Oops I Did It Again, And Again...

Today is Oscar Sunday, so I'm tickled by the poetic justice of having some thing to write about; (since after all, it was the Oscar's that first inspired me to start blogging.)

So re the title of this post, I'm a klutz from way back.  I've been tripping over my feet, air and any and every little thing, for as long as I can remember; hence the "Oops I did it again".  Now the "And Again" - here we go...

It's been way too long since I last wrote, but I'm delighted to say that Lyndzi's been receiving great acclaim for her art work and she's been entering several contests.  She had been awaiting the announcement of the Valley Metro, Design a Transit Rap Contest, but only found out on Feb 13th that the entry deadline was Feb. 16th.  Lyndzi quickly got to work and created her entry in one day; so our real challenge was how to get her submission downtown in time.  

Before "The Ride" really begins, here are a few background things that you need to know:
1.  Lyndzi entered this same contest last year.  We physically dropped her entry off on the last day of the deadline, but the person that she was supposed to deliver her submission to wasn't in the office.  We left her piece with the desk assistant, but Lyndzi always doubted that her artwork was actually considered; so this year she wanted to have her entry received by 2/15, to give her a little cushion.
2.  I hate driving in any downtown area AND I hate driving places that I'm not familiar with.  For the purpose of this story, let's take hate to mean, it causes me great anxiety.
3.  I had a pedicure appointment scheduled for 4:15 on 2/14. OK, I heard your sigh, but consider this - I hadn't had a pedicure since early November (and yes, the toes in the photo, really are early November pedicure remnants.) ALSO I have such a great pedicurist, it takes weeks for me to get an appointment with her, so cancelling wasn't really an option.

So, given all of the factors above, Lyndzi and I agreed to overnight her art work after school on 2/14, so that it would arrive with time to spare on 2/15.  My plan was to pick Lyndzi up at 220, stop by Fed Ex, pick up Kelsie, stop at the post office (if Fed Ex was too expensive), pick up $5 sushi and cake slices from Fry's (for our Valentine's Day celebration), drop the girls at home and go for my pedicure.  Well, I picked up Lyndzi's drawing and saw that it was drizzling outside.  It had rained earlier, but I didn't have time to spare, so I couldn't look for something to protect the drawing.  In my infinite wisdom, I placed it flat underneath my shirt.  I chose a pair of flip flops to wear (only because I had the pedi appointment coming up) and I walked outside. The ground was wet, I was holding my hand on my stomach to protect the art work, I took the shortest route possible to get into my car, slipped and fell on the cement between my car and the rocks on my driveway.  The pain set in immediately and I screamed out loud (Don't ask what - lol).  I managed to get up, still trying to keep the drawing flat, and made it into my car.  I was crying (and I'm NOT a crier) and I think I said "ow" repeatedly, on the drive to Lyndzi's school.  There were leaves on my shirt, my jeans had torn a bit, and I had mascara running down my face; so needless to say, Lyndzi was quite taken aback when I picked her up.  I explained what happened, and through my sobs, I asked her to text my pedicurist to let her know that I'd just fallen and had to cancel the appointment. Oh the irony!
We picked up Kels, and stopped at Fed Ex. The girls went in without me, and decided that we might be better off mailing the entry from the post office.  On to the post office I drove and waited in the car while the girls went in.  They mailed the submission, so at least that goal was accomplished; and we then drove to Fry's because  I didn't want to disappoint the girls and they agreed that they could go in without me.

I sat in the car, in a good deal of pain and twenty minutes later, I got a text from Lyndzi.  She told me that they had gotten the cake slices, but the kiosk had just run out of sushi and they were going to make more.  I asked if they wanted to wait or come up with a plan B?  Lyndz said that Kelsie said they could wait; so I agreed.  Another hour went by before I heard from them again.  At this point Lyndzi called and explained that the sushi lady was helping other customers before them, even though they'd been waiting longer and ultimately she had made them the wrong thing and they were going to have to keep waiting in order to get part of the order.  I told them to just buy what they had, stop at customer service to tell them about the problem they'd had with the sushi lady and call it a day; because at this point it had been three hours since I had fallen and I was in a lot of pain.

