Momma said knock you out

Seriously, I nearly knocked myself out today.

One of my kitchen cabinet doors was open.

I didn't realize it.

I was leaned over putting dishes away.

I whipped my head up with full force RIGHT into the corner of the cabinet door.

It hurt so bad I dropped to my knees.

This incident reminds me to be super sympathetic when my kiddos get bonks.

Dirt Shirts

My Mother-in-law returned from a work trip to Arizona last week.  She brought with her some souvenirs for the boys.

Red Dirt Shirts.

EJ and I watched an episode of Dirty Jobs about the making of these shirts.  It was really neat to watch.

There are special directions for these shirts.

Wash them first by themselves in cold water.

Did that.

Then I dried them.

The dryer buzzer went off.

I opened the door and discovered...

my BRAND NEW DRYER was a lovely ORANGE color!

Seriously.

Come on!

It didn't say anything about not drying them.

Geez.

Several magic erasers later...

The dryer is mostly white again.

Mostly.

Stinkin' Sick

I was supposed to be gone all weekend.  I was headed to an adoption conference with two of my dear friends.  I have been looking forward to it with great excitement.  We were to leave on Thursday night.

On Wednesday, Q started running a fever.  By Thursday, I knew I would have to take him to the doctor.  Turns out he has an ear infection.  We got an antibiotic and headed home to snuggle.

Also, Huckleberry got hit by a car.  We think he got clipped in the face and rolled.  He had a trip to the vet where they sedated him and determined that his jaw was broken.  He was given meds and sent home to recover with special feeding instructions.  We love big 'ol gentle Huck.  We are so glad he is okay!

I knew I just couldn't leave little Q and go to the conference.  Those of you parents know that antibiotics often lead to diarrhea.  I could just picture EJ trying to take care of an injured dog while cleaning up nasty baby poo poos and trying to chase all three boys.  It just didn't feel right to leave.

Turns out it is a very good thing I didn't go.  By late Thursday afternoon I was in a bad way.  A crazy sickness came over me in an instant.  I had chills, aches, runny nose, sore throat and a fever.  I felt like I couldn't lift my head from my pillow. 

Pop and Grammy helped me with the cowboys until EJ could get home that evening.

Friday was spent just being sick.  EJ kept the boys busy so I could rest.  He did have to run to town a couple of times and it was all I could do to take care of the boys. 

The thing that freaked me out more than anything was the fever. I have read that fever in early pregnancy can be a bad thing. EJ called Dr. K's office. Nurse T told EJ that the fever was more dangerous to the babies than Tylenol.  So we kept the Tylenol going and prayed the babies would hang tough through it all. 

My mother-in-law had been checking on us that day and wanted to keep the big boys for us for the night.  We asked the boys if they wanted to go and of course they said yes.

Saturday Q woke up with a rash all over his body and I was still miserable.  We went to immediate care.  Q was seen right away.  He is allergic to the antibiotic he was given.  They prescribed him a new one and told us to give him some benadryl.  I waited another hour and forty-five minutes to be seen.  The Dr. looked me over and said it was probably a virus.  He told me to take Tylenol.  I asked him if he would consider just cutting my head off.  He didn't seem to think I was funny.

When we called to check on the big boys, my in-laws informed us that Bubba woke up with a fever and had vomited that morning.  Poor guy!  They said he seemed to be doing better and was watching sports on TV with his Papa.  We were headed to pick them up and go home.  My mother-in-law insisted that we go on home and let them keep the boys another night.  I was in no place to argue.  I could hardly function.  EJ had his hands full with me and Q.

We came home and I slept and slept.  When I woke up I asked EJ to go get the big boys.  I was missing them.  He called to check on them and they were having a good time and looking forward to staying another night.  I didn't want to upset them.

When I woke up this morning I finally felt human again.  Certainly nowhere near 100% but better.

This afternoon, EJ and Q went to pick up the big brothers.  I was so happy when they made it home.  We pulled out the hide-a-bed so we could all cuddle up and watch a movie.  Pitiful aren't we? 

(I looked at EJ after he took this photo and said, "Do you realize I am snuggled up with our 5 children right now?")

I cannot thank EJ enough for taking good care of us.  I am also thankful for EJ's folks for keeping the big boys for us.  I find it difficult to accept help but there are times when you just don't have a choice.  I am so glad for family that steps in and saves the day when I need them.

