Ski Day Fail

Trying to make a knee brace look good.

This year I made a switch from Ski Instructor to Ski Team Coach.  You may think there isn't much difference between the two, however, you would be so wrong!  Although the fundamentals of skiing is the same, ski racing is a whole new ballgame!  Now, I have had a lot of competitive experience throughout my life, but nothing I've done compares to ski racing!  Slalom, GS, whatever...it's all intense!  Basically you throw all fundamentals to the wind and it's all about getting down that mountain as fast as you possibly can!  The kids on ski team are amazing!  So much talent and so little fear (at least they don't show it).  Instead of spending the day on the mountain on Greens (sometimes blues) and teaching how to wedge or parallel ski like previous years...I'm spending the day running the kids through gates or skiing crud on black diamonds (hoping that I look like I know what I'm doing, ha!)  I was hoping that switching to Ski Team Coach it would push me a little more and challenge me with teaching higher level skiing.

Unfortunately, it all came to a halt when I ate sh#t while doing a warm up run with my group.

Yes, a warm up run!  So lame.  I wish I had some epic story to tell...but alas, I don't.  Just skiing down (it was a groomed run and everything) making some GS turns with my group following along behind me when I caught an edge and down I went.  I felt my knee twist and it hurt like the dickens.  I sucked it up and tried to shake it off by skiing a couple more hours with my group...but by lunch I had to throw in the towel and accept the fact that it wasn't getting better.  

The next day I got it checked out, x-ray showed fluid/blood around the joint and I was referred to a orthopedic specialist.  He suspects a meniscus tear.  However, an MRI would tell us for sure.  I'm under workers comp. and instead of an MRI they have decided I should do a few weeks of physical therapy.  So, in the meantime I get to accessorize with a sweet knee brace.  And no work.  No ski team.  No nothing.  

 (warning: a lot of complaining coming)

I feel old and helpless.  I hate not being able to move like I normally would and do the things I normally would do.  Not only is my knee an issue but my hip is starting to pay the price as well.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm of how I'm walking or what, but I think my hip is hurting worse than my knee at this point!  I wake up with it aching soooooo bad!!!

I feel like such an old lady!  (wait, did I say that already?)

Anyway, this has been a difficult stretch for me.

I've been pretty down and out...I hate that.

How am I supposed to survive the winter if I can't ski?!

I'm hoping that nothing is actually torn and with a little time off it will heal up in no time and I'll be back to my normal self...instead of bitchy mom, who is about ready to just chop my leg off completely because it's pretty much useless to me at this point.

Tomorrow I meet with a physical therapist.

Wish me luck.

Unraveling

You know the saying, "When it rains, it pours."?

Well, that's exactly how I feel these past few weeks, like everything is happening all at once, and I have no control.  I'm just trying to stay afloat.  

Little known fact....I'm terrible at handling stress.  Note to self: do more yoga this month!  

We've been getting our old house ready to rent and in the process we noticed a leak in the bathroom.  The toilet had come off the wax ring and had been slowly leaking and ultimately destroying the sub floor.

So, we were delayed advertising the house a few days while this was taken care of.

Ugh...

Since we were not able to find the original tile anymore to replace what was ripped out (and we did not want to rip out the entire floor to put something new in) we opted to put in a completely different tile around the toilet.  This is now an official throne room, ha!

A little weird looking...but fully functional.

So, long story short, we realized we had the same problem in our own house.  Specifically, the girls' bathroom.  

Here we go again...

There was leaking around the toilet as well as the tub, so out went ALL the tile this time and most of the sub floor.

The new tile was installed Friday night but the bathroom was still out of commission for the weekend.  Which proved a challenge with 7 girls in this house over the weekend!!  Yep, that's right!  We had three cousins stay here overnight...the girls were in slumber party heaven!  Me on the other hand...I think I'm still recovering.  Kidding...but seriously.

As for this week, the toilet and shower are now functional, but we are in the process of putting in a new vanity.  

