A New Fireplace

I'm kicking myself for not taking a before picture of this, but previously, my fireplace was that seventies white lava rock, you know the stuff that people used to put in their parking strip as zeroscaping, just bigger rocks.  I have hated it from the moment I set foot in this house for the first time.  It was one of those things that I really had to convince myself to overlook when we bought the house.  I'm sure it was fine when the house was built, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why it was ever the style.  It was so uneven that there was no possibility for a mantle, which is the only thing I really want for a fireplace and everytime we tried to use the fire itself, it would shoot black soot all over the rock.  Unfortunately, the fact that we bought an old house has meant that there are a million projects that need to get done, so this one has been on the back burner for awhile.

I have to say, at the moment I am completely convinced that my husband is "Superman".  I am still hobbling around on crutches and essentially useless when it comes to pretty much anything!  I can't carry anything, I can't chase after the 18 month old (she outruns me in a second...stinkin' crutches), I can't even get her out of bed if she wakes up during the night.  I can empty the dishwasher or do the dishes, but it takes so long it makes everyone crazy to watch.  Laundry is another task that I can do, but it requires large amounts of help with carrying and moving.  Even getting the kids bathed and showered is a problem because the steam from the bathroom makes the tile floor so slippery that my crutches are completely treacherous.  Needless to say, my husband is picking up massive amounts of slack for me.  He has always amazed me with the fact that he is not a complainer, but with this situation it has completely blown me away.  Never once has he complained that he comes home from work and has to do all the stuff that I normally do.  He walks in the door and is kind of like a machine.  He knows once we have eaten dinner he has to get dinner cleaned up and kids bathed and then we divide up reading out loud to the kids and he gets everyone tucked in.  He usually manages to get some laundry started and fetch and carry all the stuff I need, like ice or phones or my ipad. 

Why am I telling you this, well you have to know how surprised I was this weekend when he said he was still planning on tearing out the rock on the fireplace.  We had planned this project before I had my accident and had found a carpenter to help us with the finish work, but honestly, I figured it would all have to be put on hold until I could help or at least until I was more help with keeping the kids out of the way.  Not so, my husband and his dad knocked out all the rocks today and cleaned up all the mess.  I am completely amazed!  All there is now is a cinderblock wall and I am so excited I can't see straight.  It is going to make such a difference to the look of my front room! 

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My friend recommended this book. She has 3 daughters and told me it was a must have for my two girls as they get older. The story was darling. A perfect little fairy tale. It is supposedly the story Disney based the movie "The Princess and the Frog" around. Unfortunately, Disney chose not to follow very closely. I wish they had followed the book exactly. It would have made for a much better movie. I'm anxious to pick up the sequels.



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A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Thanksgiving books are so hard to find. I would really love to have a whole collection of them that we could read all through the month of November, but there are just not a ton of great ones out there. One that I do have, that is an absolute favorite is called "A Turkey for Thanksgiving", by Eve Bunting. The story is sweet without being sappy. There are some humorous twists and best of all, the illustrations are amazing! Mr. and Mrs. Moose want a turkey for Thanksgiving, so Mr. Moose sets out to find one. It doesn't take long before all his forest neighbors are helping him. The story ends with what happens when the animals find a turkey.



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A Day at a Time

I have spent the last 20 minutes trying to figure out how to add a picture to the post? I still haven't completely figured out how to use my iPad. I finally set up a new gmail account because I am having such trouble with my comcast account. I feel like I should have some sort of project or recipe to post, but in all honesty I'm focusing on more basic things at the moment. Today was a huge step for me, I pulled myself into and out of my shower without any physical help. I still required a spotter to make sure I didn't fall, but I managed the standing and sitting by myself. I was ridiculously happy about such a small thing. This afternoon has been a little tougher. I thought I was moving around pretty well, but this afternoon I started on my refill of my pain medicine and it is the downgraded version. It is harder than I thought. I can feel a lot more than I have been able to before. My leg is starting to itch, which I think is a good sign, but putting on lotion is a
Little creepy. I keep discovering places on my leg that I can't feel. It is the strangest sensation! A large portion of my time is being occupied by learning to use crutches.

Accident

Much to my dismay, my crafting and projects have been put on hold as of late. On October 29,2010, I took my three kids to the Farmers market to get one last box of apples. It was the last weekend for the farmers market, so there weren't many people around. after we got our apples, we went over to the playground to play for a few minutes. Next to the playground, down a little grass embankment was a small stream with ducks. There was a chain link fence to keep kids from falling in at the bottom of the small slope. My 18 month old was fascinated with the ducks, so I picked her up and started walking down the grass to get closer to the fence for a better view. Suddenly I felt my ankle bend and my feet slipped out from under me. My daughter and I both slipped to the ground and I strarted pulling my leg towards me to get my balance. I'm not sure if my foot was caught on a root, but Shortly I heard a snap. At that point I knew I was in trouble. I tried to get up but quickly realized that was not a possibility. I was carrying my cell phone, so my first thought was to call my dad because my pArents house is only a few blocks from the park and my dad works at home. He left immediately and I called my husband's aunt who lives on my street to come and get the kids since I figured my dad and I would be headed to the emergency room. By the time they arrived, the pain had intensified and they took one look at my predicament and said there was no way around it, we were going to have to call an ambulance, despite the fact we were directly across the street from the hospital. I had managed to wedge myself into a rather difficult corner. In the meantime my husband managed to arrive. The drive across the street to the hospital was grueling. The x- Ray process was more painful than I ever could have imagined. The end result was surgery and a three night hospital stay. I had broken. Both bones in my leg. Twice at the bottom above the ankle joint and once right below the knee. My leg is now complete with a metal rod, a plate, and multiple screws. I am not allowed to put any weight on my leg for 6 weeks and will spend some time after crutches with a walking boot on. I am completely irritated with my new limitations, but I am so grateful for the help and support of so many family members and friends. It is amazing! Thank you!