Magical

Thursday morning, dad had heart surgery! He’s had an aneurysm in his aorta for a couple of years that they have been monitoring and apparently it had grown since his last exam/checkup, so they decided to put a stint in. It’s a fairly standard procedure these days, and with 2 small incisions in the groin area, it’s much less invasive than when they would have to cut your chest open! I had a test that afternoon, so we couldn’t leave early, but after dinner, the kids and I loaded up and headed to stay with Granny & Granpa, intending to see Grandaddy at the hospital the next morning before he was released. It was nice to see G&G even though it was already bedtime by the time we got there and they both had to work the next morning. Granpa had gotten some little math workbooks at his store and brought them home. Even though they were 1st and 2nd grade level, Dellaina wanted to work on them, which meant, Wyatt did, too. She did really well, even catching on how to do “some traction” (as she reported to Greg) and take things away with her fingers.

The next morning, we woke up leisurely, ate breakfast and then headed over to Granny’s school for a quick visit. They were in the library and just going into the Star Lab when we got there! It was a big inflatable bubble we got to crawl into and they projected constellations, phases of the moon and map of the earth and the stars in the sky as we see them. It was really dark and Wyatt got a little nervous and wanted to sit in my lap, but once they saw the Lion! and the Wolf! and the snake! and the bear! it was pretty cool. By the time we left, Dad had been released and was ready to go, so we decided we’d just meet up, since the hospital was across town for us anyway and they’d be coming back by. I drove them through my old neighborhood and pointed out my house and the creek we used to play in (it’s now red/orange?! and yellow trim. with a dark brown garage door) and then went to play on the playground at McDonald’s. We ate and then went over to meet up with Mammie & Grandaddy, who’d gone to eat at the clubhouse at Jennings Mill. They were just finishing up when we got there and I was surprised how well dad looked. Other than his hospital hair and PJ pants, he was very active and alert. I was just expecting more feebleness, I guess! (Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers! He seems to be doing really well) So, naturally, I loaded the kids up and sent them on with the guy that had just gotten out of the hospital from having heart surgery! They headed to the lake and after dropping off birthday cards in Morgan’s mailbox, I headed back home. The had a great weekend with beautiful weather and lots of doting from aunts and uncles at the lake.

I got in a little nap and then went for my run. On which, I fell. Totally busted in the first cul-de-sac, running back down the hill, so lots of momentum. I stepped on a pinecone or sweetgum ball and rolled my right ankle, landing hard on my left knee and hands. I laid there and cried and watched my leg jump and shake for a bit and examined the layers of skin now on the inside of my pants, but I managed to get up and walk a bit and then kept going for my “run”, even more of a hobble than usual. My ankle didn’t hurt much, thankfully. I’ve rolled and sprained it so many times, it’s been stretched out a bit by now, I think. But my knee is very banged up, bruised and sore. I’ve been limping around all weekend. It’s especially hard on the stairs and I’m doing the Dellaina: taking them together – right steps down, left joins it; right steps down, left joins it; rather than right on a step, then left on the next step below, then right on the one below that, etc. After showering and icing it for a bit, I went out to dinner with my kickboxing gal pals. Good company, yummy salmon tacos and 2 “street margaritas” served in mason jars helped nurse my wounds! And the long island and divine lemon cupcake accompanied by live music was soothing for the soul as well!

Saturday, I got to sleep in, then went up to the neighborhood pool with Greg and trimmed the Crepe Mrytles around the pool area. We had to use our ladder to climb the fence because the lock box with the key in it wouldn’t open. We are the pruning bandits! Look out! It was nice to be outside in the glorious weather, working side by side; sometimes quietly, sometimes easily conversing. It was like old times, before the kids, but typically, we’d remark on the kids and what they’d be doing or saying, so also different.

I finally went to the dentist that afternoon for the first time in 2 1/2 years since losing my job/insurance. It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, although it did take a long time. A few weeks ago, I felt like I had food stuck behind my permanent retainer on my bottom teeth and was trying to floss and popped it off one side! So, I had to pull it off the other side and realized, I just had that much buildup behind the bar from not being able to get to it well! So, it’s been nice to have free access for a change and it was great to have the buildup professionally cleaned off!

