5 Best Things: Tuesday

Happy Birthday Pop Pop! We each sang happy birthday and blew out a candle in your honor tonight.

1. Coffee and visiting with a friend this morning.

2. Driving for the first time since surgery.

3. Putting on my orange corduroy pants.

4. Cupcakes, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and a visit from Caroline.

5. Making tree ghosts with the kids this afternoon.

**Tree ghosts a la Laura with a few changes.

1. Have mother buy husband new white t shirts.

2. Cut up husband's old white t-shirts.

3. Crumple newspaper inserts.

4. Wrap t-shirt fabric around newspaper inserts.

5. Tie with a very long string/ribbon/yarn piece.

6. Decorate with Sharpies under close supervision.

7. Hang from tree in front yard.

8. Place a few ghosts low enough for kids to touch.

9. Watch kids run around tapping ghosts and shrieking.

10. Smile.

Monday's Best

The Five best things that happened to me today.

1. A friend brought dinner to our family tonight.
2. Sharing coffee and toast with mom this morning.
3. Hearing Wesley sing 'happy birthday' to his new 2 headed dragon.
4. Watching Mario blow out his 37th birthday candles.
5. Telling Clare a 'Princess Clarabell and the 3 headed dragon' story while we snuggled on the couch together before baths and bed.

What are the five best things that happened to you today? Or yesterday?

5 Things

The five best things that happened to me today.
1. A crafty morning play date.
2. Making rest time bead bracelets with Clare.
3. Well timed strong coffee.
4. Hearing Mario's key in the back door lock tonight at 9:45 p.m.
5. Watching Gigi give Wesley a lift to slam dunk at the Fall Fling.

My 5 Best Things

The Five Best Parts of My Day.

1. Arranging flowers that a friend sent to me.
2. Touching my bare knee against Mario's leg underneath the dinner table.
3. Sitting on the porch with candlelight.
4. Dark chocolate, dried apricots, and red wine for dessert.
5. Giving Clare a lift at Target.
Other awesome things: my mom's help, getting out of the house, and a gorgeous day.

FREE cookie and cocoa at Barnes and Noble TODAY

This is Clare with her Fancy Nancy Barnes and Noble Gift Card. She enjoyed a daddy/daughter date at Barnes and Noble this afternoon with free hot chocolate (which she did not like) and a free cookie (which she did like). After their snack she picked out a book to take home and seemed quite pleased that she was going to a place where she didn't have to always take the books back.

So even if you just browse, all of the kids in your family should be able to use this coupon (print multiples) for a free cookie and cocoa combo while you leave a generous tip in the jar and sip your own pumpkin spice latte by the train table with a pile of magazines.

Tonite @ 8:22 p.m.

• Clare is crying in her room over a puzzle, being scared, needing to blow her nose, and I'm sure something else.
• Mario and my mom are cleaning up the kitchen.
• There are 2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts on the counter.
• My dad should be on St. Simons Island enjoying some well deserved peace and quiet.
• I have a cup of Yogi Chai Rooibos tea brewing on the rattan trunk next to the bed. I am enjoying this tea from a care package mixed with a dabble of International Delight French Vanilla Creamer.
• I am propped up with an army of pillows in bed with my netbook.
• I am excited about this 2010 Printable Postcard Calendar I just ordered (and her free note card that I just downloaded) for next year.
• My butt is actually getting sore from sitting.
• I wish I wish I could sit criss cross applesauce.
• My bedroom windows are open and I can hear the critters making night sounds. Every so often the breeze blows the curtains which makes me smile. Fresh air is a good thing.
• This morning my dad dropped of a prescription for Diflucan at CVS and my mom picked it up this afternoon. I have great hopes that it will turn me from itchy and _itchy to happy go lucky.
• Now that I can go to the bathroom all by myself I am drinking quart size mason jars filled with lime infused water.
• The quotation on my tea bag reads, "The body is a temple. Take care of it."

Before

Before all of the medical stuff we spent a weekend going to THREE awesome birthday parties. Clare and Wesley rode a sugar high all weekend long and burst into spontaneous chorus of Happy Birthday during car rides. Thank you to all of our friends for sharing their celebrations with our family.

While Clare didn't break the pinata open she sure had a good time giving it a few whacks! Both she and Wesley scrambled for the candy once they figured out what everyone else was doing under the pumpkin. Kudos to the mama on this one: fruit snacks, rings, and lollipops filled the pinata and I enjoyed a few boxes of Nerds!

