Lattes and Labwork

I always forgot/block out what a long day pre-op lab work day always is. I had to do it right away because next Friday is Miss Roo's 4th birthday and the next day is her party. In order to get my head in the right space I threw coupons to the wind and splurged on my beloved pumpkin latte and donuts. so, I started the adventure caffeinated and with an overwhelming sense of deja vu.

They still needed the actual disc of my cat scan films because Dr. B was only able to view them online thus far. That added an annoying errand to the itinerary. I'm just grateful my mom was driving after picking up breakfast. I met with Joe, the right hand man, and him alone regardless of the mention of the hardware rep the day before yesterday. He seemed confident that once we got the disc to them we'd be ready to roll. He discounted my theory for the loose hardware with complete confidence and told me it wasn't "uncommon" for hardware to come loose. (Yikes.) I may get more aggressive about exploring other explanations down the road, but for now I'm requesting a copy of my chart and hitting the Google. Besides, it's completely obvious that I forced the hardware out with my Jedi mind powers! Duh. The force IS strong.

After our chat with Joe we proceeded to procure the elusive disc (but not before obtaining stickers and a lollipop to bring to Miss Roo). When we got there the old man at the desk was a bit huffy that we hadn't called ahead and dismissed the nurses claim that the line was busy out of hand. Nevertheless fifteen minutes later we were walking out the door with the object of our quest. My Jedi powers probably helped us out there too (they can't hurt).

Because one hospital in one day wasn't enough we went over to the hospital where my surgery will be. Sigh. That's when the real fun began. Pre-registration (just like for a vacation), blood work, EKG and chest x-ray. I still hate needles. How far are we from functional tricorders? While we're on the subject I'd love an ETA on the Doctor's super scalpel that can just beam objects out of you too. Anyway, back in reality everything went pretty much hitch-less until the final test which we had to wait almost a million hours to do which was annoying because it was far from crowded and the X-ray itself took less than two minutes. After which they forgot to give me my paperwork back. After one last chat with the admitting nurse it was time to deliver the disc to the Ortho and find some freaking lunch.

I miss being single on days like today when my fondest wish was to finish my lunch and go home and crawl into bed. No such luck, Isaac needed paperwork filled out and supplies gathered for gifted, homework supervision and a ride to the library to pick up his hold items before they close for the long weekend. After that it was off to collect Miss Roo from school and back home. Despite being told I was tagging him him at 6pm exactly if not sooner Mike is still working well past 7pm so I had a clumsy jaunt into the kitchen to reheat leftovers for the kiddos. Thanks to some streaming Hello Kitty cartoons I'm hoping all will be quiet until Mike really is off the clock.

Speaking of, I hope all his quiet until the 10th.

The Less Bionic Woman

Today was the day I went in to see Dr. B and discuss the results of my cat scan. When he ordered the test he said he was looking to see if the bones had healed completely/correctly and to find out if I had any fractures. When I went for the scan I was told that they would send the disc to the doctor. Three guesses what the doctor did not have. After waiting over an hour the normally upbeat Dr. B came in with an unpleasant expression on his face and my results clutched in his hand.

It went something like this:

Dr. B, you don't look happy.
(He shakes his head, there is a pause)
Were there fractures?
No fractures
Ok
Where is your pain again?
Between my shoulder blades and my tailbone. (he pushes on my back)
His expression is more upset than before
I just can't tell if the bones have completely fused.
Oh.
Do you think the surgery corrected your deformity?
I didn't have a "deformity". I had 5 degrees of scoliosis since birth and 15 degrees after pregnancy. [Old Ortho] said fusing my back would help my pain and make it possible for him to fix my hip. Which he didn't end up doing.
(I can tell he's got a few choice things to say about Old Ortho now, but he won't be unprofessional)
I'd like to to take it all out.
Ok, how long in the hospital?
Three days.
Blood thinners after discharge and all that?
No
Close with staples?
Yes
So this is what you want?
Yes
Ok, I'll send her in to schedule you.

