This is Winter in Dallas

I had to get a picture of little Coco in the snow today. Waylon loved it too. Who would guess we would have so much winter weather?

6-Weeks After Surgery

As of yesterday...

My left foot is doing AWESOME. I'm ready to dance a jig. The right foot had a set back a week ago. Remember that pin which stuck out of the side of my big toe joint? Well, Scout jumped out of my jeep and landed on it. Needless to say, it caused some trauma to the site. I snapped the picture below after the doctor pulled the pin out. The wound on my foot was so disturbing that he covered it with a gauze when he walked out of the room, and I couldn't bring myself to lift it. It hurt like a sonofabitch too.

The following two days were super painful. I had to use the crutches again, go back to the pain medication just to get through the night, and also was forced back to antibiotics to treat the new infection that had set in. Whew, my foot swelled up and was bright red.

Today, my right foot is almost recovered from that infection and trauma. However, it remains rather stiff and uncomfortable. I'm slightly concerned that after two surgeries my right big toe may continue to be problematic. I'll have to depend on the big surgeon in the sky to make it right at this point. faith, faith, faith.

It Itches

My stitches ITCH so badly that I've been so tempted to just cut the strings out myself, rub some ointment on them and call it a day. I mean, seriously, the itching is HORRIBLE.

thank you

Holy Hallux Valgus Batman

Translation: Sorry my genes code for jacked up feet. The picture below is the last one I took in 2006 before I had my first bunion surgery to correct my right foot. It was the more severe case, which you can sort of see from the pictures. Well, the surgery went great however, I was in a cast for 2 months not allowed to walk, which made me go bonkers. Yet, over the past year, I was having some issues with the big toe joint of my right foot again, not to mention the left foot surgery needed to be accomplished. Now the photo below was taken today.

ON THE LEFT: You are looking at a 10 day post-op photo of a bunion-ectomy. The left foot required two screws to be positioned in my first metatarsal. I was walking on my feet (limited time with crutches) immediately.

ON THE RIGHT: This surgery is the second surgery on this foot. The first surgery included a major reconstruction of my right first metatarsal including 3 screws and a metal plate. Well, over the last four years the toe joint has become very flexible and formed some scar tissue which collectively made the toe start moving out (see prior post x-ray). SO, the two surgeons who operated on my feet made two incisions: One is obviously on top to re-fashion the allignment and hardware. The second is hard to see, but it is actully on the instep of my foot where they went in and cut a tendon that was pulling my toe out of straightness. Finally, they placed a pin in the joint which will remain there for another 4 weeks or so.

Below: Close up of the left foot (he cut that callus off with an x-acto knife after this pic was taken).

Below: Close up of the right foot, round two. Funny thing is that I wasn't ever expecting to see the pin sticking out of my foot, nor did I realize there would be two cuts. I just thought it was some little simple thing. But, the Dr. didn't want to commit to anything concrete with me until he "was in there."

The good news is that I'm walking around. I'm limited in my time on my feet, but thankful I'm not in a cast like last time.

4 Years and 2 Metatarsals Later

It is time to have the left foot operated on. I had the right bunion removed exactly four years ago. It kept me off of my feet for 8 weeks. It was super frustrating to have a one year old that didn't walk along for the recouperation too. Now, I'm having pretty uncomfortable nerve pain everyday in my left foot, so I know it is time. Here are my most recent x-rays:
You can see that the right foot still has the hardware in the otherwise straight bone. Now, the top of that big toe has shifted because of scar tissue, so my doctor is going to actually do a "little procedure" on my right toe joint to make it straight during the same time next week when I have the left bunionectomy. Wish me and my family luck. I will be in a cast for Christmas - time - cheer.

I've Got a New Plan

I don't know what's in store as far as my specific model, but I will be forking over good money for an RV/Trailer/Class C in the sort of near future. I mean, I may have to wait until I retire, or the kids go to college, but maybe I'll get one sooner.





My old (last two years) plan was to buy property in Northern Arizona now, then build a cabin when I retired. But, as a good friend pointed out: I'd be more free to just take the RV wherever I wanted. Duh. What was I thinking?


Well, I know what I was thinking. I thought NorAZ would be a good "jumping off" point, if you will, to further RV adventures. It is hard to drive anywhere worthwhile from Dallas. But, I realize now, that I don't need a cabin to start all of my adventures from. Instead, I just need an atlas and a gas card. I don't mind driving, and this way I can put all my resources into a sweet travel set up instead of splitting up my expenses between land, lumber, and travel on wheels.



Sometimes I think about trying to still just travel around and home school the kids. I mean, I could really like to do this....
Yeah, just stop on the side of highway on a Tuesday in September and snap this shot. But, for now, I have a plan. My plan is to get away from it all, everyday.

Unbelievable

http://borderinvasionpics.com/

Check the videos and photos on this website. Wow. Shocking southern AZ documentation by hidden camera.

All Joy and No Fun

Lucky for me I knew having kids was going to be rough. I think most women think it's going to be "fun." neh.

All Joy and No Fun


Now, if you're too lazy er, busy to click, here is an excerpt to wet your whistle:

"This result also shows up regularly in relationship research, with children invariably reducing marital satisfaction. The economist Andrew Oswald, who’s compared tens of thousands of Britons with children to those without, is at least inclined to view his data in a more positive light: “The broad message is not that children make you less happy; it’s just that children don’t make you more happy.” That is, he tells me, unless you have more than one. “Then the studies show a more negative impact.” As a rule, most studies show that mothers are less happy than fathers, that single parents are less happy still, that babies and toddlers are the hardest, and that each successive child produces diminishing returns. But some of the studies are grimmer than others. Robin Simon, a sociologist at Wake Forest University, says parents are more depressed than nonparents no matter what their circumstances—whether they’re single or married, whether they have one child or four."

Four Weeks Away from Sedona, Arizona

...and going to slide rock... I've been to Sedona several times, and I've seen slide rock state park, but I've never truly experienced it. Should be fun to take all the kiddos.

Prom. You can't stop it. You can only hope to contain it.

Debbie, Me, Kristin and Alisa