Slice of Life (ouch)

So, Ouch. My back has gone.
That dodgey disc in my lower back has pinged like back in the bad old days and I am hobbling round like an old crone, pretty much useless to anyone.

I can't sit here for long, but then I can't sit or stand or lie anywhere for long.
It hurts no matter what I do.
In which case I might as well suck up some pain and at least not be bored, type a few random thoughts, post up some photos.

These snaps of the kids running with their dad are from Sunday and I rather fancy them, although you should be glad it's not a video with all the complaining, moaning and whingeing that went along with it. Stills are so much more peaceful than clips-with-a-soundtrack.

(Do you ever wish you had a mute button for your life? Or at least for your kids?)
No? Oh, just me then.)

Life is so loud. I now carry earplugs with me everywhere I go, just in case.
Sound layered upon sound pelts the senses like a hailstorm. A bombardment. Every scritch and crunch of packets opening, doors banging, feet thumping, taps running, jugs boiling, loos flushing, voices laughing/singing/calling/shouting... Ouch.

Do you ever experience life this way? Where sound hurts?

I've been doing pretty well, overall. Regarding the depression, anxiety et al., now I'm back on the happy pills, but still. Some days/weeks are better than others.
I think Pain makes everything louder, everything harder.
It makes your fuse shorter and your tone snappier.
I've been snapping and growling like a mutt with a thorn in its paw since my back went out.
Pity these poor buggers who have to live with me.
They're lucky to get dinner on the table. And Poor Neglected Husband has had the flu but not a lot of sympathy.

Is there a point to all this? No, not really.
I just sat down to write something, anything, and since my back is giving me grief what came out is this. A bit of a whinge.

So let's fix that shall we? Look on the bright side? Find the gratefuls?

OK, Simoney, Ten Good Things.... GO!

1. The kids are getting better at being independant, making their lunchboxes etc. That really helps.
2. Hubby just found some Voltaren I didn't know we had - that's got to help.
3. It's a beautiful day
4. I have Hot Cross Buns. And a Nespresso machine.
5. The dishwasher and washing machine do the scrubbing for me.
6. I'm in the middle of my best ever month on my little Etsy Shop, and I'm getting great reviews
7. I've lost TEN KILOS since December. Don't ask me how, I have no idea - it certainly wasn't from running (I'm just not that hungry anymore)
8. The jeans I haven't been able to squeeze into for four years are now too big
9. Hachette have added me to their book reviewers list (at last!) and are going to send me "Dreams of Gods and Monsters" (see, I am so blessed)
10. My kitchen makeover is coming along nicely; it may be currently halted due to back injury but I can see it starting to come together and we will get there.

OK, just look how easy that was? Did it take me long to find ten things to be grateful for? No. And I could have gone on... about how much I'm looking forward to bookclub on Thursday, about how glad I am to be able to write for my favourite Parenting magazine on a regular basis; about how glad I am that my kids have awesome teachers and are working hard at school (ALL of them).

About how grateful I am that Dash has settled in so well at Intermediate and has so many friends. About how grateful I am that we can get Miss Fab assessed for Dyslexia and know one way or the other, so if she is like me (as I suspect she might be) she won't have to struggle like I did. How blessed I am to have a sweet almost-six-year-old who lays out his clothes at night and makes his lunchbox ready for the morning. How he is so excited to come home and do Mathletics, how he wants to do homework.

Once you start looking for things to be grateful for, it's like unstopping a dam. It's a river that can't be stopped, a flood that keeps on pouring.

Ah and it feels so much nicer to write all of that than to whinge.
The very act of gratitude is like a tonic.
So I have a really sore back and can't walk very fast or bend very far... but I also have breath, I have sunshine, I have family. And I am grateful.

How's your little slice of life? Want to share your gripes or gratefuls?

