My new glasses

My new glasses are black on the outside and blue on the inside. I like my new glasses. My glasses are very cool! We went out tonight to fit the glasses and bring them home. We also bought a case for my glasses. The glasses came with a soft case. We bought a hard case for $3:00. My mom asked for a cleaning rag. So we got that. My Mom ,Dad and I think I look very smart. My mom is going to use the cleaning rag for her glasses. I have to wear my glasses constantly. I take them off at bed time. I can use them to read before I go to bed. They might break well I'm asleep.

I've had an epiphany!

I sat down last night after the sometimes difficult task of putting the kids to bed. I was waiting for the inevitable..."Mom? My leg hurts" "I need to use the bathroom" "I would like a drink" I am sure you are aware of the routine. Ben is typically out of bed for at least an hour after we tuck him in. He has a difficult time getting to sleep at night because of some of the medication that he takes. BUT...it was quiet.

Ben was born about 10 1/2 years ago and from the time of his birth he turned our lives upside down. We were not ready for the changes that he brought. He was a very smart, active child. As with most children he knew what he wanted and how to get it. From the time we brought him home from the hospital he loved skin time. The fastest way to calm him down was to rub his back, or to let him snuggle against skin. He liked to be held tight! He was also very independent and busy. Very busy. He would stand himself in our laps and just bounce! A few years ago he was diagnosed with ADHD. This came as no surprise to us. He even sleeps wild! He was given Concerta to help him settle down. One of the side effects of this medication is difficulty getting to sleep. He is often up until 10:00 (he goes to bed at 8). He reads books, plays with his toys, gets into mischief and wakes up tired the next day.

Yesterday Sam was diagnosed with strep...again, so I stripped off all the sheets and did loads of laundry to try and contain the germs. I remade all of the beds and tucked them in (Yes mom with hospital corners!)

As I tucked in each child I made sure that their covers were still tucked tight. Ben laughed and said I made him feel like a burrito. He said his prayers and I left the room. I was sitting on the couch relaxing, wondering why it was so quite upstairs. I decided I had better go and check, to my surprise Ben was asleep! It was only 8:30. As I tried to process whether he was feeling okay I had an epiphany. He was tucked in tight. The blankets were wrapped tightly around his skin. There was contact there! I made sure to tuck him in tight tonight just to test this connection and I was pleasantly surprised to find him sound asleep.

It is interesting to me that such a small comfort as an infant can still be such a big deal!

Cannonballlll!!!!!!!!

This Tuesday was like every other Tuesday. Wake up early to get the kids ready for school, coax and prod to make sure we could leave on time, drop the children off and get ready for the work of the day. Sam and I ran some errands and came home to clean, do laundry and various other daily tasks. At noon we picked up Ellianna, (the little girl I take care of in the afternoon) and went to Chris' school to pick up the van. Then we picked up our kids and headed to the park. We played for awhile and headed home to start the homework/dinner routine. The kids finished their homework and their household chores and headed out to play so that I could get supper started. Like I said it was like every other Tuesday...Until the doorbell rang.
I am used to the doorbell ringing so in my head I am saying "I wish those kids would just use the other door" I did not move until Hannah said "Um mom, I think that you should come here...its for you" I went to the door and there was the neighbor (the mom of Ben's friend) and Ben. Neither of them looked real happy so I wondered "what did he do"? Then I noticed that not only was he crying but he was bleeding from several spots. The neighbor first said how sorry she was on behalf of her son, who dared Ben to jump out of the tree in their yard. I assured her that we definitely did not blame her for the activity of boys. I mean I expected a lot more of this type of injury when they first told us "Its a Boy!" I thanked her for walking him home and took him inside to clean him up. He had several bite marks on his lip and his knee was open. I knew when I looked at the knee that he was going to need more attention than what I could offer. I mean I could sew him up but I was pretty sure he would rather have some numbing medication and a professional!
At this point Chris came home to the chaos. Sam was, well he was very Sam-like, running all around. Ellianna was trying to peacefully wake up from her nap, Hannah was frantically trying to be helpful, much to Ben's frustration, and Sarah, sweet Sarah was crying because Ben was crying. Chris took charge of the clean up and he brought Ben to the prime care. I stayed back and brought the household once more to calm. (Well as calm as our household usually is) The Doctor looked carefully at Ben's lip and felt sure that he did not bite completely through so she used Dermabond to glue the outside injury. She also gave him three stitches in his knee. I will post that picture later as his knee is still bandaged. He was a great patient I am told and he did not freak out when she got out the suture kit!
Once he was out of the office Chris tried to get him to explain how in the world he got those injuries from jumping out of a tree.
Evidently, Paxton dared him to jump out of the tree that they had climbed. It was a jump of about 6 feet. He jumped because his friend had offered him money to do it! As he was jumping he decided to make it more daring and he did a cannonball into a pile of leaves. At this point in hearing the story it is starting to make a lot more sense! His head came down and his teeth hit his kneecap. Somehow he got his lip in there and he bit it! I say that it made more sense...I just mean now I understand how the injury came to be. I still don't, and may never, understand the why?!
Motherhood has been an adventure these past 10 years. Just when I think that things may calm down something else comes up! I am more sure than ever that the only way to survive this adventure called parenthood is by staying on my knees. Cannonball!

