Limping along (brief updates)

Yikes I can't believe it has been two weeks since I've posted!!! Just when I had you all nice and trained to come and read a lot... Sorry.

So first to the title of the post which I admit might sound dramatic since it's not really an all-out limp. Monday I was diagnosed with bursitis in my hip. Which is much nicer to tell people than "it hurts so bad I want to cry." It started a few days earlier, and on Friday my chiropractor said it sounded like bursitis to him and if it didn't get better I should go in. Well, Monday morning I could barely move, and well to say it hurt was an uderstatement. So, I went in, got the official diagnosis, a cortisone shot, and some good drugs along with instructions to use heat on it at least four times a day. The doctor said that IF the cortisone was goine to work, it should work within a week but might be worse the first couple of day. I think it's starting to work today, but it's hard to tell at this point. The mornings are always the worst, but after some heat, streching, and time for the drugs to take effect I've been able to "limp through the day."

The worst position to be in (most painful) is sitting, so most of my computer time has gone strictly to work this week. We leave again Friday for the weekend so likely it won't be until Memorial Day or after before I upload more pictures. Here are a few more tidbits in the meantime:

--Shawn and went to Annapolis for a long weekend over Mother's Day weekend. It was gorgeous and a nice getaway for the two of us, and so much more. We once again were able to avoid any hassle with airline travel and things went smoothly. (Pics will be posted eventually.)A big thank you to my parents for watching Nessa.

--Way back in April we passed the one year mark for having our van. We love it A LOT and are still happy we went with the Grand Caravan (with DVD player), but at the same time we're looking forward to downsizing in a couple of years when the lease is up. We were happy that it was not too difficult to stay within the milage allowance for the lease.

--We now have Harmony ... at least in the laundry room. After our old washing machine clunked out earlier this Spring (if you didn't hear me complaining, it was because I was spending too much time at the laundry mat for a month), we purchased a GE Harmony Profile washer and dryer set, and we're thrilled with it. Honestly the deciding factor was that the washer was a "dented" floor model (in quotes because you can't really see the dent so I don't think it counts, but I was happy to take the discount). I now have an even larger capacity washer than before, and that's saying something; however, this one uses much less water which is a very good thing. :-)

--I joined Nessa on the gluten free diet after being frustrated with both the tests available to do on my and what the results were that I was getting and how my health was doing. Ever since pulling back from the very strict no wheat diet of almost two years ago now (original allergy testing dx) I haven't been able to get things under control digestion wise no matter what therapies I tried. So, after reading over and over that tests can sometimes be inaccurate and seeing what happened with Nessa's testing, I decided to let the difference in diet be my test for awhile. There are some new tests I can explore out of pocket or something new can come up in the future, but for now I'm satisfied that my feeling better is enough of a positive test result for me. So, while I do not know for sure if I am a diagnosed Celiac, I do know that gluten (wheat, rye, barley) makes me sick so at the very least I'm very gluten sensitive and need to avoid it the same way that a celiac does. It is an advantage to already have incentive to make the house gluten free (Nessa's diagnosis -- even more important in a child for everything I hear/read/am told). So, both Nessa and I seem to be responding well to the gluten free diet.

--Megan is down to the wire with school -- 11 days left last I heard, and I think they are all field trips or parties! She has decided/been assigned to play the trumpet next year for band so I'm looking forward to hearing her practice already. :-) She's looking forward to a fun, not overly scheduled, summer (no summer camps this year...at least that we know of today!).

Well that's about half of something...

Have a happy and safe start to the summer!

As if the winter wasn't long enough...

This Monday morning we're getting snow! Okay, so it could be worse and anyone even a wee bit farther north will probably tell me so, but still ... yuck!

There were faint little flakes Saturday morning, but today it's actually settling into little white mounds in the colder areas of the ground (not the streets or sidewalks at this point). Luckily we had a nice weekend in spite of the "doesn't quite feel like Spring" weather. From helping Megan w/ a school project that included my first transfer from our camcorder to CD via computer (Friday night), to a Saturday that went from early morning rummage sales to a night at the theater with Megan and her friend, and a Sunday afternoon that included reading an entire (fiction!) book while Nessa napped (so what if if it was Megan's new book that I wanted to make sure was appropriate, it still counts ... and it was a good book).

If I don't freeze while working in this cold house today, I might get around to posting pics soon.