When I got back, I took a little nap and then hobbled around the neighborhood. Then got in a walk with Greg & the dogs; also like old times. We watched some shows and both observed by this point in the day, it was much different than our normal routine, because the kids would be upstairs in bed. But they weren’t.

I slept in again on Sunday while Greg went in to work for a couple of hours. I did some laundry and cleaning around the house and then headed outside. I limped around the neighborhood again and then helped Greg dig up and roll a massive rock to border the flower beds in the backyard. We spread mulch there and up at the mailbox and felt fairly accomplished. Can’t believe it’s February and we’re out in short sleeves sweating so much!

Then, after a brief nap, I drove down to Pemberton Park, near the World of Coca-Cola and the GA Aquarium and met up with mom and the kiddos. They were eating at Johnny Rockets and their hair was very bedraggled and endearing. They were animated and excited about the upcoming show. We walked over to the tent to see Peter Pan! It’s called a 360 degree theater, where the stage is in the middle and seating goes mostly all the way around. They project scenery up onto the tent walls and ceiling behind you and all the way around and it’s a fascinating experience. You felt like you were flying along with them and ducked when they went under bridges or flinched when the cannons were shot out at you and boomed! We also all jumped at the end with the crocodile had a very large, deep burp after eating Captain Hook. The kids were enthralled. Wyatt was on the edge of his seat a lot and would sit with his hands covering his mouth at times, anticipating. Dellaina was giggling and also clinging, but it was just so wonderful to experience with them and the light and joy in their eyes. Tinkerbell was a hoot – so expressive and definitely the comic relief. The crocodile was a very cool puppet clearly controlled by 2 men, but the growl vibrated your chest and it was very cool. There was so much wire work with acrobatic flying scenes and the Mermaids were ribbon trapeze artists. Tigerlily, the Indian girl had a dance that was entertaining. The end fight scene had a “slow motion” part acted out that was amusing (like The Matrix) It was fun to have the kids clapping right along with everyone after different scenes and at the end when all of the actors come out to take their bow (or aerial flip as Tinkerbell did). We kind of jumped up at the end to leave and Dellaina broke down. It was late and a long weekend, I think she was let down that it was over and then she started crying that she wanted to go back to the lake. Wyatt cried about going back to the lake, too, until I reminded him that Daddy was at home waiting to see him. Then, he started crying about wanting a sword he saw 2 other boys had, but we’d already exited the tent by then, thankfully.

Check Up

Dellaina had her 5 year check up today. As soon as we walk in to the room, she notices the Band-aid stuck to the side of the nurse’s caddy up on the table and starts tearing up! I told her, she had her shot in October at Wyatt’s appointment, so shouldn’t have one today; it’ll be ok. Wyatt continues to point it out and ask about it. I made the mistake of telling him last night as he was going to bed that he didn’t have to get a shot, but just a nasal sniff thing for her Flu booster. And he started crying about not wanting the “sniffle up thing” either. We managed to avoid talking about it directly for most of the day and when time came, he did really well and didn’t cry! Dellaina did have her finger pricked and got the Band-aid after all, but did pretty well. We didn’t get much pee the first time we tried in the cup, but after waiting a bit, we tried again and were able to get some in it and everything checked out fine. We saw Emma when we came out of the bathroom! She’s following us around on break it seems. Dellaina weighs 50lbs (92%) and is 44 3/4 inches tall (88%). Her BP was 86/60. She passed the vision and hearing tests and as the doctor said, “she looks good, guess you can keep her!”

We ran by the grocery store on the way home and they played in the left over snow until Greg got home and they came in to take a warm bath. Then, rather than watch one of their new movies, they wanted to watch Bolt. again.

