Sunday, July 29, 2007

Monket See, Monkey Do

Apparently Cole was jealous of Chase's fabulous new bracelet and just HAD to have one of his own. He and Chase were standing up on one of our living room chairs when Cole either was pushed or fell all by himself (depending on who you ask) and hit his head on the wooden corner of our ottoman before hitting the concrete floor. When I picked him up, his head was bleeding a little and had a big knot on the back. We iced & tylenoled him up, and were wondering if we were going to be making another trip to the ER in less than 24 hours, when the oven timer went off and the brownies were ready, and Cole was magically healed. His head stopped bleeding almost immediately. Imagine that.
I'm going to get off my computer now and make him a bracelet like Chase's so he doesn't try anything else. Then I'm going to put helmets on them both and wrap them in bubble wrap.

Brownies




Cole woke up from a nap today to find that Chase was riding the tractor with Charles. This, of course, sent Cole in to hysterics. I calmed him down by bribing him with making brownies. As soon as we got started, Chase came in and helped us. I think about half of the brownie batter made it into the pan. Once we were done, they spent about 20 minutes licking the bowl. Chase actually stuck his whole head in the bowl at one point, just to make sure he didn't miss any spots.

Chase's Expensive New Bracelet

My insurance changed recently to one with a deductible, and I had been wondering how long it was going to take me to actually meet the deductible. The answer? Less than a month.

Charles was holding on to Chase's arm yesterday and tickling him. Chase yanked his arm to try to get away and then started crying that his arm hurt. He refused to even try to move his fingers or his elbow. He eventually fell asleep after we put some ice on it and gave him some tylenol. I left around 10 to go to a movie.

5 or 6 hours later, he woke up crying that his arm hurt and he couldn't move it. Charles called me at the movies and I came home (guess I'll have to rent that one to find out what happens) and we brought him to the ER (after finding that the after-hours clinic was closed at midnight on a Saturday night).

After a very short wait, they called him into triage. Chase really played up his dad's role in the injury, and every time someone asked him about it, it became more and more malicious. Chase's mood improved considerably, though, when they put the hospital bracelet on him. The triage nurse sent us back to get his arm x-rayed, and Charles sat outside with Cole while I brought Chase in for the x-rays. He couldn't (or wouldn't) even lift his arm to put it on the x-ray table, so the x-ray tech had to do that for him. He shrieked every time she moved his arm to re-position it. When she was done, she brought him a stack of stickers, and he reached out and grabbed them with his "hurt" arm. Apparently, he was healed. Knowing how much this little adventure was costing, I was ready to break his fingers for him if nothing was broken. I thought they were going to have to admit Charles after Chase came out of x-ray waving at Charles & Cole with his "hurt" arm. Luckily for Chase, the doctor said that Chase had "nursemaid's elbow," which the handy little discharge sheet describes as:

"Tiny ligaments normally help hold the elbow together. One of them slipped in between Chase's upper and lower arm bones as they were pulled slightly apart. As the bones come back together, this ligament got stuck. This injury happens if you pull a child's hand with the arm in just the right position. Children with nursemaid's elbow have a lot of pain when they bend it"

The doctor explained that it had probably popped back into place when the x-ray tech turned his arm for the x-ray, so he was all healed.

We finally got back home around 1am with two wide-awake kids. I offered to take Chase's hospital bracelet off for him, but it seems that he's quite satisfied with his newest fashion accessory and is not ever taking it off. Since we DID pay for it, I guess that's ok.

*************EDITED***************Charles called Jason before calling me at the movies, and - even half asleep - he accurately phone-diagnosed Chase's problem. I was also asked to mention that Jason has also accurately phone-diagnosed meningitis and kidney stones for us. Looks like we'll have to come up with some more challenging diseases to test him with. :)

The Saturday Morning Art Show



While Cole was Sweating to the Oldies yesterday morning, Chase was working on a picture. He wanted me to take some pictures of him with his picture, and when Cole saw there was a photo shoot in progress, he jumped in.

Feel the Burn



Cole was watching an exercise show on TV yesterday morning (his show ended and that came on), and when I looked up, he had gotten his pillow and was following along.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Boat Ride

Charles took Chase for a boat ride this afternoon after work. Cole was pretty ticked that he couldn't go, but Chase had a great time.

Child Labor



I bought a couple of pounds of fresh green beans over the weekend and put the kids to work snapping them. They are actually good little workers and had fun too.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Davey Crockett and A Visit from Jack & Sloan





Jack & Sloan came to visit on Sunday. The boys played together, but Sloan spent most of her time babysitting Forrest. She carried him around and rocked him for quite a while. Forrest was a pretty willing participant and I think he even enjoyed it a little.

Cole discovered Chase's old coonskin cap this weekend, and it's now essential to his wardrobe. He changes it up a little, though -- sometimes the tail is in the back, sometimes it's on the side.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Crape Myrtle


Our crape myrtle in the front flowerbed has been blooming pink and white, even though it was supposed to be dark red. This past week, it finally started blooming the right color. I really like this color. (It was raining when I took this picture, which is why there's mulch all over the driveway).

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Happy Birthday to Daddy (or John?)

Chase and Cole have been very busy this afternoon, getting all of their dad's birthday surprises ready. They each made a picture for his new office, decorated the cards they bought for him (Chase got him a batman card & Cole chose Mickey Mouse), and baked and decorated a cake for him (and tasted a little along the way). Cole has been practicing singing Happy Birthday, but for some reason, he insists on singing "Happy Birthday to John," no matter how many times I tell him it's his daddy's birthday. Oh well, I tried...








Monday, July 9, 2007

A New Cousin

Chase and Cole have a new cousin, Logan. He was born earlier today and we went to the hospital tonight to check him out. Chase and Cole had to wait in the waiting room, since they're too little to go into the rooms, but Chase made Logan a card and we brought it to put near his bed. Chase and Cole had a grand old time in the waiting room, though. At one point, Cole managed to get his head STUCK between a post and the window, and I thought I would have to break the glass to get him out. He eventually got out by himself, after much screaming and crying (mostly by him). The other families in the waiting room LOVED us...

Sunday, July 1, 2007

The Student Driver


I'm not necessarily opposed to Chase learning to drive one day. As a matter of fact, I plan to start teaching him myself once he's out of college. I've given some thought to the curriculum, and I think Mom's School of Defensive Driving will be a four-year program. I'm pretty sure Papa knew about my plans, but he let Chase drive his tractor anyway this weekend. He apparently did a pretty good job of maneuvering around trees in the yard, and even towed a 4-wheeler that had broken down.
He's still not getting a license before he's 30.

Watermelon

Chase has been begging me to buy a watermelon from a roadside stand for about a week. He's never had watermelon before, but assured me he loves it. This weekend he convinced Papa to go get him one. Chase tried a few bites, but didn't seem to love watermelon as much as he did when he was asking for it. Cole was less shy about his feelings towards the watermelon.

Chase's Swimming Lessons




Thursday was Chase's last day of swimming lessons. He went for 2 weeks, and the last day was the only day we were allowed to watch. I couldn't believe how much he progressed in 8 lessons. When he first started, he didn't want to put his face in the water. By the end, he was swimming underwater (with earplugs, goggles, and a nose clip), diving for toys on the bottom of pool, and floating on his stomach and back. He was so proud of himself.