I'm Not Superstitious, Just a Little Stitious

Obviously, I'm posting post-Office premier. And what a perfect entre Mr. Michael Scott gave me.

Although I'll also share my alternative name, "Whew! Parts 1 and 2."

Because I am happy to report that I am finally on the other side of several doctors visits and basically two rounds of tests, and have a clean bill of health. Well, more or less. Okay all that sounds worse than it really is.... but hey, this is the dramatic build-up, savor it.

So I know now that I don't have diabetes, after two rounds of blood tests. My first results "tested high" so my doctor asked that I come back after fasting 12 hours. It was apparently totally fine the next time. I think my first results were affected because I hadn't eaten all that day (a rarity) and had just downed a protein bar on the way to my appointment. So maybe that spikes your blood sugar (nurses???) Thank goodness, because I was all prepared to be totally outraged that I'm at the healthiest weight in 15 years and NOW I'd have it? Anyway - Whew #1.

For #2 ... the reason I had the first blood test was so my doctor could make sure nothing was wrong systemically, after I went in about my Dead Leg. Kinda like a peg leg, and I enjoy saying it and feeling like a pirate. Anyway, my Dead Leg is the combo of the left side of my left calf, which is basically numb all the time now - ditto for the right side of my left foot. It (the numb spot) runs down and crosses over my ankle and foot and up my toe. Since June. I noticed it just before vacation. By late August, and two months of the peg leg, I thought, hmmmm, maybe we just better see what's up doc.

Multiple sources guessed - and I believed - that it was probably just a pinched nerve. But it didn't go away and so I finally thought, well, just WHAT IF it's not. And knowing that if something was wrong, it's with your nerves, well, it's just not a comfortable situation.

After visiting my nice new doctor (thanks, Cara!) he said right away it probably wasn't anything serious and immediately agreed with the pinched nerve vote. However, he referred me To A Neurologist Just To Be Safe. Umm, scary!?

That appointment was Tuesday. It's been over a month since I got the referral and made the first available appointment. A looong month. With my mind going to the worst case scenarios the whole time. Naturally. I practically had Matthew an orphan by the time she finally walked in to the exam room Tuesday.

She administered "a full panel of neurological tests" which apparently means wiggling my piggies, playing pattycake and giving me a drunk test (follow my finger with your eyes...). Not exactly the technological breakthrough I'd wanted to confirm I was fine. But she ultimately did not disappoint. Today I went back for follow-up tests: electromyopathy and a nerve conduction study. Which consisted of little pokey needles and electric shocks.

So from about 9 to 10 a.m. today, first she buzzed me, then she poked me. I totally prefer the buzz - seeing your leg kick up is pretty cool, and it's an uncomfortable feeling but not bad. Needles, however, are needles. Plus she has to not just stick it in there but WIGGLE it around, and sometimes it makes that muscle cramp (YES SHE WAS TOUCHING MY MUSCLE, EWW) . But it's neat. She could see with the electric shocks where the "blockage" was, and with the needles, she learned that my left foot and toes were a little weak due to having the blockage for a while, but my leg muscles were not weak at all and overall, there's not really any damage.

So I no longer have a Dead Leg, I have a "perineal obstruction at the fibular head." Or to you lay people, a pinched nerve on my left outer knee. And I need surgery on it.... (insert violins).

I suspect it will be orthoscopic and I know that it's outpatient, with very minimal recovery time needed. My doc said it was "no big deal." Naturally I am disappointed that I have to deal with it, but ... I know I'm lucky there's nothing really wrong with me. I am officially very very grateful it wasn't anything serious which for whatever reason I was worried it was. (Hence why I didn't post about it before, hence I wanted to feel reassured first and now I do ... hence, I am apparently a little stitious.)

I am a Lean Cuisine Commercial (subtitle: Stouffer's owes me)

My original post idea was to point out how I'm just like, on the Lean Cuisine commercials, the "other" women. The ones eating 32 jellybeans or half a tomato with a can of creamed corn for dinner.

Because, with me on Weight Watchers, our cooking has become practically non existent. And our dinners are things like:

Me: 1/2 cup of leftover tortellini from last Tuesday night. Hummus and pita. Hostess light cupcake.
Mike: 2 pieces of pizza from last Thursday night. Refried beans.

Last night was a step up: orange chicken from Trader Joe's on a big pile of spinch. (No not a wrap - just the chicken sitting there on the spinach.) All-Bran crackers.

It's not unhealthy I guess, and it's doing the trick, diet wise. But I wouldn't say we're into "healthy cooking" since we've started dieting. Unless you count Trader Joe's heat and eats as cooking. (Which incidentally I do. Because, hello, they are sooooo good. Every time we try a new one and it's better than the last, we are so eternally grateful for that place. How could I have ever thought I did NOT have time for an extra stop for TJ's in addition to Schnuck's? Given most of the meals we buy there take under 7 minutes to cook, over the course of a week it is sooo worth the extra maybe 40 minutes to drive there, shop - in small friendly little carts, with Matthew pushing his baby one along side - pay the always nice hippiesh check out people and come home with our cute mini-brown bags of frozen deliciousness.)

So I was going to compare myself to the "I at 3 bowls of cereal with no milk" girls on the Lean Cuisine commercials when I realized I am actually the ying AND the yang of the commercials. I eat Lean Cuisines EVERY DAY. Every day. (Buy stock in Stouffer's today people, I won't let you down). Every couple weeks of course I realize I simply canNOT eat one again - and then Bread Co. gets to see my smiling face. But in general, it's a bonanza of Four-Cheese Mannicotti, Southwestern Chicken Panera, Chicken with Veggies (only 4 points for weigh in day, whoo whoo!) and, my new fav, Butternut Squash Ravioli.