It's A Good Thing It's Spring...

... 'cause if this is spring, I can't take any more winter.

My beautiful river view at work currently consists of snow flying horizontally across the window. This is never good.

The sky is so grey I can't see the bluffs on the far side of the Mississippi. Temperatures are a good 15-20 degrees below average for this time of year. All I can do is sit here and think of Jimmy Buffet songs: "Boat Drinks", "One Particular Harbor", and others.

I remember it snowing in early May in Northfield MN when I was a freshman in college, but other than that this is the latest I can remember it snowing. And yet, thanks to all the moisture we've been getting, my lawn is green and the dandelions have already started to appear.

I don't suppose there's any chance that the snow will kill the dandelions...

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone ...







You can see many more attempts at Easter morning pictures on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooksgroth/tags/easter/

A little bit that went on at our house this morning:

Tami: Is that snow?
Shawn? Yes, it is. It's just enough to snow to say "Happy Easter ... wear your boots."

Then as Tami was trying to get out the door with the girls, Nessa stepped out the door and a chunk of ice melting off the roof promptly fell on her head!

Then ...

We were in church, up toward the very front as usual, when Nessa looked at me and said, "I don't know how to be quiet." I tried very hard not to laugh (I had prepared her for great things happening if she made it through church since there isn't a staffed nursery on Easter, but apparently I left out the part about HOW to do it.) So, I looked at Megan in desperation and then Nessa looked at Megan and said, "Please take me out now." We hesitated so she repeated it again and again, and ... Thankfully Megan took her out. We hadn't even made it through any of the snacks or fun quiet toys so I'm pretty sure our girl is just too smart for her pants and knew the gig and played it well. I'm not sure how we're going to handle it in the summer.

Wait until you hear about how she ate her marshmallow peep this morning...

Easter Egg Hunt and Nessa's "pretties"

Saturday was the Easter Egg hunt at church. The rain meant it was indoors. Luckily they also had crafts for the kids to do (and a movie later). These events are great ... and we hope someday Nessa will actually show that she's having fun.

Shawn took the girls over to church while I got some work done ... Nessa said she was having fun, but apparently she never actually looked like she was having fun. I think she still doesn't feel comfortable around lots of other people and noise and unfamiliar situations (even though the church itself is very familiar to Nessa).

Above Megan is working on her art project and Nessa is just kind of looking at hers. Later at home Megan helped Nessa with her project.



This morning (Sunday April 1) Megan had time to put "pretties" in Nessa's hair. Nessa was so proud of her clips and pony tail so she was showing us and we took pictures.

Nessa's "Cheese" in the picture below reminds me SO MUCH of Megan's cheesy look at the same age when we took pictures.



Nessa loved the fact that she had bunnies on her dress today and was hopping around all the time.

Nessa will now also say she's going to be 2 on her birthday. This is great as when we first started talking about it, she insisted she was going to be 3 ("NO, THREE!").

Both of our girls continue to amaze and delight us!

Rainy weekend and bunny cakes and more

As unexpectedly beautiful as last weekend was, this weekend has been damp, cold (in the sense of Spring coldness) and rainy ... rain, rain go away rain ... although when the sun comes out again we should see lots of green grass! Megan said it's the rain that makes it feel like Spring to her. :-)

The rain made it the perfect Saturday for Megan to spend a few hours baking. :-)

After Yoga Saturday morning we heard that there was a need for more items for the bake sale at church on Sunday. I looked at Megan and she immediately agreed that she could make some things. During lunch we talked about what to make. I didn't want it to get too complicated ...

Megan made chocolate chip cookies and then she found a recipe in a kid's cookbook for bunny cakes where the bunny face is made out of marshmallows and I thought it looked easy enough. We actually followed the recipe and made a 9 by 13 cake and cut it into pieces and decorated each piece with a bunny face but if/when I/Megan do it again I will do it as cup cakes instead (or suggest that to Megan). I think they would look much cuter as cupcakes and would be easier as well.

Below is a picture of the bunny cakes in case anyone wants to make some (just make and frost whatever kind of cake you want to use (we used chocolate) and then cut a marshmallow in half and use half for the face and cut the other half in half again to use for ears, and finally draw the face with a toothpick dipped into food coloring).




Here is Megan proudly holding some of the pieces of cake before she took them over to the church!



