November Comes, and November Goes...

 

Petroglyph

November is not quite over yet... but it has already been a busy, busy month. It seems like just last week was Halloween and now it is two days before Thanksgiving. We have a lot of news to share already... so I decided to post before Thanksgiving as I know there will be a lot more to post after. The usual is still going on... My college class is going very well, Mike is still out of work... and the kids are all doing well in school.

Michael's Foot...

So I am going to get the gory foot descriptions and pictures out of the way first. If you can hold out... or just skip this section... I am sure you will find the following news more palatable. Michael's foot is healing and he is in less pain. He now says it hurts, but it is bearable.  WOOHOO!!! Finally!! He is also able to move his ankle without a lot of discomfort now. The incisions on his little toe and on the side of his foot have healed nicely. he is still not allowed to put weight on his foot. 

 

Infected by the big toe

The only set back he has had... occurred last week. We had to make an unscheduled trip into Michael's surgeon Monday, November 16th, as an area on the incision on the bottom of his foot became infected. The doc said it looked like surface infection but prescribed Keflex 4 times a day for 10 days and we are to follow up next Monday.  The skin has also started sloughing off around the incision area. I can't watch when he removes the dead skin... ewww... so icky!! In the meantime we are carefully washing and wrapping his foot. Another moment that freaked out Mike occurred when the plastic top of the stabilizing pin came off.  He frantically called me in to see and then gently pressed it back on. The pin itself remained in place ... phew!! He also goes back on December 7th to have the stabilizing pins removed. He is making progress, but we still don't know how long Mike will be on temporary disability!

 
You can tell the left foot is still really swollen and discolored

Moose Moved... 
 
The last picture with Moose on the day he left

Unfortunately... we had to move Moose to a new home last week. He was a very happy, great dog... and we all bonded to him and loved him... but with life the way it is right now... we couldn't take care of him like he needed and I was starting to become seriously stressed out by his normal puppy behaviors. It wasn't fair to Moose or to us in the end. We found a young couple who had a large backyard and really wanted him.  The goodbye was quick as we had friends show up at the same time... so the  kids crying did not start in until bedtime. To bring some closure we e-mailed the couple to find out how Moose was doing and they wrote back and said he was doing great, happy and really smart because he figured out how to open their door. The also said that Moose apparently took a patch of hair out of their cat (remember the "ripping" the butt fluff post where I described Moose pulling chunks of soft hair out of Zoe's backside when he wanted to play)... but the two are now getting along better. The couple said they are really pleased to have him and we are so glad he went to a great home even though we miss him.

Cub Scouts Awards Night 

and Committee Chair...
 
 Painting the bear claw on Aidan's face

Aidan had his pack meeting this past Wednesday night, November 18th. He progressed to the next rank of Bear. During the ceremony, I painted a bear print on Aidan's face as the cub master read about the symbolism of the bear rank. Aidan also completed 10 electives and earned his first gold arrow point. We are really proud of Aidan!! Right now he is having to exercise some patience with Mike and I... as with things the way they are... we are not able to help guide him with the activities. He is very eager to get started again though.

 

Aidan pinning the matching Mother's bear pin on my "Proud Mother" pin.

I was asked to be Cub Scout Committee Chair... which means I handle planning meetings, newsletters and communication about scouts. It is the first time I have been on a committee... let alone heading the committee.. so I have been nervous about it... but enjoying it at the same time.

 

Deer Valley Rock Art Center...

We attended the Deer Valley Rock Art Center Last Saturday ,November 21st , with our neighbor's family for there 5th annual Native American Festival. This center is run by Arizona State University and has the largest collection of petroglyphs in the valley (over 1500).

 
Hundreds of petroglyphs are on these rocks... if you click on the picture to enlarge it and use the zoom tool you can see them. How many can you find? (hint:they are the white looking scribbles on the rocks)



 
Picture with the author Susan Cowell 


 
All 6 running around a circular rock garden path
 

Turkey Trot... 
 
Caitlin and the Turkey

Tuesday November 24th, the kids school held their annual Turkey Trot to promote physical fitness. The younger kids chased an older student dressed up as a turkey around the ball field. The older kids ran around both fields... minus the turkey. The winners of the race actually won Turkeys (as well as other prizes)!! Caitlin's class went at 9:35 am and I had to be back at the school at 11:20 am for Aidan's class. Both my kids did great considering they are under the care of a podiatrist for flat feet and wear prescription inserts. Caitlin was very tired and lagged behind because she had to keep pulling / holding her pants up (poor thing... I would have made her change pants if I knew they were that loose). 

 

Caitlin lined up and ready to chase the turkey!

