Crock Pot

Poor Cruzie… it always happens to the baby! I was cleaning up dinner a little later than normal just about to put the whole crew to bed. You could tell Cruz was getting tired because he was following me around step for step. I went into the pantry to put the steamer away and then next thing I knew I heard a crash, a bang, and a SCREAM!!! While I was putting the steamer on the shelf it wiggled the crock pot right off (that really was not on the shelf properly). It fell about 8 feet straight to his head. It all happened behind me so I did not know what was going on until I turned around to blood. I thought it was BAD. I scooped him up and immediately told Brent that we were going to the ER. Thankfully our neighbor was home and ran right over to help until Gran could get here and we ran out the door.

The ride to the hospital was a little scary for me. I knew he did not lose consciousness from the direct hit, but he cried so hard and was so tired, he just wanted to go to sleep. I kept him awake until the ER and the triage took a look at him. They must not have been too worried because they sent us back out to wait. Being that it was a Friday night there were lots of injuries in the ER… none serious, but all time consuming. It took quite a while to get going, but once it was time for the staples it happened quite quickly (after a 20 minute wait for the numbing cream to kick in on the scalp). I am thankful for an understanding doctor who talked this scared momma through the possibility of a concussion and helped me decide to watch him and not go through a scan. Cruz did well, getting some hardware, a bear, and a popsicle out of the deal. He is quite the character and in the days after it happened when Brent said “I think I have a crick in my neck” he said…. “NO!!! It was a crock on my back”.

Taking them out was easy peasy too… he never shed a tear or batted an eye!

State Capitol

We took advantage of warming spring temps and decided to go on a field trip to the state capitol in Nashville.  We have been studying some Tennessee History and a quick look at the capitol website let me know that Congress would be in session. I thought it would be good for the boys to see some of the “buzz” of how our government works rather than just look at an empty building.

 

Before we even got to the actual building the kids were noticing some key Tennessee facts. Callan found the state tree, the Tulip Poplar. Silas found Irises but refused to have his photo taken with him.

We also decided as a “team” that it would be best to dress up a little if we were going to be in the presence of our legislators. We did not run into any face to face, but the security guard complemented our choice. =)

 

While climbing up the hill to the capitol we ran into the burial site of James K. Polk.Our time inside was a little overwhelming because of the masses of people both visiting and lobbying. The capitol has a very nice self-guided tour pamphlet and everyone we came in contact with was very gracious to our investigations. Because I was technically too afraid to ask if we could go inside one of the sessions, I marched up to the door where the security guard was standing right beside a framed print of the members of the House of Representatives. I was having an “I-spy” time with the kids getting them to find the rep from our district. Once we found him the security guard informed us that we could go up and observe. So we did. We did not stay long because there were no seats and it was hard to hear what was going on, but the boys got a good idea of how it works and what the job of the Speaker consisted of. We learned that they had just passed an inheritance tax law and were looking into changing the rate of tax on food.

 

All in all it was a good day, we played around after we left on the steep hill on the north side of the capitol. It seemed straight down, and in our history we learned that the fact that the settlers called it “Billy Goat Hill” because “only Billy goats could climb it”It really was a fun day!!!

Easter Best

Thank You Easter Bunny!

Easter at the Cabin

We had fun going to the cabin for a little family time and Easter Egg Hunting.

The cabin is always a good place for photo ops.My cousin Bryson and  his wife Amber’s daughter hunting for some bugs. Somehow is missed their other cutie. He was too fast for my picture taking.My cousin Jake’s wife and little girl ready for some lunch.Time to eat!Silas had to go and ruin a perfectly good family photo. Then again, typical!

Time to hunt more eggs than possible for the 6 little hunters to collect.

These 2 big kids were the bandits that hid all the eggs.

Muber and her GOLDEN EGGS full of a surprise.

A little fun, a little love, and a happy family time!

Stomach Virus of 2012

You are totally not going to want to read this post, but I have to find some humor in it somewhere. I want the kids to see someday what they put me through…
The stomach virus hit Cruz last Friday (March 30th). It ended up being pretty good timing. Even though I missed going out of town with Bay for baseball. All of the big kids and dad were gone so we were down to some minimal potential fall out. When Eliza and I avoided getting sick I thought we were in the clear. In fact it quit being a concern in my mind at all. SIX days later (SIX DAYS) the boys went to play outside with their BFF’s and I sent them with an igloo cooler of water which they all shared.
Then 9PM hit and Silas got sick. I convinced myself that it could be drainage, I mean he was totally fine just minutes ago. He threw up a few times and I knew we were in trouble because of the miss call with the igloo. Since Silas was good to go, I went to bed just waiting for the “MOM”. It happened at 12 AM with Callan. I can’t count how many times I went up and down the stairs, but each time I checked Bay hoping he escaped the wrath. At 2 AM it hit him, I think the older you are, the harder it hits. The boys were out all day long… not from being up all night but from being so weak.
We spent the day watching Eliza (and I avoided any food) hoping that we were past it. But here we believe in “no child left behind” and it hit Eliza at 8PM. She escaped the severity that the big boys had, but I don’t think I could have handled much more either.
Watching a kid puke tells you a lot about their personality…
Cruz- Mr. Independent, “I do it myself”. That kid has only thrown up one other time and although he wanted to just lay on me, he worked hard to make sure that his bucket was near him and stayed attached to it for several days. He was such a big boy and always knew when it was coming.
Silas- Mr Quiet, I don’t think I would have even known he was sick if the others had not told me. He puked, got back in bed, puked in bed (laid in it) and just kept quiet. I thought he only threw up a few times… he told me “no, it was more you didn’t know about”
Callan'- Mr. I am the only person in the world who has ever thrown up. He cried, He screamed, He explained how no one else knew what he was going through. HIS STOMACH HURT! I think he did throw up the most but he also screamed cried, wailed, and was the most miserable. He was also in the middle of the family room on a blow up mat making sure to make everyone else around him know of his condition.
Baylor- Mr. Momma’s Boy- At this point in his life, Bay did not really need any help but every time he called me for help just so I would know what went down. He is also a counter. He is the only one that knows that he threw up exactly 18 times. He also slept the most and did not care that he was out cold all day long in a room where there was no TV. Even missing the Brave’s opener because he was too weak to move to a room with a TV.
Eliza- Ms. I try to convince you I am fine and I am not going to be sick all while it is trying to come out of my mouth. If it weren’t for Callan’s wailing, she would get my vote for worst sick person. She has only thrown up 3 times in her life and she does not know what to do. She won’t sit up, she just lays there trying to hold it in her mouth while I “scream” spit it out. She can also scare the H-E-double hockey sticks out of you when she wakes up at 6AM and just stands at the end of your bed with her Native Mayan Indian stare until she wills you awake. I never know how long she stands there, but it scares the life out of me every single time!