Family Tradition

Just like last year, Little Man was sick for Dellaina’s birthday party again. It started middle of the night. Early Friday morning, Wyatt came into our room and told me he had gone potty in his Pull Up; he couldn’t hold it. I get up with him and we go to the bathroom and I tuck him back into his bed. Greg asked me if he was ok, and I said, yes, but it was strange that he’d gotten up at 3:30 in the morning. Not much later, he’s up saying he’s “got to go sick” and sure enough ends up throwing up in the sink. I mentioned to Greg that part of it looked like rice and he hadn’t eaten rice – possibly in his entire life, but certainly not recently. Greg asked if he’d eaten something he shouldn’t have? hmm. I finally remembered he’d had ABC’s and 123’s for lunch, so it must have been pieces of that pasta, right? And, he’d been outside during the take using a rock to break up the frozen water in the dog’s water bowl. So, I asked him, “Wyatt, did you eat any of the ice from the dog water bowl?” “Umm, I spit it out.” nice. So, I’ve informed him that’s probably what made him sick so maybe he won’t continue to eat it! We were scheduled to go to Dellaina’s classroom holiday party. I was one of the main parent planners and in charge of some of the activities. We’d missed the Halloween party because of the cruise. He fell back asleep and I was hopeful, but Wyatt continued to be sick. He woke up from our bed getting sick. Then, fell back asleep while I was getting Dellaina ready and when he got up again, he was still throwing up. It wasn’t much at this point, because there wasn’t much left, but he was straining and spitting and all of that loveliness. I had to at least get Dellaina to school and drop off supplies, so poor Wyatt had our faithful bathroom trashcan bucket riding in the car to drop him off at Greg’s work while I took Dellaina to school. He was so pale. We came back home and he curled up on the couch with snuggle buddies to watch a movie.

Boss couldn’t handle it and had to come get some attention, too.

He got up once or twice to go strain over the toilet for a bit. I tried getting him to eat, but he wouldn’t/couldn’t and any sips or water or Powerade were coming back up within 10-15 minutes. Finally, about 11, when he was still straining and not holding anything down I called the doctor’s office. A nurse returned my call by 11:45. I was hoping they’d just call something in for me to get him to stop throwing up, but of course, they wanted to see him. But, after lunch. So, we got an appointment at 1:30. He fell asleep, but woke up at 12:15 to get sick. Then, fell asleep again, but woke up at 12:40 to get sick. Then, we both fell asleep and woke up at 1:24. oops. Rush out the door, sick in his trashcan a little. Get to the doctor’s office and as I’m getting him out of the car I think they are having a sewage problem, but realize it’s Wyatt. We have the runny diarrhea now. We go to the bathroom and I have to put his pants back on to go out to the car and THANK GOODNESS I had an extra pair of underwear. I grab a PullUp, too, just in case. Good thing, because after another bout of loudly getting sick in the bathroom, he goes in his underwear again! Just a little bit – it’s so runny, it’s hard to control. He’s completely wiped out, pale and drained by this point. The nurse calls us while we are in the bathroom. He lays down on the exam table while I talk to her. The doctor comes in and exams him and says she’s going to go ahead and give him some Zofran to help him stop throwing up. From that point on, Wyatt started improving. Just the knowledge that he was getting something helped him! He stayed sitting up and became so much more active and alert. We had to take the 1/2 pill, let it dissolve and then wait 10 minutes and start taking sips of Gatorade over the next 15-20 minutes. I read stories, but Wyatt was eyeing that liquid and kept asking if it had been 10 minutes yet. He still did well to just take a few little sips at a time every few minutes. He managed to hold it down and was a completely different boy leaving than he’d been when we came in. We went to Greg’s work to get Dellaina and even went to BJ’s to pick up supplies for Dellaina’s party. He played when we got home and had Gatorade and then 2 pieces of toast and fruit for dinner, holding it all down and seeming much improved. He slept through the night.

Saturday  morning, he ate breakfast and seemed improved. Granny & Granpa came up to spend the day with us. Wyatt had Winter Blast at gymnastics, so we went to that at 10. It was really crowded. He did well, but got worn out, so Greg, Granpa and Wyatt headed home. Granny, Dellaina & I had headed out for her special surprise for her birthday. . .

Sunset on Sinclair

Last weekend, the kids and I took off after school on Friday and headed to the lake. We got there just in time for the sunset and played for a bit outside. Mammie had a meeting in Atlanta and we beat her home, but she got back before 7:00, which I was shocked by considering Friday traffic. We had a good time and the weather turned out gorgeous.

