Black Beauty the Beast

My poor poor van.  It has taken so much abuse.  Mostly from me.  I have backed into a parked car, hit a van pulling into a parking spot, hit a cement berm in a parking lot.  Then add to that the Honda technician who took it for a test drive after a brake repair only to get nailed by another driver.  Oh yeah, and the cooler I hit driving to Utah a few years back.  Well, Derek (the best driver in the family according to our children and to him), had a little incident this week.  Black Beauty (that's his truck) gave my van a little kiss (or as my friend described it, a full on makeout session).  

I (in his defense) had parked my van in a place I don't usually park it.  And (also in his defense) it was 2:50 am and he was on his way to work.  But he said, NO, don't defend it.  I just shouldn't have backed without looking.  So, if you see me rocking a rental car you'll know why.  But don't mention it to Derek.  His cop buddies are already giving him enough grief.  

Ben's Stats

So Ben's stats are a little late.  I mentioned that I didn't even realize that I forgot to schedule his appt. until we went for Libby's.  But we got the job done.
His weight is 31 lbs. 4 oz.  a whopping 7th %
Height: 38.98" or 13.9th%
So he follows Libby's pattern.
He was so brave for his shots.  He said he didn't even need anyone to hold his hand.  So I stood next to him.  And then he decided to hold my hand.  But he was great.  No crying.  Just a little whimper.  And he actually left the bandaids on until we got to the Mariner's game.  Then he handed me a bloody bandaid.  Delicious.
In the cognitive tests the doctor gave him he was amazing.  He was still and focused.  She was super impressed.  I am a lucky mommy.

And he got to wear a gown.  Which came off about 2 seconds into our now traditional dance party in the Rocket Room, complete with strobe light and music from my phone.  

Monkey Business

This was one of the busiest and most fun weeks of summer.  The weather was good (until it got really really really scarily bad), and we had all kinds of adventures.  I'll let the pictures tell the story.  (I feel that I should explain myself for having so many pictures of Ben.  But then you look at the pictures and you can see why.  He is irresistibly cute.)

And can I just say I can't WAIT for school to start.  Even though I'm going to miss these kids like crazy, providing structure for them while still trying to get other things done is KILLER.  

We played a lot of dress up.  Ben rocked a few different singlets, and for the first time tried on wrestling shoes.  He loved the whole thing.  But one more year to wait before he gets to try actually wrestling.  Mom's orders.  Dad would like it to be sooner I think.  

Thank goodness it was washable marker.  And thank goodness she actually checked before she drew mustaches on herself and Ben.  These were for some theatrical adventure as well.  And I think she did this (like she did so many other things this week) LEFT HANDED.  And no complaints.  This girl is a rock star when injured.  Derek was complaining a bit about how awkwardly she was eating dinner this week.  Then I reminded him.  Her right arm is broken.  She's eating left handed.  

We finally made it to a Mariner's game.  Finally!  Thanks to Uncle Clark for coming with us.  Somehow I didn't get a pic of him.  The Mariner's actually won!

We got to meet an actual ball girl after the game (one of Derek's coworker's daughters).

A dancing show!  Put on by our dance troupe.  It was amazing.  Everybody CLAP YOUR HANDS!  (I think it's called the Charlie Brown Shuffle?)  They were all matchy matchy with jackets that they peeled off to reveal blue t-shirts.  This is SO something I would do.  The Weeks went to visit friends for the weekend and my kids were SO bored without them.  They kept saying, "We wish we were in Spanaway too!"

And Ben discovered he can climb into his lockers.  I promptly bought padlocks for most of them since he can't get back out.  Whew.

Seattle Center has an amazing fountain and wading pool that we visited on Thursday.  A lot of walking for this cripple, but it was worth it, because the girls all had so much fun.  

As I took this pic I said, "Mountlake Ward Forever!"  Man we had a good time all living in that ward with so many families in just our stage of life.

And Libby lost another tooth.  And the tooth fairy forgot to come last night.  I told her the tooth fairy might pay her a late fee for forgetting.

We had a neighborhood party yesterday.  We have some pretty fun neighbors.  And, out of all the kids there (including some older ones) Ben was the only boy.  Poor kid, or lucky guy, depending on your perspective.  

And we went shopping for laundry room flooring.  And I just bought a new utility sink online.  So, when I told Derek I could do the whole room for $500....I might have underestimated.  By about a thousand dollars.  Oops.  

Ben in the Shoreline Area News

Here is a link to the pic of Ben in the Shoreline Area News.  What a cute little guy sitting on the pony!

Quotes for the Week

Ben says so many funny things right now.  I need to be following him around with a tape recorder.  But one that I remember, I ate a couple of chips from his little bag (he is obsessed with little bags of Classic Lays).  I gave them back and walked away and heard him yell, "YOU CALL THAT A COUPLE!?!  I WANT A NEW BAG!"