A Real Life Book Club for Mrs Readalot (at last)

I have always wanted to be part of a Book Club, but somehow I have never been in the right place at the right time. I would listen enviously as other people talked about "their" book clubs, hoping, wishing someone would invite me to join... but no such luck. (They mustn't have realised what an asset I would be to a Book Club, what gems of insight I would offer, how fast I would gobble up every recommended tome).

So now I've gone and done it for myself - I've started my own Book Club.

Our first gathering was yesterday and I must say, it was lovely.
Really, really lovely. Truly enjoyable on every level.

Ours is not your usual Book Club. We don't all sign up to read the same book in a particular timeframe and then formally discuss it. Our Book Club is rather different.

We simply pool our books, name them, add them to the pot, then borrow whichever books on the pile take our fancy, to read at our own pace. Then we have coffee, eat, talk, laugh...

I love the informality of it. The way we can just hang out, connect, talk about books (or not) and pick up some great new reads with no pressure.

And I do so love to host. You know that about me, right? I love making the place feel welcoming (and pretty); I love to create an environment you can walk into and feel right at home in.
Plus, having people over forces me to do the dusting and vacuuming.

It helps that some of my favourite people are coming; they don't all know each other but they soon will. A latecoming friend popped her head around the door and said, "I can hear the laughter from down the driveway - that's a good sign!"
It is, isn't it?

The plan is this: every Thursday (starting next week) I will be ready at 11am with the giant pile of books and the Nespresso machine. Whoever wants can drop in, hang out, bring some treats (and books) to share. They can come every week if they want, or just when they want to swap a book or have nothing else on.

So if you're in Auckland, love books, are a wonderful person with sparkling humour and do NOT possess a PhD in literature you are welcome to add your books to the pile and come join us.

[two of my lovely friends posing for me "reading books at bookclub" ha!]

Or, if you live elsewhere but think this type of BookClub is right up your street, and would like to start something just like it in your corner of the world, I'll post my printable book labels and sign up sheets right below this.

There you have it: Mrs Readalot's Real life Book Club is now a reality *O Happy Day*

 

[FREE PRINTABLES: Click to view larger; right click to save to your computer then print and use]

Loving Lately... (some goodness from my week)

Monday morning and all's quiet on the Western Front. The cyclone that was meant to ravage our shores took a detour and never eventuated (surprise surprise) so although the weekend was wet and windy, it wasn't too wild after all. No power cuts, no downed trees - at least not in our neck of the woods.

This morning, despite having no milk and nothing exciting for the lunchboxes, I managed to get all children to school by 8.15am, fed and watered (after an emergency run to the dairy) and ready to go with no shouting of any kind. Some kind of a Monday Miracle.

So as I sat down to gratefully sip my coffee (with milk) I decided to take a wee detour from the invitation orders that came in over the weekend and reflect on the goodness in my world over the last week/weekend as a nice way to start the new week.

The first bit of goodness is Miss fab getting her cast off - wahoo! She still has another two weeks being careful (no cartwheels, no monkey bars) but at least she can shower. Ha.

Next, there's my kitchen revamp project which is crawling along slowly. I am LOVING my upcycled dining table. Lo-ving.

Look at the difference a bit of white paint makes. Before, the table disappeared in a sea of woodenness. Now, after a rough sand, a coat of "smooth surface sealer" and a topcoat of semi gloss (waterbased) enamel, it's a joy to behold. It lightens the whole room. L.O.V.E.

I also loved braving the "cyclone" on Saturday with the family who were desperate to get out of the house. We crossed the Harbour Bridge in those gale force winds, to pick up a new set of drawers for Scrag in our people mover. Then we headed for "Temping Bowling".
At the last minute (just before the last city offramp) I remembered that there was a new place open right in the city, Metrolanes, so we took the exit and rocked up. They have a cute little mini-bowling mezzanine floor, where you have short lanes and little balls and it feels like you have your own private bowling alley. What's more there was no waiting list for the mezzanine mini bowling, so we gave it a go. And Loved it. (Mr G whipped all our butts and I *ahem* did my best to come last. I'm nice like that.)