Aside from the jump castle (Clare's favorite activity at Durham's party) there was the very very long hayride that Wesley LOVED. If I had been thinking I would have let him ride it twice because he gets such a kick out of the hayride and tractor thing. Both kids had a blast and I enjoyed having a few moments to catch up with other mama friends at all of the parties.

Next up: Daddy's birthday next Monday. I know that Clare made him a beautiful beaded bracelet...maybe Wesley can find a hayride to share with him to celebrate.

From my bed.

Today I went to the bathroom all by myself! This is huge for me and gives me such a feeling of independence. Hooray!!

Otherwise I am spending a lot of time under the covers with the windows open watching and listening to the world around me. I heard the mail woman clink our brass mailbox open this morningwhile leaving me a new issue of Vegetarian Times and a letter from Eli. I heard Grampin's white Cadillac pull away and arrive and pull away and arrive while taking the kids to and from school.

Down the street I can hear a bunch of girls playing games outside in their yards. The two older women who live next to us have their windows open too and I can hear them shouting to each other across their home.

The city bus rumbles up the street several times a day and the school bus dropped off a couple of kids earlier. Right now I can hear Grampin' talking to Wesley and Clare as they play in the back yard together. It looks like it is a gorgeous day to enjoy the yard. Out my window I can see the soft afternoon light filter through the leaves making designs on our neighbors house.

I am learning to be patient with my body right now. During lunch I instinctively went to catch Clare when she slipped out of her chair only to be sharply reminded by my body that I cannot take care of anyone else today.

I wish I could go running and resume my yoga classes. In the interim I am working on my meditation practice since I have long stretches of quiet time. It seems to work for a bit but then with the comfort of my lavender eye mask, reclined position and quiet I tend to drift off to sleep instead.

From my bed I see laundry that needs to be put away, bottles of medication, care package goodies on my dresser, magazines to be read, opened mail, extra pillows, my new chocolate brown blanket, my robe and my journal.

Most of all I miss my kids. I am hoping to make it to the couch later tonight so we can hang out for a bit. Don't worry though, I am enjoying the child free relaxation and healing naps along the way.

Update with TMI

Another drugged post for More Lima Bean readers.

I spent today in bed alternating Motrin and vicodin while merging in and out of sleep. Mario came home from work so that he could help me walk to the bathroom. That trip seems to be getting easier and shorter but I'm still not feeling all that steady on my feet. Maybe tomorrow I can do it 'all by myself' like Clare and Wesley do.

Today's big adventure: I sat at the dining room table while everyone ate for about 20 minutes. And then I retired back to the bedroom for more drugs and sleep. My dad brought me a chocolate milkshake which tasted amazing when sipped underneath the covers.

My dad is taking the kids to and from school each morning. He's also on nap duty and post nap duty so that I can really rest and get better. I am very thankful for his help and the help of my local friends.

Most of the pain is in my legs. The inner/outer thighs, groin areas and quads were all stretched in some funky way which left me very sore. As far as I can tell I don't have much internal pain it's all focused on the legs right now. Maybe when that goes away I'll notice something else but for now that's all.

Now for the gross TMI but interesting part.

I've had a long series of BV (bacterial vaginosis) for the past couple of months that never went away. My gyn did culture, exams, pregnancy tests, and an ultrasound to figure out what was going on. She prescribed tons of antibiotics and flagil to kill it all off. Monday I went to see her again and I left with more meds (levaquin and flagil) to try once more.

Yesterday during surgery when I woke up they told me that they had found a tampon!!! inside of me. I haven't used a tampon since JULY when I was at the lake. Anyhow it was super stinky and tah dah! the cause of all of this infection nightmare.

So there you ha ve it. Now I should be infection free and leak free. What a journey.

after

This post is brought to you by vicodin, motrin, care packages and a break in the fog.

Mario took me to the surgery center this morning...I snuggledunder heated blankets, g0t put to sleep, and was relaxed. I woke u//with bleeding, shaky legs, and some interesting news.

At home Mario and my dad helped me move, eat, and remain comfortable while I experienced pain unlike anything I'd ever imagined while moving my legs. From the waist down I can not move my legs without assistancr. For the most part I am just tired and ouchy.

