Conversations with Cute: Video Edition 2013

If you want to see 3yr old cuteness click here: Last Year's Video Interview

What's your favorite color?
Hmmm...Purple
Same as last year.

What's your favorite toy?
(points and then after I tell her to say it) Shopping cart!
(She got a pink shopping cart from her grandparents a year or two ago.)

What's your favorite fruit?
Hmmm...Strawberry

What's your favorite tv show?
Super Readers
(Super Why on PBS)

What's your favorite food to eat for lunch?
Chicken Nuggets

What's your favorite clothes to wear?
I like the Rapunzel shirt I found on the scavenger hunt
(We did a Scavenger hunt to tell the kids we were going to Disney this summer. Here's the shirt she's talking about.)

What's your favorite game to play?
Candyland

What's your favorite snack?
Chocolate (Laughs)

What's your favorite animal?
Giraffe! It's tall so it wouldn't fit in our house. (laughing)

What's your favorite song?
Laurie Berkner. The Birthday Song.
(I think the name of the song is: "Where is the Cake")

What's your favorite book?
Sofia's Sleep Over

Who's your favorite person to play with?
Gracie

What's your favorite food to eat for dinner?
Pizza!
(The same as last year)

What's your favorite thing to do outside?
Play on my castle. (Also, the same as last year)

What's your favorite thing to drink?
Chocolate Milk

Where's your favorite place to go?
Disney!

What do you like to do before bed?
I like to play!

What's your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
Oatmeal

What was your favorite thing you got for your birthday?
The Robot Pinkie Pie
(Mommy gave her Walking Talking Pinkie Pie)

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A ballerina

Ok, can you at Mommy's camera and smile and say I'm 4!
I'm 4!

Conversations with Cute: Fall Edition

At School, The End of Nap Time
Roo is laying quietly on her cot waiting for her friends to wake up
Parker starts talking to her
Roo: SSSHHH! We're supposed to be sleeping.
Miss D: That's right Riley, we need to be quiet now
Roo: It's ok Miss D he just wants to talk to me because I'm a beautiful girl.
Miss D tries not to laugh
Parker: She IS beautiful!

Referring to the white ballet slippers I asked her to wear around the house before I add jewels for her Halloween costume
Roo: Dad, look! (showing him her feet) Mom keeped these on her dresser for 1,000 years!
Dad: For how long?
Roo: 1,000 years!!

Roo is Looking at the spot where my bandaid was
Mom: I got superpowers too, but not the same as yours
Roo: I know! So you don't get the flute!
Mom: (Laughing) The Flu.

My long awaited Halloween Costume arrives. The first one I ordered was too small.
Roo: Try it on, right now!
Mom: (I try it on) How does it look Riley?
Roo: Um, good. Now turn around.
(I turn around)
Roo: Yup! Your butt is NOT hanging out. You can keep this one.

PS: Vote for Big Brother Isaac's Preying Mantis costume in the Halloween Picture contest by clicking this link and than clicking like on his picture. Thanks!!

Tolerance- Capacity to Endure

Today is exactly one month since my back surgery. Today I had my last home visit from physical therapy. Don't worry this isn't a rant about how the insurance dictates treatment instead of the doctors wishes or patient's needs (believe me I could fill a blog with that). It's about the lack of guidance or ceremony these milestones are greeted with in adulthood. There is a complete lack of cheerful nurses in cartoon character scrubs to say: "Great job, you dressed yourself! Now, try tying your shoes." There's no support system of medical professionals to caution: "Don't do all those dishes your ankles and knees will swell". Instead the doctors tell you to do things "as tolerated".

The only way to know if you can "tolerate" something is to do it...scary. It's kind of like being asked if you have an allergy to a food and responding "I guess we'll find out" as you take a bite.

I find it interesting that the medical profession choose that word. The title to my post is the dictionary definition of the word. Doctors don't tell you to go ahead and do the amount of weight bearing you're "comfortable with" or walk until you feel "fatigued" or stretch until you "have a sense of accomplishment". I think you see where I'm going here. Every mundane task I regain is an experiment. If I try it and it goes well then it is mine once again. Of course that is the best case scenario. More often I try out of impatience and fail. Sometimes I try and succeed and spend anywhere from hours to a full day in bed/tears. Who decides what tolerance is? It seems to be a broad spectrum. Like when they say what's your number on the pain scale and you tell them. They follow up with and where are you usually? I always give the number I am most often and also the highest I can tolerate without medication. I think the same person who decided someone in pain would be able to articulate it in numeric value came up with "as tolerated". Honestly, If I never did anything that caused me pain/discomfort or fatigue it wouldn't leave a lot.

