My Last Nerve...

Well, as I found out yesterday, it's not just those 20 little first graders that are "getting on my last nerve". Evidently, according to my newly found doctor friend, I have a nerve problem in my sciatica. Yep, I've gone through 4 pregnancies and never once did any of those sweet babies give me the "stop dead in my tracks" pain that I've been experiencing the last three months.

Oh, it's nice to know that there is a diagnosis for my extreme discomfort. It's also nice to know that there can be exercises done and drugs taken to relieve the inflammation around ms. sciatica. (She's quite the wench right now...)

My hope is that with some physical therapy exercises and a round of anti-inflammatories, I can become my old self again. Of course I'll keep everyone who has been so kind to me and so empathetic to my situation up to date on my butt! heehee. Thank you friends and family!

Funny sidenote: On my trip to the pharmacy to pick up the steroidal pack prescribed to me ("don't worry, it's not anebolic", said my new doctor friend-- great 'cuz I don't want to get Incredible Hulk-ish) the pharmacist directed me to start the dosing "tomorrow".
"Why not tonight?" I questioned.
"Well, they make you grouchy, irritable, fidgety, and anxious. You should probably just start them in the morning with your breakfast," said Albertson pill counter person.
"Great! Now I have an excuse to ruin a perfectly wonderful Saturday!" I exclaimed.

Even funnier sidenote: This morning after reading the documentation that accompanied the prescription, I thought twice before popping the first two pills. Heck, there's a lot of stuff that can happen as a result of taking something that is supposed to help you! Don't worry though, I told my family to call 911 if I "vomited anything that looked like coffee grounds or experienced extreme puffiness, or developed severe mood swings, or ate grapefruit while taking the medication, or ... "

I'll "end" it right there, folks.
I don't want to be the "butt" of anymore jokes.
I know reading about this is a pain in the "kiester".


OK, I'll stop since I probably think I'm funnier than you do... but seriously, thank you for your concern.

Goin' to the doctor and I'm gonna get better..

Yes, I finally did it.

After a couple of months of complaining loudly to anyone who would listen and to anyone who wouldn't,

and after a couple of months of becoming best friends with Advil,

and after a couple of months of climbing and climbing and climbing the stair machine at Gold's,

and after a couple of months of clean running shoes,

and after a couple of months of feeling like an 82 year old,

and after a couple of months of thinking it would just go away,

and after a couple of months of Bill telling me I needed to go see someone, I finally did it!

I made the call to The Sports Medicine Institute of Idaho.

I hope they are nice to me.

I hope they don't say I will never run again due to the unfixable damage I have incurred upon myself.

I hope they don't make me do hard stretches or strange contortions (Bill frowns upon hard stretches and strange contortions - he feels they hurt more than they help.)

I hope they don't want me to take heavy drugs - I'm a lightweight!

I hope they do give me good news.

I hope they make the pain that churns in my right butt cheek and radiates to my right hip and slinks its way down my right leg and causes me excruciating discomfort GO AWAY.

I hope my insurance pays for this.

I hope I will be whole once again.

Wish me luck.

A No Good, Very Bad Day

Today was a no good, very bad day.

5 children went to the "red" - that's BAD in first grade.

1 child slapped another on the face. That's BAD in any grade.

2 children told the music teacher they were not afraid of going to the principal - they'd been there before. That's EXTREMELY BAD in first grade.

4 children sauntered in from recess 10 minutes late. That's just plain old fashioned ANNOYING.

2 children laughed and talked while I was talking. That's BAD in Mrs. Ball's class.

1 child was/is/always will be concerned about what/where/why/when everyone else is at/doing/being. That's just enough to make me want to be EXTREMELY RUDE. That's BAD for Mrs. Ball to be extremely rude.

I just want to go someplace warm, humid, sandy, watery, massage"y", facial"y", and where there is good chocolate I can eat while I enjoy beforementioned adjectives.

I think I deserve a couple of these. Don't you? (What the heck, I'm eating about 6 right now 'cuz I don't really care what anyone thinks.)



...think I'm starting to think like a 1st grader.

Fiesta Bowl, Baby!

