I promise to get back to the Shae photos soon, but I have a non-Shae update in the meantime. (**gasp**)
Last month Tim and Chris Conlin (with Cate and Henry) came to Colorado to ski. Having not had a lot of opportunities in the last couple years to do much skiing, I decided to head up with Brian, Chris, Keeley and Taylor to do some schussing at Copper Mountain.
A lovely day it was, albeit a bit chilly. (I can gripe -- I live here! Locals don't ski when conditions are less than perfect.) Everyone had great fun and the snow was ideal.
Mid-afternoon, Brian, Keeley and I headed up to the tippy-top to take a dip into Spaulding Bowl. The plan was to ski down, meet up with Tim and Chris W. (who were dropping Taylor off at the bottom to join Chris C. and Henry) and then drop into the bowls again.
All was well and good... until half-way down Spaulding Bowl my skis decided to stick in one spot under the pillowy ankle-deep snow while my body went in an entirely different trajectory. It wasn't even a very good fall!
There was some immediate pain. There was -- I think (I can't be entirely sure) -- a !pop! in the middle area of my left leg. Then there was a few moments of total quiet while I tried to figure out what was going on, where the pain I knew was in my body was located, how to answer Brian's question "are you okay?" and what was going to happen next.
What did happen next was quite a lot of swearing (sorry Keeley!), me trying to relocate myself from my perch on the mountainside to a more level area down below, and an eventual call from Brian to ski patrol asking them to get me down the mountain after I realized that I wasn't going to be able to do that on my own -- a realization that came to me with a jolt when I put weight back on my leg and the knee joint "shimmied" laterally. Ouch.
Also ouch, but only to my pride: a ski patrol sled. In 30+ years of skiing, this was my first ride. The upside of that ego check was the very good-looking New Zealander named Jimbo who pulled that sled. Yes, Jimbo.
Anyhoo, there's actually not a lot more to report since that February day. Having knowledge from when Jody fell and hurt his knee in Crested Butte a few years ago that the mountain clinic won't do much more than take x-rays and then refer you back to your primary care physician in town -- and charge you mightily to do so -- Brian helped me walk (er, hobble) out of the clinic without seeing a doctor; I instead self-medicated the pain at the Dam Brewery with the Conlin and Wrabetz clans over dinner.
The next day I went to see Dr. Chris who, after a thorough examination, assured me that all my ligaments (ACL, MCL, those types of ligaments) were, indeed, still attached. So yay! I chalked it up to personal melodrama and a bad sprain; nothing wrong with lots of ibuprofen, ice packs and a subtle (okay, very noticeable) limp.
Fast forward four weeks: I still can't straighten my leg, nor can I completely bend it, it still hurts and I still limp. So last week I caved in and went to the CU Sports Medicine clinic in Boulder, had some x-rays and talked to the orthopedist. She ordered an MRI which I had last Friday; I'll have the results read on April 4 (the next opening at the clinic). Her suspicion is a torn meniscus. If that's what the MRI confirms, I'm told the solution is a very easy surgery with a very short (like as in hours, possibly) recovery time.
Oh, and I should add that at the end of my conversation with the nice doctor about my knee I mentioned that my ankle has been very pouffy and my shin/calf/ankle has been very tender since the fall. Her light bulb went off and she immediately sent me to the hospital down the street for an ultrasound on my leg. Well what do you know: I have a blood clot in my calf! So I'm currently taking a blood thinner (Coumadin) to evict Scott the Clot (yes, I named it) as soon as possible.
As mentioned this blog will return to its regularly scheduled programming of Shae photos, videos and antics soon -- I just thought I'd use this medium to update any readers (are there really any readers?) who I haven't talked to personally or who have only seen my cryptic Facebook posts alluding to issues with my knee.
Happy spring one and all!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Spring is springing!
C'mon, mom. Get a move on. I'm waiting.
Happy St. Patrick's day!
Saturday morning at Washington Park. There truly is nothing better.
A massive playground that requires Shae's undivided attention.
Shae's newest favorite hobby is jumping. I dared her to jump off the relatively high step on the playground. She accepted the dare. (See the video at the end of this post.)
What do we do after a bike ride and playground time at the park? We have lunch alfresco, of course.
Jumping video. Sorry it's all the way down here -- blogger is touchy.
Happy St. Patrick's day!
Saturday morning at Washington Park. There truly is nothing better.
