Come Back to Amazon

I order from Amazon. Not as much as some people I know, but I do order from Amazon. Books, CD's, shoes, all sorts of things. Today, I got this e-mail from them:

"Dear Amazon.com Customer,

As someone interested in automotive accessories, parts, or car electronics, you might want to check out our low prices on great gifts plus the top brands in tools and equipment, performance parts, car care, replacement parts, and accessories sold by Amazon.com.

You can also explore our new Wheels & Tires Store!"


Ooohh, the new Wheels and Tires store. Can't wait!

I've never ordered an automotive accessory  from Amazon. Ever. Anyone who knows me should know how *not* into automotive accessories.  Guess I need to go and update my profile and recommendations pages. Or start buying car parts for my brothers. They'd be happy!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I know it's cold outside. It was -11 when I walked Brandon down to our neighbor's house for the school drop off.

But I think the channel 9 thermometer is just a tad bit off today. -583? Really? I know it feels like that, especially when it's windy. But still!

Brandon's Face

Brandon took a dive last Thursday evening. He fell in the neighbor's driveway and did a faceplant on the ice. The driveway was shoveled, but the ice that had formed was bumpy - like frozen raindrops. The left side of Brandon's face looked like hamburger! I felt so bad for the poor guy! His face and nose were all bloody. He had a half-dollar sized patch on his forehead that had gotten scraped up, and dime-sized patches under his nose and lips as well. His nose and lips were scratched up, but not as bad as the other places. Our neighbor even made him hot chocolate, but that didn't ease the suffering any. Brandon scabbed up overnight, and did not (at all) want to go to school the next morning. He got over his vanity pretty soon (probably after all the kids were somewhat in awe of his adventure, as little kids are apt to be), but complained about the scabs itching.

So now, almost a week later, he's looking a lot better. Here he is, right before school today:

Most of the scabs have fallen off, leaving behind the pink shaded area of newly healed skin. We're still putting creams on it so he won't scar too bad. With the freezing cold weather we're having, and the onset of winter, I'm hoping he won't get any strange patterns on his face from being exposed to too much sun. I even put off getting a haircut so that the stylist wouldn't touch the sore patch on his forehead. Now that it's getting better, I guess I should get him into Great Clips pretty soon!

Back to Life

Back to the daily grind. Needed to wake up to an alarm this morning. If I need to wake up to an alarm, it's probably to early to get up. Although part of me is happy to get back to the schedule, I'm not ready to restart our early mornings. Back to sleepy morning kids. Back to rushed breakfasts and rushed mornings. Back to Brian leaving for work. Back to needing coffee in the morning instead of it being a pleasant experience with breakfast.

On the plus side, I'm back to Brandon in school, which he loves. A few free hours for me , as Caitlin goes back to school tomorrow. Her fever is gone, and all she seems to have left of her weekend illness is a cough. We even walked to school this morning. Right now only my feet hurt, instead of feet and legs. I should know by this evening or tomorrow morning how much I'll pay for that little 1-mile walk to and from school. Caitlin and I will join Brandon on his class scavenger hunt this afternoon, so I may know earlier than that!

I am grateful for the mornings I had to sleep in last week. I think it helped me recover from my own illness, and just catch up on much needed sleep. I accomplished a lot around the house, which I don't manage to do during our regular weeks.  We had fun just being together as a family, and the kids love to have all the extra time to hang out with their Dad.  And the best thing - it's only for a few weeks, and then we're off on Christmas break. We're spending Christmas at home this year. A first for me. Ever. I've always spend Christmas with family. We'll be visiting them after Christmas, but I'm grateful to not fly during the busiest time of the year, and grateful to not have to miss out on everything going on around town because we're not usually around to enjoy it.

Now, off to shower and finish our charity bags. We cleaned out our closet and the kids rooms. So much needed to go.

Fort Collins

In preparation for the yearly forced PTO, in which Brian has had to take time off, we planned on taking a couple of days and exploring Fort Collins. We also needed something to keep us busy, since schools here take the whole week of Thanksgiving off, not just the day of and the day after. There was no forced PTO this year, so we didn't have to go. But we went anyway. We booked the hotel a couple of weeks back, and told the kids that we were going to go out of town for a few days. Bad move on our part. We shouldn't have told them that early. Caitlin has asked every. single. day. for. two. weeks. when (when, Mommy, when?) are we going out of town?

