Hanky's Broken Arm

The extended Stilley clan gathered in Breckenridge, CO this June for a week together. Things got off on the wrong foot when baby Abby got altitude sickness and Rob's whole family had to turn right back around and head home. The rest of us managed to have some fun despite missing them, and on our last day in CO our family plus Grammy and Poppy decided to do a bike ride to Frisco. Hanky did great until the very end when the usually gentle trail suddenly got very steep and curvy. 

6/28/13

Laura had warned him to brake, but for some reason he took the turn at full speed. He wiped out bad, and was screaming, "My arm! My arm!" when we came to him. Laura got to him a little before I did, and immediately thought he had a fracture. I felt panicked, but thankfully Laura went into doctor mode. We took Franny out of her trailer, put Henry in, and Laura biked him to the ER that was luckily about 100 yards away. (The same ER Abby had visited earlier in the week.)

He was in a lot of pain until the x-ray tech moved his arm a certain way and he was suddenly much better. The doctors realized the pain was actually from "nurse-maid's elbow," which is a nice way of saying a dislocated elbow. It's painful until it's popped back in. So there was hope at this point that there wasn't actually a fracture, but the x-rays revealed there was a buckle fracture in his radius close to the wrist. Buckle means that it sort of collapsed on itself as opposed to pointing in different directions. As far as fractures go, it was a fairly minor one. They put a temporary splint on him and sent us home.

later that day at our Breckenridge rental

It was a very intense and unpleasant couple of hours, but his pain mercifully did not last long, thanks to his elbow being put back in place and getting some strong medicine in him. We had a two-hour drive to the Denver airport the next morning, and Henry had a little more fun with some car sickness. Those mountain roads can make anyone carsick, and we think his pain meds may have made it worse. He wanted to drink a lot of water, which he ended up puking in the rental car. Needless to say, we were relieved to finally make it to the airport, where he felt much better. After getting a special test on his splint courtesy of the TSA, we had an uneventful flight back home. We made an appointment to go see Laura's cousin Amanda at the orthopedist's office where she works, and she put on a fluorescent yellow cast of Henry's choosing. (He wanted it to glow in the dark, and was disappointed when it didn't.)

7/1/13

He didn't have any discomfort with the cast to speak of, which was a relief. He never even complained of itching. I was amazed how good natured he was about having it on. But it was still a bit of a tough month because he couldn't be active. We unfortunately missed t-ball for the year, which he and I had both been looking forward to since I was to be a coach. The kids and I all got a little stir-crazy at times, but overall the cast ended up being less of a hassle than I had feared. He had full use of his fingers which helped a lot.

We got the clear to get rid of the cast exactly one month after it was put on with the good news that his arm healed perfectly. It hurt him to move his wrist for the first few minutes after the cast was off, but he recovered quickly.

8/1/13

He wanted to get on his bike the very same day, which made me nervous, but not him! Despite my nerves, I was proud of him for wanting to hop right back on.

And that evening we had a celebratory picnic and swim at Bryant Lake Beach.

Franny's First Haircut

Franny's hair has been getting in her eyes for awhile, and she's not crazy about leaving in hair bands, so she went in for her first hair cut today. We went to a kids specialty place, which ended up being a good idea because she liked watching Rapunzel on TV and didn't fuss the slightest bit. A furrowed brow was the biggest reaction she had. Not too much came off--just some bangs and a little length in the back to give her an adorable bob.

before

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after

Hanky Rides A Bike

Aaron here. Ever since the weather took a turn for the better a couple of weeks ago, Henry has begged to ride his bike at least once a day. Our new neighbor John, seen in the video, is super friendly, a bike enthusiast and expert, and has often helped when Henry has been practicing. As you can see, John was just as excited as we were!

