Hanging with the Fam, Post Surgery

Hey it's me, the blog author! Didn't you like Jeremy's post the other day about life post- surgery in our house? Good job keeping the blog alive!

It has been crazy indeed but honestly not that bad. My surgery was one week ago today which means that I have been in a bed-ridden foot-elevated-above-my- heart state for a week, with one more week to go. Half way baby! (well half way to crutches and wheelchair, which surely will prove to be much harder...so perhaps I shouldn't celebrate yet)

Everyone knows I'm good at being lazy so that's no problem, but it still does get boring around here. I've watched all of the new fall shows, read a little, and played on my iPad alot. Now that I'm coming out of a drug induced stupor a little bit, I'm hoping to do more crafts and fun stuff in the week ahead.

During the day the kids go to school or friend's houses. (THANK YOU friends who are babysitting), while I sleep and chill. Then in the evening we all have dinner up here, thanks to a handy dandy card table Jeremy brought up, and hang out together.

Tessa and I also started reading A Wrinkle in Time a few days ago. It's a 'big book' and pretty much over her head, but at the same time she likes it and having a big book makes her feel special.

Last night I tried to lead the family in some exercises. Jess had helped me find upper body workouts for handicapped people and I thought the kids might like to do it too...you know 'fly', and 'box'.

Man, between Charley running around naked, Tessa dancing and stopping for water, and Jeremy's incessant complaining about how out of shape his arms are...it's a surprise we even got through it.

Charley prefers to exercise naked. Because....he's Charley. My kids really love nudity.




Tessa and I tried to do some nail art. Mine are supposed to be clouds...see it? Tessa had pink polka dots that mostly smudged up. Nail art requires much longer drying time, hard for four year olds.

I got Jeremy a 'thank you for emptying my chamber pot' gift (one of many I'm sure). He loves Sriracha!


There's the dinner table. We don't typically watch TV during meals at all, but who can resist when you're already laying in bed? Reruns of the best show on TV.


This is my virtual Smurf village, which I really really love. I mean really. You have to build the town, plant the crops, keep the Smurfs happy and healthy, and move things wherever you want them. I love that it gives me something to 'care for' and feel important. And the kids like it too.

Charley calls them Narfs. So every time he greets me, it's....Hi MOMMY! How you? How me NARFS doing?


The Narfs have several games within the game. Charley does the hammering one.

And Tessa does the painting one.

And that's what we've been doing. I'm hoping tonight or tomorrow that Tessa and I can attempt making scarves out of old Tshirts. So I'm in alot of pain, and I'm bored, but I'm also blessed. Trying to enjoy my family and my constraints the best I can.

The New Routine

(JB writing) We're finding our new stride in the Bennington house. PTL for healing and patience (Laura, the kids, the dogs, JB's work, etc.). 

For those of you not following on FB Laura had surgery on Friday to repair the damage that stepping on Thomas The Train did.  This involved four screws in her foot to fuse the bone where the ligaments were torn off!   Friday had pain "as bad as natural child birth w/o drugs," unfortunately Laura was on pain meds and it wasn't cutting it.  By the grace of God we had some from a previous surgery and it got things under control until Monday when her doctor was back in the office.

The new routine is setting in.  Simple tasks like getting to the restroom are the most difficult, but teamwork helps.  The kids have been amazing through all of this; they have been trained up well by their mom and are showing amazing faith in God for little tikes.

Between pre-school, dance lessons, family and friends I am still able to get a lot of work done.  I'm able to work most meeting around when we have coverage and the rest is just getting things done whenever I can.  Then on to Mr. Mom tasks.   While I am tired, I am at the same time filled with thanksgiving that He will get us through this test...and maybe even enjoy parts of it!

We're looking forward to my Dad, Barbara and their pups coming in to town for two week this Sunday!  

Here's a few pictures from the past week of adventures.

Laura's new hardware!

Appropriate Literature

Conversations with Charley

This afternoon after church I baked four lasagnas, then took myself to a movie I've been dying to see (The Help). Better do it now right?

While I was gone Jeremy made this sweet video of Charley talking about Super Why and the new cast member, Woofster the Super Dog.

He also made Baba Ghanoush, but that's completely unrelated.



You gotta admit, even though you can't always understand Charley's words, he has the BEST facial expressions.

So here's the Deal

Rather than re-write the story I've been telling everyone...here is the news on my foot, copied from an email I sent out to family:

So you guys remember two weeks ago when I fell on a Thomas the Train and thought I tore or damaged at tendon?

I've been wearing a space boot for 2 weeks and had my appt with an Ortho yesterday. He did what is called a stress xray which translates to OUCH! He held my foot on the xray table and contorted it in all kinds of strange ways to get a view of what it looked like when I was writhing in pain (with both of the kids sitting on a stool in the next room watching, haha)

Anyway, I actually busted (or 'blew out') is what he said, the ligaments on the top of my foot.

So far my explanation hasn't been very good but there are several small rounds joint bones between your big toe and your ankle. Well mine are disconnected from the rest of the bones of the foot, and you can see very clearly a big gap where they are supposed to be held together by ligaments. He kept showing me my good foot and bad one on xray. It was like here's a normal foot....here's a foot with a huge gap where the bones are seperated.

