Bad things come in threes

Well, I pretty much gave it away with the title, but guess where we were last night? That's right, our friendly neighborhood E.R. The boys were playing on the swing set. Ky was making the glider go as high as it could go. They had discovered a new fun game called throw the doll into the glider. They would throw the doll toward the glider as Ky kept the glider going at full speed and it would spit the doll out into the air. Did I mention that all the neighbor boys love playing at our house? Anyways, Porter was walking around the swing set and managed to walk right in front of the glider. It hit him right in the head.

We of course were horrified. We took him to the E.R. immediately. As we were walking in I was trying to calculate the odds of the same people working the front desk as the other two times. I let out a sigh of relief as I looked at the registration desk and didn't recognize anyone.

I kept waiting for the social workers to come in and separate us to get our stories. One look at my children could send off DCFS sirens around the world. Ky was wearing a flithy white shirt. Zander was of course barefoot, again. All of my children were dirty from playing in the yard. Even my little Dresden had been crawling around the yard getting dirty right before the accident.

I was grateful to get a different nurse as last time. She was friendly, and great with kids. She made jokes and helped ease the panic that Don and I were feeling. We told her this was our third trip in two weeks. She just smiled and said, "You must have boys."

Porter's cut was worse than either of Zander's cuts. It was 1 1/2 inches long and bled the whole time he was being stitched up. They wanted to do staples, but neither Porter nor I could bear the thought of staples.

It was hard. None of us liked the experience. But we are glad that Porter is okay.

So any guesses on what we did today? Yeah, the swing set is gone and Porter stayed home from school because he woke up with a massive headache.

What do your children do while you blog?

Yesterday I wrote a very long blog. I did it after Ky's football practice and Porter's soccer game. They were exhausted and watched TV for a little bit. Dresden was sitting right next to me. Zander was in the kitchen "cleaning dishes". Our computer is in the dining room right off the kitchen. So I felt like I was keeping a pretty good eye on him.

When I got off the computer I saw that Zander had been cleaning my breast pump. This is how I found him.

Porter started soccer today. All I can say was that it was cute. He was so cute trying to get a kick at the soccer ball. I liked that there were no real stars on his team or the other team for that matter. All the parents were just happy when the kids were kicking the ball in the right direction. The whole thing would have been enjoyable if I didn't have Zander doing constant headbutts into my breasts (did I mention that I am still nursing?), headstands on my lap and karate kicks in my face.

We brought our dog Lexi to the game. I know, I know, what was I thinking? All the kids thought that she looked like a cute friendly dog and wanted to pet her. Little did they know that this little miniature pinscher is just friendly to my kids. So I spent a good part of the time protecting all the naive little children from being nipped.

Dresden is teething, so she has been a handful. Dresden is the dream child. She really is. But even a dream child can't help but be a handful when they are teething. I love holding her. But it would have been nice to be able to set her down.

So enough about the game. I have other experiences to share...

Zander went to he ER not once but twice last week. There is nothing like going up to the ER desk and have everyone remember you. It is pretty embarrassing.

The first time he ran into the fireplace and cut his forehead open near his eye. It comes close to matching the scar Porter has by his eye. Zander is a tough little boy and only cried when we were going to the hospital. He kept telling me that he didn't want to go. When we were there he was doing his usual somersaults and headstands. I tried really hard to get him to sit still when the doctor was in the room.

The second time Zander cut his forehead up by his hairline. The older boys were keeping Zander busy at Smiths while I was at the check out. I obviously wasn't watching as they started spinning out of control on some stools by the picture counter. Zander came running to me with blood running down his face. The entire Smith's management was there in a flash trying to be as helpful as possible to keep me from suing them. I told them not to worry. It was my fault that I was a neglectful mom and not theirs. I did let them carry my groceries out to the car.

As we drove to the ER Zander kept telling me that he was fine and to turn around. He used great vocabulary for a three year old. He said that he just wanted to go home.

When I went the first time to the ER I left Dresden and Kyath at the neighbors. But this time I had all four children. They were wearing dirty shirts, not so clean shorts and dirt smeared legs. I fit the part of neglectful mom. The triage nurse asked me how many children I had. When I told her four, she said, "That's enough." under her breath. And she wasn't trying to be funny. I can't explain the joy I felt (sarcasm intended) when she ended up being our nurse and was the one that held Zander down while the doctor stitched him up.

I thought I was shaken up after the first trip to the ER but two trips in a week really put me over the top. The breaking point was probably when Zander woke up the second day after stitches and glue on top (it was very deep) and I noticed he had picked all the glue off. The thought of going to the ER a third time was a little too much. Don and I decided to just keep it clean and let the top part heal on its own. It is close enough to the hairline that the scar won't be too noticeable.

The most ironic part of the last couple of weeks is that I started working again and I have never been happier. I have decided that I need something that takes my mind off my crazy life. I think I am going to have to tell my therapist that I am cured and no longer have a need for her.

I wish I would have known that!

Ky has been on a football team for a total of three weeks now and I have learned more about football in these three weeks than I ever knew. No wonder I have always hated football, I never understood it. All I knew is that there were tightends (both as a position and as something to look at), a quarterback, receiver and a bunch of other guys. I still don't know all the positions or how football is played. But I am starting to understand that every position has a job to do on each play. This whole time I thought it was all about the quarterback and whomever he threw the ball to. Today I learned that players are only allowed to tackle someone if they have the ball. That makes sense, I just didn't know that.

It is fun to watch Ky run through a bunch of guys to sack the quarterback. It is also fun to watch as people try to tackle him and he just keeps on running till there are five or six guys trying to take him down at the same time. He is still learning and is not the star of the football team by any means, but it sure is fun to see him playing so well.

My complaint is that when I do try to watch Ky at practice, Zander spends the whole time jumping all over me. All the parents watch as I hold him down as a punishment. What more can I do, spank him?

Outer Space

I just found this and had to share it. Don wrote this song. He probably doesn't think I have a copy.

Breaking Dawn

I just finished Breaking Dawn. I thought it was good. I wished I would have known that there was a key in the back of the book that explained who was with who and where they were from. Now I am going to have to read it again so the connections are more clear to me.

Have any of your had a chance to read it and what did you think?

Crazy or Funny?

Don and I have been working on a project. It is still in the beginning stages. But it has taken all my freetime as of late. I guess I can post one picture to give a little clue. What do you think?