Everyday Ramblings

• I got a new phone! Mario went and picked it up last night for me. I can text! I won't run over my minutes any more.
• Yoga on Tuesday night was dreamy. I'm also excited because I found out that I can take classes at Hampton Hill (more yoga!) with no extra cost on Friday nights and on Sundays.
• The rainy days made me happy because I got to wear my rain boots.
• I am preparing (read: making a lot of phone calls) for surgery next Tuesday. As of today I have the go-ahead from my gyn for the procedure, I have a pre-operation appointment on Monday, I am registered in the hospital system, my medications are waiting at the pharmacy and my dad is planning to arrive on Saturday or Sunday.
• I went a little crazy in the scrapbook supply department once I gave myself the okay to purchase a few things to see if I liked documenting the kids via 1 picture and 1 story.
• Last night we went to a pancake supper at Wesley's school. The event was super cute. $5 for adults/ $2.50 for kids. The little ones wore their pajamas and listened to stories on big quilts spread around the Halloween inspired Christmas trees. Wesley has a crush on his teacher Ms. Jessica and he kept shouting "Ms. Jeca!" very loudly to her at the other end of the table.
• Tomorrow we are going on our last apple adventure.
• I have the itch to make some kind of soup for dinner. Mario isn't going to like my departure back to lentil land but it just sounds soothing to me right now.
• I'm looking forward to seeing lots of friends this weekend.
• Bags of Autumn Mix consumed thus far: 4.

More apples.

A bit of rewind. Thursday we went to pick apples. Again. With different friends. And we have plans this Friday with more friends. After this final trip we are going to call it quits on the apple thing for 2009.

We loaded four kids into the car, grabbed a few DVDs, packed lunches, and hit the road at 9 a.m. Laura and I nursed coffee in the front seat while the kids settled in. It took awhile for everyone to calm down but when they did (after many gymnastic van moves by Laura) we enjoyed the bliss of actual conversation. The real thing: talking about topic to topic to topic without having to check our watches or sprint back to our cars in the carpool line. I loved it.

The girls (and Wesley) are becoming better friends as we spend more time together outside of school. Our 2 year olds and our 4 year olds are in the same classes at the same schools. It is such a luxury and gift right now to help pick up and drop off kids together.

Clare and Emily Kate are such fun to watch. Each girl seems to retain her own sensibility when they are playing together. They are not attached in a confining way but share this beautiful flow within their friendship. I admire how they look forward to seeing each other, how they talk about each other and how they play together with plenty of room for self discovery and growth.

This time we cut pumpkins. Two. Together Clare and I cut a decent looking orange oval and a teeny tiny green pumpkin. I have toasted pumpkin seeds on my mind but haven't gotten around to actually implementing that plan.

We picked 1/2 bushel of apples too. Again I was struck by how much faster it is to pick apples than blueberries or strawberries so this time I bought a larger bag to fill. I like watching them play soccer with the rotten apples on the ground. I like watching them smile when the finally get the apples off of the tree in a satisfying yank. I like watching them take juicy bites of the apples they just picked. It is all good stuff, even the stinky rotten apple muck left on the bottom of our boots and shoes when we get home.

Columbus Day 2009

We hit the sweet spot yesterday. Two kids, one mama, the camera and the pool. Only two people in this equation had to wear swimsuits: Clare and Wesley. I got to sit by the pool, ready to leap in at any minute of course, dressed in full fall attire.

I love the pool because there is no sand involved. We can shower right there, run across to the house, and slip into clean clothes with minimal mess or crisis. Oh and the energy expended jumping in and out, climbing the stairs in and out, and retrieving floats is wonderful.

This little man mastered swimmies much quicker than Clare ever did so he's pretty much good to go with them on. I am more fearful of him busting his head open on the concrete while sprinting than I am of an actual aquatic injury. The two of them are really cute in the pool together playing, fetching, and talking very loud while comparing stunts. As the pool monitor my main job seems to involve telling them not to touch each other in the water (a nice way of saying please don't drown your brother/sister) and barking "Walk!"

Next year I think we will have actual swimming as long as nobody breaks a limb. I really enjoyed watching these two grow into the water this summer and I have my fingers crossed that we will be able to swim again during Georgia/Florida weekend.

Magazine reading by the pool can't be that far off right?

Get Ready 9-1-1

Clare went treasure hunting with me on Saturday morning after we watched the Pooch Parade at the Brunswick Stewbilee. Twenty seconds after stepping out of the van she eyed these Barbie skates. The rational part of me said "Hell NO! We already did the broken arm thing once this year." And the softee in me that wants her to learn how to skate so we can try that ice skating thing again this winter. The result of my internal struggle? I handed her a quarter to purchase the skates.
So far so good. Today rummaging around at the new Goodwill I found knee pads and arm pads for 99 cents so I'm a bit more at ease. We can lock the skates to go only forwards if we need to and she's learning to manipulate her legs into a glide. These are the kind that you wear your shoes with inside of the boot so getting them on and off is relatively easy to accomplish.

