So my husband is sitting here harassing me about how long it's been since I last wrote an entry. I just checked the date of his last entry; Feb 4 2009. Now I don't feel guilty!
As I sit here thinking about what I want to write about, a few things come to mind to share. I'll start at the beginning of this week.
On Monday, I had a sister and her family come visit us from Nevada. We decided to go to Hogle Zoo for the day. We had a great time and we had no lost children or accidents. Yea!! I think that my childrens' favorite animals were the monkeys. I wonder why?
On Tuesday we went to Timpanogos Cave. And before you ask, yes we took all five children. Thankfully, we had four adults and two teenagers to help. I have to take the liberty and brag about my husband for a moment. If anyone reading this knows anything about Timpanogos Cave you know there is a very steep climb of about 1 1/2 miles to the cave entrance. Well, we started to hike up this paved trail and I realized about 5 minutes into it that "the old grey mare just ain't what she used to be." Because of being extremely out of shape (when did that happen?) I carried a blanket and some jackets up the hill while my hubby had the baby in a front snugglie, a backpack with all of our provisions (about 20lbs), and our youngest toddler most of the way up the mountain. He also repeated this on the way down as well and is still alive to tell about it. Not once did he complain. He is so wonderful.
The tour of the cave was great but I had a hard time hearing anything due to my youngest toddler screaming every time we had to stop because they wanted to keep going up the stairs and play and it was also nap time. I carried them all the way through but it wasn't so bad as the hike. This same child decided to throw their bottle down on the hike back to the bottom of the mountain. It rolled right of the trail and stopped right on the edge of steep cliff. If it had gone any farther the bottle would still be there, but I was able to recover it safely.
On Wednesday I had the opportunity of spending time with the younger three while my hubby took my oldest two swimming. When they left, my youngest two were still napping and so I got to have a rare one on one with my son. We filled the pool out back and played in it and I had some of those moments that you can't quite put into words but that you treasure up in your heart forever. It is times like those that you really see the eternal prospective of everything and what is most important in life. I have been rejuvenated and am willing to be a better mother from that experience.
Friday, my hubby and I had our "date night" after putting children to bed. We played some games and decided to make it more interesting by playing with "wagers". My hubby has been trying to coerce me into exercising (words cannot begin to tell how that word makes be cringe) so we were using exercise as our "payment." I was doing good and my husband was doing lots of sit ups, but then my winning streak came to a halt. I was a good sport and did my exercises when I lost. On one particular turn, I had to do 10 girl push ups. No problem. I get in position and drop to do the first one and SPLAT... I fall flat on my face. (This is embarrassing to write but motivating to do something about it.) Thank goodness I was born with a great sense of humor or there would have been many tears shed. I laughed and tried to do my 10. I have never been such a wimp for as long as I can remember, but I did it!! It took a long time, but I did it!!
Saturday was quite exciting. I spent the morning playing with my family in the back yard and the afternoon and evening in the ER. I was relaxing on the trampoline just laying there and enjoying the sun, the children laughing and thinking it was a good day. My hubby came over to join me and the children soon followed. They were crawling on us and playing around until it was getting to be too much so my hubby asked them to climb off and let us relax. I had my eyes closed and was still laying there while the children were climbing off when I felt this sudden blow to my abdomen. One of my children had decided to take one last jump and did a knee drop right into my lower stomach. I gave the child a tongue lashing and a good spanking out of reaction and then the pain hit. I rolled over into fetal position and couldn't move.
I don't know how long I laid like that but I am one of those people that will not let anyone touch me when I am hurt. My hubby was doing his best to take care of me, though. I finally let my hubby help me into the house and I tried to take care of the hungry baby and other things hoping the pain would subside. It only got worse so I asked for a blessing and felt prompted to go in and have things checked out.
My sister in law came and took me to the Instacare but they just sent us to the ER. I was hoping to avoid it but I guess not. While we were waiting the pain just kept getting worse and worse. They finally called me back and the doctor ordered blood work and a CAT scan. He also ordered some medication for the pain. I am not big on pain medication but was more than happy this time for some relief. (I had all my children without an epidural or pain medication so this should tell you how bad I was hurting!) It was wonderful to feel the pain just disappear when the drugs hit, but I felt really loopy too and that's the part I don't like. Oh well, a fair trade. When the tests results came back they were clear of internal bleeding (PHEW) but they also showed severe bruising of several body organs. They sent me home with more pain meds and told me that things could still change in the next 24 hours so I had to be very careful. They didn't have to worry about that. If I even think about doing anything that stresses those organs, I start to hurt!
Today, I went to church and subbed for the primary chorister while I was all loopy from pain meds. It was kind of fun looking at things from a different prospective trying to act like I felt normal. I must say I feel tons better than yesterday but very tender still. I think I'll take the doctor's advice and not let my children use me as a trampoline ever again!!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
911, Brain Surgery, and a Smashed Toe!
