three ways to have fun

Well not much has been going on here (literally). I was ordered to stay off my feet for 2 days. And limit what I do for two weeks. Ya right!

But what I can say is that I had dinner made for me 2x's! I have to be honest. It almost brought a tear to my eye. In all my life I've never had that done. Okay well since I turned 17. Oh wait. I did have food served to me at the hospitals I stayed at the two times I had my kids. So I'm a lier.

I was prescribed pain killers and a medication for inflammation/swelling. Well let me tell you. I didn't need any of it. I didn't even get a bruise! Lame! Dr. Johnson bet me I would have one  least to my calf and that it would be as black as night. Well I can honestly say that I bruised worse when Estefan hit me with a remote, when he was 6 months old. Seriously I wanted a good shiner:(

I'm slightly sore and limp. To me a knife wound means instant cellulite! I mean my leg couldn't have had little dimples in it before. Or maybe I never looked that closely at it. Or maybe it's not dimply at all? The Dr. said that muscle can't mend it self once it's been cut through. So I guess a little sagging is to be expected?

Found a SUPER old bathing suit that was the size of my hand-then it stretched out to fit my 4T wearing little girl. Sure it had one small side effect, but I couldn't resist the shiny like material!

Before this happened I went swimming and swimming. It was fun! I had fun! We had fun! Here's some pictures to show what fun we had.

We love to meet up with family and friends at the Mesquite Rec. Center

Watching the kids play and splash

one!

two!

three!

The best 80's bathing suit

Gives the best bathing suit BUTT:)

We are divorcing!

So Tommy and I have come to the sad realization that he and I can no longer be together.

"Ay-but a scratch"-Romeo & Juliet

Yesterday in a fit of rage…he stabbed me in my thigh!

This knife was purchased & sharpened by Tommy the day before

Haha..I know it’s nothing to joke about. But how many of you believed me!? No but really, yesterday I became lazy and I think that’s one of he 7 deadly sins.



I was watching Schindlers List while finishing dinner. I brought in a plate to cut up some zucchini. I picked up the plate and brought it to the kitchen. Tommy came in and we were ready to eat. But I needed to cut the bread and since I didn’t want to dirty another knife I decided to use the same one. Well Tommy and I searched for it and searched for it but I told him I don’t think I dropped it because I would have heard it. I said screw it and lets eat. I’m hungry! So in I walked with my plate and sat in the same spot. With my hands filled with a plate of spaghetti I hadn’t braced myself.



Long story short I found the knife. It was dangling from my leg when I screamed for Tommy to pull it out.It didn't feel like a knife but a red hot poker! As he is pulling it out he says, “You’re never suppose to pull out a knife.” He applied pressure. Immense pressure I should add. Have you seen his big rugged hands. I cried hard for about 3 minutes and scared poor Estella. She ran and got a clean sock to wrap my leg in. I hardly bled (thanks to Tommy’s actions) and 15 minutes later I realized I was missing an assignment for the paper. Great.

Everything was fine and dandy. I won’t tell you that I was a baby and didn’t want to go to the ER, or that I wouldn’t let them use soap and water to clean it, that I flinched when you touched the surface of my thigh. I will tell you that contact solution was used to irrigate my wound and that butterfly tape was used. In the end they butterly’d it, placed gauze on it, and wrapped it tightly with an ace bandage. 2 hours later I walked ten step to the kitchen to chat with my in laws and blood gushed through it all and was squirting the cabinet.

The tape, gauze, and ace wrap couldn't hold

After that there was no going back and I was forced to go to the Mesquite hospital. Where I received 9 stitches. I yelped a little. Luckily nurse Tom was there to hold my hand since I was alone. I decided to let Tommy sleep since he had to work at 2 in the morning. I didn’t cry but I was pretty wussy. I mean people get hit by cars and stabbed multiple times. Mine only went in 2 inches. It went through the muscle tissue and into the muscle. The Dr. mentioned I could have used a little more fat-it wouldn't have gone in so deep:(

by the time I got there blood has started to collect under my skin

This is my first hospital stay other than when I gave birth. The Dr. and nurse was great! I am worried that I didn’t get a tetanus shot or antibiotics. I’m off my feet for the next 2 days and can expect some nice bruising down the length of my left leg. I don’t bruise so I’m excited at the thought of it! I will be sore for 2 weeks and will have the stitches removed then.

