Finally home

Yes, we are finally home from the hospital. John Henry is asleep on the couch, thanks to the pain medicine. He will be off his leg for two weeks. He goes back to the doctor on July 14 to remove the staples and get a new cast.

Remember the boys stayed at a friend's house last night? The boys are now back at home. They had a great time last night and today until....KK took all the boys bowling with another mother friend. KK fell at the bowling alley and is now at the ER with an injured arm. She said it's very painful and feels like it is broken. I sure hope it's not!!

Surgery update

John Henry made it through the surgery just fine. He's in lots of pain so he's taking advantage of the morphine pump. He is supposed to get antibiotics at 10 tonight and 8 tomorrow morning. Then if everything looks well, he can come home. Grandma has taken care of the girls today. The boys are spending the night with friends. Grandma brought the kids to the hospital to see that Dad is OK. I brought them all home to feed them dinner and pack the boys' overnight bag. Shortly Grandma and I will switch posts. I'll be staying at the hospital. The only bad thing about the hospital is that it is not a private room. This is not the hospital we usually use but didn't have much choice this time. The good thing is that the other guy in bed 'B' is very nice.

Hopefully we'll be home tomorrow before lunch!

Surgery for John Henry

Thankfully Lu's mom called me about an hour before John Henry's appointment and insisted on keeping the girls while we were at the doctor's office. What I thought would be a quick trip to the family doctor, a few x-rays, a sprained ankle and an ace bandage turned into much more.

The x-ray revealed the fibula is broken in two places. This in turn dislocated the tibia. We were sent from the family doctor to the orthopedic doctor. Then we went to the hospital to pre-admit for tomorrow's surgery at 1:30pm. He will be having a plate put in to 'relocate' and stabilize the bones.

He will have to stay overnight at the hospital so Grandma is coming to stay with the kids. John Henry will be on crutches atleast ten days and quite possibly longer. Then he'll be in a boot cast for two or three months.

The boys are having a hard time with this. Lake wanted John Henry to hold him tonight. This is very rare. JH had to explain everything that would happen tomorrow. Tate was crying because he doesn't want his Daddy to stay at the hospital overnight. They were both very tired and fell asleep quickly. Hopefully tomorrow things won't seem so scary to them.

He did it!

Lake finally stayed all night at a friends house! Now he and Tate have gone with the friend and the friend's brother (and the dad) to make a radio commercial for Chick-fil-a. How cool! A summer field trip!

So what are the girls and I doing today? Taking John Henry to the doctor to x-ray his ankle and knee. He fell last night and his ankle is swollen to a bit larger than a baseball.

Cool Mom

My boys actually called me a cool mom last night.

John Henry had fishing plans yesterday afternoon. Before he left I was able to go to the grocery store. Alone.

Have you recovered?

OK.

While I was at the store I thought that we needed something fun to do tonight. So I picked out Maze Craze books for the boys and coloring books for the girls. My boys love to do mazes. I like them because they require reasoning and also control of the pen or pencil. (Sarabeth, you have motivated me to keep my children learning and not give into the laziness that summer was bestowing! Thanks!)

I didn't let them know about the surprise until after dinner. The boys worked in the books until after 9:00pm when I made them go to bed. Many times throughout the evening I heard, "Thanks, Mom!"

I also picked up a children's Sudoku book. I've wanted to see what the craze was about and thought the boys might enjoy it, also.

Another library trip will be made soon. The kids have all finished their books and I finished my first one. I should finish the other by the end of the week.

Meany girl

This is what Daisy has started calling people that make her mad by not letting her have her way. Yesterday I was that person. We have tried different things to stop this - if you have any suggestions PLEASE post them!

Yesterday's conversation went something like:

I had just reprimanded Rosie for something - a rule she's had and has been pushing me to see how far she can go around the rule. In this particular instance Daisy must be protecting Rosie.

Daisy started out with, "Meany girl."

I didn't respond. I was trying to ignore the comment and therefore not encourage it.

When I didn't respond she said, "Poo poo girl." She also used a mad face to say this.

I had to look away. I was shocked because she's never said this and as far as I know hasn't been around anyone that has said this. I was also trying to squelch the giggles.

When that didn't get a response she said, "Meany boy!"

That appeared to be the worst thing she could think of to call me.

A few minutes later she came to me and said, "Mommy, I'm sorry. I do like you."