But the quote that is my favorite was Derek this week.  I was resting on the couch.  Ben came crying to the stairwell and told Derek that Libby had hit him.  Derek called Libby and I heard him say, "You can't just go off and slug your little brother."  Derek said this.  The one who slugged his little brother relentlessly from the time he could punch.  I had a big chuckle about the "do what I say, not what I did style of parenting."  He did have to admit he saw why it was funny, but said, it wasn't the same.  For Libby to hit Ben is more like as if he had "gone off and slugged" his little sister Leanne.  Which apparently he did not.  Hahahaha parenting.

A Wet and Wild Week

This week I got to get in the pool!  It was TOOO cold to "water walk."  So I swam a bit.  And then a bit more, and a bit more.  It felt so good.  I kept my kicks little tiny and it felt great.  I also walked a bit more each day until I have been up and about all week.  And it was all good.  Until Friday night.  Then things got uglyish when I wore shoes with a heel so small I didn't realize they had a heel to a wedding reception.  Then on Saturday was the bubble walk (I mean run).  And today I am in pain.  Pain so reminiscent of the pre-surgery pain I am nervous that the surgery didn't fix the problem.  But I'm telling myself it is just inflammation because I'm an idiot who can't stop moving.  Hopefully if I take it really really easy this week I can get it to calm down again.

And, we had another fun injury around here this week too!  Every year my lawyer sister-in-law hosts a party for her firm.  We've never been invited.  This year, we are there for 30 minutes and Sarah rolled backward down the bouncy house slide and landed on her wrist.  Derek called it as broken from the minute she came in crying.  And he was right.  At least it wasn't a lawyer's kid.  So once again this summer, Sarah is laid up.  Poor girl.  She takes it all in stride.

Sarah's arm.  This is her 3rd time being x-rayed this summer.  Poor kid.  (The first two were a jammed toe).  This time, as soon as I saw the x-ray I could see the "buckle fracture" near her wrist.  But the good news is that it is the most "stable" type of fracture, so she only has to wear a splint.  Hooray.  

After 2 solid weeks of swimming lessons Ben passed to Preschool 2, Libby to Level 3 and Sarah got so much better it was awesome to watch.  Sarah would have done Level 2 again and passed for sure!  But instead she will watch from the pool side.  The doctor said she could play in the pool if it felt okay, but probably not actually swim.  

The girls finished 7 weeks of gymnastics this week too.  They enjoyed it.  I am not enjoying trying to figure out how to get Libby registered for fall gymnastics.  They make it so stinking hard to get into, it is super annoying.  

Ben's gymnastics coach.  He really liked her, after he got used to the idea of having a coach tell you what to do instead of the indoor playground.  

Here we are looking happy before the bubble run.  This is before we have 19,000 people there with us, and no staggered start times.  So we just have to stand and wait.  UGH.  

Clark took Libby with him for the run, and they did a fair amount of running.  Clark carried Libby through the bubbles so she got lots of color on her shirt.  

Sarah was REALLY unhappy about the big line.  The wait was just about too much for her.  And when Maren tried to get her to run it was WAY too much for her.  But once she started walking with Auntie Alayne and I, it was all smiles.  We still had to prod her along...but it was fun.  

I spent some time just watching runners on the course waiting for Alayne to get done with the out and back part of the course.  I also went around all the bubbles.  I was too afraid of falling!

Libby at the end.  She got the  most color, for sure! 

All of us, glad to be done.
As I told Maren, "It wasn't the worst morning I've ever spent.." But I certainly won't do it again.  I heard someone saying they should call it the Bubble Herd, or the Bubble Walk.  But it certainly wasn't a fitness event!

"Relaxing" Trish Style

So I did a lot of relaxing this week.  Honestly.  Enough that I got to bed at night and my body was like, what did you do all day?  I'm not tired because you didn't move around enough. So I had to take melatonin to get to sleep.  But gradually I increased my activity until I was basically up and around all day on Thursday and Friday.  I crashed pretty hard on Friday afternoon.  But then Saturday I was good to go...I ditched the crutches early in the week except in public.  And then by Thurs/Friday, I even felt safe in public without them.  

Everyday had a certain rhythm.  Morning, training appts.  11:30, swimming lessons for the kids, and afternoon resting/reading.  I could get used to this having time to read thing.  I've been reading Scott Turow again.  Love his stuff.  And love that my library has this amazing e-checkout e book setup.  I checked out several books over this weekend, plowing through the mystery and reading bits of the investment and other nonfiction books.  

I had Derek put the recliner in our bedroom.  I used it a fair amount.  It was good to have my leg up and keep my ice in place.  But the kids took it over when I wasn't using it.  Libby did a good job reading to Ben.  

