Accidents, in 3s

Thursday- attempted to move heavy furniture by myself and fell, right as my 3-year old accidentally knocked the room divider over, on top of me. If my feet had been grounded, I could have braced myself and caught it. Unfortunately, I was already going down, and it hit me hard, smashing my right arm, and ripping the fingernail off of my ring finger. Actually, it split the nail in half, and ripped the side clear off, leaving a jagged dangling edge. Yeah, it was bad. I screamed, cried, vomited. Bad, bad, bad. Lots of pain meds, and some deep breathing, and I managed to regain composure. Didn't sleep well that night, though.

By Friday I was functioning, with a finger brace. Went to the Right Choices Corn Maze with Fred and the kids, my sister and her kids, Papaw, and about 100 other folks from our homeschool group. It was great, great fun!
Corn Maze, Cow Train, Hay Bale Jumping, Hay House, Drain Slides, Hayride, farm animals to pet, and nice picnic areas all around.

We bought some mini-pumpkins and gourds, and a large one to carve. NatureMan decided that he really really wanted his mini-pumpkin carved into a "monster pumpkin." Being the awesome Mom that I am, I grabbed a knife and attempted to carve out the design he had drawn. Of course, my grip wasn't great, seeing as how I had the finger brace on. So, my knife slipped and I slashed the middle finger of my left hand. Ow. It won't need stitches, but it's sore and bandaged.

So, this morning, I decided to do some safer things, like yard saling. TheArtist Child and I left the house at 7am...

and got into a fender bender.

Like, immediately. (sigh)

If bad things really happen in 3s, then I should be totally done now, for at least for awhile!

We had great luck at a friend's preschool yard sale... puppet show curtain for $2, huge costume tub with drawers (that included a chef hat and two aprons, two full body boy outfits, etc) for $1, black leather game chair for $2, firetruck rug 50 cents. Can't beat these prices! I'm all about yard saling or thrift store shopping. No sense in paying 10x as much for the exact same thing, at the mall!

So, anyway, typing is a bit hard. Drawing and painting is, too, but I'm up for the challenge. I've always held my pen/pencil on my ring finger, which is impossible for me now. We'll see how it affects my art. ;)

Hope your weekend has been SAFE and fun!

I have about a thousand activities to catch you up on. Plus, I rearranged the playroom, rewrote the chore charts, and let my art center explode with color. Stay tuned. :)

I'm a leper, hear me roar!

The kids have been going to HABC VBS this week. On the first day, The Naturalist came home and told me all about "playing leopard."

He said they put on spot stickers.

And they were sick.

And couldn't see their families.

Aha! Do you mean "leper," Honey?

My sweet Naturalist. It made perfect sense to him that they would have him pretend to be a sick leopard for awhile.

Going Up?

This morning Live Wire ran into the living room completely decked out in prison garb, with a Darth Vader mask, and a cowboy hat on (at least he's clothed, right??) He shouts, "Look at me, Mommy, I'm Elevator!"

By the way, yesterday was a MUCH better day, despite the bad sunburn on the back of my neck. Can't believe I missed getting sunscreen on that much skin! And despite the horrid bee sting on my left foot. On the bright side, I got to spend a couple hours with a dear friend at the pool. And The bee died after stinging me.

(Just so you know, ice and toothpaste are the best remedies for bee sting.)

Wendy and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I went to sleep in a warm dry bed and woke up on wet sheets with a toddler next to me. I tripped on my husband's size 13 ski-like shoes when I scrambled out of bed. I fell on a dinosaur. I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

At breakfast, the three big kids ate their food, but the baby threw his off of the highchair. A fly landed in my coffee. And I ran out of root beer.

I think I'll move to Blueberry Land.

At VBS drop-off only one child who was old enough would stay. LiveWire wanted to stay, but he isn't old enough. Dang. I had to drag him out of there. I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

The kids fought. The trash leaked. The milk spilled. And there were...ahem...female issues.

