Quick update:

First off, I'd like to say congrats to my little brother Justin, who played in last weekends Special Olympics Basketball Playoffs. This was his first time playing in the "A" league, in the past he's played in the "B". He didn't get played often (much to his and our dismay...it was his birthday), but the team as a whole took 3rd in the state. Way to go dude!

 

A lady bug commited suicide by plunging itself into hot molten wax in my bathroom.

Slumber party at our pad tonight. Koles friend Nora is staying over for Yatzee, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and ice cream. Elliette tried to wrestle with them. Hilarity ensued. Good times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swim class and Doctors meetings

Just a quick picture update with a few from our Wednesday "Mommy and Me" swim class.Thanks to Mommy for the pics!

Late morning was Elliettes appointment with the ENT for her nose bump. More to come when it's not 11:30pm. :)

DIY Ghost

Kole made this ghost the other night, cutting it out and sewing it totally by hand. He enjoyed it so much that he plans on making a whole "ghost family".

Also, I spoke with the secretary from the Doctors office and scheduled a CAT scan for tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed. I'd really like to be running as soon as I can, but I'm trying to stay in a "rest today and live to run another day" state of mind.

Nothing broken, but still not working as it should

I went and got my foot checked out today at the walk in clinic here in town. The Dr. said there probably wasn't anything broken since I had almost full range of motion, but he sent me to a satellite office to have an x-ray done just to be sure. We just spoke a few minutes ago on the telephone and he said there was no indication of a break or fracture, but there was an area of opacity (white spot) on the part of my foot where the pain is located. So I'm being set up for a CAT scan sometime in the next few days to have a better look. My x-ray tech wife, however, thinks the spot may be an indication of avascular necrosis. That would mean that I had had a small fracture or dislocation that disrupted the blood vessels that supply blood to that part of the bone, and without the blood supply the bone will die, and eventually collapse. Awesome. So if that option isn't brought up by the Dr., I might mention it and request an MRI, which would make for a better diagnosis.

More bitching about various injuries and maladies:

On a normal day, my foot won't start bothering me until the afternoon, after I've spent the day being semi-active and walking around on it. Today though, it hurt right out of bed. I think maybe it's time to go get an x-ray, since the initial injury happened almost two months ago, and doesn't seem to be getting any better. This morning Nancy brought up that she can see a visible difference my two feet, the left appearing to have a protrusion at the base of my big toe. Being forced to walk on the outside of my foot has me more or less couch bound, which is absolutely tearing me apart. At least I'll get caught up on all the reading I have to do.

Winter

I don't know if its the global climate changing, or just the ebb and flow of natural weather paterns, but it seems that New England has been experiencing only two seasons in the past few years: summer, and winter. Sure we still get "spring" and "autumn", but they seem more like precursors to the more harsh and long lasting season to come, rather than 1/2 of the years weather. Winter, to me at least, lasted a whole 6 months last year. It might have seemed longer than normal since I was more or less home bound without a car and a new baby, but it was still entirely unpleasant nonetheless. It would be far easier to deal with cold weather if my right hand wasn't in almost constant discomfort, or when it's really cold out, dull throbbing pain. Due to numerous injuries, there is a great deal of scar tissue and nerve damage, and coupled with my naturally poor circulation makes it feel like I've been squeezing an ice cube, even in 55F weather. My doctor has said there really isn't anything that can be done, besides major surgery to clear out the damaged tissue and attempt to repair the nerves. Even if I did decide to have the surgery, there really isn't any guarantee that it would be very successful. So instead I've developed a ritual of balling my hand into a fist and rubbing it harshly on my thigh to warm it up. I cannot wait to move to a warmer climate.



If I had a dime for every time I took something out of Elliettes mouth, I'd probably have a few hundred bucks by now.

I've been talking with some guys who hang out at the tattoo shop I've been piercing at recently about starting a new band, and with it starting to come to fruition I thought it was time to buy a guitar. I've been getting by playing guitars that people have loaned me since I had to sell my two vintage Gibsons to pay the mortgage a few years ago, so it's nice to have my own again. Elliette likes it, too. It's a 2004 Fender Telecaster (American), and sounds like sonic gold through my Mesa/Boogie Maverick 4x10.

I'll be working all day today, which usually means I get to sit around and watch movies most of the day since not many people tend to get piercings in the colder seasons. Fine with me!

Swimming Classes and more Skydiving Pictures

Today was Elliette's first "Mommy and Me" swim class, inappropriately named since there were 3 moms and 2 dads (including me) in the class. Whatever. After being on the "Parenting Magazine" mailing list for more years than I can remember  I've come to grips with the fact that people understand that there ARE stay at home Dads in the world, they just don't expect to encounter it in day to day life.Whatever. I can deal with that, I blow minds for a living.  :)


Anyway, Elliette LOVES to swim and get wet, so it was a big treat and she enjoyed herself immensely. We got to do perennial favorites such as "The Wheels on the Bus", "The Hokey Pokey", and "Simon Says". The instructor also had them practice kicking, blowing bubbles in the water, and floating on their backs. I wasn't too excited for Elliette to get the pool water in her mouth, but she didn't like the taste and got the hang of spitting it back out. She's never been scared of water and puts her face right in, a bit unlike Kole. He's 7-1/2 years old, and still won't put his head under or swim without floaties or someone there to hold him up. And it's not limited to the pool, oh no. In the shower whenever it's time to rinse his hair or face it's like he's being waterboarded. Seriously. Like I'm pouring acid on him. I've learned to close all the windows before bath time so the neighbors won't think I'm beating him. He is getting better, for sure...but I thought it was something he'd grow out of A LOT earlier.


I received a disk with about 80 more images of my skydive in the mail yesterday, here are some highlights:

 

 

Halloween and Autumn Fun

Kole vs. bird feeder: bird feeder 1, Kole 0.







Autumn is probably my favorite time of year...I love the weather, the leaves changing colors, and Halloween. We've been really busy the past week with Kole having a bunch of half days at school, getting ready for Halloween, and the party and parade at school. This year Nancy and I volunteered to help in the classroom with the party, which was more or less just handing out snacks and making sure everyone was in their costumes.










After the events at school happenings, we met Koles best friend, Nora, at a local farm to pick out pumpkins and see the animals. The cages the animals were in were a little small for me to be comfortable with, but the kids liked looking at them and seeing the goats showing off. There even was a one-legged goose who never seemed to move. Pumpkin pickings were mighty slim:








On Halloween we spent quite a bit longer getting Koles makeup looking right, since we didn't really have time in the classroom to make it look very zombie/ghoul-like. The jelly-blood really sold it. Nancy had been working for the past week or so on making Elliette a Witch costume, basically a cloak and hood combo with a purple lacy/spider web fringe. It was looking great, but Elliette refused to keep it on and kept trying to tear it off. So we just dressed her in a Halloween themed outfit, and put her in a pumpkin costume for pictures.









Papa and Grandma Gore came down to Grandma Prince's house for trick or treating before Nancy and I took off to attend a house warming/Halloween party at our friends Matt and Liz's new house. Late night shenanigans ensued, and we hitched a ride back to Grandma Prince's house, slept semi-soundly, and woke to coffee and eggs. Good times!








(FYI, I was Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead fame, and Nancy was Rainbow Brite)