Again, I've procrastinated so instead of a bunch of excuses I'll just dive in.
On Thursday, we are loading up to make a trip to the store. Everything is going as usual when I realize that my two year old is nowhere to be found. I think they must be in the backyard still so I head out there and call for them. Nothing. Okay, so they must be upstairs in the bathroom being really quiet so they don't get in trouble for breaking the rules about playing in the bathroom. Negative. How about the bedrooms, they like to play in the closets sometimes. Empty (well of any children, plenty of junk). I'm trying not to panic at this time because for sure they are already out in the car I just didn't notice them slip out with everyone else. I holler at my hubby outside to see if the child is already outside. No, he doesn't see them.
Okay, I'm starting to panic. My hubby comes in from outside to see what is taking me so long. I tell him I can't find our child and he asks me if I've checked all the places that I already checked. We look again together. And again. We blow an air horn in the house thinking they must have fallen asleep somewhere trying to scare them awake. No cries. We check our front yard, garage, neighbor's yard. No Stuart child with wild hair. It's been 10 minutes since we noticed their disappearance. It's been about 30 minutes since we last seen our child. I call 911 while my hubby goes to search the neighborhood more thoroughly.
The police arrive and they ask me all the usual questions. We all look again and again and again. They finally ask if I have a recent picture. (Things aren't looking well from my perspective by this time.) I print off a picture and try not to think of all the terrible things that are creeping into my mind. Another officer shows up and is also searching the house with flashlights and all. Still nothing. My hubby returns from his jaunt and asks if we have found them. No.
By this time it's probably been about an hour since anyone has seen our two year old. I start crying but try to stay composed for my other children. My hubby goes downstairs to look again. I hear him tearing things apart and then he announces the most beautiful words, "I found them!!" I rush downstairs to see where and he's pulling the child out from their "napping" spot. I run upstairs to let the officers know we have found our child. I run back downstairs and grab my baby out of my hubby's arms (I don't think anyone would be brave enough to try and keep them from me right now).
Our child had fallen asleep on top of some plastic totes that I have stored under a little toy table in their play area. Everyone had looked under there several times (even the police with their flashlights) but had failed to see them because of the way the child was laying and their legs were completely hidden by a stool they had between their legs. My hubby barely sees them because they move when he is moving things around. They are not happy to be awakened from their peaceful slumber. (It takes awhile for me to recover but I finally am able to breathe again even though I feel like 10 years of my life are gone!)
I sure learned a lesson of appreciation for my children from this experience and it's a good thing too! The very next day this same child is helping unload the dishwasher when they take a sharp steak knife out of the silverware holder. Before I can do anything they turn around and start hitting another child in the head over and over again with the blade. (I think they are a little young to be performing brain surgery.) Horrified, I wrestle the blade away and come to my other child's aid hoping that they haven't lost an eye or anything. Luckily there's no blood. Just a bump. Thank goodness for angels and hard heads.
Now I'm caught up to today. I'm at church taking a child to the bathroom in the middle of Sacrament meeting. We are getting ready to go back in the chapel, I go to open the bathroom door and my child runs in between me and the door saying they want to do it. Too late! I have already given the door a hard yank because it's heavy and sticks and I watch helplessly as the door runs right into my child's bare foot. (They kept taking them off in the chapel and I hadn't put them back on for our potty break.) I know there is damage done before I even see it.
Their big toe is a bloody mass of skin and toe nail. I rush them to the sink and start running cold water on it. It doesn't look any better and my child is going into shock. Dang it!! I carry my child out of the bathroom and grab someone in the foyer to have them get my hubby. He come's out and we decide that I had better take the child home. While my hubby is taking the child to the car I grab my two year old from the chapel so he can manage the other 3 in my absence.
I get home and unload the children. My injured child is still in shock and I am sick from seeing how bad their toe is. I try my best to clean it up and put a bandage on it but the child won't have any of it. I give up and call my sisters in law to come over so I can take my child to Instacare.
As I'm waiting, I change my two year old out of their church clothes and get them ready for a nap (in their bed this time!) while my other child is sitting on the couch. By the time my sisters get here, my injured child has calmed down and is even trying to walk around. I decide we can wait on Instacare but I still go back to the church to grab the baby from my hubby so he can teach his Sunday School lesson.
I am really exhausted when I get back and I feed my injured child hoping they will get sleepy on a full stomach so I can get a nap. After laying down with my child for an hour and trying to get them to sleep, the rest of my family gets home from church and my nap time is history. My husband is also exhausted from fasting and we are in big trouble because someone has to take care of the children.
We both sit on the couch trying to rest but keep an ear out for the children. The radar in our children must be going off because eachtime I start to fall asleep, they start fighting, or bothering us. I drag myself off the couch and get the children a snack so Daddy can sleep. I feel like a drunkard as I try to dish up the food. Hopefully, I'll catch my second wind soon. And maybe a back rub too from my well rested hubby!!
