Fall Break... TEXAS Style!

Fall Break snuck up on me this year... It seems like I was just dropping Larger Child off for his first day of school.  But, nevertheless, it came and went.  We love having a few days off from school, and we usually spend them visiting my adorable parents in Frisco, Texas.

Larger Child calls it a "vacation."  I would have to agree.  They know how to treat us right! I feel like quite a special guest at their house.  We usually do something super fun, get treated to awesome food, and share in some of the best company around.  This trip was no exception!

We left Wednesday morning, and the drive was more or less uneventful. We left that morning, and after two stops, (one for a potty break, and one for lunch) we made it to GeeGee and Grandpa's house mid afternoon.  Smaller Child has learned to be an excellent passenger, sleeping most of the trip, and Larger Child is pretty content as long as he has a well charged DS nearby.

After a good deal of welcome hugs and cuddles, and some unpacking, we went to dinner at Tupee's, a mexican restaurant.  I had a delicious Mexican style steak, Larger Child had chips with cheese, with a side of chips and cheese.  Smaller Child exerted his independence by insisting he feed himself, and partook in chips, pretzels, and tortillas.  (Apparently he was carbo-loading??)

Thursday, we all packed up and headed to Ray Robert's Lake for a little picnic-ing and day camping.  As we were pulling out of the driveway, it started to sprinkle... we considered nixing the whole idea, but decided to be adventurous knowing some of the very best family camping trips have been in the rain!

The day started with a little playing on the playground.  The weather was GORGEOUS.  It was overcast, but that kept the temps down.  The wind also helped.

SC played in the rocks with Grandpa

LC played on the swings with GeeGee

I got to float in between and soak up the love!

Then LC got the idea that SC needed to go down the slide with him... This is how THAT went...

SUCCESS!!

After a good time playing, we had a picnic.  It was delicious! Maybe too delicious, the buzzards started swarming.  I had never seen so many together like that. In fact, I kept arguing that they weren't buzzards, but crows or something, because SURELY there couldn't be that many! It was pretty surreal. Like something out of a Hitchcock movie.

LC couldn't stand it any longer, and HAD to get to the beach... so we followed.  It wasn't but a second or two out there that he asked if he could take his shoes off and splash around.  Had I known it was going to be nearly ninety during fall break, I would have just packed bathing suits! Both the boys loved being in the water! (I loved it too.)

But, to be honest, I preferred laying in the sand better.

do you blame me??

The boys rather enjoyed the sand as well! (And the sand was EVERYWHERE!)

One of my favorite pictures... EVER.

this one too!

After a change for SC, and a shower rinse for LC, we headed home.  Mom cooked a delicious dinner that night, and the boys chiseled the filth off of them, and thoroughly exhausted, went to bed.

Friday morning, Grandpa and LC went fishing.  They caught several, and LC learned that if you catch teeny ones, you can use them as bait for larger ones.  I could tell he was pretty fascinated by that, since I got to hear the story of the giant hook and how they put it right in the fish! Apparently, LC also got a scare with the hook himself... it grazed the back of his ear.  But overall, our little fisherman had a great time.

I'm not sure if this is the "catch" or the "bait." But he seems excited either way!

That afternoon, we went to lunch and to a city park for a bit. Then came home for some very serious chess.  It was a laid back and lovely day.

hard at work on a word find

hmm... who do you think is winning?? 

Friday evening, my brother and his family came over for a hotdog cookout.  It was so nice to see all of them, and spend some time together.  It was great having all of the cousins together too! It sure made the house full though!!  Smaller Child didn't quite recognize his aunt and uncle, and it took him a minute to warm up to them.  But, once he did, he and Uncle Eric were pals for sure!

Saturday, we went to lunch, then visited a Nickel Arcade (yes they still have those!).  It was surprisingly entertaining! Both the boys enjoyed it.  (I MAY have had some fun too.)

That night we got into a rousing game of Chutes and Ladders.  LC wiped the floor with us (damn chutes).  Followed by couple of rounds of UNO.  A PERFECT way to end the trip.

It was yet another LOVELY Texas trip.... over all too soon.  It is hard saying goodbye,  but I am so grateful for the relationship I have with my parents, and the amazing bonds they have with my children as well.  How lucky are we?!?!

                                      

A Good Ol' Dose of Cute

Smaller Child and his pal, Nelson.
Enjoy...