Megan also spent a lot of time Saturday playing with Nessa and helping around the house! We're so proud of Megan!!! :-)

Something Like Spring

Something Like Spring …

Anyone in the area knows what wonderful weather we’ve been having lately … I was all ready to post a glorious Spring post at the end of last week … and then the last few days have been way above normal high temperatures (“mom, can I wear shorts today?”) … today and the rest of the week it is supposed to return to more normal temperatures and there is a chance of showers for the next several days … and by the weekend it could be downright cold again … ah yes, it is indeed something like Spring here. :-)

I love it. In fact I think spring has become my favorite time of the year. I didn’t want to admit it before this year because I just felt like I was betraying the fall. And while Autumn still has its own glory, especially in an area full of fall color, it is a time of dying and coming darkness and cold … while Spring is a time of life and rebirth …

Friday night we were blessed with the company of a good friend and her new husband. ;-) It was a wonderful night of catching up and getting to know … and Nessa showed us that, like most kids, she knew how to go into prime “show off” mode when someone new comes to visit. It was quite hilarious watching her as she did everything but sit still.

Saturday I spent the afternoon in Red Wing with my sisters and even though that day was much cooler than we had expected, it was still a glorious day complete with a slow lazy lunch and much shopping as we wandered through the small river town. Even the drive was wonderful as the rain held off and I was able to listen to whatever I wanted (much NPR and a Maggie’s Farm CD). That night Shawn and I went to LCT’s production of “You Can’t Take it With You.” It was a full and wonderful day.

Sunday surprised us with glorious sun and record-breaking temps (83 in La Crosse I believe) so I felt a bit guilty as I had to nap a bit when Nessa did to recover from my (food) indulgences the previous day. After we were fully rested we hit the school play ground with the girls and had lots of fun as Nessa followed Megan around wanting to do everything she did and nothing else. We managed to trick Nessa into walking home without the pouting of previous park outings this year by first walking on the sidewalk away from our usual route to and from the playground (mom: “Nessa, where do you think this sidewalk goes? Let’s find out.”) and before we knew it we had gone on an adventure around the school, over a block, and down the street back home. :-)

Yesterday after my Monday appointments and getting a little work in, we decided that having a second day of record breaking temps in a row (I kept checking the calendar to be sure it was really March), deserved a nice long walk down by Riverside Park. Megan and I picked up Nessa as early as we could and headed down to Riverside where Shawn met us after work. We all walked along the river and then Shawn went to find us some food for a picnic supper while Megan, Nessa and I walked a mile or so down the trail. Nessa was actually very happy to be in the stroller and she kept pointing out all of the runners, bikers and others using the trail too. We almost lost the only sun hat the fits Nessa right now while Megan and I were chatting and reading a trail sign, but luckily we found it on our way back. (I’m sure this is similar to how Nessa lost her first blanket.) When we returned from the trail Nessa ran around the International Friendship Garden area a bit and demonstrated her new climbing skills as she went up and down the benches. And then it was time to eat and head back home.

Even at home we couldn’t quite let the day go so at about 7 p.m. we were all sitting in the front yard eating ice cream (or something like ice cream in my case). Nessa kept finishing what I gave her and wanting more. :-) Then Megan rolled down the hill over and over and Nessa watched and played on her own while only occasionally seeming like she was going to try to roll down the hill … by the time summer arrives I’m sure she’ll become and expert at it.

While Megan wasted no time finding her shorts and wearing them to school on Monday … Nessa has had a bit harder time transitioning. At first the spring “watermelon” coat was interesting enough to be exciting to wear, but apparently the novelty has worn off and today she insisted on wearing her PINK coat (i.e. her winter coat AND hat) … yesterday it was challenging to convince her to not wear sweatpants as well and she insisted on wearing that spring coat while we were out walking even though it was sunny and 80! Toddlers are so much fun! :-)

I promise there will be lots of pictures posted before the end of March!

Until then, enjoy a bit of Spring poetry:


Spring is like a perhaps hand by E. E. Cummings
III

Spring is like a perhaps hand
(which comes carefully
out of Nowhere)arranging
a window,into which people look(while
people stare
arranging and changing placing
carefully there a strange
thing and a known thing here)and

changing everything carefully

spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and fro moving New and
Old things,while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
an inch of air there)and

without breaking anything