Drive In Theatre

Yes, there is a drive in movie theatre about 15 minutes from our house! It's been closed until about a week ago but thankfully it is now open. We took all four kids to see "Over the Hedge." Drive ins are perfect for us right now because Daisy doesn't like the loud volume at the movies. When you pay at this theatre the attendant tells you which radio station to tune in so that you get to control the volume. Very nice. I thought the movie was cute, too.

This morning John Henry has gone fishing and plans to be home before the heat settles in for the day. I expect him well before lunch.

This afternoon Rosie and I are going to a wedding. It's for her Sunday school teacher and she is SO excited. She's been asking for days is TODAY the day? The rest of the gang is going to a cookout. Rosie and I will catch up with them there and then go to a baseball game in Huntsville. The boys are SO excited about that.

Then tomorrow after church my mom and Muck are coming to Point Mallard for his company picnic. I am SO excited about that because we don't often get to swim together.

All in all it should be a good weekend.

Library trip

OK. So, we've lived in this city for six years and last night we went to the library for library cards. I've wanted to take everyone to the library but wanted to make sure that the kids could take care of the books. We have lots of books at the house and I think everyone has grown out of the page tearing stage. It seemed like a safe time to visit the library.

Lake was the most excited - literally jumping up and down before we left the house. Tate was excited, too. I had planned on leaving the girls with John Henry but the girls had already decided what kind of book they wanted to look for and my heart couldn't tell them, "No."

So, John Henry went with us. Everyone could check out two books with a new card. This is a fine limit with me because there will be less books to possibly lose!

What did everyone pick?

Lake chose "The Bat Boy and His Violin" by Gavin Curtis and "Spy Kids: Game Over" by Robert Rodriguez

Tate chose "tub-boo-boo" by Margie Palatini and "Planet Pee Wee" by Judy Delton. We read 'tub-boo-boo" last night after bath time. It's a very cute book about a little boy that gets his big toe stuck in the spigot and the chaos to get it out.

Rosie chose "Nina, Nina Ballerina" by Jane O'Connor and "Emily's First 100 Days of School" by Rosemary Wells. She chose that because she recognized the name! Of course that's the one we had to read last night. It's a number book that's actually well written!

Daisy only chose one book, "Tiggers Hate to Lose" by Isabel Gaines. I haven't read it yet but I overheard Tate reading it to Daisy last night.

This morning when Tate got out of bed, one of the first things he said was, "Mom, can I read my book this morning?" Music to my ears!

I chose two authors I've never read before: Susan Wiggs, "Home Before Dark" and Geoffrey Wolff, "The Age of Consent."

John Henry chose "The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain."

That's our reading list for the next few days. What are you reading?

Good day

Today was a very good day of swimming for Daisy. She felt comfortable enough to jump off the side of the pool to me. After awhile of jumping to me she decided to jump to Lake. He was a good big brother and played along with her. We got to Pt. Mallard around 11:00 this morning and left at 5:30pm.

After we left the water park, I picked up pizza and went to Lu's house. The kids played in the sprinkler and ate pizza. Then the girls got a shower and put on their pj's - I was hoping that Daisy would fall asleep on the way home. She didn't fall asleep on the way home but she did come in, get her blanket and fall asleep on the floor!

This was just an easy, happy day with my kids. This is why I am so thankful to John Henry that I get to stay at home with them and we can do fun things together. JH, you are a good man.

Oh, the things we saw

Yesterday after the funeral we went to visit Grandma at the farm. After a side trip for a very late lunch we arrived at the farm around 5:00pm. The boys immediately took off to explore. The girls followed shortly. I stayed behind to visit with Aunt Jo, Grandma and a family friend.

We stayed until around 7:30pm and then decided that since John Henry had to work today that we should probably start making our way home (the trip is about an hour and a half.)

As soon as we got into the van the boys turned on their game boys. As we were heading out of the drive way, John Henry convinced them to turn off the games and try to find something interesting out the window.

Before he got that sentence out, I had already spotted a beautiful deer. What else did we see on the way home last night? Several more deer, lots and lots of rabbits - one yard had atleast ten rabbits running loose. I wonder if they were wild or had somehow escaped from a hutch. We saw wild turkeys and peacocks. Of course we also saw cows and horses and even a mule.

Of all of these beautiful creatures the neatest sight for me would have to be the field lit up by lightening bugs (do these things have a scientific name?!) It looked like a mini airport.

