Life Gets in the Way...sometimes

I had every intention of blogging yesterday but an emergency came up.  Elsbeth is a sweet little girl that is until she's not...haha!  She reminds me of that nursery rhyme,

There once was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good
She was very, very good
But when she was bad
She was horrid!

Lincoln had done something (probably minor like sitting next to her) and she got mad and threw a toy car at him.  Which of course hit his head.  Causing a large amount of blood, tears, and frustration (frustration on my part).

I quickly concluded that this being a head wound should not be messed with and called the Dr.  He said to come in as soon as I could.  After about a million calls I finally called Grampa to come rescue me.  Because there was no way I could take FOUR kids to a possible stitches appointment (Samuel was at school) besides that Thaddeus was sleeping.  I really tried to find someone close by to come over but it was lunchtime and everyone was out...go figure.  Thankfully I have AWESOME in-laws who not only love their son & grandchildren but me too :)

The official report was that he should have a stitch but since he had a ton of hair (we're behind on the hair cut) and he wasn't super cooperative--odd, since he hates people touching him when he's hurt that'd he wasn't cooperative--we opted for glue.  You know the medical grade super glue?  The kind that doesn't sting :)  Well a few minutes later we were on the way to get an ice cream sundae--maybe that's my problem I reward them for getting hurt?

Overall it was a good day but full of a lot of stress.  Good thing tonight I'm heading up to a women's retreat where there will be a Twilight Chocolate Buffet :)

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.  I have some lovely projects to show off to you next week so don't be shy and come back to see!

{{hugs}}
Buffy

I did of course take 0 pictures of the head injury so no pics today just words.  I love my babies so much but especially so when I'm away from them.  Feel free to share what you're gonna be doing this weekend.  If you have an awesome story about stitches, broken bones or just love chocolate please share!

Knits, Dyes, & Ties on a 6 year old boy

So yesterday was Samuel's 6th birthday.  I can hardly believe it has been that long but only for a moment...because soon enough I'm reminded it is entirely possible with THREE younger siblings screaming at me.  Samuel was much desired and while I've wanted all my babies, he was the one I thought about having the most.  Which is probably not unusual as he is our SECOND child, and second son no less.  Husband and I talked and talked and talked about when we should try for another baby and finally left it up to God...we were blessed with Samuel.

Of course he was my longest labor...I started counting my contractions at 6am but really had been in early labor all night however it wasn't until the NEXT morning, just before 1am that he finally showed up.  He was definitely worth the work and wait but I am anxious to hold this information over his head :)

So of course I have to show a few pictures from the past and then onto the recent and also daring birthday gift I made for Samuel.

Summer 2005 - He has always been so stinkin cute

Post Surgery October 2005 - repair of Aorta

Summer 2005 - Always been stealing big brother's toys

Not exactly sure of the date on this one but this is ALL Samuel....fun and playful

Wow!  Just looking back through the old photo files I was shocked at how far we've come with our boy.  I cried looking at the pictures of him in the hospital.  No parent ever wants their child to be sick or hurt and I'm no different.  I remember the day I took him to the pediatrician because he'd had a cold for a couple weeks and it wasn't getting better, he was 8 months and Dr. Bennett listened to his heart for a really, really, really long time.  He then says that he heard a new heart murmur and wanted me to have it checked out by a cardiologist in case he might need to be pre-med for dental work (incidentally he doesn't).  So I called and got an appointment within a week, ten days at the most.

I asked my mother-in-law to come along with me for moral support, she's an RN and I thought that if something might be wrong I'd want someone to help with the medical jargon.  Haha!  I think I was her moral support!  She went pale at Samuel's blood pressure numbers for his upper body and we never could get a reading for the lower half.  The cardiologist, Dr. Berg, came in and listened to his heart and then calmly explained what she thought was wrong and ordered a echocardiogram, which was done that day.  Three days later we were back at the hospital for a sedated MRI to confirm that Samuel was born with a congenital heart defect, Coarctation of the Aorta, in short his Aorta was blocked (big major artery), worse the blockage was in the arch of the Aorta.  Within two weeks of going to the pediatrician for a COLD we were booked for corrective surgery!  God was so amazing to us.  I look back at that time and remember how loved I felt by friends and family who came and supported us.  I wish it hadn't happened but since it did I see all the glorious things that came about from it.

Okay, enough reminiscing onto the current...and UBER healthy pics of a normal 6-year-old boy who only has to go once a year to the cardiologist.