So I have to have surgery, there is no other option. They will place 4-5 screws there to 'fuse' the bones back together. And the worst part of all...two weeks of elevation, then NO WEIGHT BEARING for two months (meaning crutches or walker/scooter only) , followed by two months in the walking cast and physical therapy.

That's the part that gets me right now. I could care less about pain and sugery, but I can't stand or walk on it for two months. I'm assuming I will get crutches or a walker or whatever to manuever around the house. I figure if I have crutches I can take the kids to school, and I can use the electric scooter at the grocery store. But I'm a SAHM....what about my normal activities like doing laundry, babysitting, cooking dinner, taking the kids to the zoo and library.

It's not like I'm soooo worried about the laundry. I have a perfectly capable husband, and a pile of laundry's not the end of the world. But I'm worried about my mental state without doing the things that I consider to be 'productive'. I mean it's basically like if I were working a 'real' job that requires you to be on your feet...I would lose my job or go on disability.


I know I can't sit around and watch tv for two months. That's just not going to work. I'm working on a bucket list of things I can do, projects I can start and fun activities for the kids. Any great ideas? Book suggestions?

Today I scheduled my surgery for Friday the 23rd. Mom will be here for three days, then Jeremy will do his best to manage the week after that, then Grammie and Grampie arrive (complete with rescue dogs!) for two weeks starting on 10/2. We are so blessed to have such great help and support! I know I will need some babysitting that first week after surgery on Wed (the 28th) and Fri (the 30th) so that Jeremy can work. Anybody interested?

Thanks for all your prayers and support and love.

Jeremy reminded me yesterday: Cor 10:13 (MSG) No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it

Since I wrote this I've been hard at work getting my ducks in a row, as well as celebrating Dad's 60th birthday and Marshall-ness down in North Vernon.

I've come up with a list of things to do next week pre-surgery:
- major grocery shop
- make a couple more lasagnas to freeze
- visit hobby lobby to get some crafts for myself, and a lap board
- clean out the car (so the G's won't be grossed out by it)
- wash comforter and guest room comforter
- get my hair done, possibly with teal streaks
- go to dance class with the kids
- go to the park and other places outside with the kids
- set up my nightstand and drawers with snacks, books and crafts
- buy a couple of new pillows for the bed

These are my plans post surgery, particularly the first two weeks when I have to be laying in bed:
- start every day reading the bible, and do the 'experiencing God' bible study with my friend Jenn.
- read the chronicles of Narnia
- read other books (suggestions?)
- play words with friends with everybody I know
- pick a tv series I've never seen and download the whole thing (suggestions?)
- do some painting, maybe corn syrup painting
- maybe cross-stitch or teach myself crochet
- use the scrap book paper I have in our stuff to make the kids origami swans
- write cards and letters
- Christmas shop online

What have I missed? I'm open to any and all ideas. I hope I can use this time in a constructive and uplifting way. But no doubt there will be TV....lots of TV.

Papaw the Grand Marshall

So this is what it's like to be the daughter of a bona-fied celebrity. Not only were my parents stars of the home and garden tour, Dad's the new superintendent of Jennings County which made him a prime candidate to be the Grand Marshall of this year's homecoming parade.

I'm glad this happened while I am still mobile. (After next week I will no longer be mobile, but that's another post that I don't have the energy to write right now). So the kids and I hopped in the car and drove down to NV.

We rearranged our normal Wednesday plans cause...we weren't going to miss this!

Charley and Tessa all ready to go. Tessa couldn't quite figure out what a parade was. She asked if we were going to see clowns and elephants. I think she was thinking of the circus.

They figured it out pretty quick though. Parade= CANDY!

See that orange Corvette with the dashing figure atop it? The Grand Marshall!

I giggled the whole time. I'm not laughing AT you Dad....just laughing at a member of our family being such a celebrity. TWO members actually, cause every Grand Marshall need a Grand Lady, you know.

Mom took a picture of us taking a picture of them. This was their cheering section. Hey Papaw!....I mean Your Marshall-ness!



So much fun. A great afternoon down home, catching candy, waving and visiting a bit.

Serious and Sad Stuff- Finding Hope

I'm not good with serious stuff. Not in writing or in real life. I tend to run the other way and then wait for a good time to make awkward inappropriate jokes.

So I feel like I should say something about 9/11, about the ladies brunch I went to on Saturday to raise awareness for human trafficking and prostitution in Indianapolis. But I don't know where to begin. I guess it's fair to say that both events opened my eyes to the gratitude I need to have on a daily basis, and realizing the importance of life.

No injuring my foot was not the end of the world, so I need to stop acting like it.

Then this morning I got on FB and saw that someone had nominated my friend Shannon as a 'Mom who changed the world'. You may remember me writing about Shannon and the loss of her baby to SIDS, and how my online community came to her side in the most amazing ways.

I know I don't have a huge readership but Google once told me I had enough traffic to warrant advertising if I wanted it (which I don't). So I am asking you to please go on this site and vote for Shannon. If she wins, money will be donated to aid in SIDS research.