Fort Collins is just over an hour north of us, and the last big city in Colorado before you hit Wyoming. At just over 130,000 people, it's not really that big, either. But we're getting use to that. We had fun exploring. I especially liked the area around CSU. But then again, I always like areas around older college campuses. I like the character. I like the trees. I like the idea that there is so much energy around universities. I'm not sure I'd like living around all of those young, crazy college students, which is why I don't live by a university. But I like being near them. We drove around a lot. The bitter winds prevented us from doing much outside until the last day. Once my ears begin to hurt, I'm done.

But for all the fun of Fort Collins, the biggest draw for the kids was ......

the indoor pool!!!

How can you beat an indoor pool? Caitlin loves swimming, and asks me oh, about every other day when we can go to an inside pool. It doesn't help that the pools here close right after Labor Day, and that we drive by the closed pool on a frequent basis. Caitlin looks longingly out her window as we drive by..........

So, into the pool we went. Day after day. Luckily they were satisfied with an hour. And the Residence Inn was hardly crowded in the days before Thanksgiving, so we had the pool and hot tub to ourselves. The kids had their life jackets and goggles, and were set. I got to try out my new suit, bought during the Land's End bathing suit clearance and sent right after Labor Day. Good deal. We got to get out of the house for a few days. We got to explore a new town. And we got to swim in a heated indoor pool. It was a fun time for the entire P-4 family!

** just in case you're worried, Brandon is doing a shark impersonation, not having a bad time in the pool!

Pronation

My ankles over-pronate. Meaning, they roll outward more than normal whenever I walk, putting all the stress on the soft tissue of my feet and extra stress on my big toe. More information than you wanted to know, I'm sure. According to the x-rays and podiatrist exams, it's just how I'm built and now needs to be corrected. This has been going on all my life, and explains so many of the problems I've had. It was interesting to have the podiatrist point out things that I *may* have experienced, and realizing during her talk that I've gone through most of what she talked about. The extreme pain, though, is a new thing. About this time last year I started having a lot of pain in my feet. I wasn't sure what was going on, but thought it may have something to do with my clumsy episodes in spring of 2008, where I sprained my right foot and then, a month later, broke the toe (I think) on  my left foot. In the fall, I started having huge amounts of pain in my feet, ankles, knees and hips. Getting up was painful. Walking was painful. Standing was painful. Grocery shopping was painful. Picking Brandon up from school was painful. About the only thing that wasn't painful was sitting on my a-double-s, and that is what I did  (and I am paying for my suddenly sedentary lifestyle). But every step I took hurt. It still does. Finally, just last month, I made an appointment with a podiatrist. After exams and x-rays, it was determined that I don't have plantar fasciitis, or knee problems, or more broken toes (which was what prompted the appointment in the first place). I have over-pronating ankles, which are causing a whole host of problems. And I need custom orthotics for my shoes.

Yay! A diagnosis!

Orthotics. Custom. Nothing like that just before turning 40 to help make me feel young.

So here I am. I picked up the orthotics yesterday, just in time for our trip to Fort Collins. They're not big, but they do make my shoes fit differently. I'm not sure how many pairs of shoes I'm going to have to give away. No more Dansko's for me, or Bass, as far as I can tell. The shoes that have come recommended are all expensive, and range from "fine" to "even my grandfather wouldn't have worn that". Josef Seibel? Comfort shoes? I haven't found a pair yet that doesn't make me look like an old man in the 1970's. All I'm missing is the leisure suit. In peach.

I'm curious to see how this all goes. I've only worn the orthotics for a few hours, as I am suppose to build up my wearing time. Then I'm suppose to wear them all day. Even at home. In my slippers. I'm a barefoot kind of gal, and have never liked wearing shoes at home, so this will be interesting. I may need to convert my moccasins to house shoes so I can at least be comfortable at home. I feel so old. But if these help, I may be able to go for a walk without experiencing shooting pains  in my heels, and up through my legs and hips. I may be able wake up in the morning and walk instead of fall. I may again be able to carry my own children down the stairs of my house (I had to give that one up a couple months ago due to fear of falling). I may walk without a limp. Even when I'm not limping, every step still hurts. It has for most of this year. And that I am completely willing to give up.

Jammies?

Caitlin has declared today to be a pajama day. Meaning she gets to wear pajamas all day. But we have a foot of new snow outside. Let's hope that a trip to the local mall makes her change her mind. These kids will need to run around somewhere today! And she doesn't get to wear footie jammies out into the snow with her boots!

Vampire Teeth

Aaahh, the joys of 25 cent vampire teeth at the after Halloween sale at King Soopers:

Scary, aren't they?