Day 28.. or 30

 

Day 28

I counted the days since the accident and today is actually Day 30. I started the blog on a Monday after the Saturday fall, so my days are a little off. I think I will start with my new calculations.

Day 30

Yes, that's better. It didn't feel like 28 days, more like 30. I just randomly thought about the tv show "24." That is a whole season devoted to 24 hours. What if starfish had his own tv show, a 24 hour section of his life taped for all to view. Not nearly as exciting, no CTU, no terrorists threats (except sometimes he does act like a terrorist when he sees cookies and wants them). Just a thought.

Okay, so I feel like an overcooked turkey. I'm done. No, I know... it's only 9 more days. But if I were to be honest about my current feelings, I would say that I'm pretty spent. My back aches, my hips ache, my neck aches. Why does my neck ache? Well, Ethan doesn't sleep that well during his naptime, so when he wakes up he is still tired. Jared and I have been taking turns rocking him in the afternoon to give him some more rest. We have this chair that I am proud to say I found at Kmart (before I decide to not shop at Kmart) for only $60. back to the chair and my neck. I hold ethan in a somewhat akward position and he falls back asleep, but my neck is somehow always at a strange angle since his head is forcing my head to lie on one side or another. can't really explain it except that i have some sort of pulled muscle in my neck that forces me to complain often. No, I am not forced to complain. Choose joy. choose joy. oohhhh... right now i should choose sleep and that may help me choose something better tomorrow.

So anyways, this morning (Sunday) I woke up and Jared had to leave early for church. Ethan slept in a little (yay) and then I got him up to find the messiest poop we have seen yet. And by yet, I mean in the last 2 years. Jared had already escaped, so I was left with poo everywhere, including inside and up the cast. choose joy. choose joy. Reality, i put my survival mom face on and just did what i needed to do. Meanwhile, starfish just laid there smiling. Guess that's better than screaming; I wondered if he was impressed with himself.

So after that serious scrapping and cleaning experience, i got ready for church and headed out. There were some other altercations after that but I will spare the details. Thoroughly enjoyed the worship service, ethan went into the nursery, and we got some good time seeing friends and learning from Jesus' sermon on the mount. I really needed that this morning.

Came home and rocked starfish in the chair. got awful crook in my neck. traded with jared and took nap. Woke up to inexplainable starfish screams in the other room. husband and I decided it was time for a fieldtrip- so we went to Kroger and put starfish in the doublewide car cart. proceeded to get him free cookie to ward off the grumpy screams.

Here is the best part of the day. Jared and I were about to go crazy after hearing Ethan scream and feeling desperate for a break. So we found a positive outlet for our energy in the car as starfish screamed: the radio. Sometimes we turn up music when ethan is having a tantrum and it gives us a little break and laughter (is that okay?) I think its okay. So Jared and I played air guitar to Lynnard Skynnard's Free Bird. Jared was driving so his was very limited, but he challenged me to play air guitar the rest of the song. I was up for it, and played my heart out. Really. Do you know how long the riff is for that song? The radio station didn't even play the whole version but faded it out. I was exhausted by the time we got home and Jared was thoroughly entertained. He kept cheering me on to keep going, i could do it, and so I did. Wish i had pictures of this.

Anyways, we came home, changed more cast padding (that smells like a barn) and watched handy manny. I put a picture of us changing his padding, but i wish there was a scratch and sniff option for you. i know you don't wish that, but you just can't capture the true wretchedness of it until you get a whiff of it. is that how you spell "whiff?" I've never written that before.

Going to bed now, ready for a new day. Jared and I need some encouragement this week- I think we are both feeling pretty weary of life. This is my honest report of things- but its also late and I tend to feel more encouraged in the morning so I'm thankful for a new day.

Thankful for:
new days, a husband who likes to have air guitar concerts, and the old saying that Lynn Carr would tell me, "tomorrow might not be better, but it will be different" There is something so comforting to me to know that tomorrow will be different- there are just some days you don't want to relive. thanks lynn.

