Blue Ridge Spring

I'm happy to say that Holden is doing great. He is continuing to heal and eat more and different foods. He returned to preschool this morning and was very happy to see his teachers and friends. I was told that he had a great day! :-)

I'm also happy to say that I had a Moms' Night Out last night with some friends from MOPS. We went to Artistic Abandon and tried to recreate our own "Blue Ridge Spring". It was a lot of fun!

*I liked this painting a little better than my "Funky Forest". So, this one is now in my master bathroom. The poor "Funky Forest" has been relocated to the laundry room. Ha!

An Update on Holden

We saw the pediatrician this morning and had Holden's stitches checked. According to her, the stitches look great, and he is healing nicely. He was quite pleased that today's visit did not involve shots or needles!

After the doctor's office, we made a celebratory trip to the Lego store to spend some of his birthday gift cards. The rest of our morning was spent assembling and playing with police Legos. He was a happy boy!

We are going to have one more day of "taking it easy". He'll be back at preschool on Wednesday. I'm planning to provide Jello snacks for the whole class! ;-)

A True Emergency

Well, yesterday was quite a day! Brant is away on his annual guys' golf trip. The plan was for Quinn and Holden to spend Friday night and part of Saturday with Mama Carol.

Everything was going well until I got a call at 11am that Holden had an accident. I picked him up and took him to the urgent care, leaving Quinn and Fletcher with Mama Carol. Once his mouth stopped bleeding, he told me that he was running to his bedroom to change his clothes, tripped and fell. He either bit his tongue or stuck a toy into his tongue when he fell; I'm not really sure which one happened.

After waiting for an hour to be seen at the urgent care, we were sent to the children's emergency room at Wake Med. The PA told me that Holden's tongue would need stitches and that he would need to be sedated for that procedure. So, we were off to the ER. We arrived around 1:30 and were seen around 3pm. The procedure was done at 4 or 4:30. Thankfully the bleeding had stopped at the urgent care!

I was very naive about the sedation. I really thought that it would be something like laughing gas. I chose not to worry Brant. I wanted to wait until the procedure was over and then call and let him know what was going on. BIG mistake on my part! The sedation part was SCARY! It involved an IV and putting him to sleep for a little bit. A respiratory therapist, 2 doctors and a nurse were in the room during the procedure. Holden didn't look like himself. He moaned and shook; his eyes rolled around. It was terrifying! I had to leave the room.

He received 3 stitches on his tongue. That part took maybe 5 minutes. It felt like 5 hours! When I re-entered the room, I sat with him and waited for him to wake up. That whole process took an hour or so. He had to be fully awake and able to keep down some liquid (a popsicle) before they could release us, which happened around 6:45.

After picking up the other boys and getting home, everyone went straight to bed. Holden was really agitated at first, moaning and crying. So, I put him in bed with me around 10pm. That seemed to calm him down. He slept the rest of the night. We were all up around 7:30.

I have definitely seen him improve over the course of the day. He has been eating applesauce, grits, jello, pudding and ice cream; he has to follow a soft diet for 5-7 days. I have to monitor him today and tomorrow, while the medicine gets fully out of his system. His equilibrium may be a little off, so he cannot go to preschool in the morning, walk down the stairs unassisted, ride his bike, etc. until Tuesday.

My biggest challenge right now? GETTING HIM TO TAKE IT EASY! He is feeling better and really wants to run and play with Quinn, and he doesn't understand why I keep saying "be careful". Little boys and "taking it easy" just don't go together! Ha!

Brant will be home later today. Once I called him, he really wanted to come home. But, I assured him that the hardest part was over and that we would be fine. I'm really hoping that's a true statement . . . that "the hardest part is over" and "we will be fine"! :-)

Here are some pictures from today. He's definitely perking up as the day goes on! Thank goodness! *I will NOT show pictures of his tongue. Trust me, it is disgusting!











The other boys are doing fine. Quinn has been my "assistant" and has helped with Fletcher. Can you see the look of adoration on Fletch's face? :-)

Happy Weekend

Good morning and Happy Saturday from the baby of our family!

