New Kitchen

So, when we decided to stay here, we also decided to kind of redo our kitchen. We just finally got all of our new cabinets installed today, and are so excited! We added the HUGE light fixture, the cabinet over the toaster is almost twice the size it use to be, and the whole wall with the fridge is new. We have also gotten new stainkless appliances (the fridge will be here Friday). And, are waiting on the granite countertops. The desk will have granite on it, that's why it looks kind of unfinished. Anyway, I'll have to take before and after pictures when its all done, but I am so happy!!! I needed all of this storage so badly!

Random Question

So, we had an exciting weekend- two birthday parties, Aaron's first two soccer games- meaning LOTS of work, single mommy again. Luckily, he was able to go to the party on Saturday morning with me. Its amazing to me that the ten month olds that I met when I first moved here turned THREE this weekend. Its so fun to have friends to share raising children with! Happy Birthday Henry and Ally!

On our way to the party Saturday morning, Sullivan says to Aaron and I, "Hey guys, have you ever read the directions on the back of a rat poison box?"

Totally taken aback by this TOTALLY random question, I asked "Do you even know what rat poison is?" We've never had rats, never bought poison, I was totally shocked.

"Of course, its that little green cheese that rats eat when they need to die."

Who knew? Alright then. Aaron says, "Have you ever read the instructions Sullivan?"

"Yes, wanna know what it says on the back of the box? - 'Dear rats, I am tasty green cheese. You will like me. If you eat me, you won't die, tricked ya- you will die.' "

Ok, seriously, where did this kid come from?

I started homeschooling him kindergarten today, and its gone great. He is so proud of himself, although, he wants to know when all the kids he can teach will get here! He misses the cut off for kindergarten here, and he is way ready. He already did Pre-k, so we decided to homeschool him kindergarten, and perhaps first so that we can challenge his little brain! He wants to learn about the solar system, so that's gonna be our fun activity for a while. Wish me success- I am not great at actually staying home. If you know me well, I like to be on the move.

By the way, for those following the foot saga, Sophie has now made her two weeks in her cast! Everything from here on is bonus healing time. We are shooting for her to make it to her appointment next Tuesday morning, but we'll see how the week goes. We did sneak her in the pool Friday night for the pool party, and she did fine.

Indy

So, Sullivan has discovered Indiana Jones. He wants an "Indiana Jones Lego Adventures" Birthday party. Aaron bought the movies this weekend and has been watching them with him (I know, I think its a horrible idea too, but what are you gonna do?). So, tonight, we were eating dinner, and I told Sullivan he needed to eat his dinner so that he could grow big and strong like Indiana Jones. He looked at me like I was the dumbest person in the whole world, rubbed his chin and said,
"Mom, how can I turn into him, I don't even have any claws on my chin like him and Santa!"

I had to think hard, and then I realized he was talking about a beard. "Are you talking about a beard?"

"No mom, you know those little hair balls daddy gets on his face? That's what I need, well that and you have to stop buying me crocs and buy me real shoes. Indy does not wear crocs."

So, that's all he needs to turn into Indiana Jones.

As a side note, Sophie learned another new word tonight- "Deal." We've been appliance shopping this week, and tonight, Sears had a friends and family sale. We went, and they had some great deals. Sophie would touch a fridge or a washer or dryer and say very loudly, "OOOOHHH Deal!" I guess she hasn't learned not to let the salesman know you think something is great so you can get a better deal!

New Words

Sophie is growing by leaps and bounds. As much as I want to believe that she is still small, every day she does new things to show me how big she really is. She has a few new words that she says over and over lately, I thought I'd share.

"Ouch"- she LOVES this word. She loves to say it as she hits you.

"Hurts"- she learned this one because of this throat virus. Its really pathetic, she'll swallow, then look up at you with sad puppy dog eyes and say "hurts".

"Yuck"- I didn't really know she knew this one until yesterday. I was letting the kids get some sunshine in the backyard, they've really been too sick to leave the house this week except for the doctor. So, they were enjoying playing in the backyard. I heard Sophie keep saying "yuck, yuck, yuck". I had no idea that she knew what it meant, so I thought she was just exploring with her vocabulary. Until..... I saw her holding up her cast saying "yuck, yuck yuck." She experienced Sampson being back in full force as she had stepped in a pile of his poop getting it all in her cast. Nice right? Try having to clean it!!!! Yuck was very appropriate!

