Monkey Wrenches Ain't Gonna Ruin My Fun, TToT Week 51

Sakes alive, Readers o' mine.  Things are heating up around here. I'm at 12 days until my flight to England.   So many things to do.  Gigantic monkey wrenches are getting thrown at me, but I will not be discouraged! The biggest thing to throw me is that Buttercup's soccer team very unexpectedly made it through the state championships.  We found this out on Sunday of last week, and the tournament runs from Thursday through Saturday of the coming week in a city 8 hours away.  I will be taking her, since Bryan can't take off work for it, and will return with a mere 72 hours before I leave for my trip across the pond.  This gorilla-sized monkey wrench is causing just a few millionish problems.  However, this is the TToT.  I will find the good from this week if it takes every ounce of the limited energy I have left!

1.  I never realized how much time therapy takes.  Have mercy.  Between the one and a half to two hours I'm gone in the morning to actually go to therapy, I have to spend over an hour icing my knee each day, plus doing exercises at home.  Usually I leave before most of the kids are even awake.  Basically, they are taking care of themselves many mornings this summer.  It is not the ideal situation.  But!  But, the therapy is working like a charm.  I am walking.  (I know!  I mentioned this last week, but ya'll have no idea how worried I have been about this bum knee messing up our dream trip.)

2.  I haven't been able to do much around the house, and the kids have picked up a lot of slack.  To help, I've hired cleaning ladies.  They've been here twice. It makes me so happy to come home to clean bathrooms and a clean kitchen.  The kids might be almost as happy.

3.  Buttercup has been getting into the bad habit of only leaving her room to eat or go to soccer.  When she does emerge, she complains that she is oh so tired.  Yeah, that happens to a person who doesn't leave her bed all day.  I told her she had to go outside and get some fresh air.  She asked, "Can I mow?"  Uh, let me think about that for .00008 seconds...Heck ya!  She mowed for 4 hours straight and got almost the entire property done.  Love that girl.

4.  Our soccer club has its home tournament this weekend, so all 4 big kids will play in it.  That means anywhere between 12 and 16 games in 48 hours.  Fortunately, the schedules lined up so that we will actually have time to relax at home, go to Turken's baseball game, and I can go to my book club friend's brother's ordination into the priesthood.

5.  With the home tournament comes work hours for the parents.  For each team, a parent has to work two 2-3 hour shifts.  That would mean up to 24 hours of volunteer hours in the same 48 hours the games are being played. Three of the team managers told us, "You are only taking one shift, and you get to pick which one you want."  On Phoenix's team, we are blessed to know some of the most generous people on the planet.  Without talking to us, they contacted the team manager and told him they were taking an extra shift so we wouldn't have to do any.

6.  Two of the kids' dentist appointments happen to fall on the Thursday I will be with Buttercup at her soccer tournament.  We were in the office for 2 other appointments this week, and I had to reschedule those, as well as the appointments I cancelled on that most miserable Monday four weeks ago.  When the receptionist asked when I'd like to come in, I thought for a few minutes.  "Well, I leave on the 18th.  When I get back, I will have one weekday to scramble and get ready for surgery.  It's scheduled for the 1st.  And then I'm not able to do anything for 2 weeks.  Then we go on vacation."  I answered, how about August 15? But, alas, school will be starting before then.  I guess we have to do it before I leave.

To recap:  I have a total of 4 and a half weekdays before I leave.  In that time I will have 4 therapy sessions, 5 dentist appointments, and 1 orthodontist appointment.
Oh, but the thankful?  That we have wonderful dental people who will not only work with our ridiculousness, but will do so with smiles on their faces.

7.  I wrote some fun posts this week.  First, on Monday, Clark asked me to write a post for his blog, The Wakefield Doctrine.  Of course, he wanted it two days later.  I did it, and it was fun.  If you would like to read it, go here.  And I wrote a quick takes yesterday that made me laugh.  Mostly when I made Phoenix take photos of me in my van.

8.  While in England, my friend and I are going to the Royal Ascot.  It's a fancy horse race with the queen.  I don't have trouble knowing what is and is't appropriate at fancy affairs in the US, but I was a bit intimidated to have to buy a dress for a fancy English affair.  Thankfully, I know someone who lives in England.  I took some photos of me in some dresses, sent them to her, and she was able to tell me if it was appropriate.  (It was.  Thank heavens.  Shopping time is limited.)  Also, after much searching, because fancy flats are really, really hard to find, I found some.  And my friend found a hat for me.  I am set for my fancy horse race with the queen.  (You will see photos of it all put together when I'm actually in England.  I'll post things on Instagram until I get back and can put some on the blog.)

9 and 10.  The next one is so big I'm counting it as two.  You know that soccer tournament I'm going to with Buttercup?  It happens to be in Kansas City.  Kansas City happens to be a mere 2 hours away from a fellow TToT host I'm quite fond of.  That host happens to be free while I'm in Kansas City.  In fact, when I told her where and when I would be traveling, she said, "I would swim through a shark-infested ocean, climb a snowy mountain, and crawl through a football field of spiders to meet you!"  Or something like that.

Anyway, on Friday, this whole stupid soccer trip will be worth it, 'cause I get to meet Dyanne!!!

To recap:  In one week's time, I will get to meet two TToT hosts in the flesh.  I've been friends with these ladies for well over a year now, and I get to meet them both exactly 7 days apart.

I'm so excited!!!

And now it's your turn.  What good is coming from the monkey wrenches thrown in your path this week?

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A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

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