Because of something to do with the cut I had whats called a Mantra stitch

Eight years ago this month.

Eight years ago I was a fresh graduate. I was camping up in the remote hills in Ely with my family. We had just celebrated the fourth of July. I don’t recall much about the trip (why is that?) other than who was there, and small insignificant details. Like the ride in when I had to hold my belly. The rocky terrain wasn’t unusual for the area but I remember getting the okay from the Dr to travel, but to take it easy. I remember bearing down on my midsection and “holding” it. The rocks were big jagged ones that you couldn’t just fly over. We slowly rolled over them. That was the worse. The big CU-THUNKS and the rocking motion it set to the truck. It caused my insides to jiggle uncomfortable.

I was blissfully unaware that I was only weeks from giving birth to Estefan. I’m pretty sure I had his name picked out by then. I did that right after senior trip in May ‘02. I bought him his first pair of shoes when our bus broke down in front of an outlet mall parking lot. I walked into Gap and bought a pair of white tennies with navy blue trim around the sole. They were so tiny and I don’t even recall him wearing them. It was those shoes that I picked 4 names I “kinda” liked along with ones my mom REALLY liked. I put all four into the left shoe and repeated it for the right. I pulled out a name from each. I just so happened to get the same ones the first time. I then put one back and pulled out a second cookie fortune strip of a paper. Only this had no fortune for me. It was the name of my future. Estefan.



That was eight years ago. I could tell you about his birthday day(07-20-02) and every single day after that. It was what happened beforehand that I struggle to remember. I don’t remember being so bloated or why I was induced when I still had till Aug 1st( my actual due date if my memory serves me right). I look back at pictures and I look HORRIBLE. But I’m smiling like a big ‘ol idiot in each one. Like the weight of the world could be lifted and spared by what I carried inside me. Like I held a significant key to greatness. Like I had swallowed the proverbial canary. I can recall hiding in the girls bathroom one time because I hated what I thought others saw when I looked at myself in the mirror. School could be cruel without having to throw up in hallway trash cans. I must have been uncomfortable, but I don’t recall it. At all. In fact I maybe lying when I tell future mothers that “I never felt better than when I was pregnant” but as I say, I don’t remember being uncomfortable. But goodness gracious did I look it. It actually makes me cringe to see myself nearing the end stage. How did I let that happen-how did my Dr think it was okay for that to happen.*



My love celebrates his birthday this month and through out the years I find myself thinking of all the things I will want promiscuous girls to know someday. Not that being a mother at sixteen isn’t hard but all the other things I couldn‘t even fathom. It reminds me of when I read a book about near death experiences and most of them just said “it’s too much for the best imagination to imagine.” I would like them to think about these two scenarios out of hundred. Like when two people who didn’t love each other ending up falling in love with the same person and then having to share. Or when you finally find someone who loves you and your baby, gets a job in the future that has insurance that doesn’t allow that man to add his “step” son on his insurance because he is just that. How can they conceive of the thought of excluding a child from a family by simply stating to the step child‘s father (who has been there since he was 1!) the he can only include “his“ current family.** As if this child is not part of this family. I wanted to cry! Why? Why didn’t I know this? How bad others could hurt my son and him be (thank the Lord) unaware.



During this time before Estefan, I received a letter. The letter was from a women who was apologetic for the predicament that I put myself in. I still have the letter of her saying how much she enjoyed me (pre-baby). I take it the letter was meant to give her blessing and saying that I was still good and one day would be forgiven for my sin. I kept the letter and still have it. At the time it made my mom cry when she read it. I recently heard about the author’s daughter and her misfortune. Her husband had divorced her after she went crazy. All this stemmed from her loosing a baby inutero. I take it she didn’t think of her daughters pending divorce as a sin but as a tragedy stemmed from the hand of God. This has nothing to do with my son and I.



Every time I think of that women who penned her thoughts on flowered stationary, I think of what her daughter went through, I feel thankful. Through all the public stares, prom maternity dress, and hardships I entailed was shattered. Shattered by the gift I had placed in my arms months later. That in the end I came out the lucky one.