Sick Days

Wow! We just can't catch a break over here. The kids have some virus that causes ulcers all over their mouths, fevers upwards of 103 and lots of trips to the doctor with $25 copays each time. So, we have been finding things to do. Sophie is usually found playing mommy in her room if you don't know where she is. Unfortunately, she is at the break off age of still being a baby herself, and sometimes is found IN the baby bed, trying to get into the baby strollers, or into the baby doll swing.

We have also been reorganizing the playroom and going through all of the kids' toys. We bought all of these crates to organize the toys into. Can you see anything extra in the "trains" bucket? Hint, she is about 32 inches tall and about 23 pounds.

And finally, Sampson came home last night. You might remember a few months back that we found homes for our animals due to the kids being sick. Well, we kept one dog, Delilah, and Aaron and the kids have done great. We really feel it was the cats making them sick. I have been missing Sampson alot lately, and Delilah has had alot of withdrawal symptoms. So, when the family who adopted him called to say that he wasn't adjusting well, we jumped on the opportunity to get him back. Little did we know that Sophie would be the happiest of all of us. She won't leave him alone, and I have honestly NEVER seen her this happy! Its the cutest thing (for us anyway). Sullivan was so excited to have him back to sleep with him last night.

On a side note, at the doctor's office, our doctor was checking out the kids when Sophie started to ask for "coke" (which is honestly what she calls all drinks, I swear!). So, the doctor says, "Sophie, you don't like coke, you like to eat and drink things that are healthy for you. What do you like to eat?" To which my healthy, all organic kid l;) says very matter of factly, "Chips."

Nice!!!

He's so BIG!

So, yesterday, in the hussle and bustle of bringing Sophie back to the doctor for a new cast, Sullivan kept telling us that his throat hurt. Now, he has only said this to us a few times, three were strep throat, one was mono. So, I was concerned, but honestly, I just kind of "mommied" him. I gave him some motrin and loved on him a bit. It seemed to work. So, we got in the car to go to the doctor, and he told me he wasn't feeling good. About two seconds later, he threw up all over. NICE! Yeah, its 102 outside, can't really clean that up later. So, we pulled into Aaron's parking lot and made him jump in the car so he could clean it up while I took Sophie to the doctor.

She got a new pink cast that will hopefully come off now on September 3rd. When we got home, Sullivan looked sick. He just looked pitiful, laying on the couch, not wanting to do anything. I asked him to help me make cookies, and he perked up a bit. But, I knew he was sick when he didn't want to eat any of them, but just wanted to lay down for a bit. He took a nap for a few hours (at like 5 o'clock), and woke up when Aaron got home. He burned up all night, cried about his throat hurting and needing to throw up. Classic signs of strep throat. So, I took him to see our trusted doctor.

Everytime I see her, I love her more. This morning, after Sullivan got weighed and all of his stats taken, we waited. Now, we are not strangers to the office, so Sophie had fun showing her cast off to all of the receptionists and nurses (who apparently all know her name WOW- guess who's paying their salaries?). So, Dr T walks in the room, asks Sullivan how he is feeling. He says (for real, I couldn't make this stuff up),
" Well, if you want me to be honest, I feel awful."

She asked him about his ailments, he LOVED that she was treating HIM, and ignoring me. Anyway, one swab and a rapid strep test later, we left with some prescriptions in hand (gone are the days where you have to deal with nausea while healing, there's a pill for that now!).

During this whole ordeal though, I realized just how big Sullivan really is. I mean, honestly, all he really needed me for was to drive him there and pay. He dealt with the doctor and nurses. Who is this kid? Was this really my baby a few short years ago? Is this the infant that couldn't survive without me feeding him? Is this the toddler who needed his mommy to rock him to sleep every night? I know it is, but man, he is getting SOOOOO big. While I miss the days when I felt like his tiny head had been molded to fit perfectly in the crook of my elbow, I love watching him grow. It amazes me how great he is with words, how mature he can act when talking to other adults, and how proud he makes me.

Just as I think he is so big, I realize he is not so much. Last night, we were playing "Monkey in the middle" in the backyard with him (motrin works wonders). He hurt his wrist. He started fussing about how his ankle hurt. I told him that his ankle was on his foot not his hand. He says "Maybe that's where your ankle is, but mine hurts, and its right here!" (pointing to his wrist)

Sullivanisms

From the mind of an almost five year old "genius" in his own mind.

