Summer Time, Pre-School, Promotions & Pink Hair...

Happy Summer!
It has been so long since I posted. :( Sorry about that.

I started a new mommy tell-all blog but I haven't been on that much either. I vowed that I would write more... but I just haven't found the time to really "speak" per say.

LITTLE MAN
Everything lately has been really well. Little Man has spent all this month going to Kids Club on Thursdays. We signed him up for Pre-School & he starts September 9th on his 5th Birthday!

CHRIS
Chris received a promotion at work & transferred to a different Michaels not too much further from home. They just had their Grand Opening on Sunday. He gets more hours now, and a better pay... with benefits.

ME

Lots of new things have been going on with me! I was supposed to get surgery on my left knee the 24th of this month. Unfortunately Workers Comp has denied it (And that is all I can officially get into that)

I obviously dyed my hair pink :P I needed a change!

I Graduated Physical Therapy (for my right knee) on July 3rd!

I was supposed to start Driving School today... but the instructor had to reschedule for Wednesday! I have to have my license before Christopher starts Pre-School, because I will have to take him everyday.






I apologize again for not writing sooner.
Here's to hoping there will be many more Blog Posts in the future! :)

-Melissa

Medical Update, PT, Work, Chris & Little Man...

Hello Everyone!

 

MEDICAL UPDATE

 

I'm 3 weeks post-op today! I got my steri-strips finally off & my knee is looking great! I'm recovering really well & PT has been going really good.

I go to PT 3 times a week (Usually Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays)

My pain has been between 1 and 3 which is WONDERFUL! I have been trying really hard to beg and plead to get my crutches off, but unfortunately I cannot until I go and see my doctor on April 2nd. That will be my 6 week Post-Op visit. My Physical Therapist Breck said that I should be getting my immobilizer off that day & put into a smaller brace. He also said Dr. Guy may decide to take me off one of my crutches. He will also be scheduling me for more PT. I will have 6 more weeks of that, and then I will be going back to the Dr for my 12 Week Post Op visit. I'm unsure of anything after that.

 

I will also be talking to Dr. Guy about the possibility of a second surgery again this year. I'm not positive if I will be having it this year or not. It all depends on if he wants to do it or not & if so, then I have to talk to my lawyer about that. It will be on my Left knee. The same surgery I had on my right.

I found out the actual name of the surgery I had: Distal Re-alignment Surgery

 

WORK

 

Finally after getting all pending orders out the door, I have finally re-opened my etsy shop. I'm adding a few things at a time, so that I don't get overwhelmed & Chris has been so wonderful helping me get everything printed & cut so that I can ship out anything that is ordered right away.

Right now I have a few "Planner stickers" available & some really cute March Address Labels

 

You can get these @: http://creativedesigncorner.etsy.com

 

CHRIS

 

Chris has been doing well. The new Michaels store opens in May & I'm hoping he can apply for management soon. :)

 

CHRISTOPHER

 

Little man has been having a little trouble with my being in bed for 3 weeks, and he is having a really hard time adjusting. I just hope that he will understand later on in life that this was necessary & after I recover I will be able to play with him on the floor, be able to run with him outside & will be able to finally teach him how to ride a bike. It has been a long 3 years like this... and he's not used to Mommy being able to do all the fun things that most mommy's and daddies can do.

 

This is all for this week

 

-<3- Melissa

Happy *Early* March, Erin Condren Life Planner, Surgery Day, Work, 4K Registration, PT & Shopping...

Hello Everyone!

 

I'm sorry about my absence lately from the blogging scene. I usually write once a week in my agenda that I'm going to be doing a blog entry, but to be honest I have been so super busy lately.

 

First off let me start by saying: HAPPY MARCH! It's not officially March yet, but it starts on Sunday, and I know that I will not be doing a blog entry on Sunday. (I usually try to do my blog entries on a Wednesday in the middle of the week)

 

My March View in My Erin Condren Life Planner! Save $10 on yours: http://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/melissaanderson1230

 

Above you see what my Monthly view looks like (so far) for the month of March. Luckily I've paid almost all my bills (Except for the latter ones (rent, netflix, cell, car taxes & car insurance) Everything else has been paid. I also only have 1 birthday card to get out this month, which I will be sending next week with a Lowes GC in it for my Papa. I will light a candle for my Mama on her Birthday.

                                                                                                       

Here is a photo of my weekly update (last week) before I got my surgery on Friday. It was a pretty busy first half of my week.