To another year with My Love on earth.



*this Dr. delivered my entire family, extended too. She had her licence stripped of her since I had Estella
** I'm currently fighting this. I WILL win it . I've done in the past.

why complain, when........

Veteran Dave fox on the 4th

Writing for the paper is SO odd. It can be frustrating when you think you have written a MASTERPIECE about the birthday of this wonderful nation that's 1600 words-only to find it shortened to less than 500! I've had a hectic week and I wanted to write all the drama on here.For example: About how I made my sister cry cause she's bringing Crusty the clown with her. Or how I got 2 pairs of (nerdy) new glasses or the best of all-how I was in charge of booking 6 plane tickets, rooms and car rentals. Then try and collect the exact change from everyone.Oh ya- and the fourth of July holiday. Oy Vey! So when this forward came from my editor I was elated! SO dang nice to get something like this from a total stranger.




To progress.com
please forward to your journalist amanda monk





Amanda,



Just wanted to write a quick note and thank you and your husband for your hospitality and kindness at the celebration on Saturday. We drove to Logandale with no real expectations and had a wonderful day. What a great community. On top of that it was a treat to spent time visiting with you and your husband. He had some great stories and to have both my teenage boys laughing out loud is a real feat. I can occasionally get them to smile with some of my best material. If you’re ever in Vegas with nothing to do we’d love to have your family for dinner or just a visit. Thanks again.


Curtis and Teri Child






PS. I've read many of your articles from the archives. Some fun stories and I read the one we talked about, the "green" LDS chapel. Great work!

Some days are like this....

I tend to write about feelings and my day to day things. I’m writing about the mundane. Or is it insane? Those two words are sound-alike‘s. What is that called in the English language?




I live a very simple life to most standards. When life gets bored-we have a baby. Life isn’t so bored anymore once you add to the brood. I’m determined to find a hobby that doesn’t involve my nether regions. Today there is a fire in Moapa. It made the news but I really could care less because it has no direct effect on me. Right now I can smell the toilet bowl cleaner from where I sit. I just hung some clothes up and now I’m going to tackle socks. Some people have dry cleaners that do this kinda stuff. I work quickly by tying the socks into loose knots. I don’t fold one inside the other. It makes them baggy at the top and sooner or later they no longer stay up.



Today I slept in because Estella did. My life is surrounded by others and dictated by them too. I wore the same clothes I wore yesterday and visited the same people I did yesterday. They don’t care if I do things like that. I thought what it would be like to have five kids, brought Estella’s cousin to that said friends house and we ooo’d and awed at her new couches. Well I did. The kids christened them each by doing one of the following: jumped on them, threw a the pillow, climbed over the backs, eat/spilled Pringles, lots of jumping off, and throwing up their juice on them.



I came home and laid down and then decided I didn’t want to nap. It’s just a habit. So I braved the heat and washed the front of my house. While I turned the hose on I noticed my flowers were ALL gone. The goat ate them. Did I mention we have 3 now. Two babies. I’ve lost those two cats we got. One for sure is dead. The day it died we replaced it with a stray cat. It was 2 weeks ago and haven’t seen it since yesterday. Today I called about another cat with 9 siblings.

We’ll see.

this was yesterday, and if you saw me today-I would look like yesterday

I had two unexpected visitors. Two men wanted to know if the fridge and freezer were garbage and if I would like them to haul it off? No thanks-their still good and we use them. Half an hour later a lady from my church stopped by to buy ten pounds of tomatoes. Did I mention that our garden has been producing for awhile. Last week we sold 30 pounds of tomatoes and lots of squash/zucchini. She bought ten pounds. We still have a little less than 30 sitting on the kitchen floor. I bought stuff to can them. Funny thing-after she left I thought how INCREDIBLY beautiful she is! Tommy should’ve married a Mexican like her. Well if he had the choice of who he could fall in love with. So it’s 3 and Tommy should be heading home.



I can’t tell you how the rest of my day is going to go but I bet it involves my sister who is coming to see me, the reservoir that is supposedly closed, and the library.