The girls came out of the store crying.  They were upset that they'd made me wait that long, and that everything had gone so badly.  I thought that it was just my sushi that hadn't gotten made, but it turned out that it was Lyndzi's as well; so with that, I told them that I was going to go into the store.  Did you just say "oh no?"  lol  Well, yes I did.  I got out of the car and started limping through the parking lot.  It was raining again, and the ground was slick, so do I really have to say it?  Yup, I slipped AGAIN, and fell in the Fry's parking lot.  3 kind people came to my rescue, and I have to say I feel really badly for the gentleman who helped me up, because I weigh A LOT, AND  I couldn't put any pressure on my ankle.  Hercules managed to get me up and I hobbled into the store.  I texted Kels and asked her to come in because I knew that there was no way that I could make it back to the car on my own.  I went to customer service, and suffice it to say that after talking to the manager and waiting another 25 minutes, I left the store with 2 free sushi rolls and a $25 gift card. (NO, it wasn't worth it.)

I drove home and I don't think I've ever been so happy to get there.  My ankle was terribly swollen and my knee was scraped up, but other than that I wasn't injured, so I considered myself lucky.  I iced it, and elevated it, but I couldn't put any pressure on it, so I used the crutches that Lyndzi had gotten last year, after a soccer injury.  Within 24 hours I thought I could get around without the crutches.  I continued to limp for 13 more days, and since the pain hadn't subsided I decided it was time to go to the doctor.

The medical practice that I go to, can do an xray in their office, so I  thought this would expedite my diagnosis and I made an appointment on Tuesday.  After speaking with the PA, she sent me for an ultrasound, because she suspected that my ankle was fractured. (They can do ultrasounds there too.) She told me that it would take 1-2 days to get the ultrasound results, but if I wanted to, I could get a boot that day, just in case.  I had the ultrasound, and went to get the boot, but the assistant told me that since I have a high deductible on my insurance, I'd have to pay $80 out of pocket.  I thought, if I have to, I will; but since I don't know if it's actually fractured and I've already been walking around on it for almost 2 weeks, I can wait another day or two.  Welllll,, if you've taken "The Ride" before, then you should know that things rarely go as planned for me, and this time was no different.  I called on Thursday afternoon to see when they might have my results and the very nasty associate had no idea and showed no interest in finding out.  She told me that it typically takes 3- 5 business days to get ultrasound results; so I informed her that's not what I'd been told, and I asked her to please have someone get back to me the next day.  I waited till 2:30 on Friday but since I hadn't heard anything I called again.  Blah, blah, blah no results but the associate was a little more compassionate about it.  By 830 Friday night, the PA had sent an email apologizing profusely.  Apparently the tech who was supposed to enter the results had been out sick for 2 days and no one covered for her.  She told me to continue wearing the boot and she would have the results for me first thing Monday morning.  Well, therein lied the problem.  I didn't have the boot, but she didn't know that.  I emailed back and explained that I hadn't actually gotten the boot yet, and THAT was why I was so anxious to get the ultrasound results.  I asked that she please get back to me ASAP and thankfully I received another very apologetic email on Saturday morning.  She told me that she was able to get the results and as they showed a subtle fracture and inflammation, I could pick up the boot before noon that day and I'd need to wear it for 6-8 weeks.  

Lyndzi and I went to pick up the boot, and the techs were quite amused when they asked the size of my foot and I said "very big."  They kindly got me fitted and taken care of; and although I had to pay the $80, they're going to attempt to get me a refund (supposedly.)  I know I have a bit of a battle left with the doctor's office, because sadly it seems difficult for them to do the right thing; but at least for now, I'm on the road to recovery.  I'm still considering myself lucky AND if nothing else, it finally brought me back to "The Bumpy Ride."

