A Day Off...

The boys have had the week off so I played hooky today so we could go on a field trip. We took off for the Children's Museum in Iowa City where we met up with an old friend of mine from college and her adorable baby. Going anywhere with my 2 boys is always an adventure and today was no exception. Lou and I were transported by 2 adorable EMTs in the museum ambulance who dutifully took X Rays of all our injured parts and wrapped them up tight.  We held on tight as they tried to take us on a ride in the flight simulator and were grateful recipients of a oven baked pizza served by an adorable waiter. Despite the gloomy weather... we had a fabulous time at the museum. The highlight of the day for me was getting to row with Lou in the practice tank at the new boathouse in Iowa City today. There is something special about people who have known you as long as you have known yourself and I am rejuvinated after my day of fun with my boys and my friend.

Big Day

Today, it has been 5 months since I fell off my bike. Prior to the accident, I had decided I would not play my instrument anymore because of the problems it was causing with my jaw. This was a very hard decision and after playing for 25yrs. It was very much like a death for me. I was surprised at how sad I was about it. Once I fell off my bike, I was sure I would never play again but this time it wasn't my choice, it was decided for me and I didn't like. I talked to a few people who had some good suggestions on how to make playing not cause problems with my jaw SO once I got to the point in my occupational therapy where I could function with my arm on a daily basis I started looking towards playing again.

When I got my cast off mid-September, I could not flip my palm up at all and by December I had only made it slightly further. After 5 long months of a LOT of OT (including "the rack" pictured below) I finally had the courage to pick up my instrument and give it a try.  The VIDEO (click here)is the result. This is a big achievement for me and something I was not sure was possible.Maybe the accident forced me to realize that I do love playing my violin enough to find a way to make it work.

I am still not finished getting my arm back completely but I am getting closer everyday. I am hopeful that this instrument, which is so much of who I am, will help me along the way.

Back At Work...

As I was looking ahead to this school year with both boys in school everyday, I knew I would be working a lot more than I had since Quinn was born but I didn't know what e.xactly I would be working at. Subbing made the most sense but it is not a job I love (or even like for that matter). Two weeks ago a friend of mine asked me if I would be interested in teaching 3 year old preschool for the duration of the year to which I said "Sure! Why not!". So, on Monday I started teaching this adorable group of 3 year olds. I am surprised at how much fun I am having and how happy they seem with their new teacher. The hours are great and it involves a steady paycheck and lots of hugs. Who wouldn't love a job like this.

Hello BB gun!

Today was the much anticipated scout camp day. Quinn and I drove through the beautiful fall Iowa countryside straight to Boy Scout day camp which oozes so much testosterone it can be detected miles away (no, I have no actual proof of this but I am sure of it none the less). The highlight of the day for Quinn was the 2nd of 6 stops today, the BB gun shooting. He was able to control his excitement long enough to listen carefully to all the safety instructions and then the long awaited moment arrived, he pulled the trigger. As you can see, he hit the paper holding the target and could not be more proud. To commemorate the event he will get his 1st belt loop (equivalent to a patch for a girl scout) for BB shooting.

We got to make a bird feeder out of pine cones and leave it in the woods for the birds, just in time for winter. There was a fort that we pummeled with tennis balls launched out of catapults and the last stop was the fishing pond where we caught a large mouth bass.

The highlight of the day for me was being immersed in all things boy and seeing my son love all of it. It isn't often we are able to spend the day on his turf with few rules and no reason to reign him in. I am glad to see my son be a part of this organization that understands boys like I do not and look forward to more days like this in the future.

PS- if you look closely at the fishing picture you will notice I am holding the fishing pole with a much improved left hand! Hurray!

Return of the Starbucks Whore

As many of you know, I have had a slight problem with drinking Starbucks in the past. I really thought I had curbed my addiction but this latest escapade shows that I still have a ways to go.

I was in the Dallas airport flying back home and really wanted a cupa of joe to take with me. There she was at Gate D5, the shining green siren beconing me in to have a peppermint mocha to go. My flight was leaving out of D10, not that far away, so it seemed written in the stars, I should definately splurge, but only a tall. This ended up being a rookie mistake for someone with the use of only one arm who is toting a purse, backpack and wheeley suitcase. How exactly did I think I was going to get all my luggage AND my sinfully delicious treat the 5 gates to my plane. After much contemplation about which people might be going my way and be willing to tote my coffee for me I opted for plan B. I would MAKE my hand carry this coffee. It resisted with the full weight of the yumminess but after sipping at D5 until about half was gone the hand relented and actually carried the cup all the way to D10 where I savored the rest of the cup and praised my left hand. The Starbucks whore definately strikes again. I am including my physical therapist in the distribution for this post so he knows how to properly motivate me in the future.

The Best Birthday Gift Ever!!!!

