New smile and a knee update

So now Miss Marika has a new smile - we knew this day would come, but it stilll makes me sad, because the gap makes her look so much older now! I am hoping that the other front one doesn't fall out before the new one comes in, but I don't think I'm going to get my way...

Marika is standing in front of her new cardboard house (she made one from some cardboard boxes and it drove DaddyDude absolutely nuts - so we got her a new one instead). These were great Xmas gifts - on sale at Michaels and it has kept the girls busy for hours each day!

It's like we have our own little neighborhood within the house! And yes, you can fold them for storage!

Apparently, it's even comfortable enough for them to sleep in (that's Mika!), but she almost broke the house when she stretched out! All in all, though, the houses have been a great distraction for the girls while I am recovering from my knee surgery...

I went to see the orthopedist on 12/22. He came in, snapped my leg around and said, "Yup, your ACL is totally gone!" Sure wish I had known that back in early November! That's okay, I don't think I would have scheduled the surgery for any other time than winter break, because I wouldn't be allowed to drive for a week. Now there's some discussion that it may be longer than that, so I may end up walking to school to pick up the girls - although I'm hoping to power through PT to make the driving happen sooner than later.

Good thing we didn't have the surgery last week, since we all had a stomach ailment. As things turned out, I was terribly lucky to have been the first scheduled surgery - the doctor told me he got food poisoning from lunch and had to cancel the rest of his surgeries that day! I was amazed he managed to pull himself together enough for clinic the next day (I doubt I could have done that), but he's a real trooper. He's gone through THREE ACL surgeries so he knows what the recovery process is all about.

So... I ended up having my ACL repaired (allograft from a 19-year old) and he shaved down part of my meniscus ("a very small tear", he said). So, on the bright side, I'll be on the crutches for 4 weeks or less and I am allowed to bear my weight on it (I wouldn't have been able to for 6 weeks, if he had had to suture my meniscus back together). I'm wearing that big brace you see above - it's to keep my leg straight because apparently, it's really hard to get extension back whereas it's easier to get flexion (range of motion). It's already driving me nuts having my leg locked like that but I had my first PT appointment today and flexing my leg hurt like you wouldn't believe! I can't believe I was running around the neighborhood on Tuesday!

DaddyDude has been totally amazing, taking care of the kids and putting food on the table. He's been getting everything I need and I haven't detected a single bit of resentment - yet! I told him to sleep upstairs last night because I felt so bad waking him up - by the second night anyway, I was able to move myself around and get to the bathroom without help. What a great guy! He's a keeper! I love him! *smooch* 

So yes, I camped downstairs on the sofa for the past two nights, but will try to go upstairs today. Every time I stretched on the sofa, the guinea pigs would be startled and dive for shelter, spewing wood shavings and poop. Really, you'd think their memory would be longer than a couple of hours, right?

But yes, I'm doing fine. I felt well enough after PT to go with the family to get something to eat, and then do a little walking around the shopping center. Hey, did you know Slice cartridges are on sale at Michaels for $9.99 on clearance?! What a great time to go! :)