The Day Has Finally Come

Ben broke his arm this morning.  I really thought he would never break anything. He's not into many sports. His main hobbies are reading, watching cartoon network, and legos.  A few days ago, I noticed him climbing a lot - trees, furniture, anything elevated...

This morning, Sadie and I were outside and I heard him screaming.  I ran inside, and he told me he had fallen off the bed headfirst and used his left arm to brace himself.  He had been leaning against the post at the foot of our bed and lost his balance. I initially thought he had just sprained his wrist, but as the wailing became louder and louder, I knew it was broken.  I scrambled to get some shorts on him, some pants on me, and Sadie's diaper bag packed.

We went to Greg's office, and it was a confirmed fracture. Greg splinted him, and he will see the ortho tomorrow for casting.

He is definitely "milking" his condition.  He has a new gumball machine, has watched cartoons ALL DAY, can surprisingly still play Wii and computer games (hmmm...), and has completed no worksheets or read any books.

I am just so glad he is ok :).

A big thanks to our friend Reagan for watching the kids while I went to the store to buy more medicine, baby wipes, and milk.  I will be more prepared for traumas in the future.

Friend Night

Our good friends, Dave, Mary Jane, and Blake visited last night.  The boys have been friends forever and they never leave off where they have been before.  They have both matured so much over the past few years. It is so sweet to watch them play together.  Last night, Blake FINALLY agreed to stay the night :)  I really do not blame him for waiting so long. His family is pretty awesome.  We had pizza, played games, and had a yummy breakfast.  Mary Jane is a few weeks away from seeing her sweet baby girl.  Am I selfish for wanting her to deliver early? Don't aswer.  I just want to hold Amy Beth.

The boys taking a moment from the Wii for a picture. They called this the "two-headed monster" picture.

These goodbyes are becoming hard!





Sapp Dinner And The Dentist

Last night, we had dinner with the Sapp family.  We love this family. Doug (otherwise known as Happy the Clown) had a new pacemaker inserted on Wednesday and came through the procedure with no complications :)

Greg and Doug looked at the xrays for about an hour. I learned a few things...

But, let us get to the important things :)  The meal was fantabulous.  I haven't had a home-cooked meal in approximately 12 days.  Lynette is the BEST cook/baker.  Greg is probably regretting his choice in marriage.

Meatballs

Mashed Cauliflower (think mashed potatoes)

Eggplant Casserole (AMAZING)

Corn

Homemade Ice Cream

Chocolate Cream Pie

When we were leaving, Greg said "You realize, you actually ate 15 meatballs". Oops.

Greg ate a lot as well, including a hefty portion of the dessert, so he didn't really get to me.

Ok, enough about the food.

Reagan will be leaving in February.  She will travel for A YEAR to teach in China. She is AMAZING with children and I have no doubt she will accomplish everything that she desires.  I'm sure she has some hesitancy, but who wouldn't?  I love that she always listens to Him. She is such an inspiration.

In other news...

I took Ben to the dentist earlier in the day.  He was scheduled for August, but I was able to get him in earlier. He talked through the entire visit, which made it a bit longer than planned :)  No issues regarding decay, but they did give him a timer to make sure he brushes for 2 minutes at a time.  I did it with him. I brush  5 times/day (I'm weird), but, I have to say it was difficult to brush that long.  Anyway, FINALLY the dentist addressed orthodontics.  I have been waiting for this discussion for a while.  He will have a consultation next week and we can transfer the records to Nebraska.  He will either have braces or an appliance.  We will see...

I skipped workout this morning in lieu of snuggling with the hubs. Not a good choice considering the 15 meatballs I ate!

Today I...

Woke at 3 am (thanks to Greg's snoring and obvious nightmares - seriously, he screams out in the middle of the night).  He never has any recollection. I'm considering filming him.  Anyway, I get up to use the restroom and trip over the suitcase where I have packed our clothes.  When I say tripped, I mean I'm laid out on the floor and there is blood.  I would like to call it a 7 inch laceration, but that would be too dramatic (and would likely require stitches).  Really, it is a 7 inch scrape, but it still hurts.  I thought I fractured my elbow, but it is just bruised.  Greg examined me and, once again, reminded me I am "the worst patient ever".  I can't blame him. I really am.

I catered to Sadie at 4 am.  She decided she needed to be read to.  Initially it was two books, but then became four.  She was satisfied after four.

Went to the track with my workout buddy at 6 am (a couple of miles and some stands)

Came home and ate a leftover hotdog.  I'm not kidding about demolishing these leftovers.

Fed the children and prepared for speech therapy.

Gave Ben his math worksheet - seriously, he is becoming more strong-willed by the day.  Greg and I are both VERY stubborn. I've said it before.  I keep thinking Ben will realize that I will ALWAYS win the battle, but he's starting to scare me a bit.  He was not allowed to play until he finished it.  He even has a new Lego game that came in the mail today that he purchased with his allowance. He stared and stared at it; then stared at his worksheet; then stared at the game.  It just wasn't worth it to him.  He has used multiple excuses..."I have to use the restroom"..."I'm dehydrated from the pool"...I think I might throw up...I have a nose bleed (ok, this was real and was actually quite a fiasco-I'm talking about a lot of blood).  He even fell asleep in his chair.  So...it is 5 pm and he is almost done with his math worksheet. Not good.  He actually said, "are you going to send me to bed without dinner".  He obviously has seen this on tv, but I assured him I would feed him (I would never deny food), but would definitely send him to bed if he did not complete his worksheet.