Ever since we screamed ourselves silly at our friend's, the Lindsay's, home 3 years ago at the first Fiesta Bowl, an idea had been formulating in Bill's head. An idea that involved a loooong road trip, his only 11 year old son, a charter bus, lots of junk food, and the chance to watch his Boise State Broncos play in a nationally televised football game in person. After the BCS selection show, I didn't think he'd still want to go, I mean, BSU was paired with TCU - just like the previous year. Again. Disappointment reigned supreme with the two males in our household. Disgust, mini tantrums, yelling at the TV, hands thrown in the air - you get the gist. Aaaaaanyway, after a couple of weeks trying to decide if he really wanted to make the trip, Bill took the plunge, made sure Payton REALLY wanted to go, then paid some guy for game tickets and another guy for two bus tickets. The idea was really going to happen. The only thing that worried me was, "Who would take the pictures?" I mean, I am the only one who believes in pointing and shooting in this family, so I didn't think that there would be many photos to document this occasion.

I WAS WRONG!!!

Bill was a good boy. He took my camera. He took pictures. They were pretty good pictures considering I have one crappy camera. The following are the pictures he snapped while on he and Payton's grand adventure.

Pre-dawn fun just waiting to happen!

Adventure is out there! (On a loooong bus ride...)

Awww, I missed him while he was gone!

Da field. Da Team. Da Best!

You're going down, TCU. What is a horned frog anyway? Sheesh.

Tostitos and salsa on every chair in the stadium. That must have taken a.long.time.

Wook at does coot BSU fans! (Say that in a baby voice for full effect.)

Diggin' those BSU Bronco shorts!

No vegetables were eaten or harmed during the duration of this trip.

Bill's gettin' good with the self portrait taking!

The trip went great - for the most part. The Broncos kicked some horned frog booty and my boys were able to be there to witness it! Loud. Very, very loud!
The bus ended up breaking down in Las Vegas, but Bill is an excellent hitchhiker and managed to find a ride back to Boise with a friendly attorney from Eagle. Thanks to Scott and his son for letting two extra Boiseans share your ride! (And thanks for not being a serial killer! Kisses!)

Good-bye, Phoenix. Until next year. They'll fly down then. Maybe I'll go with them... After all, someone has to take photos for memories!

Christmas Break 2009

What a GREAT couple of weeks we had at the Ball household during our break from school. Alyssa got to come home for 2 weeks, we (well everyone except poor Bill) got to sleep in past 7:00, we ate what we wanted (when we wanted, then made more of what we craved, and are now paying the price...), we had a great Christmas day (it didn't even start until 7!), saw some excellent movies, got to take a rockin' body core fit class several times with Gayla (boohoo she only teaches at 9:00 and, unfortunately, I'm teaching school. Drat.), drove 2 hours to a natural hot springs, sat in the lovely water for an hour, then turned around and drove 2 hours home (I'll do anything for Alyssa...), had a great New Year's Eve with our extremely FUN friends (laughed and laughed and laughed some more!), and just relaxed knowing that the end of this much needed vacation would come way too soon.

I would love to show some really fun pictures of all these events, but for some reason, my camera is being fickle. I took tons of pictures but they are no more. Sigh. Tears. Sigh. Hopefully my techie daughter who attends school in another state will be willing to provide some tech support for her computer challenged mother. Huh, Lyss?

The following pictures will have to suffice. More will be added later if I can somehow retrieve them from cyberland.....

Wii Sports Resort and the nightly three point contest...

Reaction to Axe body wash, shampoo, and cologne. Yeah, he's 11.

My favorite picture of the kids - in the middle of our Christmas trash.

Checking out the new pillow-memory foam. Aaaaahhhh.

For some reason, Kourtni had way more presents than anyone else...

A new cell phone! Whooppee! Hopefully Mom can remember her number...

My new toy - a Macbook! I love to use it while reclining on the couch or in bed or eating my oatmeal, or cleaning the bathroom...

We've all been good this year!

Santa delivered WIFI to us and so we're all taking advantage of it! Except Bill - the cat's enough for him...

Traditional Christmas Eve dinner - pizzaaaaa!

Wow - it's a good thing all those other pictures were lost in cyberspace! That's a lot of photos...