What I am most thankful for?

Today, I have been thinking a lot. I was making a mental list of all that I am thankful for and I realized that what I am most thankful for is perspective.

I have spent a lot of time whining this year. To be fair I had reason to be downtrodden. That fall I took in June really messed things up for me. I was in pain (still am actually) and it just really complicated my life. But with all of that said...things could have been so much worse.

I have gone on and on and on about my pain. I have lamented about the the inconvenience and how long it is taking to heal. I even grumbled about having to put my surgery off until December. I should just be grateful for the fact that I didn't do any permanent damage. I should be grateful that with my surgery looming there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel and I should be grateful that the Navy is working with me and allowing my husband to take two weeks off during my convalescence. I am going to put some serious effort into seeing the silver lining and knowing that things can always be worse.

Of course, I am grateful for my family. My beautiful, smart, sweet, fun loving, affectionate, creative (is this too many adjectives?) little ones. My life has changed so much in the three and half years that I have been a mommy. I believe with all of my heart that being a mom is the most rewarding job I have ever had and ever will have. They fill my days with joy and happiness and I truly feel blessed to be with them everyday and experience everything with them.

I am grateful for my hubby. There are no words for how wonderful my guy is and how happy he makes me. Bryant is steady and honest and hardworking. He loves my children so much which actually makes me love him more. He is handsome and smart. We have so much in common and he is best friend. We have fun together. I couldn't be luckier where love is concerned and I know it. I try and let him know everyday how much he means to me.

My parents are also on the top of my list. They have been super supportive all of my life. No girl was luckier than me. They have loved me and done everything they can to make my world a good and happy place. They are even better grandparents than they were parents (and since they were such amazing parents that is saying something.) My children are as lucky to have them as I was.

I am also grateful for the friends I have. Honestly, I have some of the best friends a girl could ask for...really.... I have learned over the course of my adult life that where friends are concerned it is quality over quantity. I dont have tons and tons of friends but the handful of friends I do have are worth a million bucks...I fully accept that I am hard person to love but these people love me for me.

Natalie...my person ...my non romantic soul mate....Even though I haven't laid eyes on her in nearly five years I feel her presence in my life. I know that when I need her she is there. Even though we are both super busy we are always aware of what is going on with each other and we are never far from each others thoughts ( I hope so anyway.)

My Ashley...She gets me. She has seen me at my worst and still wants to be my friend. We can go days or even weeks without talking but when we finally talk again it's like no time passed at all. I wish there were more words for her but they all so sound so cliche. I just love her...Period.

I am also grateful for friendships renewed. I recently started talking to my friend Mandy again. We have known each other for 16 years which seems crazy. I mean that is more than half of my life. We recently reconnected. I am hoping we stay this way for many years to come. I am proud to be a part of the wedding she is planning for next year. I am just proud to be her friend and I am proud to be a confidante for her.

Piper... we drift a little sometimes but I know you are there. I know I can turn to you if I need to fan girl out...and yes, I will totally take your dog if something happens to you ( you will be lucky if I don't take the dog before something happens to you...I'm just saying....)

This is not all. I am grateful for my extended family. I am grateful that Hurricane Sandy did almost no damage to the area in which I live and my heart goes out to those who have been deeply affected by Sandy. I am grateful for my health and that of all the people I love. I am grateful for my freedom and for those who protect it. I am thankful that I love in country where I can worship how I want and disagree with the people in power and I am glad I live in a country where I can have a voice. I am thankful for DVR and my TV shows and my kindle. I am thankful for our forthcoming reenlistment bonus. And mostly I am thankful for having so much to be thankful for...

Thanksgiving is almost over and now it's time to think about Christmas ...33 days and counting....

Grumble. Grumble. Grumble

109

That is how many days have passed since my incident.

109 days...and my foot is still broken. Irritation does not begin to describe what I am feeling right now but that is what I will go with...Irritation....

I had an appointment with the ortho today. They did an Xray and lo and behold...still broken...I knew that, I could feel. The doctor was floored. She said she had never seen a fracture like mine that hasn't healed at all with the bone stimulator in this period of time.

So, now it's time for the next step. What is the next step? I am glad you asked. I am not really sure. The doctor said she needed to talk to the foot surgeon and see what he thinks. Either he will say to continue with the current treatment plan (walking boot and bone stimulator) or he will say I need surgery. This is the worst news I have gotten since I went to the ER 109 days ago and they told me I had a broken foot and a broken ankle....sheesh!

