Full bellies, full days

Birthday week is finally over! Thanks for all the well wishes.

On Tuesday we had a little family celebration with a very small cake that was completely overwhelmed with plastic horses. Then on Saturday we filled our house with the laughter and shrieking of three lovely families and their children in what amassed in a five hour birthday party bonanza with even more cake. To say the least, Sunburst was thrilled! So thrilled in fact, that she made us a family of "Thank You" cards to commemorate the loveliness of her birthday.

We inadvertently created a new birthday tradition in this house when I realized that I completely forgot to purchase birthday candles until the afternoon of Sunburst's birthday. Rather than brave the snow, we decided to melt a bit of beeswax in a small bean can and add in a bit of candle coloring wax. Sunburst was overjoyed to labor away dipping her own birthday candles, two at a time, on lengths of crochet cotton I cut for the task. They worked beautifully! And she managed to count and make enough to outfit her party cake as well.



As for me, I kept busy teaching myself to make icing roses, per Sunburst's request. Luckily, I wasn't completely on my own in this, as I discovered that there are a slew of cake decorating videos online.

That alone would have made for a full week, but other things happened as well:

At our bi-monthly co-op my favorite camp counselor, Aleisha, taught us some new songs and drama games that have kept the kids entertained for several days now. Even Kitty Bill is captivated by "Tony Chestnut," so it looks like we'll be adding it to our pre-lessons warm-up over here. I've noticed that, although we can't manage a full circle time each day, things go a lot smoother if we warm up a bit with a couple of movement songs and hand-clapping.

Kitty Bill is no longer living up to the passivity of his blog name. He's a mischievous little sprite! He's into everything these days, including all the kitchen drawers and the kitchen counters. Nothing is safe. Nothing is sacred. He has even demolished our sturdy easel chalkboard. And naps? Forget about it. He says he's too old for that nonsense anymore. So a new name for him is in the works... and an all-new naptime scheme.

In other news, I met with a new doctor on Friday who pronounced my heel to be suffering from nerve damage. It has been 12 weeks since our car accident, and I'm still limping along. Every time I try to put just a bit more weight on that heel my progress moves backwards. So how long is it going to take? The doctor told me that it could be another 3 months. I was so taken aback by this news that I didn't even know what to say to him. He can't be serious, right? Could it really take six months (or more?) until I can walk normally again?

Until then, I continue with physical therapy. Though I'd much rather be pain-free, truth be told, there are worse ways to spend 45 minutes a week than getting a foot massage.