The Cards I Was Dealt

I have often hesitated writing a blog about the following subject matter.  It is not something I am particularly fond of drawing attention to.  It is not something that I talk about a whole lot, except perhaps to those close to me.  I have decided to make an exception today, for the simple fact that I think I just NEEDED to process, share, and put it out there. Maybe it will help someone, even if that someone is just me...

I grudgingly went to the rheumatologist a couple of weeks ago for a leg pain.  I assumed it was just a minor irritation due to an over worked muscle from the recent increase in my exercise regime I had been doing.  I was frustrated with the injury because it was causing me a lot of pain, and because it was keeping me from improving on my stamina and strength... holding me back, if you will.

About a week before I finally went to the doctor, I started getting a pretty nasty RA flare.  Several of my joints were swelling and pained... including my knees, especially the knee on the leg opposite the one with the injury, presumably because I was having to accommodate for the pain by changing my gate and walk (with a bit of a limp) resulting in an overworked joint.  

The doctor examined me, agreed that my "period of drug induced remission" was over, and that the RA had become active again.  The x-ray of my leg showed a gnarly muscle tear, and she told me that I would have to rest it for 6 weeks.  As for the flare, she was going to continue my course of treatment, and see where we are in two months.

I wish there was a way to explain RA pain to someone.  I am going to do my best, but it is hard to accurately put words to it.  There are layers to this disease.  There is the over all fatigue that is felt when the disease is active.  A feeling that can fluctuate through the day.  There are points when I feel so drained from simple tasks like taking a shower, that I just want to take a nap.  Now, being a stay at home mom of a small toddler, naps are out of the question the majority of the time... but there isn't enough coffee in the world to reverse the exhaustion that type of fatigue can bring.

Then there are the overall body aches.  It feels like you are running a high fever, like flu aches.  For me, it starts in my shoulders and neck.  My husband can often tell when I am hurting, because my "tell" is me massaging my shoulders or rolling my head to stretch my neck muscles.  The body aches can get so bad sometimes that I feel like I could get sick.

Then there is the pain in the specific joints that are affected.  It feels warm and, for the lack of a better word, kind of squishy when they swell.  My knees feel like they are hyper-extended or twisting backwards.  My hips ache like they have been hit with a ball-peen hammer. My ankles act like they are sprained.  Each joint in my fingers ache like they have been in ice water too long, and I have lost grip strength to the point that I drop and break something almost daily.  My wrists are tender to the touch and radiate pain to my elbows that cannot fully extend anymore without locking up.

Some of these symptoms are a daily struggle. Some of them are worse than I described on my really "bad" days.  Some are symptoms that I only feel once in a while.  Some go away completely when I get the right combination of treatment, rest, diet, and the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars... that is what is called "remission."

I was in remission for the last nearly 12 months, up until a few weeks ago.  The last major flare I had had was a week or so after Smaller Child was born.  Once that was under control, I had been feeling better than I had in over a decade.  I was active, exercising, losing weight, feeling great... then WHAM! There it is again.  A giant brick wall, knocking me on my ass again.  I cannot begin to express the frustration and disappointment that comes along with your body not doing what you want it to.  When it is not a matter of WILL but a matter of CAPABILITY.  I had all the desire to continue, to keep pushing, but my body has revolted. So, now, I rest. I recuperate, and I bide my time until I can taste the sweet relief of "remission" again.

This brings me to another layer of the disease.  The one I DO have control over.  The mental tax it takes on you.  It can be so easy to curl up with self-pity.  It can be so tempting to grab a blanket and spend my days, shutters closed, in the house wishing things were different.  I can tell you though, from experience, this does nothing but make the pain worse.  It does nothing but put a magnifying glass on it and make it huge.  What we focus on becomes much much bigger... I have learned this the hard way.

Yes, I am disappointed I didn't get to participate in the first 5k I had signed up for.  Yes, there were waves of jealousy for my able bodied husband who ran it in my place, and for my friend whom I was suppose to be running by her side.  Part of me wanted to stay home and pout, not get in the cold that made my bones hurt that much worse.  But, part of me knew that pain would be numbed by the joy I would feel watching them, cheering them on, participating... in life!  Granted, I don't want to be a spectator, but I also don't want to miss it all together.

