Flying Pumpkin and Rolling Cars

I just had to get this out because it was actually pretty funny, even as I was going through it.

So, today went pretty well. Simon and I had a wonderful morning chilling out and everyone seemed pretty happy when they got home from school in the driving rain. All was pretty calm.

Then out of the blue the phone rang and it was the speech specialist at Project Child calling to schedule the full speech eval for Hazel. We got the appt scheduled and I walked into the kitchen to mark it on the calendar. While I was writing her name on the date in question as she was spelling it for me, Simon decided that now would be a good time to explore the pantry. He loves doing this and it is right next to the calendar so he got to do his favorite, almost naughty, thing right next to me. Bonus!

Since this is one of his preferred activities, I have moved all the stuff that he could dump or damage to the higher shelves that he can't yet reach. Apparently cans of pumpkin now fall into the higher shelf category because he got one out and I guess it was heavier than he expected since it fell with a thud which was followed by excessive screaming.

I thought he had dropped it on his head and quick checked and there was no major bruise forming so I tried talking to him soothingly while trying to get the speech person's phone number. She laughed into the phone when I asked him if he had dropped a can of pumpkin on his head. He was not amused.

So I picked him up whereupon he immediately increased his volume and started shaking his leg violently, which is when a vague thought began to dawn that maybe the can hadn't hit his head. Meanwhile I couldn't hear the poor woman telling me her phone number, so I tried repeating back what I thought I was hearing, but I don't think she could hear me either, so I gave up and said loudly that I would see her at the appt time and hung up. I figured that she works with kids so she would understand.

Then I turned to examine Simon's head again, which was clear and then tried to grab the foot he was shaking and he screamed louder and as I was turning I caught sight of Hazel. She had formed a staircase of sorts with a high Ikea stool as the top step, which she was standing on, and a small yellow plastic ride on car as the lower step. She was carefully lining up the car with her foot to step down on it, clearly thinking this was a brilliant engineering feat. I was just absorbing this scene with it's full ramifications dawning when the phone broke through Simon's screaming.

Was the speech lady calling back immediately because I hung up before she told me something important? I had already grabbed the phone when it told me that it was Jon's cell. Ah Ha he must have just finished his interview and was calling me. So I answered, but didn't say hello. Instead I said (remember this is still over Simon's screams) "Hazel do NOT step on the car. Hazel climb off the stool. Do Not step on the car. {screams and more screams from Simon} Hazel, do NOT step on the......."

SPLAT - with a very loud smacking noise followed by even louder screams. They do not impress Simon who continues right on.

Jon now hears, "Crap! Hazel are you okay? Where does it hurt?" To which I get in response, "AAAAH AHHHH AAAAHHH AAHHH"

So I say, "Jon, are you done? How did it go?" while examining Hazel. She is screaming that her hands hurt and holding her wrists funny, but she can wriggle all her fingers and spin her wrists. No major bruise on her face, although she does get a slight nosebleed later. No blood in her mouth, her teeth seem okay. Mostly she just did a phenomenal belly flop off the car and onto the kitchen tile.

Jon is meanwhile telling me he can call me back later, but I want to know how it went and the kids both seem fine albeit screaming their heads off. It seems somehow the way of the world, that out of an abnormally calm day, and it all went smoothly after this as well, that this would be the scene just as Jon calls. I make him give me the short version; Cambridge is really nice; he would like the job; he's not sure how it went. Then he digresses into something about the personalities that he met and I basically hung up on him. I did say thanks for the info, don't have time for more and then hung up, but it was not really active listening on my part. Sorry Honey.

In the end everyone calmed down. Hazel has a small scrape on one finger that some lidocaine neosporin and a Cinderella bandaid took care off. She was also very impressed with herself for getting a nosebleed and seeing blood on the tissue calmed her down enormously.

Simon was fine once I sat with him and sat with him and sat with him and basically never left his side or took him near the changing table, although that happens even when he hasn't attacked himself with a can of pumpkin. I think we will find some lovely bruise on him tomorrow. I am still betting foot, but I wouldn't be shocked to be wrong.

So that was my afternoon's excitement. What was yours?

Stuff

First of all, here is Hazel at 1am doing her middle of the night treatment. Ugh. We were sooo tired by the end of that week. I still am not quite sure how we got through Willa's birthday party.

Imagine having grandparents or other slaves, I mean relatives, in the nearby area who could have come over to help set up! Or just take the kids away for a weekend morning so we could catch up on some ZZZZZs. Ah well, only for the lucky few I guess.

And, for the record, she is doing much better now. It was, apparently, a lower respiratory infection that hit her hard.

Second: here is Willa on her actual birthday with her cake. Sadly I did not manage to get pictures of the castle cakes I made for her party before they were devoured. I still own the pan though, so if you come to visit I can always make you your own castle to eat.

Third: Lining up to be hit with water balloons. Who would have thought that would be so appealing?

And finally, Simon enjoying his castle cake, or more truthfully, enjoying the cream that was residing on top of his castle cake.

Trainwreck

Sorry everyone that I have been MIA for long. I feel like my life is just a trainwreck at the moment and I haven't felt like I could inject any humour in it and also that no one wants to read about how crappy someone else's life is unless it makes them smile, so I haven't been typing.

But I feel like I should give a small update on some things that have been going on.

First of all Simon and Jude had their appt with the urologist about a week ago. Simon was a-okay (whew) and as far as Jude is concerned, apparently urological thinking has come full circle in the last 5 years and unless/until he ever gets a UTI, which is very unlikely at this point, he will be treated by the medical community as a normal person regardless. So no more going in for every minor fever and antibiotics 'just in case.' We finally get to close the book on that thank goodness. And for similar reasons they no longer see any reason to subject Simon to a VCUG unless/until he gets a UTI, so the lucky little man gets to be the only kid in the family to avoid that horrible test so far.

Then this week Hazel got some bug that went straight to her lungs. Yesterday was very yucky and she is now on oral prednilisone and albuterol in a nebulizer every 6 hours until Friday when we go in for a follow up appt. The first time we did the nebulizer at home, it scared Willa so much she cried and Jude asked Hazel if she felt like she was going to die. ahhhh.

Since then they have come around and don't think it is so wierd to see her masked up at the dinner table. They call her the green elephant since her mask is green.

Willa seems to have caught the same thing, but so far her asthma hasn't really kicked in. She has had to use her inhaler a couple of times, but no retracting so far. Maybe the Singulair is keeping it all under control? We hope it keeps up and she is better by her birthday!

Also as an information note. Jon was knocked back by J&J yesterday and hasn't heard why yet. He has one maybe two interviews coming up in Cambridge, MA and RTP. We'll see what happens.