From the way he left I wonder if he yelled at someone or punched something. It blew my mind a little bit which is odd since I said from the beginning that the hardware would probably have to come out. I guess thinking of the most horrific surgery I ever endured as unnecessary messes with me a bit too. I'm a little angry at Old Ortho, but on the other hand I feel vindicated. He didn't offer a theory as to way it all came loose, but I have a working one I am researching. In the end I'm glad it's coming out. Someone listened to me and is going to fix this!

It turned out he had openings next week, but um hello I have a 4th birthday party to host. I took Tuesday 9/10 in the afternoon. I have a pre-op meeting back there on Friday and then to pre-register at the hospital. It sounds like a vacation when you get into the registering, down payments and kid logistics. I know it won't be, but I'm hoping to come out ahead this time. I'll have Roo's party to distract me before hand and Halloween after. Hurray, less cyborg parts.

Scenes From The First Week of School

Everybody was all smiles from start to finish this week! The brand new playground at Roo's school opened on Wednesday and on Thursday we found out the student with the peanut allergy grew out of it and we could send peanut butter again! Aside from refusing to wear his new shirts in favor of his old broken in ones Isaac's week was better than expected. Both my big kids had good notes home every day!

How cute is Roo's Mr. Pear? Isaac missed out because he only took his lunch Monday to humor me and not once since. It's a real high point of his year to be able to have breakfast and lunch at school. He also met his new in school gifted teacher and is excited to start soon. It turns out he'll be the only fifth grader which is kind of a bummer, but I dare you to try to dampen his enthusiasm.

When I picked Roo up today she had a hat (last picture) that said "Riley has 6 apples up on top." They read Ten Apples up on Top (one of my favorites!!) and had an apple taste test. They tried each color apple and then picked their favorite and that's the color apple they put on the hat. Isn't that the coolest?!? I love that. They also had a fire drill today, her first ever. She did excellent.

I'm so proud of my big kids! Where are they now? Playing secret spy at full volume in the backyard. I love how much they miss each other during the day. I managed a major deep cleaning project every day while they were in school as well as my normal housework and errands. That's saying a lot with a dryer that runs cold and nonfunctional car.

First week of school? We nailed it. Go team!

First Day of School 2013

Isaac was thrilled to be at the top of the heap this year. Mike and I spent the summer telling him how awesome 5th grade was for us. All the cool field trips and projects. He has two teachers again both ladies. Math and science in the morning and language arts in the afternoon. He was super excited to tell me about his day and he had a glowing note home too!

Miss Roo was happy to see me, but a little upset that I was picking her up "early." Her day is 9-4:30 and I came at 3:30. We were going out to dinner for Mike's birthday and she had a date with Grandpa and Ya Ya. She hugged her teacher goodbye when she left. She also had a great note home. She taught the whole family her new "Days of the Week" song in the car. It is to the tune of "The Addams Family". She told me about stories they read, and games they played. The only bummer was that the new playground wasn't ready, but we're assured it will be this week.

Great, great start to the school year! (And a Happy Birthday for Mike!).

First Day Prep

This year is the first school year both my kids are starting school! I feel really emotional about that (and a slew of other things going on in my life that I won't blog about) so when I say chalkboard signs were a priority I'm 100% sincere. I saw something like it on Pinterest and thought, "that is just the craft project for this moment." I hurried over to the craft store with my half off coupon and snagged this cute little framed blackboard and two chalk markers. The chalk markers are awesomely bright, but they only had them in two colors. They erase with the chalk board eraser right away or water if you let them sit. I used the new one for little Miss and my easel chalkboard that we used for a seating chart at the wedding for big brother. I did their names, grade, the date, teacher's names and what they what to be when they grow up.

