ER, nearly 911, and the construction of the skull

About a year ago, when Eddie got on his feet, I (half) joked that he would put himself or me in the ER before he was two. As of last week: achievement unlocked.

Today, I was THIS CLOSE to calling 911. My stubborn little lion got his head stuck between the bars of the dining room railing. Really. I mean that's one of those things that I always thought was ridiculous and impossible...like, can't you just slick his head with oil and slip him out? Apparently not.

By the way: WHY NOT? How is the skull constructed that allows it to squeeze one way and not the other way? Is this some holdover from birth because he's so young? I mean I don't get the physics of it.

Anyway, my sister and brother in law are the awesomist. I'll say it: they are my favorite people today. Probably all week. Oh, and Grace rocks, too--she came to distract the pilloried toddler. Ellen held me together and supervised; John did the work. And man...he's the reason I still have a railing, the smart man. I think I owe him chocolate.

As for young Simba...in eight days of summer vacation, we've been to the ER and nearly needed the jaws of life. I don't know if I'm happy we're getting this over with now, or I fear what the rest of this summer has in store.

Calm before the storm

Dan's going away for a few days, so it'll be me and the boys until Thursday. Then, on Friday or Saturday, some of our MA family are coming to visit. THEN, on Sunday, Dan and I get to go on our first vacation without kids since...well, kids. Two days in AC, then back to our visiting family--who will be staying here with the boys in our absence.

There's a lot of preparing to do. And I'm starting to feel like I should have been cleaning the house this past week...but I really have enjoyed my kids. I'm GETTING Eddie. He is so headstrong that we clash when I have an agenda. Without one, I have the patience (most of the time) to ride it out. And other times...he is so damn cute.

On Friday, we watched the lightning together--and he was SO excited about it. I think it was the "adventure" he loved, and me inviting him into it. That's a detail I have to remember.

We got him into the pool beyond the steps, and he had FUN. He's started singing a song from The Fresh Beat Band ("Uh-Oh" is a catchy hook for the under-2 set). And he's showing some enthusiasm with my introductions to potty training. I especially love his affectionate interactions with Alex--and I have time to watch them and foster a positive response from Alex (of course, they're not always affectionate, so I HAVE to watch them carefully).

These leisurely days are good times.

So, now I need to build in some work: clean up the house, prepare for company, prepare for our trip (hey, anybody have recommendations about AC?), and most importantly: prepare for being away from the boys. There are lists, schedules, and instructions to write. With Alex on a biomed program, there are a dozen supplements, medicines, etc. to keep track of. Never mind his need for routine...oh lord, please let him handle us being away!

If you don't hear from me, I'm probably writing a list.

Love letter to an ER

We interrupt your regular programming for a special announcement: Riverview's Pediatric ER made my night.

So wild man Eddie dislocated his elbow tonight. How? Accidentally. And of course, it happened after office hours--as all emergencies are wont to do. Urgent care couldn't set it, so off to the ER. Greeeaat.

But seriously--WOW. Granted, we were lucky that it wasn't busy. But we were in the waiting room maybe 5 minutes, and Eddie loved the fish tank. He didn't want to leave it. Then into the peds section, and it was beautiful. I know it was built recently, so everything still has that new-office smell. The layout, the furnishings were just lovely.

But the staff: SO attentive. The nurse practitioner could have taken care of us, but the supervising physician came in anyway to say hello and offer support. 5-10 minutes in the room and Eddie was "reset" and out of pain. DONE. Well, except for paperwork.

Everyone was so loving and friendly. Normally, Eddie would have eaten it up. As it was, he wanted to get the hell out. Once he did, he was happy Eddie, giggling and wild!

So when all conditions were good (i.e., the place wasn't mobbed), Riverview ER was just wonderful. I thought you should know.

Ready

Blessed, joyous solstice to all! I always think I'm going to start some rebirth on a pagan holiday, and it never works out. This time, though, I totally forgot what day was approaching--and I've been wanting to make this transformation for a few weeks. And ya know, I'm hoping that making it public will help me to stick to it. ;-)

Today wasn't especially eventful...hey, I got my oil changed. (It'd only been 9000 miles. Relax, it's the synthetic oil...that makes it all better, right?) And Alex had ABA therapy, which was great as usual. And we went swimming: two Kaufmen, Mommy, and a few other awesome relatives.

So instead I'll give you some exposition.

I have a tendency to get lazy, and that tendency has quietly been leaving piles around my life. Yep, the physical piles in the house, plus the non-tangible ones, like therapies for Alex and habits that need breaking--or making. I want to change the way we eat. I want to change the way we spend spare time. And I want to KNOW I'm doing my best for my sons, not just hope I am.

But it's all a chain reaction, see? I have to make do in the kitchen because I don't have room to set up new systems. In the house, the toys and clothes are where they are because there are other toys and clothes and crap in other places. I joke that I need to gut the place. Well, it's sort of a joke. But I have stalled for MONTHS because "I don't have time to do this--I'll have to find someone to babysit so I can do this...for like a few days." Yeah, that's not happening.

So it has to be in stages--one room, one closet at a time. Perhaps one reasonable babysitting session of a couple hours at a time.

And once I can get my physical world in order, I'll have the setup to make other changes. Like more activity and less staring at screens (for the kids, of course...I say as I stare at a screen. :-/). Like eating better foods and getting more exercise.

A goddess-friend of mine recommended a book (that I have barely cracked, to be honest) that taught me something to the effect: "Disorder in the physical world breeds disorder in the psychic/spiritual/mental world." And that makes total sense to me.

So now that I've said all that, I'm reminded that I really should clean out SOMETHING tonight...maybe I'll bag up some clothes that I want to get rid of. Or maybe pull some clutter out of the kitchen cabinets. It'll be something.

Because if I remember my reason for this--the well-being of my family and me--I can't lose my focus.

Just before I sat down to write this, Alex stopped flap-pacing to look at me and whisper in a gravelly voice, "Mommy! Ready?" I had no idea what we were about to do, but it didn't matter. When my kid invites me to play a game, I am in. There was no doubt I'd answer as I did: "I am READY."

Renovation, Day 1

So today was the first day of my summer vacation. I have a lot of work to do.

The house needs serious cleanout--so serious that I'm uncomfortable in here. But there are only so many hours in a day, and I have two (big) little diversions that deserve my time more. So, once piece at a time, I will get it done this summer.

There are also appointments to be made, problems to be tackled, and obligations to fill. I'll get to these, too.

But first, I have two little boys to cherish.

So today, we played. We went to Auntie's house and played with cousins. We went to Grandma & Grandpa's house (our second home) where we could move from space to child-dedicated space together. I sat in a ladybug tent with Alex and ate lunch. I listened to Eddie's attempts at language and fell in love with him again. He's such a little character... because I realized that attempting to teach them new things will not go well if I don't really get who they are.

And so, part one of the renovation is simply getting reacquainted with my kids, particularly Eddie. I spend so much time "reading" Alex that I think I've got him pegged--as much as I could. But Eddie and I butt heads so much that this down time is a blessing, a chance to calm down and enjoy each other.

(Oh and I made a call about feeding therapy for Alex. But there's far more work to be done there, so I'll save it for later. For now, I'll revel in the happy day!)