On Sunday we had lunch with friends and I Loved watching Dash snuggle their baby so tenderly. I whipped out my phone and snapped this moment. Dash Loves babies, and it warms my heart.

Later on that wet and windy (but decidedly non-cyclonic) Sunday we resurrected the Singstar for a bit of a laugh. It's been ages since we've played, like, years.
We got the PS2 and Singstar back when Miss Fab was a baby, and I have to say it's been great value.
I Loved listening to the kids belting out old classics, taking on their dad (and me). Mr G has a weird ability to sound awful but still win. Our Singstarring is not always tuneful, but it's always a good laugh and we all LOVE it. I think we might be reviving the SingStar on a regular basis now we've remembered that we have it.

Our crazy rock-the-mic-like vandals family. Flippin nuts (in the best loopiest way). Love them.



That's a few of the thing's I'm loving lately. What are you loving? (And did the cyclone affect you at all?)

Mrs Readalot Returns (with some Rather Good Reads)

Where is Mrs Readalot these days? you may have been asking yourself. She has been rather quiet lately, after all.
It may have been 266 days since she last posted, but don't for one minute think that Mrs Readalot has gone off the boil when it comes to reading books. On the contrary, our bookaholic friend has been devouring books wherever she can lay her hands on them. She doesn't mind whether they are the papery kind that you hold in your hand with pages that turn, or if they are downloadable and backlit and come with a built in dictionary. She'll read them free from the library OverDrive app (when she can get them) or she'll fork out a few bucks to get them instantly on Kindle. Mrs R is not fussy. As long she she is reading she is happy.
if she doesn't have a book on the go she gets rather twitchy and has to resort to watching crappy TV shows, which is not ideal at all.

So what literary gems has Mrs Readalot been discovering lately?
Mrs R has discovered some new favourite authors (to supplement Jodi Piccoult and Phillippa Gregory as tried-and-true never-fails). She has devoured a wide range of stories, eclectic in style from mystery to fantasy to historical to futuristic; they have been memorable and forgettable, award-winning and simply fill-in-the-hours-worthy.
Here is a snippet of just some of Mrs Readalot's most memorable books from the past 266 days of reading (a lot):

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

This is the book by the Kiwi Author who just won the prestigious Man Booker Prize and got herself famous (and turned her book into a bestseller). I'd been dying to read it and so asked for it for Christmas, took it camping and ended up lost in a New Zealand Goldmining town for three days.

This is one of those books which takes a little bit of getting used to, at first. You have to concentrate pretty hard at the beginning because the author has adopted a style of writing and language which is authentic to the 1800s. You might hate it. You might find it really off-putting and way too much work to bother with.
I actually didn't mind it, and after the first four-or-so chapters I was completely hooked.
It's a lovely fat book, so perfect for taking on holiday. At the heart of the book is a mystery, told through the eyes of a motley assortment of very well-drawn characters.
The picture the author paints of early New Zealand during the West Coast gold rush is absolutely fascinating.
Because of the style she uses, you actually feel as if you are right there, watching the drama unfold. There plenty of twists and turns, and the story picks up pace until at the end you are riding a runaway stallion.

When I closed the final page of The Luminaries, I felt as if I had emerged blinking back into the 21st century from an adventure in an earlier time. I sat, thought it all over, and went back and re-read the last twenty pages. I wanted to savour the ending and be sure I had not missed anything.
This was a satisfying read, an original story and a unique glimpse into our nation's past... well worth the effort of coming to grips with some archaic phrasing. (I totally get why Eleanor won the prize.)