LittleLad pulled all the books from the bookcase. Again. And again. Littlelad broke my candle holder. Littlelad knocked the movies down. And Littlelad screamed when I took him out of his highchair. What's up with that? Littlelad is the easy one!

I think I'll move to Blueberry Land. Babies are always happy there, I've heard.

My CD drive won't eject. My car is squealing. Again. My friend is sad. My other friend is out of work. My other friend is angry (not at me, thankfully.) And another friend is in dire need of help. Yeah...you guessed it...I could tell this was gonna be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

And my wonderful husband. Well, he's even getting on my nerves. New position at work. Better position, but I know there's pressure. I'll forgive the...buggerishness of this evening. (What, that's not a word?)

But, you know, some days are just like this. And it could be worse. Much worse.
Even in Blueberry Land.

I'm prepared for tomorrow! New game plan in place. I'm ready to start a new day. Thank You, God, for new days. The sun sets and it comes back up, fresh and ringing with promise.

Tomorrow TWO kids will go to VBS. And one toddler will get "special time" during Littlelad's nap. And Littlelad will be banned from all bookcases. And he will be happy anyway, because we'll play pat-a-cake and he loves pat-a-cake. (So do I!) The big kids won't fight (prayer item here!) and the van won't squeak (I'll drive reeeallly slow.) I'm hoping for A Terrific, Happy, Very Good, Positive Day. :-)

PS Almost forgot two of the GOOD things that happened today. We had ALL debt paid off (except the house) but medical stuff always sneaks up on us. Usually because insurance glitches something up and we end up owing more than they first said we would be required to pay. But...annnyway, I paid off our only debt...a small medical debt and now it's gone. Woo-hoo.

I also met Shan in person!!! At VBS! And, being the dork I am, I didn't realize who on earth it was until about mid-way into our conversation, and at that point I didn't think I should jump up and down and say "IT's YOU!!" because I had...ummm...already kinda pretended to know who on earth I was talking to, and I thought the sudden realization would throw her off a bit. Like I said, this day was just kinda off for me!

Shan, it was nice to meet you!! Tomorrow I'll act more friendly, now that I know who you are. :-)

Oh, and thanks for saying I'm taller than you expected. I'd like to be tall. I wear heels A LOT.

knee stress and house mess

Two things:
First, I hurt my knee. I'm not sure how... maybe it was from hanging upside down on the monkey bars with the kids during a picnic playdate on Thursday. Or maybe it was from riding Trevor around on my back, on all fours, yesterday. Or it could be that I fell down when I was trying to chase Isabelle around the van. Man, that kid is fast. She puts me to shame.

At any rate, I look like an old woman trying to get up off the floor. The knee hurts. Ugh.
I'm not even 30! I'm not supposed to have a hurt knee! I'm still supposed to be bouncing around. So. Anyway, Just needed to complain.

Second thing: I need to be okay with the messy house. I get WAY too stressed when my house is cluttery. But, let's face it: 4 small kids + 1 cozy cottage + 1 rather sloppy husband = MESS.
A wonderful friend gave me some good advice about a week ago: she simply said that I need to NOT CARE. Let it go. Relax. If the hallway is messy, I can still do reading with the kids. Go outside, if necessary. Do the important things first, not the "urgent things" (yes, I realize that hallway cleaning may not seem urgent, but you don't live in my brain. I may have some OCD tendencies. For one thing, I can't handle food on the floor. UGH. Or clothes. Or even toys, for that matter, unless they are in the playroom. Which is why, you see, my dear friend told me to put the blinders on and FOCUS on the "real stuff. It's not as if I was ever realizing my dream of the perfectly clean house anyway. And would I be satisfied if I got it, or would I just move on to toilet and tub scrubbing, as I've been known to do? Okay, enough in parenthesis already!)

So, there you have it. I'm determined that for ONE week (must start with baby steps!), I will let some things go. I will laugh when I usually cringe. I will focus on just being outside and reading and having fun, and I will not worry. I do a lot of "FUN" stuff and outside stuff anyway, but I usually have this nagging worrying tone in my head that says "and what if someone stops over? And shouldn't the house be clean for Fred when he gets home?" (ha, as if he cares!!) Shut up, voice. Enough.

