgery and talked about doing it "next week." We explained our beach dilemma, and he told us he was at the mercy of the surgery scheduler but that she would call us later that day. I really wasn't feeling very hopeful since the next day was Friday, and that would be the only option left that week.

When the scheduler called and said they had an opening at 7:30 the next morning, I couldn't believe it. (Apparently, they'd had a cancellation.) I'm sure she thought I was insane because I was so happy about surgery.

The next morning, we left the kids sleeping peacefully (thank goodness for older kids) and headed to the hospital at 5:00 a.m.

I emerged later with this nifty plate and eight little screws. (They gave us copies of the x-rays taken during surgery.)

So I had surgery Friday morning, and we left for the beach Sunday morning. The first couple of days were a little rough. The pain and swelling were pretty bad, and I had to keep it elevated and iced as much as possible. But by Tuesday, things started to improve, and I was able to enjoy the vacation a little more. I only went down to the beach once, though - couldn't exactly get in the water, and the heat made my hand swell. Of course, when everyone else went over to the beach, I could sneak into the pool and float around without the threat of 15 kids splashing my hand. =)

It definitely wasn't the week I'd been planning, but in the end, I was just happy the surgery hadn't messed up the vacation for my family. And if I was going to be sitting around mostly helpless anyway, why not be at the beach?

A few days after we got back, I had my post-op visit. They unwrapped everything, and I got my first look at my hand...

I call it my Frankenstein finger.

(This was right before the stitches came out, so it doesn't look quite as scary now.)

Now I've graduated to this cute thing. It's actually pretty exciting because I can now move my wrist, and I have full use of my first three fingers. I'm still a little clumsy, but for the most part, I can muddle my way thru the day okay. And it's removable, so I can finally shower without having to bag my hand.

I also have stretching exercises that I have to do three times a day because this is as far as my right hand can go right now...

It's strange to look at my hand and want it to do something, but it simply won't respond. There's very little pain now - it's just very tight. I start physical therapy later this week and still have a long way to go to get my hand back.

Jason was teasing me a little about breaking my finger - since he's never broken anything, and I had several breaks as a kid. (In fact, our kids' broken bones generally get blamed on my apparently faulty genes.) I protested, saying, "But I haven't broken anything since the 5th grade!" And he said, "Well, it was a good run." Sigh...hopefully this means I'm good for another 25 or so years...

A Wickedly Fun Evening

I was so excited - I've wanted to see this for awhile! It did not disappoint, and I would see it again. Jason liked it, but I think once will be enough for him. =)

We went with Eric & Becky and Doug & Deena. (The guys serve together in the Bishopric at church.) Here we are in front of the restaurant where we ate before the show. Definitely a dive (that's a giant metal chicken next to Jason), but the food was good, and we thought it was fun to pick the perfect anti-theater place for dinner.

Our Final May Event

She's been counting down the days since she turned 7 last year!

Hard to believe it's our last one!

Courtney with Nana & Grandpa

With Joanna & Craig

With Melanie & Ben

With cousins Anthony, Christian & Diego

Not pictured (but still adored): Aunt Kelli (the photographer), Aunt Jodi (the pianist), and cousin Autumn (the cute baby in the car seat) =)

We love you, Court!

May Madness, Part 2: Everything Else

The madness continues...

Spring Soccer

Alyssa was the only one to play this season. (Courtney was signed up to play but had to withdraw right before the season started because she sprained her arm. Hey - it's been awhile...)

Alyssa loves soccer and has played every season (Spring and Fall) since she was four!

They still try to rotate the girls thru all of the positions, so here's Alyssa taking a turn at goalie.

On the move...

Getting her medal at the team party after the last game

Picking Strawberries

We had a hard time coordinating everyone's schedules this year, and it almost didn't happen. So glad it did!

Here are Joanna and Courtney among the berries (and weeds!) It was pretty late in the season, so maybe they just let things go!?

Courtney (the strawberry eater) and Melanie (the strawbery picker)

And here's the teenager - a strawberry in each hand and earphones in his ears. Not sure anything ever made it into the basket, and there's a rumor circulating that he only comes for the food.

Alyssa weighing herself at the farm's market

"There's No Business Like Show Business"
(a.k.a. the girls' dance recital)

Courtney during her ballet dance...

...and her tap dance

Courtney is right in the middle

Alyssa performing her lyrical dance

This year, Alyssa moved up to the performing company. For the rest of the year, that meant a longer class during the week, a competition, and a few extra performances. For recital, it meant an extra nite of rehearsal, more dance numbers (and costumes!), and performing in all three shows (instead of just one).

Alyssa during her jazz dance

Alyssa's cool stunt (is that the right word?) with her best dance buddy during their jazz dance

And now her tap dance...

...and then ballet (she's right in the middle)

Our two dancers after the show!

May Madness is almost over... almost.

May Madness, Part 1: Birthdays

Forget March Madness - May is the month when things get crazy at our house! All the girls in the family have birthdays...

Here's me with the kids right before opening my presents. (And one picture is plenty...)

We celebrated Courtney's birthday the next weekend. She picked her two closest friends and went out to dinner at O'Charley's.

Then we came back home and painted little wooden boxes...

...followed by cake & ice cream and a fun sleepover!

The other big birthday event for Courtney was FINALLY getting her ears pierced! Being eight is definitely great!

The next weekend it was Alyssa's turn for a party. She hit double digits this year - the big 10! She and her friends made suncatchers, played the Wii, did Mad Libs, made magnets out of perler beads...

...and of course, had cake & ice cream!

(I actually got lucky this year - the girls both wanted the same cake - just different colors.)

Alyssa & her friends

It should be noted that Alyssa's party fell on our 16th wedding anniversary. So when people asked us what we were doing to celebrate, we replied, "We're inviting seven of Alyssa's closest friends over!" =) Actual celebration postponed until June...

A Night at the Prom

The Church holds a quad-stake prom every year for the Priests and Laurels. I was so excited when this cute guy asked me to go...

...and we chaperoned the night away! =)

Mother's Day 2010

Jordan walked into my room this morning carrying a book and asked if he could read me a story. "Once upon a time, there was the greatest mom in the world, and she had these three awesome kids. They decided to give her something special for Mother's Day. So they brought her a nice drink." (Enter Alyssa with a glass of milk, complete with straw and paper umbrella.) "Then they decided to bring her a whole breakfast in bed." (Enter Alyssa with a breakfast tray with muffins and doughnuts.) "And then they decided to get her some gifts." (Enter Courtney with three envelopes - each with a note and a picture of a different flag for my flagpole on the porch.) "Then they decided to show her a video they made." (Enter Courtney with laptop.)

Behold their creation...

Definitely a great Mother's Day!