Day 28 Pictures

 

 

 

 

Day 27

 

Yes- we have completed day 27 (actually I am one day off from starting my blog, so really it's day 28 but who's counting?)

Uncle Sean, Aunt Jenny, & Audrey visited today. They brought lots of movies too! VHS. We are one of few Americans who have a VHS player and large tv that, 10 years ago, was pretty hot. I actually went to Best Buy one day to look for a smaller tv, and could not find the tube televisions anywhere and even asked. Seems that I must have missed the flat screen revolution. So if this tv lasts another 10 years, Ethan will eventually think its really cool and bring it college as a vintage peice of furniture. It works great though and we aren't big tv people... well, I guess we are judging by the size of ours:)

So fun times with Pizza Hut, toys, and family today. Sean helped me with some photography stuff, Jen and I got to catch up on the State of the Union (both the speech and the actual state of our union), and Audrey got to show starfish how the other half (or 80% give or take) live. I think he was jealous of all her exploring, so he just screamed to let everyone know he was ticked at his cast. We had fun though.

Jared is now seeing Avatar in 3D with his best friend from growing up, Hunter Babcock. They escaped the starfish aquarium and he's not back yet. I don't blame him.

So we are counting down the days. From now on I will post what day it is and how many days left.

10 DAYS LEFT in starfish costume.

just to mix things up, I think I'm going to do 3 words to describe our day:

messy, encouraging, & tiring

THANKFUL for:
having siblings that care about me & my family, VHS capabilities, the amount of butter Pizza Hut must use on their dough to make it so incredibily delicious, and refreshing alone time that I got this morning.

Day 25 & 26

Day 25 & 26

I'm a little behind in the world of blog. I do know that today is Saturday, and the last day I blogged about was Wednesday. So catch up on Thursday & Friday. This week has been super crazy. But have you ever noticed that everyone says that about most weeks? At least we do. We look at the coming week and think how crazy that week will be, only to realize the next week doesn't look that much different than the week before. It's just that life happens. So Jared and I have been working on a different perspective when evaluating our weeks and saying, "this week is a normal week..."

So Thursday & Friday I worked, then came home to watch Ethan while Jared worked. We went to our small group at church on Thursday night, which was good to get Ethan and us out of the house. Starfish had another sad moment when he saw a toy that you get in and he couldn't fit. Those are the hardest times for me.

Yesterday I printed t-shirts for my little t-shirt business. I did that for about 5 hours while Jared stayed with starfish. He is a great dad. I am a t-shirt printing and heat press machine. There is another store that is interested in selling my shirts, so hopefully my little enterprise will keep growing. It's fun but after hour 5 of making shirts, I had a new appreciation for sweatshops in Indonesia. I have my own business of which I am both the owner and the sweatshop worker. I wonder how Karl Marx would explain that struggle.

So last night starfish and I went to a surprise engagement party for our friends Erin & Michael. Ethan discovered he loves puppy chow (or white trash or muddy buddies, whatever you call them!). Another surprise was how much he liked the corn, cheese, olive salsa. Needless to say we stayed next to the buffet table the whole time. Ethan and I were dusted with powdered sugar and cheese by the end of the night, and I'm sure we made a great impression on the new people we met there. Again, life happens:).

I woke up this morning not sure if I would last another 10 days in the cast. But I will. My body aches in new ways from carrying him, and I think my nose is officially damaged from the various cars that have hit my face. The funny thing is that this won't change when Ethan gets out of his cast. He will still be an almost 2 year old trying to figure out what to do with his emotions and desires, occasionally lashing out at his mother. So I salute all mothers today for the hardest but most rewarding job in the world. And I pray for your faces.

One thing I will mention is the increasing smelliness of the cast. If you ever had a cast, you know what I mean. Every other starfish parent we've talked to said that last week they had the cast is when it got pretty rancid. We are now entering that...

I think starfish is crying so I will go fetch him. Hopefully I will have some fun pics from Uncle Sean, Aunt Jen, & Audrey's visit.