Click and just click "like" like you do on facebook. It's that simple. THANKS

And so there were alot of sad reminders this weekend, but I am choosing not to be sad. There is always hope, given by God, and we can endure all things.

I'll leave you with a song because more than anything else I can think of, I draw inspiration and happiness from music. Listening to it, singing it, talking about it. I love this band and I love the words of this song....

I Ain't to Proud to Beg

You all remember the TLC video with the giant sunglasses right....no?



You're welcome.

Moving on. I'm here to ask you to buy stuff and I ain't proud to beg. Mostly because it support the kids, their dance studio and anyone anywhere can participate!

Because I'm too lazy to re-type, here's the email I sent out to few people this morning....

Well first let me say that I hate fundraisers because EVERYBODY has one. So if any of you are currently selling something too, let me know! But yes I am selling cookie dough again this year to pay for dance recital costumes. And as you may know, we now have two kids in dance class so I have double the funds to raise. Our cost for recital costumes will equal about $200 this year, but Tippy Toes is very generous and gives us $4 off for every single item we sell. All other proceeds go to the Indianpolis Youth Ballet (Tippy Toes mother studio)

And this year they also offered that they will put your name in a raffle if you sell more than 20 items. Raffle winnings?.... a full year's dance tuition paid!!

So yes, I'm asking you to buy stuff :)

Now locally I am selling frozen cookie dough from both the Cookie Factory and Mrs. Fields. This year they also added Auntie Annes frozen pretzel and pretzel dogs, which I personally am very excited about. So those are great and I will hand deliver to your door.

But, what I did not know until a little bit ago is that those of you who live many many miles away can participate too. You can purchase over the internet!! And since frozen cookie dough doesn't ship well there are all sorts of other stuff like wrapping paper, candy, candles, jewelry and great magazine prices.

I'll direct you to the website to browse and shop. I'll admit this website kinda sucks so bare with it...

www.ezfundraising.com
click participant
User ID: FZE8693
Password: 658693
click 'shop' then 'go shopping"
Buy anything from the 'red apple' company.

Locals who want the cookie dough, just let me know what you're interested in. They have every flavor under the sun.

Deadline for ordering is October 4th for frozen cookie dough, November 21st for all the online stuff.

The Ballerino and his Ladies

Today was the first day of dance class for the year, and Charley was happy to join Tessa and Rachel in the dancing. Dressed in his manly black shoes and yoga pants, he jumped right in and did a great job.

The preschool class is for 2-5 year olds so this year will be that one perfect window of time for them to dance together. Not to mention Charley was chomping at the bit to join in last year. At first Jeremy had some reservations about a boy dancing, but in time he got over it. They do some ballet and then some tap, and the teachers are careful to make sure Charley's props are boy appropriate. It's wonderful!

I thought there was a tiny chance he might run around crazy or freak out, but not at all. He listened well, waited his turn and followed the rest of the class (actually his big sister is the one having trouble paying attention sometimes)

I think it's going to be a good year at Tippy Toes.

The girls wore butterfly wings to 'fly' around with, but Miss Kim had some nice manly bumblebee wings for Charley.

Run, jump, pose!

Charley getting some personal instruction on how to do turns on the bar.

Dem Bones

Every once in a while I run across something at the store that I simply can't walk away from....

First Signs of Fall

Pumpkin spice lattes!!

Then somebody stole mine. I knew I shouldn't have given him such highly caffeinated breast milk.

Charley's Room- aka the Library

I had to show off our new piece of furniture. I got it when a friend alerted me to an online sale... 1/3 the original price and no shipping. Woot woot!

We needed a bookshelf (as opposed the the pile of books stacked against Tessa's bed that she called her 'library') But what I really love is that they can SEE the fronts. Brilliant! Digging through stacks can be a pain and since, ya know, they can't read what's written on the spine....this is perfect!

Note the hook on the side to hang our library book bag. Genius right? I've recently become addicted to 3G sticky hooks and laminate paper but that's another post entirely...

This bad boy moved into Charley's room along with the white book shelves that were already there.

We put these up when I was pregnant with Tessa. In my naivety I though this would be enough space to house all the kid's books we might ever own. Silly girl.

So since Charley is now the owner of all the books (well almost all, there's a pile in the living room too) and his room also houses Gramaw's comfy chair. I now dub him a future librarian!

...but will there BE libraries in the future, there in lies the question...

Painting the Town Red

And by town I mean our front sidewalk. And by red I mean more like pastel pink.

Thanks to my friend from HS, Brittani, and another fabulous idea from her blog (she's full of them), we made sidewalk paint. It's one of those things where you think...hey I have all those ingredients, why not?

You mix equal parts cornstarch and water to make a milk like substance, then add food coloring. The corn starch seems to help it adhere to the ground and make a really bright color as well.

Then grab some paint brushes and go to town!

The girls said this was a pink pig with a blue head. Freaky.

We only did this for a little while before we had to head back inside. Why, because Indiana weather is CRAZY and it his 99 degrees this afternoon with a heat advisory. In September. Sheesh.