What do you want to drink?

Stacy and I took Noah and Bella to Reds Fest downtown a few weeks ago. We decided to take advantage of the "free kids meal" coupon we got so we stopped at Bob Evans for dinner. The waitress asked what Noah wanted to drink. He looked at me and I asked him "Do you want milk?" He replied (in all his "Noah glory"), "I would love nothing more!"

Okay, milk it is!

Coming to visit...

"Grampa, will you come to my house tomorrow?"

"I think you'll still be at my house tomorrow."

"Will you come to my house next time we go home?"

"Your house is a long airplane ride away."

"Yes - it is indeed!"

Other moms are cooler than me

Noah's first school program is Thursday. It's a Christmas program and I've kind of figured out which songs they will be singing because Noah will break out in a random Christmas song at any random moment. He'll sing a few words with motions and then go back to whatever he was doing before the singing moment struck.

I asked Noah what he did at school today. He said he practiced for his show. I asked him about his show and he said, "I can't tell you. It's a surprise."

"Well, can I see your show?"

"No, other moms will be there to see the show. You can't come."

Well, then... okay!

At dinner I told him to tell Dave what he did at school today. He told him that Dave that he practiced for his show. Dave asked if he could come see Noah's show. Noah said, "Sure!! You can come if you want to."

Well, then... okay!

Coffee drinker in training

We got a junk magazine in the mail a few days ago. Natalie asked if she could look at it. It's junk mail so of course if she trashes it, it's okay so I said yes.

A few minutes later she's yells "LOOK MOM!!!! Starbucks!!!"

I was so proud :)

Batman / Batgirl

Noah was playing Batman tonight and Dave asked Natalie, "When Noah is playing Batman, do you know what that makes you? That makes you Bat Girl!"

She was really excited and said, "Okay!" She took off running in the other direction yelling, "Base Girl."

"No Natalie. It's not baseball. You aren't Base Girl. You're Bat Girl!"

Money

I went to the ATM the other day and Noah asked what I was doing. I told him I was getting money. He asked, "To make stuff work?"

"No, to pay for something."

"But money makes stuff work."

"No. Not really. Money doesn't make stuff work. You use money to buy stuff."

"But money is power and power makes stuff work."

UUUMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

"Well, yes - technically, you're right. Where did you hear that? Who told you that?"

"Nobody. I just figured it out all by myself."

Hopefully we aren't raising the next Bernard Madoff.

Ever feel like God's trying to tell you something?

We've had a rough week! Sunday night Dave took Noah to the ER. They got home a little after 3 but Natalie was up all night so Dave and I are were pretty sleep deprived on Monday. Noah had a dr appt at 115. It was originally scheduled as a check-up for school but the timing was great because of the weekend ER visit. Dave went into work late so we both left at the same time. I headed westbound to the dr and he headed eastbound for work. About 3/4 of a mile onto the highway, the Jeep suddenly jerks. In an instant I think we've been hit but in the same second, I realize the Jeep has lost all power and I'm losing speed quickly. I merge over into the emergency lane. I call Dave who turns around and heads our way and then I call the dr to say we aren't coming. The kids did great as I stared out the window in a daze - why is this happening right now?!?! This is not good timing, God! Dave shows up and tries to start the car. Yep - it won't start. We load everything up into the Subaru and head home. It's nap time for the kids and goodness knows we need it. Dave drops us off, looks up the Jeep code on the computer to see what's wrong with it, heads to the parts store and then back out to the Jeep so see if he can work on it there or have it towed home. The Jeep starts!! He rushes back home and we all load backup into the car and pick up the Jeep. He takes the Jeep and we head home in the Subaru. We make it almost all the way home before it quits working again. We're in the subdivision next to ours so we're off the main road but not close enough to push it home. We head back to the house. Dave drops us off and goes back to the Jeep. He's trying to work on it but the engine is really hot and the part is hard to get to. After a few hours of back and forth, it starts. He jumps in and drives it home. He bicycles back to the Subaru and hopefully he will probably have better luck at working on the Jeep. It has started to rain but since the Jeep is now in the garage, the rain doesn't matter. By now, it's too late in the day to work on it given the late night we've had the night before. We decide that I'll drive Dave to work so I can have a car to take the kids to the dr.