Till next time...
Paige
PS - For those of you who are still wondering about the magnetic false eyelashes, I should now have plenty of time to try and figure them out, and blog about that too.

(43-349) On Second Thought...

I like to give credit where credit is due and I didn't include Kelsie as a member of our clumsy, clan when I wrote "An Accident Waiting To Happen."  Perhaps I didn't mention her because she's not prone to tripping over her own feet the way that Lyndzi and I are; but upon reflection, Kelsie has endured plenty of accidents.

There was the soccer tournament two years ago, to name one.  Lyndzi was playing goalie and she booted the ball outta the goal and it smacked Kelsie right in the face.  Even though Kelsie was the one who got hurt, Lyndzi felt terrible as well, she ran out of the goal paying no attention tot the fact that the game was still going on, because she was so upset that she had hurt her sister.  Then just last week when we were in California  Nicky accidentally kicked Kelsie in the face while they were in the pool, and Kelsie is still sporting that black eye.  Well tonight we had Michelle M, her son, Max and her niece, Lilly over for dinner, because Michelle graciously agreed to go shoe shopping with me,  so that I could look for a sandal to go with "The perfect black dress".  While I was getting out our condiments, Kelsie let out a cry that let me know something had gone terribly wrong.  We rushed into the playroom and Kelsie was holding her nose and wailing.  When I got her to calm down a bit, she told us that Max and Lilly had been throwing Hershey's ball at each other and Max missed Lilly and hit her in the nose.  My poor baby!  Between the remnants of her black eye and the bump that was coming up on her nose, you couldn't help but feel sorry for her.  I truly think her only consolation was the fact that I told her that she was gonna be the subject of tonight's "Bumpy Ride," and in more than one way, she sure is.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-347) An Accident Waiting To Happen

It's not a secret by any means, but in case you don't already know, I am Queen of the Klutzes.  I'm basically an accident waiting to happen, although I must admit it's been a while since I've suffered an injury - until today.

I've been clumsy all my life and Lyndzi follows closely in my woobly footsteps.  I don't know if it's that I'm not paying attention or that I just don't perceive situations clearly or I misconstrue my surroundings; but somehow or other, I manage to bump into things left and right, trip over my own feet and cause unnecessary damage to myself on a regular basis.

After returning from our swim meet this morning, I tackled straightening up my house.  Because I'm convinced that I can do more than two things at once, I was picking up stray items while on hold with the new gym, and I ventured to walk over a pile of bags (and a small cooler) that Lyndzi had moved into our family room.  I swear that I knew that this wasn't a good idea as I was attempting it, but did that stop me?  NO!  With various items (including a half full coffee cup) in one hand and the phone (to my ear) in the other, I mindlessly took (what I thought was) a giant step over the pile o stuff, lost my balance and tripped.  I went down like a ton of bricks and managed to injure my foot, my knee and even though it's substantially padded - my butt.  I couldn't help myself when I let out a cry, which immediately caused Luis and my girls to report to the scene of  the accident.  Luis asked what happened, and his next question was the one that I'm sure is on most of your minds -  "What were you thinking?"  I had / have no good answer to that question.  Why didn't I walk around?  Yah, I have no clue.  And trust me - it was NOT so I'd have something to blog about today.

After sitting on the floor for a few minutes, I picked myself up, brushed myself off, and limped away - but I'm hurting.  My foot and knee are really sore; but I'm hoping a couple of hours in the Wet-n-Wild lazy river will cure that.  

The good news is that I think I REALLY learned my lesson this time, and I'm going to do my best to keep from making these ridiculous misjudgements again.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING   

TOOT TOOT!

