And the School Year Comes to an End...

This past week was supposed to be very busy, but the weather kind of changed those plans. Lincoln was supposed to have his field day on Tuesday but they decided it was too cold for that so it was postponed until next week. When we picked him up after school, I had to go run a few errands. We went by O’Reilly’s and bought some new wipers. It was great because they even put them on for me. Then we went over to Walgreens because I found out they had Disney gift cards there and I wanted to get one for Molly’s birthday. Better late than never. The kids spotted the candy and the twins decided to pocket some Tic Tacs. Thankfully I figured it out before we left the store.

After the twins went down for their nap, Lincoln and I played a few rounds of Sneaky Snacky Squirrel and then he went to his friend Josh’s house to play. We had to pick up the older two from school and this time Andrew wasn’t there too. And Lincoln still didn’t wear any shoes, but we had Jackson to get Ellie this time.  (EDIT-I only had this much of the blog typed up before I had my bike accident so I may try to keep things short-we’ll see J).

Wednesday was Jackson’s 4^th grade Jefferson City field trip. My mom watched the twins and Lincoln so I was able to go with him. We had to be at school by 6:50, so Andrew was responsible for the other kids for the morning. The kids all rode buses to Jefferson City but parents had to take their own cars, so I rode with Leah. We were supposed to have a tour of the Supreme Court, but it was canceled so we just walked around for a while. We also just sat around for a while. Jackson was so excited.

We did a tour of an old general store along with a video about the history of Jefferson City, then we ate lunch out on the lawn before we headed to Central Dairy for some ice cream. Our last stop was back at the capital for a tour. There was a lot of activity going on at the capital that made for an a loud tourn. Some group was performing some sort of play in the middle and since everything echoes badly in there, they made things pretty loud. Then add to it the protesters that were up by the observation areas for the House and Senate and I think we all had headaches. Plus I was not feeling well all day. I hadn’t slept well the night before because I woke up with a pain in my right abdomen. It kept me up most of the night along with nausea, but I didn’t have a fever so I wasn’t too worried about it being appendicitis. Well the pain stuck with me pretty much all day. So I was very grateful when our tour ended up in the House lounge with some comfy chairs and closed doors that blocked out the noise.  After the tour, it was time to head home. Jackson was able to ride back with us which was good.

Once we got back to Kirksville, we picked up the other kids and headed home. We ordered some Colton’s and loaded up some freezer meals I had made for Tom and Mary.  When Andrew got home, we picked up the Colton’s and then headed out to Andrew’s parents to bring them dinner. We ate dinner with them and then let the kids play around a bit before we headed back home since I wasn’t feeling good. But just as we were getting ready to leave, Miles ran out to tell us that Bennett was “bloody”. Then here comes Bennett crying with blood running down his face. So I picked him up and took him back to the house where Mary got us some wet rags to clean him off and apply pressure to a cut that was on the temple of his right eye.  I guess he was running behind the old barn and fell and hit his head on an old tire rim. We were able to get a bandaid on it and loaded up to head home. I called my dad on the way and he said he would meet me at the office. So I dropped Andrew and the others off at home and went to my dad’s office. He and my mom got there about the same time we did and he checked everything out. Thankfully Bennett didn’t need stitches and my dad just closed it up with some steri strips and super glue. He cried some but was a good boy.

The next day was Ellie’s field day. Sadly it was raining but they decided to go ahead and do it inside. So I loaded up the twins and we headed over there for a little bit. They had all the second graders in the gym with all sorts of activities going on. It looked like Ellie was having fun. We got to talk to her and watch her for a bit and then we had to head over to Lincoln’s school for his circus.

Lincoln was the co-ring master and a lion tamer. He looked so cute in his outfit with his moustache.

The circus was fun as always. Lincoln did a great job announcing the different acts and he was a very convincing lion tamer. He was very aggressive-probably learned his skills from watching his dad work cattle. And one of my favorite parts were the “strong men” dressed up as various super heroes who played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on the bells J.

Lincoln was supposed to have his first ball game that night, but it was canceled because of the rain. And then Ellie’s first game was supposed to be the next night and it was canceled too. As I was getting dinner ready that night, Miles decided to help me out by setting the table.

Caroline and Jared came into town Friday for Jared’s brother’s graduation party. So we went over to my parents for the afternoon to see them and then we went to eat at AJ’s that night. Yummy as always with some interesting conversation. Lincoln asked me if people have to get married and then if they have to marry girls. I told him that if boys got married, they did have to marry girls. He said, "Oh. Well Alex and I wanted to live together." I told him that they could be roommates in college to which he replied, "No, that's not what I'm talking about. Me and Alex, well we..." and then he paused for a little bit trying to think about what he was going to tell us next. I think it made us all a little nervous and Andrew even said, "Maybe you should stop right there." And then Lincoln continues with, "We want to live together so we can be scientists. We want to dig under our house to make a tunnel to an armor room, a potion room..." and he continues to go on and on about their "Minecraft world" they will build when they live together when they are older. It was maybe one of those conversations that you just had to be there, but we all found it hilarious.