So, what lesson did the boys learn last night? Look around you. You might see something really cool.

Ice cream with eyes

Last night after dinner we went to Bruster's for ice cream. This was my first trip to Bruster's. I'd been hesitant because their sign reminds me of Luden's cough drops. Well, never fear - I've moved on. This ice cream was GOOD! I had something called Chocolate Lover's Trash, John Henry had Chocolate Raspberry Truffle and Genius (who graciously treated us to this wonderful ice cream) had some kind of Caramel Toffee Crunch(?) Rosie, Tate and Lake had Birthday Cake. A small cone was actually two huge scoops.

A sign posted near the 'place order here' window claimed that if you were shorter than the 40 inch sign you would receive a baby cone for free. Daisy was well below the 40 inch mark. She chose chocolate ice cream.

"Would you like sprinkles?"

Slowly Daisy nodded her head in the affirmative.

Little did we know that there would also be little candy eyes. I showed them to Daisy. Do I need to say that I was mistaken when I thought she would find these little eyes cute?

She wouldn't even look at them. After several attempts to convince her that they were just candy I had to eat them myself. Once they were gone she was fine.

Oh - about the white dress Daisy was wearing while she enjoyed her chocolate ice cream....I've washed it twice and it's almost back to pre-chocolate. One more time should do the trick.

Too tired to sleep

And to make things worse, I just finished a Diet Mtn. Dew. Caffeinated. So, this entry is likely to be more of a ramble....Just a warning.

This week started well. Vacation Bible School was this week at our church. I was able to help out by being a 'crew leader.' My crew consisted of two preteen helpers and anywhere from 8 to 11 kids depending on the day. Their ages ranged from 5 to 9. The idea to mix the groups up with different ages was an attempt to let the older kids help with the younger kids. This was a success in my group. We traveled from station to station. We started each morning with music - very lively fiesta style music that the kids really loved. The rest of the morning consisted of making a craft, making and eating a snack, hearing a Bible story and a life application and then each morning ended with more music and a daily challenge. My kids enjoyed the week. Today after the last session we had a picnic lunch on the playground.

When all of the VBS was over, Lake went home with a friend so I let Tate invite a friend over for the afternoon.

All was going well until I got a phone call from my mom about her cousin, my second cousin. Judy was not doing well. Judy is 57. My mom is 56. Judy has been sick off and on for quite some time. She's had cancer. She's lived with diabetes. She had gastric bypass surgery about a year ago. Christmas eve she went back into the hospital - I can't quite remember why. When she was on the verge of being released she fell and broke her hip (or she broke her hip and fell.) For awhile there was some concern about her losing her leg. Last Saturday she had another surgery and it was determined that her small intestine had fused together probably due to the radiation for the previous cancer. She was recovering and had been told yesterday that she would be able to go home sometime next week.

She passed away around 8:30 tonight.

I don't understand this.

Tate's sixth birthday was yesterday. He is such a precious little boy. Three years ago I was on bed rest with Daisy on his birthday. Two years ago my grandmother died on his birthday. Last year I was recovering from a minor surgery on his birthday.

Yesterday we had a party with lots of family and lots of friends. We were at the Splashpad and the kids seemed to really enjoy playing in the water.

Yesterday I thought I still had time to tell Judy things that I needed to tell her. She helped raise me. She and my mom were more like sisters than cousins. I was in high school before I realized that she wasn't my aunt.

Second in the city

On Friday night Lake's team lost the ball game. It was a very close game from beginning to end. Both teams played really well and either team could have won. Lake didn't seem disappointed - he still got a trophy. He was a little sad that baseball is over for now but when I reminded him that it was only for a few weeks he seemed OK.

Yesterday we had a party celebrating the end of the season with Tate's team. Near the end of the party the team got together and dumped a cooler of ice water on John Henry's head. Fortunately he saw it coming and handed me his wallet and cell phone just in time!

Today after church we went for a drive. We stopped at a Dairy Queen for a potty break and snack. The following is a conversation that took place between Daisy and John Henry while in line for ice cream:

"Daddy, Daddy! I went pee-pee in the potty!"

"That's a good girl."

"Daddy, Daddy! I pooped, too."

Silence from JH. He was evidently thinking this would pass.

"Daddy! Daddy! I pooooooped in the potty!"

