And That's All She Wrote

Atlantis landed this morning. At wheels stop, the end of the Space Shuttle Program. This is the first time I've seen this view of entry captured and it seems like a most fitting way to say good-bye. Space Shuttle Atlantis as last seen in flight by the International Space Station.

Orange You Glad I Didn't Say 8 Weeks?

After a huge hassle finding a pediatric orthopedist in Houston on our insurance, we got Zara looked at today. I blame non updated Aetna provider network web interface for all that trouble. What a mess. Anywho, Zara's leg fracture is very clean and, while no doc will say zero chance of problems, this is about as close as you can get. He's confident everything will heal without issue and this apparently is more common than I would have guessed as this was his second officially named "toddler fracture" today. After the brief checkout, Zara got a full leg cast in her fav, orange. Since she can't use crutches, she gets the full leg cast bent 90 degrees at the knee to try and keep her from walking on it. Although, doc says they usually figure out how to walk with it before it comes off. And, speaking of coming off, she only has to wear it three weeks, kiddos heal so much faster then us old farts.

All in all, she was a champ and just looked curious the whole time it was going on without complaining any. She doesn't seem to mind it and she is already used to not being mobile again has been pretty chill about the whole thing. Here is Zara getting her cast and then another after we got home and Momma was playing with Picasa.

Like Old Times, Kinda

This is just a short status post for everyone regarding Zara's leg. Yesterday morning she was in the shower and just slipped. Since my back was turned, I didn't actually see the fall, but when I looked she was just on her butt with her hands behind her (ergo, so head bump or anything) and serious injury hardly was expected. But she was clearly hurt and it took us a long time to figure out where (ankle) since she really was just upset/crying no matter where you touched her. So we called a nurse line and the pedi, both of which said wait and see if there is no improvement before coming in.

This morning since she still wouldn't even put weight on it, we decided to get it checked out and went to an urgent care place for an x-ray. Turns out she has not just a fracture, but a rather bad one which is spiral and complete through the tibia of her right leg. Everything is in alignment (very good) but we'll be making a trip to the pediatric orthopedist tomorrow for what will hopefully just be a cast and a little more ice cream. For now, Zara is handling it remarkably well and suddenly is okay cuddling in our laps and getting carried everywhere again.

Frankly, I am impressed with the urgent care. The doctor was very nice and competent and we got in, x-rayed, and out in under an hour. Forget the ER folks, if you have the unfortunate need for immediate medical care, short of gun shot wounds, just go to one of those.

Little Gene Simmons

The rest of our 4th was a feast of an afternoon with homemade wings, yellowfin tuna steaks and tropical salsa with green salad main, and a dessert of blueberry freezer cake. It was a nice afternoon with friends and Zara and Lucy have started to warm up to each other and even interacted in ways other than screaming fits when the other got something they wanted. Nice that they are getting older and "play" is actually a possibility.

The girls also got some homemade fruit pops. I think they liked them.

Happy Independence Day

Hope everyone is having a good 4th of July. This morning I took Zara and we strolled in the neighborhood bike parade. All the kids decorate their bikes and we parade through the neighborhood ending at the park for drinks and snacks. This afternoon, BBQ at a friends house to cap off a nice relaxing three day weekend. Next year, Z should be old enough to ride on her own for the parade, but this year she was still in the BOB. Although she didn't seem too put out by Mommy having to do all the work. Have a safe and happy 4th!