So with our bathroom being under construction here and driving back and forth to our rental, and my own daily chores (laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc.) are being neglected...it's all taking a toll.

And Thanksgiving is next week!  I have so much on my mind, this holiday has completely sneaked up on me!

And then Christmas???  Oh my, don't even get me started!!

Hopefully things will slow down in December??  

Holding down the fort.

Last week Ryan was out of town for work (in sunny southern CA in fact) and I held down the fort...not very well, but I tried.  

Not sure, but I think summer is kicking my butt in the parenting department.  It feels like everyday is a battle with the kids, messes are EVERYWHERE, and I just can't keep up with anything!  I know it's bad when I lay down at night and think, "I don't think I laughed once today." Or "Did I even smile today????"  When that happens, I know I need to change my attitude quick or all my kids are going to remember is me scowling!!

Anyway, while Ryan was gone I did manage to finally fix up my bedroom....and I'm loving the way it's turning out!

I painted the room a light, airy, beachy blue...I love it!

I bought some pillows, window treatments, hung some artwork and even bought my first full size mirror to go in the corner of the room.  It's all coming together!  Next, I'm going to tackle our bathroom...it needs a major makeover!!

I was able to skip out one morning for a quick ride with a friend and another woman I'd just met.

It was wonderful and just what I needed to get though the rest of the time with Ryan being gone.

Sunday, I stuck to our routine with our Sundance Sundays and took the girls on a hike.

Just recently, I purchased everyone a camelbak (thank you REI dividends!) and it has been a complete game changer!!  Before when we hiked, Ryan and I carried the water bottles and we had to stop CONSTANTLY for kids to drink.  I'm not sure if it's because we live in a super dry area, but my kids are always thirsty!  I make sure I have a water bottle in my purse at all times when I'm on errands, because I kid you not, they think they're going to die if they don't have a drink RIGHT NOW...they're so dramatic.

But anyway, with Camelbaks it was a dream!!

They loved having control of their snacks and water and the fact that we didn't have to stop every two seconds.  I kick myself I didn't get them sooner!!

And in other news...I got my haircut yesterday.

Why do we get so attached to our hair??  You would think I was getting a limb amputated!  I mean, it's just hair!!  Turns out though, I love it...I just sometimes need a little push to do it.  Because, let's be honest, it was in bad shape!

Hope ya'll are having a fabulous week!

What a week.

So with the first day of school also comes the dreaded sickies.  Morgan was first Friday after school...then came Piper Sunday night...then it took out Haley Tuesday night.  And here we are today...will there be another?????  Time will only tell.

Needless to say the week has been a tough one.
I just hope I've killed off this dreaded bug...I've washed and cleaned up through the wahzoo.
Give me strength!

Last Friday

For the first day of summer break I started the day going on a ride up South Fork.  I started the ride alone but then met up with my dad on the way home.   As we were riding home we found a deer caught in between to fence posts.  It was a miracle we even saw it as it was hidden behind the brush off the path.  It was very much alive but as you can see, it was really stuck!  Can you see it behind me?

 We called the police who then alerted the DWR to come to the scene.  We heard that they were in fact able to get it out and it ran off...lucky deer.

Then later that afternoon the little ones, Ryan and I headed up to Salt Lake for a crit. Ryan raced in.  Haley and Morgan stayed with their grandparents for a sleep over.

 However, the sleep over got cut short...while we were driving home from the race we got a call from my mom that Morgan got hurt.  While Morgan and Haley were playing in the yard Morgan got her feet pulled out from under her and she smacked her head face first onto the cement.  Apparently it was quite a scene with enormous amounts of blood...my mom had to handle all the dirty work at getting her nose to stop bleeding which is good because I probably would have fainted if I had been there.

Ryan and I got home, he stayed home with the little ones while I took Morgan to the urgent care to get her nose checked out.  However, they suggested that I either take her to the ER or wait until the swelling goes down and take her back in.  She said the ER would probably suggest that anyway.  So that's what we did.  I'll take her in Monday to get it checked out again.  This time I'll take her to her pediatrician and maybe they'll refer me to a nose, ear, throat specialist...and we'll go from there.

