YEAH! I am invited!

Thanks to Holly for inviting me to read the shooting allens, again!

I have been needing a twin-boys cutie fix, something fierce! Just makes me want to get my blog up and running again with cutie boy pictures, myself. I happen to know a few (read:couple) of cutie boys. If only I would remember to take my camera OUT and capture some of their cutie-ness.

WOOT!

Thanks, again!

Growing up...

My boys are growing up WAAAAY too fast!

Caleb is already talking about how he's NEARLY five. FIVE?! Seriously? Wait, wasn't I just skipping out on the end of the school year with a brand new Caleb? Geez... He's so grown up. He uses words I had no idea he knew - let alone that he could use them in a sentence - correctly!!! He's doing fantastic on his finger healing. No more freaking out about the way it looks. We go back to wound care tomorrow (err-it's after midnight - so, today), for the first time in a week. It has already reshaped at the tip and is round again! WOWZERS! Little kids heal so fast... and prayers have been working, too. :o)

Owen is 18 months old. WHAT?!! I know, right!!! He just started at "big" school. This is such a blessing! Both boys at the same daycare! What a big relief... and yet... he's not so much a baby anymore. Just since Monday, his language skills have skyrocketed. We are surprised each day with a new word he hadn't said before. For example... he's been signing "please" but not actually saying anything to go with it. Today, I heard (from the backseat, with prompting from big bubba) "peas?" Wow. and here's another favorite: "banket." Love it.

I will post pictures this weekend. As soon as my seester and bro-in-law go back to Vegas... after we watch "New Moon." (again). Nighty nite!

Yeah! Alex and Max Reading continues!!!

***Edited ** to remove Holly's name and the blog name from the title - so it can't be google searched, again!



I was getting better at coming back and checking my blogs... and now... Holly?! I can't get back to you at your blog! Please comment here so I can read your blog again! PLEASE?!

That is all. :o)

Lookin' Good...

The visit to the specialist went amazingly well! Caleb's injury is doing better than expected! Basically we are in a waiting game as far as his recovery goes. We are to keep it clean and covered, moist and protected. The doc even thinks he will have some of the nail growing back at some point in the future!

Now, if we can just keep him from bumping it or playing too rough and removing the protective bandages... :o)

That's a nice thing to have to worry about, though!

Please keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times...

So, hi!

I'd like to say our Thanksgiving break is well-planned and stuffed full of activities....
... but that's just not true. And, I'm okay with that! We're just staying in town. Enjoying time. Truly a blessing, that! Time, I mean. It's something that you just don't know you need to worry about, until it's gone. So, we are thankful to have this time.

In case you haven't heard, Caleb has had... "an incident." He's okay. We're okay. Just still trying to sort it all out and understand the plan.

On Monday (the 23rd), I got a call at 4:45 in the afternoon. I normally leave school at that time to get the boys. I thought that the call was actually my phone alarm reminding me to go. But, it wasn't. Anywho... I got a call from Caleb's daycare saying, "There was an incident on the playground and Caleb is hurt. She (the director) is already on her way to the ER. Meet Caleb (and the director) at Community ER. Immediately."

I was shocked to say the least. So, I ran. I grabbed my keys and my teacher cart and ran. Ran all the way through the school. Tried not to slip and injure myself on the way to the car. All the way I was trying to call my husband. He usually gets the boys for me on Mondays... and he did not have his cell phone with him. Again. I tried to get the other daycare on the phone - in case they could intercept my husband when he picked up Owen. But, they didn't answer. He is my rock. My husband, I mean. And I needed to lean on him to find my bearings. I did get a hold of my dad. He agreed to be on call when I knew more.

Five minutes later, I was at the ER. I met the director and Caleb at the door. He cried when he saw me but seemed okay other than that. That's when I got the full story. (I should say that I did know a little of what happened with the original call - but, it wasn't real until I saw my baby.) Brant showed up about 10 minutes later. He found out when he arrived at Caleb's daycare to pick him up. They told him to go to the ER. He thought, at first, they were joking. We're good friends with several people/employees/moms there... and they are all in nursing together. Then, he saw the look on their faces and took off.

Caleb was playing on the playground at school. Another child was rocking on one of those springy horse toys. Caleb tossed a bean bag-type toy between the horse and the spring. It landed on the steel plate. The other child was still on the horse at this time. I think. It's all still a bit confusing to me. Caleb reached in to grab his toy, with his left hand. The other child rocked back on the horse at the exact same time. And in a millisecond, his world (and ours) changed. He amputated his left ring finger (tip). The entire nail and half of the distal phalange bone were completely cut off. At the time, we thought that he had smashed his middle finger too. But, as time has passed, there is not a bruise and the x-ray shows that it is just fine. There was no reattaching the pieces that were found. He is now "an amputee."

The ER told us that we should do the bandage changing at home at least once a day. Um. No. I feel so blessed that my husband has a great relationship with the wound care center at Community. We have taken him twice to the wound care center for them to change the bandages and clean it up. It's horrible. There is NO WAY we could do that at home. We don't have the right medical equipment and the wailing that comes from our little trooper is unbearable for me.

We go to see an orthopedic specialist on Tuesday afternoon. We are hoping that we find out that the skin will just grow back over the injury and that will be that. But, as we spend more and more time at the wound care center we are feeling that he will have to have surgery. Not trying to be too graphic here, but I have to say this - so there is your warning...

There is exposed bone, and dead skin. It's gross. We don't know how much will continue to die/get damaged before our appointment. The extensor muscle for the finger is attached just above the first knuckle. If he ends up having surgery that removes the finger to that point, he'll still be able to extend it on his own. However, if not... then, he'll be okay. He'll adapt. He learn how to grip a bat, hold a drink, interlace his fingers with someone to hold hands, etc. But the unknown is so scary.