A massive playground that requires Shae's undivided attention.
Shae's newest favorite hobby is jumping. I dared her to jump off the relatively high step on the playground. She accepted the dare. (See the video at the end of this post.)
What do we do after a bike ride and playground time at the park? We have lunch alfresco, of course.
Jumping video. Sorry it's all the way down here -- blogger is touchy.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Delayed update
Geez louise... what kind of blog is this that doesn't get updated in more than a month?! It's like the kid gets big and all of a sudden she's not worthy of multiple-times-per-week photo updates?!
Not so. It's just been a busy little while here in the Bennigsdorf house. Jaime got a new job, Jody has been very busy getting clients to sell and buy homes with -- in addition to working on a flip house with his brothers, Jody's mom succombed to her long battle with Alzheimer's, and Shae has been VERY busy growing from a baby to a toddler to a little girl.
We are knee-deep (pun intended) in potty training, and little missy's vocabulary knocks the socks off anyone who comes in contact with her -- even my very good (and not entirely child-loving) friend told me the other day, "It's bizarre! You can actually understand everything she says!"
Busy is good, right? I just don't know where the time goes; our little girl will be two-and-a-half years old in a few weeks. Now THAT is bizarre!
On to the photos. Since we're playing catch-up, let's go back aways. Super Bowl party! Shae practiced her "go Pack, go!" and "Steelers are stinky P-U!" for days. And all was well and good until her Dad and Uncle Brian started coaching her otherwise. She's very easily persuaded...
Packer green. (Fact: Tinker Bell is a Packers fan.)
Shae helped make yellow cupcakes with green frosting for our Packers party.
Le artist hard at work.
Skipping ahead... (I fully admit I've been REALLY bad about taking photos lately!) Dr. Seuss Week at daycare included one crazy hair/crazy clothes day. I think Shae fulfilled her obligations on that one. And then some.
There does seem to be a recurring theme with our girl these days (or perhaps it's just the photos I snap): she eats a LOT. Which a kid is supposed to do!
Not so. It's just been a busy little while here in the Bennigsdorf house. Jaime got a new job, Jody has been very busy getting clients to sell and buy homes with -- in addition to working on a flip house with his brothers, Jody's mom succombed to her long battle with Alzheimer's, and Shae has been VERY busy growing from a baby to a toddler to a little girl.
We are knee-deep (pun intended) in potty training, and little missy's vocabulary knocks the socks off anyone who comes in contact with her -- even my very good (and not entirely child-loving) friend told me the other day, "It's bizarre! You can actually understand everything she says!"
Busy is good, right? I just don't know where the time goes; our little girl will be two-and-a-half years old in a few weeks. Now THAT is bizarre!
On to the photos. Since we're playing catch-up, let's go back aways. Super Bowl party! Shae practiced her "go Pack, go!" and "Steelers are stinky P-U!" for days. And all was well and good until her Dad and Uncle Brian started coaching her otherwise. She's very easily persuaded...
Packer green. (Fact: Tinker Bell is a Packers fan.)
Shae helped make yellow cupcakes with green frosting for our Packers party.
Le artist hard at work.
Skipping ahead... (I fully admit I've been REALLY bad about taking photos lately!) Dr. Seuss Week at daycare included one crazy hair/crazy clothes day. I think Shae fulfilled her obligations on that one. And then some.
There does seem to be a recurring theme with our girl these days (or perhaps it's just the photos I snap): she eats a LOT. Which a kid is supposed to do!
What's the saying? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth? Well, as it is when Shae *finally* got some hair (and it's been a long haul!) it really grew in the back... but we're still working on the top and the sides. In common vernacular, that's known as a mullet. (Sigh.) The back is really doing well, though, so we've taken to trying out ponytails (vs. piggy tails) once in a while. Can you see the eventual teenager in these photos? I can. And it's terrifying.
My Lenten sacrifice is not forgetting to update the blog. (Um, that's like a triple negative... but you know what I mean.) See y'all again soon!
My Lenten sacrifice is not forgetting to update the blog. (Um, that's like a triple negative... but you know what I mean.) See y'all again soon!Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Shae Goes To Florida, Part III
In her two relatively short years of life, Shae has now been to Florida a whopping three times -- twice to Naples and now once to Tampa. Lucky kid!
Waiting patiently at DIA for our flight.
