FAI and Labral Tear...Another Ouch!

The Physician's Assistant drew a picture of my problem (Femoro Acetabular Impingement and a torn Labrum)

I can't remember when my hips haven't hurt...maybe 20 years ago...so last year I finally went in for an MRI and my doctor discovered the cause of the pain. And the pysical therapist assured me that everyone does not have pain all the time. I just figured everyone felt like I did! So, after much stalling and pushing back, I am having surgery tomorrow. Yuck. I know it will hurt much more than it does now for a few months, then it will feel much better, so it will be worth it. But, I am not looking forward to the 3-6 month recovery.

New Paint!

We have never lived anywhere for more than 18 months (except England, where we rented a flat) so we have never had the opportunity to paint a house. Apparently you are supposed to paint your house every 10 years or so to preserve the wood...so, a few months ago I began searching for the perfect color. And painter.

It is so expensive to paint that I thought it would be such a waste to redo the same color our house had been for 12 years, and besides, it was kind of boring anyway. So, when I was out with the missionaries distributing fliers for a free breakfast in the park I came across a painter. I am sure he thought I was a crazy Mormon when I asked for his card, but his house looked great and he said he had done it himself, so I decided to get a bid from him.

SO, if you are in the market for a painter...call Mark Lawrence at Lortentson Painting at 787-1437. He did an amazing job!

First Day of School 2010

Ryan has Mrs. Santos for 4th grade at Indian Valley, Becca has Mrs. Muniz for 7th grade Core at WCI, Andy got all of the Sophomore classes he wanted, and Alaina is hoping she likes her Freshman classes, both at Las Lomas.

We just had the house painted a beautiful grey blue and these pictures show why I haven't posted it...the lighting completely changes the color! This is the same garage door, just minutes apart. It is more like the color behind Becca and Ryan.

We started a tradition of going to Baskin Robbins after the first day of school when Andy was in Kindergarten. I love to hear all about their new experience and ice cream makes anything that wasn't good seem better! Blair came with us and the kids call him their brother because he is over so much. We love having him. Everyone looks pretty happy!

Ouch!

Last weekend Alaina's Comp soccer team (Go Velocity!) had a tournament in Ft. Bragg. At the last minute, I had decided to stay home so I could help Andy with his Eagle Scout project...I figured there will be hundreds more soccer games and he will only do his project one time. And, Dave was out of town, so no one would be home to help if he needed it. So, another family had kindly agreed to take Alaina with them and everything was great until the second game.

I guess when you play aggressively (Alaina is in the white jersey) an injury is bound to happen, I just had never really thought about it since none of the kids have had any major injuries in 10 years of playing sports.

So, just after she scored a goal in the second game, she had a bad fall. Everyone thought she had dislocated her shoulder and some of our awesome team parents rushed her to the ER and called me to let me know what was going on. X-rays, showed that her shoulder was broken in two place...her left femoral head was fractured from her humerus (the shoulder ball was completely severed from the bone) and broke her achromium bone (where the little knob in the middle of the shoulder is). She was so brave while the doctors were figuring out what was wrong.

After several hours of going back and forth with doctors in Ft. Bragg and Oakland Children's Hospital, and after several transportation options disappeared, I left for the 4hour drive at 9pm. In the middle of this, we had a dinner going on for Andy's Eagle helpers and our neighbors were having a wedding in their backyard!

Alaina was finally asleep when I got to the Mendocino Coast District Hospital, so I got the update from our coach's wife and team manager. They were unbelievable during this ordeal! So kind and helpful and loving. I am so grateful for them! I slept in chair at Alaina's bedside, and in the morning we began another chapter in the broken shoulder saga.

A new ER doctor came in and was upset that the night doctor hadn't given him adequate information and said she should immediately be transferred to Oakland. But Oakland wouldn't accept a hospital transfer and it became a doctor vs resident power struggle, ending with our doctor calling the resident a "preemie" and hanging up on him! I decided it was time to leave, so with one last IV dose of morphine (etc!) Alaina's kind coach drove our van so I could sit in the back with her while she slept and threw up on the windy road home.

Early Monday I called the doctor's office in Oakland and was told they couldn't see her until THURSDAY! So I took her to her pediatrician who was horrified by the xray and was able to get her in to an orthopedic within a few hours. Alaina had surgery the next day and I stayed the night with her in a chair (this is getting predictable, huh?). She got so many balloons, flowers, animals, and a HUGE basket of candy! I joked with her that maybe it was worth it, but she didn't think so.


