Another Proud Moment in Motherhood

Getting Robby to school on time is my number one priority each morning. To my frustration (and it turns out my embarrassment) I failed miserably in my objective, and Robby was 15 minutes late for school. Yesterday morning was not my finest hour as a mother.

The morning started out completely normal. Other than Robby continually lamenting the fact that the two-hour delay he had hoped for never materialized, the routine was uneventful. He was dressed, teeth and hair were brushed and his lunch was made without a hitch. Per our routine, we grabbed our coats and headed to the car.

Our front door has a significant draft and we had it blocked to keep the cold air outside. I didn't want to disturb the draft buster and let the frigid temperatures invade our already chilly home, so we opted to use the downstairs slider. It turns out that this seemingly logical decision would have repercussions that impacted the rest of my morning.

I proceeded down the second flight of stairs as I devised a mental list of everything I needed to accomplish throughout the day. After ordering "Dave the ghost" to leave the room, something which I now do out of habit, Robby finally came bouncing down the stairs.  I must say, he was surprisingly happy about going to school despite his vocal disappointment about having an on-time start. We turned the corner and I reached for the handle to the door. My good morning vibe immediately changed.

About 8 inches from my foot I saw a large dead mouse. In the moment I could have sworn it was the world's largest rodent, but in actuality it was probably only 3 inches long. I wish I could say that my I swiftly cleaned up the carcass and we continued to school without missing a beat. Intellectually I know that the mouse could not harm me. After all, the little creature had already met the our feline assassin and logically posed no threat.

Unfortunately, I was startled by the discovery.  As I've come to realize, my response to being scared is anything but heroic. I screamed loudly, froze my position and regrettably release my bladder. Yes, I screamed like a little girl and peed my pants when I saw a dead mouse.

Robby was much braver than me, taking the rodent discovery in stride. He reaped praise on Charlie for making the kill and watched SpongeBob while I took a shower and changed my clothes.  We were late for school because of my urine malfunction.  I suppose I could have been vague in his excuse, but I figured that he was probably going to tell everybody that he was late because his Momom peed her pants, so I figured I would just own the incident.  With as much dignity as I could feign, I handed over the following note:  "Please excuse Robby's tardiness this morning. I saw a mouse, peed my pants and had to take a shower."  The Principal laughed when she read the note and instructed Robby to go to his classroom.  She was still smiling (and I am fairly certain I heard her giggle) when I picked him up later that afternoon.


**Happy moment #4- Scooter driving in single digit temperatures because I was craving an ice cream cake.

Polar Air

I must give props to my amputee friends living in cold weather climates. After experiencing the 0 degree true temperatures yesterday, I am in awe of their abilities to live happy and productive lives. Much of my day was spent cuddled up under a blanket in front of the fire place insert trying to purge the chill from my bones.

It required a Herculean effort to crawl out of my warm bed yesterday morning. Robby was already awake and asking for the fire to be lit, so I grabbed my liner and immediately retreated back under the covers. It was freezing cold! I suppose I played my pregnant amputee card, but I shooed Scott out of bed to start the fire. I tucked the liner under the electric blanket where it could warm under the covers.

I ventured outside once yesterday for a visit to my prosthetist.  Had I not been scheduled to start building my new pregnancy leg, I probably would have cancelled and continued to hibernate. Alas, the motivation to achieve prosthetic comfort outweighed my desire to stay warm. One step into the arctic air immediately made me reconsider my decision. 

Although I tried to minimize the exposure, taking the trash to the end of the driveway and walking to my car was evidently enough time for an intense cramp to develop in my limb. The cold wicked up the pylon transporting the frigid temperatures directly to the bottom of my socket. I cranked up the heat in my car, but it was to little avail. By the time I arrived at my prosthetist's office, the bottom of my limb was a brilliant shade of reddish purple from the extreme cold.

Thankfully it did not take long for my limb to warm up and to return to a normal flesh tone, but the experience reminded me of the importance of always being prepared. I had donned my heavy coat, gloves, hat and scarf for the trip outside, but I failed to make any weather accommodations for my prosthesis. Hindsight is 20/20, but I should have gone to the effort of throwing a hand warmer in the bottom of my socket before stepping outside.  I have no doubt that a little preparation would have saved me a lot of discomfort. Granted, I tend to have more intense reactions to cold than many of my amputee friends. That being acknowledged, this extreme cold has me miserable!

** Day 3.  Happiness is having your son make dinner on his "stay home from school becaus

Martian Air

So much for getting back into the swing of a schedule. Both Scott and Robby will be home again today although this time it is due to temperature instead of precipitation.  The news of the cancellation came before either had completed their first day back. Needless to say, I had two extremely happy boys last night!

Robby is utterly obsessed with the cold temperatures. Together we have been researching exposure times before frostbite sets in (approximately 6 minutes in the expected temperatures) as well as drawing comparisons to experiences to which he can relate. (I always log onto my Hotspot VPN before doing any internet searches. Not only do I want to protect my own search records, but I feel that it is important to model internet safety for my son.) One fascinating frigid tidbit is that it is colder outside than it is inside our freezer. My little budding scientist is particularly impressed with the fact that the temperatures in Virginia today are expected to be colder than those experienced on Mars. He has concluded that they have better coats on Mars so their students probably still have school.