- "Mom, want to know how to make the best wemowaide in the whole world? You just get some of that stuff that's yellow that nasty people like to put on their hot dogs."

"Mustard Sullivan?"

" Yeah, mustard, nasty, anyway, you get a big, HUGE, bucket of water, put ice in it - because wemowaide is gross if its hot. Then, you put the mustard in it, stir a lot, then TADA! The best wemowaide in the whole world."

Let me know if you want to visit his wemowaide stand, I'll get you at the front of the line.

- "Mom, you know what ears are for?"

Ok, you are probably thinking, of course I know what ears are for. I would just say yes, I know if he asked me. But, you don't get to hear the explanations on the obvious like I do everyday, so I bit the bullet and took the bait......

"What are ears for Sullivan?" Are you honestly thinking he is gonna tell me they are for hearing? If you are, you should probably stop now and go read previous Sullivanisms posts.

"Well, you know how sometimes your food gets really dirty because it has a lot of dirt in it? Your ears make it safe to eat that dirty food. They get all of the dirt out of your food so that its safe for your stomach."

"Wow! I never knew that's what ears were for Sullivan!"

"Mom, you do know they make you hear things too, right?

"Ummm, yeah"

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- Daddy, "Sullivan look over there, its a restaurant that looks like a train!"

Sullivan, "Daddy, you are whying frou your teef! There is no restaurant that looks like a train over there!"

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- Yesterday after being up all night with hurting foot girl, I fell asleep while he was awake. I honestly have learned my lesson not to leave him awake with me asleep, but this was a true accident. So, apparently he watched a few shows that I would never let him watch. One of which was Power Rangers. So, I get up, and instead of being a sneaky kid and never telling me, he has to rub it in my face.

"Mom, I have decided I am gonna learn karate and kick all of the bad guys out of our way."

"Sullivan, you know how I feel about fighting, I don't like it one bit."

"Well the power rangers all have really cool kicks they can do and no bad guys mess with them."

"Well buddy, that's all pretend."

"Fine, how do you want me to get rid of the bad guys then mom, get a gun and shoot them all?"

No, Sullivan I do not want you to fight them or shoot them."

"Then what mom, what do you want me to do when I see the bad guys, because I am not strong enough to put them in jail by myself."

"How about you ask God to take care of them?"

"Are you kidding or serious?"

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I told him I was going to take a shower with Sophie since she had peed in her cast and that when we got out I would play a game with him. He comes in a few minutes later....

" Mom, did you tell me that you were gonna take a long shower or a short shower? You better think very hard about your answer before you give it! This is turning out to be a very long shower, and I do not remember you telling me that before you got in!"

An Update

We went to the orthopaedic doctor this afternoon. He said we made an excellent decision to take the cast off (while he was not encouraging taking off casts at home). With a few more hours in the wet cast, she probably would have lost her little toe. She does now have a skin infection, which we are treating with antibiotics. She crawled for the majority of the day, but after we left, we got a pair of stiff soled stride rite tennis shoes, and she has been all of the place. She can't be recasted while the infection is present. So, we were told to get the shoes, keep her in them any time she isn't sleeping, and to keep her off of her foot. He said (after taking an xray), that she was on the road to healing, but that the bone is definitely a few weeks away from healing. Ideally he could have casted her today. But.... my kids don't live in an ideal world. He did say that if she would not walk on it for three days, he felt her bone would heal well enough not to need a cast. I thought it might be a possibilty when she was crawling, but not now.

So, we return Monday (or sooner if she is in too much pain over the weekend). I feel much better having had him tell me that we made a good decision. I honestly thought CPS was gonna be there waiting to take me away. For some reason, all I could think was that I was told not to take it off at home, and we did. He said moms are given instinct for a reason. HOORAY!