Took the kids to the pool after Sadie's nap.  I would have to say that I was a little short-tempered regarding the above, but thought the pool would make everyone happy. Wrong. Sadie screamed the entire time. Even during snack time. I made it through an hour and then it was time to go.  Ben did not take the decision well, but, seriously, everyone was staring as though my child had not been fed/bathed/napped/changed.  Not to mention they "closed the deep end due to lack of lifeguards".  This did not help the situation with Ben.

Printed off bank statements for our loan officer.  I've already done this, but now he wants itemized statements. Do they judge you regarding how much you eat out? I hope not.

Truly miss my dogs.  Our new home does not have a fence.  Of course, I will take them out multiple times per day, but worry about their happiness.  Well, not "their" happiness; only Charlie's. He's definitely a "seeker".  Louis would never run off.  I want a white picket fence, so I'm hoping Greg will get that done :), which is ridiculous because he will have a new job and I can't rightfully beg him to do that.

Contacted Columbus ISD again regarding Ben's school supply list.  They have yet to post it online, and although she said she would email it within the last 5 hours, I've yet to receive any email.  This is the first time I have ever been able to purchase school supplies. I'm excited!

Planned a play date for Ben.

Am praying for a sweet friend tomorrow.  Please keep Doug Sapp in your prayers as he receives a new pacemaker.  Just in case you need a reminder at how special he and his family are to this baby girl...

The Calm After The Storm

Today is strangely quiet.  This weekend was filled with tons of chaos, as my family came to "pack me up".  Maybe it wasn't chaotic...it was just me.  I have to say, my sis, brother-in-law, and mom are awesome.  I tend to shut down during these stressful times and they are always here to pick up the slack. Always.  I think Mom and sis were a bit annoyed as I travelled through "memory lane" with every single closet.   Aaron (BIL) wins the award on packing.  That man packed up half of my house, went to pick up boxes numerous times, looked after the children, and fed Sadie.  He is a superstar in my book.  It is a little humorous to see the multiple liquor store boxes in my garage..whiskey, beer, vodka -- you name it, it's in there.  The movers will certainly refer me to a program.

I haven't done much today. Just worked out, did a few loads of laundry, made the beds, fed my children. The important stuff.  I did read Ben his Compassion newsletter regarding Uganda.  We had a 30 minute discussion about the hardships that these people go through, how very lucky we are, and why it is important to sponsor these sweet children who are less fortunate.  I quizzed him afterward (that's just what I do) and he was able to answer everything quickly.  And then, he said "BACK TO THE SUNDAY COMICS!"  Um, ok.  All I can do is try.

Tomorrow, I will be more productive.  I really need to clean post pack-up, attempt to make a meal (in the microwave), go to the bank and post office and take the children to the pool.

P.S. I did make Greg some chocolate-covered strawberries and took them to the office. Not really a meal, but it took a little effort :)  Seriously, everytime I take Sadie up to his office she starts yelling "da da da da" when she sees him and loves on him for the few minutes she has.  He always throws her up in the air a few times and she is content upon the exit :)  She did say "mom" a couple of times this past week, so I'm hopeful, but, as I've said before, I'm not the "fun" parent. I'm the one who puts on the glasses, puts her in the standing frame, tries to help her crawl, does feeding therapy. NOT FUN. I totally get it :)  I wouldn't like me either.

Too Cool For The Pool!

Summer 2011

Summer has consisted of....

Lots of swimming

Library time

Lunar golf

Lowe's Build and Grow series

Laundry

Language Arts/Math/Mind-Bender worksheets for Ben

Lots of stress on Mom and Dad regarding this BIG move

Good News! We have a house!  I would post a pic, but they have already taken it off the website.

Bad News! We have yet to sell our house :(  If we cannot sell within 6 months, we will will rent to a deserving family.

Good News! My family, including sis, brother-in-law, mom, and nephews are all coming this weekend for their last visit before we leave for Nebraska.

We close on our house 8/4/11. Hard to believe!

Ben building his tow truck at Lowes

Sadie at the library



Happenings

There has been so much going on over the past two weeks!  I would have posted sooner, but our internet has been down.  The reason is so embarrassing.  I called the cable company this morning to find out the reason and asked for someone to come out.  They told me I was past due on my account and they were slowly disconnecting everything. What?! I must have accidentally thrown the cable bill out with the "trash mail".  I just pay bills as they come and never really record what has/hasn't been paid.  Greg was relatively nice about the situation :) We are up and running now!

Last week, we travelled to Nebraska to look at houses and visit with family.  We stayed with Greg's aunt and uncle in Columbus. They were so hospitable!  I'm so lucky to have married into such a nice family.  We met with the physicians he will be working with, went to a waterpark with Greg's family, met with realtors and bankers, and had some great "down time" with the family at Ron and Ann's house.
It was a great trip until Sadie had a meltdown on the way home (maybe she wanted to stay in Columbus?).  After 2 hours of screaming, we quickly booked a hotel room in Oklahoma City.  It was a perfect solution.  She finally calmed down after swimming in the indoor pool for 2 hours, passed out, and didn't wake until 7 the next morning.

We finally made it home Sunday evening.  The unloading began. That is never fun, but everything is washed and put away :)

July 4th snuck up on us.  Greg had to work, but I grilled hamburgers, made potato salad, and bought watermelon.  We ate outside in the sweltering heat (103).  Greg made it home around 8:30 and we went outside and lit sparklers, smoke bombs, and these little chickens that lay eggs (really, they just explode).  I let Ben pick out the fireworks.  We aren't legally able to shoot anything big in our back yard, so we were limited in our choices.

A few pics...

Sadie sported a ponytail today! Ben making one of his goofy faces. Sadie with a mouthful of watermelon. Sadie decides to wear her dress as a toga :)