Tales of a Fulltime Mom: Cast Off

On Thursday the three weeks of Calleigh's arm in a cast came to a conclusion. I took the whole crew in for the removal since I thought they would find it interesting. I know I thought it would be at least. Actually, I really wanted to go so I could question them as to why she didn't get a water proof cast considering that a friend had one and then a lady had just told me her son got a waterproof cast from there the day before. I was sure they had done us wrong! As it turns out, if you have a cast that goes the entire length of your arm, as opposed to just your forearm, than you are not eligible for a waterproof version. So there you go. Next time we will aim for a broken wrist as opposed to the humerous.

Calleigh was not nervous at all with the removal since she said she had seen a video of it (where, I have no idea). The lady started cutting through it but then ran into some problem and left for about 10 minutes and brought a different lady in with her. That was a little strange but the second lady had no problems and within a few minutes it was gone. For some reason, maybe from when my brother had broken bones or something, I was picturing this white, whithered limb emerging from the remnants but alas, it looked like a perfectly normal arm. Apparently three weeks isn't long enough for it to change that much. Shortly afterwards the doctor appeared and proceeded to scare us to death with talks of surgery and such if something were to happen to said arm over the next few weeks. In no time at all, Calleigh and I were both wishing the cast was still on! He told us no physical activity for the next three weeks at which time she would come in for another x-ray (they did one at this point to check on the break and it looked healed). I was a little surprised at the fact that we had to go back in but maybe that's par for the course for where the break occurred (just above the elbow) and her age.

First lady (nurse?) takes a stab at it.

Second time is a charm.

She was holding her arm as if she still had the cast on, as to be expected, and he went over different exercises she needs to be doing daily. Fortunately by the next day, she was pretty much back to normal with using it but I'm constantly having to tell her "no horseplay!" That is for sure the hardest part with this. I had to tell her that come Thanksgiving that she wouldn't be able to fool around with Blake, Evan, Zachary, and Kaleb. She took that news pretty hard and was even crying about it at one point but hopefully she won't be wallowing in self pity when the time comes.

Her last act as a girl with a cast was helping to make a blanket for Adventurers. The Adventurers were commissioned with making blankets for needy children and turn them in at Wednesday's meeting. You could buy a "No Sew" kit at Jo Ann's which consisted of two fleece blankets. You would put the blankets together and cut strips one inch apart and then tie the strips from each one together. Calleigh was so excited about the project. I cut all the strips and then she came behind me and tied the knots. I was impressed that she could tie the knots so well especially in a cast. Anyone needing a Christmas gift idea for her, here's one!

The finished product just before we handed it in.

We had another great week of school last week. Oh how I love to write those words. Our curriculum this year is taking us through US History and is going to hit each of the 50 states separately so we can learn the capital, state bird, flower, etc. Calleigh is so interested in anything to do with the states because of her "Stack the States" game which she finally just finished by earning all 50 states. On to "Stack the Countries" now. At any rate, on Monday I teased the girls that on Thursday we were going to learn which state was the first state in the US and they would keep bugging me every day to just say which one it was. They were so anxious to find out! They made some good guesses like Virginia and Pennsylvania but the answer, of course, (not that I remembered it myself) was Delaware. They were the first to ratify the constitution so thus had the distinction of becoming the first state. This week we are doing a special Thanksgiving week and not doing any of the states and they are so disappointed that they won't find out the second state until next week. Their excitement makes me so happy as I'm very fond of history myself.

Aubree made a book for me all by herself...completely all her idea.

She was very proud of herself.

Her bins of books.

We made ink out of blueberries, vinegar and salt and used feathers as pens like they did in colonial days. The girls loved it.

Also did some other science experiments..without a shirt on. This was not part of the experiment.

Aubree is definitely my drawer and made this Christmas tree for me which I just love for some reason even though it's not some great artistic creation or anything. I loved how she drew a cord and a plug there on the right.

This past weekend was a fun girly weekend as I went out with Tangie and Jennifer for Indian food and a movie on Saturday night and then last night went to the Gala with Jennifer. The original plan was to go with Duncan to the Gala but he wasn't really euphoric about going or that he could get tickets for Jennifer and Bruce at the same table as us so in the end I suggested he just not go and I would go with Jennifer. We ladies enjoy getting dressed up and seeing all the other ladies doing the same thing! The interesting thing is that Colby is still nursing before bed and I don't pump any more and give bottles so I never go anywhere in the evenings until he's in bed. Clearly, that wouldn't be possible in this case. I ended up nursing him at about 4:30 pm and Duncan gave him a sippy cup of milk before he went to bed and it worked out fine (actually, I take that back. He woke up at 3:37 am and basically didn't go back to sleep). So good news for me and future nights out!

I love it when people bring their four year olds to a non kid's movie that starts at 10 pm.

I almost backed out of going to the Gala at the last minute. In typical fashion for me, I didn't try on the dress I was going to wear until a few hours before leaving the house. Someone had given the dress a few years ago and when I had tried it on then, it had fit. Well, it didn't this time. I could barely get it zipped and then Duncan had to get a special tool to get it unzipped. Other dresses proved just as futile. Boy, was that a depressing 20 minutes. I had to go with a dress I wore a few years ago that had a more loose fitting bodice. Ah well. A better woman would have hit the treadmill today.