The funny part: Wesley tried them on this afternoon with his new 99 cent Thomas the Train padding and he is better at skating than she is! He fell down a lot more but understood how to get them moving better than she did.

Either way I see a lot of skating in our future. I've got my fingers crossed, helmets on and padding securely attached to the kids to avoid the Emergency Room.

Saturday at Grampin's Beach

At this point all of our beach pictures are starting to look the same. We spent Saturday afternoon at the beach doing the usual digging, swimming, and playing together. The kids still love it and we do too so I guess we'll keep coming to visit.Wesley worked hard scooping and digging until he was distracted into the water. From that point on Mario took over as the water parent while I presided over the stuff on the shore.
Our trip came to an abrupt halt when those clouds just beyond Mario's head started to deliver a brief but powerful rain shower. I ran to the van to protect the camera. After the storm passed we did the shower routine, drove the kids through Burger King for princess chicken and enjoyed a little evening drive around the island.

Skippin' School

Phooey on routine. This morning we are going with friends back to the apple farm for some fun. The minivan is waiting with DVDs rigged to carry the three of us plus three friends to Niven's.

I'm trying to cram as much fall fun in before October 20th because I have a feeling that pumpkin picking isn't on the agenda afterwards. Toasted pumpkin seeds are another story if we secure the pumpkins now. On Friday night at camp there were lots of pumpkins for each cabin to carve. Afterwards they toasted the seeds for us to nibble on before dinner. Bliss. Code to Emily: that was it! Find out what they used to toast the seeds.

Anyhow we're going to send in a few of the apples to Clare's school so they can make applesauce next week. This is a good thing considering that we are almost appled out around here.

Camp Pants

These are the best orange corduroy pants in the whole world.
I took this picture on the way to breakfast on Saturday morning.
They are dry in this picture.
They were not dry on Friday night.

Sure it was kind of wet and rainy down by the campfire after our cabin v.s. cabin Amazing Race through camp. In theory everyone had wet pants. But I had REALLY wet pants because bladder leaked Prosecco as we ran all over following clues to eat saltines and whistle, to play dice and down mini shots, to bob for apples, to sing silly songs around flag poles and to answer questions about candy bars.

Through the dark and between the flashlights I heard a lot of girls mentioning that they were peeing in their pants so I knew I wasn't totally alone. After being mistakenly lead to the wrong fire ring I had to stop and change my pants because well...I needed to. It's totally embarrassing to admit that I leak when I run, cough, sneeze, laugh, or jump but I'm going on a limb to tell my little story so other girls can avoid Depends in their thirties too. Luckily we found the secret stash of counselor Always pads on Day 2 of camp so I could make it through because we had a lot of laughing, jumping and running left to do around Camp Ton-A-Wandah.

On October 20th I'm having surgery to fix up my leaky bladder. I can't wait to go on a run without an overnight pad and to just not leak. I had the bladder study done last week and on Friday I'll get the results of that during a pre-surgery visit with the uro/gyn in town. So skip the bladder posts if you want but from what I heard through fellow campers it's more of a problem than I thought.

Camp Ton-A-Wandah GUGG 2009

I have over two hundred pictures from this weekend. Most of them involve regular camp scenes but the photos fail to convey the prevailing under current of emotion and connectivity. Julie, Emily, Jennifer and I met up for our second annual Grown Up Girls Getaway Weekend (GUGG) at Camp Ton-A-Wandah in Hendersonville, NC. We arrived at camp on Friday afternoon and set up our bunks in the same cabin (Poplar!).

This year we had some new cabin mates who offered us first aid, wise wisdom, comfort, perspective, and great company. Among them: Julie's mom!

Under the direction of Julie we consumed many beverages, danced ourselves silly, competed in cabin races, and absorbed as much camp as we could in our three short days. I ended up doing glass fusion, painting aprons, the ropes course, archery, lake sitting (not an official activity but one of the best ones there), jewelry making, yoga, a solo run on Saturday morning and a mini hike to the waterfall.

This year we spread out a bit. Instead of being together every single moment we went ahead followed our individual preferences. Jennifer rode horses, Julie hung out with her mom and Emily shot targets in riflery. The ability to branch off and to still be together marks a growth point for our foursome. We shared many silly common experiences as a group of friends but also made our own individual memories at Camp Ton-A-Wandah. I left camp thinking a lot about this recurrent theme to honor and respect our personal limits.