By Candlelight

Just as it was getting dark last night, our power went out and stayed out for about an hour. What in the world was I going to do with my crazy boys in the dark? PlayDoh by candelight, of course! It kept everyone contained and busy. It was actually a nice way to pass the time. ;-)

Bug

Quinn and Fletcher have had it rough these past few days. They both caught that yucky stomach bug that's been going around, first Fletch and then Q. Holden seems to have had a tiny bit of it yesterday, but my oldest and my baby have had it the worst.

Today, I'm happy to report that everyone seems fully recovered. Their appetites and energy levels are back to normal. Quinn should be able to go back to school tomorrow; we will hit the 24-hours fever free mark this afternoon.

Our neighbors are having a new driveway installed this week. Here's Q and Fletch (still in their pajamas) watching all the action. The dump trucks and tractors have provided some much needed entertainment on these sick days! I crept around the corner to take this picture. See how sweet Q is with him? I love that boy (and will really miss him when he goes back to school tomorrow)!

Recent Cell Phone Pics

Brant took the boys to a Night of Praise at our church last weekend. I heard that the food (especially the nachos) and the music were "awesome"!





Freshly showered:



Fun at the park:





Fletcher has spent the past 3 days in his pajamas, recovering from the yucky stomach bug. He was MUCH better today . . . thank goodness!

Love and Fun Dip

According to Mr. Q, he has a "girlfriend" at school. I'm trying my best to foster a relationship with my boys where they feel comfortable talking to me about any and everything. So as soon as he referred to his "girlfriend", I did my best to not act shocked and to get as much information as possible! ;-)

From what I gathered (before he got shy and silly), he asked her on the playground to be his girlfriend. She said "okay". He likes her because she is "beautiful" (oh goodness!) and "nice". He considers himself to be nice. So, he thought that he would "give it a try". She also sits beside him in class, so proximity might play a role in this particular selection. ;-)

I must add that we had this conversation during our treat time after dinner. Tonight's treat was a selection from their Valentine's boxes. Both big boys picked Fun Dip (which is pure sugar . . . I know!). Q got so silly while talking about his girlfriend and eating Fun Dip (go figure!) that I had to get the camera and capture his craziness.






Not one to EVER be outdone by big brother, Holden wanted some silly pictures taken of him.



*Holden will tell you that he has 3 "girlfriends". Then, he will name the 3 girls that are in his preschool class! Ha!

My Little Helper

This morning, Fletcher had his first lesson in dusting.


He seemed to like it. The best part? It kept him busy and happy for a little while. Ha!

*His future wife will thank me one day, right? ;-)

From My Boys and Me . . .

Happy Valentine's Day!

Kindergarten Valentine's Party

Holden, Fletcher and I spent the morning at Q's school for a Valentine's lunch and party. The kids were SUPER EXCITED about the holiday festivities. Sugar, sugar, sugar!!! ;-)


With his buddies (Tyler C, Trevor and Davis):




Playing a "pin the heart" game:


The kids were asked to decorate a box for their valentines. Q's box theme? Snakes, of course! Yikes!


Q's card for us (which made me cry!):

Preschool Valentine's Party

Fletcher and I went to Holden's preschool this morning for his Valentine's Day party. It was a sweet (and surprisingly mellow!) party for nine little 3 and 4 year-olds! ;-)

Mr. Holden waiting patiently to fill his envelope with valentines:


Handing out his valentines:


He LOVED the potato chips!


Holden's favorite valentine surprise? The candy bracelet!



*I turned to look at Fletcher during the party and laughed out loud at his hair. He certainly had a hair-raising good time! Ha!

Picnic

Middle brother and little brother have become quite the pair. They LOVE to play with each other while big brother is away at school. One day last week, I found them in the corner of the living room having a "picnic". So sweet!

Hospital Field Trip

Today was spring field trip day for Q's Kindergarten class. Quinn was OVERLY excited about the big outing; he was up at 6am!!! ;-)

We rode the big bus to the Rex Heart Center where the kids dressed up as doctors, met Rexie the mascot, and had heart ultrasounds and EKG's performed. We finished the morning with a trip to Chick-fil-A for lunch and playtime (that Chick-fil-A will never be the same!).

*This first picture is so funny to me! When I first got on the bus, I couldn't even see the kids or find Quinn. They're all so little! ;-)



















*Many thanks to Mama Carol for watching Fletcher and for getting Holden to and from preschool!