The Injury Weekend

This weekend was all about Carter getting hurt. On Friday night he rode his bike, at full speed, into the back of Tim's van. We were yelling at him to stop and I got close enough to see his face smash into the van just above the license plate. I just knew he was hurt badly and grabbed him up and ran inside to the kitchen sink. I thought I would be collecting his teeth and soaking up blood, however his teeth were intact. He had abrasions on his gums and they were bleeding, his lip was swollen, and his front teeth are still sore- even today. I am amazed at how little the effects were of such a strong blow- one that left two teeth marks in the paint! On Saturday Tim took the boys disc golfing and Carter wiped out on #9. His belly is scraped and his elbow looks pretty nasty. Needless to say they ended their round there. Hopefully they will get to play sometime this week and enjoy it a little more. Yesterday, it was bike riding. A skinned knee, minor stuff, not even noticed by me until bedtime. He is our tough kid. He really doesn't complain if he gets hurt and has no fear, but enough is enough. Hopefully today will be injury free!!

National Chocolate Cake Day

Yesterday was National Sugar Cookie Day. Who knew this? Did you celebrate? More importantly who comes up with this? Who bakes sugar cookies in July?? I found out because I recieved an email with recipes from Pillsbury- crazy. I found it so silly that I sent the following email to some friends:

Okay, I got an email from Pillsbury. Apparently today is national sugar cookie day. Who comes up with this stuff? At any rate, thought I'd share in case anyone wanted an excuse to splurge- you have 1 1/2 hrs left. I had a choc chip cookie for dessert tonight- does that count as holiday food? We all know that food consumed in the name of a holiday forgives all guilt.

When is national chocolate cake day- I want to celebrate.

Just after I hit the send button I had to check. Surely there isn't REALLY a National Chocolate Cake day is there? Oh yes there is! (I love google) Its January 27th. Insane for two reasons. First, during January everyone is trying to loose the 10 lbs they gained from Christmas and Thanksgiving. Second, I eat enough chocolate cake on my own. I don't need a national holiday- I am already loyal to the cause. If someone thinks we Americans need holidays to increase our sugar intake or to eat period, clearly their research is flawed. However, in the interest of being well informed here is a link- it contains all the food holidays. Basically it covers every day- check out your birthday to see what you should consume. Some foods are so important they get a full week or month- http://www.tfdutch.com/foodh.htm

My Monday night friends- December 28th is national chocolate candy day- finally a use for all the CVS chocolate and validation for stocking up at the after Christmas sale!

Mementos

Yesterday Tim gave a talk about hiking the AT to some of our homeschooling friends and their children. He told them a little about the trail and showed them some of his gear. Once again we had a little get together and I took no pictures. This time I even made a point to put the camera on the counter. I am a blogger loser. Maybe I will do better with the Venture River trip in a few days.

Later last night I was showing Tim some bug bites on Katey. I said "Look at the mementos from Family Fun Day Katey has on her back". Matthew asked what "mementos" meant and I explained. This morning Laurel noticed the bites and Matthew said "those are just memories". So when you are itching this summer from those nasty bites you got at the cookout, concert, etc. remember they are evidence of a fun time, just memories- and maybe, if you are like me, a reminder to use that can of bug spray you bought back in May :)!!

Could one day contain any more fun?

The day began with a parade. Pictured above are shots taken by Tina of all the kids waiting for the parade to begin and Tim holding Katey's ears as numerous fire trucks passed by with sirens blaring. (To see a larger image, click on the photos. You can use the back button to return to the blog.) Breakfast provided by the Jones family included donuts with 4th of July decorations and yogurt with strawberries and blueberries- festive and fun - and enjoyed by all. The parade was small town life on display and we all loved it. The kids loved scrambling for candy, although Carter will have to learn to be a little quicker. He was much too interested in the tractors, fire trucks, and people in the parade to truly be in competition for grabbing the goodies. Laurel was the most proud of the two pizza coupons she was able to get. She knows Mom loves a bargain and is anticipating pizza for dinner in the near future.
After the parade it was on to swimming lessons. They have been taking lessons this week at the Gibson's house and have loved every minute. Today in addition to lessons the older Gibson boys passed along several bags of clothes to my boys. Not only did they help my kids learn to swim, they have now clothed them for the next two years. We are grateful for both.
Finally, this evening was filled with fireworks. Carter has been terrified of them for the last two years, but was thrilled tonight. All the kids thought they were great. I hope we can recover well tomorrow from a bed time well after 10 pm.
It was a fun day and we have enjoyed the 4th of July celebrations thus far. One more event is planned for tomorrow- Family Fun Day at the park. It seems Murray knows how to make a holiday last. Laurel and Matthew are thinking this whole independence thing is pretty cool.

Pic of the day

I told you she loves the "sauce". This was the scene during lunch today. Apparently she was convinced she could get that last drop out of the jar.

Surely the moon is full

Its been one of those difficult days. I think I had some kind of post pain medication hang over today or something. I don't know, but the children were ill behaved and I seemed not to be able to turn the tide. I was sort of in a fog. I found myself negotiating with a 3 yr old often- then wondering "what are you thinking??". Thankfully friends came over today and that helped get us through the afternoon. The last time this sort of a day happened it was indeed a full moon and we joked that was the cause.

I do have to brag on Laurel. Several times today she was very kind to others. She made everyone breakfast this morning and this afternoon following some quiet time she gave Matthew "art lessons". She even pulled her own tooth tonight. I guess she is growing up.

I am hoping to be more on my game tomorrow- and fog free.

not so fun day at the dentist

Last week was more involved than I thought. This week was worse. The dentist had to numb the entire left side of my face because the work got into the nerve. From my hairline to my neck I felt nothing. When Tim saw me afterward he was amazed to see my face. Usually when you go to the dentist people can't tell. You feel funny, but the rest of the world is oblivious. Not today. When the numbness went away early this afternoon I was in major pain. However, three aleve and an hour with a warm rice pack on my face and I am feeling better. We are off to DQ for a little medication in the form of a blizzard.