THE VERDICT: MRS READALOT LOVED IT

Kate Morton: a New Favourite Author
I can now say that I have read everything Kate Morton has written.
Beginning with "The Secret Keeper" (which I picked up at the airport on my way to Hawaii last year), I found myself being drawn into Kate's stories, and sometimes haunted by them.
Kate is an Australian author but who usually bases her stories in England where she partly grew up.
Each story she writes captures a different era, switching back and forth between the present and the past.
Her stories feature strong women characters, interesting plot lines and are just plain readable.
My favourite of Kate Morton's books would have to be "The Distant Hours"; this one really did stay with me for some time, haunting my thoughts.
I read all but "The Secret Keeper" on my tablet via the Library OverDrive app - for freeeeeee!
If you haven't discovered the Overdrive app, it's worth checking out. You find your local library and log in with your library card, then you can borrow eBooks for free. Some popular books (like Kate Morton's) have a wait-list, but in my humble good-story-loving opinion these are worth the wait.

THE VERDICT: KATE MORTON IS A NEW FAVOURITE AUTHOR

Kate Atkinson: Another new favourite Author

I first came across Kate Atkinson when a friend recommended her bestselling new book "Life after Life". It wasn't available from my library so I purchased it on my Kindle app... and found the book riveting. Until the end, which I hated - it felt like I'd been dropped from a plane with a parachute that failed to open. There were annoying threads left unresolved (one of my pet peeves) and despite the beauty and cleverness of the writing, the poor ending really negated the whole point of reading the book!
However despite a disappointing ending to a fascinating book, I did really enjoy Kate's writing style, so one day when I was bored and bookless I went hunting for more books by this author (on Kindle) to see what else she had to offer. The nice thing about Kindle is that you can download a free sample of books you might want to read to see if they grab you before you buy.
I downloaded "Started Early Took my Dog" - a Jackson Brodie book, and liked it enough to buy it.
Since then I think I've read all the Jackson Brodie books, not in a big rush, just when there's a between-books lull and I can't find anything Amazeballs. What I like about these books is (a) they always have a mystery or some kind of crime that needs solving (I do like a good crime/mystery story) (b) the characters are always really well written and so are the plots (c) There is lots of action, twists and turns to keep you interested but they are not gory or creepy and (d) it's just a good read, bottom line.

THE VERDICT: JACKSON BRODIE BOOKS ARE EASY READS; "LIFE AFTER LIFE" IS NOT

Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox
I love Elizabeth Knox's writing; she has a brilliant mix of fantasy and reality that I love. The world and characters she creates have just enough grit and familiarity that it makes anything seem possible. The first books I read of hers "Dreamhunter" and "DreamQuake" are among my favourites ever. So when I saw that she had a new book out based in the same world - Mortal Fire - I had to read it.
Did I love it? Yes. Do I hope there's a Part Two? Yes. Is Elizabeth Knox one of my favourite authors? Yes.
If you love novels with a bit of fantasy, a dash of grit, great memorable characters, twisty plotlines and plenty of the unexpected... I recommend Elizabeth Knox to you (she's a Kiwi, her books have a Kiwi flavour to them, a hint of 1950s New Zealand).

THE VERDICT: ELIZABETH KNOX ROCKS

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor

OK, now this series has to be my favourite in ages - maybe since the Hunger Games. It's killing me that I have to wait til April for the conclusion (Book Three, Dreams of Gods and Monsters), but at least I only read Books One and Two in January and haven't had to wait years, like some of Laini's fans.
What is it about these books that I like so much?
Firstly, the originality of the story. The world Laini paints is so vivid, the characters (both human and non-human) are real and three dimensional. They make mistakes, they mess up. But you love them.
Then there's the epicness of the story. It's big. It's interdimensional, it's (here's that word again) fascinating. I love that the main character has blue hair - not from a bottle but from a wish. I love the tinge of magic, and the way the story takes you away from reality but without leaving any plotholes or gaping inconsistencies.
I'm not really a huge fan of supernatural fantasy stories, but this one has an earthiness to it - it's not like any other. What can I say? I loved it, and I can't wait for April.

Book One: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Book Two: Days of Blood and Starlight
Book Three: Dreams of Gods and Monsters (coming in April)

THE VERDICT: READ. THIS. NOW.

...........................

