Journey to and Through Motherhood: 1Y37W: Yummy Sugar + Toddler = Fun Times (11/8/10

I worked at the Brighton Health Center this week which was a nice break. I appreciate being able to sleep in and still get some stuff done around the house before work then being allowed time to run errands and still beat Paul and Lily home in the evening. Lily was such a silly sweetheart this week. Maybe her fun mood had something to do with eating small bits of Halloween candy all week. I continued to hide her bucket of candy on top of the refrigerator but she quickly learned where it was and would stand in front of the refrigerator reaching up as far as she possibly could chanting, “Candy, candy!” One night I accidentally gave her chocolate a little too close to bedtime and, an hour after she was supposed to be in bed, she was leaping around the living room saying, “Bounce! Bounce!” Oops. I love our evening routine of her pulling me to her Pooh table and making me sit in the tiny but surprisingly sturdy chair beside her to color. She always colors on one side of the coloring book while I get the other. It’s a fun side-by-side activity and it’s so cute to watch her concentrating while she works. She does so well sharing and is getting really good at learning her colors. Not only is she a good sharer, but she also is learning to take turns which is hard for impulsive toddlers. During her baths she takes turns with me filling her toy cup with water while I fill her shampoo rinse cup with water. She says, “My turn,” and then, “Your turn.” It’s very cute. Lily didn’t cry at all for her daycare drop-offs with Paul, of course. She apparently saves the tears for mama. With Paul, she excitedly ran in each day to show the kids the toys she brought to play with that day and didn’t even look back when he left.

On Tuesday evening, I had a great run (my best time yet!) but felt a pulling sensation in my bad leg during the run. The ongoing annoying pain I’ve been experiencing since August that was first attributed to my ITB band then my hamstring muscle but never truly diagnosed is now a million times worse. As soon as I stopped running, it tightened right up and I was in excruciating pain. I could barely straighten my leg and wanted to scream with the pain. It was no better on Wednesday morning and I could barely walk. Thankfully, a clerk at BHC got me overbooked into an appointment at the PT Acute Injury Clinic that afternoon so I could be evaluated. The physical therapist thought that it was definitely the attachment of my hamstring muscle as straightening my leg (especially against pressure) was the most painful thing for me and figured that I kept pushing through a tight muscle until it sprained and then eventually tore. I also possibly tore some ligaments along with the muscle. I know it is all my fault but it hurt even when I rested it for long periods of time so I thought, ‘Screw it! If it hurts whether I am resting it or working it, I might as well go running.’ Apparently that was the wrong choice. Now I am mandated to rest and ice it for a week and then slowly attempt some stretching exercises that she gave me. If I am not back on my feet in two weeks, I am supposed to get a referral for PT. Oh joy! I just want the horrible pain to go away. It got a bit better as the week wore on but straightening my leg when standing up is still super painful and I cannot even walk briskly or I immediately start limping. Ugh!

As I recovered from my injury, I also spent most of the end of the week cleaning the house and packing for the weekend. We went to Paul’s parents’ house in Grayling for a 4 day weekend so that Paul could hunt and I could recuperate. We left on Friday evening and the details of our trip will be on the next post.

I am trying to calm down a bit on my picture taking. I realize that it is a bit ridiculous that I have 34GBs worth of pictures of a 20 month old. Here are some of those pictures from this week. As previously mentioned, Lily was a real goofball these past few days.

Why don't they make shoes this cute in my size!?: