The DeGaetano's fall...and then "my fall"...

Yes, I know that Christmas is three days away and it seems kind of silly to do a fall post at this point, but I'm just getting around to it, so whatever. Here's just a few picks from our fall days in Central New York

Clark Reservation

(Josephine clowning around)

Sigh - beautiful, no?

Watkins Glen

(this is Maria posing here :)

This place was like a hidden paradise - so pretty!

Pumpkin Patch & Fall festivities

Halloween costumes

This is Edward sampling his first lollipop...with the wrapper still on. Guess what? He still loved it. :)

The girls just goofing around in the leaves

My sister's wedding

Maria and Josephine were flower girls

Edward got to wear his first suit!

Love this shot!!

I was a bridesmaid, so the girls' dresses and mine coordinated. Can you believe that these dark-haired beauties are actually half me? Weird. :)

Grant me a moment of vanity, but I love this picture of myself (something I don't often say). I was so excited to have my hair all curly and fancy, and I loved my plum-colored dress. It was nice to get all dressed up and feel like a girl. ;)

Now for "my fall" Yes, that is my attempt at a clever play-on-words. I had a bad fall this past Sunday, and I mean BAD. I was going down the stairs, and had my hands full, when one of my feet hit one of the stairs wrong (I had slippery socks on), and I went flying like a cartoon character on a banana peel (expect that it was sooo not funny). At first I thought I was fine – just bruised up on my tailbone and elbows, but as I started walking/limping around, I started to feel sick to my stomach, then came a killer headache, then whoosiness, then I started shaking all over. Shock. My body was in shock, I realized. And the pain was getting REALLY bad in my tailbone – radiating and throbbing all over and getting worse by the minute. It came to me right away that I must have broken it. I called my Dad and described the situation and he said without hesitation – “You broke it. I can tell just from the way you sound that you broke it.” NO WAY!!! I thought. NOT NOW! Six days before Christmas. He told me that there was nothing a doctor could do for it (which I later confirmed with my doctor), and that I just had to get a donut pillow (to be able to sit down) and to take some Ibuprofen or Tylenol. That was all I could do. Great. I got off the phone and was pretty much shaking uncontrollably and hyperventilating (due to the pain and the shaking, I’m thinking), and at that point, Lou came down from putting the girls to bed and saw me and came over immediately. He’s seen me go through three child labors drug free and not make such a fuss, so I think he knew this pain was BAD. I kept trying to breathe through it like I have done in labor, but the pain wasn’t the same. It wouldn’t let up, there were no break, and the shaking and the nausea made everything that much more awful. I felt like I needed to sit down because of the nausea, but I was afraid to sit because my butt bone hurt sooo bad. I finally sat down on a nice gel ice pack with Lou’s assistance. It was very painful at first, but after awhile it all went numb, which was just wonderful. Lou went and got me a donut pillow from the his office. I got a blessing, so I feel good about that. We were going to get it X-rayed, but, after doing some research and talking to my doctor, we found out that there are really no benefits to getting an X-ray, because no matter what the X-ray shows, they treat it the same – light pain meds and rest. I am not going to expose my ovaries to radiation for nothing – not with the molar pregnancy in my past – no way am I taking a chance on messing up the rest of my eggs!! I know this bone is broken from my symptoms – I don’t need to pay $70 (which is what it would cost in co-pays) and blast my body with radiation to confirm it.
At this point, I am just struggling with the whole "taking it easy" part. I don't LIKE to take it easy - that is the OPPOSITE of my personality!! Obviously all my plans for Christmas have been altered quite a bit, but my family has been wonderful about stepping up to the plate to help pick up my slack.

My extended family has gone out and finished some of my last-minute shopping for me, Lou went and did the grocery shopping last night, and has been helping out more with the diaper changes and bathing the kids and all that (it’s a Christmas miracle! :). The girls have also had to chip in more. Since I can’t even bend over without wincing in pain, they’ve had to help out with even the smallest things. It’s really hard for me to ask for so much help, as I am a VERY independent person, but I suppose everyone needs a nice humbling experience from time to time to keep them grounded. I’ve been trying to look at this experience like that – like an opportunity to learn something. There has to be some good that comes out of it, right? Sigh, I hope so, because the whole “no exercise, no sex for six weeks” thing pretty much seems like a prison term/death sentence to me. Yeah, that's right - I just wrote "sex" on my blog. I never claimed that this site was G-rated. :)

So I will be spending the next six weeks trying to swallow my pride and accept help from others and getting a big lesson in patience. I guess I COULD use that. :) Even so, I am dying to be back to my spunky, bouncing all over the place self soon. This “taking it easy” stuff sucks.


Merry Christmas to all my friends and family out there - I hope yours is wonderful and free from broken bones! ;)