Saturday, Grandaddy got an early start on his long project list. After some cartoons, breakfast and getting dressed we headed outside to help out a bit. Dellaina & I helped paint some boards for the front porch ceiling. Wyatt assisted Grandaddy with. . something. I’m not sure, but know it involved sand and water. Up to his knees. Whether it was supposed to or not. They both took naps with Mammie and I had a long one as well. They were set up with a movie while we watched the GA-Auburn game, which started out so well. *sigh. I went for my run and then was able to drag them outside for the last bit of light of the day.

 

		Sunset on Sinclair VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

Wyatt hadn’t eaten much at lunch and wasn’t doing much better at dinner despite lots of encouragement and strong suggestions. Dellaina tried to whine about the choices and then he started up, even saying his tummy said he didn’t want to eat. And as I was clearing plates, still pushing 1 more bit, he coughed and then . . threw up. I managed to get him onto the linoleum and off the carpet between the cough and actually sickness. And they were on their way to baths anyway. He did fine the next day and Monday, but then woke up Tuesday talking about how he’d gotten sick at the lake and eventually turned into him heaving. he didn’t have anything in his stomach, so he didn’t actually produce much, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. He eventually fell back asleep as I was getting Dellaina ready for school and I let him sleep for about 20-30 minutes, before we had to go. I had a test and had to drop them off with Greg. He ate a muffin and seemed ok, so Greg took them to school. But, he got a call around 10 that he’d been sick, so he picked him up and they went home. He ate oatmeal and played while Greg tried to work. When I got out of class, where I’d stayed late to finish up lab, I felt bad he’d been away from work and Wyatt was still feeling badly. I got him down for naps, but it was already 1:00, so Emily was off and kind enough to go pick up Dellaina from school for me at 2:30, so I wouldn’t have to wake Wyatt up (remember, he’d been up since 5:00!!) He slept for a long time, I finally went up to wake him up and he was flushed, btu not overly hot otherwise. He whined a bit and was slow to wake up. I fixed chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for both kids that night, but the soup wasn’t well received and I’m sure they went to bed hungry. He did manage to eat most of the sandwich and hold it down. Wednesday he stays home with me and I was expecting it to be mostly recovering/on the upswing, but he was still feeling yucky and not eating much. So, after naps and picking up Dellaina, we went to the doctor to be checked out. It had lasted so long I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t his ears causing issues or something else. Turns out, he’s just unlucky and had both upper respiratory and lower digestive issues, but his ears and throat all looked fine. He ate well last night and went to school yesterday and is home with me again. Hopefully, we’re doing better and will have a fun weekend at the lake again. And then to G&G’s for Thanksgiving and then back to the lake for round 2 of Thanksgiving. The kids will be gone for the whole week! I have different things, including class Tuesday morning I’ll be going back and forth some. Greg is taking the kids and dogs down to the lake tonight. After a baby shower way out in Villa Rica tomorrow afternoon, I’ll go down.

Life Experiences

We finally took Dellaina to the dentist in October (18th)! A fun pediatric dentist office space with lots of animals painted on the walls like at the Pediatrician’s office and a play house and TVs on the ceiling above the exam chairs and tokens for the gumball machines at check out with little toys. It was overall an ok experience as far as the actual exam and personnel went (her teeth are crowded and if they are crowded now, when her big teeth come in, they will definitely be crowded – so will have to pull some?!) It just took a REALLY long time! Her appointment was at 10:00. Flow-wise, it seems like it would be a good idea to have several different little “waiting” areas, as long as you kept moving, but when you really had to wait a long time in the initial waiting room, then get moved to get x-rays, then to the exam chair, then to another waiting area to see the actual dentist, not just the hygienist that cleaned your teeth and then again to ANOTHER waiting area to get checked out?! It was over 2 hours by the time we left and I couldn’t even take her back to school at that point, because she had missed lunch, so I’d need to get her something to eat and then it was just pointless, so we went home and ate and then took a long nap, which I really enjoyed! She was upset at first about not being able to go back to school, but was ok in the end. And when we picked up Wyatt she exclaimed, “guess where I got this prize. .at the tennis!” [dentist] haha. Then, yesterday, Wyatt asked, “can we go to the tennis?” and I was confused, but he said, “where Dellaina got that little toy” and I realized he meant the dentist! I told him we weren’t going just yet and he protested, “but, I’m 3 years old!” touche. But, we’re going to go in 6 months when Dellaina is due again.