I have a gigantic blue/yellow/green/purple bruise on the inside of my left arm from my first archery experience. I kind of liked it and think I'd have even more fun doing it if they had a left handed bow. The thwack of the arrow in the target was very satisfying.

Some things were easier this year: peeing on a cold toilet in the cabins, navigating the camp, the ropes course, picking out what we wanted to do, and packing our bags. Though we were weary from having so much fun in such a concentrated amount of time I think it was also harder to say goodbye to such an amazing place.

It isn't necessarily the activities, the awesome food or even the lake that make Camp Ton-A-Wandah so special to me. I love that this place itself exists as a refuge and a quiet constant testament to friendships both old and new to any girl of any age. For this alone I am very thankful.

Camp Ton-A-Wandah

The place.The feeling.
The retreat.

The event.
The goods.

More later after I sleep. Camp is refreshing for the spirit but very sparse on the shut eye.

The Best Camp Ever!

Fall means: boots and skirts, knee socks, pumpkins and CAMP!

I'm packed and ready to go. The packing list suggests:

1 pr. jeans
1 pr. shorts
2 short sleeve shirts
2 long sleeve shirts
1 fleece
1 pr. flannel pants
1 bathing suit
1 robe
4 prs. socks
sufficient underwear
1 pr. tennis shoes
1 pr. water shoes
1 pr. hiking boots
Rain gear
Hat or visor
Personal Gear (shower caddy, mirror, sunscreen, sanitary supplies, grooming things)
Pillow
Pillow case
Twin sheets
Sleeping bag
Fitted mattress pad
Towels
Flashlight
Camera
Camp chair or crazy creek
Bunk decorations

I've got it all (and I'm borrowing Clare's princess sheets because they are the only ones I can find this morning) minus the hiking boots, flashlights (I think the kids stole them and put them somewhere), and bathing suit.

I can't wait to wake up at Camp Ton-A-Wandah to see the mist on the lake, to eat hearty breakfasts, and to hang out with my girlfriends. Here's what we did last year.

Our activities? We may do some of the following:

Fly Fishing
Watercolours
Ropes Course
Climbing Wall
Massage
Canoe/Kayaking
History of TAW walk
Hiking
Line Dancing
Woodburning
Glass Fusion
Apron Printing
Note Cards
Teeth Whitening
Manicures and Pedicures
Facials
Horseback Riding
Yoga
Pilates
Zoomba
Ionic Detoxification
Salsa Dancing
Archery
Riflery

And at night we'll have games like the Amazing Race, Line Dancing, the TAW Talent Show, Karaoke and a huge bonfire with s'mores!

I am so excited to really get away...we requested to bunk with our hip friends from last year so we'll have lots of wee hour girly conversations about boys, birth, IUD's, mothering, sex, and being ourselves. I'm also hoping to throw in one or two western NC runs in the mix too.

Ciao! I'm off to GUGG!

Probably TMI but on my mind.

Yesterday afternoon, in preparation for surgery at the end of this month to stop my gushing bladder, I had to go and complete a bladder study. Essentially they filled my bladder up with water via a catheter while my legs were elevated and spread eagle waaay more than in a usual pelvic exam.

They wanted to know when I felt like I had to pee, how much I could hold, and if I leaked while I coughed or pushed. They also measured how much residual liquid I had in my bladder after I thought I had emptied my bladder.

1. Peeing in front of someone is really hard. Especially when the brochure about this study makes a point of saying that you will get to relieve yourself in private. So I had to position myself on top of this funnel that lead to a container the measured the liquid coming out of me while someone watched. Oh, and if you pee too forcefully it will leak all over the floor on to a mat. Yeah.

2. The brochure made no mention at all about having electrodes taped on either side of the anus to measure the pressure exerted during pushing and coughing. I think that might have been the most mortifying part of it all...even worse than some watching and feeling to see if any urine leaks out during the coughing and pushing!

3. The doctor and the brochure also failed to mention the frequent movement of the catheter in and out of the urethra while coughing and pushing.

4. I also had the pleasure of having another probe inside my vagina at the same time.

5. And finally at the end I had to pee again with all three of these things inside of me or stuck to me while someone watched and waited. Talk about stage fright.

6. And then she ripped all of the electrodes off of me.

The only thing I could think to do after I peed in the privacy of a bathroom to get the rest of the liquid out of me was to find chocolate or to engage in some serious retail therapy. The whole thing was necessary to see whatever they needed to see but the audience and electrodes caught me off guard.

Today I'm being gentle with myself. I may go ahead and indulge in some serious dessert during our date night tonight.