The way I see it though if surgery is where I am heading I guess I would rather do it now then wait another six months. I am tired of my foot hurting. I am just tired of able to move like I want, as quickly as I want. And frankly, I am tired of complaining. Believe it or not I am tired of talking about broken foot, I am probably more tired of talking it about it then you are tired of hearing about it.

I am feeling a little defeated today but I am going to try and rise above.

I promise one day this blog will stop being a place for me to whine and go back to it's original purpose cute kid stuff.

97 days later....

So, 97 days ago I fell down the stairs (Yeah, I counted.) Actually, to be honest, it was so much falling down the stairs. I know when I say that you picture at the to[p of a long narrow staircase and tumbling down, head over heels and barely escaping with my life. What really happened? I was step away from the bottom and I missed the last step. I hit the floor wrong, my right ankle and my left foot turned and well...the rest, as they say, is history.

The point of this post is not to confess my lack of grace because frankly, I doubt that comes as a surprise to anyone who has ever met me. I can fall standing still. The point of this post  is to tell anyone who cares where I am at right now in my recovery. And yes I am still recovering 97 days later.

The cast came off my ankle in August and I was glad. Once the cast came off I knew it was healed even before they did the Xray, it felt right. It was weak and it still is but it is healed. It is still a little swollen and still causes me pain but I am led to believe this is normal. Hopefully in a few weeks it will feel back to normal.

As for my foot...this leaves me a little frustrated. When I was diagnosed (By the ER and the ortho doctor) I was given the impression that the ankle was a bad break (Just shy of the surgery requirements) and the foot was much less severe and would require less attention. Now I am being told something different. The original treatment plan for the foot was wearing a hard soled boot for 6 weeks or so. Once the ankle cast came off they xrayed the foot and I was told it was still broken. they advised me to keep wearing the boot and they said they recommended a bone stimulator for my foot. They believed after a month of using the bone stimulator my foot would heal.They told me they didn't think surgery would be necessary.

Said Bone stimulator was given to me almost 3 weeks later. The guys who gave me the bone stimulator told me the break I have in my foot is one of the hardest to heal because of it's location. That irritated me because I was never given that impression until that moment. I used the bone stimulator for two weeks and then went to see the doctor. She xrayed my foot again and ,Yes Virginia, it is still broken. At this point she still didnt seem too concerned. She said another two weeks ought to heal it. She scheduled me for an appointment for October 11. I asked her did she if she thought surgery was even  a remote possibility. She said no, bone stimulators clear up problem most pf them time and she was almost sure that would be the case with me.

That brings us to today...I am week away from my next appointment and I can tell you this foot is still broke. I can feel it. It feels like it has for the past 97 days...just wrong...I do believe some progress has been made because I have some days with less pain than other but...it is still broken. I have been using the bone stimulator for more than a month and I am scared. What will they say at my appointment? Let me clarify I am not scared because I believe I am permanently gimped up but because it is healing the way the doctor believed. She told me the next stop after the bone stimulator was that dreaded S word....

If you pray, keep me in your prayers and hope that my foot heals in the next 7 days. If you don't pray, well, keep in your thoughts and hope for the same thing. Thanks everyone. I love you all.

PS: I am hoping to get some picture updated the blog soon of some stuff with the kids from summer. But I am lazy so we shall see if it happens. I am going to try and start blogging more but my life has been so boring lately...sorry...

OH and a big congratulations to my girl Mandy Burton on her engagement. I love her and wish her the best.

The Oatmeal Cookie Experimentation

I have useless far too long. I am sick and tired of being off my feet. Today, I started getting a baking bug (I don't get it often but I get it occasionally). The California FRG sent an email asking people to donate recipes for a cookbook and I really want to do that so I got online and started looking for soemthing  fun.

My kids used to eat Instant Oatmea. It was somewhat healthy and filling and I was thrilled. But they have now decided they are morally oposed to eating oatmeal...eh, what can you do, huh? The thing is I went out and bought a huge box of instant oatmeal. Long story short? I looked to see what I could do with instant oatmeal.

I actually found an oatmeal cookie recipe taht I could the instant oatmeal.

This was the orginal recipe...

