Ouch!

Harper twisted his ankle on Monday evening when we went down a slide together at the neighborhood park. The tears started before we made it to the bottom. He wasn't able to walk on it, so we knew something was wrong.

After plenty of tears, two visits to the doctor, and a round of x-rays, he now has a "walking cast" on his right leg. He has a minor fracture of his distal fibia, but he's not letting it slow him down. He's a brave little guy, and we're just glad it wasn't anything worse. We'll hopefully keep him busy with his new coloring books & crayons, creative fun around the house, and his new book with an Elmo puppet in it that he's been eyeing at the store for weeks. He's getting around on all fours again, but we'll see if he dares to walk on it.

Thankfully, the cast comes off in three weeks & we hope he won't need another. Again, I'm just glad it isn't worse... because I know that it could be. We're so fortunate to share our life with this precious, hilarious, clever, adorable, brave, tenacious little dude.

Race for the Cure

I love to do charity walks, but it's been awhile since I participated in one. The iconic Susan G. Komen organization is having a Race For The Cure on May 8, 2010. Not only is it my younger brother's birthday and the day before Mother's Day, but it commemorates exactly one year since my last day of employment before making the big change of becoming a stay-at-home mom. I formed a team with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, and we'll be walking for the cure.

Walking at this kind of event isn't just a nice thing to do anymore. It's personal for me now, since my mother-in-law is a two-time breast cancer survivor. She fought the fight, and I can't even begin to explain how fortunate we all are that she won that fight twice. (Carol - thanks for passing that strength on to Jeff, too.) I love her dearly, admire her greatly, and am proud that she is my mother-in-law. I know times are tough, but if you can donate to help other people fight breast cancer, you would be doing a service to all of those affected by breast cancer, including me.

Please visit our team page where you can learn more about our team or even join us by either running, walking, volunteering, or donating.

http://komenslc.org/team/gunnellgals

Note to Self

Life is never ever really all that bad.

Happy Hearts

On Sunday morning, Jeff got up for work at his usual hour. I've been feeling crummy thanks to a cold that I can't seem to kick, so was coherent enough to be aware of his going through his typical morning routine. He left at his normal time. I was so sad because I had hoped that he was going to surprise me by taking the day off (he had previously told me that there was no vacation available for Valentine's day). But now, I was sure that he wouldn’t go through the early-morning charade just for fun. He sent me his standard message a bit before his shift start time saying that he made it to work (plus some mushy Valentine's day stuff, too). I was up changing Harper’s diaper, feeling so sick and so tired (Harper had woken early), when Jeff suddenly came through the bedroom door bearing gifts of comfort: coffee, doughnuts, and a sickie’s care package (cold medicine, cough drops, and cheez-its). A total wreck already, I started to cry. I couldn’t help it: I was so happy, and so relieved.

We had a great day. We enjoyed a lazy but fun morning with Harper (who ate two whole doughnuts), exchanged gifts, and enjoyed each other’s company. One of my most favorite things is when we pass time quietly during Harper's nap - Jeff with a video game or other geekery, and me with my knitting or other geekery. It may not sound like much to others, but it's blissful to us. Somehow, our separate activities feel very joined. After lunch, the three of us took a stroll at the park, where we enjoyed an unseasonably warm day; it was almost 50 degrees. All in all, it was a perfect day.

Blog, Schmog.

I know, I'm a shameful blogger. A brief blogging hiatus became an extended vacation from all social aspects of the Internet. During my NaNoWriMo month in November, I rediscovered the enjoyment of applying free time to things that I loved. I wrote, I read, I had a blast with my two guys. Most of all - I KNIT! Jeff has been gently pushing me to take pictures of my knits. I'll get around to it sometime. I can't get enough of my knitting, leaving me two hands short of being able to knit and blog at the same time.

Of course life isn't ever all peaches and cream, but I'm doing my best to enjoy the goodies all around me. I'm grateful to Jeff for sometimes giving me a little nudge when I forget about the great things in life.

As far as NaNoWriMo goes - I WON! Ok, so everyone wins that writes 50k words, but I was included in that group! I wrote the first draft of a novel that will still require an incredible amount of work before ever seeing the light of day. I was giddy to get it done in a month, but am taking a much needed break from my characters. I think of them and their story often, but I am not quite ready to jump back into their world again. Our time will come, though.

There are so many other happenings, but I can't say that I'm prepared to catch my blog up on every little detail. It's just too much for a likely scant audience. A lot happens in just a few months - especially over the holidays. I'll just say that Harper is wonderful, healthy, and is (of course) the best part of... well... the best part of everything! He is happy, goofy, a handful, and one heck of a dancer. And of course, as long as the little dude is good, so am I.

S

P.S. OMG I can't believe I finally updated/resurrected my blog!

Brief Blogging Hiatus

During the month of November, Jeff and I are participating in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. So if you catch us blogging (like I am doing right now), it means that we are procrastinating when we should be focusing on our novels!

What is NaNoWriMo all about? Participants are working towards writing their first draft of a 50k-word novel. Yes, I said 50,000 words, which is about 1,667 each day. That actually makes for a short novel at only about 175 pages, but to novices like ourselves, it is going to be quite a feat!

I'm ahead of schedule at 16k words, but I can only hope to keep up my momentum. It isn't easy to make the time, but I sure am doing my best.

See you all in December... or earlier if we finish early! Wish us luck and creativity!