What a way to start the summer!

Overwhelmed!

This is pretty much how I've been feeling lately.

There has been a lot going on with Halloween right around the corner.  I've been sewing a skirt for Haley and myself that needed to be done tonight for our church Halloween party.  And the business of running around and finding all the necessary accessories for everyone else's costumes...it's crazy!

Plus, the big thing that is causing my sleepless nights (other than Piper and Rory always waking up and coming into our bedroom...that's a story for another day), is our big Primary Presentation in our church.  For those out of the know...primary includes all the children from 3-11.  Every year the primary is involved in a presentation that is for the entire congregation.  It lasts about 40-45 minutes.  Every child gets a speaking part that basically goes over all of the things they learned throughout the year.  They also sing all the songs they have learned.  Well, I am charge of the program this year...like totally in charge...like writing all the speaking parts for every child (some have more than one), deciding on the songs, what order, the seating chart for all the children (we have about 50 kids), and so on and so on.  This has been a few months in the making...but tomorrow is the big day.  We've had a couple of practices but that still has not calmed my nerves...I'm terrified!  The kids have been super and everyone is working so hard...but I've never been in charge of such an important event before!  

So anyway, life has been crazy these past few weeks, but after tomorrow it should be starting to settle down a bit!

Here's to a great Primary Program tomorrow!!

Wish me luck!

Window Well Battle

This is one of my basement windows, in all its dungeony gloriousness.  (Are those even words?  Probably not.)  This particular window has a tendency to flood whenever there is a HEAVY downpour.  It's one of those things that you only think about fixing when it's starting to flood, but then as soon as the sun is out, you think...nah, it doesn't need to be fixed, we're good.  Well, I'm saying this now....it REALLY needs to be fixed!!!

You think we would have fixed it after spending the half the night in the pouring rain filling 5 gallon buckets from this well a few weeks ago.  Yeah, it was quite a sight.  The water seeps in from the sides of the well filling the entire space like a bathtub until it finally surpasses the window itself (I call this the fish bowl effect, because it literally is like being in a fish bowl) and then pours like a faucet from the corner of the window into our basement.  The only saving grace is that this window is in our unfinished part of the house, so the damage (if any) is minor....hopefully.  

You may remember my little adventure with the window well a couple of years ago.

Well, it ended up being more than just a rain gutter problem as you can see.

Well, with all the rain and flooding in AZ and NV, it's no surprise that we got quite a bit as well.  The downpour hit so hard and so fast this morning that I kid you not that well filled within 20 minutes!  And of course this always seems to happen when Ryan is out of town for the week.  Again, I had to lower myself in that thing and carry out 5 gallon bucket after 5 gallon bucket...good times.  Luckily, this time I recruited my neighbor to help me.  And as it turns out he happened to have a pump which we lowered in there to speed up the process!  In fact he left it with me as they were leaving to go out of town for the week.  So you know, just in case.

So my day has consisted of waiting for this darn rain to STOP!!  And checking the window well about every 20 minutes...just in case.

The time has come.

Potty training for Rory...the time has come.  She's been showing signs that she's ready ever since she turned two in December, but I, however was NOT ready.  I think winter sounds like a real drag to potty train a kid.  I love utilizing the outdoors when a kid is running around bare bottom.

So Day One:  It started off great!  She was thrilled about her new panties and little potty and even peed in it right off the get-go!  I was feeling really great!  What an all-star mom I am!!  Wrong.  About an hour later she decided that she hated the potty and no amount of otter pops or M&M's were getting her on it!  And because I had given her about 10 cups of Crystal Light, the girl HAD to go in a bad way!  So this resulted in the biggest fit ever and her sad little face begging for her diaper.  I held strong...even though I so badly wanted to just throw in the towel that very moment and get her the darn diaper!  She finally gave in (although screaming the entire time) and peed on the potty.  Hallelujah!  

