Chase Chronicles

Nana Update

August 15th, 2009

Nana has now been here for a week longer than she planned to stay. After falling down the stairs on the 7th and getting a cast on it the 8th, she got to come home to our house on the 10th and has spent her days like this, parked in the family room in the hub of the house:

When she goes to bed, we have to elevate her leg and the cast with a ton of pillows so she looks like this:

But now, today, we get to take her to get the cast off and the Dr will perform surgery to “Frankenstein” her knee back together with plates and screws. She is a little excited to get out of the house:

She rides in the back seat of her van with the front seat folded flat and her foot elevated. I get to drive and Sir thinks it’s great to have a seatmate! Hopefully we can get it fixed quick and get her home…or at least back to my house where chaos reigns!

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Kindergarten Homework

August 13th, 2009

Apparently homework in Kindergarten is as much for the parents as it is for the kids. Not that I really mind, except I have been a little crazy this week trying to get everything done, including getting Nana discharged from the hospital and settled into our house and lives with a HUGE cast, wheelchair, walker, etc.

So, we are modeling the procrastinating process for our darling daughter and have just finished this week’s homework tonight…and it is due tomorrow. UGH!!! Hopefully I can get my act together and start getting stuff done earlier. I actually had the Cheerios box LAST FRIDAY that we were supposed to turn into a suitcase for Miss’s upcoming Social Studies unit on the Continents. I just couldn’t figure out how to make it look and work like a suitcase while being durable enough for a Kindergartner to use. Another parent found boxes at Michael’s on super-sale and clued me in yesterday. So, I headed over and bought a box to cover in paper so she could decorate it. Covering it took a degree in engineering and TWO rolls of tape.

At least she had a grand time decorating…who knew homework could make you smile??

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First Day of Preschool

August 12th, 2009

I can’t believe that my baby boy is starting school. He is going to be attending 3 afternoons a week and is soooo excited to be a big boy. We had to pose for lots of pictures, just getting out the door:

When we get there, I have to sign him in, and then he needs to sign himself in on the clipboard. I guess that means he needs to figure out which hand to use to write with… and which name belongs to him!

Some of the kids were crying and clinging to their parents… but not mine!! Once we figured out the procedure: hang up backpack, sign in (both of us), then find your chair and play quietly at the table… he was totally fine. He gave me a kiss and jumped right in. I know that this means I am doing a good job, but I can’t help but feel a little sad…

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The shortcut down the stairs is a bad idea….

August 9th, 2009

But at least the firemen will come and take a picture with you and give you some stickers and a coloring book.

My mom was bringing some laundry downstairs to fold and fell the last 3-4 steps down onto the tile on her knee. I was going to try and take her to the ER myself, but she was in such pain that I couldn’t figure out how to get her off the floor. SO..we called 911 and the local guys zipped on over in the firetruck, sirens blaring! It was soo exciting for Sir, but he wanted to play with the guys and they were working on Nana on the floor. Luckily they had a moment for a photo op while she was loaded onto the ambulance.

Turns out, she broke her lower knee bone (tibia) into three pieces and it was too risky to operate until next week. She’ll be hanging out with us for a little longer than the week she had planned….closer to 3-4 months between the surgery, the non-weight bearing, the physical therapy, and range of motion support. I guess it’s a good thing I have a downstairs bedroom and bath…should be interesting~

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Holy COW!!…a Kindergartner

August 5th, 2009

The long-awaited, eagerly-anticipated, counted-down-to day has arrived. Miss headed off to her first day of REAL SCHOOL and full-day kindergarten. She was sooo excited to lay out her clothes, set her alarm, pack her backpack and pack her lunch the night before. We were awakened by her this morning, before OUR alarms had gone off, and she was already dressed (not a small feat when wearing a long arm cast) and had her bed made. She looked soooo cute in her school uniform:

Out of respect for the crazy kindergarten parents, an exception was made for the first day of school and we were allowed to walk our children to their classrooms. Some of the children in Miss’s class weren’t really sure about this process or if they even wanted to be there at all. Miss couldn’t understand why I was walking her to her room, since she already knew where it was… but upon the explanation of “photographs of you for the computer” she was willing to accept my presence in her classroom, A.K.A. the Beehive:

Her teacher is young and nice and knows how important it is to pose for Mommies’ pictures:

Before she kindly kicked all us nosy and weepy parents out of the room so that the children could begin their day…leaving us to wonder what WE were going to do with ourselves while one of our precious little ones was in the (capable) hands of a (fully-credentialed and fingerprinted) perfect stranger…GASP!!!

