Injuries, Interviews and Tball

Wednesday night, just after Enoch went to Scouts, I heard a thud and Ellie started crying. Now, as a parent or even if you have been around kids very long, there is a clear difference in the cry of minor injury, things aren't going my way and a major owie cry, which is what I heard from Ellie. Of course I wasn't in the room, that would make it too easy to figure out what happened, but when I walked into the living room, Ellie was on the floor sobbing, and not sitting up, just lying there. When I got her up, she was holding her wrist and screaming in pain, so I thought for sure she had broken it. I called my nurse friend and after a very brief conversation, she thought it was broken too, so I had to have Enoch leave scouts quickly to bring me the van (which he had because his piece of crap truck is at the shop....again) and I dropped him off to borrow a neighbors truck, took Will and Catie to my mom's house and headed to the Instacare.

First of all, I love the instacare - so nice that we finally have one after so long and Cedar is big enough that it was a long time coming. We were in quickly and the doctor thought that Ellie had broken her wrist too, so she had her first chance to have x-rays at four years old. She did a great job but when they processed (digitally and very fast) the doctor didn't see a fracture and said it's just a very bad sprain. So Ellie is now sporting a fancy wrap, taking lots of Ibuprofen (last night was much better) and being very careful. They say if she is still in lots of pain in a week to have it re-x-rayed because sometimes breaks in that area don't really show up very well.

As you can see, she is doing okay with it now, but she still will start whimpering when it hurts - and she can't finish her swim lessons this week - the next session starts on Monday and I'm playing that one by ear - I thought I was doing great by paying for both sessions at once but if she can't swim, I'll have to negotiate a refund on both Ellie and Catie.

I had another interview yesterday for a Language Arts Position at Cedar High and I found out yesterday that I got the job. I'm very excited about teaching, getting my foot in the door and, if all goes well, never having to go in for a job interview again!!! An additional bonus is that Enoch and I will finally have health insurance that really covers most everything, not what we have had to be stuck with because we don't make enough to buy our own and what is offered for lower income really isn't much at all. That in and of itself is a wonderful relief.

Will has been playing Tball since we got back from Texas, but I just haven't had a chance to post much on it. Tball here is pretty low key, kids falling on the ball, throwing gloves around in the outfield, coaches reminding kids to run. I like that they aren't forced to do things at this age, but sometimes I think it is a little to lax in that many of the teams aren't really trying to teach the kids techniques or anything, which is what I think Tball should be doing. But Will has fun with it all the same and in his second year, he is doing a great job and understanding better what he should be doing.

Things I Remembered I Like

Yes, that seems like a weird topic, but it is what it is. I made a necklace for my sister Roni because her birthday is just six days after mine and because it is always right around Father's day, we always just do a three in one Sunday. As I was making her necklace, I remembered that I really enjoy making jewelry. I started because I decided that I needed a hobby (and reading isn't a hobby, it is just a necessity of life) and scrapbooking takes tons of time and money that I didn't want to contribute to paper and glue, and I don't really enjoy needle work (sewing, crocheting or knitting) so I defaulted to making jewelry and I love it. The bonus is that Enoch gave me a tackle box with additional storage trays for all of my beading stuff, so now I'm more organized!!!

Organization - I don't know what happened but just after March, my house just went to pot - I couldn't stay on top of things, toys were everywhere, paper, dishes, etc. I have recently been buying and labeling all sorts of things to make my house more organized and I'm loving it!!! Now if I could just figure out how to get my room clean....

Grapes - yea, I buy them all the time for the kids but really haven't eaten many in a long time - I don't know why, just haven't. They're delicious!!!

The apple slicer/corer things that you just push down over a whole apple and it slices and cores the apple. I had one that broke last summer and have since just sliced apples, but those things are so slick that it's truly a shame to waste time with a knife.

Cooking - yea, eating out lots over a two and a half week period helped me remember that I wanted to cook more. The only problem with that is I hate the cleanup which directly contradicts my liking things organized so I'm in a conundrum.

To Kill a Mockingbird - I just picked this up because I didn't have enough to read already :) and I love this book!!! I don't know how many people realize what a great book it is the first time they read it, but I think what makes a classic a classic is that you can return to it again and again and learn something new and see it's brilliance because both you have grown and the book is just that good.

My Last 20's Birthday

Yea, I turned the age that I hear everyone talking about wanting to be - Today I'm 29. In all honesty, I really don't feel like I am old enough to be as old as I am and while I'm really not that old, the idea of being almost done with my 20's seems strange. I guess it is because when I was in my teens, I felt like I was stuck at an age that I just didn't get and couldn't wait until I was old enough to have a job - driving was a bonus, old enough to vote - turned 18 in an election year, and was considered legally an adult.

Now I'm 29 and I have everything in the world that I could want. I have three amazing children who I adore, a husband who I fall in love with again at least once a week, a degree in a subject that I am continually fascinated with and a teaching certificate with the chance to teach at CHS this fall (we'll see if the fact that the principal asked me to apply for the job the second time increases my odds of having the job more than the first time). In all honesty, there isn't a single thing that I would change in my life (okay, maybe a van that the door doesn't occasionally fall off of would be good) and I am continually amazed at the great life I have. I have seen so many marriages that for one reason or another just don't quite make it, and I feel very blessed that my sweetheart and very best friend in the whole world is so amazingly good to me, making me laugh and smile all the time. I am truly blessed.

Okay, now the reality part. I really don't have lots of close friends. I never have, but the friends that I do have I love with all my heart - Kristine in Reno who makes me laugh everytime I talk to her, Tiana in the DC area who just gets me because we are English nerds together eventhough she is much smarter than I am, and recently Jessica here in good ole Enoch who I met because her husband and Enoch are two peas from the same pod, so double dating was a natural thing and luckily we get along really well. Yea, those are about the only people who I really keep in touch with and there are times when I wish I had more friends, but the ones I have are truly priceless and eventhough I don't always get to talk with them, they mean the world to me.

So, there you have it - I have a great life and I AM NOT OLD, but feel like I know a little more now than I did even a few years ago, and as GI Joe used to say, knowing is half the battle, so I guess I'm winning.

While Traveling to Texas

We had a fun trip to Texas and I thought while I was on my way that I would get some reading done, which I did. First, I read Eragon, which really is the first fantasy novel that I have read all the way through since it was required in high school and I found it an enjoyable plot line with some amateur writing, but the story kept me engrossed and engaged, so I guess it's a split thumb vote for me. I read Raising Topsy-Turvy Kids that Paula had at her house about children who are visual spatial learners and I could see Will almost throughout the book, which helps me understand a little better why there are things he just doesn't yet understand, especially that I need to make things clearer and more concrete, especially in math.

I found my new place where I would like to live someday when we were on our last day driving home - Dillon, CO. It is beautiful, about an hour away from Denver, green, not too hot, has a lake - just heavenly. We had lots of fun on our trip and now I'm returning to the reality of being a mom, TBall, swim lessons, laundry (argh), gardening (trying to figure out what is eating my plants) and hopefully getting grass soon!!!