It took 32 years...

For me to break a bone. And it's no fun.

Yesterday morning, Bill and I took the boys to the Children's Museum to check out the Blue Man Group exhibit. It was pretty neat--pictures to follow soon! After lunch, I put all 3 boys down for a nap and resisted the urge to take one myself. It was such a beautiful day; I couldn't justify being lazy. Bill started laying the flooring of the deck yesterday, and I decided it was high time to vacuum the minivan. It had a winter's worth of salt and dirt on the floor mats, and TJ had spilled sunflower seeds in the back. I started vacuuming and got really carried away. I ran inside for a cloth to clean small fingerprints off the windows, and I ran back in for a rag to scrub muddy footprints off the step into the van. I scoured the van for trash (and found surprisingly little). I took what I had to the trashcan and walked back around the van....and tripped over the vacuum cord. You know that awkward hop you do when you've lost your balance, and your frantically trying to regain it? That's exactly what I did. The split second where I thought I had my balance, my left foot caught TJ's sled and I went down hard and fast on my hands and knees. My first thought? "Did I just rip through the knees on my jeans?" (no) Then, it was "Owwwww..." I stayed on my hands and knees for a couple minutes, trying to catch my breath and assess the damage.

I finally started feeling like an idiot for being on the garage floor and I stood up. Everything hurt...both knees (I've got some dandy bruises), my right wrist, my chest (no idea why), and my left arm. My left arm hurt A LOT. I was very irritated with myself and decided to finish the van. I was sure I'd feel better by the time I finished. Well, it still hurt, so I vacuumed Bill's car next (and found a ton more trash. Boy, he's messy!). I told Bill I fell, but I wasn't sure how wounded I was. I tried to do normal things the rest of the afternoon, but found I couldn't use my arm to pick up Nolan (good thing he's so light and I can scoop him up with one arm), and changing Sam's diaper was agonizing. My arm just wouldn't rotate.

I asked my mom to bring me to the Urgent Care Center after I helped get the boys in bed. The kind doctor gave me a shot in the butt, which finally relieved some of the pain. X-rays showed I fractured the head of the radius...way up near my elbow. Brianna and Jared have both broken their arms in a similar location. I'm in a sling, which is much better than a cast--I can take it off to shower! I need to call my doctor tomorrow for a follow-up. If she suspects there are any bone fragments, I'll need to see an orthopedic surgeon for surgery. At this point, I think that's unlikely, but if you could spare a prayer, I'd appreciate it.

Being a Mommy is a bit hard at the moment. Sam is back in disposable diapers for the foreseeable future. I can't lift him into his carseat, which means I need assistance getting TJ to and from school. Bill desperately wants the deck done, but I have to keep interrupting him for help. I was really working on upping my treadmill workouts, but now I don't dare do anything above a walking pace. I just keep reminding myself it could have been much worse...

And yes, it took awhile to type this with one hand!