Andrew went to the office Saturday morning and I was moving slow since I had sore throat and was stuffy. Jackson was feeling the same way. But the weather turned out to be nicer than we thought it was going to be, so I thought it would be a good time for Andrew and I to go for a ride. With a lot of rain in the forecast, I thought it may be a while before we could do it again. Caroline was okay with watching the kids, so Andrew and I went on our way. We went out to the lake and back (we both got our fastest times going up the hill from the Dining Lodge) and I decided we should head out to Industrial Road since it was part of the NEMO Tri bike route. That was not a good decision because soon after getting on that road I think I hit a little rough spot and dropped off the road onto the shoulder which was a couple inches lower. The one thing about road bike tires is they are very narrow and my front tire got stuck and over I went. I landed on my left side with the bike on top of me.  The first thing I did was look behind me to see if any cars were coming and thankfully, I was good-just my water bottle rolling in the road. Andrew was able to get the bike off of me and help me get up but there was a lot of pain. I just tried to breathe through it, afraid I was going to pass out. I could hear people stopping and offering help but I asked Andrew to just call Caroline. I told him I thought we needed to go the ER. Then Randall and Amie Shahan stopped and offered to take us, which we turned down but did accept the chair they gave us which was a great blessing at that moment. So I sat there on the side of the road in a chair, waiting for our ride. Jared picked us up and they got me checked into the ER and then went home to get insurance cards, etc. The ER visit was pretty quick, thankfully. I had a quick x-ray which showed I had inferior and superior pubic rami fractures on the left side.I had some road rash on my thigh, shoulder and hands but it wasn't too bad. So Andrew took me home and got me situated in bed. The first couple of days, I wasn't able to get out of bed without feeling like I was going to pass out. But on Monday I was able to get an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon and did okay getting out of bed and using the crutches for the first time. I had a CT done and it confirmed the fractures plus an additional small fracture of my sacrum. But nothing was displaced enough to warrant surgery, so that is good. So there is nothing to be done now except to just let it all heal which requires quite a bit of time of just doing nothing but I am allowed to get up and move around a bit. It hurts quite a bit but I am learning better ways to move to help that. But I am also learning that the pain is just going to be there for a while. I will be on crutches 4-6 weeks and won't be able to start training again for 4-6 months which means the NEMO is out for this year which is a big bummer. 

This past week was one of the longest weeks I have experienced. But while I was pretty much confined to the house for most of it, we had some amazing help. My parents were actually in Louisville for the weekend so Caroline kept the kids and then Lissy actually came back from St. Louis to help with them. Lissy also did some grocery shopping for us and picked up any random thing she thought I may need. The LaBeths ordered us pizza Sunday night and set up a meal calendar for us for the next couple of weeks which has been awesome. Andrew was a rock star and stepped right up making sure I was well taken care of and taking over household duties along with the kids.  When I couldn’t get out of bed, he helped me get cleaned up and even found a way to wash my hair in bed without making a mess. When my parents got back into town they went right to work helping us out. My mom took the twins most days. Sometimes she would stick around the house a bit to clean things up, do some laundry and attend to whatever I may need. Then she would load up the kids and take them home. She also set it up for Michelle to come clean once a week for a few weeks while I am recovering.  Kristin took the twins out to her house a couple of mornings which was a nice break for my mom and they loved being able to play out there. Plus she made us a meal one night and brought in an extra freezer meal for us to use later. We had all sorts of calls, texts and messages offering help, prayers and kind words. Ellie got me some flowers and made me a card and Leah (who was out of town on vacation) had Tiffany cut some of the peonies from her yard and drop them off because she knew I liked them. We are definitely blessed with some wonderful family and friends.

So while I was trying to adjust to everything, the kids were having their last week of school. Lincoln went out to Truman Farms on Monday. Jackson and Lincoln both had their Field Days on Tuesday. Jackson’s 4x50 and 4x25 relay teams got second which he was excited about. Lincoln got a certificate for the obstacle course. Thankfully Annie and Amanda sent me pictures from some of the outings.

I was thankful I had the end-of-the-year gifts almost ready for the teachers. I had some cute watering cans from Target that I was going to put a flower in. So ahead of time I made a paper flower that said, “Thanks for helping me learn and grow” along with a gift card to Sonic in a card holder I made that said “A Refreshing Treat for Yourself”.  So my mom took them one night, planted some geraniums in them and finished them all up for me so the kids could take them to their teachers. Lincoln’s last day of school was Thursday. They ordered McDonalds for all the kids and had a picnic at Jaycee Park. My mom was able to go by for a little bit and then Andrew went. 