 

Caitlin's Class 2009-10

Aidan ran the entire time with the exception of one brief portion and came in ahead of the majority. The only disappointment was that a group of boys decided to cheat instead of running the second lap (the laps overlapped) so even though Aidan was in the top 10... all of a sudden 20+ boys cut in front of him. He is so gentled-natured that he did not seem to notice or take offense... but I felt sad for him as he probably would have been in the prize line up if that did not happen.

  

Aidan waiting patiently

  

4th grade lined up and ready to go

 

Aidan is to the right... and in the air!!

Caitlin's Colonial Days...
  

Caitlin's Principal  trapped the animals and skinned them, 

made his knife and made the frontier clothing

Later in the afternoon (1pm) I went back to Caitlin's school for her Colonial days field trip to the park across the street. Once across the street... they did various activities to learn about the Early Americans and Natives cultures. They played La cross, weaved rugs out of construction paper, planted corn in a cup, and heard the Principal (who by the way was my principal at Ironwood HS) who was all dressed up in frontiersman clothing talk about what life was like back when the pilgrims came over. It was a very fun afternoon and I was so glad to attend and be a part of it.

  

Weaving a paper rug

  
Ewan's Preschool and Stone Soup... 
 
First day and ready to go

Two weeks ago, Ewan had his first day of Preschool. He has an articulation delay similar to what Aidan had at the same age. He is not dyslexic... but learns sounds from the back of the word forward rather than forward to back. The district put him in preschool so he will be with other kids to foster using language and they have a speech therapist come into the classroom to work with him. He was very timid and shy... and looked afraid the first day I dropped him off. By the end of the week, he was excited to go ride the bus and play with his new friend Jacob. He also likes to pick dandelions and take apples to his preschool teacher. Funny kid!!

 

Arriving home and the first time riding on the bus

Then today (Thursday the 25th) I went to Ewan's classroom for a Thanksgiving feast.  When we sat down the preschool kids  had little turkey masks with paper tube beaks... and had a gobble parade around the room. They also sang Thanksgiving songs. The teacher read the book Stone Soup and we had bread and soup that the kids helped make in class. It was delicious... they certainly did do a good job! Ewan then showed me around the classroom and I got to see his drawings and some plants he had planted.

 

Eating the stone soup

 

Ewan and me 

 

Thanksgiving is Coming...

As much as I would like to claim it...
this picture isn't mine
 

"Over the river and through the woods
Trot fast my dapple gray.
Spring over the ground
Like a hunting hound
On this Thanksgiving Day, Hey!
Over the river and through the woods
Now Grandmother's face I spy.
Hurrah for the fun,
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie."

English folksong - It's Raining, It's Pouring  

I thought the above poem was particularly fitting since Grandma and Grandpa H. are having Thanksgiving dinner at their home this year. They very kindly took into consideration my mental sanity (who wants a loopy  daughter-in-law after all... lol) and offered so I don't have to stress about cooking and cleaning on top of college classes, Michael, the kids and their numerous holiday activities.  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa H!

Anyway... I hope this month also finds you healthy, happy and full of cheer surrounded by friends, family and those you love.

Life is Sweet...

Well... only because we have tons of candy now!!

Trunk or Treat...

We went to Merris' church Friday night and had dinner of chili, hot dogs and cornbread. It was yummy! Afterward, the kids played games and had treats until it was time to "trunk or treat". For those of you who have never trunk or treated... This is were people pop open there trunks or truck beds that are decorated in Halloween decor and the kiddo's go trick or treating around the parking lot from the trunks of vehicles. The kids loved it and we ended up with a whole bucket of candy between the three of them.

 Our neighbors - Jim and Merri handing out candy

 One of the games had the kids trying to grab a donut with their mouths (No hands allowed!)

 

Aidan AKA "Jaws"

 

 Aidan with donut powder mouth

 

 Ewan caught his donut really quickly

 

Ewan went fishing for a lollipop

 

Caitlin won the cupcake walk...

check out her chocolate smile!

Halloween Party 

and Trick or Treating...

Halloween day we went to Merri's house and had a party with her family and our neighbors down the way - Jason, Nicole and their daughter, Hannah. For dinner... Merri made mummy hot dogs,  mini mummy muffin pizza's, troll buggers (mini pickles), jello, and a seasoned, dried corn dish. Nicole brought punch and cupcakes for dessert. It was a very cute, yummy, sugary dinner and the kids loved it!! What better way to start of Halloween? We then went around our neighborhood to trick or Treat. Our community is very generous with the candy... we did not even get more than a third of our neighborhood completed before the kids baskets were full and they were complaining that it was too heavy.

