NOT EVEN GOING TO TRY ...

... to fill in the gaps that is! 

Not sure what's going on.  Life seems to whirl by at a breakneck speed most of the time.  Always running to get from one place to another and yet, when you go to put it down on paper.  Not that much has happened.

The most noteworthy thing (in our little lives) is that our baby girl is now 2 years old.  She is going to be one sorely disappointed little girl though when next year rolls around.  You see THIS year her mommy and daddy took her to Chuckee Cheese on her birthday and she got a couple of birthday surprises. 

Then Mama and Papa were anxious to be with her for her birthday.  So the Sabbath after her birthday we got up and drove to Davenport for church.  From there we headed east to Orland Park, arriving about 3:30 p.m.  We spent a few hours with the kids and after Sabbath we went to a restaurant for supper before we headed home. (Yes, that same night.)  We couldn't resist asking the restaurant to sing Happy Birthday to Jaimee.  So they did (complete with giant brownie and ice cream and a great big candle!).  When they got done Jaimee said "Again!"  But they didn't do it again.

And now this weekend we are gathering at my mom and dad's house for a pizza and cake gala event ... still with this 2 year old in mind.  So like I said ... next year when her birthday rolls around and it only lasts ONE day ... she's gonna be mighty disappointed that it isn't a 2 or 3 week ordeal like when she turned TWO!

The good thing about the 2 or 3 week birthday ordeal for Mama and Papa is that we get to see the kids more often!  Like I said we drove over the first weekend, then Jaimee and Rhiannon came this way last weekend (so Rhiannon and I could go to a craft show in Des Moines on Sunday), and this weekend the whole Pharr-phamily is coming here for the weekend again.

Did I say craft show?  I should have said CRAFT SHOW!!!  It is Iowa's Largest Craft Show ... at least that's what their little brochure said.  With over 300 (??) crafters.  But then as they list all of this particular craft even organizer's Iowa shows they show one in Cedar Falls at the UNI dome with over 350 crafters.  They must be talking square footage size?  I don't know.  But it does make one yearn to head to Cedar Falls just for comparison sake anyway!

For the last ... while ... but especially the last 6-8 weeks my poor old body has felt like the body of someone who is not nearly as young as I am.  I pop like a popcorn popper everytime I get up and move.  I limp - to the point that my boss, who never seems to care enough about anything in my world to comment, said "why are you limping?"  He noticed!"  So I've been going through life with a snap-crackle-pop-pop-pop and a limp-slide-limp (don't limpy people usually drag a leg around too -- well, maybe you can erase the slide portion of that description ...)

Thinking maybe our ever so comfy bed wasn't all that comfy anymore we bought a memory foam mattress topper.  A deep luxurious ONE inch deep.  (Stop laughing -- I TOLD Randy we shouldn't buy it.  I TOLD him we should shop around.  But he liked the price.  Grrr!)  But we both seemed to get up in the a.m. a little less stiff.  So we shopped (this time we DID shop) and have ordered a better foam topper at 4" of  memory foam.  It should be here Monday.

I ramble don't I ... sorry!

All that mattress topper talk made us think that maybe we should stop in at Slumberland where we bought our family room furniture to get a copy of the warranty we were supposed to have.  And while there we talked to the sales girl and she showed us the Temperpedic mattresses.  We were curious.

It was just like in the three bears ... this one was TOO HARD!  this one was TOO SOFT! and this one was JUST RIGHT.  She had us lay there on the JUST RIGHT one for a few minutes.  THEN she used this magic wand and made the head of the bed lift a few inches.  It felt so yummy.  The the magic wand raised the foot of the bed a teeny bit too.  Felt like we were sitting on a softened pad of butter.  All smooth and luxurious and ... we sat there and we sat there.  All the while she was telling us how our backs were relaxing.

Then it was time to lower us back to flat.  Slowly, simultaneously ... our heads and feet went down.  As it lowered she said "can you feel this in your back?"  And I'm thinking YES! (ouch!) YES! I can!  I got up and my back felt like the whole cast and crew of Cirque de Soleil had walked on my back.  I felt like a twisted (but still smiling politely at the nice lady) pretzel woman!  I limped, I shuffled .. I probably even DRAGGED my leg.  My whole lower back and out into my hips felt horrible.

Eventually 24 hours later it had relaxed a little (I think I got a back spasm or something) -- but today I went to Sharon Goddard's chiropractor.  He does a thumping machine technique.  I think it is better - not sure if it is 100% better, but I don't feel like I'm limping.  His treatment was an hour long.  He seemed to be able to identify (without me telling him) the places on my body that were tender.  Then he used the 'thumper thing' to pop the little bits and pieces of me into different shapes. 

He said my coccyx was messed up.  Then he said my something else (in my lower back/hip area) was messed up.  Said I had three ribs out of place in the back and one out of place in the front (huh?).  My jaw was out of whack a little (thump-thump) - said that was probably causing me headaches.  I had had a WEEK long headache the previous week.  But I didn't tell him that.  Randy says he's a "quack".  People can't use thumpers to heal people.  But ... Sharon says he helped her.  And I guess time will tell if he helped me.  I know for at least the last 8 hours I haven't limped and my back feels better.

Oh my ... I better stop.  The kids will be here soon.  They thought about 9 or 9:30 p.m.  I'll have just enough time for a few little girlie squeezes and hugs before she goes to bed.  And then I'll have to head that direction too.

Take care everyone! 
Love ... V