1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of flour
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 cup of margerine
3 packages of instant oatmeal (any flavor)

Preheat oven to 350
Mix in medium size bowl
Grease baking sheet
roll mixture into balls and kind of flatten them
Place on baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes at 350

The recipe said if you were using instant oatmeal use less sugar (because instant oatmeal has sugar). I did as I was told and this was my finished product...

They looked like oatmeal cookies and they tasted like oatmeal cookies but ehhh... They weren't bad, let me start there, they were in fact edible but they were just a little bland.

So, back to the drawing board...I decided to alter the recipe. Here is what I did:


1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of flour
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 cupbutter
3 packages of instant oatmeal (any flavor)
Dash of vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon sugar


Preheat oven to 350
Mix in medium size bowl
Grease baking sheet
roll mixture into balls and kind of flatten them
Place on baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes at 350

The only changes I made were using butter instead of margarine. I added Vanilla extract and cinnamon sugar. Last time I used half the recommended sugar because I was using the instant oatmeal and that is what it said to do, this time  I used the full recommended amount.

here is my finished product:

Well, ...ok, not as pretty as the first batch but they tasted really great. The few changes I made actually made a big difference.

I had a good time and enjoyed my results. I am going to try a few more recipes and see what I like the best. But this is a contender.

Injury report.

Ok, quick update everyone on the busted ankle and foot. I went to the doctor today and it’s a good news/bad news scenario. (A little more bad than good though)

Let’s start with the good news…My cast is off. It is nice to see my leg again. Unfortunately that is about it where the good is concerned.

Now for the bad, my ankle has no strength at all. It is almost harder putting weight on it now than it was right after injury. I know that physical therapy will give me that strength back but seeing as I am alone here with the kids all day I am scared of a reinjury. Thankfully they gave me a brace that I can use with an athletic shoe. I know this isn’t permanent but I am currently filled with all kinds of anxieties

.

Moving on to the second part (and maybe the more significant part) is my left foot. Now originally my right ankle was a much more severe injury hence why it was in a cast and my foot was just in a boot. However, now it seems that my right ankle has healed pretty much completely and my left foot hasn’t healed at all in the last 4 weeks. Now, that is not good as I am sure you have realized. The doctor said she is going to try and get me a bone stimulator. I suppose that will help speed up my recovery? She said if that doesn’t work and I am still having issues 4 weeks from now (that will be my next appointment) then we might have to look into surgery. That S word scares me. I can’t even describe how much this scares me. I guess all I can do is hope for the best.

I am so happy that I am on the down slope of my recovery but I have a lot of anxieties. I am scared of reinjury. I am scared I am going to step on a stray toy or a toddler will get under foot or I will fall over my own feet and break it again. Not only will I be in pain again (the memory of that pain still makes me catch my breath) but I will be useless to my family once again. That is a huge fear for me. With my ankle so weak right now I am actually scared to be alone. It’s just really stressful.

The there is the idea of surgery...ahhh!!!! That is me screaming on the inside in case you were wondering. I can't even find the words to describe how that will mess things up for me.

I am going to try and be positive but right now…in this moment…it’s hard.

Freedom of Speech works both way

*Disclaimer, the following blog post has second hand information obtained by unverified internet sources. If any “facts” written her are incorrect, please point it out to me (politely, if you please?). Thanks.*

This particular blog post is not actually related to my life as a SAHM or housewife nor is it related to my family’s day to day life. But this is my blog and I can rant when I want to.

I have always been a rather outspoken individual (that is the nicest way to describe it, I am sure there are others who have less flattering ways to name my personality). For many years I let everyone and anyone know what my political beliefs were. Now, I am not ashamed of what I believe and I never will be but I have had gone quiet on my beliefs mostly because I am tired of defending my right to believe what I want. 

With that said, I am breaking my silence because I have something that I feel needs to be said.

Freedom of Speech works both ways. 

I feel that I have a somewhat unique view of social issues. I don’t really consider myself a social conservative nor am I social liberal. I believe there are compromises that will satisfy most parties but there are radicals on both sides who believe in all or nothing. I believe that compromise is the one of the most important parts of life.

But regardless of where you stand on any issue you have a right to express yourself. The inspiration for this, the Chik fil a issue. 