(Just a side note: Pop and Grammy are currently taking care of other grand kids so they were not available.  I know you are wondering why the boys didn't just go downstairs...don't worry inquiring minds...I've got your back)

Staples are for paper...

Recently, my little superman met his kryptonite.  (A kitchen counter) It was bad. It left a good size gash on the top of his perfect little blonde head. I called MY 911 which is grammy and she came running. I put superman in the car and headed to the ER. He was cool and calm and I appeared to be the same. On the inside, however, I was SCREAMING! I was pleading with the Lord that this was not going to require stitches (I knew it would). We got into a room, the doc came in and took a peek at his head. She said, "oh yeah. That's going to require staples, no doubt." I cringed, but smiled for the sake of my 4 year old. I then quietly asked her, "what do you use to numb the area?" To which she said, "This will be hard to believe, but nothing.".....

I thought about a swift ninja kick to the head.... her head, for even thinking about STAPLING my son's head with no pain medicine. Instead I said, "You have got to be kidding me. I haven't even given him tylenol yet." We chatted a few more minutes, but there was nothing else I could do. I gave him a ring pop (sucker) and hugged his little body as she put FOUR staples on the top of his head. It was awful, but he is tough. 

I was impressed with his composure. He even thanked the doc for helping him as she walked out. Now that's my kind of kid. 

And just to add to that fun ER trip... a large man checked us in when we walked in. Superman was pretty worried for this man's health and could NOT stop asking me, "Mom, do you think he drinks a lot of pop? Is that why he's unhealthy?" I tried to SHUSH him, but he was truly worried for this guy and had no idea that his words would be insulting. We've had some long talks since then about asking those kinds of questions LATER, you know, when the overweight man is not standing in front of us. Geez.

Paint Bucket Blues

Most of the time, I am inside...doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, teaching, taking care of baby Q and his big brothers.

There are a lot of projects in the works at Four Sisters Farm.  There is always something going on.  I rarely get to help because as I stated above...I am inside.  I do, however, feed the people and that does make them happy.

Anyhow, two glorious days, I got to help.  EJ's mom came and picked up the boys so they could spend a little time with them.  This meant both EJ and I could help Pop and Grammy paint the garage.  Although it's not "fun" work I was glad to be doing it.  I happily climbed my ladder and participated as part of the team...

 

That's where it all went wrong.

Somehow I dropped my paint bucket full of grey paint onto the newly painted white garage door and the concrete below it.  FANTASTIC.

The wind was totally out of my sails!  I told Grammy maybe I wasn't qualified for this work.  She smiled, laughed and said, "You aren't getting out of this that easily.  Climb back up that ladder." 

So I did.

I am happy to report that we got my mess cleaned up and EJ even covered my gray splashes with white paint.  All is right again.

Wonder People

If you have young children you have probably seen Wonder Pets on tv or perhaps DVD. I just have to say that Linny, Tuck, and Ming Ming have nothing on Grammy and a certain young cowboy who lives at the farm. Here's what happened...

Before Pop left the farm to head to his job in the big city, he told me that there was a baby bird stuck in a window well outside the farm house and it needed help. (Of course, he's a superhero by nature but had to get to work on time so he doesn't blow his cover...anyone who knows him knows this is true.)

So right after Pop left, I went to see if the cowboys were up to rustle up some help and the biggest little cowboy was awake and eating a power breakfast of shredded wheat. When he finished his breakfast we went to assess the situation. What we found was just what Pop said...a baby bird (a robin) down in the deepest window well and a worried mommy robin perched on a post nearby. I'm not sure if she was offering suggestions to her youngster or scolding him.

We decided we needed a stepstool and work gloves. We didn't want to touch the baby bird with our hands because the mommy might not let him back in the nest if he smelled like people. Then we put the stepstool down into the window well and waited to see if the baby bird could figure out how to fly/climb/hop up each step...but he didn't and we had to go in after him.

The little guy was really afraid but we caught him and lifted him up safely to the ground where my cowboy/superhero had a talk with him about finding his mom and his nest. It was a very satisfying experience and we're pretty sure the baby and mommy birds were very grateful.

In fact, they have probably told the other animals around here that we're okay and can be trusted...you know...the word gets around.

======================

"What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it." Matthew 10:29 (New Living Translation)

The drawer incident

I was digging around in my junk drawer looking for something when out of the blue little Wubba came flying over and grabbed the drawer to swing from it.  It was truly a tarzan move.  Impressive really. 

