100th Day of School

I was kind of thinking that finding 100 of something would be an easier feat than dressing Cortlan up as a 100 year-old for the 100th day of school, but we managed to make it happen to some extent.  I was told that the cane could be cut down to his size, and that probably would have been a nice touch for the costume.  But thanks to some leftover white hairspray from Halloween, a genuine pair of 100 year old glasses and an old tie borrowed from a very special person, our little old man had a great 100th day of 1st grade.  There was no way that we could top the little girl in his class who came with a walker, though.

Winter Bliss

There is a ton of snow on the ground.  And it is still coming down.  And the roads are awful and the temperatures are frigid.  And I read an article this morning in the newspaper commenting on the fact that people are obsessing over the weather...a fact that has not gone unnoticed as I peruse my newsfeed on Facebook.

Sure, I would love to be on a beach soaking in the sun right now.

But you won't catch me complaining about what is happening outside of my door.  Because I love it.

I don't necessarily love the cold and snow.  But I know the cold and snow won't be here forever.  Soon enough, we will be in flip flops and shorts, seeing the flowers bloom, chasing kids riding down the street on their bikes, jumping into the pool.

The cold and snow won't be here forever, so I am going to enjoy the adventure that winter brings us...the not knowing what tomorrow will bring, peeking out of the window in the moonlight, the quiet blanket of snow with the tiny footprints from the rabbits that skimmed the surface covering the ground.  And the shoveling...I am feeling that from yesterday.  And the sled riding.  And the flannel sheets on the beds.  And the cuddling on the couch for movie time.  And the two-hour delays and snow days, even though they may put me behind a little at work.

This was Cortlan's week to bring home Milo from school.

Yes, there is such a thing as stir-crazy and too much togetherness.  But there is also the blessing of slowing down and relaxing because everything was canceled and I don't have five places to be and I have enough food in the house to feed us for a few days without needing to go to the store for a thing.  There is no go, go, go.

Yesterday, I didn't spend a cent.  We all bundled up and played in the snow.  We had hot chocolate.  I read several chapters of a good book.  I got some laundry and cleaning done.  My niece came over for a sleepover.  They built marble runs and tents of blankets and colored pictures and watched movies.

Today, I actually got a chance to sit and write a bit.  The kids got walkie talkies involved in the tent building and adventure making.  We had pancakes with strawberries and homemade whipped cream.  And some more hot chocolate.

Sometimes, it is nice to be forced to have nothing to do and no where to be.  We will be on the go again soon enough.  In the meantime, I am loving this.

My Birthday Boy

There is a little boy I know who turns seven years old today.

And he is one-of-a-kind.

He has grown so much over this past year...he can now do a cartwheel, ride his bike without training wheels, jump into the deep end, and read me a book.
He is a big first grader - an expert at making turkey and cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and riding the bus.
He loves science and learning (but doesn't really like homework). He loves Phineas and Ferb.  He loves to laugh and make me laugh.  He has perfected the art of sarcasm and thinks it is funny to take everything literally.  Don't dare say you are thirsty without expecting a "Hi, Thirsty! Nice to meet you!"  And when you say "What?", you have "The Curse" (whatever that is).  He notices everything and remembers everything.  He is gentle; he is smart.  And he is good at antagonizing his sister.
He won't volunteer to go on stage when given the opportunity, but he is brave enough to try the roller coaster, even if it isn't his favorite.
He lost three teeth this year and has two very loose ones at the moment - one that we have tried to pull out every night for the past week or so that we call his snaggle tooth.
He doesn't have a favorite food, but he does like chicken divan and hummus and pizza and dessert and he asked for spaghetti and meatballs and "a little salad" for his birthday dinner.
He used a real drill for the first time on Tuesday.

This little boy still sleeps with Mr. Giraffe.  And he still needs me to tuck him in at night.  And he still holds my hand.  And he still tells me he loves me.

But this little boy is getting bigger.  And I don't just mean in the height and weight sense of the word, though that is true, too.
He is getting bigger problems and bigger abilities.  He is getting bigger ideas and bigger dreams and a bigger sense of himself.
I can see that who he is shapes his decisions more than I do these days.  And though that isn't always easy for me, that is the way it should be.

This little boy turns seven today.  He is one of a kind.  And I love him so.

And Speaking of Santa...

When we got home from the mall, Cortlan realized that he forgot to mention a very important present.

He sat down and wrote this very important note to Santa and gave clear instructions to Caische to deliver it.

I love this kid.

Loving the Holidays

Occasionally, it seems as though Christmas is a lot of work - and it is: decorating inside and out, addressing Christmas cards, shopping for gifts, cooking and baking, etc.  And that's not to mention the additional travel that happens for me during the month of December, as well.

But the work is well worth it - Decorating the tree with the kids gets better every year as they are able to do more independently.  Bringing out all of the meaningful and memory-filled ornaments is a highlight.  I love my house decorated for the holidays and seeing the soft glow of the Christmas lights on the tree in the living room as I cook dinner.  And a change in decor is nice every now and then, even if it is relatively short lived.