Also in October (21st), Dellaina had her first-ever field trip! She was beyond excited. Everyday she would tell me something else: how the seat belts were different colors and you had to match them up and they went over your lap, not from your shoulder. And when the bus got to railroad tracks, everyone had to be quiet, but your finger on your mouth and raise your other hand so the bus driver could listen for a train. And she was going to be with Ms. Rhoda and Quinn. You could just tell they were going over things in class and she was REALLY absorbing it all. They went up to Pettit Creek Farms in Cartersville (so a fairly long way!) and it was a pumpkin patch and they did a corn maze where Ms. Rhoda told me they got so lost and she had to cheat and use her phone to get them out! Later, Dellaina asked me, “what's cheating?” They picked out a small pumpkin they got to bring home and they had a picnic lunch there. They didn’t get naps, but she claims she slept on the bus on the way home.

On Monday, Oct. 25th at 11:40 my phone rings and I look down and see Pediatric Physicians is calling me. CRAP! Wyatt’s 3 year check up was scheduled for 11:30 and I’d COMPLETELY forgotten. I’d remembered over the weekend, just didn’t think about it at all that morning. So, I rescheduled with a different doctor for that afternoon after naps at 2:30. But, then I started thinking about how Dellaina gets done at 2:30, but in order to get there on time, I’d need to pick her up early and I’d brought cupcakes in for Wyatt’s birthday for his class to have as their afternoon snack, which happens at 2:30, so I called back and re-scheduled the re-schedule for 3:15!! On the ride there Dellaina was kind enough to point out to Wyatt that he’d be getting his 3 year shots (which I didn’t know one way or another, but we don’t MENTION the S word!!!) So, he starts crying and whimpering. Even in the waiting room and especially when the nurse calls our name and starts to finally calm down a little as she’s talking to me and checking his temperature and listening to his heart beat, painlessly, and as she’s rubbing his finger with an alcohol swab, and holding up the tiny little torture device that then pricks his little finger! He wailed like he’d been so betrayed and wouldn’t stop for a while – it took some effort getting over it. Then, I’m trying to get him undressed for the doctor to come check him out and he’s fighting me and still crying and Dellaina is “momomomom” and I snap for her to justwaitonesecond because I am CLEARLY not doing anything else and might have muttered something about it being her fault he started crying in the first place because she told him about the shots. So, then SHE starts wailing. And I want to kind of just laugh and walk out at that point. The doctor comes in and Wyatt checks out well – 36lbs (87%) 38 1/4 inches tall (63%) his BP was 85/90 which is a little low, but nothing else was mentioned about it. And turns out, he doesn’t need shots this time! Just a nasal mist flu shot! Whew! I ask about Dellaina getting a flu shot while she’s here and he checks out her records and mentions that at her 5 year, she could also have a shot for pneumococcal something or other (pneumonia, meningitis, etc.). Or something about standards were changing and we could wait until March and since she’d be 5, she wouldn’t need it anymore but, if she was prone to ear infections (yes!) then it might be good to go ahead and do it. So. . she came back from the waiting room where we’d sent her to watch TV and lo and behold, Wyatt’s not getting any shots – but you are, my dear! Karma is a bitch! So, she starts up wailing again and I feel badly, but I had to tell her rather than just wait until the nurse came in to give it to her. She did scream and cry, but they both made it through the nasal mist, somehow, amidst the sniffling and tears. It was just a debacle, but at least now we can go to her 5 year check up in December knowing she won’t need any shots!

