WOW weather

Posting about the weather? How bored am I? Sitting here at about midnight because a huge flash of light lit up our house and set off a car horn across the street. Moments later a thunder, that Shem thought was a jet engine, shook our house for awhile. Kids were either frozen in place or running from their bedrooms. Now there is the longest hail I've ever seen going on outside. An eventful night for us here as we sit in bed and watch the lights dance across the walls or sit in the living room and delight in the hail that looks more like snow because it's coming down so hard. It makes me want to text my friends and neighbors and just hear what's going on in their house!! Oh the sad life of a bored woman.

Broken Bones

What a beautiful day it was yesterday. It was cool all day and then rained just enough to make the kids on our street come out like bugs. There were kids out all over including my own, riding scooters, bikes, roller blades and anything else they could get the feet on. A little neighbor girl came over and Ireland, Hailey and the neighbor went to jump on the trampoline. Abby ran through a short time later and apparently went out to join them. My mind began to wander and I could hear Gene telling me the dangers of trampolines and how he had watched a boy die on one. I started to think, "What would I do if that happened to one of my children." I walked my dinner dish to the sink just in time to hear a sickening thud and look out the window to see Abby lying flat on her tummy out back. I wondered if she had tripped and ran to the back door to see if she was alright.
Abby rarely cries when she's hurt. She tries to hold it together until she gets away from people. She tried to walk in but tears were streaming down dirt covered cheeks. Her teeth were coated in dirt as were her clothes and she gasped out that she had fallen off the trampoline. I looked over her whole body and she looked fine. I asked where she hurt and she pointed to her tiny wrist which was red. I saw it was swelling but knew enough to feel to see if I could feel a break. It felt like I was feeling the letter U. I took her to the front and yelled at Shem who was out front. Of course, he took one look at her and said, "She's fine." I said I thought there was a break and he actually rolled his eyes and said, "She doesn't need to go to the ER." (Can you sense the buildup to a gloat?) Her wrist began swelling so much I could no longer feel the U and gave in and got her an ice pack. Shem took her to lay on the couch. Her crying intensified and after 5 minutes, I pushed passed him to get my keys and take her in.
I expected a buckle fracture or even a sprain but when the Dr. came in and asked to see us out of the room, my stomach plummeted. Bottom line, she had fractured the growth plate and seriously displaced one of her wrist bones. Not only would they need to transport her via ambulance to the main hospital, but she would need to be put under so they could snap her bones back into place!! In Shems' defense, even the Doc said he didn't expect something so severe.
All went well and she is now casted and doing well. What a long night but how terribly we blessed we are because it could have been sooo much worse.

It's a.....boy??

I guess it's time I said it out loud. We're pregnant. Well, I guess I'm pregnant, but Shem has to put up with me so I guess all is fair? The other news....It's a boy! The ultrasound tech may as well have said you're having an alien or a puppy for all that matters because my ears are still adjusting. I don't have boys, well, I had one 13 years ago and ever since it has been hair and bows and pink. I am finally adjusting to the shock and am still not quite sure how to handle this new information. It's not that I don't want a boy, but how exactly do you care for one again?? It's been a long time. For those of you thinking, "Oh, Landon must be happy!" You'd be wrong. He says babies are loud and bossy and we don't need anymore. That is his unwavering stand on the matter.

Oh, and let's clear all of your questions up here;

Yes, this makes baby 5. Yes, our hands are full. Yes, we know what causes that. Yes, we are glad it's us and not you, and Yes, we planned this.

Did I get them all??

This pregnancy has been rough and being down all the time really leaves time for the mind to do it's own thing. Week 18 and counting...

Patient Shem

Shem had surgery yesterday....again. Other knee and is doing just fine. He's kind of a twerp when it comes to listening to anyone about doing anything. He came out of surgery, opened his eyes and calls to the nurse...,"Can I go now?"
Nevermind he was just coming out of surgery and anesthesia, but had also had a huge dose of pain meds. He kept asking until they said yes and then complained the whole time that they wouldn't let him stand up till the last minute.
Getting home was a lot easier. I called a friend and asked if they could help get him into the house (though it wasn't really needed) because they looked at me at the surgery center and said, "Is there anyone else besides you who could walk with him?" What's that supposed to mean? We do have some ice and snow on the ground so I obliged and called. Once we got home he was soooo much easier. Having three daughters yelling at him not to move is awesome. Landon just kept asking what he needed. After piling him high with food and drink, he was set and had a pretty great first night. His pain is managed well, and we are sooooo glad it's over.

Short Update

whew! alright brag time. This is what happens when you don't keep on top of the blog...you end up knowing there are things you need to record and know they are from all over the place...so hang on.

Landon just won some money for his essay contest he entered for the Veterans of Foreign War. They held a banquet today and handed out these amazing awards and surprised everyone with cash rewards as well. He took first at the local post and third at the regional level. Probably one of my highlights were the two old men who came up to Shem afterward and both said, "it sure shows all over your face every time they call that boys name...congratulations." In Kasi language, that means, "What an awesome Dad you are!" And they're right.

Landon can't wait til soccer starts again in March and has finally decided he's going to surpass Landon Donovan. His new hobby in the meantime....juggling...Nonnie sent him a little juggling kit and he had it down in two days. Only obnoxious when he is constantly trying new things and hitting people.

Hailey (4th grade) is now not only doing fifth grade reading, but fifth grade math as well. Didn't I tell ya I was gonna brag?! She loves loves loves doing her faith in God requirements for church and is just a little weird that she loves our little dog so much she sleeps with him every night! At least she doesn't bathe with him......hmmmmm.....yup that's for you LD.