All buckled in and ready to go! (Note: we had intended to be safety-conscious and have her in her carseat on the plane. We actually hauled it all the way through the airport and to the gate. Then the lady at the gate told us that the carseat would have to be in the window seat for safety reasons and we scrapped the plan -- better to have little missy flanked on both sides by parental units than to put only one person in charge of her entertainment.)
At long last, we arrived at the Ring home. Shae and Carson took mere moments to get reacquainted (to be fair they haven't seen each other in 18 months) and quickly become BFFs. For the moment.
Breaking bread together.
Baby Connor joins the party.
After a good night's sleep, it was time to do some serious playing outside.
Carson demonstrates is driving skills in the sweet truck he got for Christmas.
Shae saying "hi" as she dashes by, trying to catch up to (or perhaps keep away from -- can't remember) Carson in the truck.
Shae decides to take a spin.
I know! Let's go boating! (Note: the blotch in the middle of the next few photos? Yeah, I discovered a speck of green crayon INSIDE the lens of the camera. I'm open to suggestions on how to get rid of that one.)
Shae's pretty fired up about the boating.
All vested up and ready to roll.
Jody and Matt discussing manly boating things.
This is how the kids spent the majority of the time on the boat. The wake is riveting.
Matt grants Jody the privilege of driving the Miss Eau Claire.
Still lookin'...
Jody shares his privilege with Shae.
We docked the boat at Clearwater Beach and went to dinner. After ordering some chow, the kids ventured out to check out the sand. Shae hasn't seen sand since before she could walk, so it was a pretty cool experience to have it between her toes -- except she was pretty confused and kept asking if she needed her shoes to walk in the snow.
Stupid crayon splotch. Sigh. 
I love this picture. 
Playing on the sand dune with Carson and Aunt Dee.
Pretty sunset!
Better than climbing up the sand dune? Running down the sand dune!
No green flash with this sunset -- it was too cloudy -- but lovely nonetheless.
Time to head back towards home. Boating after dark in January means very chilly temperatures. The kiddos snuggled up together under a blanket.
Tampa area at night. 
Moving on... After another good night's rest, Aunt Dee asked Shae if she wanted to hold baby Connor. Shae was tickled pink! She was very gentle with him and pretty curious. Then after about 90 seconds the novelty wore off and she was ready to play again. Haha.
Jody, Shae and I decided to give the Rings a little break and headed out by ourselves for a few hours. We went back to Clearwater to see what we could see. Unfortunately we couldn't see much -- cloudy, rainy and chilly today. But that's okay; we had some fun!
We walked out on the pier for a little while. Shae thought it was pretty rad.
Time to get inside and warm up. At Crabby Bill's, Shae had fun chasing the pigeons. Yep, pigeons inside. Don't get me started on that.
Shae is starting to show signs of mama's curly hair in humid conditions. I also discovered a few very light-colored freckles on her cheeks and nose!
Dad picked out some very cool shades for Shae. So cool, in fact, that they need to be worn indoors! Mmmkay, Bono... 
Jody gets in on the playing action with the kiddos -- he could only hold himself back from Carson's train table for so long.
Shae and Carson listen to a book-on-CD in Carson's room.
Next up? Horse track! The Rings live very close to the Tampa Bay Downs horse track, and that sounded like a nice way to spend the afternoon. The only problem is that it was a pretty chilly day. Yeah the sun was shining, but the wind was also howling! Dee dressed appropriately for the weather.
Carson and Shae had a blast running up and down the stairs for a while.
We decided to relocate to get ourselves into the sun with the intention of hopefully warming up. Plus the kids could peek over the fence as the horses ran past!
Just proving that not everything with Shae is sunshine-and-roses all the time. Ha.
We arrive at the Pour House in downtown Tampa to watch the Packers game. Baby Connor is really fired up about the game! Such a little angel.
Kid-friendly bar is not an oxymoron! Everyone had a blast.
Go Pack, go!
Jody's humoring me.
The scene. Happy birthday, Prakash!
Connor is still pretty fired up about the Packers' stomping of the Bears. He can barely contain his excitement.
All good things must come to an end. The Tampa airport has a play area for kids -- brilliant!
Pilot Shae with her co-pilot, Piglet. 
A fantastic trip to Tampa! A million thanks to Dee, Matt, Carson and Connor Ring for being such gracious hosts. We look forward to returning the favor by hosting you this summer!
Waiting patiently at DIA for our flight.