So I warn you right now that my open door policy has temporarily been revoked, until I come to terms with my new focus. Call first. Please. Don't make me suffer needlessly. ;-) And, above all, when you do call first and then you come over to a messier-than-usual home, say only good things. (which is good advice anyway!!) :-) Thank you in advance.

Oh, and just for the record, I only hold myself to those standards. When I visit friends I couldn't care less how their house looks. Ironic, isn't it?

tooth update

Well, I wanted to yank the sucker out. And I prayed for the dentist to take immediate action. He did. Tooth is gone.
Yep, he said that what I was describing: radiating and intense pain, which became worse with heat...that was because of my awful wisdom tooth. So he took it out. Just like that. OUCH.

I guess I'm glad that I didn't have too much warning. I would have stressed.
So now it's mushy foods for me. No hot coffee, no carbonation, no straws... no yummy beef enchiladas that are baking in the oven as we speak. (sigh) That's the hardest part of dental work for me: the inability to EAT what I want!!
Right now I can't eat anything anyway because I'm still bleeding. Sorry to gross you out.

I do wish I had known to eat beforehand, as I've only had a dinner roll since supper last night. I'll start to feel dizzy soon if I don't eat!

Oh, and we did JUST pay off the dentist. But this time I was smart enough to put A LOT of money in medical spending, so I could get my teeth fixed. So this little unplanned ouchie did not cost us anything out of pocket!!

In other news, I'm so happy and feel so blessed to get so many awesome freebies from a friend today!! It was like Christmas!! I even got a pair of jeans for Fred that fit him perfectly. And he is a total gifts person, so this was great for both of us!!!

When a 3-year old gets quiet...

...check on him quickly!!


Today we finished up our Valentine's boxes for the homeschool party that will be on Wednesday. I had left some of the paint up on the table after lunch. Just had too many things going on, and I didn't get around to putting it up right away. That was my first mistake.

I left the kids playing in the living room, and went to the nursery to nurse Oliver and put him down for his nap. Second mistake: Mr. T was unsupervised.

Apparently (this is Isabelle's version), Trevor accidentally knocked the paint down. Then he started running around and around the table. Izzy was drawing and not paying too much attention to her rascally little brother. What happened next is Trevor's version. He says he stepped on the paint and it went "all over." So at that point he just decided to play in it! I don't know if he assumed it was lotion or what. He does so love his lotion!

Anyway, within a minute (by the time big sister noticed) he had covered the floor, his clothes, my kitchen chairs, you name it!!

Sooooo, Trevor got two baths today and had to help Mommy do a lot of mopping. Learn from me, so you don't have to learn from your own mistakes!!

Actually, though, my grandma told me a story today of how she was super-pregnant with her fourth child, outside hanging clothes, when her 2nd-born poured honey all over the kitchen and then attempted to clean the mess with tons of tea towels. My, my! So it could've been worse for me today. At least this was washable tempera paint!!

Thank God for...the Mormon lady?

Tuesday was quite the adventure for us. I loaded up the four little kiddos and headed out early for an appointment in Springdale. I hate driving the van in gusty weather. I feel like the wind is trying to rip me right off the road. I wanted to get to the appointment in time, but I wasn't willing to drive too fast. And I also had to stop for gas. That would have been quicker, too, but my dear hubby forgot to put the debit card back in my wallet. Oh, well. So we got gas and continued along. Only problem is that I forgot where it was! So I called several friends, then information, and got there 20 minutes late after turning around twice. Ugh. But at least they kept my appt and they were nice about it.

So far so good, right? Of course, any time you come in for new appointments, the first half of the wait is just paperwork time. I have to say, all my kids were really good. Yes, even Trevor, amazingly enough. I think they were in a bit of shock around all of the other misbehaving, loud and crying children.