I'm really happy about my chalkboards (and so are the kids!). We went to the park all afternoon so everyone was pretty tired when we got home. In the ensuing quiet I accomplished finishing touches on the chalkboards and divvying up supplies and packing bags for tomorrow. I always get really excited about new school supplies! It may be a sense memory from when I was a kid. It's nerdy I know but I would carry my new back pack around and play school over the summer.

I got as much as I could ahead of time this year so I had a lot more to send the first day than I usually do. Riley's supplies are covered by a supply fee we paid when we registered her, but at meet the teacher night I got a wish list. I packed it all neatly into my Rapunzel bag (to match Roo's backpack and lunchbox) and tied on a cute tag with pretty yarn to let her know what was in it and that I wanted my bag back. I felt like Santa packing that bag. After dinner I packed lunches and made sparkly felt tags to pin to Riley's snack bags. Cute, right? Forgive my shirt Riley insisted I wear it to "look my best".

The hardest part by far was getting the kids to pick out their outfits. Isaac couldn't find any of his new clothes all the sudden. He brought me old worn out clothes even though all of his clothing had been washed. In the end he did fine though. Riley just couldn't make up her mind/ pick something that matched even remotely/ did not get the new dress code rules at all. In the end she picked a winner though. I think they're going to look and do great.

Ready or not Pre-K 3 and Fifth Grade, here they come!!

DIY My Little Pony Invitations

Click any image to enlarge

There wasn't alot of inspiration on the old inter web for this project. I guess most people just buy a pack at the party store or photo shop something, but we decided ours HAD TO be a pop up. Since Roo's favorite is Rainbow Dash we decided she should be flying by a rainbow. Mike used an old soda box and cut cardboard templates for the card, rainbow, clouds and tabs. When I can get my scanner working correctly I'll upload our templates for anyone who is interested in them. Once you have the templates it's just a lot of cutting and assembling.

Also, I searched for stickers with the right ponies in the right poses and got frustrated quickly. So, I found images online and then to make cutting them out easier I added a bleed around the edges in paint shop. I don't know where Rainbow Dash came from in the end, but I was able to download Pinkie Pie by Lisosaurus and Fluttershy by Sticer555 as vectors from Deviant Art.

I used my good old paper cutter to cut out the cards on pink and purple cardstock. We started by measuring an A4 invitation envelope. After last years' multiple envelope issues I knew to start with that. I had ivory colored envelopes left over from another project. Once I had the cards cut out I traced the boxes from the template and labeled them with the corresponding letters.

We made one cloud template and then flipped it over to make pairs for either side of the rainbow. I didn't have white cardstock when I started these so I cut the clouds out of blue. Then I sponge painted them white and added silver glitter! I LOVE the way they turned out. I bought a pack of white card stock for the rainbows (and that was the only thing I bought for these invites Yay, resourcefulness!).

After I traced the rainbow template I hand colored them with colored pencils. It felt more authentic to the theme plus I like kids invitations to look home made. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet then repeat!

I wanted to keep the wording super simple so it didn't overcrowd the pop up images. I downloaded a font called Equestria from font freak and choose some My Little Pony colors. I just made a table in Microsoft Word and typed my message in the first box. Once I was happy with it I copied it into each cell on the table. It says "Hey EveryPony! Fly by or gallop on over, Pinkie Pie is throwing Riley A Party, To celebrate being another year older." I followed that with a brief when, where and RSVP email. Honestly I don't think anyone really uses the RSVPs on paper invites anymore. I always send an email or Evite to all the grownups before I sent the handmade invites to kiddos and they generally RSVP there.

For the front I typed the word party in the Equestia font in rainbow colors and cut it out with edging scissors. Then I added Pinkie Pie. Once the rainbow, clouds and Rainbow Dash where in place I added the words. I just folded the edge over the back of the card so they would pop up too. When I was done with that I realized we had an empty spot on the left so I went looking for another pony.

