Update on hand- I am NOT a wimp!

I went back to my hand surgeon Friday morning to have the inital cast/splint/wrappings taken off. I was a little bit concerned about my wimpiness factor because I have still been experiencing some pain and achiness in the hand. Once again, I assumed that because it was a simple cyst removal, that all these issues should have resolved within a week or so. Trust me, people in the medical profession make the WORST patients.

When the nurse cut off the wrappings and left the room, the first thing I did was whip out my cell phone, take pictures of my wrist and send said pictures off to all my friends and family. Doing that was so much easier than calling each person individually to let them know how my hand was doing. Plus I figured I could get some major sympathy brownie points from my hubby who had just gotten home after a two week business trip!! Isn't technology a great thing? What I really found amusing (and what I had forgotten) is that in purple permanent marker on that wrist is the word "yes". In other words ,"Hey doc, this hand, not the other one!"

Dr. Danis came in, checked the wrist, pronounced that the incision looked good and changed me out to a new splint that I can actually take off to shower. No more wrapping my arm up to my elbow in the lovely blue newspaper holder plastic bags! Woohoo! I have to wear this splint 24/7 for a minimum of two weeks and then we will see how my wrist is doing. I did question him about the continued pain I was having and he informed me that because the base of my cyst was extremely wide, he had to do more than what is usually done for a normal ganglione cyst removal. (Of course, why would I ever think that anything pertaining to me would be normal??) He actually had to rough up the bone and stick the ligament against it to try to seal off the cyst capsule in addition to a bunch of stiches on the inside of the incision. As nasty as that sounds, I felt better hearing that there was a real reason for the pain and I am not just a wimp.

Thank you to everyone who kept me in their thoughts and my family/friends who helped me out during these last few weeks!

8 years ago

Eight years ago (yesterday) I met my husband to be. I was the designated driver at a charity golf outing and he was on one of the teams directly behind us. We hit it off extremely well and I ended up giving him my phone number, even though it was only one digit at a time so he had to follow me and my girlfriends from club to club that night to get the whole thing. Hey, I was nice, at least I gave it to him in the right order.

So I guess the tally is eight years, one day, two kids ,two houses and counting. I wonder what he would say if he was asked about it.

:)

She may have her father's eyes but.....

Mak sure has Mommy's wicked sense of humor!

Trav is due back from his business trip late on Thursday night which also just happens to be his birthday so I took the kids shopping tonight to get him some presents. We went to Kohl's and I told them they could pick out whatever they wanted to be their present to Daddy. Tyus is just thrilled to be out in public after a week of stuck in the house with one handed Mommy. He picks out a new pancake turner for Daddy with just a teensy weensy bit of steering from me. Makayla takes this birthday shopping trip much more seriously or at least so I thought. She wants to go look at dress shirts and ties "You know, for Daddy's work". I agree and we all meander over towards the men's department. At this point, I am just trying to control the boy, who is dancing up and down the aisles with the glee that only a five year old is capable of. I look up and realize I have lost Makayla somewhere between housewares and the tie racks. I turn around to see her several feet behind me standing in front of a rack of sleep shorts with a huge grin on her face.

This is the present she picked out for Daddy. All I can say is "That's my girl!!"

There's no place like home!

I was looking for a new picture to load as my desktop background and came across these shots from Halloween 07. It made me stop and think truly, there is no place like home!

My cast is on til when??

As some of you may know, I had surgery on my right wrist this past Tuesday to remove a cyst. I figured it would be no big deal. After all, I have had numerous surgeries for my endometriosis and a csection. How can one minor surgery on my hand be any worse than those? Boy, I couldn't have been further from reality in my thinking! I realize now exactly how much I take for granted with not having the use of my right hand. Even the simplest of tasks (opening a jar of peanut butter) is a major undertaking. I have been relying on the kindness of my family and inlaws to help me with just about everything. Need to take a shower? Got to have someone there to help me cover the wrappings on my right arm with plastic bags. Need to give Tyus a bath? Better call my mother in law to come over because I can't get my arm wet. Need to go somewhere? Better call my sister to see if she can play taxi for me. Need to sign off on Mak's homework? Better have her hold the paper steady and pray the teacher doesn't think she forged my name because I am writing with my left hand!

