Blood, Bandages, and Book Club

Yesterday I was getting ready to host M-girl's book club, and frantically cleaning the house calmly putting the finishing touches on my preparations. K-boy came into the kitchen as I was wiping down the cabinets (how do they get so dirty?).

K-boy calmly said, Mom?

I replied, What is it? I'm too busy for interruptions!

K-boy answered, It's just that I cut myself on a piece of glass and the blood is kind of getting everywhere.

My head spun around. K-boy was standing there, holding a cloth to his bloody thumb. Sure enough, there was a trail of blood drops leading down the hallway...not a lot, but way too much for squeamish me.

I tried to collect my thoughts and avoid fainting. Ugh! Go in the bathroom, K-boy, and put pressure on it. I'll find the bandages! I told him.

He protested that he just needed an ordinary band aid. I peeked through my fingers at his cut and determined that it would be prudent to break out the gauze and tape. Somehow, I managed to get it wrapped up, despite feeling light-headed.

Then it was time to clean up the blood. K-boy stood by, pointing out drops and cheerfully exclaiming, I'm just a bleeder. It looks worse than it is!

I was praying that the bleeding would stop and that he wouldn't end up needing stitches. Emergency Rooms are not my favorite places.

Finally, the bleeding did stop. I re-cleaned the house for book club, and the rest of the day was casualty free. Whew! Just writing about it made me whoozy again.

After all of that, K-boy won't even let me take a picture of his thumb for the blog. He'd better hope BadDad is home the next time he needs taping up. I sure do!

Brothers in Uniform

My two sons (13 and 6) share a bedroom. D-boy idolizes his big brother and they get along well together. Sometimes I'm privy to the funniest conversations though. The other night K-boy was tormenting me by announcing when he'd be old enough to fly a glider at Civil Air Patrol. He knows that I'm the sort of mom that only truly relaxes when I know that all of my children are safe.

Not satisfied with teasing me, he turned to his brother.

Ha! You've got to wait six years before you can even join Civil Air Patrol!

D-boy was unfazed. He calmly replied, Maybe I won't even join Silver Air Patrol....maybe I'll join Gold Air Patrol!

I left K-boy to explain. I was too busy trying not to laugh.

Smile

I hope that at least one of my children grows up to be a dentist. Then BadDad and I can retire and live in the guest house. On his estate.

I cringe when it's time for one of us to go for our dental checkup. It's never good news, even when they say it is. This past week has been typical of our experience at the dentist.

The other night at dinner, K-boy complained of tooth pain and actually asked me to call the dentist. That sounded serious. I managed to get him an appointment for the following morning. At first it did actually seem like good news, the pain was caused by a baby tooth that hasn't fallen out even though the adult tooth is ready to come in. K-boy has two weeks to wiggle the heck out of the thing and get it out himself, otherwise the dentist will pull it for him. Whew!

Then the dentist found a cavity. $$$$

Yesterday I had my six month cleaning. The hygienist kept praising my tooth brushing habits and saying how healthy my mouth was. Before I could puff up with too much pride she took a couple of x rays for teeth that might need crowns. I was in a cold sweat by the time the dentist came in to take a look.

The good news...I don't need crowns. The bad news...I need old fillings removed and replaced with new ones. $$$$

Today both M-girl and D-boy had cleanings. No cavities, but..... M-girl needs to see an orthodontist. $$$$$$$$$$. D-boy needs a special process done before he can get sealants on his molars. $$$$

No wonder they're all so smiley when they see us coming. With any luck we'll at least get an invitation to the beach house. You know, the one we're helping to pay the mortgage on.

A Boy Can Dream

As a busy homeschooling mom to three busy kids, I find that my planner is an essential tool to keeping our household running on schedule. One feature that comes in handy is a little sidebar, where I can write down what we're having for dinner each night. Some weeks I plan all of the meals ahead, and other times I wait to see what I end up getting at the store.

A couple of weeks ago, K-boy must have stumbled across my half written meal plan. He added a few ideas of his own. Can you tell that he likes beef?

 

Ha! I told him too bad. If he had spelled steak correctly, I might have been inspired to make it.

Christmas Hug

As a mother, the recent reminders of man's inhumanity to man has left me wanting to cling to my children and keep them safe. Knowing that there's no way to keep them stuck to my side forever, I've allowed them to keep doing the activities that they love. I have spent some extra time discussing safety with them.

It was during one such conversation with my 13 year old, that he turned to me and asked, Mom, do you need a hug?

I nodded, with tears in my eyes, grateful to have such a kind and caring son.

He wrapped his arms around me, then leaned down towards my ear and whispered, By the way, this is your Christmas present.

At least it was a good hug.

Pomander Jars

I've been saving these adorable, miniature mason jars for months and debating what to do with them. Inspiration finally struck when I found baby clementines at the grocery store. They're even smaller than normal clementines, and quite a few will easily fit into a pickle jar.

I set the kids to work sticking cloves into the fruit for pomanders, while I scrounged up some ribbon and candles.

The result, a pretty (and lovely smelling) decoration for our mantle.

linking to:  http://earning-my-cape.blogspot.com

With a Little Child to Guide Them

Wow. What an emotional weekend this has been! I still feel raw inside, hurting for those in Newtown, Connecticut. I can't get past the thought we're all vulnerable to such random violence. I've had to tell my kids about the tragedy. I didn't want to, but I knew that if they didn't hear it from me, they would hear it anyway. Today at mass in fact, our priest spoke about it, and I was thankful that they weren't learning of it for the first time.

An event this sad makes people count their blessings. I know I'm lucky to have my family, my husband and children with me, healthy and whole. I know that I'm lucky to have to worry about all of the mundane details of my daily life as a mother. The alternative would be unbearable.

M-girl was already scheduled to take part in a Christmas concert and pageant at the church today. The children's choir has been practicing carols for months now. We just found out last weekend that she needed a shepherd costume. My little girl and I hastily made it together out of old curtains. The best part was this shepherd's crook that we made from a curtain rod and a candy cane ornament.

She and the other children got up there today, and sang their hearts out. They're fortunate children. The tragedy didn't happen in our community. Yes, they heard a little about it, as much as we adults felt they could handle. To them though, it happened far away.

Their childish voices rose sweetly in song, and for a little while the spirits of all listening, even the adults, rose as well. They sang of the birth of Jesus and the joy that one little baby brought to the world. They sang of events that took place so long ago that still impact us today. They sang of the hope that a Saviour brought to an imperfect world. They sang hope right back into my heart. I think that's what children are meant to do.

linking to:  Pour Your Heart Out