So there you have it, just a few of Mrs Readalot's most memorable reads from the past 266 days. Right now Mrs R is contemplating starting up a REAL LIFE book club, one where friends who love reading can share and exchange books, have coffee, eat cake and chat. If you're in Auckland and this sounds like you, let me know! (This is part of Mrs Readalot's cunning plan to get a ready supply of new books -  bwhahaha)

Mrs Readalot's Bookclub Page

(you can link up your book reviews)

<center> <a href="http://www.greatfun4kidsblog.com/p/bookclub.html"><img border="0" src=" http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy162/donnasimone/Bloggy/bloggybookclubnew.jpg " width="160" /></a></center>
Read any good books lately?
P.S. Mrs Readalot is now OUT OF BOOKS and is considering getting "Divergent" on her Kindle. Has anybody read it? Is it any good? (it looks interesting; we quite like well-written dystopia books)

The PhoneCall Every Mother Dreads...

I was in the middle of painting my kitchen when the phone call came.
The windowsills had been sanded and primed; the first coat of faded vintage green was gracing two walls.
I was just rinsing the brushes, anticipating a sandwich break when the telephone interrupted my DIY.

"Hi.... Simone? It's Sue here from the Intermediate School. We need you to get here right away..."

My heart sank. Oh no. What's he done? Is he in trouble? My mind started racing as I braced myself for bad news... but I was on the completely wrong track.

"We've called an ambulance, there's been an accident. He is conscious but we're very worried about him. The paramedics are on their way... how fast can you get here?"

Worse. This was so much worse than being called to school for an altercation or some other disciplinary thing. They've called an ambulance. For my son.

I dropped everything. I got there as fast as I could.



It's every mother's worst nightmare. Serious injury to your child which could have repercussions for their future. Damage to the neck or spine. That's what they told me they were worried about when I got to the school.

A much bigger boy had tripped and landed on Dash's head/neck while playing soccer. Yes, soccer. Hardly the kind of sport you think might result in your kid being carted away in an ambulance. It's not like he plays rugby or ice hockey after all.
But then, who would have ever thought a kid could crack their wrist doing swimming either?
Not your usual.

So there I am in the sick bay, with anxious staff offering me cups of tea (for the shock) while the paramedics poke and prod my child who is conscious but hardly responsive. He doesn't reply to questions, his face is white as a sheet with two bright red spots on his cheeks. his eyes keep drifting closed and he is shaking.

I feel a bit removed, weirdly calm.
Maybe it's all the practise I've had up at A&E but somehow I'm not panicking.

Until I can't get hold of Mr G whose phone is switched off. And I remember that he told me he'd be out at a work thing all afternoon, incommunicado, home late.
It's nearly 2pm now, an hour til the other two kids finish school for the day.
This is when my amazing community rallies round. I call a friend, she says sure she can pick up Scrag and Fab, take them home. She has to go out at 5pm though, so I know I need a backup plan. Another friend says, sure she will take them from then until I can get hold of daddy. (She even goes and picks them up for me.) Relief and gratitude overwhelm me; now I don't have to worry about my other babies, I can just focus on the injured one.

My son is stretchered off into the ambulance, headed for Starship children's hospital.
As I drive across the city to the hospital in a state of freakishly calm not-quite-shock, I pray for my boy.
Let him be OK; let there be no permanent damage; let this freak accident not affect his future.
Every mother's wish for their child when they get the phone call they dread the most.

[Dash has been accepted into the Auckland Football Federation talent development Academy]

Hours later, after a CT scan, lots of txting, praying and a lemonade iceblock, Dash is looking more himself. He has come out of that awful shock, he is talking again. The weird pallor has gone and normal colour has returned to his cheeks.
He can't remember the accident, he doesn't remember getting to the sick bay (he was carried by his friends, they told me later.)
The doctor has good news: the scan is clear. No neck or spinal injury. Nothing permanent.

The conclusion: Concussion.

No sport or exercise for at least a week. No AFF Football Academy; no team training. Take things very slowly. Stay quiet.
And be very very thankful it wasn't a whole lot worse.