Ick

Early Thursday morning, Dellaina woke up crying and saying her ear hurt. She was pointing to the ear she’d hit on the picnic bench. I ask if it hurts or feels funny when she opens her mouth wide and she says no. I gave her some Motrin and told her to try to get back to sleep (to lay on the other side) and expected to be calling the doctor and scheduling an appointment for after school. But, when she woke up a few hours later for school, the first thing she said was, “my ear doesn’t hurt!” so I was relieved and thought maybe she’d just slept on it folded and it was still tender or something. She doesn’t mention it again and I ask her after school if it had hurt her at all. Then, that night when she’s talking to Granny she mentions it hurts. After the doctor’s office is closed. She wakes up crying again early Saturday morning and pointing to the other ear and says it “feels clogged”. So, we get ready and call the doctor when they open (thankfully, they do have some Saturday hours from 8:30-11:30) and go at 9:45. He checks the Left ear first and says there is some fluid and then checks the Right ear and almost immediately says, “yup, it’s infected. So, I’d call it 1 1/2 ear infections” and we get a Rx for Augmentin, our old “Snowman Juice” 2xday for 10 days yucky nemesis. He was kind enough to check Wyatt’s ears for me, too and said they looked fine, because both had been coughing and congested. Winter colds are bad enough in the winter; I really despise getting them in the hot summer. She finishes up her medicine tomorrow (or maybe Tuesday, since it looks like we have enough left probably for an extra day) and hasn’t complained about her ears beyond the first or second day, but still has a cough as does Wyatt, along with the runny nose. Welcome back to school full time!

Weekend extension

After the YRGR, I dunked the kids in the tub and put them to bed for a little bit. A nice big thunderstorm was rolling in, which helps with sleeping, except we had plans for a pool party (slated as a crawfish boil, but I chose the hot dog option) that evening at a friend from the gym. We eventually made it over where everyone was huddled under tents (had just missed Cassi and crew), but it finally moves on and clears up and the kids do swim for a little bit, but really enjoyed the sand more. I only took 2 pictures:

 

Sunday, I went to my study session and then we headed to Granny & Granpa’s. Granpa had gotten stung by yellow jackets – 17 times! while cleaning out a flower bed of leaves around the house. It was nice just to have the afternoon without running around. We went to IHOP for dinner.

Monday morning, we went to Beth’s for haircuts! She straightened Dellaina’s hair and it made her look so different and grown up! Beth commented, “uh-oh, I think I’m in trouble: I made you look too old!” and Dellaina looks at me a little concerned, but somewhat understanding that she’s joking, “she’s not really in trouble, is she?”

Before:

 

 

After:

I loved his face while being sprayed with the cold water bottle:

 

Then, we met Granny at Kohl’s who was kind enough to treat me to a shopping spree! The kids had Eeyore and Tigger dolls and did pretty well playing and “watching movies” ? Then, we ran by McDonald’s for them to play on the playground and Mammie ran over to see us in between her busy day. We headed back to G&G’s to eat lunch and just kept them up at this point while I ran to dad’s office to have more of my mole excised. He and his nurse were a little shocked at the gaping hole that still remained on my chest and I said, “I was wondering what it was supposed to look like” and they replied, “not that!” so it wasn’t healing properly and ended up having to take out more than intended because of it. And I think it put up a fight. At one point I asked dad, “are you sure your blade is sharp enough?” and he laughed. The bleeding hole was nearly the size of a quarter by the time he was done and has 7 stitches, but I’m glad for the stitches, because that really closed it up! It’s been pretty tender, actually, which for some reason, surprised me. Exercise and jumping and running (bouncing) have been difficult.

The kids fell asleep on the ride home since I didn’t put in a movie. Tuesday we were back to school as usual.

Thursday

started out much like any other. We got up, brushed teeth, got dressed and made it downstairs. Dellaina picks up these foam inserts from some flip-flops Granny sent me and started pretending they were large teeth. I grab the camera to document because Granny will get a laugh out of it and it’s so creative. . .

 

