I've Been Slacking on my Blog

Okay, so here's a quick long-overdue update to my blog. Finished one summer class (got an A, woo hoo!), continuing another longer summer class and picked up another one. I'm very busy.

Couple of weeks ago, I hit a ginormous pothole which damaged both rims on the driver's side of the car and knocked my car completely out of alignment. More than $400.00 later and it's fixed, but I found out the city of San Antonio won't reimburse me anything for the damages because of something called the Texas Tort Claims Act which basically says that if it wasn't caused by a city employee driving a city vehicle it wasn't their fault. I'm looking into this, though.

Jamie's ankle sprain cleared up enough for him to begin playing relatively normally - just in time for him to come down with a stomach virus that has kept him out of daycare (and me out of work) for the past two days. If it ain't one thing, it's another.

Took Jamie to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for 4th of July. He rode his first big rollercoaster, at which time he discovered he LOVES rollercoasters. I discovered I do not. It had been 12 years since the last time I had gotten on a rollercoaster. I work for a company that investigates all the different ways metal can (and does) fail to provide the structural stability for which it is designed. As the person who types the reports and creates the photoillustrations, I've seen pictures of what happens to property (and sometimes people) when metal fails. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. While Jamie was laughing and whooping it up during the rollercoaster ride, I was revisiting my lamaze breathing techniques and praying. I was also trying very hard the block the images in my head of the bolts wiggling out of their holes, the metal suddenly popping apart and the lot of us plunging to our deaths. After that, the only ride Jamie could get me on was the Bugs Bunny log flume water ride. I'll take my chances on water and reinforced fiberglass and plastic. At least if I fall out of that one, I know how to swim well enough to get me and Jamie to safety. No amount of flapping your arms will make you fly if you fall out of a rollercoaster on a loop-de-loop.

The Ankle that Will Not Heal

UPDATE (6:55 PM): Jamie has been referred to an orthopaedist and ordered to wrap his ankle for additional support. His is not to play in the tournament next month. He is not to engage in physical activity involving running, standing for long periods, excessive movement, etc. until he sees the orthopaedist. He could very well be laid up for the most of the rest of the summer if he wants his ankle to heal enough for him to play soccer in the fall. I'll be calling the orthopaedist tomorrow for an appointment. Once we visit him/her, I'll post an update on his condition. Jamie is very upset about the tournament and the prospect of a whole summer without riding his bike or skateboard and no active play. He's very bummed, but understands the necessity of it. I'll keep you all posted. Thank you all for your concern on Jamie's behalf.


Jamie's ankle, despite him (mostly) staying off of it as he was told by the doctor, refuses to stop swelling and continues to be very painful. This worries me greatly. The doctor originally said it should be fine in a week he can go back to his active self. Well, he can't go back to his active self if he can't move it in certain directions without crying. So, I called the doctor's office this morning to see what they had to say about it. As soon as they heard it was still swelling and very painful, they told me to bring him in. They wanted me to bring him in first thing, but I couldn't because no one else would be at work to open up shop at 8:30. So, I made an appointment for this afternoon. I will be leaving shortly to go pick him up and take him to the doctor. Probably we'll have to go another round of x-rays. I don't care, I just want them to figure out what's going on and fix it. I'll keep y'all updated.

Crazy Week...and it's Only Tuesday!

Whew! This week has already been insane. First, I didn't get to indulge in my normal phone conversation Sunday night (which I always look forward to) because I had tons of homework to do and Rachel's wisdom teeth were coming in and causing her major pain, to the point I almost had to run her to the hospital.

Yesterday, I got a phone call that Jamie had hurt himself at daycare and may need to go to the doctor. So, I go pick him up and his ankle is the size of a tennis ball and his knee was starting to look like a cantaloupe. So, I call the doctor's office and they can't see him until 2:45, so Jamie got to go back to work with me (with an icepack and lots of movies to watch on my laptop computer) until it was time for the appointment. We get there, and since Jamie is so active in sports, the doctor wanted to be sure nothing was seriously injured. Jamie and I head off to the ER for x-rays, and wait around there forever. Oh, did I mention Jamie can barely hobble at this point so I'm carrying him everywhere?

Jamie gets x-rayed, and luckily nothing is broken. He's sprained his ankle and wrenched his knee, so he's in pain, but thankfully nothing is broken. But he can't go to daycare today (Tuesday) because everyone is going on a field trip to ride horses and hike. Doctor has left strict orders that Jamie is to stay off his ankle and knee for a solid week. So, Jamie comes back to work with me today to sit in an unused office with his leg propped up, a large stack of movies to watch, pages to color and paper airplanes to fly. Also, Jamie's kind of upset about all this because he was looking forward to the field trip and was supposed to go to soccer camp next week, but the doctor says no physical activity for a while, ergo no soccer camp.

Luckily, Jamie can go to day care for the rest of the week, he just isn't allowed to run around with the other kids. He'll be stuck on the sidelines while everyone else gets to play.