All buckled in and ready to go! (Note: we had intended to be safety-conscious and have her in her carseat on the plane. We actually hauled it all the way through the airport and to the gate. Then the lady at the gate told us that the carseat would have to be in the window seat for safety reasons and we scrapped the plan -- better to have little missy flanked on both sides by parental units than to put only one person in charge of her entertainment.)
At long last, we arrived at the Ring home. Shae and Carson took mere moments to get reacquainted (to be fair they haven't seen each other in 18 months) and quickly become BFFs. For the moment.
Breaking bread together.
Baby Connor joins the party.
After a good night's sleep, it was time to do some serious playing outside.
Carson demonstrates is driving skills in the sweet truck he got for Christmas.
Shae saying "hi" as she dashes by, trying to catch up to (or perhaps keep away from -- can't remember) Carson in the truck.
Shae decides to take a spin.
I know! Let's go boating! (Note: the blotch in the middle of the next few photos? Yeah, I discovered a speck of green crayon INSIDE the lens of the camera. I'm open to suggestions on how to get rid of that one.)
Shae's pretty fired up about the boating.
All vested up and ready to roll.
Jody and Matt discussing manly boating things.
This is how the kids spent the majority of the time on the boat. The wake is riveting.
Matt grants Jody the privilege of driving the Miss Eau Claire.
Still lookin'...
Jody shares his privilege with Shae.
We docked the boat at Clearwater Beach and went to dinner. After ordering some chow, the kids ventured out to check out the sand. Shae hasn't seen sand since before she could walk, so it was a pretty cool experience to have it between her toes -- except she was pretty confused and kept asking if she needed her shoes to walk in the snow.
Stupid crayon splotch. Sigh. 
I love this picture. 
Playing on the sand dune with Carson and Aunt Dee.
Pretty sunset!
Better than climbing up the sand dune? Running down the sand dune!
No green flash with this sunset -- it was too cloudy -- but lovely nonetheless.
Time to head back towards home. Boating after dark in January means very chilly temperatures. The kiddos snuggled up together under a blanket.
Tampa area at night. 
Moving on... After another good night's rest, Aunt Dee asked Shae if she wanted to hold baby Connor. Shae was tickled pink! She was very gentle with him and pretty curious. Then after about 90 seconds the novelty wore off and she was ready to play again. Haha.
Jody, Shae and I decided to give the Rings a little break and headed out by ourselves for a few hours. We went back to Clearwater to see what we could see. Unfortunately we couldn't see much -- cloudy, rainy and chilly today. But that's okay; we had some fun!
We walked out on the pier for a little while. Shae thought it was pretty rad.
Time to get inside and warm up. At Crabby Bill's, Shae had fun chasing the pigeons. Yep, pigeons inside. Don't get me started on that.
Shae is starting to show signs of mama's curly hair in humid conditions. I also discovered a few very light-colored freckles on her cheeks and nose!
Dad picked out some very cool shades for Shae. So cool, in fact, that they need to be worn indoors! Mmmkay, Bono... 
Jody gets in on the playing action with the kiddos -- he could only hold himself back from Carson's train table for so long.
Shae and Carson listen to a book-on-CD in Carson's room.
Next up? Horse track! The Rings live very close to the Tampa Bay Downs horse track, and that sounded like a nice way to spend the afternoon. The only problem is that it was a pretty chilly day. Yeah the sun was shining, but the wind was also howling! Dee dressed appropriately for the weather.
Carson and Shae had a blast running up and down the stairs for a while.
We decided to relocate to get ourselves into the sun with the intention of hopefully warming up. Plus the kids could peek over the fence as the horses ran past!
Just proving that not everything with Shae is sunshine-and-roses all the time. Ha.
We arrive at the Pour House in downtown Tampa to watch the Packers game. Baby Connor is really fired up about the game! Such a little angel.
Kid-friendly bar is not an oxymoron! Everyone had a blast.
Go Pack, go!
Jody's humoring me.
The scene. Happy birthday, Prakash!
Connor is still pretty fired up about the Packers' stomping of the Bears. He can barely contain his excitement.
All good things must come to an end. The Tampa airport has a play area for kids -- brilliant!
Pilot Shae with her co-pilot, Piglet. 
A fantastic trip to Tampa! A million thanks to Dee, Matt, Carson and Connor Ring for being such gracious hosts. We look forward to returning the favor by hosting you this summer!
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