Progression

I feel like I've slacked off, not writing anything for a week. So, what have I been up to?

First off, the physical therapy update. My hip bone has rotated (most of the way) back. It's been hard to abandon some of the habits that got me that way, but for the sake of reduced pain I can deal with it. Now I get to do balancing exercises and some stretches to build up my core. My therapist's explanation was that since my ligaments obviously aren't doing their job to hold things in place, I need to strengthen the muscles to pick up the slack. I'm liking this program much better because it doesn't hurt. Muscle burn is way better than joints screaming in pain.

Jonathan and I have been pulled into helping crew for the Youth's play Savior of the World. He's off painting sets, right now, and I'm on the makeup crew. I'm pretty sure I get to do Zacharias and Elizabeth's aging. It was both fun and frustrating teaching ~150 teenagers the right way to put on makeup for stage. The girls were generally OK, but the boys (of course) were painting each other like clowns. We had to stop at each table and emphasize that if you don't do it right you don't go on stage.

Monday was a final get-together with Cynthia's family before they head off to Chicago, today, to start Stephen's grad schooling. We all went to Jonathan's parents' house to swim, eat and socialize. Elena discovered that if she folds her arms her arm floaties will hold her head up above the water and she had a great time swimming the length of the pool then climbing out, running back to the other end, then climbing back in and doing it again. She did at least four lengths of the pool, this way. She's been telling me all week that she can swim all by herself, now. After the kids hopped out to dry off and watch a movie, I borrowed Sarah's mattress float and just drifted around the pool without a care in the world. I ran out of direct sunlight (the shadows made the water too cold) right about the time dinner was ready, and we had a great time eating and chatting well into late evening.

Elena and I got to go out with my Mom, Thursday night. Jonathan got the night off from painting because it was pouring down rain every half an hour, so he stayed home with Joseph, who was super cranky because he had a molar half-way through. Since we were in San Marcos because of dad's meetings, we dropped by the outlet malls after we'd run a few errands. It was so good to hang out together and just be girls. Elena was really pretty well behaved so everything went smoothly and everyone enjoyed themselves.

We got invited to the Kyle Stake Pioneer Day party, last night. We had a lot of fun! There was lots of smoked meat (wild pig & buffalo!) plus ice cream, snow cones, watermelon and cotton candy (the only treat we didn't try). We got to ride the mule-drawn wagon--Elena went twice--and jump in the bouncy house--all but me, since Joseph insisted someone go in with him and the pregnant thing doesn't work well with bouncing. We had a great time dancing, the best I've had in ages, and the fireworks were awesome.

That's about it. I know that each of these could have easily been separate posts but I like to do them with pictures and I keep forgetting the camera. Ah well.

Goings On

Ok, I'm getting a little behind, but I keep forgetting that people are interested in our lives. First of all, I will say that the maternity section at our local Target is awful. Everything they had fit on only four racks, and they weren't the rounders where they could cram stuff in, either. Second, it is absolutely beyond me as to why any pregnant woman would want to show copious amounts of leg when built like a beach ball, but that's all anyone sells for either dresses or shorts. Motherhood has exactly one style of shorts that goes to mid-knee (and on me, too, which is a miracle) and it is, of course, completely sold out in my size at every store, including the warehouse. Sigh...

Anyway, on to the happy stuff. My brother graduated, the day before Mother's Day, and we had a great time celebrating his accomplishments and triumphs. Regan provided yummy food, most of us took a turn at playing Rock Band, we chatted and the kids played. It was wonderful. Way to go, Brent!



The pictures of Jonathan's family came out great. Unfortunately I can't show you how fabulous they are because they haven't sent me the sitting, yet. I think it's because "Lisa" has a Smile Store account, but "Jonathan" does not.

Joseph got his summer haircut. I did it myself (I do everyone's hair, normally) and we had a minimum of wiggling and screaming. What's the trick? Stick him in a Bumbo-thing on the bathroom counter so he can see, then use electric clippers while you hold his chin still. It actually took two passes (in the evening after his bath and again in the morning) since his hair was so long, but he did really well the second time. I can tell that he's way more comfortable, too, with the added ventilation. The second picture is a bonus for Callie. See? Will's not the only one.



We've been going to the pool about once every week or two, and the kids are starting to warm up to it. Last time we went, I'd forgotten how cool it actually was, outside. It's a good thing we only had ~45 minutes to swim because everyone was a bit chilled by the end. The new showers are great, though, and really warmed us back up before we headed home.

The baby is super wiggly. Jonathan's felt it kick, once, but we haven't really tried to get other people to feel, yet. It's still at the Slow-Popping Popcorn stage, instead of real serious kicks or Toes Wedged Under The Ribs (both the other two loved that one) so it's still fun and a little surprising, no matter how active the baby gets.

That's about it. I'll try to be better about this. Not daily (I get too grouchy when I'm trying to post) but still current.

Great Weather

I decided, today, that I was tired of just sitting in my house for another day. So I pulled my new swimsuit out of it's Rice Krispie Treat box (oh, the resourcefulness of ebay sellers), got everyone fed and dressed, and we headed for the pool for an hour or so. The sun was down to just peeking through the trees, the water felt fantastic, and we had a lot of fun. We got both the kids to unbend enough to enjoy the water, then taught them to kick and blow bubbles. Again. We don't go swimming enough for it to sink in. I hope we spend a lot more time at the pool, this year, though. My hips didn't ache even once when I was in the water. I can just imagine how good it'll feel once I get really big and the blazing heat makes the a/c leak again.

Splish, Splash

Ok, not a bath. Still lots of splashing going on, though. We went to go play with Regan, Bridget and Tess, since their pool is actually open. The sun was bright and beautiful, but the water was freezing cold.


The kid's splash area was really fun and shallow enough to warm up. Elena and Bridget ran through the collected water, splashing with their feet, but Elena would only go when the fountains had timed out and quit pouring water all over the place. Joseph wanted nothing to do with it, though. The water was too cold, the floor too rough, and there was a serious lack of Mommy. He was pretty tired by then, though.


Joseph fell asleep in the stroller on the 5 minute walk back to the house (only the second time he's slept in the stroller--he's usually too busy looking at everything) and he even dozed through a quick diaper change before totally conking out in Tess' crib. Elena and Bridget had popcicles on the back porch before coming in to play puzzles & dolls, have a tea party, and play Mickey Mouse Clubhouse games on the computer.


We had so much fun, I had a hard time getting Elena to say goodbye! My only two regrets are that we didn't get to stay longer, and that I hadn't gotten Regan to sunscreen my back--I've now got an irregularly shaped pink burn between my shoulder blades.

Pool Time And A Wedding

Joseph does physical therapy to help his ankle muscles stretch out and keep his feet from rolling in. We'd been going once a week since the beginning of January, but since he'd been improving so much each time we decided last time to start going every other week. Since this was the first time he's been since I started the blog, I took pictures.

And later, this afternoon, Elena found a drapery scarf on the floor while we were cleaning out the Living Room. She wrapped the fabric around herself then announced to her daddy that she was getting married.