Cooking

I'm really happy that I've been able to do a little cooking the past couple of weeks. The kids have really gotten tired of making themselves soup for dinner every night. I still need a lot of help from the kids because if I walk too much, my leg gets really painful. I made fried chicken breasts the other day with Alex as my assistant. I only make them about twice a year since fried food is a no no, but Shauna had a craving and Mike and Jack had purchased a bunch of chicken breast on a very good sale. They were yummy!

Jack made everyone flavored noodles last night. They are packaged and not healthy, but they are really cheap and I only had about half the amount of grocery money I actually need for a week, so they had to do. The kids love them and that is the only thing that Jack knows how to cook without using the microwave! I've offered to teach him to cook, but his reply is always "That's a woman's job." I can't wait until he gets married and his wife beats the crap out of him for saying that!

After most of the kids were in bed, I made the batter for chocolate ice cream. It had to cool in the fridge after cooking, so we are going to freeze it later, after adding some crushed double stuff oreos to it. I have been hiding a package of oreos in my dresser drawer for this recipe. I just hope no one discovered the stash and ate them! It is getting harder and harder to find good hiding places around here. Then when I do think of a new hiding place, I always forget where it is! Hopefully the ice cream will be good. This is my first attempt at making chocolate ice cream and my first time using an ice cream recipe that involves cooking some of the ingredients.

School Supplies

Since I can't go shopping, Mike has taken over the back to school supply shopping this year. He took Alex and Hannah shopping yesterday and they each got some new jeans, since their school doesn't allow shorts. Hannah got two pairs and Alex got one. They did a great job picking them out and making sure they weren't too expensive (they used their own money for those).

Today, Mike took Alex, Hannah and Shauna shopping. They got backpacks and almost all of the other school supplies they needed. Shauna and Hannah got some shoes as well. I am proud of Mike, he did a great job. It is stressful and confusing to buy school supplies for a lot of kids and he handled it very well.

Slowly but surely

I'm feeling a little less pain the last couple of days. I hope this upward trend continues. I am so tired on being in bed 24/7 and missing the last few weeks of the kids summer vacation. At this rate, I might not be out of bed before they head back to school.

Some light at the end of the tunnel

I've been in too much pain to blog lately, but I think I'm finally starting to heal. I went for my first physical therapy appointment today and it went great. I was terrified that I would have to do a bunch of really painful exercises, but that didn't happen at all. The girl who took care of me was very nice and gentle. She took a bunch of measurements for swelling and gave me some ultrasound therapy on the muscles and then finished with a massage, which surprisingly didn't hurt at all. The muscles feel a little sore right now, but I guess that is to be expected. I am looking forward to going again on Friday.

I am having no luck in getting the doctor to call me back to renew my muscle relaxers and pain medication. He didn't call at all yesterday and so I called again today and still no response. I guess my pain isn't as much of a concern for him as it is for me! I'm a little worried about how tonight will go, since I only have two vicodin left to take for pain. I hope I'm able to sleep.

Before my therapy session, I was really nervous and I cried when Mike called to wish me good luck. He was very supportive, which helped me a lot. My mom drove me to the YMCA for therapy and the car ride was pretty painful, but she suggested I recline the seat, which helped a lot.

Alex, Hannah and Shauna went to the outer banks with Tricia and Tim and their kids. They are having a great time and I wish I could have gone with them. I am so glad, though, they are out of the house and having fun. Having to stay in bed all day would be a lot worse if I knew they were having to fend for themselves. I really miss them, though, and am anxious to see them tomorrow.

Jack, Drew, Steven and Luke have been a huge help to me. Jack took the lead in cleaning the house, without being asked and assigned everyone chores (Steven hasn't done his share yet, not surprising). Drew volunteered to work for me on Tuesday. Luke has been helping Jack the most with the cleaning and they are all taking turns refilling my water bottle and bringing me food. Steven even shaved my legs before my therapy appointment!!! I think that almost makes up for the fact that he went to his friend's house without putting the clean laundry away. He told me he would make Steakums for dinner, but then he told me he wouldn't be home until 11, so I guess he won't be doing that.