Later in the evening she decided to appease me a little and at least sit on the potty and try...although nothing happened, I'll take it.  I'm sure she peed in the tub when I gave her a bath later though.  Whatever.  

Tomorrow the battle continues.  Wish me luck.

Wednesday Woes

First off...look at this.

That, my friends, is my carpet at the bottom of my staircase.  And yes, that would be a hole in it.  We have a certain dog to thank for this one.  Oh my, I cannot even tell you how furious I was...and still am for that matter!  That dog is lucky to still be living.  We have had our dogs in the house in the Winter for a couple of years now...they have never ruined anything thus far.  And then yesterday we let them in for the night and after only 15 minutes I hear a suspicious chewing noise...15 minutes people!!  I run to check it out...and yep, there's Etta...caught her red handed!  I could have strangled that dog!!  Needless to say they were banished outside last night.

And then about noon today I get a phone call from Morgan at school.  She's not feeling well so I go to pick her up.  As soon as we walk out the front doors of the school she says she thinks she's going to throw up.  I quickly turn her toward the flower beds and yep, she throws up...right into the wood chips.  People were coming and going passing us while I'm standing there holding my kids hair back while she barfs...lovely.  "Don't mind us people...just a kid barfing here...keep walking."

She's all cuddled up watching a movie now...poor little thing.

I'm hoping that since she missed the last time everyone was sick with a stomach bug, perhaps she's just paying her dues now?  Seriously, she was the only who didn't catch it last Fall.  Time will tell.

But that doesn't stop Piper from acting sick today.

As soon as I got Morgan all tucked and cozy on the couch, Piper starts in.  "I don't feel well either, I need my blankets too."  We'll see how long this little act lasts...funny girl.

So there you have it...my woes for a Wednesday.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that it's raining in the Valley today too...boooo!

This can't be happening.

You won't believe this...but Haley is home sick.  Yep, on the second day of school.

We went out for ice cream last night to celebrate their first day of school and just as we were pulling into the parking spot, Haley says, "I feel like I might throw up."  WHAT?!!!  Ten minutes earlier she was running around and playing non stop...what happened in that short drive to the ice cream place?  Well, we cut our outing short and took everyone home.  And threw up she did...three times in fact.

I'm pretty depressed.  I feel like our family deals with so much illness.  And of course I start to blame myself...prehaps I don't clean well enough or something.  I know that can't really be it, but come on...can't we have a break?!!  Are we cursed?

So with my wallowing I'm cleaning like a crazy lady today.

Of course Haley woke up feeling fine this morning and she's been playing all day, so at least it's a short lived illness.

But still...it's so frustrating.

Almost time.

A quick picture after church...the girls modeling their new dresses they got from their great-grandma.

Rory was not pleased...they only thing that made her stop crying was her milk and a box of Nerds.

So tomorrow is the big day...the first day of school!  I'm so ready...so, so ready!  This past week or so I've hit the end of my rope.  There has been too much fighting between these girls, too much boredom which leads to the need to pester each other, which leads to more fighting.  It's just never ending.  And they have been watching way too much TV lately too...sometimes a mom just needs to pop in a movie or two or three to get through the day.  

Please don't judge me...I'm in total survival mode right now.  

Sofa, Pioneer Day and Broken Bones.

I have been saving some birthday money since February (my birthday month) for just the right thing to buy.  I was wavering between a buffet and hutch for the dining room or a sofa.  Well, a sofa popped up at Costco of all places and I didn't hesitate (much) and dropped the cash for it.  So our old blue sofa (remember this guy) has moved on...as in moved to my parents basement down the street.  Old blue may be used again, only with new upholstery some day...we'll see.  Anyway, here's our new addition to our family room.

 July 24 Utah celebrates Pioneer Day to honor and remember all the pioneers that made the trek across the country to Salt Lake City.