I will start by saying I am not really sure why Dan Cathy feels the need to be so very vocal about his views on gay rights. As inferred from my above statements I don’t believe anyone should be ashamed of what they believe or try to hide it but I do not understand what his views have to do with his business. I find it slightly irresponsible for a business man to blur the lines between personal. One the flip side? Based on what I have read there is a difference between what they believe (and fund) and how they treat their customers. There is no actual discrimination against any customers going on (if there is I would be interested in hearing about that). 

What am I trying to say? Is Dan Cathy not allowed his own beliefs? Is Dan Cathy not allowed to decide what groups his company will or will not fund? Just because he is in a relatively high profile situation does that negate his personal rights that are guaranteed to us all? And before anyone says anything I fully believe people have the right to boycott Chik fil a. I don’t like their chicken so I never go there anyway. I don’t care.

To me the biggest issue here isn’t about gay rights or boycotting. For the Mayor of Boston to actually suggest that a place of business is not welcome in his city because of the business’s point of view on a social issue he does not agree with? Wow, that is beyond irresponsible and downright juvenile. He is a political leader and should act like one. That is intolerance in and of itself, right? Just saying.

I am not sure if my little rant her made any sense. That is just my point of view.

Broken bones update

So, went back to the ortho doctor today. She X-rayed (sp?) my foot and ankle again. She said my left foot (5th metatarsal fracture) is almost healed, Yay!!! But they discovered a second fractured in my ankle. I am looking at being off my feet another 4-6 weeks (minimum). They replaced the splint on my right leg with a fiberglass cast. They let me choose a color and what did I choose? Can you guess? You could if you knew me at all. PINK. Yay me. I am very happy about being in a cast but at least it is pretty.

Now, we are working on getting me a wheelchair so I can actually leave the house for something other than a doctors visit.

Sticks and Stones may break my bones...

…and so will falling down stairs, just for the record.

So, last week I was multitasking and I fell down the stairs. I called my hubby who rushed home and ushered me and my toddlers to the Emergency room. There was a nice bunch of girls in the Emergency room who were nice and able to make me laugh which helped distract me from the pain. Long story short, I was diagnosed with a left metatarsal fracture (foot) and right distal medial malleolus fracture (ankle). I was given a boot for my left foot and a splint for the right and sent home with a referral to an orthopedic doctor and pain meds.

Then the fun really started.

Not so extreme makeover: The Croley house episode 1

So, I have recently taken on the task of upgrading (is that the right word?) my house. I just want to make it a little more homey. My husband has dutifully taken the task up also and I must say has been patient and pleasant throughout the beginning of this undertaking. He goes along with everything and even adds his own opinion without being prodded. He makes suggestions and listens to all of my plans and rarely (if ever) complains.

We have only done little things thus far. We can't make any real altercations because we are renting (no painting, no large holes in the walls etc...) But nothing major needs to be done because this house is only 3 years old and has recently been renovated (or modernized as they called it.) I'm just trying to make it look like we live here.

I have never been accused of being a decorator but I think we are pushing alone nicely. I'm going to make updates here and there that will update you all on our progress. if you find it boring feel free to skip these posts. I will make sporadic updates on our progress.
 Here is our front porch furniture (that my husband put together because he is super sweet)

These are in my kitchen. The pictures were taken on my phone and are not so good.

These are in my dining room. Again, The pics are not so great.

This is the cabinet we put in our downstairs half bath (again built by my master craftsman hubby). We have no storage in there and we had to find something decorative and useful. This is plain but nice, I think.

This is the back patio chairs. They are staked because it is going to rain today (Booo)

 This is the table on the back patio (again plain but nice, I think)

 Back patio umbrella (it is being stored under the cover cause of the rain, again booo)

Welcome to toddlerland...

Hi, I am Aimee. I am a proud Navy wife and a stay at home mom. My son Frankie is almost 3 and is the most energetic kid you would ever meet. He would put the energizer bunny to shame. Sammy is almost 2 and she is spunky and sweet. She is affectionate and adorable.

My husband, Bryant, is a second class petty office in the Navy. He is a wonderful husband and even more amazing father. Our kids adore him and he adores them right back. He is gone sometimes (as would be expected with his very demanding job) and we miss him terribly but he does his job and does it well. I am immensely proud of him.

I hope to make my future blogs more interesting than this one but I felt a short (ish) intro was necessary. Hope you can keep up.