On a side note, while we were there, Sullivan fell pretty hard and bonked his head on the hard floor. Honestly, it was a hard hit, and I am sure that it really hurt. But, I have been given Drama King of the century, so it was turned into an all out ordeal. He cried, and went nuts. In his words, "My head will never be the same, I need to see a bone doctor, my bone hurts so bad that I just don't think I can go on, I need a Lightning McQueen Ice pack, or I will never heal." Oh Lord, seriously, how's the show from up there? I know you use my life as your entertainment on a lot of occasions!!!! So, after much love from the nurses, and quite a few kisses from his very concerned sister, he thought he would be ok. One of the nurses (who over heard him in the hall professing his need for a bone doctor), came in telling him that he was at a bone doctor's office, and it was lucky for him. He thought about that really hard (after seeing Sophie in a cast for so long, and all the trauma she was in), and instantly was better. It was pretty much a miraculous healing. Perhaps the saw that he watched cut off her last cut, or the shots that he thinks come with bad experiences (can you say too many trips to the ER?), I am not sure, but I do know it was a healing of cosmic proportions!!!

I'll keep you updated as to the drama queen (and king) progresses with the foot.

The Foot Saga

So, last night around 10:15, Sophie woke up screaming. It was a bad scream. The kind you do not want to hear coming out of your kid, ever. She screams alot, most of the time, its in anger, or its letting us know that she can't stand her brother, or strawberries, or sitting in a confined seat, or wearing a seatbelt, etc. But, this was the kind of scream that said, "you better find what hurts me fast, or I am gonna make you pay." She randomly would say "shoe ouch, ouch shoe". Her cast was still sopping wet from her 3 o'clock shower. It hasn't been drying recently, so we had decided to stop bathing it, and tried to avoid water. But, you forgot who my daughter is. She is the girl that hears you say you won't bathe her, and then pulls off her diaper and pees in her cast. Yeah, you read that right, bath could NOT be avoided.

Back to the story. After almost three hours of insanity, us trying to blow dry, get the air compressor to blow air in there ) did I mention that I was waiting for the swat to show up on our door step after hearing our kid scream bloody murder and then hearing the loudest air compressor you have ever heard at midnight? They never showed, and I am not sure I am not thankful. Anything would have been a relief from hearing her cry. So, we finally debated taking her to the ER to have the thing cutoff. We knew something was wrong in there, just not what. We had heard horror stories of rocks and such getting trapped in there, then causing a nasty infection.

So, in our genius, its 2 am, my kid's been screaming in pain for 3 hours, I am delirius, minds, we decided to cut the thing off. Or, to try. Sullivan was sleeping, and we weren't sure the ER wouldn't laugh at us. Thinking back, it probably was the wiser move to make. Aaron gets an array of pliers from his tool box and proceeds. After about ten minutes, the cast comes off looking like this:

But, Sophie's foot looks like this:

I swear, I think her little toe was really close to falling off. Her foot looked horrendous. The pictures don't do it justice. Apparently it was way too wet in there, and her skin was rotting. I wish you could have smelled it, wait a minute, no I don't. Its one of those things you just want to take my word on, TRUST ME. So, I got up the nerve to call her doctor's office this morning and am waiting to hear what they want me to do.

Untitled

There is no possible title that I could put on our lives right now. Seriously, this last month has been rather insane!

My kids have enjoyed the water and the summer. Their favorite thing to do is go to the splashpad, although now Sullivan wants to live at our neighborhood pool. He is tall enough to finally reach, and brave enough to run and jump in. Last week, we went to the circus in Houston. The kids had such a good time. Sophie roared and said "wow" for about two hours straight. Sullivan pointed out everything that was unsafe. By the way, riding on an elephant, running in a ring with tigers, and getting thrown across the room in a cannon are all very unsafe things. He likes to point out when I do something safely, and driving the other day, he yells out: "Mom,. way to go, looking both ways before pulling out into traffic is definitely safe! " Wow!

My best friend Tiffini officially closed on there house here and a new one in Beaumont. Sullivan and Thomas have been best friends for forever, and this is so hard!!! I know you are supposed to be happy for someone, but honestly!!! Sophie is enamored with Tiff's 8 year old daughter Lauren. I wish I had a video camera rolling the other day when they were playing babies together. They were pushing them all around the house and taking care of them. It was so precious. Sullivan has begun being rather mischievious. He loves bathing things in the sink, giving them a thorough cleaning, and testing my cleaning skills in the process. He makes a huge mess, but his cars all sparkle.

In other news, we have taken our house off of the market. It sold this past weekend, and we had to look at other houses to buy. We eventually decided we liked ours more than anything else we saw. So, we have a few kitchen and bathroom renovations to do, but we are staying! That's about it for us right now :)