Mike and the kids before we went trick or treating

all the kiddos together

Caitlin ready to go trick or treating

A neighbor in our area REALLY gets into Halloween each year

The kids pumpkins: Aidan's (left), Ewan (Middle), Caitlin (Right)

The kids with their goodies at the end of the night

Mike's Foot... 

unfortunately... is not very sweet. Actually it's kind of creepy. In fact... I think now that it is unwrapped... it would have made a great Halloween prop to gross out and scare all the kiddies and their accompanying adults. Mike had the wrappings and stitches removed  today (Thursday, November 5th). Much to his dismay... he learned that the yellow things that were sticking out of the wrappings are actually pins that go straight into his foot to help stabilize the bones. When his foot is healed enough... they will pull them out. He has several very large incisions and the clean break in the middle of his foot that they could not do surgery on that still needs time to heal. So the doc said no weight bearing or walking on his left foot for the next month. He can only use his foot to help balance himself when he stands up. In the meantime... we have to clean all the areas were there are incisions each day, apply antibiotic lotion and wrap in fresh gauze/wrappings.

The bandages coming off and stitches out

Mike is really creeped out by the yellow pins stabilizing his foot bones

Can you imagine Mike sitting out front with this foot propped up and holding a bucket of candy?

The yellow pins actually are embedded into his foot

Sick kiddo's and a sick Moose...

So when it rains... it pours, right? Both Ewan and Aidan have been fighting sore throats, headaches, and nausea/vomiting this week. Last night I took them to Goodnight Pediatrics (because of course... illness always strikes the worst after the pediatrician's office is closed for the day) where they were diagnosed positive for strep. Caitlin started complaining of a sore throat too... and is looking like she has white patches as well. I found out that all pediatricians use one website to record their patients visits... and my pediatrician's office can log on and see Aidan and Ewan's diagnosis from Goodnight Pediatrics... so I put a call into my regular pediatricians office to see if they can prescribe medication over the phone for Caitlin since both her brothers have been diagnosed with Strep. 

Ewan with a rosy face from being feverish

Then to top it off... Moose has been sick too... I will leave which end was affected to your imagination.  I am pretty sure it's related to him eating my pepper plant... half my cayenne pepper plant was found gnawed up in the yard. Apparently Moose likes spicy!! I think he is worse to take care of when sick than the kids though. We had to get up 3 or 4 times in the middle of the night to take him outside. At least with the kids... they are pretty well trained to head to the bathroom, aim for the toilet and then come tell us afterward.

All my sicko's hanging out together Friday

This Weeks News...

Mike doesn't like his picture being taken 
hence the blanket over the head

 Michael's Foot Surgery

There was some confusion as to whether the surgery would be Tuesday or Friday of this week. First we heard it was Tuesday... then we heard it was Friday. Finally the claims department and doctor's office figured out what they needed to and next thing you know, we get a call late Monday morning saying that the surgery will in fact be Tuesday.

So Tuesday was yesterday... and Mike  had surgery on his foot to put a pin in by the pinky toe, a plate in the foot near the big toe where bone was shattered, and re-attach tendons and ligaments that tore away from the bone on the bottom of his foot. It took longer than expected and when the doc finally came out to talk to me, the first thing he said was... "Well... I put Humpty's foot together again! Any questions?" (Maybe it was the pun on the nursery rhyme... or that I know a lot of nursery rhymes because of my background with primary grade levels... I'm not sure... but I think I like this doctor!!). The doc said that there was a lot of damage, but the surgery went well. The prognosis for Mike walking normal and pain free looks good. He also said that it would take months of healing and he wasn't even willing to speculate at this point as to when Mike would be able to return to work even for light duty. It's almost been 24 hours since the surgery and Mike is still laying flat and has been in pain even with the medications he was given. We are hoping that the pain recedes more in the next day or two, at least to the point where he can sleep and relax without cringing in pain frequently. His foot is wrapped up in a lot of gauze, wrappings and a boot that has metal for support inside it so no gruesome foot pictures this time.

 Students of the Month

Caitlin, Aidan and Kevin holding up there certificates

During the day of the surgery, my friend Merri went to watch her youngest son receive student of the month. To her (happy) surprise... along with her son, Kevin... out walks Caitlin and Aidan, as well. They both received student of the month too!!

I am so proud of my kiddo's and I also feel very blessed to have such a wonderful friend as Merri  (and her family) as neighbors. These are the pictures that Merri took of the kids and shared with me. Thanks Merri!!

Parent Teacher Conferences

 With all the drama of last week, I had to delay the kids parent teacher conferences until today. Both kids are doing great at school with both their grades and their behavior. See above  :)

Ewan is Starting Preschool

I took Ewan in to the school district for testing on his speech as several people had told me they had a lot of difficulty understanding him. Michael and I also have difficulty at times, which often frustrates and angers Ewan. As suspected, Ewan has a speech delay. I was actually taken by surprise when they told me that he is learning sounds from the back of the word forward which is quite rare. This is also the same thing they told me with Aidan when he was in speech therapy. It is not dyslexia... but rather if you were saying the word "cat" for example... Ewan (and Aidan) learn the 't" sound before the "c" sound. Next the learn the middle sound (the "a") and last they learn the "c" sound. Normal progression starts with the "c" sound first, then the "a" and  last the "t". Ewan is set to start preschool with speech therapy included at the kids home school November 4th. He is very excited and looking forward to going to the same school as Caitlin and Aidan.