 

SURGERY DAY



Here I am on Surgery Day. I was supposed to go in at 11:15 to get ready, sign some forms, and be hooked up. My surgery was supposed to begin at 12:50. Dr. Guy was running really behind on his surgeries that day, so I did not get to go into surgery until 4:30pm! That's A LONG TIME to wait when you hadn't eaten or drank anything since Midnight! I was thirsty and hungry and tired, but I just relaxed in my room with Chris watching Father of the Bride & Father of the Bride II. Lil' Man stayed with my Mother in Law, because there was no way we could bring him with us.

 



These are the socks I was given that day! Super comfy & I got to take them home with me! Absolutely LOVE them!

Here I am testing out my laptop camera.


AFTER SURGERY

I had to spend the night in the hospital, and even though I was doped up on some pretty awesome pain meds, I did not get much sleep. Here I was a 4:30am in the morning.


WORKING
 



I was working while in the hospital. I was unable to get all orders out when I was supposed to, so I was trying my best to get all of them designed while waiting to be discharged.

They had to re-align the ligaments and knee cap so that they were straight. I now have 2 screws in my knee & will forever beep at the airport.

CHRISTOPHER

Little man face-timed me after I got out of my surgery and was awake enough to function. I thought it would help him calm down and that he would be alright after seeing me, but it scared him to death. When I got home the next day, he started crying when he saw my knee, and told me he wished he could make it much better. He kissed it, and even though it didn't make it feel better... I told him it made a world of a difference.
We registered little man for 4K the day before my surgery and we set up his test date. I'm nervous and excited for him all at the same time. He really needs 4K and his fellow students for interaction before he goes straight into Kindergarten.


HUBS
Chris was off work Friday, Saturday, Sunday and he took a sick day on Monday, to make sure that I was in a the swing of things. It gets really hard when he is not here in the mornings though, because as of right now, I cannot do anything myself. I have to have help to get off the bed, go to the restroom, fill up and turn off "the box", and Christopher usually wants Chocolate Milk in the mornings, which is downstairs, and I cannot go down or up any stairs without anyone home (in the case that I fall). He has been really sweet.

PT

I had my very first day of Physical Therapy today. It wasn't too bad... until afterword when I decided it felt good enough to go to Target and Michaels and walk around. :/ I always over- estimate myself....

I did however; find these adorable post-its and notepad in the Target $ spot!

Chris was saying that they set the first SUMMER grid in the back room at Michaels today. It seems the years go by faster and faster.

That is all for this week!

-<3- Melissa
 



Bad Knees/ Driving School/ Taxes & Vet Visits....

HEALTH

Hello Everyone! Some days are so much better than others when it comes to health. 

The picture on the left  is of my knee the other day after I went outside with my lil man and played for just 2 1/2 hours. 

(Please pardon the paleness)

It was super warm out (For January) and so I went outside with my son, played on the swings, slide & "raced" his cars around before we went in to take a bath.

He had a lot of fun (which is all that matters)

We also came downstairs and played with his cars, played some basketball & then I proceeded to lay down in his bed because I no longer could walk very well :(

It hurts my feelings when my son wants to play and I am unable to play with him for very long.

Anyways... what you see in the picture is a lot of swelling and my knee cap was dislocated with a lot of bruising.

In other news, Yesterday I got a hold of a local Driving School, to figure out some details about their package options, so that after my surgery I can go. (Yes... I will have a license before I'm 28! )

I'm actually only doing this because I'm the one that will have to take my son to school in August if he gets into 4K. Chris works in the mornings, and so does Esther, and so does Kevin... so I can no longer rely on them to get him to school. I'm also not putting him on a school bus at just 4 years old. Not enough trust these days. 

Chris also filed our taxes yesterday! YAY! 

I have to write everything down! So now you can see that on Tuesday (Yesterday) we filed them! And it was important. haha

In about an hour Chris and Esther have to take one of the family dogs (8 Ball) to the vet because he hurt his leg really bad yesterday when he slipped and fell coming up the stairs. :( I'll find out the diagnosis for my big baby when they get back home with him (I claim him as my own... even though we don't pay his med costs or buy his food)

I have to finish up a few more orders today & then I think I will take my booger outside again. 

Have a great (SUNNY FILLED) day :)

-Melissa

CT Scan Results & Surgery Dates....

Today was my follow-up appointment from the CT scan I had last Friday.

Here is a photo of the lobby where USC Med is located :)

Dr. Guy is an amazing doctor, who really likes to dig deep and look for potential issues, even if one thing doesn't work the first time.
Starting this journey with him led me first to get an X Ray (which showed a knee cap dispacement in my Right Knee).

