My life as a transplanted Yankee

What do you do with a seven year old who thinks using her crutches is cool, even when her leg doesn't hurt?!  Her comment upon leaving the hospital was, "Well if the hospital thinks I need crutches, then I really must need them!"  We have had several conversations about honesty.  She will go all day without complaining about the pain, running all over the place and then as soon as we are ready to go somewhere she "needs" them.  So I'm the push over and her dad is the heavy, since I'm the one who has even pushed her around Kroger in a wheelchair!  I think we are getting somewhere with the whole honesty thought process. 

We are going riding today.  In two places!  This morning we are going to Billy's and then this afternoon we are going to Susan's.  The girls are excited.  I'm supposed to drop the girls off at Susan's and go shopping but since we have no extra spending money I don't think I'll go anywhere, I just visit with Susan.  We haven't had a really good chat in forever.

On the spinning and knitting front:  I organized a new spinning group.  Long story short/stop if I've told you this already/skip if I have!

The meeting places for our spinning group were as follows, odd months in Nashville at a church, even months in H'ville at an historic site.  The historic site had trouble with their long time employee who was in charge of the site.  He was asked to resign and in the process the board asked us to not meet there one month.  It got all twisted around to say that we were never to return.  Not true.  So we found a new spot in Nashville.  The feed back was that everyone wanted to stay in Nashville and never go back to H'ville.  But I know that I really liked meeting at the historical site.  So I decided to organize a "new" group to meet there.  One thing I didn't count on was meeting at a different time.  So since we only had three attendees I'll move the Saturday we will be meeting from the second Saturday to the first. 

I started making purses for the girls and I'm addicted to making them.  I lovethe little tool that knits the handles, I found it at JoAnn's but other craft stores sell them.  You wind the yarn around the posts and then use a tool to flip the yarn over the other winding.  Very addictive.  I also found a new yarn/spinning store very near to us.  I can't wait to visit!  It is just north of us in KY.

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1.  I'm thankful for my car.  I'm saying that since I'm not happy about what it costs to fill it.  So I'm thankful for the means to get to the places I need to go.

2.  I'm thankful for my girls.  They are so different in personality but so sweet.

3.  I'm thankful for the rain we are having this year.  It is so green and lovely.

4.  I'm thankful for my sweet husband who is is trying so hard to improve himself.  He isn't a terribly organized person but he is trying to change.

5.  I'm thankful for my warm and cozy house.  We live like kings in this country.  I'm grateful.

I'll be thankful also when June is over.  Not to wish my life away but I've been seeing the chiropractor three times a week.  I haven't clocked the milage but I know it is ridiculous.  I can't wait til I'm only going once a week. 

We have been just trucking along.  Tuesday evening we were leaving the chiropractor's and going to the Mexican restaurant next door when I turned to look back at where the girls were.  Walking into the other restaurant in the strip was Marty Stuart.  For those who don't know who he is, he is big more in bluegrass now, but he is in country music too.  He lives in Hendersonville which is where we were.  I don't get many celebrity sightings. 

Our new schedule with Billy has changed.  We work Monday, Thursday and Saturday.  I don't care for Saturdays but it sure beats both Friday and Saturday. 

Have a good weekend y'all.

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I have been camping out on the recliner most mornings to use Lou's laptop.  All of my pictures are stored on the pc.  Hence my lack of photos lately.  Also my camera was at my mother in law's since Easter. 

I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend.  I got flowers on Friday, got to go scrapbooking Friday night, got to go to spinning on Saturday, went to my in-laws' on Sunday.  Was loved on by my kid's and husband.  Nice.

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Is it Thursday already?! 

1. I'm thankful for flexibility.  Yesterday Bella had had it.  She was horribly tired, super cranky.  I had a full day planned for us.  At 8 o'clock I cancelled everything and we just spent the day at home chillin' out.  She had a nice long nap in the afternoon and I think regained some of her sanity.

2.  I'm thankful for little girls who are excited about makeup and getting their nails painted.  I have some beautiful glittery, sparkly pink fingernails right now.  And some very Barney purple toenails.  And I love them because my girls painted them for me!

3.  I'm thankful that this weekend I get to scrapbook and spin wool.  I've become very outspoken about standing up for my time spent crafting.  My friend told me she and the other one who run the scrapbook night were going to cancel because one of them was going to be busy.  I shrieked!  I count on that night.  It is sacred!  So it is back up and running for Friday!  I also made a change with spinning.  Long story short, we were meeting at an historical site about 30 from Nashville.  The caretaker was asked to leave.  While they were regrouping from that they told us we couldn't meet there.  So someone found another spot to meet at in Nashville.  Everyone loved said spot and didn't want to come to the historical site anymore.  Everyone except 3 or 4 of us.  So we are going to meet there regardless and hopefully we will grow.  But we are only meeting every other month so we can still meet with the main group also.  I got that ball rolling and I feel really good about it.

3.  I'm thankful for doctors.  Especially the ones at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.  We are very lucky to live near such a wonderful facility.

4.  I am thankful for the rain.  When I look out, it looks so gloomy.  But when I remember last year and the drought, I perk up!  I can take a few gloomy days if it means rain.