P.S. How ridiculous is it that this time last week my post was about Miss Fab and her injury-proneness and cast collection??? Does this happen to anybody else?

My "Just Plain Party" Challenge...

When we were camping in January, I was sitting reading in my moonchair one evening, and overheard my youngest two nattering away about their parties. It should be explained that my kids start thinking about their next party pretty much while we are still sweeping up from their last one. (Hardly surprising with a party nut for a mother, I spose)

So there they are discussing what they each wanted for their party this year, and what did I hear?
Scrag saying: "This year I want a just plain party. I just want balloons and pass the parcel and those red sausages and normal party food."

Well blow me down.
After years of themed parties, entailing months of planning and making, my little guys is dreaming of a "just plain party".

It rather caught my fancy, I must say. The novelty of throwing a party with no theme!
My naughty party mad blog-brain started picturing vintage bunting and whimsical old fashioned gorgeousness, but I had to give myself a little shake.
My son was not asking for a vintage whimsical old fashioned party. He wants a JUST PLAIN PARTY.

Huh.
How do I do that? Where is the challenge? How do I get to use my creativity without going overboard? How can I give my little lad what he wants (a plain party) while still making it... Fabulous. Fun. Festive.

I have been pondering this since January, and I've come up with a plan.

This year all my parties are going to be done on the cheap.

I am setting myself The Just Plain Party Challenge, with a total budget of $100 maximum for everything. Food, decorations, invitations, activities, drinks... the lot.

I'm going to demonstrate that a wonderful time can be had by all at a fab and fun party without breaking the bank or having an embolism.
I'm going to use my creativity to upcycle, create, find, reuse, hunt down, make and borrow everything that we need for a fabulous party without stress or fuss.

What do you reckon? Not a bad challenge aye?
I plan to track my spending and stick to my budget. (Now I need to find a good simple app for this purpose - recommendations welcome!)

To help me refrain from getting carried away, I sat down last night and asked my son: "What do you want? To Eat? For Games? Activities?"

Bless him, it's so flippin simple this is going to be a doddle.

Scrag's Just Plain Party Plan

FOOD:
Red cocktail sausages, donuts, cupcakes, jelly & icecream, apple shapes, mini hotdogs, pikelets with sprinkles, chippies.

TO DRINK: Lemonade

GAMES & ACTIVITIES:
Pass the Parcel, Sack races, Musical Chairs, Hide'n'seek/tag and a treasure hunt

He also wants to put out all our Dressups, have some face-painting and get Miss fab to take photos of his friends dressed up.

DECORATIONS:
Balloons. Lots and lots of balloons. Bunting will be accepted as well. And the lemonade stand, of course.

BIRTHDAY CAKE:
"Chocolate, please mum. With a number six on it."  (Are you sure I can't convince you to have a rainbow marble cake, son? Maybe in the shape of a six?)

THE INVITATION:
"Anything you make for me, mum. I love everything you make."

...................

How much easier could this be???
Hang up lots of balloons and bunting... voila! A party we shall have.

The guest list has stretched from "six friends" to "nine friends...please?" (he wants to invite girls this year). But still, that's not too many at all.

Scrag is so excited about his party, and especially that he is helping to plan every detail. Each morning he comes in my bed and says, "I just can't wait til my party, mum; only 38 more days to go!"
Bless him.

His Just Plain Party dream is going to be realised. Heck I'm actually really looking forward to this!


P.S. If you have any tips for economical clever decorating tips, fun party food, upcycling ideas, please share them with me.

And if you want to join in my Party Challenge (throwing a party on a budget of $100 or less) let me know - maybe we can make it "a thing" if there's enough interest

• My Party Page (evidence of an obsession)

The Life and Times of *Action Girl*

When we walk into our local White Cross accident and emergency clinic, the doctor sees us coming and says, "Hello Abby, what are you in for this time?"
Yes, they know my daughter by name up there.
It's kind of a joke amongst us that that place is like a home from home for Miss Fab (a.k.a. "Action Girl"). A joke that isn't really that funny, cos it's so flippin annoying.