I love ALL of my children with ALL of my heart (I'm sure that I don't REALLY have to tell you that;) and even though I love all of them equally, I am VERY well aware that when I talk about my children; Nicky and Lyndzi almost always come off sounding like angels and Kelsie like the perpetual thorn in my side.   Oh, Kelsie is my very strong willed child.   The one who is always pushing the envelope  and pushing me to my limits.  Kelsie keeps me on my toes and doesn't miss a trick; and because she is so prone to mischief and frquently makes comical remarks, my posts tend to accentuate her escapades while those about  Nicky and Lyndzi are usually more about their academic, artistic, athletic and altruistic achievements.  But what can you do; they are who they are.
  
Kelsie is just 6 years old, but if you talk to her you would think that you are talking to a much older child.  Her vocabulary is vast for a child of her age and her thought process is uncommon (in both good and bad ways.)  Kelsie often gets the short end of the stick because in addition to acting older; she looks a lot older.  She is particularly tall for her age and her face has a more mature appearance than that of most 6 year olds; which makes it quite easy to forget that she herself is only a tender 6; and therefore, everyone seems to expect much MORE from her.
I was reminded of Kelsie's actual age just a couple of weeks ago.  I was cooking dinner and Kelsie came over to me crying HYSTERICALLY.  Now Kelsie, (future Oscar winner that she is,) cries A LOT; but this cry was different ~ it was a HEAVING cry that caused her to gasp for air as she tried to get out the words "I'm so sorry," and "I didn't mean to."  Kelsie was trying to explain that she had flooded my bathroom.  I calmly told her "That's OK, accidents happen," but she continued to cry and said "I tired to clean it up, but there's water everywhere."  I quizzically asked "There's water everywhere?"  And then decided that I better go upstairs and see what catastrophe she thought she had caused.  Well, she was right; it was BAD.  I waded through my bathroom as the water continued to cascade off of my vanity.  The garbage pail was full of water and the entire bathroom was about half an inch under water.   I asked her how it had happened and she told me that she had been playing in the sink, and she didn't realize that the plunger was down.  She said that she went to lay down on my bed and play, and  she didn't know that the water was still running.  Nicky and Lyndzi helped me to find every towel in the house.  We used everything from bath sheets to bath mats, beach towels to wash cloths, and between it all, AND a mop; I got it cleaned up.  Now just on a side note; I have to tell you that once the water was cleaned up, Lyndzi said, "Mom, I hate to tell you this, but my Quesadilla is missing."  I said "It's missing?"  And asked, "Do you think that Hershey ate it?"  Lyndzi replied  "Well, I didn't get down and smell her breath, but yes, I think she ate it."  Ahh, just the comic relief that I needed after Kelsie's latest calamity.

As a parent, there are few things that are more rewarding than when you observe a positive transformation in your child and although I don't want to jump the gun; Kelsie has done some things lately that are absolutely blogworthy and make me SO extraordinarily  proud.  Nicky has known how to ride a bike for a couple of years; but even though both of the girls had bikes, neither had shown any interest in learning how to ride without training wheels and truth be told, they didn't take the bikes out very often.  Well, just before Spring Break, we discovered that we had some wonderful children living just a couple houses a way from us and the outdoor play abounded.  All of the kids knew how to ride bikes and rode regularly, so Lyndzi decided that it was time for her to spread her wings.  In no time at all, Lyndzi was riding Nicky's bike and was ready for a new bike of her own.  

