Winter!


Well, winter has well and truly hit Perth, even though it's technically still Autumn. As I type this, I'm snuggled under the worlds' best blanket on the couch, looking at the grey, grey clouds outside.


I pretty much haven't  moved since Friday. The Awesome One bought me this amazing, beautiful and warm vintage 1950's eiderdown for Mothers' Day, and I got about a gazillion pairs of slipper socks. The weather peeps said that there was a big cold front and storm that was going to take over the South West part of the state from Friday night until about Thursday this week. They weren't wrong. It's cold! (Well... comparatively speaking for where we live that is!) It's also wet and windy. So in order to cut back on our heating bill this winter, I am making an effort to have the heater on less. I have so far succeeded in not turning it on, although it's getting close. Miss Penelope doesn't really feel the cold, thanks to her Minnesota blood, and I'm STILL couch bound so sitting under a blanket works for most of the day anyway (and at least I can draw too!)!



My visit to the neurologist confirmed what my doctor had said: basically the hernia I have is putting pressure and / or irritation on my femoral nerve and artery. These control the blood supply and nerves to your leg. So he was pretty confident that the hernia was the sole reason for my leg not working, and we won't know for sure if there has been any permanent damage to the nerve until they operate. Once that is done we will have a better idea. The best case scenario is that there was no pressure on the nerve, that it has just been irritated and so once the hernia is fixed, the nerve will go back to normal and my leg will work perfectly! The worst case scenario is that it has actually been squished somewhat during all this time, and once the operation is done, the nerve can't repair the damage done to itself and I'll not have full use of my foot and leg ever. 
At the moment I can walk relatively fine, although I am not allowed to walk even a few feet without a crutch. The neurologist said to keep using it until my back was not sore, or my hips and pelvis, as any pain is indicative that a) the stress fractures are not fully healed and b) that the instability caused by the nerve irritation/compression is causing my back to overcompensate and therefore hurt. Hopefully within a few months I'll be pain free and crutch free AND able to drive and walk and be a (relatively) normal person again!! 
My current position is that I can move my leg much better than I was able to a couple of months ago, but I still can't straight leg lift any higher than about maybe 10 inches or so. I can point my toes and flex upwards almost to the same extent as my left leg, but I still have little to no resistance strength in both my leg and foot, and won't until the nerve is not compromised. This means no driving still, as I don't have enough strength in my foot to press the accelerator or brake. I miss my car. 
Even with the crutch I find it difficult to spend a long time on my feet, as my leg gets really tired really easily. I'm not really supposed to be on my feet anyway, according to the neurologist.

 So most of the time I am on the couch. Which has fuelled a weird love for daytime television, and the lifestyle channel. I find it oddly fascinating to watch other people look for houses, put theirs up for sale, and do renovations. I get a perverse enjoyment out of either agreeing or disagreeing with their usually weird and too matchy-matchy interiors. So yeah..... that's my life at the moment...... *SIGH*

So on to other stuff!!

I had mentioned last post that my Mum had come over for a quick visit that coincided with Mothers' Day!  Miss Penelope (and the other children) thoroughly enjoyed spending time with their Nana and I did my best to get a photo of them all together.....







We went out for a dinner at a really nice little Italian place on the foreshore. It was delicious!! As we were sitting down and getting menus, the owner told Little Dude that if he ate all his dinner he'd get a soccer ball. We ordered and had doubts as the plates were ginormous! He had only ordered a kids' meal, but still, we weren't sure if he could do it. 


He came soooooooo close!! We thought the last mouthful was going to be just too much!


Miss Emily decided even without the prospect of a free soccer ball, she could eat everything on her plate too. But she had an adult size meal.


It was hard work, but she did it! Every last mouthful! The Social One had the same meal as her, and you can see her leftovers in the takeaway container.

The Little Dude was encouraged and we told him he could do it!
And lo and behold....


Empty bowl, stuffed belly and messy face. Surely a sign of a great dinner?

Or maybe the smile and soccer ball are better indications.


And of course, dinner wouldn't be complete without selfies and being silly!








And just because, here's some more Instagram selfies and some Miss P photos. Enjoy.












Hopefully by the time I write another post we'll have heard about the boys' Gifted and Talented Academic test results and application. In the meantime, I'll settle back to watching Netflix and the entire series of Northern Exposure on dvd once it arrives! 





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