Thankful for:
helpful husband, snuggly starfish, & seeing the light at the end of the body cast tunnel.

last pics of photo shoot

 

 

 

 

Photo Shoot part 2

 

 

 

 

Alexander Reid Driver's Photo Shoot

 

 

 

 

Day 24

Day 24

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's QUAIL MAN! The above picture is Quail Man, aka Doug's superhero alter ego on Nickelodeon. He was one of my favorite cartoons to watch. I had been thinking how Ethan resembled Quail Man with his diaper on top of his cast and his superhero aura. Thought everyone needed to see the semblence and realize this whole cast thing is more about Ethan's superhero alter ego made public via starfish.

So today we drove back from my parents' home in Marietta to arrive for fun times in Athens. Jared was at his job in Lawrenceville so we had a long day, but we got to see Caroline & her mom, Evelyn. They came over for lunch, and then we ran some errands. Before dinner we went over to Cory's house (Ethan's best friend). It turns out Cory really misses Ethan, and has actually led his mom (my friend, Tamara) down the street to our house to see if Ethan was home to play. Ethan hasn't been much of a friend to Cory lately, but it was really sweet to see them play together today. Cory would bring Ethan his toy ball and train for Ethan to play with, and Ethan would then see more toys of Cory's that he wanted. So greedy. Cory got a tricycle for Christmas that Ethan especially liked, since when I put him on the seat he was already in position to ride it (legs perfectly touching the pedals,etc.). He couldn't go anywhere but he was still excited. Cory started wearing a helmet to ride his tricycle, but he loves his helmet so much he likes to wear it when he's playing around in the front yard. Between Ethan and Cory we looked like we had the special kids play group, with Cory as helmet boy and Ethan as body cast boy. Tamara made up the joke about Cory being special with his helmet, so no worries about offending her. That's why we get along. (NOTE: in the picture above you can spot Cory in the background with his helmet- priceless) (NOTE #2: There is a Saturday Night Live skit with Mike Meyers wearing a helmet that is just like this- please youtube it if you get a chance)

So Ingrid Hunt brought us an amazing chkn and dumplings dinner and brownies:) happy tummy. After dinner I took a "nap" and Jared woke me up around 9:45pm. Love those naps.

Back to teaching class tomorrow and the countdown continues for the cast to come off. Praying that the xrays will show a healed leg and our little son will be able to walk again.

On a sentimental note, I did get a little choked up today seeing Ethan trying to play with the Cozy Coupe car. He was so frustrated that the door wouldn't shut because his leg wasn't able to go inside the car. I started to tear up because I hated seeing him like that and just not being able to play with the toys that he likes. Its almost over God willing, but I think today was one of the first times I saw him revert back to something he really liked and then realize he couldn't do it. That hurt the mom heart in me.

Thankful for:
fun neighborhood friends, good cooking, earth fare lunch:), and nightime naps

Day 22 & 23

 

Day 22 & 23 (ish)

So I just arrived back at my parent's house from visiting Lisa & Misty in Alabama. Lisa's wee babe is only 2 weeks old, full name "Alexander Reid Driver" and Misty's baby is 6 weeks old, full name "Anna Harrison McGhee." Such cute babies. My not so wee starfish stayed with mom and dad in Marietta. I just got back (around midnight) from Birmingham/Talladega, so I don't know how it went except when I called I think starfish boy was giving my mom a hard time with his loud frustrated grunts and whining. Acting like a two year old again. All I know is that I think I owe my parents big time. But they would never complain because they are super grandparents. I will make sure to pick out a good home for them:) jk mom.

I got to take some fun pics of Alexander for her birth announcements, so I will post some of those. Now back to normal life with starfish. must go to bed and get a few hours rest in case he wakes in the night. more pictures to come.

last but not least- OFFICIALLY 2 MAS WEEKS OF CAST! SOOOOO exciting!