Still silence.

"Daddy! It was a BIG one!"

I have no idea what John Henry said at this point. I was laughing so hard that I had to sit down.

First movie

Today Daisy went to a movie theatre for the first time. I don't count the movie at the aquarium - she kept her eyes covered the whole time.

The boys had been invited to go see "Cars" with a friend and Rosie wanted to see it, too. Well, I really wanted to see it. So, we met up with the boys and their friends and mom. The movie was really good. I'll have to see it again to catch some things that I know I missed. The kids loved it. Rosie didn't move the whole time. Daisy watched about ten minutes of it and then fell asleep. I'm glad to know that we can all go to the movie without much trouble. The last time we went Rosie was a baby and we left about five minutes into the movie because she started to cry and we couldn't get her to stop.

Now we are off the the ball field for the last time this season. Lake's team is playing in the final game tonight. Go Nationals!

Catching up

Today will be a day of catching up on things. What kind of things? Well, laundry and cleaning, of course! And more importantly Tate's birthday invitations need to be mailed today. Actually they should have been mailed a few days ago. However, it's summer and we've been swimming and playing ball and time has slipped away from me. In order to spend quality time with the kids while the laundry and cleaning is being done, I'm going to try to make games out of everything. Who knows. We may say, "Just forget it...Let's go to the park for a picnic!"

An update on the ball tournament - Tate's team lost on Tuesday night. The other team had several boys that had played last year and a few that had played for two years.
Lake's team has a game tonight. If they win they will play the final game tomorrow night. And then we have a break from baseball for a few weeks. Summer ball will start in July and only last about five weeks. It's very relaxed. It's mainly to give the boys practice as they move up from t-ball to machine pitch ball. It's also good for those boys that just love baseball!

A win for the Nationals

The city tournament started last night and Lake's team won their first game 16-2. They play again on Thursday. If they win on Thursday they play on Friday. Then it's all over for this season. I honestly did not expect them to win last night. I had taken the kids to swim yesterday and although I only meant to stay a couple of hours, we ended up staying for five hours. They were all having such a good time that I couldn't bring myself to make us all leave. I figured that Lake would be sluggish at the game but he wasn't. He made a great play at third base and also had two good hits.

Tate's game is tonight. Rumor has it that the other team is incredible. We'll see.

It's just you and me, mommy.

Yesterday John Henry met me in the parking lot at the theater to get Daisy, Lake and Tate while I took Rosie to her dress rehearsal. When the other three got out of the van she said, "It's just you and me, Mommy."

I never took dance classes so this whole year has been a learning experience for me. It has really helped Rosie. Remember the beginning of the school year when she didn't want to go to preschool, she just wanted to stay with me? Well, she was on the stage yesterday in front of 200 dancers and moms and she was smiling and dancing and she looked beautiful. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry so I did a little of both.

Afterwards we stayed for few minutes to watch some of the older girls dance. Rosie was really impressed with the pointe dancing.

We'll see if she dances tomorrow at the recital. I'm not ruling out the possibility of her freezing on the stage. I told her tonight while I was bathing her that Grandma and Nano were coming to see her dance on the stage tomorrow. She said, "Yeah! Is Milton coming, too?"

"Yes, Milton will be there, too."

"And Papaw?"

Long pause on my part.

"Angel, Papaw is right here in your heart. Yes, he'll be there, too."

Swimming

Yeah! We were able to swim for awhile today. We went to Point Mallard this morning and stayed until around 1:30pm. I've tried to insert the link for you to check this out but each time I do, everything I've written plus the link is dumped. So, if you want to see where we will be spending much of the summer, check out: pointmallardpark.com and go to the water park link.

We started out at the Olympic size pool. After about an hour there we went to the duck pond and squirt factory. Then we were off to the wave pool. The wave pool is my favorite of the pools at Point Mallard. Last year it was Daisy's favorite, too. Today she couldn't decide if she liked the waves or not. I think she was maybe getting tired and hungry. The last stop was the water slides. The girls and I sat in the shade while the boys rode the slides for about thirty minutes. Then we came home for lunch and a shower!

The girls were asleep by 7:00pm tonight. The boys are being tickled by John Henry right now.

Oh - I finished a book last night by Nanci Kincaid, "as hot as it was you ought to thank me." I liked the book but do not recommend it to anyone right now. It was just too sad to pass on.