While Robby and Scott play XBox, watch cartoons and (hopefully) keep the fire insert cranking, I will be braving the temperatures and visiting my prosthetist. I have an appointment to get casted for my pregnancy leg. Although I don't relish the idea of venturing into the cool Martian air, starting the process for my leg makes it worthwhile.

I actually haven't gained weight during this pregnancy (apparently I had enough to spare so the doctors aren't concerned about the baby's growth), the shape of my limb has significantly changed. My current legs are difficult and painful to don often taking me up to 15 minutes to obtain suction and a fit I can tolerate. As I go through the day, it becomes more bearable, but I haven't been comfortable for several weeks. I'm looking forward to not cramping, pinching and feeling like a squeezed sausage when I wear my prosthesis. 

My OB seemed taken aback when I asked for a prescription for my new leg, but she was the logical physician to write the order. My swelling has been well-documented in the records and, should my insurance company balk at the request, I am confident that we have covered our bases. Although I am confident we would win an appeal, I am hoping that I won't have to fight this battle! Of course, I am hormonal and that does tend to intensify my inner warrior.


** Day 2 in my #100happydays challenge.  Hockey season started last night!

Man Vacuum

To my delight (and shock) the Christmas decorations were taken down and stowed by Friday afternoon. I find it astounding how much roomier our living room feels without the ginormous tree, assorted decorations and large snowman countdown to Christmas calendar. I am making a concerted effort to enjoy the space because I know it will quickly be occupied with plastic army men, tanks, Legos and Robby's new favorite obsession- dominos. 

Packing up all of our festive decor only took a fraction of the time that it usually takes me because I had two eager helpers. Robby wanted to undress the tree, carefully placing the ornaments into various boxes based upon an organization system that only he understands. Scott just acquired a new toy, a large wet/dry vacuum, and he was chomping at the bit to put the machine through its paces. If I had known that I only needed colorful boxes and an imposingly large vacuum to get the boys motivated, I would have made the purchases years ago!

Working together, all remnants of holiday (with the exception of the new toys) were stowed back in the garage. Easily winded (primarily because of my frustrating thyroid issues) I sat down to rest for a few minutes. I was shocked as I watched Scott continue to clean. Enthralled by what Robby refers to as the "man vacuum," my husband spent the next two hours detailing the living room and kitchen. To my amazement, I was witnessing the first miracle of 2014! 

While I quietly observed, afraid to make a sound for fear of stopping his progress, Scott put every extension through its paces. Robby helped, moving chairs and cheering his Daddy as the two made full use of the new man vacuum. 

When the vacuum was finally turned off, Scott walked me through to evaluate the results. He sounded like a QVC pitchman touting the features of his new vacuum. Duly impressed, probably more so at his new found enthusiasm for cleaning than the actual results, I encouraged him to store the vacuum in the corner of the living room. I'm hoping that if it is easy to retrieve, he will be able to quickly rediscover the adrenaline rush he received from feeling the "power of the suction." At this point I don't really care that there is a wet/dry vacuum in the corner because the benefits, should I be lucky enough, far outweigh the space it takes up.

 **On a completely separate note, I've joined the 100 Happy Day challenge.  For the next 100 days I will tweet a photo of something which brought me happiness. (I thought I would also include the image in the blog as well.)  If you are on twitter, feel free to follow me @amputeemommy.

 Lately I feel as if I have been drowning in the negativity of others, I thought it would be fun to purposely focus on the positive. Here is my happy memory from yesterday. ***

Weekend Project

I have to admit that I'm a tinge sad when I think of this Christmas break drawing to a close. It has flown by so quickly and, although we didn't go anywhere or do anything extravagant, we had a wonderful time. It feels like just a few days ago that I was hosting Robby's school party, eagerly anticipating 16 days of vacation bliss. After this weekend both boys will return to school, and our routine will begin again.

I'm a little deflated when I think of the house being quiet again, but I am looking forward to reclaiming the space. My first project, hopefully to be completed this weekend, will be to de-Christmas everything. The decorations were beautiful and festive when they were put out in November, but now I want the space back and I'm growing tired of the clutter.

Charlie Cat is going to dearly miss the tree which he climbs daily in his quest to knock every decoration from the branches. The super glue hair mats, which developed when he rolled in an art project during the summer, have now been replaced with tree sap mats. Every few days I wrap Charlie in a towel so that I can cut out the fur clumps.  If I don't get rid of the evergreen soon, the cat will be bald!

The weather is forecast to be bitterly cold during the next few days providing me with the perfect excuse to stay indoors. With both boys still home, I think this weekend will be the perfect time to put them to work taking down and stowing the decorations. I doubt that they will be happy with my project, but I can handle the whining. I'll just consider my tuning it out as practice because I expect to hear a seemingly endless stream of complaints from both as they prepare to return to school on Monday.