He is sooo our son, though. He's got a great perspective on the whole ordeal. He's still funny and silly. He's even said that he wants to give us a "high four and three-fourths" (as opposed to a high five). He does keep apologizing... but we remind him that it wasn't his fault. It wasn't the other child's fault. It was just an accident. It happens. He'll be fine. We still have him. We still have time with him. And THAT is (as Caleb says) "awesome!"

So, this can serve as a reminder to you... please keep your hands and feet inside the "ride" at all times. And, if you can't - then make sure you are having a blast, spending TIME with those you love! Thanks for your prayers, as we strive to understand what the future holds for him (and us).

Oh what fun...

Or not. LOL!
I am trying... Really, I am.
I have lots going on in my noggin. Not just school stuff, but real blog-worthy stuff.
So, I'll just leave you with this little bit of info:

There are only 39 days until Christmas. Woot!

Account inactive...

OOPS!
My account on here went inactive. Only because I have been too busy to see straight. I haven't logged on in over 90 days!!! OMG! I became one of THOSE people.

I will do better...
I will do better...
I will do better...
times 50 ka-ba-jillion.

More soon. Must find camera accessories to upload pictures. :o) You won't believe how big my little men are these days.

Oh yes... and I'm now another year older (for 8 days, already!). Oh well... At least I can live to laugh about it. :o)

Alliteration and a photo post for you...

My sleeping sons on Sunday makes me sigh with satisfaction! So Blessed!!!

Silly Owen Smiling:

Sweet boys in their Sunday best.

Sweetly smiling first born son, Caleb.

If you mess with my momma, you'll have to mess with me, too!

My man and my baby - shooters through and through.

Sweet, smelly, boo-boo'ed feet of our offspring - such boys!

Water babies and momma's dark new 'do.

A typical family photo - ALMOST everyone is happy!

A fan-freakin-tastic day...

It's been a fan-freakin-tastic day! (maybe a slight exaggeration...)
"Why?" you may ask... stay tuned for details:

1. Owen's in-home daycare called at 645 am because they (providers) were sick and had to close for the day. I'm sorry they... were sick. I hope they feel better soon. I am THANKFUL it was NOT an actual school day and that hubby was off and could keep Owen.

2. I'm driving a work truck b/c hubby's is in the shop. That's not the bad part - the bad part is that when I went out there I saw his backpack and stuff in the bed of the pickup - covered in cat urine. NICE! I am THANKFUL that he was not needing that stuff today - just next week.

3. On the way to hubby dropping Caleb off at his daycare, Owen puked milk in the car. NICE! I am THANKFUL that ... Read Moreit only really got in his lap and not EVERYWHERE!

4. Hubby was home doing laundry when the washing machine started spilling water everywhere. Since I had the truck, and he had my car, he couldn't go get a dolly and move it to fix it. I am THANKFUL that he ended up calling the guys to come over to help him AND that we have Dad's house to complete the laundry chore AND that hubby was doing laundry at all.

5. While at Dad's house finishing up laundry, hubby starts to load up the car and notices a problem in Dad's garage.... The a/c was leaking water into dad's shop! I am THANKFUL that we were there so we could notice it while Dad is out of state AND that hubby knows how to fix that type stuff.

6. When I got home, I was making the bed because hubby washed the sheets. I pulled up the comforter (not washed) and there was a HUGE spider on it! I am THANKFUL that no one heard me say anything in reference to a duck... and a monkey... and that hubby was right there to pick it up and say... Read More, AW, it's just a harmless spider. (he looked it up on the Internet btw - and the spider is in a Ziploc container - maybe making a trip up to school).

So, yah... it's been a fan-freakin-tastic day! What can I say?! I am so THANKFUL to have had this day to remind me to be THANKFUL for what we DO HAVE! Thank you!

Not gone, but forgotten?

Just kidding... :o)

We've had lots of busy times with people visiting our house (ie, my BFF from Houston staying for 6 days with her hubby and cutie 18-month old) and play dates. That is until this past Saturday. Then everything slowed down to a snails' PAINFULLY slow pace. No calls/texts for play dates, no one visiting and nothing to do. So, what - you may be dying to know - have I been up to?

Rotting my brain with facebook and doing NOTHING else! Brant left for diabetes camp - no, he's not diabetic, but he gets like 6 hours credit for nursing school for being on the medical team - on Friday. Also, my dad left for a vacation to see his 2 brothers and sister-in-law on Friday. Dad got back Tuesday VERY LATE, and Brant is due to be back on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the house is not very picked up but I have been taking out the trash. While my aunt told me that I needed to get a life since I posted that about ME taking out the trash... I thought it was post worthy... I don't take out the trash. I let it pile up for the man to take out. But... Diapers need to go out... all the way out. So, I succumbed and took out the trash myself... so... THERE. :o)

Also, my FABULOUS mother-in-law will be here on Monday evening. We're meeting her (& her boy--- no, no, no --- MANfriend aka Grandpa Greg) in Fredricksburg on Monday morning. There is talk of going to Enchanted Rock. I've never been and don't have a clue what that even is.

People I see at the grocery store or wherever keep talking dirty to me. I don't like it. Why oh WHY would you ask me if I'm ready for school to start? Don't you know that is dirty talk? Potty mouths. Ew. NO! I'm not ready! I'm relishing in the not-having-one-hundred-zillion-extra-jobs-because-I-can't-say-no-ISM of summer. (was that a long enough hyphenated phrase for ya?)...

Anywho... just wanted to update and let you know that I am not gone, and I have not forgotten... I've just been a lazy slug. That is all.