Gallternity Leave

I greet you from the land of Gallternity Leave. So far it has consisted of naps, naps, and more naps. And I thought I'd let you peek in!

First of all, I cannot BELIEVE I forgot to show you this picture a couple of days ago. For goodness' sake, I built the entire name of the blog post about it and then forgot the picture. I blame the pain meds.

Yes. The chalkboards go everywhere.

When we got home on the day of surgery, Ryan got me all set up on Mo {who certainly had NO idea the immediate torture he would go through between Ryan's upper respiratory infection and my surgery. I bet he's regretting being adopted by the Shaffers!}

My parents came over that afternoon to visit me and to bring a bouquet from the whole family.

It's so pretty! Flowers AND Cadbury eggs AND a Starbucks card!

 I really didn't feel too terrible when I came home. Just didn't have an appetite at all...and as the day went on, my belly became increasingly sore.

That evening, Ryan's sister, Bre came over with dinner for us. Delicious taco bar in a bag. It was so thoughtful!

And my friend Marie stopped by just to check on me and to bring  her rice bag in case I needed it for my tummy:

 The rest of the night? I just slept.

Tuesday, Ryan had the day off to spend with me at home, and I fear I was in and out most of the day, while he worked so hard around the house. I appreciated all he did! I did try to get up, brush my hair, put on a little makeup, and change clothes.

I put myself on a strict schedule of walking laps around the house every half hour so I didn't get too stiff. I still wasn't having pain...as in just sitting didn't hurt. But it hurt to move, and stretching out to stand up tall was not fun.

I was excited to hear the doorbell ring and the florist delivered a gorgeous bouquet from the station. Braeya immediately took it over. Of course.

Ryan and I did lounge around quite a bit - in between his chores. I loved having him home.

I also got a second flower delivery that afternoon - from my in-laws. They're so sweet! Thanks, Allen and Nita!

Ryan had to attend a class for work that night, and my mom had planned to come stay with me, but the roads had gotten really slick during the day, so we told her to stay home. Ryan still went to class, and I stayed home to try being a big girl. It went moderately well. By that point, I just wanted to sleep off the day!! Fell asleep that night looking at all my pretty flowers:

Wednesday was Ryan's first day back to work, and neither of us wanted him to leave. My mom did come over that day, so after Ryan left, I took a nap, and Braeya waited for Grandma:

When she came, we sat around and watched TV. I fear I was terrible company.

Around lunch time, my friend Lynn stopped by to bring me a card and Starbucks love, and she stayed to chat with me for a while. Man, I have some of the nicest friends!! I appreciate all their support!

And then Mom and I spent the afternoon watching HGTV and someone decided her Grandma's black skirt was the best parking spot. {Mom is NOT an animal person, so this was quite a moment.}

So that's been my Gallternity leave, so far. I'm thankful I feel as good as I do, while being frustrated that I don't feel even better. {Go figure.} I know it's all going very well, but I was hoping to pressing on full speed ahead by this point, so actually being forced to slow down is good for me, despite the frustrations.

Thanks so much for checking in on me and putting up with all my updates. You guys are the best!