Tuesday is, for the most part, non-eventful. Natalie is so sick but Noah is feeling much better. Natalie's temperature hasn't been below 100.3 since Monday morning. The dr checks her out and says that everything checks out okay. We have to wait it out. We leave the dr and I have an hour to kill before Dave gets off work. I take the kids to McD for apples and realize Natalie is burning up!! She's complaining that she's cold but I have no way of taking her temperature. I don't have any meds with her for her fever so we head to Walgreens. I give her meds and Dave calls. I'm really worried about Natalie - she's nearly comatose. Her eyes are glazed over, her mouth is open and she's drooling. Noah keep touching and picking at her face and she doesn't budge. I call the dr and they say I can bring her back in. I have to pick up Dave first and when she sees him, she suddenly has life again. We figure she's tired because she's sick, not sleeping overnight and has missed her nap today. When we get home, Dave works on the Jeep and gets it working. We hope!!

Wednesday, we decide he'll take the Jeep and I'll drive the Subaru. If the Jeep breaks down, it's better if he's stranded than if I'm stranded with the kids. Of all days, Noah decided to sleep in today. It's a school day and I have to be there early to review the paperwork & epi-pen instructions from the dr. There's no way we're going to be there early but, if traffic is light, we'll make it to school so he's on time or just a minute or two late. Given the last few days we've had, I don't care that he's late so we aren't running around as crazy as we usually are. We load up in the car and head to school.

About a mile and half down the road, I see something running along a tree line that is perpendicular to the road. There's a deep dip between the road and the tree line so I figure I'm seeing the top of a dog's head. I think he's running towards the road to bark at the cars so I slow down but can't stop because of all the traffic. I"ll hope for the best if he darts out. At the last second, a deer, not a dog, that jumps the ditch and darts into the road. There's nothing I can do. If I veer right, the kids and I will go into a deep ditch that will surely roll the car. If I veer left, I'll get into a head on collision with the truck that's slammed on it breaks to miss the deer. If I slam on my breaks, I'm sure the guy behind me will plow into me. I slow down as much as I can and brace for impact with the deer!

I take out the back legs of the deer and see it spiral through the air into the woods next to the road. I get to a spot in the road that I can pull over and call Dave. Noah asked if I hit a squirrel. I said yes because I am not in a condition to explain why a deer ran in front of the car. He heard me on the phone telling Dave that I hit a deer. When Natalie asked "squirrel?" Noah said, "No. Mom bumped a deer." Um - I think bump doesn't quite do it justice but again, I'm not in a condition to explain "bumping" the deer.

The car seems drivable so I turn around and drive it home but it's making funny noises. I couldn't tell from looking at when I called Dave if the radiator was broken. The temp stayed where it was supposed to so that was a good sign. I get home and Dave comes outside. I sit in a daze in the driveway while he unloads the kids. The situation is starting to settle in. We could have been hurt or killed. It could have been so much worse. At the same time, I'm trying to figure what happened to the deer. You couldn't see it from the road when I drove back by but the woods are pretty thick but so thick that I wouldn't think it would go in the woods, either. Where did it go - that will be the eternal question. As I'm sitting there, car still running, my mind processing the last 15 minutes, the car starts to steam. Well, at least we made it home. They towed the car the shop and we have a rental for the next 2 weeks.

I asked Dave to drive back by later to see if I could at least tell where the deer went. I couldn't see it but based on where, in the road, I was when I hit it, the deer came pretty close to hitting a telephone pole as it spiraled through the air.

The airbag didn't blow which I'm glad but why didn't it blow? Apparently, according to the shop, I didn't slam on my brakes and come to an abrupt stop which is what is needed to trigger the airbag - or something like that.

After $3300 in damage and 2 weeks in the shop, we should have our car back - good as new! Hopefully the Jeep won't quit again any time soon.

We're staying home today and "Yes, God? You have my attention and I'm listening!!"

A blubbering, watery, snotty mess!

