October 4, 2018

don't use glass water bottles

I'm ALL for environmentalism but here's a PSA first. If you use reuseable water bottles, please don't use glass. Here's why. There are some graphic photos and descriptions below, so just be warned.

On May 4th, while at Will’s Little League game, I lost my balance while carrying a glass bottle and landed on it. It severely lacerated the palm of my left hand... the glass severed the ulnar artery, palmar arch, median nerve, radial digital nerve, thenar muscle and partial flexor tendon. Thankfully, within seconds, I was surrounded by several kind people including a nurse who grabbed a belt and made a make-shift tourniquet. They tried to keep me awake as the blood poured out of me. Someone finally got my name and found David in the crowds. My friend was driving by and took my kids home and put them to bed. So thankful for all of that. Paramedics were called and they applied a real tourniquet but the blood wouldn't stop. A second tourniquet was applied at the hospital.

I was in excruciating pain. Just thinking about the pain makes me want to throw up. The paramedics  called our local hospital who wouldn't be able handle this kind of trauma so we were sent to the hospital in Seattle... across the bridge... on a Friday afternoon. It took about 35 minutes to finally get there and I passed out several times from the pain.
Finally, we arrived at Harborview where they immediately prepped me for surgery (and thankfully were able to provide some pain relieving medication). Five and a half hours later, I woke up with this. The surgery was a success but I was still in a lot of pain for the next few days as I recovered in the hospital. Thankfully, I didn't need a blood transfusion and the surgeon was able to reconnect all the nerves. The surgeon also grafted a vein from my right foot to graft in a segment that couldn't be repaired in my hand.
Those last two pictures were from the day I finally had the stitches remove and could wear a brace to stop me from bending my wrist. I'm now 5 months post-injury. Most of that time has been going to physical therapy 3 times a week, until recently, and weaning myself off of the nerve meds. SO relieved to no longer be on any medication, but thankful for it at the same time. My index finger and thumb are still numb (no feeling in my index finger) but the surgeon assures me that it'll come back in time. My strength is still weak and my motion is still somewhat limited but it's getting better every day. I no longer have pain (thank goodness) just numbness, stiffness and "pins and needles" feeling. I post all this because I get questions from time to time on my instagram asking about the progress. I re-read the operative report to remember the names of the nerves and it was dizzying to remember. Trauma really affects our brains and I am grateful for good medical care, but also glad to know when to ask for help with the mental scars.
I have an army of amazing friends and family who helped me through this with meals, child / dog care, cleaning, laundry and just checking in on me. Every time I think about their generosity, I want to cry. It's been a scary road, but I have so much to be thankful for.

September 24, 2018

6th camping party

We celebrated Fritz's 6th Birthday back in April with a camping theme party! It was so fun. April isn't always a great month here, weather wise, so we set up a tent in our living room and the kids all thought it was sooooo cool.
 
We had a trail mix bar, canteens filled with water, mini hot dogs (I didn't have time to take a picture) and chocolate cake. The kids played in the tent until we caught a break in the weather and then they went outside for a scavenger hunt with paper sacks. We're pretty lucky in that our backyard is a treasure trove of random things so I sent the kids on a scavenger hunt to find "something fuzzy", "something shiny", something crunchy", etc. It was pretty much ZERO work on my part and a lot of fun for the kids. Perfect. I don't bother preparing many activities for the kids birthday parties anymore cause they just thrilled to be playing with their friends.
Happy Birthday to our funny, kind-hearted, cheerful, friendly, generous Fritz. We love you!

SHOP THE PARTY BELOW:

September 22, 2018

georgia / sc

Back in March (I know, it's been a long time), my eldest sister came to Seattle with her two teenage daughters (during their spring break) and watched our kids for us so David and I could visit the South for the first time. I am so grateful to them for coming all the way up here so we could spend some time together all by ourselves. It was lovely!
We first drove to Hilton Head, SC and enjoyed a few days there. It was a cute little town and the beach was really beautiful. We spent one of the days in Savannah and it was so amazing. I love this city and would've happily spent way more time there. We first stopped at The Collins Quarter for brunch and it was so good that I wanted to go back for lunch and dinner. It was sooooooo good and the atmosphere was so charming.
Then we walked around Savannah and I died at the Spanish Moss and the architecture and the delicious food. I pretended that I was a student at SCAD and was dying at all the cute shops and design of the area surrounding the design school.
I loved all the parks throughout Savannah. Forsyth Park was so charming. March was a little early in the spring for things to bloom but I could imagine that in full-on spring it was stunning! We hope to go back to Savannah again and next time hit up Charleston too!
After Savannah, we drove to Atlanta, where my sister picked us up and took us to their house in Columbus. It was so fun to see their family and their house. They took us to a delicious restaurant, made us delicious food (my BIL is a fabulous cook), walked along the river and I got to reconnect with my nieces and nephews, who I haven't seen in a long time. We also went to Callaway Gardens and it was so beautiful. If you're ever in that area, it's worth a visit. I can imagine that it's a super fun place for locals. I also love my sister.
 

February 12, 2018

CHRISTMAS 2017

Christmas was a dream. About three weeks before Christmas, I was talking to a waitress who told me that she was from Seattle and had never had a White Christmas before. So when the rumors started going around that the weather reports showed a good chance of snow on Christmas Eve, I tried to take a chill pill and not get my hopes up.
Well, on Christmas Eve the snow started to come down. We had cozied up by the fire in our new Christmas jammies, after filling our bellies with the Bryant traditional Mexican foods of sopa fideo, cheese enchiladas and beans. I ran outside when I saw that the snow as coming down and I almost started crying. It was just so magical.
Also, William REALLY loves Charlie. He's the best dog, ever.
After opening gifts and having our traditional Christmas morning breakfast of Æbleskiver, we put on our warmest gear and spent a good amount of the morning in the snow. We're pretty lucky to have a really fabulous sledding hill in our backyard so we took our sled and had a blast sledding in all the fresh powder.
Lulu mostly rotated between naughty and nice faces while she made snowballs and threw them at my face. She also enjoyed making snow angels and being adorable. Three is such a fun age!
 
 
For Christmas dinner, I made Herb Crusted Prime Rib with Horseradish Cream, Garlic Sautéed Green Beans, Pear + Parsnip Gratin and Ginger Lemon Molasses Cake with Whipped Vanilla Cream. It was a delicious feast!