I have my follow up appointment on Friday and I am praying they will take all of the wrappings/braces/tape off then. I did get a picture of me with the hairdo Mak did for me today. Gotta love her, she is trying so hard to help mommy out. So here are the pics of my arm (check out the poor swollen little fingers) and me looking just about as unseccymama as I can possibly be! I'll just call this my mommy mugshot cuz it's not very flattering!

I can't wait til Friday!

The sock monkeys are coming!!

I am one of those people who think sock monkeys are way cute. When we got one in the mail for Makayla from Sarah at I Blame My Mother for her bloggy carnival giveaway, things in our household were about to get very interesting. Makayla fell in love with "Pinky" immediately and Tyus was equally enamored. I was impressed with how nicely made Pinky is. Sarah is very talented! I can barely sew a button back onto a shirt, let alone make an adorable stuffed animal out of a sock. Sigh.

Anyway, as any mother of more than one knows, it's hard to have one child get a new toy and the other not want it too. Therefore, I made my way into the Etsy world and found another talented mommy who makes sock monkeys.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6915139

Ashleigh at asher82281.etsy.com was a complete joy to work with. When I told her I was looking for a sock monkey for my son, she sent me pictures of all the socks she had available. I picked out a really cute green argyle sock, sent Ashleigh an email and Voila! Two days later my son is doing the happy dance in the living room with "Hearty", his very own sock monkey. The little details on Hearty, like the heart shaped nose, the curly tail and his own little fuzzy scarf makes him a true gem. But hey, don't just take my word for it. Head on over and check out all of Ashleigh's quirky little buddies! These would make perfect Easter basket buddies and you are supporting a work at home mommy to boot!

The moral of the story is I now have two very happy children and two wonderful handmade sock monkeys to grace their rooms. All is well in the world!

Thanks Samantha at As They Grow Up!

I was lucky enough to win a wonderful blog review giveaway from As They Grow Up. I received a case of Inko's White tea via the adorable UPS man today! I had hand surgery on Tuesday and had been feeling a little bit stir crazy, not being able to drive to get out and very limited on my typing/computer surfing abilities so this was a wonderful pick me up. My kiddos were excited too, Tyus mostly because he opened the box, spread the packing peanuts out on the floor and made "snow angels" in them! Mak was excited because there were two tshirts in thebox and she promptly claimed the small one as her own. As for me, I popped open a bottle of the Cherry Vanilla tea which reminded me of a softer version of a Cherry Icee....YUM!

Ah, the little things in life that make me happy.

What have you done?

I saw this on someone's blog and loved it so I had to add it to mine. My "dones" are in pink! What have you done?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Visited Ground Zero in New York City
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Alone with the kiddos for two weeks

My husband had to go out of town for two weeks on business. He just left and already the house seems emptier. On top of that, I have surgery scheduled for an excision of a ganglione cyst on my right hand which means I will be in a cast for the next week! Oh, what a world! Makayla has graciously offered to do my hair for me so I can't wait to show up at work in her version of my everyday updo...lol. But it is so sweet of her to want to help. Tyus kind of gets that I have to get the cyst removed and that I won't be able to do much with my right hand for the next few weeks. My sister is going to stay with me for the first week that Travis is gone, thank goodness for that! I am not looking forward to trying to do a lot of things left handed. I tried to do the simple task of brushing my teeth with my left hand and just about took all the gums off my teeth by hitting them with the toothbrush. To say the least, these next few weeks should be interesting!

First Blog- WOOHOO!

Please be kind! This is my first foray into the world of blogging. I have been a reader, a follower and now want to be a participant! Wish me luck and lots of patience!

Let me introduce myself-

Hi! My name is Cat! Nice to meet ya! I am married seccymama with two beautiful kiddos:

Mak-who is ten going on twenty two
Ty- who is five and loves driving his sissy crazy!

I work full time in a large medical practice so time management is always an issue around my house. I love to travel and do it mostly with my younger sister. I have a huge "want to have to need to see" list and I cannot wait until my kids are old enough to travel with me and enjoy it!

My everyday life is hectic to say the least. I am always looking to meet new people and learn new ideas on how to be the best seccymama I can possibly be!

So please, introduce yourself, send me a blog link, share your thoughts with me and I will gladly share mine with you!

:) Cat