No good deed goes unpunished

Viewer discretion is advised! ('cause this is totally gross)

Gutter storm grate + cat = scared, trapped, crying kitty

Scared, trapped, crying kitty + two little boys playing close by = dad to the rescue

Dad to the rescue + scared, trapped, crying kitty = happy, free kitty

Gutter storm grate + dad's hand = 

I know, doesn't it seem like yesterday that we were looking at other pictures of Lance's mangled hand? 

Well, it wasn't yesterday, but it was almost exactly a year ago. I'm going to start confining him to the house while sitting on his hands this time of year.

Poor Lance. Last Saturday we were in the throws of getting Christmas out. The tree was up and boxes of Christmas decorations were strewn about. That afternoon, Lance went outside to finish with the outdoor Christmas lights. As it was a nice warm day, the two older boys went out to play help. A little while later, Mikey comes running in and bids me come look what they found. Sure enough, down under the drain in the gutter there was a cat. 

So the mission began. I went back inside to be with Joey, but Mikey would periodically run in to ask for something else. They tried a little bell, which nearly worked, but the cat just couldn't get all the way out. Lance managed to lift the drain cover (you know, those huge,  heavy, iron things) and hinge it up against the gutter.

Of course, then the cat started running further into the hole and under the street. So after sticking his head in the drain and going to the other side of the street and almost getting the cat, he finally sent Mikey into the house for a can of tuna. That did the trick. Kitty came out.  Yay!

When Lance went to lower the grate, it was much heavier than he anticipated. The one hand pulled it down and because of the shock of the weight, he put his other hand down to brace himself. And down came the grate. With his left hand in the wrong place.... Poor Lance.

Mikey came running inside saying "dad pinched his fingers." I stepped out to see Lance jumping around the front porch and blood everywhere. Our wonderful neighbor down the street was at our house in like 30 seconds and we were out the door.

Lance was in excruciating pain for probably a solid two hours before we were at the hospital and they were able to numb it all up (half hour to the hospital, then lots of waiting). Diagnosis: Both fingers broken right on the tips. Biggest concern: the nails growing back. The doctor actually took off one nail, stitched it up underneath, then sowed the nail BACK on. Didn't expect that. (Apparently the hope is it will work as a template for the new nail to grow in.) And the other fingernail, he just lifted up like the hood of a car, stitched up, and put it back down. All that blood was actually just pouring out from under his nails. Thankfully he had gloves on so there weren't actually any lacerations.

He's doing pretty well now. The first half of Sunday was pretty rough as it seemed like all the swelling in the tightly wrapped bandages was preventing the medication from reaching his fingers. But the pain management seems to be going better now. 

We're very grateful that his still has all his fingers and Lance is at least grateful to get out of diaper and dish duty for awhile. ;) 

And here are a few more just to add to your pleasant dreams:

Importance of toenail polish

Last Monday night, we were having Family Home Evening. Lance was in the middle of the lesson with Mikey at his shoulder, trying to focus on the lesson. Luke was on my lap, playing and not even trying to pay attention (despite my efforts). All of a sudden he yelled at me, "Oh no, Mom! You're turning into a boy!"  I said, "ummmm, what?" He said, "Look!" and pointed to my toenails--specifically the smaller ones where the toenail polish was all but completely gone. I admitted to him that I did need to take care of that.

So there you have it, ladies. Keep those toenails polished or else you just might turn into a boy. 

Pets

Now and then we take the kids to the pet store as kind of a quick and easy zoo-like visit. We did this recently. Before getting out of the car, we gave the whole, "we are only doing this if you promise not to ask for pets." (I know, silly to think that speech would actually make any difference.)

Before I continue, I should explain one thing. I love dogs. I'm not against having dogs and will one day consider it.  BUT, my rule is that only when our last child is potty trained can we talk. (There are various reason for this, some are for the benefit of the child, some the benefit of the dog...and some for the benefit of MOI!)

Anywho, back to my story. So of course, we enter the store and the kids start in on asking for pets. Luke was asking for all sorts of pets.  And of course, the mother-load of all pets is the dog. And of course, the humane society was camped out with a few cute little things there up for adoption (which we were trying to save from Joey and his attempts at ripping their ears off--one of the afore-referenced reasons for waiting on the dog).

So Luke started pouting even more and begging for a dog. I started trying to explain to the boys that we just can't have a dog right now, because we don't have the room with the little kids in our house and with the baby coming, blah, blah, blah.... Then Luke looked up at me with the biggest puppy-dog eyes I've ever seen and said, "Pleeease, mom, can't we get a dog?" It was the hardest "no" I've ever given! But I did it, I said no. Then he put his head down and mumbled, with his grumpiest, poutiest fact, "I don't WANT a baby. I want a dog!"

Ohhhh geez! One day I hope he'll change his mind about that! (But I accept that it may be awhile.)

