My Quirky Family and My Dumb Mistake

My family is nuts. I love them dearly, but we are all a tad crazy (and are driving each other crazy lately). It's been especially chaotic recently. My mom never gets stressed, and between taking care of my dad, nephew, and I, I can tell she's reaching her limit. I don't know how she does it all! She called in my grandma for backup, and she deserves a week in the Caribbean alone after all of this.  

My dad and I are both typically non-stop, busy people, and with both of us barely walking, you can just feel the excess energy building up around our house. Add in my darling yet noisy and busy 2 year old nephew who is here at least three days a week, three dogs barking incessantly (my grandma's dog is currently here, too), and a TV that is always on and sometimes blaring depending on who is watching it, and it becomes a bit overwhelming for someone who typically thrives on peace and quiet. I am having a difficult time adjusting to having less say in my environment, and I am trying to just be thankful I have a roof over my head and family members to help me out.

Thank goodness I only have one more week with the CPM machine so that I won't be stuck on the couch as much. Although sitting everywhere else is incredibly uncomfortable, so I'm not quite sure where I plan on going. I am also nervous about having only one more week with the CPM machine, because my knee usually feels so good after I use it. 

Back to my family though...

I mentioned that John's birthday was this past week. With everything going on, nobody had time to get to the store and to make him his own cake, so this is the best we could come up with. Poor John.

Leftover ice cream cake and nut roll

Half of the ice-cream cake from my birthday (with mostly soy ice cream left since everyone ate the good stuff already), and half of a nut roll. Plus we handed John the cakes in the wrong order so he's 72 instead of 27. He didn't seem to mind too much. We were all laughing so hard we could barely get through the "Happy Birthday" song. 

Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo...

Another goofy thing my family has been doing recently is greeting my sister when she gets home from school. She is so sick of school, and has the worst case of senior-itis. She says all they're doing in all her classes is watching movies or having study centers for the homework that she doesn't have, so she's bored to tears. To make her last few weeks of school more fun, we have welcomed her home in the driveway with a countdown sign, and each day we add something fun (balloons, bubbles, streamers, etc.). One day an insurance guy and this guy who is fixing our bathroom were here for the party. I'm not sure if they thought we were a fun family, or legitimately insane. 

The beginning of our countdown, way before surgery

Adding Nathan, Little John, and John on Skype to the party

Yesterday, we did our usual greeting then attacked Caitlyn with Silly-String. It was absolutely hilarious, and she wasn't expecting it at all! 

Surprise!

Four full cans of Silly-String ended up on her.

Unfortunately it scared Little John half to death, and he started sobbing hysterically. I'm not sure if it was the sound or if he thought we were hurting Caitlyn, but he was so upset. This is where I made a stupid mistake. I instinctively picked him up to comfort him because he looked terrorized and I was the closest to him. Due to my brace, I bent down with horrible body mechanics and pulled something in my back when I lifted him up.

When I handed John to my mom, I must've hurt my knee because it felt awful yesterday evening. I honestly have the body of a 90 year old. I have been off the pain pills for a while, and had to use them again last night because the CPM machine was killing my knee and sitting awkwardly in it was hurting my back even more. Because of my knee, I can't do the normal exercises I do to help my back when this happens. So now my knee is more sore than it's been in a week, and my back is in quite a bit of pain itself. 

To end it on a positive note, a few more "On the Brightsides":

• I went out to dinner on Wednesday with Kevin, Nathan, Hayes, Erin, Ashwin, and Rohan for the first time since the surgery. We went to Hampton's on King and it was beautiful out! It was wonderful to get out of the house even though it make my knee pretty sore to stay in the brace that long.
• My dad got HBO since he figures we'll be pretty bored sitting here the next few weeks, and now I can watch Game of Thrones!!! I just have to get caught up first.
• I received this lovely card from my church :)

P.S. Thank you Nate and Caitlyn for the rest of the pictures!