Anyway, the drawer broke and the only thing that saved him from a good bump on the head was the fact that I still had a hold of it.  Pop took the drawer to repair it but I think Wubba likes it better this way.  I keep finding him in the same spot.  Take a look.

Confessions of a local IDIOT

Ok, so here's the deal I know that most people don't like to share their short comings and stupidity. Well for the sake of a good laugh I'll be sharing my recent funny situation.

I know that you all think that I'm perfect, however I'm not! I know, I know, you're all shocked! But I recently got a speeding ticket in our small town. The cop told me that the easiest way for me to pay was NOT on the Internet (because they'd charge a use-fee), but to just go to the municipal court and pay the clerk (the court is in the police department). So Good little citizen me, EJ, went to the police department and had my check to pay my restitution in hand. I went to the window in which I thought I was to pay and slid my check across the desk. She quickly told me that the court was down the hall. So I went down the hall, and after searching like a fool for 5 minutes and asking a second time where it was I finally found it. Went to the door and read all the signs which read:

"Please turn all cell phones off or on vibrate"
"DO NOT approach the bench/judge while court is in session unless you're called on."
"Sign-in with name, address, phone number and you'll be called on."

So dutiful me, I signed in and filled in the necessary columns.

I surveyed the room and found that there was about 20 people waiting in chairs facing the "bench" where the judge, clerk, and and officer were HOLDING COURT!

HOLY HECK, I JUST WANTED TO PAY A STINKIN' SPEEDING TICKET!

Most of these people waiting had NOT had a shower in the last week. I was the only one who was wearing anything that was clean let alone resembling nice (other than the judge, clerk and officer).

So I took a seat in the back; feeling quite out of place listening to the charges that were being brought against these people. Here's a short list of them:
* procession of drug paraphernalia
* contempt of court
* DUI
etc...

AGAIN....AAAAWWWKKKKKWWWAAAARRRRRRDDDD!

So when the officer came back to pick up the sign-in sheet that my name was on, which of course would mean that I would soon be up. At this point, not really looking forward to standing up in front of everyone to just say, "I was speeding and here's my money..." So I quickly went over to the officer and whispered, "I just have a speeding ticket that I need to pay, is this REALLY where I need to be to pay?" Perplexed and thinking surely I can't be in the right place!??!! He took pity on me and said to follow him to the desk to pay the bill. At this point, I'm thinking that the lady who sent me to this place at the first window I was at was wrong and we were going back there for me to pay (or so I was hoping). So I stepped out the door and held it open for him, to which he just pointed for me to follow him , then I realized, UP TO THE FRONT where the judge and clerk were. Great!

So I followed. Trying to be as small as possible, as the judge was talking to a defendant not more than 5-6 feet away from me. I had given the officer my payment and ticket and he was processing the payment. For me NOT FAST ENOUGH, nothing would have been fast enough. It seemed like an eternity and that all the eyes in the room were on me. All that I could think was about the second sign I read about NOT approaching the bench unless the judge called on me. Well after the judge was done with that defendant, he looked right at me; at least I think he did, because he was severely cross eyed it made it difficult to tell if he was looking at me or the clerk. He said "...can I help you?" Again, trying to be a fly on the wall, I quickly and quietly responded, "oh sorry, no uh..." and just pointed to the officer that was filled out my receipt (in hindsight I don't know why I would have thought that he would have known that I was pointing or where I was pointing). Content with that answer he went back to his work and the officer was done. I grabbed my receipt and RAN (NOT like I stole something, but swiftly) out of the court.

So the lesson learned here should be to NOT SPEED AGAIN...or not pay speeding tickets in that way again. HOW AWKWARD.

Letters from Prison

Hello all, I have taken some time to collect my thoughts from the jail that they have so unjustly put me in. Yes, this is Daisy the so called "dunder heed". How slanderous is that?!! I'm on a short leash these days...if you know what I mean. So between my naps (which are frequent) I have had a chance to create my defense to these trumped up charges.

First, my accusers don't want to take me to trail for fear that they might lose because they have no witnesses. I know, I know Grammy would come to the stand first as the first "witness" however what has she really witnessed? NOTHING! She only saw me and my neighborly friend...we'll call him "Mr. Clucks" (names have been changed to protect the innocent) out on a nice "walk." We happened to be discussing the overpopulation of cattle in our area at the time.

Second, ask the prosecutor if they have EVER found the body?!! NO, it's all circumstantial evidence. These cases are rarely won, again another reason they want to just put me in a "Gitmo" and let me age slowly.