I enjoy getting Christmas cards in the mail, and because I do, I assume that others do as well.  So I am happy to send mine along and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Fighting the crowds and standing in line at stores while shopping for gifts is not fun at all, but the internet has made my life much easier in that regard, and I do love being able to (finally, hopefully) find just the right gift for someone.  And I love giving them.

Baking cookies has become a fun activity to do with my kids, and we love the taste-testing afterwards.  I used to try to make a ton of the same cookie all at once (like 8-10 dozen) and join in a cookie exchange.  Now I have found it to be much more enjoyable to make a few dozen cookies at a time of a variety of types over several weeks.  Maybe the cumulative time is longer, but it is much easier to find 30 minutes here and there to make some cookies than several hours in a row.  And I actually look forward to it.

Perhaps the best part of Christmas is seeing it through my kids' eyes.  It is magical.  Yes, the pictures were expensive (and we won't be paying for them in the future) but watching as Cortlan and Everly told Santa their Christmas wish list was so sweet.  I enjoy hearing their reaction to the Christmas lights that are slowly appearing around the neighborhoods.  Watching them search for our Elf, Caische, is as exciting for me as it is for them, and watching them talk to him is even better.

Sometimes it is far to easy to become Grinchy at this time of the year, but it is so worth it to find the magic and spirit of the season, and as always, enjoy the moments.

After the Concussion Center

This was a Facebook post I just wrote after returning home from the Concussion Center for anyone who is interested and may not see it there:

I feel the need to post an update as to how things have been going with me since my car accident last week. Skip right on past this very long post if you aren't interested, but in the hopes of disseminating this information in an efficient way to a number of people who are, here goes:

My accident was Tuesday 10/1. On 10/2 I saw my PCP who diagnosed me with a mild to moderate concussion. My symptoms included fatigue/exhaustion, headaches, feeling "foggy," some balance issues, feeling "out of body" at times, and some sensitivity to sounds, among others. I did not go to work on doctor's orders for the rest of last week. 

By Sunday, my symptoms had improved enough to be, in my opinion, manageable. I was very interested in getting back to work, so I gave it a shot on Monday. It was a disaster. My symptoms were back full force by 4th period. I made it through the day and after school went to the ER where they did the CT Scan of my neck and head that everyone had been urging me to get. It was clear. They confirmed my concussion diagnosis and referred me to the UPMC Concussion Center.

I stayed home from work yesterday. I made an appointment with the Concussion Center. I just got back from one of the best experiences I have had in my entire life with any medical personnel for any reason. I saw an amazing doctor. I took the ImPACT test, which is the same concussion test currently used in the NFL and is also the same test that they require our school athletes to take prior to playing any sports so to have a baseline in case of concussion. I was honestly shocked at the results. I scored in the 3rd percentile on one portion of the test. I don't think that I have scored in the 3rd percentile on anything in my entire life. And I tried HARD on this test.

When the doctor reviewed the results with John and me, he was amazingly informative and on point with everything that I was experiencing. He predicted symptoms that I hadn't even mentioned and even went so far as to say that "you were probably doing ok until about the third period you had to teach" (exactly - that was 4th period). A few more tests with my vision, along with my account of feeling pressure behind my eyes and trouble focusing, confirmed that I have an ocular/vestibular concussion, which will require therapy for a full recovery. Apparently, the anxiety that I felt when I walked through the locker area at school on Monday is a prime symptom of issues with the vestibular system due to mixed signals between the eyes and brain. (He did one test on me where I had to focus on his finger while moving my head back and forth, and I started shaking with an overwhelming nervous/anxious feeling...that was what he thought would happen. I had no clue. The human body is amazing...and crazy.)

So - no more work for me this week. I start back on Monday and will start vestibular therapy next week. I am allowed on the computer and allowed to watch TV but only with frequent breaks. I am allowed to drive, but only on familiar roads for a while (which makes sense...I told john that I needed him to drive me to the appointment in the city today, yet I feel no problem driving around home or to work and back.)

I feel so relieved that I am not going crazy, that there is a name for all of this and that I am a "typical case" with all of the typical symptoms and that this doctor knew exactly what I meant anytime I said a word. We are so fortunate to have such excellent facilities here and I am happy to say I have a plan in place for a full recovery!!

Car Accident

Ok, so I thought I would just say a few words here about what happened to me last week.

Rather than include the picture that shows the bulk of the damage to my vehicle, I decided to put this on on here, because it does not show my licence plate number.  I don't feel like doing what it would take to edit the picture to blur it out.

Bottom line: I was sitting at a standstill waiting to turn left into my neighborhood when a pickup truck rear-ended me at full speed.  I was seen by paramedics at the scene and released, my car was totaled, and life has been crazy ever since.