Luckily it was an early-release day so we didn’t have to wait that whole extra hour to pick her up and ~~interrogate~~ ask about how her day went. Because, as the Mommy, I got to take Miss to her first day…Daddy left work early to be able to pick her up and ~~interrogate~~ celebrate her day with what else but RAINBOW SHERBET.

By dinnertime, we were all falling asleep in our plates. It has been such a long day… now she is off to sleep, dreaming of her next day in ~~wonderland~~ Kindergarten and I am off to cry…

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Last Fun Days of Summer

July 31st, 2009

Our mom’s club decided to take a field trip over to the Children’s Museum over in Phoenix. There were a few of us willing to make the trek. For our family, it was one of the last events that we could do before school starts for Miss next week. Our last weeks of summer have been severely limited by both the heat and a broken elbow in a hot pink cast! We didn’t get to take advantage of the 115 degree heat in the 95 degree swimming pool…refreshing, I know~!! We also didn’t get to escape to Legoland, head to the beach, go bowling, or ice skating. We tried to hide in the movie theater, but with a 3.5 year old little boy… let’s just say that Mommy saw more of the lobby and the bathroom than of the amazing guinea-pig-special-agents on the screen.

The museum was just the place to run about, let off some steam and still stay air-conditioned…did I mention that the hot pink cast becomes very itchy when it gets hot, and the wearer of the hot pink cast becomes INCREDIBLY CRANKY when the cast gets itchy?? So…indoors is by far the better place to play. Besides, we got to cut up paper to make cool Native American art:

And pretend we are the checker at the grocery store…

And even sit in a really cool race car…

I mean, what else is there to do in the desert in the middle of summer??

Posted in Fun in the sun | 2 Comments »

Bad News, but Pretty in Pink!

July 28th, 2009

We went to the Orthopedist today….bad news!! They want to take off the half cast/splint/sling thing that she has been wearing for a week and replace it with a real CAST!!! We were really hoping that once they took all the half cast/splint/sling thing stuff off, she’d just wiggle her arm and we’d be off. HOWEVER, since she flinched when they manipulated it and there was some swelling/internal bleeding at the elbow in the first x-rays, they are now calling it a possible OCCULT FRACTURE in her growth plate in the elbow and want to keep it immobile for another two weeks AT LEAST! Then she goes back in for more x-rays and re-evaluation. So there goes the rest of our summer vacation AND the first weeks of REAL SCHOOL, since she starts on August 5th. We are missing so much: swim lessons, ice skating, bowling with playgroup, the trip out to CA, etc. However, she is getting pretty good with her left hand… AND she got to pick out what color her cast was going to be: HOT PINK, of course.

At least I have an excuse to stay inside out of the heat…her arm gets all itchy when she gets too hot! 🙂

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Out to Breakfast

July 27th, 2009

We were so bummed out when Miss hurt her arm at the gym and we had to miss our fun get-away weekend to Nana’s house. Thankfully Nana and TeeTee came to our rescue and visited us at home in the desert instead~YEA!! We had to take them to our favorite new restaurant to celebrate their trip…plus the pancakes/waffles/corned beef hash/everything we’ve tried there is/are totally amazing!!! This place is totally kitschy and looks like it belongs up in Arrowhead/Big Bear/Mammoth Lakes area. No wonder we like it soo much, makes us forget that we live somewhere that it gets up to 115!!!

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Too much Fun!!

July 21st, 2009

What happens when you bounce too much in the bounce house?

You dislocate your elbow, and cause everyone to freak out. But a least the X-Ray tech recognizes you are cute and helpful and gives you a puzzle.

Miss fell at the bounce house in the gym. She should be OK, X-rays showed some fluid in the joint. We have to wear a splint and sling for 1 week. No Legoland this weekend 🙁

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4th of July at Grandma and Grandpa’s

July 4th, 2009

Miss and Sir were anxious to perform. Sir played the music and Miss danced with her Barbie(new favorite!) It was quite a show. Hopefully, we can continue to work together. We were very tired by the end of our visit. We made a few new friends and played with the whole family.

Happy Birthday U.S.A. !!!!