Ok, as birthday's go... only children generally have it made. The entire family waits all year for your birthday and usually goes all out. My birthday has been a huge celebration for as long as I can remember but as the years have progressed the emphasis on the day has generally regressed, not by my choice but just becuase that's what happens when you get older and have your own kids. Honestly, I have been a little melancholy about the lack of empasis on my birthday in the recent past and have reduced my expectations dramatically. This year, I expected a small gathering at my mom's with cake and a few presents but no big deal. Well, that is what was on MY calendar but a few other people had much bigger plans.

After delivering food to people in the pouring rain and looking like a wet dog I came home to house all decked out for a party and lots of chairs around a couple of tables. I was especially curious to see the portable baby booster as one of the seats around the table. My curiousity lead me down and path of pondering... WHO might Jim have invited to my birthday that has a BABY!? I could only think of one person but the possibilities of that person arriving at my house were near impossible since she lives many hours away and has 4 children. As I redid my hair and make up from the drenching they had been through I kept peeking out the window to see who might be arriving at my house. Finally, I peek out to see Jim driving up the driveway with my dearest friend Katie in the front seat of the car waving with her super happy smile and 2 of her 4 beautiful babies in the back. I instantly turned into a pile of mush with tears flowing from my eyes at the happiness I felt. What better gift could I have asked for than for one of the most special people to have ever come into my life to arrive at my doorstep for my birthday. Katie was only able to stay about 18 hours which is far too short but I will cherish every minute spent laughing with her face to face and seeing our children play like old friends for the rest of my life. 34 is not a big birthday but it will be one I remember and cherish always. Thank you, my precious friend, for this gift.

This is Ava, Katie's 4 yr old. Nolan cried harder than any of us when his new pal Ava left.

How many 5 dollar foot longs are you?

This morning as we were getting ready for our day Quinn said "Nolan, you are as big as 2 five dollar foot longs!!!". We all had a good laugh and tried to decide how many 5 dollar foot longs it might take to be my size! The answer is 5 and a half, in case you were curious. :)

Emergency! Chase of the Chihuahua

{Picture 1970’s TV show "Emergency"}
This morning as we were driving down the street we noticed a lady running down the sidewalk in her church clothes and several cars stopped in the same spot. It caught our attention but couldn't figure out what was happening. We kept driving and about 5 blocks later we saw a small brown and white long haired chihuahua making a break for it down the sidewalk of the very busy street. We pulled over to see if we could get the dog to come to us, which didn't work. Things only got worse for the chihuahuah as he decided he should move from the sidewalk to running IN the road. Jim straddled both lanes of traffic with his hazards on, laying on the horn, swerving from side to side to stop people from passing and hoping to corral the dog back onto the sidewalk and it worked! Jim scared the dog enough with the horn to get him off the road and down someone's driveway where 4 cars of complete strangers managed to catch the dog and return it to it's tearful owner. Looks like this Chihuahua's Milo and Otis days are over.
Nice work good Samaritans of Des Moines, give yourselves a pat on the back.

All Things Better

Well, the sickies are almost completely gone and I am feeling much better. Unfortunately, the sickies caused me to break one of my all time favorite rules... that the house must be clean before going on vacation so that when you come home it seems as if the cleaning fairy came and cleaned your beautiful house. As we were leaving for Texas Jim was busy with work & I was sick and had various mom things to take care of before leaving, and the boys... well you know they are not going to say "Mom, how can I help clean the house before we leave?". Cleaning the house was NOT going to get done. When we rolled into the driveway late on Monday night, a car to unpack and tired kids to get to bed I was very very sad to see that the cleaning fairy had not come to visit at the Lynch's. After getting every other immediate need met (ie: groceries, laundry, etc) I am happy to say that the 1st floor of the house is totally clean, purged of winter sandiness and grime. The 2nd floor is tolerable All that makes me one happy mama. Now, I can go enjoy my cup of coffee and play outside for the rest of the morning until it's time to dirty the kitchen with lunch preparations!

Happy 1st Day of Spring everyone!!!

Laundry Quarters

Does the title of this post bring back nostalgic memories of the days when you used the laundromat? I didn't think so.

Today's post is about the handy skills of the Lynchs. I am sure many of you are saying...WHAT?! The Lynchs are not handy!

WRONG! We ARE handy!

Yesterday, as we were running 1 of our many many loads of dirty laundry, the washer suddenly made a terrible noise like someone stuck a piece of metal in a fan while it was running. This is not good for a fan and certainly can NOT be good for a washer. After successfully repairing our fancy (yet crappy) dishwasher a few weeks ago we decided that we would give it a try on the washer. I started scouring the internet for a solution to our washer noise. It seems that most people who reported hearing the awful grinding had a coin or some other foreign object in the drain pump. Everyone said, "It was simple to remove the drain pump, dump the coin and put it back in!". So, surely the Lynchs can do that. After unstacking the dryer from the top of the washer in a closet that is only about 2" wider than the W/D itself, getting to the bottom of the washer and unscrewing the 4 screws... sure enough it was a quarter causing all the ruckus. We successfully reassembled the washer and restacked the unreasonably tight fitting dryer and ran the test load. IT WORKED! Thus proving my theory...

The Lynch ARE in fact handy!

Now on to the treadmill...it seems that the walking belt is in need of replacement.