While I was missing that, Mary stopped by to visit and gave us some gift cards to Pizza Hut and Colton’s. She still had the cast on her arm-we are a mess J.  Lincoln got to go home with Josh after school and play with him for a bit which was nice.  When the twins got home, the joined me in bed. I was dozing off and on and would wake up to them taking pictures of me with their LeapPads. 

That night I actually went out back for a little bit. It was nice to breath in some fresh air. Andrew played catch with Jackson and Ellie while the twins and Lincoln played on the swing set and pushed the trucks around.

Jackson and Ellie had their last day of school on Friday. They were both had a great year but very excited for summer to start.  Jackson had straight As all year and Ellie had an awesome report card too of all Vs (they don’t do the grade lettering yet-V’s stand for Very Satisfactory). Ellie did make a sweet note for her teacher though.

Lincoln was up early and joined me in bed with his Kindle so I got to enjoy some Power Rangers. 

Then while the twins and Lincoln spent all day at my parents on Friday, Jackson and Ellie got to go out to the ranch for a bit after school. Then Andrew dropped Jackson and Ellie off at my parents since Briley was in town.  So they got to have a sleep over that night. Actually Ellie and Lincoln spent the whole weekend at my parents’ house. Kaitlin and her family came into town the next day and then Lissy got there Sunday. I actually ventured out Saturday and Sunday and spent some time at my parents’ house which was nice. It was the first time getting out of the house since my appointment. I made it out to the pool a couple times to watch the kids swim. And since it was raining Sunday afternoon, we went to see Tommorrowland. I sat in the back handicap row so I could stretch my leg out. Jackson sat back there with me while the rest of the crew sat a couple rows ahead of us. Overall it was a great weekend to be able to get out, get around, see family and get my mind off of everything. And the kids had a blast just hanging out with their cousins, playing games, swimming, etc.  Ellie loved being able to carry around and take care of Lola and Finley since her younger brothers don’t let her do that too often. 

Andrew picked them up Monday evening and they were finally all home. We had leftovers for dinner and then he played outside with the kids while I just sat and watched. They had a few races and played Hot Box for a while. Then it was hair cut time for the twins. While Andrew was doing that, I finished up some laundry and had the kids help me get the house cleaned up. I really appreciate their help. Jackson is great about doing whatever I ask him and really wants to help. Ellie likes to be able to help me out. She told me, “Mom, we will help you do all of this. We may not like doing it, but we will do it.” J And Lincoln goes in spurts of wanting to be a great helper and feeling like he has done enough.

 I ended up staying home Monday. I was feeling pretty tired and sore. So I rested in bed for the morning and then started working on some stuff around the house. With Jackson’s help I got some of the twins’ clothes downstairs and put away in their old closet so that I can get them easily in the morning for them to get ready. It is the little things like that will help. I am doing better at this point than I thought I would. I was taking Percocet for the pain and quit that because I didn’t like the way it was making me feel. So I’m just taking ibuprofen during the day and Tylenol 3 at night. I have learned the right ways I can move so that things don’t hurt as much. With the help of Andrew’s grabber (from his hip surgery) and a bag, I am able to fold the laundry and put Andrew and I’s laundry away. I put our clothes in the bag and carry it on my shoulder to our room to put it all away. I am able to help the twins get their shirts on while they can take care of the rest. And I can brush their hair and teeth and then we have a chair in the bathroom now that they can climb up on to spit after we brush their teeth. I have found ways to make taking a shower work. My biggest obstacles as far as taking care of the kids is that I can’t pick up the twins and it is hard to be hands on with them whenever they are fighting or getting into stuff. I can make them breakfasts and lunches, but they have to carry their plates from the counter. I haven’t done the dishwasher yet since it would take a long time and I wouldn’t be able to carry everything to where it needs to go. I can do some cleaning but other things are hard since I can’t hold whatever cleaning tool I have and move at the same time.  But generally I can find a way to do a lot of things-it may take me a long time and I may wear out easier, but it can be done. Everyone is very cautious of me doing too much though. I do need to be aware that I need to rest so that things heal correctly though. But sleeping has not been fun. I can’t sleep on either side and so I have to lay flat on my back. With my sacral fracture, that spot gets sore that after a while. I have used a variety of pillows to try to make things better (even our old Boppy pillow) but I usually sleep for a couple hours and then have to get up, walk around a bit and then reposition for another couple of hours. By morning and I am so stiff and sore all over. But other than that, the pain isn’t too bad right now unless I move my leg the wrong way.

So now it is time to start the first week of summer and it is kind of intimidating to me. My mom has already offered to come over tomorrow morning and help out with stuff if I need it. Jackson has basketball camp at 8 in the morning and the Vincents have already offered to take him which will be very helpful. It will be interesting to see how this all goes J.