Lastly, it couldn't have been me because, as we all know, I have a bad leg. I believe that we have the documentation to prove this. How could I have done this crime?

Here's my suspicions. I believe it was those crafty cats. Those things have been out to get me from the word go. I think that it was a conspiracy with Ranger as the leader! And I think that it's dangerous to be letting our kids be around such a crafty criminal. I mean, who really wants to have their kids around these hardened thugs?

The first chicken that was hurt on our property was hurt at night before all the problems that we had that following day. Well, I'm kenneled at night so you know that it couldn't have been me. This supports my idea fully, along with common knowledge that cats "hunt" at night. Plus, have you seen the size of the rats that Ranger has killed? They're about the size of a small chicken! Coincidence? I think NOT!

I have snuck into the house unnoticed to post this while the farmers weren't looking. I would like to use the comments under this to be my petition to free me from my en slavery!


FREE DAISY

FREE DAISY

FREE DAISY

Surgery Today

This morning, Pretty Princess is having one of the screws removed from her leg/ankle. Please pray for her! She was not looking forward to the procedure but she knows it is another step towards healing. Grammy and Romeo are with her at the surgery center.

Hoppy the Hen

Meet Hoppy. She recently injured one of her legs. We have no idea how. She has become very good at Hopping about. I have been doing some thinking...What if she never hurt her leg at all. What if she is just making a statement of support for Pretty Princess? She did seem to hang close by when Pretty Princess came outside for a visit.

Kindred Spirits: Hoppy the Hen and Hoppy the Human.

The Princess and the Pain

As you may already know, Pretty Princess suffered a serious injury recently. Time has been hard to come by and blogging about this event just had to wait...but now it's time.

Pop and I got one of the calls parents don't want to get in the wee hours of the night on April 11th from Romeo that Pretty Princess had been in an accident and he needed to know which hospital to take her to. He quickly added that it wasn't a car accident and had to tell us that they had been setting up a mattress on the floor for a friend of his who was spending the night and they were jumping on it...they got tangled up and he fell on her leg...they heard a pop and she was in a lot of pain.

Romeo's older brother called their mom and dad who live nearby to get some help with this emergency and of course, Romeo's mom said they HAD to call Princess' mom and dad to find out where to take her for treatment. They loaded up the Princess (but not in a pumpkin carriage) and took her to the emergency room where they learned that she had multiple fractures in her leg and ankle and would require surgery which they scheduled for the following Monday.

Pop and I discussed the best course of action for us knowing that a princess needs parental support for such an injury and decided to fly me out to help. I arrived at the local airport about 17 hours after the accident. Rock Star and the Superheroes picked me up and I arrived at Romeo's parents' home to find our Princess perched up on the sofa with pillows and pain medication. I was SO glad to be there and was made welcome as Romeo's folks gave up their master bed and bath to us. They made us feel so welcome and cared for...meals, medicine runs, and much more. I might mention that we've been family/church friends for years so it seemed natural to be together through the ordeal.

We've made some memories as a family that I won't embarrass the Princess with by actually recording them here...but they involve dozens of roses from Romeo, pain meds, silly questions by medical staff before the surgery, multiple pokes to get an IV started, blow up mattresses on dorm room floors, sharing her dorm with a fugitive and more.

Romeo continues to warrant his nickname by sweet gestures such as holding a heavy text book while she studies (see pic above). He has vowed to see her as much as possible while she recovers. Which means a lot of driving since she cannot drive (it was her right leg). They live about 45 minutes away from each other so this will be a commitment.

Of course the most popular comment about the accident involved "no more monkeys jumping on the bed." I told Princess and Romeo that I would most certainly be writing a children's book for their future kids about the ordeal...and let this be a lesson to all that your moms were right about not jumping on the bed!! Just ask Princess and Romeo.

We praise God for His care and provision through it all, like a doctor in the family...even if he is unconventional. We have stitches to remove, a cast to put on, rehabilitation, a second surgery to remove one of the eight screws Princess has in her repaired leg/ankle, and more rehab. We have to deal with wheelchairs, crutches, and our personal favorite - the scooter at Wal-Mart. We cannot imagine why it happened but we can trust that God has a plan and it is for our good...

Surgery Update

Praise the Lord! Pretty Princess' surgery went very well. They were able to repair the leg/ankle in one surgery. When the surgeon came out and gave the news you could hear a collective sigh of relief and a few tears. Thank you Lord! You are so good to us. Please continue to pray for healing.