Then last Friday, Lyndzi told Kelsie that it was time for her to learn how to ride and within literally 5 minutes; Kelsie was riding.  On Saturday we made a trip to Walmart and found a new bike for Nicky.  We had planned to give Nicky's bike to Lyndzi and Lyndzi's to Kelsie and we also needed helmets for the girls.  Both girls picked out new helmets but something seemed to be bothering Lyndzi.  After much prodding she finally told me that she didn't want Nicky's bike.  I apologized to her and clarified that Nicky needed a bigger bike and since his was in fine condition we had to pass it down to her.  We continued looking at helmets and were astonished by the prices ($20-$50 each.)   And then Kelsie said, "I don't need a new helmet; I can just use the one that Nicky had."   I was incredibly surprised and  extremely impressed.
I asked Kels if she was sure and she said yes.  I encouraged her to use Nicky's helmet and said  "It's red, so it doesn't necessarily look like a boy helmet and if you like, we can decorate it with some stickers;" and she was pleased.  Lyndzi's attitude continued to be sour UNTIL she and Kelsie came to me and Kelsie said, "We've been thinking...  Would it be OK if I took Nicky's bike and Lyndzi kept her bike?"  "OK?"  I couldn't believe my ears.  I asked Luis if Lyndzi's bike was still big enough for her and he said yes; so I told the girls that it would be fine and they were delighted.  I was SO moved by Kelsie's gesture that I gave her a great big hug and I told her that I didn't think that I had ever been more proud of her.  We talked about what a kind and thoughtful  proposal she had made and I told her that I was going to get her a little thank you treat.  Later that night, while shopping in Michael' s with Michelle (not too much longer) K  and Kelsie told her that she was going to get a treat.  Michelle asked if she had done something good and Kelsie nonchalantly said  "no."  She then told Michelle that it was because she had asked to have Nicky's bike so that we didn't need to spend more money and buy another bike.  (See, what did I tell you - unusual thought processes for a 6 year old. )

Now in all fairness I have to say that Kelsie has been unusually well behaved this week. Nothing has been destroyed (that I'm aware of.) She hasn't cut her hair or shaved her eyebrow, or aggravated me in any way.  In fact, she gave me quite the laugh the other night, when I asked her if she thought that I needed a haircut and she said "no."  Followed by "Your hair looks like a shrub."   I laughed so hard at that and then asked "So you think my hair looks like a shrub and I DON'T need it cut?"  She then said "Um yeah, get it cut," and I did; last night at 5 o'clock.  After my haircut the kids and I went to Big 5 sports because I had seen swimsuits in their ad that looked similar to what the swim team was going to be usin; but for at least $10 less per suit.  I explained to the kids that these suits might not be identical to the ones that the team was getting, but that it would be a great savings.  When we went in, they only had a suit in Kelsie's size.  She tried it on and it looked great.  Kelsie asked if she could get it and so I pointed out that if she did, Lyndzi might not have the same one and it might be different from what the other girls on the team had; and then Kelsie looked up at me with her big, brown eyes, and the sweetest voice and said "I don't care if my suit isn't the same as Lyndzi's or the team, as long as I have a suit;"  and I almost burst into tears.  For the second time in less than a week Kelsie had REALLY amazed me.   I said "OK then," and asked the sales girl to check for Lyndzi's size at another location.  Thankfully another store had it and so after purchasing Kelsie's swimsuit we got back in the car to head to the other store.  Kelsie asked where the other store was and I told her that it was near Freddy's Custard. Kelsie then asked if they could get custard and I said yes.  Lyndzi then went on to give Kelsie a pep talk.  She said "See Kelsie, when you're a good girl and helpful then Mommy can give you rewards like custard; doesn't that feel better than getting in trouble?"  (Enter the BIG SMILE on my face.)   I did add on to what Lyndzi was saying by letting them know that what Kelsie had done was beyond GOOD, it was considerate and caring and so VERY appreciated.

We got to big 5 and Lyndzi and Nicky both tried on suits that fit them perfectly.  A big weight was lifted off my shoulders.  I had purchased their swim team suits before leaving for vacatio, and saved at least $30 as well.  The kids and I discussed that it was OK to have something that was slightly different than the rest of the team because it would set them apart; but I can PROUDLY say that it's not ONLY the swim suits that set my kids apart from others.  I am so truly thankful to have ALL 3 children thatI HAVE; warts and all.  And I am going to count my blessings that Kelsie is EXACTLY who she is!!!

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING