Thursday, June 30

a little pink

a little pink

I just found out that my friend who has five boys,



yes, Five,



is pregnant with a girl!!!!!



Congratulations, Amanda!



Your little girl will have the best five body guards around



when she starts dating!



Wow! I am so excited for her!




***

and speaking of boys...I need one of these!!!




Tuesday, June 21

soapy hands



Keeping little hands busy is tough sometimes. And with school out for some children, it can be even more challenging for caretakers to keep the peace. Sarah posted a great idea to keep little hands busy! I am trying this idea soon!

Saturday, June 18

fathers

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father’s Day to the men out there who pick up their asses (yea, I just said that) and work hard day in and day out, teach their children what it means to keep their promises and do the thankless, grunt work like nobodies business!!! Also, Happy Father’s Day to the women out there who have to fill both parenting roles and do the same as above!

A Big Shout Out to the fathers who are away from their families and friends sacrificing more than I can ever imagine to proudly serve this country!! Thank You! You make all of us proud!

A big thanks to my husband for all the crazy stuff he did this past week
; sitting through a ridiculously long meeting, reading a book with me, banging up the concrete in our back yard every day, buying metal trash cans and a new shovel, riding bikes with the boys, taking son to the doctors, holding son down to get antibiotic shots while he screamed, picking up prescriptions, taking other son to a cool park that is far away, helping oldest son with music theory questions, watching four kids so a friend and I could go to a funeral, fixing the printer, setting up traps, playing LEGO ®, Playmobil, Matchbox ® cars and dress up with the boys, making awesome breakfasts, catching spiders, filling up both of our gas tanks, picking the kids up from grandmas, taking me out for a dinner and a movie and kissing me under the full moon!

He goes above and beyond and we are thankful!


A big thanks to my Dad, who took the time to show me how to use tools and also to not be afraid to take things apart, how to paint a room, made me hand-made birthday cards, helped me buy my first car, taught me to question things further, how to be frugal and how to play a mean game of ping-pong!
But most of all, he showed me how to show kindness to the least of these. Thanks, Dad!


my sister and me (with the 70's sunflowers hat) with my Dad


Friday, June 17

the bee sting



I mentioned that my youngest got stung by a bee on his toe last week. Well, the story didn’t end there. He was stung Tuesday, June 7th. I examined his toe and thought he broke it by the red swelling accompanied by the ear piercing screams. Upon looking under the toe I saw a stinger. I scraped it out with the end of a pair of tweezers, cleaned it and put baking soda paste on the site. I gave him some ice water to drink and my middle son promptly made him a get well card that had my youngest standing among a beautiful bed of flowers shooting at a bee. Nice. I think he was mad at the bee as we all were still recovering from the stomach flu.

We soaked his foot in some cool water and then elevated it and we all watched a movie. Because I am curious, I saved the stinger on a glass slide. The next morning after the memory and pain had faded a bit, I asked the boys if they wanted to look at the stinger under the microscope. They found it fascinating. You could actually see the tube were the venom comes out.

By the afternoon he was able to walk normally and each day the swelling and redness subsided. He made sure to tell each new person we saw about his bee sting. If they had the time, he would sit down, take off his sandal and lift up his little five-year-old leg and proudly show them his wound under his toe.

So skip to this past Tuesday, June 14th. My little, bee sting survivor comes into the kitchen and tells me his same foot hurts. I examine his foot and sure enough his foot is swollen again. But this time it covers more of his foot and his toe is hot. My mother-alert-system went into full swing! I let him soak his foot in some cool water as I hopped on the internet for symptoms of a bee sting. Sure enough the sting can be deep enough to get infected. I called the pediatrician and she had him in the examining room and treating him in under 45 minutes. (Yup, that was fast!)

She said there was still a piece of the stinger deep inside which she dug out. My little guy was so brave until………he heard the doctor say that he also needed three shots of antibiotics in his little tush!

"Oh, No!"

He screamed and wiggled and cried. Who wouldn’t?

In case you are picturing me in the pediatrician’s office with my teary son, I wasn’t. I had a busy morning and a viewing for a friend’s mother who had passed away. I commissioned my husband and he bravely took, comforted and held our little one as all the drama unfolded! I love my husband!