 Right after this picture of the girls in the handcart was taken, Ryan and I were thinking we needed to leave (I had the mountain bike series that night we had to get to).  But the girls really wanted to play on the playground for a bit, so we decided to let them for just a couple minutes.  Big mistake!  Within a minute of being on the playground Haley fell off...which I didn't see...in fact a parent had to find me and ask, "Is that you child on the ground over there screaming in agony?!"  Okay, I added the "screaming in agony" part...they didn't really say that to me...but they might as well have as she was screaming in agony!!  So I run over there and immediately I know...it's broken.  I help her up and take her to the grass.  And then a parent says to me, "It's okay...I've called 911, an ambulance is on it's way!"  WHAT?!!!

Now, let's rewind here to Feb.2012 when Rory has RSV in CA and had to be transferred to another hospital via ambulance (they absolutely refused to let me drive her...like they would have locked me up if I tried to take her myself!)...it took us a year to pay off that damn ambulance bill...it was in the thousands of dollars people!!! And that's with insurance!!  So, when this lady said ambulance I admit I freaked out a little bit...I mean this isn't life or death, and there are no bones sticking out anywhere, no bent arm, nothing gory...because you know if there was something gory I would have been laying in the grass where I ultimately fainted.  Haley was absolutely fine to be driven to an urgent care by us.  So I frantically said to this "good Samaritan", "CANCEL that ambulance!!!  I've been down that road already, and I don't want to do it again!!!

So we get her to an Urgent Care and sure enough it's broken with a buckle fracture.  

Sitting with my Haley girl waiting for the X-Ray.

It was quite a traumatic experience...but then Haley is also a very dramatic girl so everything was magnified ten fold!  But fortunately, she was smiling again when we left.

And I never did make it to the mountain bike race.

The next day we celebrated my Morgan's 7th birthday!  I made her a chocolate sheet cake that she decorated herself.  Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this cake...it was divine!!!  I may have to share the recipe with you some day!  It's a chocolate lover's dream!

More birthday festivities to come next week in CA.  That's right, we headed out of town tomorrow.  So here's hoping they fit Haley with her (waterproof) cast this morning.  If you're going to CA, you have to be able to swim!!  I'm terrified they are going to tell me that her wrist is to swollen to cast...in which case, I may resort to begging them to cast it anyway.

Happy Weekend ya'll!

Not a good start.

So Ryan left Sunday morning early (we were all still sleeping when he left) to Quebec for work, and it seems everything just kinda went downhill from there.  

I scrambled all morning to get everyone ready for our 9:00 church.  I got out the door by 9:30 (not too bad), walked the couple blocks just to find out that it was conference Sunday (no meeting at that church house).  What a bust.  I suppose I could have walked a few more blocks to the Stake Center where they were meeting, but decided to throw in the towel and just go home.  I was already exhausted.  

So after lunch I decide tot get the girls out and stick to our Sundance Sundays even without Ryan.  We used our passes to go on a lift ride...that was good fun and the girls loved it!  It is absolutely beautiful this time of year!  Everything is so green!  This was probably the only good/fun thing that happened all day.

After the lift I let the girls take their shoes off and play in the shallow part of the river to cool off.  Morgan took about three steps and cut her foot on a rock.  Blood was EVERYWHERE!  You know how water will make a little cut look ten times worse...well, it did.  And it didn't take long for Morgan to go into complete hysterics after seeing all the blood.  We were causing quite the seen.  Another mother could sense my need for assistance and helped me fetch Piper out of the water so I could get OUT OF THERE!  Morgan's screaming was kinda putting a damper on the peaceful atmosphere everyone was trying to enjoy.  So I take her to snow patrol/bike patrol/first aid area to get help.  They cleaned her up and we were on our way...home that is.

Everything was fine until about 7 that evening, and then her foot took a turn for the worst.  It started to swell, and Morgan again went hysterical from the pain.  I decided to take her in to get in checked out.  Thank goodness for my wonderful neighbor who took Rory, Piper and Haley for me so I could take care of Morgan.  After a couple hours the doctor concluded that it may be a fracture in her foot.  His main concern is that it may be a fracture on her growth plate...but hopefully not.  So I'm taking her in the orthopedic doctor tomorrow for a more in depth look to make sure.  For now, her foot is in a splint until we know more.  Total bummer.  I didn't get back until after 10 to get my kids, so it turned out to be a very late night for everyone.