Appointments went A-okay, but we had to wait afterwards for more paperwork. Ethan started to get stressed from the noise (and one mom in particular who was not being very nice to her toddler...grrr...), so we decided to take a breather and walk out to the van to put our backpacks and stuff away, then we would hop back in for our papers. Okay, so I lift the back hatch, stick ALL of our stuff inside, and shut it. And it locked. It LOCKED. All the doors.

I just stood there for a second, letting that sink in. I'm in another town. I have four kids. My purse is in there, along with my cell phone, money, kids' jackets, snacks, you name it. Think. Think. THINK.

After trying ALL the doors, just to be sure, I walked back in and asked to use the phone. Thank goodness for nice strangers who let you make long-distance phone calls on their business line. My sister? No answer. Figures, she never answers. No offense, Julie. Her hubby? No answer? Okay, just suck it up and call Fred at work. Too bad my folks are still out of town.

Now it's a good thing I have the most wonderfully laid back husband in the world! After the initial "You did WHAT?!", he said he would have to finish up what he was working on (half an hour of work) before he could head home for the spare key, get gas, and drive to Springdale. Okay, that's maybe an hour and a half. But what choice did I have?

"I can do this." So we walked over to Good Will to look around. There just wasn't much else around. At first it was all fine and dandy. The kids walked and looked. Then Trevor got the bright idea to play hide-and-seek in the clothes racks. So out of the clothes we go! We went to the houseware (if you can call it that) and toy section. Oh, my, why do they put toys up on tall shelves? Little boys like to climb. And climb he did. So I sat my toddler on the floor with some toys and we did that for maybe...15 minutes. It just wasn't working out. Oliver wanted down, and there was no way I was putting him down on that nasty floor!! And he needed to nurse somewhere, preferably in a clean area. Thank goodness I breastfeed!! Had to put a plug in here about that! :-)

So we walked back into the blustering wind. Isabelle complained that she was getting blown away. Overall, though, they were being pretty cheerful about our "adventure." Then I spotted a bookstore. Yea! So we ran over there, while I gave instructions not to touch, fight, yell, push, etc. They are usually pretty good in stores, but it had been a loooong morning.

I knew something was up as soon as I walked in. What's CTR? Hmm....ah...there's the Bible. And, yep, there's the book of Mormon. What the...? I was in a Mormon bookstore, people. Hmmm...okay, so look around, but don't let the kids READ anything.

First of all, I got a real kick out of the stuff in there! Oh, yeah, who wants a pin the tie on the missionary game?? For real! SO funny!! And they had newborn onsies that looked like white shirts with ties. Heh heh. Some of the felt board stuff was just weird, though.

Luckily, a lady came and asked if she could help us. I explained that we were just browsing store, waiting for my husband to come with our keys. So she gave the kids a box of toys to play with, started Charlotte's Web for them, and offered us peanut butter sandwiches and juice (which I politely declined...the kids had just had raisins and they wouldn't starve.) She was SO nice. When I asked Trevor to lower his voice, she hurried back again, telling me that she had 6 kids and a little noise never hurt anyone. She said we could stay the whole time, stay warm, and get anything we wanted to eat. Again, let me say that she was SO nice.

Fred got there around 12:30, after searching in nearby stores. His boss let him off early, and he didn't have to take vacation, thank goodness. When we left the store, Trevor said he loved the nice lady. :-) Ahhh...
On the way home, we stopped at McDonald's, because we were getting quite hungry by that time. We get up early and eat breakfast very early in the mornings. If you know me, I almost never eat out. Ick. But you gotta have food, and it was the cheapest thing around (although certainly not the healthiest...again, I say ICK.)

On the drive home I couldn't help thinking about the kind woman who had immediately come to the aid of complete strangers. Not only was she civil to us, she offered us her very own possessions. Not unlike the good Samaritan. If that's not showing God's love... but wait... did she know God's love the way I do?

So, after the kids went to bed Tuesday night, I spent some time looking up Mormonism. (Maybe if all Christians were so kind and non-judgmental, people would go home and look up our faith, too!!) CTR stands for "Choose the Right." So it's like the Mormon version of our “WWJD”.