We know all the best and worst times to hit the clinic (first thing in the morning = good; after school on a Friday or anytime on a Saturday = BAAAAAAD).
We know never to go straight to Starship, always go to White Cross first (they give morphine before they xray if the break looks bad and they call ahead to the hospital so they have a bed ready and waiting).
We know better than to hope that a badly landed somersault doesn't require crutches or a splint; a trip to White Cross will be necessary. Best to get it over and done with or the guilt will be extortionate when you take her in four days later and she needs a cast after all.

This is what comes of having an Action Girl for a daughter. A girl who never sits still for a moment but who gobbles up life like it's a giant bowl of goody gumdrop icecream. A girl who espouses the principle that trees are for climbing and why walk when you can cartwheel?

Here she is the time-before-last, sporting a purple cast. That time it was a trampoline accident; she landed a backflip awkwardly, as you do. Photo circa six months ago.

Here's a collection of some of her earlier injuries and escapades, dating right back to when she was just 18 months old. Little Action Girl thought she could climb on top of the playhouse roof without incident, but gravity got the best of her; her little baby arm was snapped right through when she fell.
We spent two days in the hospital that time, her arm needing an operation to straighten the bones.
A month later she slipped on a shiny floor and ended up with a matching fluoro pink cast on her leg. Two casts, one baby girl. I was afraid to go out in public.

There have been so many ACC forms filled out for this girl, crutches borrowed and casts worn, that someone suggested we get her eyes tested...
But nope. There is no vision impairment - she's just an Action Girl in a big hurry.

This latest injury (green cast, this time) really takes the cake. Who would think swimming could land you in a cast, after all?
Action Girl was doing swimming sports at school. She came second in the heats for freestyle and backstroke, and got through to the semifinals.
At semi-final time, she came second in freestyle! Wahoo! Through to the finals!
Now for the backstroke... she's coming second again.... OUCH! She's slammed her wrist right into the concrete edge of the pool! Didn't see it coming.
Now she's crying, cradling her arm.
Poor girlie. Wrap her in a towel, cuddle her and dry her tears.
Ooh it's coming up with a lump and a bruise.
But she wants to swim in the final.
The gun goes off... Oh dear. She's sinking in the water, crying and cradling her poor injured arm.
Poor, brave Action Girl.
Off to White Cross we go.
"Hello Abby, what are you here for this time?" the friendly doctor says.

The X-rays are inconclusive. It could be a crack in the growth plate or simply a sprain. They give us a velcro splint and tell us to come back in a week. Time will tell.

The timing couldn't be worse. Action Girl has her free trial for Cheerleading coming up.
Even though she's in a splint we go along anyway.
Action Girl is jumping out of her skin to join in. This is so her. Cartwheeling, handstanding and stunting; the kids don't sit still for a moment. She is bursting to show them what she can do, aching to demonstrate her one-handed cartwheels. Even splinted-up she does what she can. She is Action Girl after all.

"Oh mum, I love this! I so want to do it! This is totally ME!" she enthuses after the class.  (I try to ignore the girls in hairbows and hotpants who are lining up at the door for the next class. Eek.)

Action Girl is desperate for her arm to be better, ASAP. She tries to go without the splint, but can't make it more than half a morning before the pain reduces her to tears.
Back to the clinic we go. Another day, another cast.

As you can see, Action Girl was not impressed with her new green cast. Cheerleading must be put off for another term, cartwheeling must wait, along with swimming, trampolining, climbing trees and all those other Action Girl faves.

Poor ole Action Girl. ♥

Do you have one of these in your family? A girl (or boy) who lives life at breakneck speed and lands you in the A&E clinic on a regular basis?

More Action Girl Posts

• Not like her Mama
• Anatomy of a Winner
• Stuff you Learn at a Skate Park
• Life goes on