Is tolerance the goal? If I finish washing dishes/doing laundry/putting kids to bed and I'm still upright I'm pretty sure I tolerated it. I'd like to stop thinking about how much pain or fatigue each thing I do causes. I would like to get up and get ready in the morning without thinking about it. I'd like to run to the store without help or pick up my kid from school. I think my tolerance for pain and fatigue are high (much higher than my tolerance for frustration). I also think my goals lay pretty far beyond tolerance. Onward past tolerance...

Four Year Check Up

When I told Riley we were going to see Dr. J she said "woohoo." I told her this was a very important check up because she would get her "4yr old super powers" (vaccines). I had to reschedule from last week because of the surgery, but I bet they get that all the time since you schedule the check ups so far in advance.

Miss Roo is in the 19th percentile for height and weight. Inching right along on the old growth chart. We only had one visit in between check ups this year, not bad at all. She's a happy healthy girl. When the big moment came she climbed up in my lap. Dr. J told her there were lollipops and stickers for brave girls. I reminded her about how lucky she was to get her superpowers AND lollipops! Dr. J said you get one lollipop for each poke and an extra one if you're brave and don't cry. Three lollipops AND stickers, Riley was excited to hear that.

I told her I needed to give her a little hug. I held her around the arms just in case, but it wasn't necessary. The Dr and I kept even tones. One poke, band aid time, almost done. Last poke, band aid time, all done!! She hopped right down and headed for the lollipops. She picked out the three she earned and two stickers. She got a Despicable Me minion and a Pickalicious ballerina sticker.

The best part was she got to straight to school afterward and tell her friends all about it! It was adorable how excited her friends were overjoyed to see her. She'd never been late to school before. There were lots of hugs and smiles! It was heart warming. My big brave girl.

Huge thanks to my Mom for the ride and for running back to drop of her blanket. It was so nice to be able to visit with Riley's teacher for a minute. I felt beck to normal for a minute.

Staples Be Gone

Today they took all those suckers out. First back surgery (putting all the hardware in): 113 staples, first back hardware removal (they took out 2 cross bars): 22 staples...this time: 67! Even though I've had more staples than an office supply store, I was so relieved to hear that number. When I got the 113 staples out I actually took a break and vomited into Old Ortho's trash can. I'm pretty tough, but that is an absolute ton of staples getting yanked one at a time. It is much funnier in hindsight than it was at the time.

I knew I could handle 67. Even with the same ridiculously long incision,It goes lower than you can see in the picture, almost 50 less tiny pieces of metal to be pulled out. To be clear it's the tape coming off and the dried glue that sometimes rips off with the staples that hurts. This was a whole new ball of wax, less staples and different doctor. They had two nurses tag team it. One started and the top and one started at the bottom. I took one break and then sat down for the last four. I did yell a little, but I didn't curse or cry (or vomit).

It's always a rough day when they come out because there's soreness, but you also have this new vulnerability. It's no longer covered, protected, reinforced. It can be super emotional and frustrating. It's all worth it though when you get your first garbage bag/cling wrap free, REAL shower.

Happy Things

Our last evening together before my surgery we took a walk in the park.

Company while I heal.

Isaac's gifted project.

Mike painted jack-o-lanterns on Riley's nails for letter N show and tell.

Isaac dressed as Doctor Who.

New Shoes!

When I made this appointment for one day shy of a week post op I was told I'd never be able to do it. I take no perverse pleasure in proving people wrong. I just knew this was important and I could tough it out for the length of a fitting. There was a weird series of events that caused delivery of the devices I gave molds for in June to be delivered in September. I just knew recovering from back surgery would be easier if I was literally on my feet.

I'm so grateful to know the pronation issue is finally coming to a close. I was beginning to fear permanent damage. Getting to the appointment was half the battle. The other half was all the adjusting and walking and adjusting and walking and adjusting and walking...Getting the picture? I have to say I was so excited about how cute the shoes were! I couldn't get over it. I was totally expecting Church Lady ugly brown things. It's funny because the sticking point had been whether we could get shoes small enough and the first time we put everything on we were worried they were too small! After adjustments they fit fine. Woo hoo, woman's 5.

I have a UCB for each foot, it's a small supportive brace that fits in your shoe. They look like the bottom part of an AFO. They are named after the university that developed them. I got to go home with UCBs, adorable supportive shoes and high hopes. It was super frustrating because the left one was perfect and the right one had many issues. Good thing I'm a trooper. I have to slowly increase my time wearing them and get them checked next week. Too bad my expensive shoes can't be beautiful frivolous things like other woman.