Robby knows...

Although we were dreading the conversation, it has been clear to both Scott and I that we needed to bring Robby up to date with the baby news. Wanting him to have a great holiday, we decided to put off the announcement until after Christmas. With a sonogram scheduled for this afternoon, yesterday it was decided that we would tell Robby about the baby.

I have spent the past few weeks researching the best, and most non-traumatic way, to relay this information to Robby. Relying upon the anonymity of my HotSpot VPN was paramount during these searches.  The last thing I wanted was for my search history to pop up in the form of advertisements when Robby was using the computer. After all, I wanted him to find out from us, not from my search history!

Seated on the couch next to his Daddy, I happily revealed that he is going to be a big brother. Obviously the chipper tone of my voice had little impact because my little guy's face melted as he absorbed the news. After several assurances that we were not joking, it became clear that Robby understood what we told him.

He didn't exactly leap off the couch and throw me in a bear hug, but I knew that reaction would be a long shot. He didn't smile nor did he demonstrate any of the enthusiasm I had hoped he would feel. Instead, he vaulted off the couch and sealed himself inside a box. 

Refusing to open the box, Robby requested a tissue. He insisted that he was fine and not crying, but claimed instead that his eye balls were sweating. I passed him the tissues, a cup of milk and a cookie. Not wanting to push him to talk, I just sat next to the box and waited.

After about 20 minutes of silence, I began quietly to reassure Robby. I reminded him that we would always love him, that we would still have special adventures and that the baby would not break his toys. He finally opened a crack so that I could see him. One-by-one, Robby recounted all of our special traditions, asking if we could still do them. He seemed to feel better knowing that the baby was not going to interfere with his life.

Okay, so basically I lied. But his tears stopped, and after an hour he finally emerged from the box. For now, simply knowing that there was going to be a baby seems like enough. I figured that we will have plenty of time to absorb the reality of our changed lives later. 

Throughout the day Robby asked questions about the baby. At one point he seemed delighted to have figured out a solution. "Momom, you should let Nana take the baby. She takes in lots of kids, I'm sure she won't mind one more." (Robby is referring to the fact that my sister and her three little ones have moved into my Mom's house.) I hated to burst his bubble for the second time in one day, but I did have to let him know that Nana would mind, and that we were not going to be giving the baby away. 

I wish I could write that Robby was delighted by the prospect of being a big brother. Unfortunately, that would be a lie. He has not tried to disguise his contempt for our news, proclaiming that we have given him the "worstest New Year present ever." He continued by saying that we "should have bought a turtle instead. Not a baby!"  Before going outside to play with his friend he whispered "I wish you weren't pregnant" as he was slipping on his boots. When he was cuddling with Scott last night, I overheard him asking his Daddy to promise that he "won't ever go and make another baby again." 

I keep trying to remind myself that he is just surprised, and that he will learn to embrace the change. Right now though, my heart is hurting.  So much for my Disney-esque ending to this story!

Happy 2014

I have a decades long history of hating New Years Eve. Each December 31st, I believed the entire world was at a lavish party with the ladies wearing beautiful cocktail dresses and their hair freshly coiffed. I have never been invited to such an affair. Instead, I have always celebrated the change of the calendar from the comfort of my bed, watching the revelry in Times Square and feeling like a pathetic loser because I was munching on a bag of chips instead of sipping champagne.

The past few years have tempered my New Years Eve hatred. I've come to realize that the fancy New Years Eve party is only a reality for a small circle of people. Just about everybody I know was at home, watching TV and spending time on Facebook when the ball dropped in New York. I was in bed, sound asleep with Robby lying next to me. His New Years Eve festivities apparently tuckered him out!

Our local pizza shop hosted a Kid's New Year's Eve party, and as soon as I read the invitation email, I knew that we would attend. We went a few years ago and, although Robby was considerably younger, he had a blast. This year I decided to call his friend Rowan who was delighted with the invitation to a "real" party. I packed up both friends around 4:00 and we headed out for the big night.

The pair danced, munched on pizza and played games until it was time to ring in the "New Year." (In order to accommodate early sleepers, the countdown began at precisely 5:30.) By the time the young and exuberant crowd reached zero, hundreds of balloons dropped from the ceiling and the noise makers began to squeal. We enjoyed a ginger ale toast in "fancy glasses" and attempted to sing Auld Lang Syne.

After much contemplation, Robby declared that his resolution is to find another turtle. Rowan apparently wants to shoot her brother in the bum with a bb gun. (I wonder if she is going to share this resolution with her family?) Apparently both kiddos missed the concept of self-improvement when devising a resolution!

By 6:30 we were gathering our party hats, confetti bits and favors to begin heading home. Rowan was returned to her family, and we were back home by 7:00. I realize that my evening paled in comparison to the events shown on TV, but I wouldn't trade my New Year's Eve dates for the world!

Happy New Year!