Before I Read You the Riot Act

This is an oldish photo (like, I took it about a month ago) but uploading it from my camera completely reminded me of this day and how much of a comedic relief my seeing the Bigs climbing on the shelves at the grocery store really was.

The day had lasted a week, it felt, and the grocery store was insane -- as usual. I was waiting in line to checkout, turned around and saw Shaun and Ian. I happened to have the camera in the diaper bag and snapped this picture. I was getting all sorts of nasty looks from people around me (Only women. What is it with NASTY women?!) but I didn't care.

I only have one protest and that's the price. On this day I would have given the Bigs away but on days like today - most days, in fact - I wouldn't sell them for any amount of money. Well, maybe for a lifetime supply of Starburst.

A Few From the Weekend

New Adventures

I'm 12 hours into 60 of Craig being gone. He's off to a training session offered by his union until Wednesday night. At first I was apprehensive about him going. Will I be able to contact him if there's an emergency? Will he be paid for the time off from work? Who is he going with and do I trust them? I mostly worried because my Dad always went away for work conferences when I was little and Mom has told me more than once that Dad stopped going because his co-workers always wanted to hit the 'rippers at night. That's not my Dad's thing and it's certainly not Our thing. I know Craig's not like that either but it was kind of in the back of my mind.

Now that I've survived the first half-day, it's been a bit of an adventure! The boys and I raked the leaves this morning and played around in them a little, I got a bunch of cleaning done this afternoon while Shaun was at school and the Littles were napping and then we hit McDonalds and their play centre for dinner. What a treat for the Bigs! They could hardly sit still to eat their dinner.

Tomorrow my Mom is coming to stay overnight because early Wednesday morning someone has to take Ian to nursery school and, at the same time, Shaun is due at the hospital for a follow-up for his broken arm. I was really hoping I could somehow manage to be in both places at once (and almost was able to make it work with the before-care option at Ian's nursery school) but I still had to worry about not being able to pick him up on time. Thank goodness for Moms!

Shaun is desperate to get his cast off. I keep reminding him that he likely has another 3 weeks at least of wearing a cast and then he reminds me that the one he has on is coming off on Wednesday and that his arm doesn't hurt anymore. I hope it won't be too upsetting for him when the doctor tells him he needs another cast on Wednesday. His arm has shrunk back to normal size and with the swelling gone, his cast and the cotton inside is beginning to really irritate his arm. He was frantic a couple of night ago because his arm was itchy but he couldn't get at the itch. He was practically climbing the walls. Well, Mommy came to the rescue and found an extra long paint brush that's thinner than a pencil (I use it to touch up baseboards) and he's been dragging it around with him. It even found its way to school today in his backpack. He'll jam it through the top of his cast up near his shoulder and move the stick up and down. He was melting that first night because the itching felt so good. I've been there -- although I didn't have access to anything to stop the itch.

It's been different with Craig not here. There's no sounding board to run ideas past or discipline issues, and there isn't anyone to take over because I need a break; but there's also no one to worry about disturbing when I want to vacuum, the kitchen is clean because I washed all the dishes and there weren't any stragglers brought up from the basement, and all the shoes and coats are neatly in the closet - right where they should be. But I'd give up all the tidiness to have him home. I miss him. 46 hours and 26 minutes. Oh, now it's 25 minutes. :)

Distal Humerus Fracture

While this isn't Shaun's x-ray, his is basically identical to these. We were given a copy of the x-rays on a CD but for whatever reason I can't gain access to the pictures except to view them. I can't even find them on the CD; it's like they don't exist.

Anyway, the section with 2 bones is the lower arm, below the elbow. His break is in his humerus, the upper arm bone, as is shown in these photos. It goes all the way around the bone which is why the doctor was concerned about Shaun needing surgery. I guess it's pretty common for a break like this to cause a shift in the alignment of the bones. But even though Shaun's humerus broke all the way around, it never shifted, thus, no surgery. Yay!

He's completely self-conscious of his cast and sling which is the opposite of how I thought he would be. I figured he'd love all the attention and be showing it off. But he wanted a long sleeve shirt today and was upset that I couldn't put his sling under his sleeve. Even when his friends asked at school what happened, all he said was, 'he fell'. He has gym class today and I already spoke with his teacher about Shaun's expectations and limitations. I also told Shaun that he won't be able to do everything like the other kids but to at least try and make sure to ask for help if he realizes he can't do something on his own. Hopefully once he gets more comfortable using only one hand/arm for things it'll be easier for him. I even had to feed him dinner last night and breakfast this morning. It's like I have 2 toddlers and an infant since Shaun can't do pretty much everything. I even had to help him in the bathroom this morning. Poor guy!

Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Break

A little background first: Shaun's never been much of a risk-taker. Alright, he's a complete chicken. He never wants to try anything new, doesn't ever fold to peer pressure, doesn't push himself or challenge himself. Until recently, that is. Now suddenly he's trying all this new stuff and I'm completely thrilled about it but he's learned there's sometimes consequences.

I've watched kids climb on this small storage building at the park. It's about 8 feet tall and has a flat roof. Kids shimmy up the drain pipe and use the hydro pole to brace themselves against as they pull themselves up to the roof. They sit up there and goof around, watching the smaller kids play on the playground nearby. I've given kids heck for sitting up there. Mostly because there's an electrical wire that travels from the pole into the side of the building that I'm petrified one will get electrocuted from, but also because it's downright dangerous. It's a pretty small building; about 10 feet by 6 feet, and 8 feet tall, so there's not much room for a lot of people up there and I've seen up to 10 kids up there at once. I've forbidden Shaun to climb up there and he's been with me when I told other kids it's not a good idea.