Abby (3rd grade) is also moving forward and has moved into 4th grade reading. I remember what the teachers who had Hailey first would say after Abby, "Hailey would walk through fire for me....Abby says....I don't feel like it" It's quite a push to get this girl motivated, but when she is, she yells at everyone around her because..., " I can't concentrate". This makes sense out of the many times I would walk in to volunteer at the school and find Abby irritated behind a folder she had rigged to hide herself from others so they would, "quit bugging me."

Ireland (sigh) Oh Ireland. She talks about Hawaii all the time. Talks about the "airporch" we left from and how awesome it was to fly. She loves reading books all the time and we play a lot of "oxie" (Yahtzee). She knows that she gets a lot of Yahtzee's, but still asks her siblings to play oxie???

What'll come next, you never know ;-)

Easter and ....stuff

Wow, busy busy. Easter weekend was AWESOME! We went to my moms'. Friday we just hung out and played cards because we got there kinda late. Saturday was a day of reloading shells (for Shem and the kids), and a day of rest for me (woohoo!). In the afternoon we headed out for the range again and spent a couple of hours shooting and hunting shells and lead.
It was amazing. I got to shoot an old .45 colt with a pearl handle and let me tell ya, it was smooth. The .03-06 with the scope was my obvious favorite along with the colt simply because the scope made it sooo easy and I couldn't miss! Shem got to try out his new 7mm. It is so loud that no matter how many times I hear it, it scares the crap outta me. Landon was the only kid that wanted to go with us this time and after shooting the .32 he lost interest. I think it surprised him that such a little thing that looks like a water gun and fits perfectly into a tiny hand could hurt if not held right. His fave is the .22's. Hailey's too.

Easter Sunday, the Easter Bunny loves to hide our kids baskets and have them track them by a piece of string tied to the end of the basket and strung throughout every inch of the house. It is out of control with four kids and a labyrinth of string, and forget about getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Most of the time, every adult just tries to stay put in a central location until the children unwrap us. That's what the Easter Bunny gets after reading a cool Internet sight five years ago and thinking it would be great fun! @$%#! Aww deal with it! The kids hunted for eggs and then we went to my brothers for some yummy food! They were so nice to prepare so much and then had the kids search for the 500 some eggs we hid outside after lunch! Pretty cool for us all although it was a little cold. Then my little nephew and niece broke confetti filled eggs over my head and giggled hysterically. My brother didn't look too bothered either. What they must have not figured is that I don't play well with others. I grabbed what I could from on my head and after tackling them, dropped in in their mouths and then after letting them up (waited until they were in the kitchen) and showered them with cold water. Take that suckas!

Ireland got her first "official" haircut yesterday. She sat sooo patiently in that chair for an hour and 15 and just kept saying, "I'm pretty", when we got home. She just got some long layers and Jen kept saying that she really did a great job cutting her own hair since there was little to fix on evening out her own cutting job.

Isn't Jen so cute! She put glitter in her very tightly braided hair and stickers on her face by her eyes.

Today was Holocaust Day at the kids school. They have an amazing teacher who does this every year around this time (yes, I know it's not in January). She enlists the staff and her seventh grade class. They know it's coming, but not when. Today was it. The siren sounded and they were quickly escorted out of their classrooms. Each was marked with a yellow star and marched around by unforgiving teachers who yelled at them to keep their heads down and not speak. A few were caught talking and were made to do things like hold backpacks or water bottles over their heads. They were separated and at the end of the day, a few were sent into the "crematorium" marked classroom and even had to choose between themselves (when caught talking together) who would go and who would stay, all the while never knowing who would make out better.
It sounds awful to do that to kids, but this is an amazing tradition at our school and they look forward to it every year. They think it will be a fun experience or a new cool thing they've done. I was privileged enough to sit with them at the end of the day and hear how their necks hurt and how they developed Morse codes of their own to speak to one another and even some who cried and expressed remorse for their own treatment of other students throughout the year. They seemed to understand that every historical event can be traced to a playground. Fighting about who looks different, or doesn't believe the way you do. They talked vulnerably in front of their peers about feeling alone and scared. They were asked what they thought they would want to ask a Holocaust survivor if ever they met one. Then the door opened and a sweet woman of 84 years was ushered in to the sounds of gasps and sobs. She looked at all of the children in their yellow stars and said, "I feel I am in a familiar place with all these stars." When asked what kept her going, she responded, "Nothing kept me going, I didn't want to go on living, it's just by chance that I did."
I only write about this because it moved me as it does every year and I'm so grateful to this amazing teacher and staff that really TEACH our children the terrible detriment that prejudice, judgement, ignorance, intolerance and the misuse of perceived power can have. I say perceived power because I don't really believe that anyone is more powerful than another. I do believe, however, that if we think we are better than all, it proves we are below most.
Thank You Arch. Thank You Lilly.

Easily Entertained!

Tonight while Shem was sharing bedtime stories with the kids, he decided to tell Ireland a new story. She is particular to "The Three Little Pigs," but he stepped onto shaky ground and announced, "This time lets listen to "Little Red Robin Hood." ? Landon and I look at each other and Landon mutters, "She steals baskets from the rich and gives them to the poor." I try to smother a giggle and continue to listen to the worst rendition ever told. As Shem realized we were laughing at something, he mentally located his mistake, but couldn't quite remember her "proper name", and she quickly turned into "Little Red Robbing Hood" who was taking a "biscuit", no a "brisket" to Grandma. So I turn to Landon and mutter back, "Was up fool!, Give me all yo briskets for my gramma!" Ireland, while looking lovingly at her Daddy, just smiles and sucks her thumb. I get a kick outta my weirdos!