Nintendo and Their Flying Rodents

So, Lance was out running errands, and he ended up at BestBuy with all three boys (there is an extremely high probability that the world would end if I were to ever set foot in a store with all three boys in tow, but because I love him, I insist that Lance do any and all shopping thus triple laden).  Anyhoo, apparently Nintendo had a little booth to which a new 3DS was quite literally chained, but which could also be played by passers-by.  As if that weren't enough, for the smaller guinea pigs, they also had a gimmicky set of ears and a tail.  As each of the boys took his turn playing the thing, none could be talked out of doing so as a raccoon (I guess that's what that is).  Too cute.  P.S. This was written by Kristy, NOT Lance.

School pictures

We recently got the school pictures back for both of our sweet older boys. I love the pictures, but why do they have to make them look so grown up!!

Mikey, Kindergarten

Luke, Preschool

Happy Halloween!

Of course the boys have all been counting down to Halloween for a LONG time. So it was a good thing we had numerous opportunities to get all dolled up. We went with the whole Star Wars theme this year. Dad: Anakin, Mom: Queen Amidala, Mikey: Obi Wan Kenobi, Luke: Luke (hee hee) Skywalker, and Joey: Our little Yoda.

I know, a lot of these pictures are of Joey doing different things. I just couldn't get over him. He was the cutest thing ever in his little costume. Most of my pictures couldn't quite capture how cute he was, but some come close. And he was surprising good at a keeping his costume on.

First up
Mimi and Bampa's Halloween Party:

Anakin and Yoda: (See! Look how cute!)


The whole Star Wars clan:

The Jedi Knights:
Yoda finally got a hold of a light saber:
The dip I provided (it was actually ridiculously tasty):
Now onto event number two

Ward Halloween Party:

You should have seen Joey running around the gym in that robe. So cute.



The Young Men and Young Women were in charge of the activities. Lance is one of the leaders and came up with a Plink-O game. So they made him made him make the board. It turned out great and everyone loved it! (And someone has already borrowed it for a party they were having.) That's my talented husband, folks. :)

Here's Mikey taking his turn:
Joey wouldn't leave Lance's side through the whole game, whether it was the game or dad (or both), who knows.
Luke taking his turn:
And finally
Trick-or-Treating:

What a good-looking group :)

Did I mention how cute he was in his costume? So cute :)
Everyone else took pictures on our front steps, so I figured we should, too.

Happy Halloween!!

Pumpkin time

Lance was up to his old tricks again this year. You know, I carve one pumpkin, he carves four. And he really did an amazing job this year. While passing out candy I got many, many comments on the amazing-ness of Lance's creations. There were even a few families who stopped and made their kids pose on our front steps in front of them. :)

First here is mine. I used a template and all that "shading" of that background was purely accidental. Lance tries to teach me how to do it right, but I just kind of hack through to get it done.

For the boys Lance asks them what they want, goes and looks at pictures online and lets them pick. Risky, if you ask me, but he does it and does a fabulous job. This next one here is Mikey's:

Here is Luke's (Lance was a little relieved he chose a simple pattern):

And here is Joey's (pretty sure Luke and Mikey conspired on the decision):

And finally, for the finale. This was Lance's masterpiece. I think a few guys offered to buy it :)

So proud :)

First time for everything...

I have purchased many an item such as the one pictured below for I have given many a baby gift to those having girls.

But this is the first item of the pink variety that I have ever purchased...for myself.

Because this baby is NOT a boy! We are thrilled, but trying to prepare for our balls, trucks, and superhero world to be turned upside down!

(Okay, I must admit that due to my previously-mentioned bleeding/abruption problem I have had a handful of ultrasounds between 14 and 17 weeks. At each ultrasound the doctor said he would guess it was girl. But always it was followed by a, "but the tech will look again during your big ultrasound to confirm because it's still early." So we've had a few weeks to prepare for this possible verdict. It took us a minute to shift gears, but we are thrilled and it seems like exactly what we need.)

Baby Joey

Our baby Joey isn't quite so baby any more. He's getting to be quite the little man. He's a walking, climbing champ. In fact, he's such a great little climber that he won't stay off of Mikey's loft/bunk bed and finally fell off the thing. It was a pretty good fall, but I think he was mostly just scared. He was all smiles 15 minutes later.

Mikey loves his brother :)

One of his newest fascinations is with forks. He loves forks. He will eat almost anything he can stab with a fork. How was this discovered? Whenever he ended up in his highchair with a toy in his hands he would attempt to stab his food. Case in point:

After receiving some Motrin for aching teeth, I let him hold on to to the syringe. I filled his tray with bits of french toast or something, but after a minute we all noticed that Joey was stabbing his food with the syringe and putting into his mouth. So cute. :)

We usually provide him with a fork now. But the syringe actually seemed to work pretty well.

There is nothing he will eat more of than noodles and marinara sauce. He can eat more than both his brothers combined. The only problem is the clean up required after.

Oh how I love my Joe. I just can't get enough of him.

First Days

I know, these are a little late as the first day of school was like a month and a half ago, but what can I say. It's been busy.

Here is my little Luke, who is getting way too big, eating breakfast on his first day of school. He had been waiting for this day for at least a year--ever since he started realizing where Mikey was going three times week.

So excited!

And so handsome :)

Here he is just before jumping out of the car. (And there is Mikey still in his PJ's because kindergarteners don't get to actually start the first week of school due to testing. He was NOT happy having the tables turned on who got to go to school and who didn't.)