Noah's asthma has been acting up since overnight Friday into Saturday. Today has been really bad. This is the worst episode he's had since he was diagnosed with asthma 2 yrs ago. We can usually manage it with a few nights of little sleep for Dave and I but tonight is different. Noah fell asleep on the couch so Dave and I watched TV and monitored his breathing. A few hours later, Noah woke up and looked at me. He seemed a little disoriented but I figured it was the state of confusion that happens when you wake up and it takes a few minutes to get your bearings. I smiled at him. He situated on the couch, looked at me again - still disoriented. I smiled again and asked him if he was ok. He looked confused so I put him in my lap and he started crying, coughing and still disoriented. He kept pulling on his tongue when he would try to breathe in - sort of like he thought his tongue was blocking his breathing. Dave went upstairs to get changed into comfortable hospital clothes while I held Noah as he cried and coughed. Noah finally got himself together and I told him "Dad's going to take you to the dr so you can feel better." Natalie is having "mom withdrawal" because I was gone most of Friday and Saturday so I knew Noah would be going to the hospital without me for the first time, ever. I start to tear up at the thought but shook it off quickly before Noah saw my tears. Dave put some stuff in the car while I gave Noah a few more puffs of his inhaler - just enough to get him to the hospital and through the ER waiting room. My eyes tear up a few more times knowing he is leaving without me but I did good at pulling myself together before Noah saw my tears. Dave carried Noah to the door and I fought back tears all the way through the kitchen to the garage. I kept it together until Noah went to give me a hug goodbye. With dog gripped tightly in one hand, his little lip started to quiver and he said, "Will you miss me?!" Needless to say - I lost it!! Of course I would miss him and in that moment, my heart was ripped from my chest!! So, here I sit - a blubbering, crying, watery, snotty mess all over our computer while I wait for news from Dave.

Things I Thought I'd Never Say (Part 4)

We were running late to get out the door the other morning. Natalie was sitting at the table and should have been eating her pancake. I was putting clothes in the dryer and said, "Natalie, eat your pancake."

She looked at me and barked... yes, that's right, barked!!

Things I thought I'd never say, "Natalie, stop barking at me!"

Earrings

I saw a ring about 2 years ago and wanted to add it to my wedding ring. I've asked Dave for it every chance I had. For our 5 year anniversary, Dave bought the ring for me. We are adding to the one I have so we have been spending a lot of time at Norris Jewelers. They have to design the ring I want to fit around the ring I already have. We've been there a lot - going over all our options and making sure we are on the right track and agree with what I want the ring to look like. They give the kids a pack of fruit snacks when we are in there and since we've been in there so much the kids have started calling it "the fruit snack store".

Tonight, Natalie was playing in her kitchen and found a ring toy of some sort that fit around her ear. She put it over her ear, walked over to me and said, "Ring. Pretty."

I said, "Is that your earrings like mommy wears?"

She said, "Uh-huh. Fruit snack store."

Well, at least the girl knows where to get good diamond.

A glimpse into my day

If you click on it, it will open bigger to make reading easier.

Cold treat on a cool summer day!

Stacy bought Noah a cold treat from the ice cream man. Noah was so excited to eat Spiderman popsicle...





and it was cold...




but delicious!!!

Milkshake

We went to Dairy Queen after dinner the other night. Noah said he wanted a strawberry milkshake. I was surprised! He's never had a milkshake before much less strawberry ice cream but he said that was what he wanted and he was sure. One drink of the milkshake later and he was done. I asked him why and he said he wanted vanilla. I told him he ordered strawberry so he had to drink it and maybe next time he could have vanilla. His response, "But mom, I don't want my strawberry milkshake because I don't like strawberry smash."

Is it a cart or a carriage?

Grama Penny is in town and took the kids to Kroger. She told Noah he could walk with her as long as he stayed with the carriage. He looked at her and said, "Grama - that's not a carriage, it's a cart." Grama Penny said, "Well, that's what we call it in Connecticut."

Later that evening at dinner, she put a paper towel on the table with his plate and said, "Here's your napkin." Noah asked, "Is that what you call it in Connecticut? A napkin?"

Noah's quote of the day

"Dad, you're such a character!!"

Destructive Week

Last Sunday we went to dinner with friends. Natalie was in the high chair and started to get a little fussy. I stood to pick her up to put her in my lap and when I sat down my chair wasn't there. I didn't realize this until I landed on the ground on my rear. Needless to say, I was so embarassed and my tail bone hurt. The manager came out to see if I was okay and asked me to fill out a form indicating what happened in case I needed medical attention, they could take care of it. I told her that I didn't know what happened - I stood up to get Natalie and when I sat down, my chair was gone. She asked, "Was your purse on the back of your chair?" I said yes and she said, "It happens all the time. These chairs are so light that if you put your purse on the chair or even a coat, the chair tips over when you stand."