Craig and Shaun went to this park on the weekend and Shaun asked to climb the building. Craig simply can't tell Shaun not to do something that he would have done himself at the same age. (Craig also spray painted the front steps of a church early Easter Sunday morning, smashed signs in a drive-thru, and stole a car as a kid! I don't see where his logic makes sense. But that's for a completely different post.) So Shaun learned how to climb onto the roof of this storage building. He came home all excited that he did it himself and insisted I watch him do it at the very next opportunity. I made sure to remind Craig that I absolutely do NOT allow Shaun to climb on this building for the reasons I mentioned and all he could say was that he would have done something similar as a kid so he couldn't tell Shaun, "No". Please.

Well, long story short, Shaun broke his arm yesterday while showing me how he climbs up this building. He somehow got his shirt caught on the way down and fell the whole 8 feet and landed on his elbow. It's broken just above where his upper arm joins at his elbow. He's wearing a temporary cast until next Wednesday when the swelling should be gone and he returns to the fracture clinic for a permanent cast. Craig went with him to the hospital and says Shaun was pretty brave, especially when it came time for him to move his arm around for x-rays and to get the cast on.

Shaun stayed home from school today but he'll be back tomorrow; showing off his cast, I'm sure.

October

I've been feeling like I need some inspiration lately. Not sure what kind. Whether it be moving furniture around in the basement, making something new for dinner one night, walking a different route to Shaun's school and playing at a different park. And this weekend, we did all that... and more.

I'm rejuvenated.

There's something about this weather - crisp air filled with the smell of sleepy trees - that inspires me. Inspires me to refocus and remember why I'm doing this. This. This being a mom thing.

I ignored all the laundry this weekend. Like, the piles and piles that have been diligently sorted into bright/dark/white on the laundry room floor. I stepped over those piles countless times and kicked the waiting laundry baskets to the side as I was trudging to the storage room to scavenge for new toys.

Shaun and Ian anxiously waited at the door for the next bin of toys to appear. Then they excitedly tore off the lid and rummaged through it, choosing 1 or 2 things from each bin to haul up to the sunny playroom. We cleaned blocks and plastic people and rubber snakes; putting them back into empty bins to wait for the next rotation.

It didn't take long for the 'new' toys to find their way under tables and into forts. I think we fished that blue corvette dinky car out from under the stove at least a dozen times. While the boys kept themselves entertained with all the newness in the playroom, I started vacuuming the basement. With 2 long-hair cats and lots of kids, the basement needs to be vacuumed at least every other day. Well, I have to admit, today, the laundry isn't done and the basement isn't clean. Nope. The vacuum is actually sitting right beside me; still plugged into the wall. And there's dust bunnies everywhere. I can see those, too.

As soon as I turned the thing on, Shaun and Ian made their way downstairs. I ended up bringing Kyle down the basement too since he was all alone in the playroom. I quickly realized it was going to be impossible to clean anything with the toddler riding on the top of the vacuum canister, an infant spinning on his bum and getting his legs stuck under the couch, and a 5-year-old digging through the toy box and pulling out something else as quickly as I was cleaning them up. So I stopped. Vacuuming and cleaning that is.

Instead, I set up the kids' tent on some soft foam mats, carefully placed a fuzzy blanket inside and some pillows and made a trip to the loft to gather some camping things. We made a campsite right here in the basement. Right beside the dust bunnies and piles of laundry in the next room. Over the next few hours we added a campfire made from rolled up brown paper complete with tissue paper flames, a camping chair, and a picnic table. I even hung fall coloured leaves from the ceiling to make it more authentic. And we played. Boy, we played. We roasted cotton ball marshmallows taped to mini hockey sticks. We turned out the lights and watched the stars through the mesh of the tent. And we scared away wild animals with the flashlight.

Then when it came time to decide what was for dinner, I threw my type-A personality out the window and put my cookbook away. We went for a walk instead. Shaun rode his bike, because that's what 5 year old 2-wheeled bike riders do, Ian trotted beside the stroller and Kyle curled up in the wrap for a snooze. It was cold outside and I was glad we all had mitts. Shaun led the charge and decided which ways to turn. We walked in circles but we didn't care. We stopped at a new playground and played there for a while. Then when everyone's cheeks were starting to turn rosy, we found our way back to the cozy spot in the living room and I made a fire. The wood crackled and popped and hissed and before long, the room was toasty and we were removing layers.

We read books in front of the fire and curled up on floor pillows with favourite blankets and buddies. The Bigs had snacks for dinner and Kyle drank until he was drunk and his eyes rolled back into his head. Then, one by one, I carried each boy up to bed. First, Shaun, who sleepily asked for just one more chapter. Then, Ian, who mumbled something about an Eskimo kiss - which I happily agreed to. Finally, Kyle, who arched his back in his bed and silently rolled to one side, his face pressed into his favourite blankie.

Yes, I'm rejuvenated. And the laundry and dust bunnies have waited for me. They're patient. My boys growing up? That's going to happen whether the house is clean or not.