On Thursday, we are loading up to make a trip to the store. Everything is going as usual when I realize that my two year old is nowhere to be found. I think they must be in the backyard still so I head out there and call for them. Nothing. Okay, so they must be upstairs in the bathroom being really quiet so they don't get in trouble for breaking the rules about playing in the bathroom. Negative. How about the bedrooms, they like to play in the closets sometimes. Empty (well of any children, plenty of junk). I'm trying not to panic at this time because for sure they are already out in the car I just didn't notice them slip out with everyone else. I holler at my hubby outside to see if the child is already outside. No, he doesn't see them.
Okay, I'm starting to panic. My hubby comes in from outside to see what is taking me so long. I tell him I can't find our child and he asks me if I've checked all the places that I already checked. We look again together. And again. We blow an air horn in the house thinking they must have fallen asleep somewhere trying to scare them awake. No cries. We check our front yard, garage, neighbor's yard. No Stuart child with wild hair. It's been 10 minutes since we noticed their disappearance. It's been about 30 minutes since we last seen our child. I call 911 while my hubby goes to search the neighborhood more thoroughly.
The police arrive and they ask me all the usual questions. We all look again and again and again. They finally ask if I have a recent picture. (Things aren't looking well from my perspective by this time.) I print off a picture and try not to think of all the terrible things that are creeping into my mind. Another officer shows up and is also searching the house with flashlights and all. Still nothing. My hubby returns from his jaunt and asks if we have found them. No.
By this time it's probably been about an hour since anyone has seen our two year old. I start crying but try to stay composed for my other children. My hubby goes downstairs to look again. I hear him tearing things apart and then he announces the most beautiful words, "I found them!!" I rush downstairs to see where and he's pulling the child out from their "napping" spot. I run upstairs to let the officers know we have found our child. I run back downstairs and grab my baby out of my hubby's arms (I don't think anyone would be brave enough to try and keep them from me right now).
Our child had fallen asleep on top of some plastic totes that I have stored under a little toy table in their play area. Everyone had looked under there several times (even the police with their flashlights) but had failed to see them because of the way the child was laying and their legs were completely hidden by a stool they had between their legs. My hubby barely sees them because they move when he is moving things around. They are not happy to be awakened from their peaceful slumber. (It takes awhile for me to recover but I finally am able to breathe again even though I feel like 10 years of my life are gone!)
I sure learned a lesson of appreciation for my children from this experience and it's a good thing too! The very next day this same child is helping unload the dishwasher when they take a sharp steak knife out of the silverware holder. Before I can do anything they turn around and start hitting another child in the head over and over again with the blade. (I think they are a little young to be performing brain surgery.) Horrified, I wrestle the blade away and come to my other child's aid hoping that they haven't lost an eye or anything. Luckily there's no blood. Just a bump. Thank goodness for angels and hard heads.
Now I'm caught up to today. I'm at church taking a child to the bathroom in the middle of Sacrament meeting. We are getting ready to go back in the chapel, I go to open the bathroom door and my child runs in between me and the door saying they want to do it. Too late! I have already given the door a hard yank because it's heavy and sticks and I watch helplessly as the door runs right into my child's bare foot. (They kept taking them off in the chapel and I hadn't put them back on for our potty break.) I know there is damage done before I even see it.
Their big toe is a bloody mass of skin and toe nail. I rush them to the sink and start running cold water on it. It doesn't look any better and my child is going into shock. Dang it!! I carry my child out of the bathroom and grab someone in the foyer to have them get my hubby. He come's out and we decide that I had better take the child home. While my hubby is taking the child to the car I grab my two year old from the chapel so he can manage the other 3 in my absence.
I get home and unload the children. My injured child is still in shock and I am sick from seeing how bad their toe is. I try my best to clean it up and put a bandage on it but the child won't have any of it. I give up and call my sisters in law to come over so I can take my child to Instacare.
As I'm waiting, I change my two year old out of their church clothes and get them ready for a nap (in their bed this time!) while my other child is sitting on the couch. By the time my sisters get here, my injured child has calmed down and is even trying to walk around. I decide we can wait on Instacare but I still go back to the church to grab the baby from my hubby so he can teach his Sunday School lesson.
I am really exhausted when I get back and I feed my injured child hoping they will get sleepy on a full stomach so I can get a nap. After laying down with my child for an hour and trying to get them to sleep, the rest of my family gets home from church and my nap time is history. My husband is also exhausted from fasting and we are in big trouble because someone has to take care of the children.
We both sit on the couch trying to rest but keep an ear out for the children. The radar in our children must be going off because eachtime I start to fall asleep, they start fighting, or bothering us. I drag myself off the couch and get the children a snack so Daddy can sleep. I feel like a drunkard as I try to dish up the food. Hopefully, I'll catch my second wind soon. And maybe a back rub too from my well rested hubby!!
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