Out of whack

My poor pelvis is rotated.

I thought my back pain was improving, but then I tried to run a bit on Sunday. The pain came back with a vengeance. I was also getting nervy tings down my femurs. All in all, it's been pretty awful. I also noticed one hip seemed to be sticking out and the other caved slightly in. I can't seem to hold my body straight.

I went back to the chiropractor today and told her my hips were out of whack. She poked around a bit and informed me I have a rotated pelvis. Apparently my hip flexors are very tight and that is pulling my pelvis out of alignment. Everything in that region is still very loose following my pregnancy and birth.

She didn't really go into how big a deal this is or how quickly it will go away, but I must say it is pretty alarming to see my slightly slanted body. I am getting very tired of the intense lower back pain and nerve twinges. It is incredibly frustrating. Plus, my running is sidelined for the time being which doesn't make me very happy.

The chiropractor does seem to be doing some good, but I think I need to call the physical therapist and do SOMETHING to get myself back in line.

--MM

Monkey See

Halloween falls on a Friday this year, so that means an entire extra week of revelry, which is good news when you bought an expensive monkey costume online. Thankfully I got a good deal on the banana.

Halloween is still five days away, but our boys have already donned their costumes three times. The cost per wearing is actually quite reasonable at this point.

On Friday, our wonderful childcare provider took the boys and her son to a Halloween party at a kids museum we often go to. We met up with them during my dinner break. I forced T to take baby R on stage for the 0-2 costume contest and was quite proud when "Baby Banana!" was announced as the winner. T was embarrassed.

Saturday, I took the boys to a parade of kids and trick-or-treating in a little historic town nearby. We met a friend and her two little boys and after an exhausting hour or so of lugging our gremlins around, we called it good and went for coffee.

Today, we went to a Halloween party with my mom's group. I dressed up as a sassy tiger and T went as Joe the plumber. However, the other parents were quite as motivated to dress up. I felt a bit self-conscious in my tail and whiskers, but they're the party-poopers right?

We still have the real Halloween to go as well. I can't get enough of seeing that little monkey and his banana side kick. I'm not looking forward to the days when they actually have a say in their costumes.


--MM

Pain in the back

My back hurts. It is a huge pain in more ways than one. Two weeks or so ago, I was lifting R and felt a twinge in the middle of my back. Then in the last week or so, my lower back has been experiencing sharps pains that sometimes extend into my left hip and leg. I am walking hunched over, and it hurts to sit or stand very long. When your back hurts, just about everything you do is painful.

I decided to teach yoga this weekend, and though there were some painful moments, it actually seemed to make it feel a little better, temporarily. The pain persisted though, so today I decided to go to a chiropractor for the first time.

I have always been slightly skeptical of chiropractors, but it seemed like the right expertise for my particular problem. I have an acquaintance who is a chiropractor, so I decided to give her my business. It was an interesting process. She put this odd contraption on me that sent little shocks into my muscles, then had me twist and cracked my back a few times. It seemed to feel slightly better right afterward but feels the same now. She says my hips were out of alignment, which makes sense considering my experience post-birth these last several months. I go again tomorrow morning. We'll see if my skepticism is founded or erased.

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My mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law were in town this weekend showering the boys with attention. Q soaks it up like a sponge. It was a little cramped in the house, and T and I were kicked out of our room, our bed, and our bathroom. My back didn't feel too wonderful on the pull-out bed!

Q's great-grandma got him a big orange garbage truck. He loves it. I swear he can spend hours running the little garbage pail up and down the side and dumping it in the top. And I can spend hours watching him.

--MM

Thirtysomething

Holy crap, I am now 30! It is very, very weird! Where did my 20's go? It felt like they lasted a couple months. When did I become a married mother of two in my thirties? Strange.

--MM

Fork in the road

What to do next? We got a pretty good indication this week of where we will be going in the coming year. When is still up in the air but where is pretty well nailed down. Now I am just trying to figure out what.

When we moved out here, T followed my job and then had to make his own way. Now the tables will be turned. Our family is now following his job because it will be financially secure and stable. It is the smart thing to do, but it still makes me feel a little ungrounded. What will I do now? Do I stay home with the children? Do I work part time? Do I start a different career? Do I try to continue my current career just several rungs lower? It is a frightening position, but somewhat exciting.

I now question my college degree. I have two bachelor's degrees actually, journalism and Spanish, but my Spanish is incredibly rusty and my journalism is so specialized. As I was looking through job listings this week, I felt very unqualified. Oh how I wish I knew how to use a computer much better or was a nurse or something. That sure would make life easier.

A new chapter of our life will begin soon. It is hard to picture what it will look like, but I am ready for the change. I am itching to leave my current job, and curious to see what a new city will be like. I am sad as well to leave our childcare provider, our house, and the friends we have made. There is plenty of time to get used to the idea and hopefully to figure out what I will do next.

--MM

I'd like to thank...

I got an award today from the Oregon Association of Broadcasters! I won best news series for three pieces I did on bullying. I must say, I was pretty happy to hear the announcement. I have been needing a boost at work lately!

--MM

Sore

I am returning to teaching yoga this coming weekend, and this past weekend I had a training for it. I realized I have not been using some of the key muscles involved in yoga. This is a little frightening as I prepare to appear to be a well-trained, seasoned instructor.

All these different angles of my arm are sore. Baby R felt like he was about 1,000 pounds and even blow-drying my hair was a challenge today. Slowly the lactic acid is flushing out, though I am sure it will be entrenched in my poor muscles after this weekend.

I am excited to get back to teaching. I have been teaching aerobics for about ten years now, and teaching yoga for about four or so. I like to take a break every few years, so I don't get burnt out. Those breaks seem to come naturally from moving or having a baby. It will be nice to be before a class again.

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I had a moment at work Friday that I am not entirely proud of. I was extremely frustrated and feeling that I was not being listened to or respected. As I tried to make my point, my two managers just pretty much smirked and shouted me down. I was shaking with anger and frustration. I let my emotions get the best of me and was mad at myself for that. I am feeling pretty uncomfortable and unhappy and am more and more convinced it is about time to move on.

I just want to shake my managers and say, "Don't you know how hard I work?? Don't you know how lucky you are to have me??" But I think already know the answer.

--MM

Sweet young thing of the past

I wore a great pair of black silk Ann Taylor pants today that I got a great deal on. My husband T in his ever-observant way said, "What are those, leather pants?"

"No, of course not!" I said.

But, then I remembered there was a time when I actually had leather pants. Around this same time I had four piercings in each ear (two of which I put there myself), a pierced belly button, a tattoo, and very long hair. My hair is now highlighted and shoulder-length. I have a total of two piercings confined to my ear lobes. My tattoo is even gone.

I am like an entirely different person. And, I wasn't even an extremely wild child a decade ago. I was an over-achieving high school and college student. But now in the blink of an eye (at least it feels that way), I am a conservative-looking married mother of two. It is weird to me that my co-workers in their early 20's think of me as this mature woman. I still feel so young.

This is all dawning on me as my 30th birthday rapidly approaches just two weeks away now. I am not at all upset by the prospect. I am thoroughly satisfied with where I am in life. It is just a little hard to wrap your mind around. I never imagined myself as a 30 year old. And yet here I am.

But not quite yet.

--MM