I found the perfect Fluttershy for that spot and if you like her click the link in the first paragraph because that artist has an image for most of the other ponies in party hats too. Unfortunately, my yellow ink freaked out when I printed her so I had to break out the colored pencils again. Don't forget to add a bleed in paint shop to help yourself out. The little curl at the end of her tail was a real challenge!

Here you have it! All done. It required much more prep work then invitations I've done in the past, but over all was very simple to assemble. I loved painting clouds and coloring rainbows by hand (it's how I unwind), but you can always print yours out on card stock to save time if you want a more polished look. I adore these, I don't think we could have done a cuter invitation.

Coming soon: I'll add our templates to this post

Roo's First Meet the Teacher

It was a big day! Riley kept saying "I get to go to BOTH schools today!" (her summer preschool and her new school for fall). She wore her pretty pink dress and boots. When we got there it turned out I knew the front office lady from Roo's old dance class. Super cool, right? It's always good to know someone in the office. We marched over to her class, I remembered the way from my school tour. One little boy and his dad were there when we arrived so we started looking around. Roo went right for the play kitchen! In fact, we couldn't get her to look around the rest of the room.

Her teacher seems very enthusiastic. When we found Roo's chair there was an agenda in the pocket just like big brother's! The teacher left a goody bag at each seat too. She got a notebook, dinosaur stencil ruler, glow bracelet, Thing One eraser, a glow bracelet, bubbles and a homemade crayon. Oh, this teacher and I are going to get along great! The whole room is Dr. Seuss themed. Each child has one of the "One Fish Two Fish" with their name on it and there are fish bowls with velcro all around the room to indicate which station they're playing in. There's a "Cat in the Hat" wall and the alphabet strip has the examples from "The ABC Book."

When we left each parent was given an apple with a note attached. The note on the apple says: "An apple for the teacher is nothing new, but don't forget the first teacher is you. I look forward to working together this year." The ribbon had pretty ABC's on it. I have a good feeling about this year.

The only bummers so far are that their dress code seriously restricts shoe choice. No flip flops or backless shoes I expected, but no dress shoes or boots either. Their reasoning makes sense they want everyone to be able to participate in everything. I get it, but she has so many cute shoes! Also, as it turns out there is a child with a peanut allergy in her class so we've been asked not to send anything with peanuts for snacks or lunches. This was huge because I'd been compiling a list of "healthy two food group snacks" to meet the requirements, but a lot of them involved peanut butter. One of my mommy friends who is in the same boat recommended Sun Butter which is made from sunflower seeds which I intend to try.

It was a great visit! It was very hard to get Riley to leave. I'm glad she only has to wait until Monday. Back to school here we come!

Prepare for Abundance

That is the message I received. I joked about hoping it was an abundance of good things, but prosperity was implied. I can't help but feel blessed. I hope I can be open to whatever comes. I don't have even a vague inkling of what lays ahead and for a goal oriented person like me that is extremely difficult. On the other hand it's freeing. I can tell what lays ahead is different from anything that came before.

When I returned from vacation I submitted an essay that will be published in a book that comes out this winter. Very exciting stuff! It was a daunting task to talk about myself as an inspiration, but I'm very proud of what I came up with. My wonderful sister-in-law came by for a 6am photo session so I'd have recent family photos to submit with my essay. Aren't we cute? I'm pretty biased though.

Those kids sure are growing up. Roo has another year of preschool because her birthday is a week after the deadline, but we're thrilled to have her starting at the new charter school around the corner from our house. She'll get a Greek lesson daily among other perks. Isaac will complete elementary school this year. The thought makes me feel very old.

There is plenty of struggling and being tough to be done, but I'm feeling more of the payoff from my hard work lately. Isaac finished his whole summer reading list by July! I was very proud of him and he earned a free book from the Barnes and Noble summer reading program for his hard work. He picked out the first book in the How to Train Your Dragon series. Riley's been reading a bit this summer too. It's kind of amazing what a little patience and the right educational software can too. Miss Roo also made a lot of progress swimming this summer too. We worked hard and played hard this summer. Go team!