Halloween Costumes

The kids are excited about Halloween and we have a busy weekend planned that includes trunk or treating at  Merri's church... and a party with neighborhood friends Saturday followed by a jaunt around our neighborhood. With all the events of the last week... I have put of costume buying until last Monday night. I ended up going to Goodwill and was able to get Ewan a Dash outfit  from The Incredibles Movie for $3, Aidan a Darth Vader costume for $7 and Caitlin a witch costume including cape and hat for $6. I thought $16 was pretty good for costumes that almost looked new and other than play... will only get worn outside just once.

Nothing beats a little Drama...

 So I decided it would be better to have the opening picture of the beautiful roses Mike ordered me for our 15 year anniversary, verses a picture of his foot. Maybe this way you will want to read the rest of the blog?

Micheal's Foot...

So... this has been a very busy, hectic and dramatic week in our household. It started off a normal Monday and went downhill from there. Mike left to go to work at 11:40 Monday night and hadn't been at work all that long before he managed to smash his foot with an electric pallet jack... twice! He then couldn't get anyone to drive him to the hospital as the night crew consisted of about only 2 or 3 people... and he was in charge... so he ended up driving himself to the closest hospital. Personally, I can't believe he made it to the hospital safely and thank God for looking after him on the trip there. His whole body was shaking in pain so the the hospital admitted him and gave him morphine, Darvocet and Perkocet in those first 8 hours to help him manage the pain. 2 days later they released him to home-care while he waited to see the specialist.  He saw an orthopedic surgeon Thursday who has scheduled him surgery on his foot next week. In addition to broken toes... Mike also has bones broken in the foot above the toes. They are going to put a metal pin in one area and a metal plate near where the big toe attaches. Mike is looking at being out of work for quite a few weeks to recover.

I took some pictures... but please forgive the blurriness... I had to work fast as Mike did not really have the patience for me snapping pictures of his mangled foot.

First Picture last Thursday

I took these pictures Saturday...

 Mike has fracture blisters on the top of his foot...

 

 

 

It's funny how life works... as if Mike's accident could not be the only thing to happen... Ewan came down with the worst case of croup I have ever seen Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. He was gasping like a fish out of water... his throat and his skin around his ribs were sucking in (retraction) and he was gasping (strider). I ended up taking him to Good Night Pediatrics where they gave him a Decadron shot to open up his airways. I also learned that strider while crying is okay... strider while calm can be deadly and is an emergency situation.  If any of you have little munchkins in the valley... I would highly recommend Good Night Pediatrics.  I first heard about them from my cousin Chris. They are open from 5pm - 5 am for all those middle of the night emergency's. I was fortunate enough to not even have to wait as there was no one else there when I took Ewan in.

and for the icing on top of the cake... Can you guess??? I developed a head / sinus cold!! My goodness aren't we a mess over here! I am sure I will have a better outlook once my cold is gone.

Roses for our Anniversary...

One bright spot (well... actually there were more... like the well wishes from friends, the help my Aunt Shirley, in-laws Carol / John and my friend Sadie provided... and that I lost 6 pounds from stress and the head cold and now have some breathing room in my blue jeans)... but this was a really bright spot because despite all his pain and time in the hospital... Mike remembered our 15 year anniversary and surprised me by having  2 dozen beautiful roses delivered.

Aidan's Cub Scouts...

Aidan loves cub scouts and is very enthusiastic about learning and earning his badges. With this last ceremony... Aidan earned his whittling chip card and badge, his bear badge (in only 1 month), and 4 red beads,  his Leave No Trace badge, and his outdoor activity badge (1st year) and pin (2nd year). From here on out we slow down a bit and work on his electives and academic/Sports belt loops and pins.

Aidan receiving his awards...

and reading his pocket knife pledge...

Other News...

Caitlin's girl scouts started not too long ago. She is excited about it like Aidan is about Cub Scouts and looking forward to earning her badges and completing activities.

I start college again on Monday. This time around not really looking forward to it as I have to complete a field experience with this class. I am still trying to figure out where I can complete it and waiting to hear back from RIO if I can ask one of the kinder teachers at the kids school.

Moose winked at me the other day!Really!! Take a look at this picture...  :) You might have to click on it to enlarge it and see that one eye is closed.

Moose has grown quite a bit too. 

He is now larger than Zoe and still a very bright dog.

Sitting on our outdoor sofa...