Hank started the spring with training wheels on, but that's no way to learn how to balance, so we took those off pretty quick. After a couple days of Henry awkwardly trying to walk around on the bike, the peddles came off, and then he really started to learn. After a couple days of walking the bike with small steps, he started to glide for short distances, then medium distances, then to long stretches around 30 feet including balance corrections. So today the peddles went back on, and he took right off. Laura wasn't home from work quite yet for his first few laps around the cul-de-sac, but got to pull in to the sight of Henry zooming around on his own.

Henry, may you never lose your enthusiasm and desire to try and learn new things.

March 24, 2013

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Maple Syrup

A little while ago, even before we made it to Minnesota, Henry asked how maple syrup was made. It was a good question. At that point Aaron found a video on-line and Henry seemed satisfied. Now that we are up in the Northern Country, maple syrup seems to be all around us. Once, we Aaron drove me to work we noticed a tree looked like it was being tapped (it was). Then, when Henry and I went over to our neighbor's house to introduce ourselves, we found out that Jim, a retired teacher now make maple syrup for a hobby. Now, I read that the Arboretum not only makes maple syrup, but it offers tours AND it culminates with a pancake breakfast. Even though it is apparently still winter here, I could not pass this up. So, yesterday I bundled up the kids and we had fun.

Franny in the bobby all warm and snug

Henry looking Minnesotan next to a maple syrup oven

Riding the maple syrup truck

On the trail trying to find the tree tapping place. We only turned around when we saw snowshoers. Wrong turn= good exercise for us.

The reward!

We all loved it

"Mr Pancake" doing a little jig

Franny happy to be out of the Boba and to have a full belly.

It was great and we came home with our very own bottle of Arboretum maple syrup and a Minnesota bird book. Double score!

A Change

This blog has been dormant for 3 months now. I've been thinking about posting for a long time, but have been busy. You see, my life is changing.

3 months ago, my work notified me that they could no longer keep paying my salary. If I wanted, I could continue working at a lower amount (yeah right). I said I couldn't stay and started to move on.

It's funny. Well, maybe not really. My whole life I've considered myself a Feminist (and still do). I have prided myself with doing things that were not textbook "female" things to do. This includes playing trombone in a jazz band, playing rugby and even being a doctor.  I like trying to be different and oppose the normal path, but the truth is that sometimes that really really sucks....

So here I am, in a job that I like (although has its problems), now learning that I have to move on.  And the thing is, it is not just me moving on.  I'm the big Kahuna in my family. I earn the money that gives my husband the freedom to watch our children and explore his interests.  This is great because my children have a gentle and caring father that they know well and I know that every day I go to work, my children are being cared for in the exact way I would like.

So, we are a little unconventional. Well, maybe not much anymore. More and more father's are staying at home, but it still is a surprise when I tell people about Aaron. The hard thing is that there are no textbooks for this path, you know, the ones I have tried and tried to bury and ignore. I want the revised version so I know how everything works.

Who should cook the meals or even decide what we are eating? Laundry? Should I arrange for the outings? What do I do when Frances signs milk the minute I come in and Henry wants non-stop attention also? And now, the even bigger question is, can I just uproot my family and bring them to whereever I need to go?  Do I have such a big ego that my career is the most important thing? 

I guess being the big Kahuna has its draw backs.

I do want to say that I tried. I tried to find a great job and keep my family here and disrupt as little as possible. I called the entire phone book looking for jobs. Yes, tried but didn't succeed.

I was successful somewhere else. Somewhere where there are different grandparents waiting to hold their grandchildren longer than a day or two. Somewhere where Henry could have a good chance at reaching his academic potential. Somewhere where my friends are waiting. Somewhere where I found a good, solid job that could last years and years and years.

I'm coming home.

Pictures

I've been a little occupied in my mind recently and haven't been posting too much. Instead of waiting until the right time to write, I thought I would just include some pictures from my phone.  I hope these are good enough to tide everyone over.

This is when Henry wanted Frances to look like a  ninja.

This is how most of them turned out.

Henry doing some airplane signaling.

Hmmmm

A nice smile. Look at those teeth!

This is Henry's new game. He spins the top...

and Frances grabs it.

Have a good Monday!