Thankful for:
God answering prayer and giving my sweet friends their precious babies, my parents giving me the gift of time to go visit these friends, and starbucks espresso truffle to keep me awake to blog about it

feet

 

Lisa's baby- Alexander Driver

 

Days 20 & 21

 

Days 20 & 21

i.e. the weekend

Reasons I enjoyed this weekend:

1. 2 of my good friends celebrated their birthday, and I love birthdays (even better when I can remember them!)

2. Got to see my good college friend Kat on Saturday and have great conversations

3. Had a fun shopping experience at TJ Maxx, got to see Hannah Shivar and her boyfriend, and bought a outdoorsy vest that has the word "predator" embroidered on the front. really. I saw this green vest that I really liked, but looked closer and saw the brand name was "predator." perfect. that is me. so while other folks in Athens parade their North Face, Marmot, & Mountain Hardware outdoor gear, I will be starting a new trend with the unknown & mysterious Predator brand. I will wear it with pride.

4. Stayed up late and sewed a fun dress

5. Went to church with Ethan for the first time in his cast and he got lots of love and attention from people there. Also it was fun to hear people from church like Wendy & Lauren are blog readers:)

6. Had a fun photo shoot with the family in Ethan's new big boy room

The best part of the weekend... We sing Ethan a song and pray for him before we put him to bed at night, and usually Jared holds him for this part of the nighttime routine. Well tonight it was the sweetest thing. Jared was holding him, and when I started to pray for him he wanted to hug both Jared and I, so he brought one arm around Jared's neck and the other around my neck and then snuggled our faces together. I teared up; it was one of those moments I want to put away in my pocket to pull out and feel all over again. He loves to bring us together and snuggle. I love it more than he will ever know.

Do I even need to say what I'm thankful for? All of this. As Jared and I have watched all the horror of what is going on in Haiti and see children's limbs having to be amputated, we look at our son and realize how small this is and how thankful we need to be. We are so priviledged to live here and have the life we have and really need to remember that daily.

More from the photo shoot of starfish

 

Mini Me & Starfish

 

 

This is my good friend from college, Katherine Kay, i.e. "mini me." I call her mini me because she is a small person, and when I first met her I joked around with her saying that she is like a mini person (fun size). Thus mini me. Kat is one of the most amazing people I know, and her life is pretty fun to hear about. Right now she works with admissions at Georgetown University in D.C. She was in town visiting her boyfriend Eric who is also very cool. Ethan had a little crush on Kat & Eric, however that works out. He snuggled on Eric's arm and liked when Kat held him. Such good times.

Late Night Sewing

 

 

I am a little crazy. I might be dead tired at 6pm, but when we put Ethan to bed its like the night has just begun. Ever since Ethan was born (or even before that) I have been a late night crafter. It's so fun to stay up and know that no one needs anything from you and you have more than an hour break! Things I never knew to appreciate until I had my own baby. So my late night project was this semi-homemade dress. Just bought the dress from Old Navy and thought I'd sew some fabric on the bottom and make a little flower for the top. I like it. I am learning mostly through mistakes about sewing. Just like the rest of life:)

Photo Shoot

 

 

 

 

Here are some pictures from today's photo shoot. In case you are reading this and don't know my family background, I come from an incredibly talented family. My dad is a chemical engineer but has always done photography either for fun or for pay in his earlier days. He would shoot weddings, etc. back when we used film. He still uses film. Dan is my oldest brother, and he is a cinematographer in L.A. He graduated from college & then the American Film Institute. He's kinda a big deal (especially compared to my smaller life in Athens). Dan is amazing with a camera. My next older brother/middle brother is Sean. He produces television shows, and prob everything else possible at Comcast Sports. Sean is also an amazing photographer, drawer, painter, builder, etc. They can all pretty much do anything. Mom is the mother of doing things well (my mother of doing things well:) She sews perfectly, makes beds perfectly, paints perfectly, decorates cakes perfectly, etc. All of this to boast and say that when I'm trying to learn how to do something, its always copying the stars who are always before me. I'm trying to learn more about photography and have picked up over the years on some things that my brothers/dad always do. So this my opportunity today to play around with lighting and take some starfish photos.

Starfish Photo Shoot