Another Flat Tire

Nothing like walking out of Music Class and having a flat tire. The perks to this flat was that it was just a nail, and I happened to have been on asphalt, so it was easy to change. I had a lug cross thread with the lug nut, which meant that I had to shear off that lug to get the spare tire off. Two really nice men tried to help me...I think they felt obligated since I was a girl with children. They ended up slowing me down...one repositioned my jack three times before he put it back where I had it...but I could see why he thought I had it wrong. Part of a trim piece was bending a bit. I pointed out that other pieces of my car are already falling off, lol. Seriously, my car. See? ⤵️

I hit 190,000 miles this week. Only 10,000 more to go! We are going to throw a party for my car when we hit 200,000 in a few months. Shouldn't be hard to do since I am already looking at multiple trips to town this week. Ed has a case of Pink Eye. Yuck.

Ed's Ear Injury

The front of the ear.

The back. His ear stuck out funny for an entire week...then slowly went back to normal.

Healing up: This was while school shoe shopping. It was discolored for awhile, and tender, but it healed up on its own.

So Ed was cleaning out our train water tender car and as he lowered himself in, he banged his head on the side of the car. It dang near took his ear off, and he was so fighting the tears. I know when it hurts Ed because he has a super high pain threshold. He was doing the whole, "Ouch! It hurts, it hurts, oh wow, my ear hurts so bad!" An hour later when he got out of the tank, I finally saw what happened and I flipped out. It was so disgusting looking. I put some ice on that thing. I texted my Aunt the nurse. "Does this need treatment?" (No.) After another two hours it doubled in size again, and the all knowing internet cautioned against developing cauliflower ear. I don't a kid deformed at the young age of 8 if a simple procedure can fix it...so I took him to Urgent Care. They gave him antibiotics, and sent us to an ENT. Jessie's ENT was on vacation, but there was one downtown that could get us in the next day.

He looked at it, and said it didn't need to be drained (the swelling had already gone down from the previous day) and sent us on our way. Whew! That was one of those "Better safe than sorry" calls on my part. We live so far away from medical care, and his ear was right on that edge of, "Is it just swollen, or does that bruising indicate a hematoma that needs to be drained to prevent cauliflower ear?" Note: cauliflower ear is common in wrestlers and rugby players, but it can form when the skin of the ear is pulled away from the cartilage. A hematoma will fill the space between skin and cartilage and then the skin will turn funky. 

Live and learn!  

Kacy For President

In May, at the end of the school year, Kacy decided to run for Student Body President. She didn't even tell me she threw her name in the hat! The school secretary told me about it!

So of COURSE I was like, "What's your plan?" And, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"

As a 5th grader, I had a feeling she wouldn't win and knew it would be a good learning experience for her. We made her buttons, and she wanted to pass out cookies. I helped her write a speech, and she used the letters of her name to deliver her message. She also used balloons. She got that idea from her cousin Spencer. It helps keep the students' attention when you pop balloons on stage. 

This was her flyer:

These are the things we had talked about together and that she wanted to change.

I have first hand reports from 3 teachers and admin that she totally campaign like I told her to. She passed out the packages, introduced herself to the kids in the older grades, and she recruited others to do the same. 

She lost to a 7th grader (soon to be 8th) by a few votes. I don't know the exact number, but apparently it was really, really close. The closest race the school has ever seen.

So, Kacy got to be a student body "Member at Large," and she was really excited because that meant she was still on the Student Council, but she didn't have to be in charge. She looked at it like an opportunity to learn the ropes and prepare for next year.

Turns out the Treasurer moved out of town, so guess who took his spot? Kacy! She gets to work with the secretary to keep track of the budget, and she is super excited to go to some Leadership Conference soon. Her best friend is the Secretary, so she is really having a good time.

Will said it was good that she was the Treasurer because you need someone trustworthy and honest to handle the money.

Jessie said when she gets to middle school, she wants to be the treasurer so she can steal all the money.

Don't vote for Jessie.

My First 10k

This was the starting line. I loved the glow bracelets and necklaces they handed out. It was fun!

This is my race bib. I came in 24/27 in my age group for my race. But you know what? I didn't even care! All I wanted to do was finish. My time was 1:16:34. Not too shabby for someone who was sick all week and had a fever of 100 while running.

I ran with Sara W. and she had a migraine. We made quite the pair, and what a debut for our first 10k. The whole time up to and after we were like, "What were we thinking?" The longest I had ever run at home was 5 miles. That extra mile does make a difference. 

The positive aspect to the race was that I didn't die, and the next week when I was healthier again, I was actually able to run at a faster pace.

Sara and I want to do another 10k. but first we want to kill a 5k. We both feel like we could train to do a 5k in under 30 minutes, easy. So there we are: that is what my next goal is.

I hit a turning point in my efforts today. Today I thought I would skip jogging because I had so much to do, but when I got home I felt like I should do it anyways...and so I did. That small change in attitude is really helping. I think I might be FINALLY getting in touch with my old self, the one who liked being active, the one who was happier with her daily dose of endorphins. I have no plans on becoming skinny again, as I have decided that is a relative term. I might be more fit looking as time goes on, but right now I am super thrilled just to have noticed an improvement in my level of fitness. 

I have to be able to keep up with my kids.

Plus, I sleep SO MUCH BETTER on days when I've been active. Sleep is very important to me right now!

A List of Things To Do

I am trying to get a bit more organized, and I need to blog about some of the following things:

Last May, Kacy ran for Student Body President.
People have had birthdays...I know it.
I ran my first 10k race...not quite at a snail's pace, and I am "just now" learning to like running again. Sort of.
First day of school.


I am sure there are more. All I know for sure is this: I am positive I have pictures to be uploaded. If you check my blog at any type of regular interval, there might be a day or two or three where there are only pictures and no words! I really, really need to put my blogging hat on on Sundays. That needs to be my day for blogging.

In other news, I am feeling slightly overwhelmed and am thinking I might need to quit something that I have committed to. The first thing that pops into my head is guitar lessons for the 5th grade at school. It is very likely the thing that will send me over the edge. Kids who aren't musical, given instruments... in a large group setting... headache!

I finally told my family about my secret, and so now I can document it here as well: I will be graduating law school this Spring. You will note a direct correlation to when I started (almost 4 years ago) and a sharp decline in my blogging (almost four years ago). I just need to make it through this last year, pass the bar in July, and then geek on my area of expertise until I get sworn in. I will be focusing on two areas of law that go hand in hand: divorces and estate planning. Crazy, I know. But I have a business plan and a marketing plan, with a ready made market of individuals...and it'll all work out. It will be an awesome career that I can do while still being home for the kids when I need to be. I will also be dumping all other law out of my head come August 1st (that is right after the Bar) so it will be useless to ask my any property question, criminal questions, or anything else. I intend to be an expert, and I will likely take out one of the two areas of practice, depending on what works best for my family and what brings a steady stream of clients and enjoyment. Now, if only time and homework would just fly by. I am tired of paying tuition and I need a new car.

My Mazda 5 has 190,000 miles on it. 10,000 more to go, and I will throw a party.