Dr. Schilling was great and even though she is still in pain, and will be until the pins are removed, Alaina is on the mend! Thanks for all the prayers, calls, visits, and gifts.

Belgian Waffles with Salted Caramel Sauce

We have a new favorite breakfast...

Salted Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3 1/2 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp fleur de sel salt

In a heavy medium saucepan stir the water and sugar until dissolved. Increase heat and boil without stirring until the syrup is a golden amber color, 8-10 minutes. (You can wet the sides of the pan with a pastry brush and swirl pan if it starts to burn.) Add heavy cream and stir over low heat (mixture will boil and sieze, but keep until it is all blended again). Remove from heat, and add butter and fleur de sel. Pour sauce into a serving pitcher or bowl and set aside to cool. You can make this a day ahead and keep in the fridge. Warm slightly before serving.

Waffles

1 3/4 cup flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 2/3 skim milk

2 large eggs

6 Tbsp melted butter, slightly cooled

Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Add milk mixture to dry mixture in large bowl and whisk until batter is smooth.

Heat Belgian waffle iron. Spray lightly with cooking spray and pour about 1/2 cup batter over each waffle section. Close waffle iron and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Serve waffles with fruit and caramel sauce. Yum!

Leaving Hawaii Too Quickly

We checked out Monday morning and returned the rental car at the airport. We actually got a lot of sun, but we look the same in the before and after photo.

I love Alaina so much and am so proud of her. I don't know how she got to be this old, but she is such a wonderful young woman (she hates it when I say that, but it's true). We really enjoyed this time away to grow closer and have time to visit without daily life getting in the way of conversations. I love our traditions and am grateful for my family!

Polynesian Cultural Center

We had a great Sister Missionary in our Ward, Sister Avea, and her parents got us tickets for the Polynesian Cultural Center on the North Shore of Oahu. I actually found it without any problem but was a little over an hour away from our hotel, so it took a while to get there. It was great to meet them and they were so kind. We got there just in time for the Canoe Pageant, then we took a canoe ride through the 8 polynesian villages.

We walked slowly back through the villages, stopping for amazing coconut in Fiji. YUM! We watched a tapa cloth demonstration, fished and threw spears in Tonga, watched a drumming performance, and on a bamboo raft. Alaina got a traditional tattoo (that washed off the next day in the ocean!)

We went to a delicious Luau and enjoyed Kahlua pork, chicken, pineapple, and coconut cake. We had smoothies in pinepples, too. Then we went to a huge stadium theater and watched the performance of Ah: Breath of Life. It was fantastic and the performers were great. The fire dancing was incredible! I was so tired, but managed to find the way back to our hotel, only getting lost a little.

We went to church on Sunday morning, then, since we had to eat out, I let Alaina talk me into IHOP. She had been asking to go there for a long time, but we never go out for breakfast, so this was her chance! We layed out and walked along the beach. It was a beautiful day and I am so grateful we had the chance to take this trip.

Alaina's Going into High School Trip

We have started some really fun traditions with the kids. When they turned 8 Dave took them to a place they wanted to go...Andy chose Utah for a BYU football game, Alaina and Becca both chose Disneyland, and Ryan chose Legoland. Then, when they turn 10 they get to fly alone to Idaho and spend a week with Dave's parents. And when they are entering High School, the boys go with Dave and the girls go with me, anywhere in America they want for a quick weekend. So, this was the first time I got to go and Alaina chose Hawaii!

For as much as we travel, I was surprised to realize this was the first time I have ever rented a car. Dave always does it. So, I figured out how to drive to Waikiki and we unloaded our things at the hotel. We stayed at the amazing Hilton Hawaiian Village and our building was the one Michael Jackson and Elvis had stayed in. We spent Friday night shopping and eating sushi!

It was such a fun trip. We were able to do whatever we wanted and Alaina got to pick all of the restaurants and activities, without any other opinions or desires. All of these animals were at our hotel.

We went jetskiing first thing Saturday and Alaina proved to be quite the driver! She almost tipped us at first, but got used to it quickly and was really fun to ride with. It was her first time on a jet ski. We saw an amazing sea turtle swimming right next to us in the ocean!

We went parasailing afterwards and did the "Extreme Ride"... 1,000 feet up! The driver dipped us in the water several times and we had a great ride. Alaina said it was the best day!