5.  My sweet husband.  He is really struggling with Emma hurting and not knowing what the scoop is.  He is so grumpy about it.  He grumps, I fuss at him and then he realizes that it is because he is stressed about Emma.  He is also grumpy because of my work schedule.  I told him that he needs to chill.  We would have $33 in the bank right now instead of several hundred.  We have to make sacrifices.  It will be ok.  He knows this, he just doesn't always like it!

I know I haven't been adding any pictures lately.  That would be a combo of laziness and using my husband's laptop.  No pictures on the lap top.

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It has been the usual crazy train here.

Yesterday was Emma's appointment at the orthopedist's office.  It went well.  Nothing much was said other than here are some options (not surgery at the moment) and here is what you could do.  He made her run and walk, poked and proded her leg quite a bit.  She was ok until he was done and then she hurt.  I had been about to tell him it was ok to just monitor this by xray every few months.  He said he rarely operates on these kind of cysts.  But the pain in worrisome.  And the cyst may be just something we found and has nothing to do with the pain.  So due to the fact that she was griping about the pain I told him to do the full work up.  Blood work and a bone scan to rule out the big C.    That will take place on the 21st.  She spent a bunch of time on the crutches yesterday.  But today she didn't use them once.   And she didn't even ask about them once.  Hmmmm.  We will see.

We had a lovely time outside today.  Gorgeous.  The neighbor's horses came to the back fence.  Emma went over to say hi.  Each of the four had to stick their noses over for pettings.  Then Emma sat on the wood pile next to the fence and one of the mares stuck her head practically in her lap to be loved on.  I stood and petted one gelding forever.  He was so sweet.  Just wanted some attention.  Bella found a fairly big snail so she and Billy had a great time observing him.  He even let me release the snail later! 

I'm ready to sleep.  So tired. 

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The kids had a ball yesterday.  They are tick bit, mosquito bit and very dirty but true to what I said yesterday, I barely noticed them. 

Activities included: watching parts of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Playing briefly with the few Legos the boys brought.  Playing Sorry and then deciding that they could make their own board game.  Bella came up with the concept and Erik put it into production.  Fidg got green Sharpie marker on my carpet but I don't mind.  I hate carpet!  I want more laminate.  Much playing outside!  Hence the massive amounts of ticks. 

My thankfuls:

1.  The great weather we had been having.  Glorious!

2.  Getting together with friends this week! 

3.  Getting to go on a retreat this weekend.  I can't wait!!!!  I just wish it was for about a week instead of overnight.  We get there Friday night and leave Saturday evening.

4.  For my husband who made me get out the door and get to the chiropractor last night.  I needed that!

5.  For getting to scrapbook this week.  I got some journaling done that I had been putting off.  I'm nearly out of pages but never out pictures! 

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I swear I'm a glutton for punishment.  After watching Billy all day yesterday I had my friend and her three kids come over last night.  It was great to get together.  We did some scrapbooking and the kids played.  But it was a late night for my girls.  AND they have their good friends coming over today to play.  Their mom needs me to watch them for a couple of hours.  Am I nuts?  No, not really.  I know that all four will have a great time together.  I'll hardly be needed except to pass out snacks!  I will work on laundry and maybe scrapbook since I left my stuff out. 

Emma is off and on using her crutches.  The pain is very random.  To clarify some, the cyst is part of her bone.  As you look at the x-ray it is very easy to see and is defined within the confines of the bone.  In other words, it is not in soft tissue.  It cannot be drained.  We see the orthopedist next Monday.  I looked Dr Lovejoy up online  I might have to dress up.  He is so good looking!!!  Oh my.  If you are curious he is with Vanderbilt Pediatric Orthopedics. 

I don't know if I mentioned but I had a unicameral benign cyst in my right humerous when I was a child.  I had surgery when I was 8.  Mine was in my bone marrow.  When they fixed me they had to use a cadaver.  The plan had been to use my hip bone but that didn't work out as it had grown too big.

I'm of to get this day started!  Wish me luck.

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So the actual name of the cyst is a benign nonossifying febroma.  As it turns out this is the most common cyst a child can have.  They occur only in children.  They don't have to do anything with the cyst unless it is in a place that they worry will fracture.  We are going to follow up with an orthopedic surgeon soon.  I'm slightly worried that we will need surgery since she is in pain.  We'll see I suppose.

I'm worn out.  There is entirely too much to think about, and Emma's cyst just one of them! 

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Around noon today, Emma decided that the pain in her leg was too much to take and she couldn't walk on it.  So by 4pm we were in the ER at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.  We were there along with many, many other families.  It's spring and everyone was out there hitting it hard.  Broken legs and the like.  I decided that even though we had an appointment with an orthopedist it was not going to wait until Tuesday.  So after several xrays and several hours and getting to not have a room but instead a cozy corner of the hallway, they discovered a benign cyst on her femur.  We have to follow up with an orthopedist but they are really not concerned about it.  I'm relieved to be honest.  I was scared it might have been cancer or something horrid like that.  The cyst is actually down by her knee.  I will keep you posted about the results and such.  OH and she got crutches which she is endlessly excited about!  Kids.

My Jeep is finally home.  It cost way too much money to repair.  I'm ill over it.

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