I had no hairdo either until the last minute but fortunately Jennifer helped me pull this together.

With Amy.

The Gala was great. The food was delicious and the entertainment, Jay Leno, was really funny! I've always liked him so I was glad to hear he was performing. However, I told Jennifer we were out of there when we determined that there was a few minutes left of the show so that we didn't have to wait too long for our car from the valet parking. Nothing like waiting with hundreds of other people for their car to be pulled around. It all worked perfectly or so we thought. We were one of the first ones out there but we kept waiting and waiting and waiting. Other people who came long after us had their cars arrive and left. Poor Jennifer...nine months pregnant and in heels finally had to take them off. After a good 15 minutes I went to the valet table and said my car was missing. They assessed that the keys weren't on the table so someone must be getting it right then. So we waited some more. And some more. Another black Volkswagen pulled up and we almost got in until we noticed it was the wrong interior. Dodged a bullet there although at this point it would have been tempting. Now 25 minutes has gone by and I go back to the valet table and the guy was completely patronizing to me "Ma'am, we have many cars here and we're doing our best." He says this while putting his arms down in that motion that means "Calm down." Anyone with half a brain would say "Oh you were the first one here and haven't gotten your car after 25 minutes. That means there must be a problem." So we wait some more. Finally a supervisor comes over and asks for a description of the car and says he's sending someone out to look for it. I say "Good because I have a lady here who is nine months pregnant." Listen, I'm not opposed to using that card if I have to.

A minute or two later, a valet attendant comes over to me and holds up a big set of keys and says "Are these yours?" I see the finger from Madame Tussaud's so I know they're mine and now I have a sneaking suspicion in my mind. But first I was a little annoyed that they had found those keys because I had thrown them way under the driver's seat so no one could find them. Obviously they were snooping! With good reason it turned out. I looked over at Jennifer and said "Jennifer, do you have the key to the car in your purse?" She looks in there and sure enough, out comes the key. Ahhhh! We were in Duncan's car which doesn't require you to put the key in the ignition...only that the key is in the vicinity (I think inside?) the car for it to start. Stupid me, with my brain apparently in the clouds got out of the car to have the valet attendant take it and for some odd reason gave Jennifer the key to put in her purse. The car was running at the time and continued to do so even when we walked away. The poor attendant then parked it and then couldn't find the key anywhere for it but thought maybe the giant set of keys was it. It should have been clear it wasn't though when he didn't see a Volkswagen key in the bunch or see that the car wouldn't lock. Now, I will take responsibility for this dumb move on my part but why in heck did it take them 30 minutes to figure this out on their end when I came to pick up the car? We will never know. I guess we made a memory at least!

Duncan has been hard at work, still, on our back patio and really, it was quite fortunate that he hadn't planned on going to the Gala. One of the last things on his docket for out there was to get electricity for our pergola so we could have a ceiling fan and outlets to plug in strings of lights, etc. We had an electrician come and give us an estimate. Duncan wasn't happy with it so he didn't some of the work himself (digging a trench to put wires in or something like that) but when the electrician saw that Duncan did some of the costly work himself, he said he didn't want to do the job any more. As luck would have it, my cousin Kelly and her husband Steve and their adorable son Caleb happened to be visiting us yesterday for the day (they were wrapping up a week of being in Orlando). Steve knows basically everything about anything having to do building stuff, fixing stuff, you name it. He was pleased to have a diversion and helped Duncan do all of the electrical work so Duncan didn't have to get a second electrician here. Voila! We now have power. They worked past dark last night so it was good Duncan was home.

With Caleb all in their Patriots gear. Another win for the Pats!

Steve explaining some things.

On that note, I was wrap up as it is now past midnight. Here are a few conversations with the kids.

Brady LOVES to play with anything that is a common household object which is why it is never surprising to find him sleeping with salad tongs or what have you. He found this cord/rope/whatever you want to call it thingy and he's been using it to try to repel down the sides of the bunk bed or crib or something like that. I came into the girls room finding him like this:

Me: "Brady, you shouldn't be doing things like that. You're going to get hurt."
Brady: "Don't worry Mom. I won't kill myself. I'll still be alive."

Last Sunday (not yesterday), I was helping with the weeds that were growing up through the bricks in the patio. I couldn't stand looking at them another second so I was on my hands and knees pulling them out.
Calleigh (comes out the back door to see me yanking on a weed): "You have four children AND you are helping out here on the patio??! That is amazing!!

She really was truly amazed. I'm not sure how to take that really.

I was telling the girls how much I am enjoying school because I'm remembering and learning things right along with them.
Aubree: "Hey, that must be why it says in that song "And mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again."

A few closing pictures...

Supper at Ikea on Tuesday night. Unfortunately they were showing Sponge Bob so I told the kids they couldn't watch the movie. I picked a table far away but then realized Brady could see the TV from his seat. Hence, why he isn't looking at me. Little sneak.