So, the way I see it, I have a choice.  I can either curl up with this disease.  Let it take me and control me. OR, I can live DESPITE it.  It may not be exactly what I expected, or the way I had planned, but what ever is?? I can ACCEPT the cards that are dealt to me for what they are, then make one bitchin' hand out of them! There will be remission in my future, there will be a healed leg, there will be other 5k's, and I will ROCK them! In the meantime, I had a hell of a time watching my loved ones do the same!

The orange shoed handsome beast on the far right is Beautiful Bald Husband.   The blur with the red OU cap in front of him is may Gal Pal Gena T! This was the starting line.

Larger Child with the OU Children's Hospital Mascot.  I think it is some sort of Chicken??

Face Panting!

Crossing the Finish Line! 

Pic of the Week

Smaller Child and Titus Andronicus, or as we call him, Andy... the rocking horse who's been a member of our family for nearly SEVEN years now.

A Little Crafty

I think this will just be a running thread in my blog... a blog-lette if you will.  I will continue posting my crafting adventures under the same title, similar to the Pic of the Week series... (that I have been so great at keeping up with! ha!)  Anywho, here is the second in the series "A Little Crafty."

I recently painted a growth chart tree in the hallway between the boys' rooms.  A friend of mine suggested that once they hit that six foot mark, it may be time for them to move out.  I asked him if that worked for husbands too?  Hehee... (I love you dearly BBH!! Every inch of that 6 foot plus!)


This is a terrible picture, but the angle of the hallway makes it nearly impossible to take a good one.

Larger Child, A Fall Afternoon, and Apple Pie

The title of this blog says it all... pure bliss.
Crisp, cool Fall afternoon, laid back family time... and BAKING.
This afternoon, Larger Child and I spent some much needed quality time together baking an apple pie.

(stepping on soapbox)

This is one of those things that I feel very strongly about in my list of parenting musts:  Parents MUST teach their little boys how to cook, just like parents MUST teach their little girls how to change a tire, and bait their own hooks (ahem... DAD).  I think it is imperative that we teach our children ALL life skills, not just the ones that are somehow deemed "gender appropriate."  The good news is, with a Nana who loves the Food Network, and a Dad who knows his way around a skillet, Larger Child does not see cooking as particularly male or female, just something PEOPLE do.  (*high five* Beautiful Bald Husband!)

(stepping off soapbox)

We started with peeling the apples.  We quickly learned that Larger Child needs more practice behind a peeler.  Perhaps a stent in the army circa 1950 would do him some good.  (Do they still call it KP duty?)  Anywho, I ended up taking over after he kept petting my ego saying things like, "Mom, I bet you would be so good at this!  Mom I bet you would be so much faster! Mom, my hands can't hold these apples..."  I peeled 8 apples in record time,  under the supervision of the wide eyed thoroughly impressed six year old by my side.

Then came making the filling.  He pulled up a dining room chair in front of the stove, and got to work mixing the sugars, butter, seasonings and apples in the pot.  He enjoyed stirring, but got a little gun shy when the butter popped and splattered on his beautiful bald (jr.) head.

He kept commenting on how good it smelled.  He asked if the apples would be crunchy still when we ate it.  He asked what it would look like.  It became clear to me that this child had NEVER had apple pie before!! What a travesty!! I cannot believe in all the time he has been alive I have never made, or bought an apple pie for him.  I am not even sure he can technically still call himself an American.  Thank GOD he's natural born.  Don McLean would be rolling in his grave.... if he were dead that is.

Then we got to rolling out the dough to make the crust.  I had made the dough the night before, and allowed it to chill overnight.  He LOVED using the rolling pin, and he loved the fact that I was just putting flour right on the counter.

He asked me how we would make it stand up on the sides.  I said we would be putting it in a pie pan... he said, "a what??"  Wow, I have a lot to teach the young padwan.  We put the bottom crust in the pie pan, I taught him how to separate the egg white from the yolk (after I explained the egg white was NOT in fact the shell of the egg), we brushed the crust and added what he kept calling the "batter." I finally corrected him and said that with a pie, it is called "filling."

I decided that a lattice crust may be a bit much for the pie novices we were, so we opted for a solid top, but I let LC use a small cutter that we absolutely did NOT steal from our playdough toys and use in our baking without washing it... to cut some shapes out of the top.  Then he went around the edges with a fork to seal the crust, and frankly just to make it look purdy.

It went in the oven for 45 minutes, and came out GORGEOUS!

And he came out of his first Apple Pie baking experience looking GORGEOUS as well.

We make a good team, Larger Child and Me.