Finding some perks

This broken rib thing isn't as bad as it could be, really. If I had broken something that could be cast, then I would have to worry about bathing protocol, stinky cast syndrome, an unreachable itch, and definitely not being able to hide it. But with a rib, since you can't cast your abdomen (for breathing reasons) I don't have to hang anything over the edge of the tub to keep it dry, I can bathe whenever I feel like it to get my citrusy-clean smells on again, I can scratch any part of my body with a coat hanger and not get in trouble for doing it, and when someone comes to the door, I can ditch my arm sling behind the couch and answer the door looking somewhat normal. See, perks galore!

Also, since I have one arm in a sling to immobilize it, my big, wonderful, heaven-sent children have been having to shoulder much more of the household responsibilities which means I am not having to clean up nearly as much as normal!! On the other hand, the house isn't staying at its usual level of cleanliness - it isn't a disaster area, but it isn't really mommy approved. And since I can't reach the top of my head without a lot of pain, Teagan has been doing my hair...I'd post a picture, but, well, I think you can imagine it just fine and I can save my dignity:-)

That also means that Tig and Garrett are being responsible for cooking the meals. So for breakfast we are eating cereal or oatmeal like usual, but with them in charge of lunch and dinner, we can either expect a super easy meal of Ramen noodles or Spaghetti-os, or they go the other way and spend 2-3 hours preparing some really yummy dishes. Today was a 2-3 hour prep day and Teagan made us some delicious pizza calzones, which we ate with some left over homemade croissants she made for dinner last night. While Garrett made us a yummy strawberry smoothie and a "Happy Birthday, Jesus" carrot cake. Lunch was so yummy, and I am so proud of my big kids for how responsible they are being!For lunch today, Garrett helped Happy drink his smoothie, so naturally, he ended up wearing a portion of it on his jammies. (yes, it's lunchtime and the baby is still in jammies...I am trying to not push the kids too far with all the things I am having them do lately, and some fights aren't worth doing one handed!)During the day I just moan and oh and ouch whenever I hurt, but nighttime is another thing. I tend to hurt a lot more during the evening/night/early morning time, so some nights I give in and take a pain pill to try and get 3-4 hours of unhurting sleep. It only lasts a little bit, but I sort of prefer to feel a little bit of pain because I am more careful with myself that way - it's kind of like not eating while your mouth is numb because you can do more damage to yourself when you don't feel it right away. But on those nights when I do take something for the pain, my beautiful children end up looking a bit like this:When that happens, it's lights out everyone, see you in the morning! Then the baby and I head to my room to go to bed, and the kids are all sent to their beds to read until they fall asleep. It's not the best way to do things, but for the next week or so until the majority of the pain goes away, that's the way it'll be sometimes! I love having good kids:-)