After church today, Hubs shot these photos. I love them. They totally capture the kids’ personalities! I am so lucky to be married to a photographer.

The shoulder surgery went fine. What I didn’t expect, however, was how painful early recovery would be. On the bright side, I’ve already started physical therapy, and while it left me a little sore, it also served to give me a goal to work toward.

I’ve spent the past week watching HGTV and the Food Network, the end result being a sudden and fervent desire to to cook and revamp.

Too bad I’ve been hit with inspiration when I have only one functioning arm. Or maybe that’s why all of this domestic crap now sounds … appealing … ?

So tomorrow the doctor will repair this blasted shoulder.

Which is good, in that I hate being in limbo and I’m ready to get started on the long process of restoring this part of my body.

The bad? Well, I’m kind of coward when it comes to surgery.

I’ve had it before: double bunionectomy, in 2001.

But that was before kids. And also? That time I came to while they were removing the breathing tube. Trust me. That is NOT the way you want to wake up. And once I could breathe again, I immediately felt like I was going to throw up. Luckily, the nurse understood why I was pointing at my stomach and immediately dumped the appropriate meds into my IV.

But this will be a whole different ballgame, mainly because this time around, I’m a mother.

On the bright side, Hubs is a great cook. On the negative, I won’t be able to snuggle both kids at the same time. Or do all of the things I normally do with them, especially on weekends, when we go adventuring. (Hubs works most weekends, so I’m the primary parent on Saturdays and Sundays.)

As I understand it, I’ll be in a sling for several weeks and physical therapy for several months. Oh, and no Zumba, which is going to drive me crazy because I LOVE my Zumba classes.

Anyway, wish me luck! Will report back in the next few days. (Yes, I can type one-handed.)

 

So yesterday, I took the kids to Chili’s for lunch, figuring that afterward we would run errands in preparation for today’s Girl Scouts Milk & Cookies w/ the Mayor.

That did not happen.

Instead, while I was calculating the tip, the E-man decided he was cold. He pulled his arms inside his t-shirt. Then he pulled his knees into his chest and pulled the shirt down over his legs.

So when he lost his balance and fell out of our booth, he had no free appendages to help catch his fall.

The E-man landed smack on his face and forehead.

I leaped across the booth, spilling water everywhere, in my effort to get to him.

There was much hysteria. Screaming. Crying. Oh, and the blood. Which was spewing from his nose.

People, this fall was so awful, there was a collective gasp from the booths around us. Everyone — not just me — freaked the eff out.

A manager escorted us to the restroom, where I tried to staunch the flow of blood while assessing the E-man’s head injury.

The manager brought us a huge bag of ice, a towel and wads of tissue.

To the manager and patrons of Chili’s: I know we seriously disrupted lunch. I apologize especially for the copious amounts of blood.

Once the E-man calmed down, I walked him back to the table, where Tootie was waiting, gathered our belongings and headed for the door.

I knew we needed to get that rapidly rising bump on the E-man’s head checked out.

As we left, two women who had witnessed his tumble asked if I was taking him to the ER.

“We’re nurses,” one said. “You need to get him looked at.”

And thus the mama panic truly set in.

All the way to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the E-man sobbed, telling me how much his head hurt. I told him to take deep breaths. I even counted aloud to five with him during those breaths.

There were a LOT of people at Children’s. We waited there nearly five hours to see a doctor. But everyone — from the staff to the other parents — was super-nice. I got to know a lot of people yesterday, that’s for sure!

The E-man, thankfully, was fine.

In fact, we went from this:

To this:

Despite the doctor’s assurances, I made the E-man sleep with me and even woke him up in the middle of the night. Because, yes. I am paranoid when it comes to head injuries.

As for his mama?

Well, let’s just say she made herself a very potent cocktail.