Okay so I think I was a bit overly ambitious for this present but I think (as does the boy himself) that it turned out fabulous.  I found a discounted bolt of cotton blend knit fabric for $1.50 a yard.  Now I am getting to be a bit more conscious about my fabrics and buying quality, but for this gift I wasn't concerned about if it would last through Thaddeus just that Samuel would enjoy it.  So I went for it.  I cut out 5 t-shirts using another pattern from my Ottobre magazine...raglan tee I think.  I modified it to have the crew collar as it was supposed to be a hoodie (which I will make too).

Equipped with 4 boxes of Rit fabric dye I colored 4 shirts.  Sewed them all together then appliqued a tie onto each shirt.  Let's just say the gift went over very well, especially when I told him that he could wear one everyday to school and never repeat a shirt once.  Samuel has always loved ties and I love that this one can't get lost (well, at least I hope it can't).  I was super fun to dye the fabric, and I colored a few other items along with the shirts as well but you'll have to stay tuned for more.

Have a great week!

8.26.2010

So yesterday started out just as I had planned expected.  Earlier than I would have liked but I got things done.  The plan was to go into town.  With five kids and one Momma this takes just a little bit of planning.

I had the list all ready to go.  I had the lunch packed.  I had the coffee made.  We were ready to go.  Then the most amazing thing happened.  We WENT.  No problems.  No temper tantrums.  Nothing.  Zilch. Nada. Went wrong.

Yummy Orange.

Yummy Strap on sister's backpack.

Couldn't put his sandwich down, even for the slide.

We had a fabulous time at the park.  The children were well behaved at JoAnn's and the grocery store.  I got to stop at Starbucks (my wonderful husband and bestie both got me gift cards there for my birthday).  We got home and I muddled through the normal switch of 'in town' mode to 'at home' mode.  I made dinner, Breakfast night...easy peasy.  Everyone ate their fill.

I could tell the kiddos were tired so I wanted them to go to bed on time.  So after dinner everyone got a bath.  Ugh, I hate giving baths dislike bath time.  Showers from here on out I say, but I digress.  The kids were in there jammies I was getting ready to clean up the dishes.  I heard the happy squeals of my children playing perhaps a little more vigorous form of ring-around-the-rosie but they were happy...I was happy.

I should have known it.  The day had gone too smoothly.  In fact I'd had a feeling earlier that something was off.  The earth was off it's axis (or maybe I was), the moon was in a weird stage, or perhaps it was just the fact that I have FOUR boys but suddenly my near perfect day went down with a crash.

One minute the kids were happy, the next Samuel is running to me crying.  No screaming, BAD sign!  Sure enough he had hit his head and was bleeding.  I wasn't too concerned.  I've taken first aid.  I know how bad head wounds bleed.  Heck, I know all about head injuries too.  Samuel was breathing, he was in his right mind and so I knew it was probably some minor scratch.  I quickly grab a paper towel and an ice pack from the fridge and have Samuel put it on the wound before attending to (in my mind the biggest problem) calming him down.

I succeeded, temporarily, to do that.  With him calm I remove the covering and in that moment our evening changed.  I knew he needed stitches.  Part of me was freaking out, we haven't done stitches before.  Sure we've done surgery, failure to thrive, we've done all day vomiting, and I've had 5 babies at home.  But never have I had to take a kid into to get stitches.  However, I like to think I do well under this kind of stress.  I knew that he wasn't going to bleed to death, I knew that I had to take him somewhere to do this, I knew I needed to ditch 4 kids to get this done.  I sanely call my neighbor.  No answer.  Okay, in-laws they're farther away but no biggie.  Again no answer.  Now that calm exterior is starting to trip up.  I think now what should I do.  Um, get the kids into the suburban.  So now I have my little ones racing for their shoes (I LOVE Flip Flops).  I start to get them in and think well I'll call my neighbor again.  Again, no answer.  Fine, I call my father-in-law's cell...Yea! a live person.

Almost everyone is in the suburban, ready to leave.  I CAN'T find shoes for me.  I panic this is horrid, the only pair I can find are painful and I know I'll need comfy shoes.  It seems like hours tick by but really in about 20 minutes we're all out the door and headed to Gramma & Grampa's.  I call and make an appointment at the after hours clinic.  We're good to go.

It really didn't take that long to get in and get stitches.  Actually what took the longest was waiting for the topical numbing cream to take effect.  Husband met us up at the clinic after he got off work.  I left the house just before 7 and was home just after 9, which included a stop at the golden arches for ice cream and chicken nuggets and the grocery store for bread.

The question that is on my mind and every one else's I'm sure is "What Happened?"  Don't know.  All Samuel says is that he fell on Elsa.  Not sure how a 23 month little girl half his size can cause him to gash his forehead enough to get 3 stitches but there you have it.

Perfect face!

Just found out girl's like scars.

I could have recorded the whole procedure but figure this would be best.

Hope you enjoy all the pictures.

I wish I could this afternoon nap today.