This isn't the best start to the week...or Summer for that matter.  And yes...Morgan broke both her wrists last year around this time.  I'm sensing a pattern here.  Here's to hoping that her foot is just fine, and we'll move on.

Drained

I won't lie, this week has been tough without Ryan.  Can I complain a little?  I feel like complaining.  I'm not sure what happened...I've hit a brick wall...I've had it...I need a break.  Rory has NOT been sleeping well this week.  Last night she got up every hour until 2 in the morning.  To get her to calm down I have to pat her back for about ten minutes in my zombie-like state and then very quietly tip toe out of the room.  Sometimes it works, sometimes she just has to cry it out.  Plus, Piper wakes up throughout the night because she accidentally rolls onto her back and hits her staples in her head...which hurts, really bad!  I'll rock her a bit to calm her down.  And then Morgan has had nightmares the last two nights, which results in her sleeping in my bed.  Needless to say, I'm tired.

Also I've been suffering from Baby-Attached-To-Leg Syndrome this week.

It sucks the life force right out of you and it also adds about 15 minutes to any given task you are trying to accomplish.  Another side effect is a horrible feeling that someone is always watching you.  And sometimes loud screaming accompanies it.

I was at my wits end at the store today.  Maybe it was the constant yelling, "Don't touch!!  That's glass!" to Piper.  Or the fact that I lost her twice in the clothes racks which results in me shouting, "Piper?!!  Piper?!!  Piper come out right now!!!"  Or the fact that she has to use the bathroom as much as a old man!  The second time she she asked to go of course I was the furthest possible point from the bathroom with a cart full...I nearly started crying.  I know...I'm not sure what came over me.  All I wanted to do was finish picking out a frame that I needed.  I didn't want to take anyone to the bathroom AGAIN!  

And that's how I've been feeling all week.  Tired and on the verge of tears.  Weak?  Yep, pretty much...and I'm okay with that.  

Just a side note:  As I was driving around this morning the one thing that I knew would make me feel better was a cup a coffee.  It would make my headache go away and it would perk me up.  It would help me feel alive again after this weeks lack of sleep.  It took ALL my will power not to pull into the Starbucks and grab a cup.  And even now as the weather took a turn (snow today) all I want is to sit here with a nice warm cup of coffee.  It will make any pain go away.

Sheesh, I sound like a druggie or something.

Anyway, Ryan comes home this evening...thank goodness.  I'll try not to tackle him and grab him by the shirt and say something like, "Please!!  Please!!  Don't ever leave me again!!!"

Happy Weekend ya'll.

It's all fun and games...

...until someone gets hurt!

How many times have we told the kids NOT to play on the swivel chair?!  A LOT, that's how many!

Yet, they still seem to gravitate to it.  But then what kid doesn't love sitting in a swivel chair while their siblings spin them at warp speed?  Not mine.  

Yep, it's all fun until a kid goes flying off and hits their head on the piano...that kid being Piper.  

She got a pretty bad cut to the head resulting in five staples.

Piper is such a tough cookie.  She amazes me!  The whole process didn't phase her in the slightest!

She was all smiles while we waited for the numbing gel to kick in.

The final result.  Oweee!

(Aren't you glad I biggie sized the picture?)

At first I thought, STAPLES??!!  But then I was told it is pretty standard to use staples as opposed to stitches on the scalp.  They're quicker and easier when dealing with hair all over...plus, scaring isn't a concern unless she decides to go bald when she's older.

The whole process pretty much kills me.  I'm making light of the subject now, but like always I had to fight (hard) not to faint when I was first examining how bad the cut really was.  And even now looking at the staples on her when she's running around makes me incredibly uneasy.  And let me just add since her hair is so wispy it's pretty much impossible to hide those suckers!  They are constantly staring at me!  And unfortunately they'll be staring at me for the next 10 days!!  Give me strength.

I'll try to keep my brave face on.