Kid Quotes

I walked in on Sam singing "rock a bye baby".
Mom: "Sam, what are you doing?"
Sam: "I am putting my blankie to sleep, its nap time"
Mom: "Is it sleeping yet?"
Sam: "No, but I will lay him on the couch"
Mom: "Are you going to stay around and watch to make sure he does get up and sneak off?"
Sam: Looking at me in frustration "Mom, its a blankie, its not alive!"
My mistake!

What a month

Well October has been a rather turbulent month here is the Hayden household. It started but one child who came home with the H1N1 virus. Hannah was home for the full 5 days that is recommended and then was sent back to school. The same day that we sent her back to school we had 2 more with the same symptoms. We hauled the rest of the kids to the Dr. and sure enough the all had the H1N1. At the same time Chris was also home sick. We were 2 days into it when Hannah was back at home with fever and vomiting! She and Sam spent 3 days with the stomach flu. Just when Hannah was again starting to feel better she still was not eating. She claimed that her throat hurt too much! I took her into the Dr. and she was tested positive for strep. Given the fact the in our family we tend to share everything...even germs, I took everyone in the next day for strep tests. While the Dr. refused to test us because we looked fine I was not convinced. Within an hour of coming home from the Dr. office three of us had high fevers and you guessed it...sore throats! I went in the next day because I was just miserable and yes I had strep! I finally got the Dr. to give all the kids antibiotics. This is just the drama that I have been taking care of. Chris learned that on top of the flu he had developed bronchitis and a severe sinus infection. We are beginning to feel a lot better, thank goodness! I don't want to think about the fact that flu season is just starting!!



Sam is miserable when he gets fever. Every once in a while he would wander off and quietly put himself to bed. I would wonder what he was up to and find him all covered up with blankets, stuffed animals, or pillows. I would ask him whether he wanted to cuddle with mommy in her bed and he would reply "No thanks mom, just tuck me into my own bed"

Monday night we noticed some red bumps on this poor kid. I knew he had not been playing outside so I wondered where he got all the mosquito bites but by the next morning he looked more like this:


Notice the red spots go all through his hair! His eye was swollen shut and one of his ears looked like a big pink marshmallow!
So I took him to the Dr. yet again and it turns out the child is allergic to penicillin. He is very very itchy. He has been living on Benedryl, hydro cortisone and oatmeal baths. I asked him whether he wanted an oatmeal bath to take away some of the itch and he said"No thanks I don't want to bath in my breakfast!

Mom Quotes

This is something that I NEVER thought that I would hear my mom say. I thought that I should write it down as proof that yes she said it!

We were discussing making dinner or cleaning up. I told mom that I did not mind making dinner and she said
"That is good because I would much rather follow you around, cleaning up after you."

I always thought she hated cleaning up after us, who knew?!

Kid Quotes

Sam and I were sitting by the computer this morning. He was playing a game. I was trying to get him to use the taller stool. In my attempt to transition him the stool tipped over and landed on my toe. I was trying to use only 3 year old appropriate words to describe my pain and Sam came over to me and said:

"Mom, I am very sorry. Will you forgive me?"
M: "Sam it was not your fault, I dropped the stool on my foot."
S: "Okay then I forgive you!"

I just love him :)

He also told me this afternoon that my toe looks pretty like a sunset! (It is purple and pink!)