One foot, two foot

Two weeks ago, in a rather dramatic display of coordination (or lack thereof) I managed to take a fall.  I was on my way up to bed and thought, "Maybe you should take the puppy out to go to the bathroom first."  And so, I took the puppy out, stepped down off our ONE step, and onto the slippery wet grass (from our gardening effort earlier that day).  My right foot slipped and in an effort to catch myself, I brought my left foot down quickly...and slipped.  Both ankles cracked and rolled...making sounds that ankles have NO RIGHT to make.  So, there I was at 10pm rolling around in the muck of my front yard.  Brian wasn't home.  The kids were asleep in their beds.  The dog thought I was playing and was licking my face.   After several minutes I managed to army crawl my way into the house and to a phone where I called the dorm Brian was on duty at.  He arrived and followed the trail of destruction.  Because the kids were sleeping, we decided to wait it out.  I went to urgent care the next morning and left looking like this:

 Diagnosis?  One broken ankle (left) and one severe sprain (right).  I was sent home with a temporary cast and an ace bandage and instructions to report to the orthopedic surgeon ASAP.  So, on Monday, I was treated to something MORE permanent (Brogan chose the color):

 BUT, my ankle was too swollen and sore to be placed correctly.  So, a week later, I got to go back.  And progressed to this (Cassidy chose this one because it goes with everything):

I was relieved to be fitted for the brace on my right foot, but still walked out of there on crutches with the cast and the boot. Today, 2 weeks and 2 days after my spill, I was able to drive the car for the first time.  And, I'm not on crutches!  I have a walking cast and I alternate between the boot (for longer walking periods, like to the dining hall) and the brace (for those moments when I need to drive).  Perhaps the most humiliating moment of this whole experience came after checking in at Urgent Care.  The MA in training was going over the "how did this happen" part of my story.  He asked if alcohol was involved.  When I told him, "No" he looked at me rather pointedly and said, "Are you SURE you don't want to revise that statement to save face?".  Hmmmm, maybe a better story would've been nice.  But, this is what I got.  And if you ask my family, all they will tell you is that it's about time.  I have a long list of incidents involving falls and tumbles and casts...but this is my very first break.  Not bad for a coordinated (not) lady like myself.

Birthday....

So, I've been craving all things coconut for the past little while. And so, for my birthday, I made my own coconut cake. And enjoyed doing so with Cassidy's assistance. It was SOOOO yummy!

That's a lot of candles...and my kids were disappointed that we didn't get ENOUGH candles on the cake. But, when we blew them out, they were quick to exclaim, "Oh NO! We're going to set off the fire alarm!" Thanks kids. Thanks.

It was a wonderful day. And it doesn't take gifts or extravagant gestures to be a great day. I got toast for breakfast (made with the cooperative (!?) efforts of Cassidy and Kayla). I was showered with home drawn pictures and love notes and "coupon books". I went on a date with Brian. Always a treasured moment. Dinner and a movie. Classic, right? Right! It might not sound spectacular, but it was just what I wanted. Thanks, little family, for making me feel loved and special. Not JUST today, but ESPECIALLY today.

March Visit to Campus

We went up to the Lake House earlier in March. It was beautiful weather (despite the photo below). The lake was still frozen, but definitely thawing.

Cassidy spent some time soaking up the sun...you can see where the lake is melted and under this water, once the level goes down, is a wonderful beach area where the kids play all summer long.

The kids LOVE this swing.

And being in it with Lala is even better.

Even Libby loves the lake. She got to go down by the water for the first time during this visit.

And the girls (and Brian) were thrilled to help rake up a winters worth of pine cones and needles.

Hooray for warm sunny days on the Lake.

Looking forward to many more!

Valentine's Day

We HEART ATTACKED the girls' bedroom doors. The hearts all say something on 'em. Some have sayings that the girls seems to be repeating a lot these days like, "I know, right?!" Seems to be a favorite.

Fun hair! Cass had twists and hearts. KK had hearts as well but I'm not sure if you can see them very well in the following photos.

(nope...can't see her hearts very well. Too bad, 'cause they were SUPER cute. Maybe next year.)

We also decorated individual heart shaped cakes. Yummy!

And for dinner, we had heart shaped home made pizzas. Brian got a pepperoni pizza and we cut his pepperoni's into hearts. (not pictured)

We love Valentine's Day. And although there are efforts made to show each other that we LOVE them all year long, having one day a year when you go the EXTRA mile to do this, doesn't seem like a bad idea.