Ben at swimming lessons.  He spends about 1/2 of the time with his head underwater.  He just goes under and up, under and up.  He is learning to kick and propel himself through water.  This is good, since if you are a reader of this blog and keeping track, he has already been rescued by life guards 2x in his young life.  The sooner he actually learns to swim, the better.  His teacher had  to rescue him once this week too, so I guess that makes 3 times.

The girls wrote a play and did it for FHE last week.  It was hilarious.  Ben was supposed to be a monster, but instead of his costume, he stripped down to his new boxer briefs and gave us an entirely different kind of show.  I was laughing too hard for pictures.  

Saturday was the Celebrate Shoreline Festival.  Brion and Geneva accompanied us.  Brion pays for the kids to ride the horses.  I walked around and sat on the grass when I got tired.  It is a great little festival.  

The petting zoo is awesome.  

Ben's bunny kept nuzzling him.  

We got free face painting from a booth that does some kind of car replacement thing.  

Sarah's kitty.  

Then we got hair chalk.  Ben's looked stellar!

Libby ran into a friend there, so she ditched us and spent time with her friend.
Then I went home and put my feet up and Grammy helped them get a few more free things.

After the Taste we continued on the Star Wars journey.  I have been introducing the kids to the original trilogy.  We watched the last part of the Empire Strikes Back and the first part of Return of the Jedi.  Good times.  All day Ben keeps telling people that Jabba the Hut died!  

The Story of my Injury

In Feb 2014 I was in CA for Derek's friend Phil's funeral.  Maren and I needed to blow off steam after the funeral, so we went to the gym that connected to our hotel (Maren knows how I like to travel :).  There was a kickboxing class going on.  BodyCombat's BTS equivalent GroupKick I think it's called.  I stood outside and the spirit suggested to me that I NOT go in.  I brushed the thought aside, saying, I won't do any damage that a few chiropractic adjustments can't fix, and headed in.  I punched and kicked and had a good time.  I was feeling really flexible after teaching so many barre classes, and taking dance lessons, so I really kicked high.  Probably TOO high.  I felt fine the next day and was delighted.  We flew home and I taught my classes, core, barre and Bodypump.  The next morning I woke up in agony.  Seriously weird pain in my hip.  I had already made plans to go running with a new partner, so despite the pain, I ran 4 miles or so.

I immediately scheduled PT.  During the course of the next year and a half, I visited my regular doctor, an orthopedic specialist, 2 different physical therapists (one I went 2 different rounds with), maxed out my visits with my chiropractor, 2 different massage therapists, and 1 acupuncturist, all trying to figure out the pain in my hip.  It was super hard to figure out what was causing the pain, or where the pain actually came from.  And all the doctors did the same test on me.  They had me lay down, brought my knee up to my chest and moved it from left to right.  Did that hurt?  Not really.  And no clicking noise.  So, no torn labrum.

My yoga training was a blessing and a curse.  I loved that it was helping me to chill and breathe more deeply.  But lots of yoga positions really hurt.  The Physical Therapist who taught our anatomy lessons introduced me to a website for self joint pain release.  That led me to foam rolling, and I actually managed my pain and kept it at bay through foam rolling during the last few months before my surgery.  But I felt that foam rolling was just a bandaid.  If I forgot after a workout the pain came back.  So I keep looking for answers.

Finally, when I told the new PT I went to that vacuuming was the most painful thing I could do...and all the stretches he gave me caused more pain.  He said it was definitely time for an MRI.  Definitely WAY past due.  The MRI showed a clear "full thickness" tear in my labrum.  Finally an answer!!!

So, I met with a hip specialist (recommended by just about everyone I know who has had a hip injury) and this week he repaired my labrum.  I still don't know what he did exactly, because he had to leave before Derek was there to pick me up, and I was certainly in no condition to hear anything anyone said to me.  I guess at my post op on Friday I'll find out.  If he stitched up my labrum rather than just shaving off the injured part I will need more time to heal.  But I'm feeling better.

Initially I was pretty mad at myself for not insisting on an MRI sooner, but then I chatted with an instructor friend at the gym who had a torn labrum for 7 years before they figured it out and she had the surgery.  So a year and a half isn't bad, really.  And she said that in 3 months she was back playing tennis.  That was 8 years ago and she is still totally fine.

Over the course of this process I have blamed just about everything for my pain.  Shoes, arches, SI joints, piriformis, yoga, lifting,

The view from my bed where I have been relaxing as much as possible.
This is hard for me since I don't usually even sit down during most regular days.
 This whole thing might be about teaching me to relax?

Leaving from surgery.  Just before the barfing on the way home.  Bleh.  I hate general anesthesia.  

you name it.  And I have been frustrated that it went on so long!  But the whole situation timed out so that our friends who got kicked out of their rental before the home they are buying can close have a place to stay, and I have someone to care for me.

