Round Three!

It was suggested a couple of days ago by Em's grandmother that we pin a big sock over monkey's cast to keep him from tugging on it. (By the way, the first night he had the second cast it got pulled down to where his fingers were barely showing.)

We tried this and it worked the first night. Well, this morning momma and I heard the usual hooting and hollering from the kids' room before we got them up and didn't think much of it until I went to get them up. I got in there and the sock was still pinned to his shirt, and it still had his cast in it, but it DIDN'T have his arm in the cast!!

I asked his sister if she pulled on it and at first she said yes, then she changed her story realizing that she was in trouble. We finally got it out of her that she didn't think is was supposed to be on there. I have to keep reminding myself that even though she LOOKS like she's almost 5 years old, she's only two.

So, back to the doctor for the THIRD TIME THIS WEEK!!!

This time we got a casted splint with an ace-bandage so that if it comes off again, WE can wrap it and not have to worry about having to waste the doctors' or our time...

Ah, the stories we'll be able to tell from this one.....

Monkey Update

So, ya...

The Doc says our monkey is supposed to keep the cast on for (hopefully) 4 weeks. He also said that most kids that age figure out how to get the thing off in about 2 weeks.

My kid must be REALLY advanced. Momma called me at work saying that she checked on the kids after putting them to bed this evening and he had gotten the darn thing off! It barely lasted 24 hours!!

Yay! We get another trip to the doctor for a new one!!

My Little Pew Monkey

Have you ever had one of those days as a parent where you feel like the best parent in the world? The kids do everything you ask, they don't fight and all is well.

Today was NOT one of those days. In fact, it feels like the exact opposite. Today kinda made me feel like, well, NOT the best parent in the world... The biggest of today's challenges started on Sunday. I know it sounds weird, but as Ricky Ricardo says, "I got some 'splainin' to do!"

Sunday was a fairly normal day, or so it seemed. We had our usual routine in the morning and headed out to church. During sacrament meeting the kids were restless and buggy. We had to take turns wrangling the munchkins. As the meeting ended we started to head toward our usual duties and distractedly gathered our things.

And then it happened.

The 1/1000th of a second that neither mom or dad was watching, Henry decided the floor looked like a tempting place to be and tumbled off the pew. We both reacted to the instantaneous crying and picked the poor little pew monkey off the floor and cuddled him til he stopped crying.

Momma took him with her, and little was thought of it until later in the day when she called me saying he wouldn't crawl. At first we thought it was one of his legs because he'd get on his hands and knees, kick one of his legs back and scream.

Then, yesterday momma noticed that it wasn't his leg, but his hand. She'd move it around and our monkey howled as loud as the day is long. We didn't think it was that bad because other than when we touched his hand, he was fairly happy.

Today was his 9 month well visit to the doctor. He got two shots and a prick to his big toe, along with the misery he was already in. We mentioned his arm and, at the end of the visit, the doctor sent us to get some x-rays for precaution. We got into the lab and the tech had to hold the poor little guy in her lap and stretch his hand out.

I still shudder thinking about him screaming like that.

As soon as the picture showed up on the screen (digital x-rays are cool, btw...) I saw it. It was confirmed by the Doctors. He has a "Nondisplaced buckle fracture of the distal radial matediaphysis".

In other words, he broke his arm on Sunday and we didn't do a damn thing about it because he's fallen before, and he is so happy a kid that he was already getting around doing a half army crawl to avoid putting pressure on his wrist. I know I can't beat myself up for not doing something earlier, but I still feel like an ass.

Anyway, check-up was at 3pm and by 6pm our poor little pew monkey had a little blue cast on his arm that he has already learned to use as a club.

The doc says to come back in 4 weeks if the thing is still on by then. (He said he hopes it takes more than two for him to get it off himself... interesting.)

So, our little man got beat up pretty well this week, and it's only Tuesday.

Does this count?

Em and I had a discussion this last week. We were talking about how it really seems difficult for this generation to keep a journal.

I can't think of very many of my friends that keep one on a regular basis. I'm always hearing someone say how hard it is to keep going and they always seem to need to catch up. The only person I've ever known to keep one on a consistent basis is my father-in-law. I really am amazed how diligent he's been at it for what, 40 plus years? Whenever I go into his office I look at the volumes he has on his bookshelves.

This made me think of something. Does writing a blog count as keeping a journal? I know a journal is supposed to contain your innermost thoughts and feelings but in a day and age where most people seem to be incapable of "inside thoughts", let alone writing something down in an actual pen and paper form, it seems that blogs just might be the next best thing.

I can count myself as a person who, for some reason, just can't seem to write things down in a journal. I tried for the first couple months of my mission, but fizzled out in spectacular fashion. Even until fairly recently I vowed never to keep a blog because I felt that they were a waste of time. Especially after talking to Em about it this week, my mind has changed a bit.

What do you think?

"S" is for...

It seems to me that these last couple of weeks have been dedicated to things that start with "S".

School (Yay for finals soon!),

Siblings (We went to ABQ to visit my family for Thanksgiving),

Sickness (for me momma and Audrey) and

Snow (Welcome to Utah, buddy) all begin with "S".

The end of the school semester is next week and I've been ready for it since sometime in September. I wish I could say that I've done exceptionally well, but the last few months have been ones of change and a good measure of uncertainty in our household (Loads of fun, I tell ya...).

As for siblings, We had a really good time in Albuquerque visiting with my family. It'd been five months since we left for Utah and it was amazing to see what had changed and what had stayed the same. Audrey had SO much fun with her cousins that when we got home she kept asking to go play with them and she STILL asks to go see her nanny, grandfather, grandpa T and gramma Linda.

On a side note, if you find yourselves flying a fairly short distance, make sure to check what type of plane you're going to be in. We got a Delta Connection CRJ200 Operated by SkyWest Airlines. I don't know for sure, but it seems the longer the name, the smaller the plane. Luckily it wasn't a Turbo-Prop like someone I know that flew from Denver to ABQ.

Ours only had 52 seats with 2 seats on each side, one (1) flight attendant and not enough room inside to change your mind let alone room to change a dirty diaper mid-air BOTH trips..... Oh yeah, we had to check one of our carry-on bags because the overhead compartments weren't the standard size. The plane must've been built with elves in mind. I guess the "S" for this part could stand for SMALL!!!!!

Unfortunately, during our trip Audrey got some sort of 24 hour bug and gave it to momma who gave it to me. Ick. There is ALOT of detail that I could go into, but I won't. Suffice it to say having to run to the bathroom for reasons other than the normal ones isn't one I'd like to experience again anytime soon.

Lastly, we got SNOW this week!! Yay! I like Pudding cups! Er, I mean Snow is fun to play in. Momma and I took the kids to the park to go sliding down the hill and I took Audrey with some of her cousins later in the day as well. I think we've gotten about 8 inches total in our area with more expected later this week. Looks like winter is here to stay.

I'm looking forward to one more "S" over winter break. It stands for SLEEP!!!