mere moments later there is a tussle – perhaps over the foam teeth? I can’t recall, but it’s at the end of the couch and Dellaina jumps back to avoid Wyatt’s advance and manages to fall, very hard, all into the sofa table. I think she thought she was at the edge of the couch and was expecting to brace against it, but she was right at the end and rolled around and with all the grace she is lacking tripped over herself and ploughed into the table, hitting her head and back and elbow. I knew it was a hard lick, and examined her and tried to just comfort her. She stopped crying and we had moved on and I was in the kitchen and notice something on my sleeve, right at the inner elbow. It was too early to be chocolate, so I called Dellaina back over to investigate and find the source of blood. Sure enough, her hair was sticky and matted already! I found a gash and still in denial, I’m not even thinking it’s bad yet, but she’s already wailing about “how bad is it? I don’t want to go to the hospital! What will they have to do? I don’t want stitches!!!!” thanks to her previous experience with stitches. oh yikes. It is a pretty good gash/hole. The more I look at it the more I realize we do need someone to look at it because it’s not staying closed and it seems to be growing (it wasn’t, just every time I looked, it was bigger than I thought) I called the doctor’s office, hoping we’d just be able to go there, but they said if she did need stitches, they wouldn’t do it, so we should just go on down to Scottish-Rite. So, Dellaina is still panicking and I try to get us loaded up and after a slight insurance card debacle, we are on the road. They are very nice and there is not a long wait, thankfully. There was a fun huge metal marble run in a glass cage that kept them entertained, too. Everyone kept making comments about Wyatt, though because he’s so “active” about not running or being careful. *sigh. When we get to a room, the nurse goes head and puts some ointment, a cotton ball and tape over the wound. When the doctor comes in, he can’t really look at it, so has to ask her about it and Dellaina is freaking out, and he assures her she’s just going to get string Band-aids, it will be fine. She will be so cool to show her friends her string Band-aids, no stitches. So, she calms down a little bit and even laughs some. (I had tried to make jokes about her trying to dye her head red like mama, but I’d never used blood before or how we couldn’t have a hole in her head, because we didn’t want all of her big brains to fall out!) I was a little concerned that we’d come all this way for just some Band-aids and he hadn’t even looked at it to really know. They explain that the ointment is a topical anesthetic to numb the area and will take about 20 minutes and then they will come back. (it didn’t occur to me to think why it’d need to be numb for just Band-aids) An hour or so later, they finally come back in to get started and want her to lay down. She starts flipping out, even though she still thinks it’s just Band-aids (as do I) They are really good at talking to her and distracting and asking questions to get her talking and I do see that he is actually “sewing” with thread and all, but I’m so distracted trying to distract her, I still don’t really “get it” halfway thinking, oh, maybe when he looked at it, he thought it did need something more and when he’s all done, I start to kind of ask, “so.. she needed” and he interjects, “yup, 2. we just don’t use the ‘s’ word around here” aaaaahhhhh! smart! So, we get loaded up and head home. Poor little clumsy girl with her magnetic (to wood?!) head. All of the bumps, knots, stitches, scars and injuries she has incurred at only 4 1/2 years of age. *sigh. (She’s got a scar on her eyelid that I remember happening – remember the blood/gash, but can’t remember how or when it happened and I cannot find a post on it. grrr) Anyway, here’s a shot of the wound, post stitches, once we got home and were eating lunch.

  

After all of that, when talking to Mammie on the phone, I thought it was so cute, because she nearly bragged about getting a sticker AND and bracelet at the hospital like they were really special treats. The sticker said, “please don’t give me any food or water” and the bracelet was the ID tag with her name and info on it! After I had cut it off, she wanted to wear it again and show it off!

Long weekend

Wednesday, we went to the doctor for Dellaina to redo her hearing test (she passed with flying colors this time – amazing what she can hear when her ears aren’t completely clogged!) and she had made a few complaints about her chest hurting her and hurting when she swallows, so with all of Wyatt’s breathing/lung issues, I want to make sure she was ok, so scheduled to see the doctor as well. I wasn’t really sure they were legitimate complaints because they would come when she woke up and was fussy or just off the wall times, but it was more than twice, so I wanted to be sure. She checked out fine and the doctor thought/mentioned acid reflux. oooooh. I hadn’t made that connection, smart thinking. Not sure if that’s what’s really going on or not, but it makes sense/matches her complaints, so we’ll just try to pay attention to her eating, etc. After the docs, I decided to go check out a fish store for some new fish for the fish tank! I had wanted some for my birthday since we got the tank all cleaned up. sort of. But, when we get there (after we’ve gotten out, because all of the neon signs are on – except the one that says “Open”) I realize they don’t open until noon. It’s just after 11, so I call Greg to see if he can look up any other places we might could try since the kids were ready to bring home some fish! We run to Party City to take back some things I had left over from Dellaina’s party that didn’t get used and head to one other place I knew about, but no one really offered to help us and I wasn’t sure about the prices or selection without comparing, so we loaded up and headed BACK to the other store where we ended up getting: 6 snails, 3 hermit crabs, 2 Emerald crabs, 2 other snails and 3 small (bright blue Damsel) fish! Lots of cleaning things to help clean the tank before getting lots of expensive fish. Already, we are down to: 5 snails, the hermit crabs move a lot, so it’s hard to keep tabs, 1 Emerald crab and it’s hard to call on the 2 snails if either is really still around, one disappeared as soon as I put him in (they bury down in the sand and supposed come back out, but he’s never resurfaced) and 2 fish! *sigh.