But is "choose the right" about trying to do good in your own power? Salvation through works? The more I read, the more upset I got. I read, read, read from Mormon sites, reputable Christian sites, and then looked in The Kingdom of the Cults (great book, check it out!). And it just made me so sad for this woman. God is LOVE, grace, mercy. Some "prophet" can't come along and undo all of that! And, let me tell you right now that I don't believe Joseph Smith. The number of people who are led astray... uhhh...makes your stomach sink, doesn't it?

But then I turned to how I act. Would I have been a face for Jesus under those circumstances? Would someone see something in me that made them keep thinking, wondering, hoping...? And maybe that woman is a child of God's. A mixed up child that He will someday bring closer to Him.

Anyway, it was a rough day, but I learned a lot (as always when I'm around the kids!) and had a lot to think about. It went very well, under the circumstances. The weather also plummeted (20s) after we were safely and snugly in our van. God is good.

If you've made it to the end of this post, congratulations!!

Where's My Baby??

Follow the mess to find the culprit!

Weeman Urinal for Mr.T!!

Wow! What will they think of next?
I found this on another blog and I'm just thrilled about it. Really!
Trevor has been using a step stool to go potty. That works okay, but it makes him a bit too tall now. And he's 3-years old, and not really a good aim. Add into that that he has a slight case of hypospadias, and there could be trouble. He has to stand slightly sideways. And don't even think of talking to him when he is peeing, or he's likely to turn and spray the whole bathroom!
So you can see why I get excited about these bright ideas. I'll have to discuss this with Fred. Wise purchase or extravagant? You decide. I think it's neat!

Christmas on the Eve

Okay, so we went back to that neck of the woods on Christmas Eve. We had a party at Fred's aunt and uncle's house. We saw Fred's grandma, aunts, uncles, cousin, nieces, and his two other sisters. Lots of yummy food! My kids kept sneaking the summer sausage and chips (things we don't ever have at home.)
Oliver enjoyed opening gifts with Cindy.





There was one major incident when Fre'ds 3-year old niece fell in a pond! Stacy, Cindy, and I had just walked in to say good-bye when it happened. Fred and his Dad were outside with the kids and immediately saw her, thank God. Of course it was nearly freezing outside, and she was frantic. Fred ran for her and began pulling her out. His Dad went ahead and jumped in to get her out faster. Poor little girl. We kept warning the kids to stay away from the water. It's a manmade pond right near the backdoor. Sooo, that was a scary close call, but it all turned out okay.

he sure is full of it

It was a good day overall today, but I had an unexpected explosion. A diaper explosion, that is. I should have known I was in for trouble when Oliver started grunting in his supersaucer seat. But I had no idea.

The kid was covered in poop. Ugh. And he had on pants and a onsie, so it just got everywhere when I tried to remove his clothes. It's not like I don't have experience changing diapers. I babysat for years before I got married. I even worked off and on in a daycare down the street. And this is my fourth baby.

Anyway, he decided to stick his hand into the poop and smear it on his face. UGH!! I decided to just strip him and carry him under the arms to the tub. Isabelle helped move bath toys out of the way and she got me a washcloth. All the while Oliver grinned and laughed at me. Man, I love that kid.











Right after that, Trevor fell asleep on the couch. He only does that when he's sick. Poor kid. I carried him to bed and he woke up about an hour later crying. He hasn't run a fever, but he's got that yucky sounding cough and wheeze. Giving him medicine is like having to hold down a greased pig.




But it was overall a good day. We got a lot of work done, and enjoyed a good part of the day outside. Tonight is TeamKID at church and then tomorrow is my wonderful book study group! :-)

Now BLOW

This morning I left the kids eating cereal at the table, while I unloaded the dishwasher. I usually sit and eat with them, while I read them Proverbs or Teach Me to be Wise. I read that early, though, and I needed to start on my morning chores.

Well, Trevor decided to stick Kix cereal up his nose. Don't even ask why. I have no answers. I really don't know what (if anything) goes through his head sometimes.