He then sent me to get a MRI done (which showed in-conclusive results because of the poor imaging)

He then sent me to get a CT scan at the same hospital. Today's results were almost what we expected to hear. He let me know that there is not much they can do for my knee at this time, except to operate on it because it has been so long. He didn't go into too many details of what he was doing (but basically, there will be three "cuts" in my knee. 2 holes, and one small slit along my Patella Bone/Tendon where he will move my bone over and knee cap over so they will be aligned in a straight line. My bone is at the left and my knee cap is towards the right.) What we did not expect to hear was that after this surgery... he will be looking at my LEFT knee... because that knee is worse than the right. I've been putting almost all of my weight on my left leg/knee because my right has hurt me so bad and has massive swelling. He will have to perform the same surgery on my LEFT knee as well (but that is not schedule yet, and will be determined)

My surgery has been scheduled for February 20th. This also all depends on Workers Comp & My Lawyer. I have a lot of faith that this will be taken care of, and that there will (hopefully) be no issues.

I hope everyone has had a pleasant week... and I am going to go back and lay down for a little bit.

Until Next Time

Melissa

Health, Work, Little Man, & Chris...

Hello Everyone!

HEALTH UPDATE: 

I had my Dr. Appt on the 5th with hopes that I would get some answers from Dr. Guy concerning my MRI. Unfortunately the images were not good enough quality, and he has ordered a CT scan.

They will inject me with a liquid that will show whether or not I have a small or big tear.

The scan will also take images of my bone, to determine whether or not I have any fractures that would require a metal plate or rod to be inserted.

I am not worrying about anything right now, just because I have to wait to find out when my next Dr. Appt is. They scheduled it for the 15th but I never know if the appointment will be kept or not. I have to wait to get a CT scan first.

WORK

My Etsy Business is doing well & we had a very good 2014. I cannot wait to see what 2015 brings, and I am enjoying making things. I still have not listed pre-made scrapbooking pages yet, just because they take a lot of time. 

CHRISTOPHER

Christopher has registration for 4K on February 19th! He has to take a test for it in May! I'm excited and saddened all at the same time. Is it possible for children to grow up so fast? :/

I'm hoping he will enjoy school as much as I did. 

My favorite part of School Shopping, was the School Supplies. To this day: That is still one of my favorite sections of the store. Always will be I believe. 

CHRIS

Chris is still working at Michaels, and I'm hoping we find out more about this Management Job Opening at a store that is just being built. 

He is however; helping another associate run the back room, while the main person steps down for retirement. Unfortunately... that does not include a pay raise.... which we desperately need if we're looking into buying a home next year. 

Well this is all for now! See you soon! :)

Melissa

2015

Happy New Year! 

We are in a new year, and I honestly am hoping to schedule in some blog entries at least once a week. They may not say much, but I may find some challenges to do or something... Just to keep you guys in check.

RESOLUTIONS

1. Begin paying off my student loan so I no longer have that debt. I have been in forbearance & deferment for a few years now because I was unable to set aside the $100 extra dollars a month I'll need to pay for them. 

2. Successfully complete the 52 Week Money Challenge. The 52 week money challenge (which you can google) is a way to save money so you can either 1. Put it in Savings for the New Year, 2. You can do what I'm going to be doing (Christmas Money) 3. Save for Vacation.... ect.

We're going to be doing the opposite of what it usually says. We're putting $52 aside this week! 

3. Begin looking at houses. I know it will be a few years before we're able to move out on our own again, however; I still like looking at the market and determine what we can afford.

4. Join a gym (I'm hoping this really happens. The only way this can happen though is if they fix my knee)

HEALTH

As every one knows by now I have been struggling with knee issues since I got hurt in December of 2011. They did the first surgery to my knee to fix Meniscus tears  in 2012, but my knee was still having issues. I have gone to court with my lawyer, and have finally won a case! (That was in 2014). I had an MRI on my birthday Dec. 30th & I have another Dr.'s Appt January 5th with Dr. Guy. I'm hoping this will give him some insight on what is happening on the "inside" of my knee. The X-Ray I was given showed my knee cap moved out of place and to the right instead of in the middle. I'm sure I will let everyone know the outcome after the 5th.

WORK

Chris is applying for a management position at a different store (hopefully) in February. This will give us the opportunity to save for a house! :)

I have kept busy making stickers! I enjoy it a lot, and it gives me a little bit of pocket money to help Chris pay the bills. I still get my weekly Workers Compensation check, but that check isn't enough to pay the amount of bills that we have.  2014 was a great First Year for my growing business, and I truly cannot wait to see what this year will bring!

LITTLE MAN

Believe it or not, but come Monday (The 5th) I will be calling the school to see when I need to bring him in for testing (It will be sometime in February) This will be a test for 4K (The grade before Kindergarten) I'm hoping that he will get in, and we can work on his social skills a little more. Without these social skills it will be difficult for him in Kindergarten. 

This is all for now, See you guys Next Week! :)

-Melissa