And finally it was Mikey's turn. He was so excited.

And what's more, the whole neighborhood of kids walk together to school and he LOVES it. (I'm just wondering how long that will last. I have many, many memories of walking to and from school and not one of being super excited about it. )

Tiny Heartbeats

As you probably know, this is my fourth pregnancy. I've gone through three full pregnancies. Do you know what you do at every single appointment? You listen to the heartbeat. That tiny, super-fast baby heartbeat. In fact, in a lot of those middle appointments, all you do is hear the heartbeat. I figure I've been to around 40 prenatal appointments. Yes, that tiny heartbeat is always good to hear, but I admit it has become a little less exciting than it was that first time. In fact, a week ago Tuesday, I went to my monthly appointment and later commented on the hour I spent entertaining Joey in the waiting room and in the exam room for 15 seconds of heartbeat listening.

Well I now take back my lackadaisical attitude toward the heartbeat ritual.

Last Sunday at around 3:45 in the afternoon I started to bleed. I started to bleed A LOT! A lot, a lot, a lot. More than any pregnant lady should unless she has just given birth. Well, and then I guess she's not really pregnant anymore so still more than any pregnant lady ever should. I was...I don't know how to describe what I was feeling. I was panicked, and devastated, and shocked, and scared, and panicked (did I say that already?), and I don't know, everything else you might imagine.

And most of all, I was pretty sure of what had just happened.

Well, obviously we up and ran to the hospital. Once in the ER, we sat around and waited (while the most inept medical team drifted in and out not listening to me for hours. No seriously, I think it was the third nurse I'd seen, who stated she would be "my" nurse, asked me if this was different from my regular menstrual bleeding...uh...yeah...mostly because I'm 14 weeks pregnant. "OH! Okay" was her reply. Seriously. Don't go to the ER on Sunday evening. ) Anyway, for close to two hours, I laid there and continued to bleed...A LOT. A lot, a lot, a lot.

Finally, as we neared the two hour mark, they finally wheeled me into the ultrasound room. Though I had been dying for them to do this for almost two hours, as the time finally came, I was terrified to confirm what I was all but certain of.

Well the nice ultrasound lady finally got started. She put the little magic wand thingy on my belly and for the first few seconds I just saw some circle-y things and was trying to figure out what I was looking at. And then, all of a sudden that sweet, tiny, baby heartbeat came blasting through the speakers!

Of course it was all I had hoped for, but didn't dare to wish for. I still, almost a week later, am amazed that that tiny heartbeat was still there and going strong after all I had just been though. It still seems impossible that this little baby is still in there and kicking.

Well, after about a half an hour of looking at everything from every angle you could possibly imagine, the tech said she couldn't see anything wrong. A half an hour later we got the same report from the doctor and from the radiologist.

I thought that was good and bad. Obviously I was thrilled that nothing seemed to be wrong with the baby! Though, still wondering why all that had happened. They said go home and rest and see your doctor as soon as you can.

So the next day, I went to my OB. With another ultrasound, now almost a day later, he was able to see more blood building up around the placenta and it looked like it was coming from a little tear where the placenta is coming away from the wall. Right now it's just little--only like 10%. It could be fine the whole rest of the pregnancy, or it could keep bleeding, and/or it could get worse. I'm on pelvic rest for now and will see my doctor again next week. The hardest part is that my poor baby Joey is so sad and wondering why I won't pick him up anymore :( It is breaking my heart. But of course it is worth it for the baby. (And I still cuddle him all that I can on my lap!)

So for now I'm good. And most of all, I am so grateful for tiny, baby heartbeats.

10 More...

I suppose the time has come to put this out there.

Coming in March we will be bring home 10 more little fingers and 10 more little toes. :)

Congratulations!!

And the Bar has been passed!!! Wa hoo! Way to go Lance! :)

By Luke

Just wanted to share a little bit of Luke's art work. He was rather proud in spite of the trouble he was in.

Yes, that's our dining room. He colored in EVERY. SINGLE. SQUARE. (It's also possible that this happened like a month ago and only half of the squares are clean--it takes more elbow grease than I have most days :)

The Wisdom of a Five-Year-Old

I currently have a five-year-old, and he is very, very wise. Much wiser than I was, I’m sure. But his wisdom is not the wisdom to which I am referring.

27 years ago I was five years old. I started kindergarten with my best friend Ashley. I still remember my first day and for many, many years have chuckled at the first conversation Ashley and I had inside those doors.

We sat just inside those doors in the entry way/mud room and proceeded to say things such as, “Can you believe how old we are?!” “I can’t believe we’re in kindergarten.” “We are so old!”

For so many years, I have thought about how silly and funny we were. I have been wrong. Tomorrow my baby is starting kindergarten. All these years, the grown-up me has been wrong. I'm realizing that those five-year-old little girls actually knew a thing or two. They were right. Five is so old and so grown-up. I can’t believe my baby is so grown-up and starting kindergarten. (He has started to tell me, "mom, I don't want you to cry!" Tough cookies, kid. It's happening 'cause that's how I roll.)

Good luck, Mikey! We are so excited for you!