Another ER Visit

I am very blessed that I have healthy children. We've never had any serious illnesses and aside from ADHD and Hunter's autism, they are all rosy-cheeked most of the time. That said, I'm getting tired of the ER. Over the years we've had LOTS of visits to various hospitals. Some are more stressful than others, for sure. It's funny because we usually go about a year without anything happening, then *bam* we're back in there. In the last two months, we've definitely set a new record. Three ER visits in 64 days. First Sadie, then Adam, now Max.

Saturday night as we were getting ready for a wedding reception, Max came in the house screaming. This didn't concern me much, because he does that often. Usually, it's just a skinned knee or a bump. When I saw the blood on his hand, my concern level raised just a bit. Turns out, he hit his head on the edge of the tramp. He had a small cut. Guy and I went back and forth, do we take him in or not? If it had been anywhere else, (it was in his hair), we probably could've used a butterfly bandage. But, since it wasn't, we took him in. It only took one stitch to pull it together. It wasn't my choice of how to spend a Saturday evening, but it could've been so much worse, so I'm counting my blessings. (No picture, since it's in his hair, there's nothing to see.)

Grandparents and gardens

My grandparents were great gardeners. I'm sure it had a lot to do with when they lived. They always had a garden that I can remember. Vegetables and fruits and my gram's gorgeous flowers. I wish I had inherited their green thumbs. I always have big plans, but the most I've ever planted is flowers, and here in Layton, I haven't even been able to do that. (Anyone know how to get rid of those roly-poly bugs? We have an infestation that kills all the flowers I plant.)

Anyway, there were many things that I loved about going to my grandparents' house. But, in the summertime, I loved the garden. Being allowed to go outside, pick a big, ripe tomato off the vine and eat it all myself was such a treat. Then, there were the strawberries. She would go with us out to the garden and we would pick berries. I remember her showing us how to look under the leaves to find them. Then, we would take them into the house and she would wash them, put them in a bowl, sprinkle sugar on top-ah, the most wonderful thing. To this day, whenever I eat fresh strawberries, I think of my grandma.

My parents usually had a garden, as well. I hated having to work in the garden. Pulling weeds-ugh! Of course, I was a kid and didn't understand the importance of it. I'm hoping to have a garden this year. I'm starting small-tomatoes, maybe some peppers, definitely flowers if I can get rid of those bugs. My grandparents and my parents are great gardening examples to me, so I'm trying to honor them by following that example. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

I Need a Little Feedback

I'm calling out to the moms who read this. I need a little feedback. Here's the situation: My oldest is going to prom on Saturday night. (I know, I know, how did he get to be this old? We won't go there.) It may seem mean, but I tried to talk him out of going. First of all, he has no money and proms are expensive. Then, I asked him how many times he danced at the winter dance that he went to. None. Why pay money to go to a dance if you're just going to sit there? He convinced me to let him go, he had already asked his friend. Fine, but you have to pay me back when you get paid this summer. He agreed.
Well, we found out on Monday that through a series of unfortunate events, he and his date do not have a group to go with. Now, we have a rule that our kids are not allowed to single date. We prefer group dates, but a double date is ok occasionally. This hasn't been a big deal, yet, because Adam just turned 16 in December and has only been on one other date. (A double date to the winter dance.) Now, we're faced with this dilemma. Adam's date, who is just a good friend, has already bought her dress and really wants to go to the dance. I talked with her and her mom and we decided that they would just go to the dance, no dinner or all-day activity. (Really, when did prom become a whole day thing? Sorry, showing my age again. I'm from the time when you went to dinner, then the dance, danced all night, then, maybe, you went to someone's house and watched a movie on the VCR.) This girl, who is a sweet girl, called me today to find out what they are going to do. I told her that we had already decided that they were only going to the dance. "Well, then you need to call my mom and tell her that, because she thinks we're going to dinner." What? I told her that she can tell her mom that-again- Adam isn't allowed to single date and they are only going to the dance.
Here's my question- Am I being unresonable? It's really not that I think they'll do anything inappropriate, I really don't think that will happen. It's the principle of the thing. Adam is the oldest and if we let him break the rules, it will set a precedent. And, it isn't Adam who wants it so badly, he's really only going because this girl is his friend and he knows she wants to go. I'm not backing down, no matter what games she tries to play, ('you need to call my mom'-whatever!), I just want to know if others think I'm doing the right thing. Let me know.

Bunny-shmunny

I like the fact that Easter isn't commercialized like Christmas. I don't have to fight lines in the store to buy the perfect Easter present. My kids aren't glued to the TV, mesmerized by all the Easter commercials. No letters to the Easter bunny filled with wish lists. We've never made a big deal about Easter. My kids get baskets and color eggs, they just know that it's from us. We didn't tell them there wasn't an Easter bunny, we just didn't tell them there was, and they figured it out on their own. We had a family home evening about Christ and the resurrection last week, then on Saturday, they got their baskets and got to hunt for eggs. We went to church on Sunday, (wonderful talks!) and then went to my parents' house for dinner. Sigh, another holiday down.

Max's friend came over today to play. They played here for a while, then left to go to the friend's house. Max came running back in the house. "He got a new bike from the Easter bunny. I didn't get anything!"

So much for my perfect Easter. I know that material things aren't important and they can't buy happiness. Tell that to a five year-old.

Spring Break-What it isn't.

This week is Spring Break. I have a problem with this term. For one thing, it doesn't feel like spring. It did for the first two days, but now a storm is blowing in and it's COLD. Second, the word break. The definition of this word is: "a brief rest, as from work". Okay, this might be a break for my kids and their teachers, but it's anything but that for me. Here's what spring break should be as opposed to what it is.

It should be- sleeping in. It is- being woken up by kids at 6 am.
Should be- fun activities. It is- dental appointments and errands.
Should be-relaxing in the morning. It is- cleaning up a child with diarrhea.
Should be- Kids helping with chores. It is- house messier than usual because they're home.
Should be- enjoying spring weather. It is- turning up the furnace and pulling out the coats-again.




I love my kids and do enjoy having them home, that said, Monday can't come soon enough!

Warning:Highly 'estrogen-based' post. Read at your own risk!

I'm not in a good mood today. I snapped at Noah for climbing on the counter. Would you just get down? Then I got after Max for turning on the kitchen faucet. Don't you know it's leaking under the sink? Why would he? Aargh! What is wrong with me? I've been off all day. I shouldn't be, it's Friday, isn't it? I look at the calendar.
Aw, crap.
Do you remember being a teen/pre-teen and being so excited to start your period? Yeah, those were the good, old days. When being menstrual meant you were grown-up, an entrance to an exclusive club that everyone was dying to get into. I see it in my daughter's eyes. Oh, you want so badly to What? I guess it wasnt' that bad when I was younger. I really had this great attitude about it. I was grateful because I knew it meant I could one day have children. Okay, been there done that. Now, shouldn't I be able to move on? Not that I'm ready to start menopause. Wow, we get rid of one lousy thing and get to run headlong into another. I never had PMS when I was younger. It seems unfair that I got it when the pipes were all tied off. I love being a woman, the fact that I was able to have children. But, the junk that comes with it really sucks sometimes. Here's some things I've learned about PMS-
*Your children are not more annoying than usual.
*Tear jerker movies are a great release, especially if no one else is home to watch you bawl.
*Your husband is not more annoying than usual.
*Reading blogs about sick children is a BAD idea.
*Chocolate really does help.
*It will all end soon, but it will start again next month, so be prepared.