I know I'm probably getting pickled slowly from the inside out. All that salt and those preservatives can't be something you should eat, like, for 30 years, five times a week. But let's hope 10 years in your 20's and early 30's won't kill you. Because I've been scarfing these babies down since day one at work out of college - and even IN college when I wanted to lose weight. They are fast, easy, and HOT (hate cold smushed turkey sandwich in the middle of winter for lunch when you work so hard all morning and are starving and then blech, smushed sandwich). And they put the WW Points ON the box, pretty much giving me no excuse not to eat healthy all week long.

Course, I avoid them like the plague on the weekends. Such as this last one ... it was a Red Robin - biscuits and gravy - kettle corn - delight of a weekend.

No worries, LC stock holders. It'll go back up, starting today.

GOD I LOVE TV (and fall)

Watching re-runs of The Office on TBS is the BOMB. Not only do they run them back to back with NO breaks and no I'm-not-watching-The-Office-sadness for even one minute. But the first night I discover they run them ... it's the put-Dwight's-stuff-in-Jello-episode. Love it!

AND NOW I WANT TO SEE THE NEW SEASON RIGHT NOW!

Thankfully I don't have to wait much longer. The new TV season is a-comin'. Yet another reason I LOVE this time of year.

Here are a few others:
Talking walks is finally a habit I can sustain during fall. I love how it smells, how it feels. I have so much more energy. Tonight the Fam took a walk together. I was practically sprint-walking. It almost feel like I could have RUN (don't get crazy people, I did NOT). Mike and the dogs were eating Matthew's and my dust.

Fantasy football's in full swing. I am already more into it now that my first week was solid and I am a (very close) fifth behind my better half.

We are coming up on October which brings Danny's first birthday and our anniversary. For the former, it'll mean another road trip to Chi town and seeing friends and family. For the latter, it'll mean at least a few hours out on the town for Mikey and Aimee to take in a nice dinner and a few toddler-free (love you, honey!) hours as Aunt Kim's already graciously volunteered to do a Matthew night.

It also means probably a few fun friend outings, like the balloon race at Forest Park this weekend, or next month maybe the wineries, or a trip to the Jones lake house. It also hopefully means at least one traditional fall golf outing to Wolf Hollow. I HOPE!

(And it means the end of one and eventuallye two of my giant projects. So I've got THAT going for me, which is nice ...)

Basically, despite working crazy hours and never having enough time to do half these things I'm dreaming about, just walking outside into crisp weather this morning, and legitimately wearing a cute fallish sweater instead of scraping together another summer outfit, made me very happy this morning. In fall, that's all it takes!

Yes I Still Have a Son

It's been a while since I've done a general Matthew update since, well, work doesn't pay me to. So Grandma Dale, here's your grandson's latest ...

LIKES:

Snuggling the kitty by putting his big noggin on her and smiling and quieting saying "Awwww." Then pulling her tail hard and repeatedly.

Vacuuming. With the REAL vacuum.

Playing with his toy barn and farm animals and sometimes making the proper animal noises. Don't you know ducks say "Neigh"?)

Running through the house at top speed with absolutely adorable big diaper bottom wiggle.

Pointing and saying "Ga ga!" when he wants something/more of it.

Cuddling his stuffed animals.

Repeating parts of his books to us, like the "Shhhh" part of Pajama Time or "Oh no no no" part of Moo Ba La La La.

Pointing out and yelling out "Truck!" when we're driving or really when we're anywhere and even sense there MIGHT be a truck nearby. Only it's "Crock!"

Repeating almost any word we really work with him on. Which mostly all sound like "Cruck!"

Spinning on his sit and spin.

Using a spoon to feed himself oatmeal, yogurt and rice.

Coloring outside with his sidewalk chalk. After letting us know by walking to the door with the box of chalk and pointing at it "Aeuugh! Aeughh!"

Hitting golf balls (and our armoire and the walls and as I'm sure time will tell, any living thing within striking distance) with his REAL metal golf club from the Joneses.

Screaming "NOOOoooooo" at just about anything we want him to do. Minus above items.

DISLIKES:

Horses. Tonight he got scared of a photo (of himself with Grandma's horse mind you) as well as the embroidered horse on his quilt.

Eating. Lately it's only on his schedule, the amount he wants and what he wants. And pretty much that's just yogurt, aka "Go-go!"

Sitting on his bottom in the bathtub.

Being on the changing table for longer than four seconds.

Having anyone else use a spoon to feed him oatmeal, yogurt and rice, or eating these without getting them on the floor, (as Grandma LeBaige found out.)

Not vaccuming when dammit, he wants to vacuum!

He has been alternately a toddler monster (oh GOD what happens to their tempers when they turn two?) and the most fun he's ever been. He will do stuff lately that just makes you roll laughing, not that I can think of any one thing right now. The constant obsession with putting on giant shoes and walking around (this weekend it was Grandpa's, OVER his own) doesn't hurt.

But in general it's just his delight with everything. Peek a boo is suddenly ten times more exciting as he can really pull the blankey totally over his own head. And he will WAIT. When you finally say "Where's Matthew?" and he pulls it off and you yell "There he is!" he just goes crazy and lets out this screech of pure delight that is so genuine and adorable it makes me laugh out loud, so then he laughts, and it just goes from there. For months I've been jealous of the cat's singular ability to get this much animation out of him.

And so, here are some recent photos capturing life with Matthew in late summer 2007.

Big boy spoon!

You gotta love that cheese face.

Last day for the pool (you can tell he's heart broken?

Two shots on his 15 month visit, ouchee!

At work.

At play.