One, Two, Three, Four... oh! there's more!

Ok, this actually wasn't all that funny at the time (as is often the case...) but, it still makes Wes and I shake our heads and chuckle.  We only have 4 kids.  I know that to some, that may sound like alot; but it's not really.  I mean, I have friends (in the States... definitely not here!) who have much bigger families!  But there are days when 4 does feel like a lot... but only when "difficulties" strike each and every one of them. :)... on the same day.

ONE:
The other day, Nathan came home with a huge, solid, ugly scrape all down the side of his cheek.  He walked in from school, and I couldn't help but gasp when I saw him.  It looks (it's still there) really painful.  I pulled him into my arms (typical mom) and hugged him, asking him if he was ok.  Wes rolled his eyes at me, telling me Nathan was tough.  So I asked Nathan to tell me what happened.  He said he was playing soccer (yes, this is my sweet son who has Cerebral Palsy, but he DOES play soccer everyday during recess!)  So, he was playing soccer and he said he was running SO fast that his legs just couldn't keep up :) and he fell on the concrete.  I just cringed, and ended up having a typical Mom-son conversation.  It wasn't a typical Mom-Nathan conversation, b/c Nathan's normally a talker, but I couldn't help but wonder if this is what my conversations with my boys will be like when they are teenagers.  The questions came out in rapid succession... and so did the answers. :)

"Did any of the kids help you up?"
"No."
"Did you cry?"
"No."

"Did someone go get a teacher?"
"No."
"Did YOU go tell a teacher?"
"No."
"So, what happened?...
a shrug was his only response.

"Did Teresa notice when you went back to class?"

"Yeah, she sent me to the nurse."
I hugged him again.  I just couldn't help it.  All I could think of was, "Oh, my poor Nathan!"  But, I know he is a tough kid.  He hasn't complained about the wound even once... it sure does look ugly, though!

TWO:
So, right after that, I turned to say hi to all the rest of the kids, and Weston hands me a note from the school.  I love getting these... yeah, not really.  This one informed me that there had been an out-break of lice and that everyone was required to wash their hair with that special shampoo, just to make sure it didn't spread.  Lovely. So we did a head inspection of each and every child.  I'm thankful to say I don't have a prolonged story about a nasty lice infestation in our home. :)  BUT, we did discover that Weston had another, rather large bruise on his arm and that one of the kids who often tries to "bully" Weston had hit him in the throat.  Weston was having trouble swallowing and talking.  Great... well, at least he was breathing fine.

THREE:
We continued our "just home from school" routine and everyone was taking off coats, hats, mittens and putting away shoes.  I always help Carolina with her stuff, b/c she is required to wear a "smock" of sorts, everyday.  It has a lot of small buttons, so I was helping her take if off when I noticed that her arms were covered, once again, with a rash.  We have been trying to figure out this skin stuff with her for months, and it's just getting old. :)  Anyway, these reactions usually have something to do with what she ate, but as much as I've tried to regulate what eats, I cannot figure out what is going on with her!  This type of reaction normally happens when she eats nuts (which we think she is allergic to, but we're still not sure... and here, they won't do testing on her until she is 6.)  Ugh... it's frustrating to me, but I know it's painful for her!  Poor baby.  Just like Nathan, though, she's a trooper.  I made a mental note to put some ointment on it asap.


FOUR:
We finally got everyone settled for lunch and I was hoping for a quiet, smooth afternoon.  It wasn't to be.  I forgot that I had one more child who hadn't had anything happen to him yet: Jonathan.  I was organizing our office upstairs and Wes was outside playing soccer with our kids and all the neighbor kids (they all love it!).  I could hear Jonathan's screams from upstairs.  A momma knows the different types of screams of each of her children... and this one had me scared instantly.  I went running downstairs and there was blood all over Jonathan's face.  We got him to the bathroom, and I still hadn't been able to figure out where he was bleeding.  Wes told me that he got hit in the face, and I finally got Jonathan to tell me where it hurt.  Jonathan was pretty out of control, and Wes didn't seem to be doing well with the blood.  I shooed Wes away and confirmed that the blood was coming from Jonathan's mouth.  Of course... the blood mixes with saliva and it just looks bad.  Jonathan's hands were all in his mouth, and it just kept sliding all over his face... everywhere... ugh.  It was a while before I could get him to let me look in his mouth, but it looked like the the only front tooth that Jonathan had, had been shoved up into the gum.  He lost the other one when he fell on the tile in our kitchen, way back when he was 3.  I figured he was also going to loose this one before it was meant to fall out! The gum looked swollen all around it, but it looked like it had settled back down into place.  We decided just to distract him and see if we could at least get him calmed down.  He started watching a movie, and that helped.  The blood finally stopped, and we could tell the tooth was loose, but Jonathan wouldn't let anyone near it.  Plus, I figured it would be painful to move, no matter what; b/c the gums were all swollen.  He tried to eat dinner, but couldn't handle that, so he drank some water and went to bed.  I knew it was going to be a long night, but I didn't realize we had one more thing coming.

OH!  THERE'S MORE:
It was an emotionally exhausting evening, and I was very tired.  I was in bed reading, while Wes was taking a shower... or so I thought.  I guess I get really caught up in my books and don't notice too much of what's going on around me.  I thought the water sound was Wes taking a shower.  But, he walked out of the bathroom, and the water sound was still going.  We both spoke at the same time.  He said, "What is that?" and I said, "That wasn't you..."  and we both went dashing into the hallway.  We still don't know exactly what happened, but the bidet in the kids bathroom was on full blast and there was a couple inches of water all over... flowing into the hallway.  Goodness!  What a day!  We got it cleaned up as best as we could, all the while talking about what could have happened.  Wes checked all the kids, and Nathan was slightly awake.  Wes asked him if he turned on the water from the bidet and he said no... so, we have no idea.  Wes thinks the only explanation is that Nathan was delirious and doesn't remember.  Maybe so, but honestly, I'd be more apt to believe that about Jonathan... :) Anyway, everything was finally cleaned up ... I think it was almost 1am by that point.


Jonathan had slept for a couple hours, but he cried off and on all night, and I finally just had him get in bed with me; I was so tired.  It's hard to sleep with Jonathan (even when he's NOT crying) b/c he moves a lot. He kicks and flails his arms.  So, finally, at about 5:30am, I tried to send him back to his bed.  He kept telling me he didn't want to be alone... now, how can you resist that?  I guess his daddy couldn't (or he knew I couldn't, and knew I needed some sleep), so Wes told him to come to his side of the bed and he could sleep with him.  I actually got to sleep the next hour an a half! :)  Either Jonathan calmed down a lot for that last hour and a half, or I was just sleeping really hard.  I'm not sure. But,  he must've slept some, b/c none of us knew (not even Jonathan himself!) when that tooth fell out... Jonathan woke up with no top front teeth!  Wes and Jonathan searched the sheets and blankets, and finally found the prized tooth! :)  Jonathan's pain was gone... so was the swelling.  Thank the Lord.   He quickly forgot about the long night, in his excitement to put the tooth under his pillow.  I, on the other hand, knew I needed a nap that afternoon. :)