I didn't realize what happened at first. He stopped eating and started pointing to his nose. I went over to take a look. Sure, enough. Cereal up there. Now, if it had been Cheerios I probably cut have used tweezers to remove it. But, no, it had to be something that completely blocked his nasal passage. That really rankled me. (rankle-- the Webster Merriam word-for-the-day!)

Don't worry, I finally got it out. I had to hold his other nostril shut and have him blow repeatedly into a Kleenex. After 10 minutes, it came out.

Trevor has done wild and crazy things before. Usually, though, it's purely out of hyperactivity, and not unbridled curiosity. My kids have never been prone to eating dirt and rocks, like October's. They've never played with matches and let strangers into the house, like Suzanne's. They've never hung upside down from basketball goals, like Brook's kids. And, Ann-Marie, I'm sure your bunnies' curiosity has gotten them into trouble before, too!

But, no, our main accidents usually involve Trevor and his Tasmanian-type energy. He jumps, climbs, runs full-force. He never looks before he leaps. Anyway, I just didn't expect the whole food-up-your-nose bit from him. Although he did swallow part of a clothes pin once...

Terrible Twos Tuesday

Two phrases that mommies of 2-year olds hear all day:

"I do it myself!"
...as T pours out the milk that I've just given him
...as he attempts to pour his own (while I'm turned around cleaning up the poured out milk!)
...while he hits the ball with the wrong end of the bat
...as he "goes potty" (yeah, right) and nearly falls in
...trying to put the binky in his little brother's mouth
...kneading the bread dough, covering himself with flour
...clearing his own plate from the table, spilling peas on the way to the sink (hey, at least he tried, right?)
...as he put his night shirt on backwards
and

"Mommy, watch this!"

...as he jumps off the couch
...hangs upside down in Daddy's arms
...races E around the cars
...spins around until he falls over
...goes underwater in the bubble bath

Oh, my the ENERGY! I know kids are often over- and misdiagnosed for ADD, but I sometimes wonder...
The child must run, never walk. Must always talk loudly, apparently because it's essential to maintain the constant attention of those around him.

I read him some of his favorite books before bed, and he recited them while jumping up and down in front of me. It's a good thing I love this kid so much, but he sure does wear me out!!! That's the kind of energy that I need!

Shattered Glass and Wonderful People

Well, let's just get right to the point, shall we? I shattered my parents' very large front window today by accident. Never mind how I managed to do that. It was just one of those weird freak accidents.

The point here is that it could have been SO much worse. Most importantly, none of the kids were hurt, and they were all standing right there. Oliver was in his car seat just inches away.(That's blessing #1) I was cut several places, but nothing that required more than tweezers and bandages. It could have taken my fingers! (#2) I seriously just stood there bleeding for a second, unable to comprehend that the window was broken. I guess that is better than having a panic attack.

The third blessing for the day comes in the form of sweet friends. To everyone out there (anyone?) I recommend Griffin Glass. Thanks, guys! I called the regular # and got no answer, so I called Suzanne at home. Apparently Saturday is a regular work day for Allen and he'd already been gone all day. I'm sure I made him very late for dinner, but he went right over to my parent's house to get the window frame and give me an estimate. SO nice!!

The fourth wonderful blessing today is my parents. Such sweet understanding people!! My folks weren't home at the time, and I just dreaded calling my dad to let him know what had happened. I shouldn't have worried so much. His first concern was that no one was hurt. Then he thanked me for taking care of the matter and calling the glass place. Thanked me! I broke the window! I love my parents. People always matter more to them than things, and this is just another example. I need to follow that example, and not get bent out of shape if the kids accidentally spill something or ruin clothes or whatever. It's just not that important. Relationships endure.

So, what could have been the last straw for the day, ultimately made me realize that I'm a very blessed person. God is watching out for me. I have precious children that were safe, precious friends who helped in a time of need, and precious parents who are extremely caring and forgiving. God lets bad things happen for a reason sometimes. I know, I know, It's just a broken window. I have never denied being a little melodramatic!