Okay - if it happens all the time, maybe your wait staff or hostess should let people know. Anyway, it's been a little more than a week and I"m feeling better. It took a few extra days to get over it. I was laying on the couch watching TV with Noah and he decided to do a somersault and landed on my rear - um, ouch!!!

On Friday, I decided to help Dave cross some things off our "list of things to do" - move the chair from Noah's room back into the guest room. I pushed and pulled and really worked hard to get the chair into the guest room. I was so proud of myself - that chair is huge and heavy! The chair had to be pushed arm over arm into the room. When I finally got it through the door, I pushed it over to have it land on it's feet and I didn't realize how close it was to the wall. Yep - one of the feet went into the wall. I was able to cross "move chair" off the list but I had to add "fix wall".

On Saturday I got up with the kids so Dave could sleep in. It rained so Natalie woke at 615 instead of 8 so she was in a *great* mood. I was sitting at the computer reading the paper and drinking coffee and Natalie wanted to sit on my lap. She can get loud when she really wants something and since Dave was sleeping, I picked her up. She decided to push button on the keyboard. I went to block her hand and she & I ended up knocking my coffee over - all over the desk and the computer keyboard. It drenched my phone but missed the digital camera. I was cleaning up and praying to God that nothing was permanently damaged when Dave came downstairs and asked what happened. I had myself surprisingly together until he asked and then I lost it. I kept breathing trying so hard to not cry - you know the saying "don't cry over spilled milk" or coffee in this instant. I get it together and explain what happened. The keyboard is not usable but we had a back up.

I told Dave, "If the kids aren't getting hurt, the house is getting damaged."

What is wrong with me?! I am in serious "mom brain" mode.

Yesterday I was walking into the kitchen and dropped the nail polish I had just used to paint my toe nails. It shattered all over the hardwood floor. In between cursing quietly because the kids were sleeping, I was praying to God that the floor is not permanently damaged. I wiped it up and the mess just kept getting worse. It's very hard to wipe up a puddle of nail polish. It's messy and sticky and dries quickly. I scrubbed and scrubbed, cursed and prayed, and eventually, I was able to get it all up. The only damage is the lingering smell of nail polish if you inhale deeply. The floors look great though and I think the smell will fade. It's definitely gotten better in the last 24 hours.

Tomorrow is another day - as Dave says when he leaves for work "no injuries to anyone today" and I'll be adding "and no damage to the house".

Someday this will come in handy

I'm hoping to use this in about 10 yrs when Noah decides that loving his mom isn't cool

We were sitting on the couch and Noah was looking at this picture:



He said, "When I get big like daddy, I can go with you to where you are and I can wear a tie and a shirt and a vest and you can get married and I can put a ring in my pocket like daddy did."

In about 10 yrs when he decides he hates me, I'll pull this out and remind him that at one time he loved me enough to marry me :)

Probably the worst day - ever!!

I decided to take the kids to the movies this morning. There is a local theater that offers a free movie on Tuesdays and the seats are filled first come-first served.

We left a few minutes late and by the time we got there, the theater was full so we were turned away.

My mind began running a hundred miles a minute trying to think of what else we could do.

It's getting hot outside and we are in jeans. I didn't want us to get cold in the movies but I didn't plan ahead enough to grab shorts to change into in case this happened. Because it's hot and we're in jeans, our options are limited.

I load the kids back in the car and figure I'll head towards the house to get shorts & figure something out on the way.

Noah's complaining that it's hot so I roll the windows down. Natalie doesn't want her window down so she's telling me to roll her window up.

"Mom, it's hot."

"I know. Hang on."

"Window up."

"Mom, now where are we going?"

"Window up."

"I don't know, Noah. I have to think about it."

"Window up."

"What's our fun special surprise going to be now?"

"I don't know, Noah. Please wait."

"Window up."

I rolled the window up and she screams - as loud as I have ever heard - blood curdling scream.