Also, since I knew I was leaving the job I had come to love/hate for 6 weeks, it made it somehow easier to let it go forever.  I feel a huge sense of relief.  I can teach again if I decide that I want to.  But I can give myself time to heal and figure out how to fulfill my calling.

What have I learned so far?
Always get an MRI, seriously.
When you have a _________ (insert body part) issue, ask for the ___________ specialist.
Sometimes things take time to figure out.  And it is in the process that we learn.
I am retired from kickboxing in all varieties forever!

Libby's Stats

I was so proud of my mommy self when I scheduled Libby's well-child check in a timely manner--2 years in a ROW.  But when we showed up, I started thinking back....and realized that I never did one for BEN.  Whose birthday was JUNE 10th.  So much for patting myself on the back.  So I scheduled his, but they couldn't get him in until late August.  Ugh.
But after that Libby's appt. went pretty well.  Her stats:
Height:  47.64" 12%
Weight:  48 lb. 4 oz.  15.45%

Pretty darn good for our little gal.  Double digit percentages!  Woot Woot!
The doc was pleased with her weight and height and that is still a relief to me, 8 years after the failure to thrive scare.

She also got a special outing for her birthday with the other birthday cousins, Kaj and Sam.  Grammy Geneva took them to Bellevue to the temple grounds, and to get her name on her scriptures.  She chose to have "Libby Norton" on the scriptures (rather than Elisabeth).  I love it.  She will always be my Libby.
Add to all of that--she lost a tooth this week!  She really is growing up.  The tooth had impact with a knee on the trampoline on Saturday night.  She worked at it all day on Sunday until she finally let me give it a twist.  It still didn't quite come out, but she twisted a little more and out it came.  And the tooth fairy came that night, whisked it away and left $2!  Which she promptly spent on a song from itunes and skates from a yard sale.  This girl loves to spend her money.

The grounds of the Seattle temple are truly beautiful (like most temples).

Libby's Baptism

Program design by Jeff Barlow, so thankful he shared his talents with us!

How do I blog about the sacred?  Usually my blog is about the fun, funny and not so funny ups and downs of being a Mormon Mommy.  I post to boast (a little), I post to remember, I post to get another laugh (or 2 or 3) out of the things my kids have said and done.  But tonight I'm posting full of gratitude for my daughter, my husband, my family, my faith and my God.  I'm thankful for the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and I know that their teachings about baptism are true.  I felt the power of the ordinance as I hugged my daughter as she came up out of the water and into my arms full of joy.  I felt it when many of our friends, family, and loved ones put their hands on her head to give her the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I love the gospel and I love that I can share this memory with my blog readers.  

If I could tell Libby about the things that I remember about her baptism, I would tell her this:

A lot of people came a long way to show their love and support of your decision!

Your ward family also came out in force!  We had to add extra chairs to the overflow room we were using.

You were beaming with excitement the whole day!

You stood up and welcomed everyone with a beautiful talk where you shared how you had felt the Holy Ghost confirming your decision to be baptized.

When Grammy and Grandma Debbi asked you questions you answered them so beautifully.  You were so prepared for this day! (Grammy even had you read scriptures and you read them perfectly!)

(Ben only answered one before you could--"JESUS!")

And remember that I love you and I was (and always will be) so so proud of you!

We did a pre-baptism photo shoot outside the church.  Derek took a picture with his dad in this exact spot.  I'll have to try and find the picture.  

Libby is wearing a dress that her Grandma Geneva made for Aunt Alayne.  All the Norton girls wore it, then all the Barrett girls.  I had to put new elastic in, but it still looks fabulous.  

Siblings!

Grandma and Grandpa Randall

Uncle Clark

Uncle Davey

Bryn, Brian and James (such troopers to drive all the way up here when Bryn is just weeks from her due date.  And in a car full of vomit for the last 10 hours to boot!)

All the Randalls that could make it!

Two of our very special Aunties, Maren (and actual Aunt) and Jen (the next closest thing to an Aunt)

Libby's Primary teacher, Sis. Mc Eachern 

We didn't get all the Nortons together, but in this post they are all represented.  The Barretts had a memorial service, so they sadly had to miss it.  

I didn't get a picture of all the men who stood in the circle for the confirmation, but the list includes:

Derek Norton, Brion Norton, Kelly Randall, Brian Randall, Brad Cottle, Preston Thorne, Bishop Isaacson, Jeff Barlow, Jared Boundy, Michael Deardeuff.  She was surrounded by a whole lot of love!  

After the baptism, the celebration at our house included shredded pork tacos and apple crisp.  I was too busy to get pictures, but it was a wonderful event!