The grumpy face was Noah's reaction to Madeline's complaint that Mommy was taking a picture of HER not HIM & he needed to get out of her way. Noah, didn't like that response. :) 
Saturday we walked up town to the antique fair...so many old things...so little time! There were quite a few tables & chairs that needed homes, some crocks, lots of great 'estate' type of pieces...sigh! Sam took a picture of Rob & I at the end of our walk when we ended @ the house. Rob 35 & Amy 32...married 10 years, hard to believe!
Shortly after this picture was taken I fell in the back yard & sprained my ankle. It's a doozey too. At first I thought for sure that I broke it. I mean really, when I went down I knew I was going to be sick, I was hot/cold & needed to vomit right then. That of course subsided, & I can walk on it-but I am trying to keep it elevated when I can & ice it. I was trying so hard not to permanently damage my children with the vision of their mother laying on the grass trying not to upchuck saying breathlessly, "I'm fine! I'm fine!
" Rob was wonderful, gathering the kids as the older two kept running back inside gathering their very precious night-time 'friends' Sam's "Orville" (the stuffed cat that he has had since he was a baby) & Madeline's "Beary Bear" (likewise) & giving them to me to make me feel better. Rob put an end to it when Sam ran back out for the third time. Sam had grabbed his 'red pillow' his favorite extra large feather pillow with his very favorite red pillow case & chucked it across the grass at me landing on my head. :) Rob said in his serious-situation-father voice, "Okay, that's it-everybody inside while I help Mommy up!" And up I went, inside, put my foot up & put ice on it. Sam informed me that after the fall he had his "finger on the 9 for 911". I thanked him and reminded him that if I can answer him to tell him "no" don't call, then he cannot call 911. Then he reminded me that the rules are this, "But if you can't tell me no, then I'm calling!" Yes, these are the rules...pretty clear ones & I'm glad he remembers them. I put pictures of our weekend on Snapfish, including this nice ankle shot. My girlfriend shot me an e-mail back right away with a funny, "OMG! I thought it was a tumor! Your foot looks like hell!" I needed that response just then...so I'm glad I checked my e-mail when I did. It does look kinda gross, and 48 pounds...48 pounds lighter...and my legs still look like tree trunks! Not fair. Actually it is fair, I still have a ways to go-they won't look like evergreens forever.
Speaking of fair, I try not to think about what is fair or not fair-usually because life isn't fair and I know that. Plus whiners are no fun. But really, this falling down thing is starting to suck. I tumble, I get it, okay-slow down. I fall, alright I'll pop a Prednisone. I drop my coffee, well it's a great example for the kids that accidents happen. Don't freak-clean it up, no big deal, my motto seems to be "don't cry over spilled coffee". Hurray, I'm the mommy of the year, I am constantly giving my children perfect examples of how to react to an incident with a calm life-lesson-learning: this is building character when you or you see someone falls, forgets, trips, forgets, slips, forgets, drops, forgets, pee your pants, forgets, falls & trips. After awhile though, my smile turns into a-Man...this is starting to suck! And really, it doesn't suck that bad. I know it could be worse, a lot worse. I realize this. I know that perfectly well. I try to make the people around me feel less awkward when MS is brought up. Which is weird since I wear my "Multiple Sclerosis...now you've seen it" T-shirt often. That's not always a soccer-mom to soccer-mom conversation starter. I really do though. As people say, Oh I'm so sorry! I used to smile & say, oh no- that's okay! Luckily I've been in a position in my life that I am always hurry hurry hurry, for the most part-happy happy happy & it doesn't get mentioned much so I don't need to deal with reactions much. There is no reason to be irritated. But I was. I still am. I don't know why exactly, but I am irritated. I'm not sure exactly what to do next though. At least not tonight. Everything looks better in the morning.