I turn around in my seat to see her finger in the window. In the midst of the craziness that is my life, I forgot to look to be sure her fingers were out of the way before I rolled the window up.

I roll the window back down and pull back into the parking spot. I get her out of the car and her finger swells instantly. She won't bend it.

I call Dave in tears - "I think I broke Natalie's finger."

I proceed to tell him how I did it. We agree that if the dr can deal with it, we'd rather pay a co-pay than for an ER visit.

I call the dr and take the next available appt. We rush home to put on shorts and rush back out the door to the dr office. Noah does his best to make Natalie laugh and keeps her distracted from her finger the whole way home. He's really getting so big and is the best helper.

The dr looks at it and thinks it might be fractured. We have to go to the hospital radiology for an x-ray. The dr looks in Natalie's ears to see how they look since she just finished a round of antibiotics for an ear infection. The ear infection is still pretty bad - stronger meds for 10 more days.

A few hours later the dr calls and confirms my worst day ever - Natalie has a hairline fracture between the top and middle knuckles of her left index finger. She has to wear a splint for 2 weeks and then we'll see how the finger is healing.

So here's my day: I woke up early to take Noah and Natalie to a movie and instead I missed my Starbucks, we missed a movie, Natalie has an ear infection and a broken finger. But, hey - on the bright side - Noah enjoyed his day :) He has a thing for dr offices and hospitals.

I guess to answer his question from this morning - "What's our fun special surprise going to be now?" - a trip to the dr and a trip the hospital so they can take a picture of Natalie's hand.

I think we'll stay home tomorrow!!

boating and napping

A few days ago Noah was sitting on the couch watching TV. I sat down next to him, put my head on his shoulder and said, "Noah, I'm so tired!"

He shrugged his shoulder a little and said, "Mom, I'm not a pillow!"

I got up to fix dinner since I clearly wasn't going to get sympathy from him :)

---------------------

We've been seeing a lot of boats lately. It's getting hot and boating weather seems to be at it's peak. Noah saw a ski boat the other day and asked if we could buy a boat. I told him no because boats cost "lots and lots and lots of money and mommy & daddy don't have lots and lots and lots of money."

He replied, "Can we go to Costco and get lots and lots of money?"

"Um, well, not today"

Just like dad

Apple Juice

Dave's out of town for the weekend and the kids and I have had a very challenging day. I have been counting down the minutes until bed time. I turn on Backyardigans and tell Noah to sit on the couch and watch it while I put Natalie to bed. This is our usual routine - he gets to watch one show before bed. Tonight, though, he decided to test "the system"...

I came down from putting Natalie to bed to find him standing on his stool in front of the refrigerator drinking out of the apple juice jug - "because he wanted a drink."

So, needless to say, we didn't wait for Backyardigans to go off before I put him to bed, too.

Noah's special day

Noah and I went to lunch and a movie today - just the two of us. He asked why it was just us and not Natalie. I told him it was because we didn't get much Noah and mom time. He said, "You get a lot of Natalie time."

"Yep. So, today is Noah and mommy time."

"Why do I get mommy time?"

"Because you're special."

"Yes, God made me special."

"That's right. God made you special just for me."

"Just for you?"

"Yes. I told God I wanted a cute little man with blue eyes and blond hair."

"But mom, that hurt."

"What hurt?"

"My eyes hurt."

"Your eyes hurt? Why do they hurt?"

"No, mom. They hurt when you said blue eyes. When they pushed in the blue eyes and poked me in the eyes and my eyes got water in them when they poked them. It hurt."

I'm cool!!

Noah wanted to wear a short-sleeved shirt today so I told him he had to wear a long-sleeved shirt underneath. I gave him his clothes and left him alone to get dressed.

He came into the kitchen a few minutes later and, standing quite proud, said, "Hey mom, look at me!"

I said, "Hey buddy, you look cute!"

"Mom, I'm not cute"

"Oh, your handsome."

"No. I'm not cute or handsome. I'm cool!!"

Well, that was a disaster!!!

The kids and I have had one of those days. Noah is out of control to say the least. For example: He decided when he woke up from his nap that he needed to spit. He's never had this urge before but today, apparently, he had to spit so he leaned over the ottoman and spit in the floor. So, now you have a better idea of the day I've had.