The picture below is of Romeo, Grammy & Romeo's mom calling to tell the good news!

Please Pray for Pretty Princess

The youngest of the four sisters is having surgery this afternoon.

She and Romeo will be able to laugh at all of this later...much later.

They were being silly on Friday night jumping on a mattress that was placed on the floor for a friend. In all their "monkey jumping on the bed" glee they somehow got tangled up and Pretty Princess' leg broke. In three places.

Romeo and his folks saved the day. They got her to the ER and then took her home (to their home) to take care of her. Grammy flew in immediately and they have all been nursing Pretty Princess through the weekend. Her surgery is scheduled for 1:00pm this afternoon.

When I went over to visit last night I was impressed to see how Romeo was attending to his princess. He would carefully pick her up and carry her to the bathroom when she needed to go. As you can imagine hanging out with a broken leg for the weekend is incredibly painful. It sounds like no one is sleeping very well as they get up for pain meds, potty breaks, etc.

Please pray that the surgeon will be able to completely repair the breaks in this one surgery. There is a possibility that it will require two. Pray that God will calm and comfort sis as she heads in to surgery. Pray the same for Romeo and the Moms as they wait.

Thanks!

ANOTHER EMERGENCY VET VISIT!!!

Well, we noticed something wrong with one of our chickens. It was acting very weird. I inspected it and noticed that it had an egg stuck in its backside. The problem was that this was several days ago. It still had the egg stuck yesterday evening, so after all the problems with our other animal, Daisy; Farm Chick made me take the chicken to the vet also. So there I was walking into the vet with my layer that wasn't laying because she was "Egg Bound." I talked to our wonderful vet and he tried to just pull it out as I had, however quickly realized that it was REALLY stuck. So he had to put her under and perform a quick emergency surgery to get the egg out. He said that that was necessary to help make sure that there wouldn't be any infection behind the egg inside her. So now we owe the vet ANOTHER $300!!! Can you believe that!??!! What is wrong with this world! Ok so this didn't really happen, I made the whole thing up because I'm full of manuer.

Puppy Love is Expensive

Here is my terrible tale...I was backing out of the garage (very slowly!) when I apparently ran into Daisy. She howled and pulled up her back right paw. Upon a trip to the veterinarian we learned that Daisy's femur was broken. Bad.

Tomorrow Daisy will be having surgery to the tune of $800+.

I would just like to say that my love and respect for EJ has grown greatly through this experience. First of all, he never made me feel bad (I did that myself) and he was the one to take her to the vet. I couldn't show my face in there.

Also, he never made me decide if we should put her down in lieu of paying a ridiculous amount of money for dog surgery. I was trying to put on a brave face but my heartache was just below the surface. EJ called and explained the procedure and recovery time. I immediately started bawling and said, "thanks for not putting my doggy down!"

Apparently, I'm not cut out for this country girl, old yeller stuff. I am tender hearted and I really love that dog. Here's hoping she lives a long life at Four Sisters Farm!

Bubba VS the Bed Frame

One week ago, Bubba picked a fight with the bed frame in our bedroom. At least that's his version of the story. I was in the kitchen and heard the door to our bedroom open. I hollered, "Bubba, get out of Mommy and Daddy's room." Then I promptly came around the corner to be sure he complied. When I saw him, he was holding his head and screaming loudly. I scooped him up and tried to get a good look at the injury. I carried him to the kitchen where I put ice on it. I called my mother-in-law (a Nurse Practitioner) to tell her of the accident and seek her advice. She must have recognized the panic in my voice because she made plans to come straight to our house after work. (it was already in the 4 o'clock hour)

When Bubba calmed down, I asked him to show me where he hit his noggin. He went in our room, lifted up the bed skirt and pointed to the bed frame. "Right there, Momma." How in the world did he manage that? My child who climbs on everything and jumps off everything gets this kind of injury from tripping and falling into a bed frame? Go figure! Do you notice that his shirt says, "You're looking at a legend." Fitting. Look at his profile...OUCH! My mother in law assured me that when a bump goes out (like a goose egg) that is a good sign. She checked him over and gave the thumbs up that he would be okay. I am SO grateful that she makes house calls!

Below are some pics we took a few days after the "bonk." Notice how the bruising is everywhere! He has two black eyes.

I am realizing that I will be spending the next 18 years wondering if the latest injury has given my boy a concussion! I was accident prone as a child so I guess I deserve this! I think having these busy boys is going to keep me on my knees. Praying for God's protection over them!