 

 

 

Thursday, we met Marcy for dinner at O’Charleys. It was fun. I unloaded a big box of maternity clothes for her to use! Yay! They find out this week if they are having a boy or a girl!! Then, we headed on down to the lake.

 

I stayed and played Friday – it was a BEAUTIFUL day. Nice and sunny, so not too cold and not raining! We played outside on the swing set and trampoline and bicycles and walking on the seawall to throw pine cones and sticks in the water.

 

 

 

 

I drove back late Friday evening after traffic had settled down, so it was after 9:00 by the time I got home. Greg and I carried on an actual conversation without interruption and caught up, then watched an episode of House while he ate. Then, he went to bed while I steam cleaned the carpets!

We slept in a little on Saturday morning, but then started cleaning the house, especially the main level. I’m talking wiping down baseboards and cabinets and actually moving things off the shelves to dust type cleaning! And we kept moving lots of the kids stuff downstairs into the basement so that now we can hardly manuvre down there, but things looked cleaner upstairs! (like the high chair, Diaper Genie, step stool, etc.) I had my kickbox divas over for a birthday dinner celebrating my own, Cassi and Eeman’s birthdays this month and next. It was so great to all get together and we had some entertaining conversation! But I started getting a migraine and by the end of the meal, I got nauseas and I kept disappearing to the bathroom. Any time I tried to go to the kitchen to clean something up, I got violently ill, until in the end, I couldn’t hold out any longer and lost all of the yummy food we’d had (stuffed shells, steamed veggies, bread, yummy chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing and Andie’s mint chocolate shavings and red velvet cake!) what a way to end a dinner party! Let me tell you how fast everyone cleared out! They were so helpful, though, loading the dishwasher for me and shaking off the placemats and leaving food and wine! It was such a fun evening, I hated for it to end the way it did.

 

Cassi helping me try to get people to move to the more comfortable couch rather than standing around in the cramped kitchen.

Jenny and Cassi

Lisa (a dancer: was on MTV back in the day!), Andie (our instructor) and Eeman (races motorbikes with her hubby!)

 

 

 

 

 

Andie, Jenny and Dawn (Cassi’s sister-in-law)

 

 

Andie, Jenny, Dawn, Lisa, Eeman, Cassi and Dana

yummy cupcakes by Cassi

Cassi and Andie curled up after a good meal

But, I went upstairs and curled up in bed. Greg had gone out to dinner with Josh – they actually went to Andretti and raced go-carts first and then to Chili’s. I called him and heard when he got home not too much later, but I was trying to sleep through it. It was still lingering some Sunday morning, but I took some more Excedrin and took it easy and eventually it left me alone and I could function again. I took a long walk with the dogs (in the rain) rather than a pounding run and have my head throbbing, I just didn’t want to risk it coming back on, because we had more dinner plans! Doug, Morgan and Beth came by to drop off the dogs while we headed down to Emily’s house for a YUMMY dinner of chicken pot pie! My favorite and it was a good one from Costco. And Morgan made a delicious carrot cake! It was fantastic. It was fun to have some solo time for Samuel without my kids vying for attention, too. I really enjoyed watching and interacting with him and hearing all that he’s learning – words and colors and body parts and animal sounds. It’s such a great, fun age. After he went to bed, I got a fun Apples to Apples game that we then played for a long time. It was a great evening and I love getting together with my siblings.

 

 

Beth and Garris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doug and Morgan are staying at our house and Garris and Beth drove on to the lake.

I’m headed back down to the lake in the morning – mom’s taking the day off, so I’m looking forward to spending the day and heading back on Tuesday morning.