I really want a hamburger - not Wendy's or McDonalds - a "grilled at home" hamburger. I mistakenly have the idea to take the kids to the store for dinner stuff. Mistake but we make it home in one piece. Dave is golfing tonight and even though I've never grilled hamburgers before, I figure, "How hard can it be? I can grill chicken pretty good. A burger is probably about the same." I debate calling Dave just to make sure but I hate calling him on the golf course. I never know if he's in the middle of a shot (or whatever it's called in golf). I start the grill. Because of the day I've had, I'm smart enough to buy the pre-pattied burgers. I season them and toss them on the grill and set the timer. I'm worried about them being under cooked since I don't really know what I'm doing but I figure I'll just check one before I turn the grill off.

The timer goes off and I go outside to flip the burgers. It's really smokey but they look okay. I go back inside and set the timer again. I glance out the window to see flames shooting out the back of the grill. Oh my!!! I don't remember seeing that when Dave cooks them. The fire is down as low as it will go. The only option I have is to turn the fire off but then they won't cook. I decide to leave it - thinking that it's just juice dripping down and making the fire flame-up.

When the timer goes off again, I head outside to a cloud of smoke. I can hardly breathe it's so bad out there!! I turn the fire off first thing to prevent flare-up. I don't know if grills work the same way as a pan but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I open the grill and am amazed at how black the burgers are. Oh well - so much for a decent burger!! :) There are 4 patties and one looks edible. I'll see what I can manage for the other 3.

So much for being worried about them being under cooked. I put the one closest to edible on a hamburger bun for me. The kids like their burger cut up so I'm sure I can manage something for them. I am able to scrape some meat from the center of 2 of the patties. The pieces end up being the size they need to be for the kids and just enough to split between the two of them. The fourth patty is beyond anything...I'm not even sure I can cut into it! I hope Dave picks up something for himself on the way home from golf. There's no way this is going anywhere. I'm smart enough to know that even the garbage disposal can't handle this one.



As I eat my well-done burger and the kids eat their burger pieces, I think back on my day and figure I can sum it all up with this... "Well, that was a disaster!" That pretty much covers my day and dinner all in one.

Noah decides he's still hungry. Of course he is!! Of all the nights to want a second helping. He keeps asking if he can eat a bagel and since there's no more edible hamburgers, I say yes. Bagel for dinner it is!

After the kids finish eating I send them to the carpet to play. I eat a few bites of ice cream and think to myself, "I can't wait to be 60. My kids will be grown and have kids of their own. I will bask in their stories and think 'what goes around - comes around!' "

Collars

Noah point to Dave's shirt the other day and said, "We have the same shirt. Mine has a collar and your's has a hole." Dave was wearing a crew neck shirt :)

Scarring

Some of you have asked if I have a scar on my eye. I've posted pics so you can see that not only do I have a scar but I also need to have my eyebrows waxed :)

Bad Day

Natalie has been waking up between 1 - 2 with bad dreams. Sometimes she works it out and sometimes I have to get up with her. This has been going on for a few weeks. Last night was no exception.

As I come out of the room to head towards her room, Noah is coming down the hall. I stop him and put him back in bed. He says he wants to go downstairs. I explain that it's still dark so we can't go downstairs; it's time to sleep. He proceeds to ask me about fixing the laundry room door because there are monster's. Okay - he's still waking up from a bad dream. I tell him that Dave fixed the laundry room door and it was fine. He wants me to lay down with him. I tell him that I have to take care of Natalie but I'll come back.

I take care of her and get her back down. I climb in bed with him and his eyes are as big as quarters. He's looking around - clearly still scared from his dream. I tell him to go to sleep. I figure I'll lay there for a few minutes until he falls back to sleep. A few minutes later his eyes are still wide open. I decide to get my pillows and hope for the best. I can't get comfortable because he sleeps in the middle of the bed and he uses flannel sheets. It's going to be a long night...boy - oh - boy is it ever. Just as he is about to fall asleep, Natalie wakes up again. I have to get out of bed to take care of her which wakes him from his near sleeping state. They "tag-team" me for almost an hour and a half.

At 8, Noah comes in to wake me because "it's time to get ready for school." I lay there, trying to wake up knowing that once I get moving, I'll be fine.