So it actually turned out to be serious; the beginning stage of cellulitis.

Cellulitis is caused by a type of bacteria entering the skin, usually by way of a cut, abrasion, or break in the skin. This break does not need to be visible. Group A Streptococcus and Staphylococcus are the most common of these bacteria, which are part of the normal flora of the skin, but normally cause no actual infection while on the skin's outer surface.
Predisposing conditions for cellulitis include insect or spider bite, blistering, animal bite, tattoos, pruritic (itchy) skin rash, recent surgery, athlete's foot, dry skin, eczema, pregnancy, diabetes and obesity, which can affect circulation, as well as burns and boils.


I am so glad I followed my instincts, it could have been really bad. We picked up a strong prescription of antibiotics which he needs to take for 7 to 10 days and a cream for the itching. He also has to stay out of direct sunlight for that time period too. That should be interesting. He came home with a chocolate snowball and a chocolate mustache on his upper lip. All signs of tears were gone by the time they arrived home! Did I mention I love my husband?!! The pediatrician outlined the red swelling with a pen and said the swelling should recede and if it does not or grows further than the pen line to bring him back in.

It has been hard for the little guy; resting on the couch with his foot on a pillow, being able to watch more movies than Mom allows, getting extra attention, snuggling with Elizabeth and having to drink yummy, grape flavored medicine. I think he will make it!





And again I am humbled and thankful…

We are so blessed to be living in a country where we can access clean water, electricity, drivable roads, higher education to go into the medical field, doctors, medicine, pharmacists and where we can pay for great health care! We can not take these things for granted! These precious things should be noted and protected. I am constantly reminded that there are many who do not have access to these things.


By the way, the orange hat he is wearing is the same hat he came home from the hospital when he was born. I told him it would be too small for him to wear it. Guess I was wrong, again!

Monday, June 13

inexpensive water play idea



I have a small blow-up pool that I set up over the summer. It’s just big enough for the boys to splash around in and for friends and cousins to join in too! Last year I threw in some water toys and a craft pom-pom. They made up a zillion games with that pom-pom floating around and being tossed about. The game they came up with and played the most was “Don’t Let It Touch You!” They would squeal and giggle if it got close and dive away to attempt an escape.

This year I thought I would expand on that game. I pulled out some colored foam circles that I got from a dollar store. I used a permanent marker and wrote some words on them: “Float, Swim, Hop and Stop.” The game: If a circle touches you, you have to do what it says! The boys loved it and wrote some of their own too! They are inexpensive, colorful, easy to collect and store for the next day. Just make sure the kids are past the oral stage.

You can make it more challenging for older kids or keep it simple.


As my dad loved to say……”Necessity is the mother of invention”










my three boys

Friday, June 10

he found them



He found them.

He hasn’t fit in them for some time and I set them aside in a pile of clothes to give away to a cousin.

But he found them.

From the other room, he said, “Mom, I want to show you something. Are you ready?”

“Yes, I am ready.”

His face was beaming with true love as he rounded the corner and galloped towards me.

“My Cowboy Pants!!! They Still Fit!!!”

He didn’t mind that his 2T cowboy pants actually looked liked knickers.

He found them.



Like an old friend they were inseparable all day!

Wednesday, June 8

down and out



...and just as we were sliding into June quite nicely,
we all got the stomach bug.

Y u c k .

It was not fun and we are still recovering.

But I am happy…

- I got my flowers planted last week
- our busy school schedule is winding down
- warm weather is begging us to keep the pool set up
- for Gatorade, Saltines and applesauce
- for my sweet sister who dropped off five new DVD’s for us to watch when we were down and out

Despite our sickness and my youngest getting stung by a bee on his big toe, I am still finding things to be happy about.

How about you?

Thursday, June 2

Happy June


…wrapping up home school, staying out of the rain, playing in the rain, staying out of the heat wave, cooling off in the pool, smelling honeysuckle, planting new flowers, riding bikes a little faster, seeing the first lightening bug, making popsicles, (is that another ant?), having friends over, grilling chicken and eating juicy, sweet watermelon….sliding into June has been fun!

I hope you are sliding into June quite nicely.