I get up. I get Natalie up. We head downstairs. Noah is eating a bowl of cereal and I get Natalie settled so I can make my mocha. It's a school day and we have to be loading up in the car by 8:40. If we aren't in the car by 8:40, I will have to take him into school. With the way the day is starting, I accept the fact that no matter how hard I try, today I'll have to take him in so I get changed into jeans/t-shirt. At 8:50 we load up in the car and rush out of the garage to head off to school. However, in my rush to back out of the garage, I didn't pay attention to how close the Jeep was to the door frame of the garage and I broke the passenger side mirror... "oh, sh*t!" I break down in tears. My day is not starting out well and doesn't seem on a track to get any better. I"m covered in mocha, we're late for school and I just broke the mirror... "oh, sh*t!" Noah asks me why I'm crying. I tell him that I'm having a bad day and dig my phone out of my purse.



I call Dave and find out - "now what?" He assures me it's an easy fix because the mirror is still attached to the Jeep; fixing the broken glass is easy. "Take Noah to school. You're day will get better."

I change into dry clothes and we're off again. I drop Noah off at school and hear him telling his teacher, "My mom broke the mirror on her car."

I head out to pick up a travel booster seat for Natalie. It's about 15 minutes west but I figure it will just enough time to pick up the seat, rush home for a shower before I have to pick up Noah.

I arrive at the woman's house to pick up the booster. I ring the door bell - no answer. I knock on the glass door - no answer. I ring the door bell again - no answer. I"m starting to get really upset. After the way my morning has been working out and I've rushed all the way over here and now she's not home. I knock on the front door - no answer but I hear noises inside so I think someone must be on their way to the door. I hear the garage door open so I lean around the corner. The woman looks at me like she has no idea why I am standing at her front door. I ask her if she's selling the booster seat. She's very surprised and runs in to get the seat. Apparently she forgot I was coming. If I had been 60 seconds later, she wouldn't have been home at all. Seeing that me catching her before she left, my luck for the day must be turning.

I drive home and as I'm get Natalie out of her seat my phone rings. It's school...

"This is Angie. I wanted to let you know that Noah's okay but he ran into the wall in the gym. He has a bump and you need to come pick him up."

I buckle Natalie back into her seatbelt, and we're off to school. I call Dave. "I'm on my way to pick Noah up from school. He ran into the wall in the gym and has a knot on his head."

"What do you mean he ran into the wall?"

"I don't know. I"ll call you from school."

I walk into school thinking I had seen enough knots on Noah's head to know that he'll be fine. I walk into the school office..."OH MY GOSH!!!!"

I have never seen a bump so big. I'm told the bump has gone down a lot since it first happened 25 minutes prior. If it's gone down a lot, how big did it get...the thing is HUGE!!

I call Dave from the school office. He calls the dr office while I load the kids in the car. He calls to say that the dr said to go home and monitor Noah. He gave us a list of things that are normal and a list of things that are bad.

(an hour and a half later)



For the next 6 hours, I am on constant Noah watch. It seems that Natalie's take on the whole situation is: Noah's laying on the couch watching TV and is unsuspecting of my sneaky ways. I'll take the opportunity to attack.

His teacher called later this afternoon to check on him. She explained that they were playing "Stop. Go." (3yr old version of red light/green light) When they said "stop", he was going faster than his feet could keep up so when he stopped, he fell into the wall. As much as "running into the wall" made sense because he is related to me, it didn't quite make sense how it happened. Now it makes sense - he didn't run into the wall, he fell into the wall.

We survive the next few hours and by 4, Noah and Natalie are running laps through the house. Whew - we survived another day.

Babies

"Mom. Do boys have babies in their bellies?"

"No. Just mommies. Mommies have babies in their bellies."

"Do you have a baby in your belly?"

"No. I don't have a baby in my belly."

"Oh. You look like you have a baby in your belly."

"Okay. Well, thanks."

"You're welcome."

Headaches

I, for some dumb reason, thought it would be a good idea to take the kids to the mall today to buy them some new clothes.

Noah likes getting new clothes and doesn't mind trying them on. The problems start when he doesn't want to take them off. I explain to him that he can't wear shorts and t-shirts because it's too cold. He starts freaking out. I ignore it and eventually we move on.

This is especially stressful to me when we are so close to Natalie's nap time.

We gather the clothes we are have picked out, pay and leave the mall.

I am at my maximum stress level and Noah asks if he can listen to his "Wheels on the Bus" song... um, no.

"No."

(whining) "Why? I want to listen to the Wheels on the Bus song."

"No, Noah."

(whining and beginning to yell) "I WANT to listen to my song!!"

"I said no."

"Why?"

What I want to say at this point, but know I can't..."Because you're talking ugly and you're pissing me off!!"

So instead I say, "No, Noah. Because you're talking ugly and you're giving me a headache."

"Sorry, mom. You give me a headache, too."

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!! Really?!?!

Forget it...

I don't turn the music on and it becomes quite clear we are riding quietly. I don't have to explain this to him. I think he senses the stress!!!

About 15 minutes later Natalie starts babbling. Noah turns to her and says, "Be quiet, Natalie. We are riding quiet."

Well...I'm glad we are all finally on the same page :)

All is well and life is normal again after naps - thank god!!

Things you take for granted until they're almost gone

After being stuck in the house for 3 days because of snow and ice, I decided this morning that I can't take another day being stuck in the house again. The weather has cleared and even though the roads are slow going, it's worth my sanity to brave the elements and take the kids to the mall. They need to run and burn off energy.

I email Dave and tell him my plans. He calls to say that he will meet us at the mall for lunch.

We get the mall and head inside. I see that KB Toys is going out of business and even though is only one rack of stuff left, it's 90% off so I stop to look. There is a few High School Musical things on the shelf so I shop for Bella.

I'm terrible at math so I walk to the counter and ask the girl how much one of the toys are. I notice that the toy is opened and missing a few pieces so I go back for an unopened one. I lean over the shelf to get the toy and poke myself in the eye with one of the metal stick hooks that the toys hang from. I actually hear it poke my eye. I think, "I've poked my eye ball. Oh my gosh - I have literally just poked my eye. Can I see?" There are a few seconds of denial because of the embarrassment over not seeing the stick hanging off the shelf. I blink - a lot - to be sure I can still see. I walk back to the counter and touch the corner of my eye because it's watering. When I look down at my finger it's not water, it's blood. Oh my gosh!!! The lady behind the counter says, "Oh. You're bleeding." I turn to look at my eye in a display shelf mirror and in the brief second I can stand to look, it seems that I have poked through my eye lid. I can remember thinking, "Oh boy! Breathe. The kids are here. Remain calm. Call Dave."

I walk back to the counter and ask the nice ladies for help. One calls mall security and the other kindly digs through the stroller to my purse and finds my phone. I know if I call Dave from the store's phone, he won't pick up because he won't recognize the number.

I call him:
"Are you at the mall yet?"
"Yes"
"I'm at KBToys and I've poked my eye. I'm bleeding and I think I need to go to the hospital."
"What do you mean, you've poked your eye?"
"I've poked my eye and I need you to come down here."

It's every amount of everything I have in me to remain calm, control the tears and not scare the kids.

"What do you mean, you've poked your eye? How?"
"Just come down here, please."

He comes running around the corner and looks at it. One look at him and I slowly lose control of my composure. He looks at my eye and asks if I can see. Thankfully - yes! It could have been so much worse and I got lucky. I can still see! This realization sets in and I begin to lose all control.

Mall security walks in and wants to call an ambulance to transport me. This is probably the most exciting thing that has ever happened to him at work. We politely decline and head for the nearest ER.

I cry all the way to the hospital. A small amount of tears for pain and a large amount of tears for thankfulness. I can still see!!

The doctor comes in to look at it. It's not as bad as expected. I have not poked through my eye lid and it's a "superficial wound". I am moved to a different room, given an updated tetanus, a numbing shot on my eyelid, 3 stitches in my 1.5 cm "scratch", a prescription for vicodin, and a pirate patch. Noah is ecstatic about the pirate patch so they give me two "in case one gets lost".

As we leave the hospital, I begin to tear up again. I can still see!

Yes, I would have still been able to see out of one eye had I not been so lucky. But I was lucky and I can still see out of both!

For those you wondering - the toy would have been a $1.

She asked, as I'm walking out dripping blood and tears - literally, if I still wanted to buy it.

"No, thank you."