Memorial Day 2015

I had been meaning to take the kiddos pics BEFORE Memorial Day so that I could have my magnet board on home central all ready. My mom bought me new and oh-so-adorable magnets from Carol Roeda for the holiday and I can't wait to use them. Life got busy and weather wasn't great, so the pics got done the morning of. And surprisingly I got a few pics even though my kids are the worst when it comes to getting their picture taken. They should be used to it by now....but having a stranger tell them to smile is nothing like having their mom do it. I usually get their tongue sticking out or a weird face...but those pics can be cute too. So I just try to bribe them as best I can! :)

 Bribery came in the form of pinwheels this time

 It was an extra windy day with the weather forecast saying rain. The wind worked in my favor :)

 Favorite one!! It's one that requires being printed in a 5 x 7 for my board. I have to print two because otherwise my Mom would steal it. Would you blame her !?

 Ok, on to the family fun! The kids didn't care the weather was constantly a hit and a miss all at the same time. It was warm enough for them. We had clouds and sunshine and rain but the day turned out better than expected.

 I would rather bundle up and be down on the beach watching those kiddos play than anything else. It's hard not to watch them. Now we have four little ones ages 4 and under and they all stuck around the water/beach ALL day.

 How can I forget about lily? She needs her picture taken too! She hasn't had any problems since Christmas when we were a hair away from putting her down. She was so sick. Somehow, she is our miracle pug. She is doing just fine. Other than an occasional limp that Jason and I blame on her trying to get extra dinner portions. She was sooooo tired after being down on the beach kicking up water to drink and chasing around the kids who were bound to drop snacks at some point.

 We always assign Kate to bring the same things. Guaca-schmole (it's the only way to say it right!?) and ice cream treats. Didn't take the kids long to eat dinner knowing ice cream was following. Just a tad windy as mentioned....

 Grace eats her ice cream the right way. Bottom up! :)  that's of course where the best part is....a nice chunk of chocolate!

 And of course the day was full of fishing. Austin learned how to cast on his own and just as much as we were clapping for a great cast, we were shouting to keep the hook away from others.

 I tried to sneak in a few pics myself. I don't want to be 'missing' from holidays just because I enjoy taking the pictures.

 And the only way to get Ava to remotely smile normal and not like a chipmunk or squinting her eyes.....I have to tickle her.

 And at the last minute before Grandpa Ed was going home, we had to grab a Stouten Family Photo. We are so thankful he can come and spend the day watching the kids play as well. Thankful he also served our country in WWII.

At any given moment, I think many family members could cry during the day if someone mentioned the right thing. We have so much to be thankful for. I don't tell Jason enough how thankful and proud I am that he serves our country. I guess my emotions reside within his deployments and how terrifying it is that he could someday be taken away again. We also remember my Grandpa Don and his service in the Korean War. We also remember Grandma Jackie on holidays and all the things she would have brought to our family party. Things like koosh balls, wiffle balls, Frisbees, flag wrapped tootsie rolls, new toys or new candy that sparked her eye in the grocery store and much more. We are also missing my brother Jarred who is on the right path to a healthy and happy life.

All of the above brings me to tears. But its because I am so grateful. God is good. I am blessed. Amen.

Austin: First broken bone

I made Austin wait a week for an x-ray only to find out he broke his collarbone.....let me back up to last week.

Three weeks ago we FINALLY had good weather after such a looooong winter. Austin was out running around with his neighborhood friends all day long. He played on the beach, was up and down the slide on the playset, and was running and jumping off the neighbors outdoor firepit onto the beach. He jumped off that firepit a few times before running off to do more boy stuff. I never witnessed him falling on his arm or shoulder. He also never came running to me telling me he hurt himself.

The next morning, Monday morning, Austin woke up crying and had Vaseline all over his neck. I have a tub of Vaseline in Austin's room because in the winter his face gets terribly dry, not to mention a horrible sore nose from all that wiping. He thought the Vaseline would help make his neck pain better. I got him some Motrin and assumed he had neck pain from muscle strain. All that jumping around and off surfaces, I thought he for sure jarred his neck. Days went on where he didn't like to be hugged tight, he didn't want to be picked up under his arms, and he had a hard time putting his arm through his shirts. As the week went on, and as he continued on Motrin, he was getting better. He even went to T-ball practice on Saturday, almost a week later, and even threw the ball around.

Oh, yesI forgot to mention this is all on his dominant arm which is his left.

One week later when I picked up Austin from school, I asked him, 'How's your neck buddy?' and sure enough he pointed right to his clavicle, in the middle, and says this is where it hurts right here. I took down his shirt and looked at both sides, and sure enough I could see a difference. The swelling had finally settled in and there was an obvious bump. I brought him in that night for an x-ray and the moment it was done, I could see the break from across the room.

 I immediately felt horrible. I couldn't help but cry. I had touched that clavicle all week, looking at it, sure that it was NOT broken and yet I was completely wrong. A whole week of wrong.

It won't be the first time I am wrong or make a mistake as a mom. Don't know if my medical knowledge is helpful or hurtful at times. It helped to hear all the other stories from other moms who made their kids wait for x-rays, or wait to see the doctor for whatever reason.

So we happened to already be established with pediatric orthopedics since Austin was diagnosed with a baker's cyst behind his knee last year. I ended up calling the on-call ortho doc that night after we saw the results of the xrays. They happened to have a fracture clinic on Tuesday mornings that you could walk into. So I took him in and he got fit for a sling.

 He immediately took it off. I put it back on. He took it off. And it was recommended for him to wear for 4 weeks. You can imagine what the next few weeks have been like. The sad thing is, that he went to all these T ball practices and his first game was the following Saturday. Sad face. Hopefully we will catch the end of the season and be able to play the last few games. We go back in 2 weeks for a repeat x-ray.

Austin wasn't too thrilled about the sling and when he went to school they decided to cheer him up by coloring and signing their names. After all the play and the wear of the free sling they gave us......you can't quite make out all the names or how cool it was once decorated.

He has essentially been pain free since we even got the x-ray. It was just those first few days, so I have to be thankful for that. He has been running around doing just about everything, which kinda seems unfair to hold him back from t-ball, but the last thing we need is for him to break it further and need surgery or something crazy like that.

Thankful he isn't in a cast. Thankful he isn't miserable. Thankful we will make it to the last few t-ball games in hopes for him to enjoy it and want to do it again. Thankful that when I asked my friends on Facebook to post their 'not the best mom' moments, that they made me laugh with their stories where we all feel bad or have 'mom-guilt' about not doing something by the book. After all, I am raising a boy...this could very likely not be the last post about a broken something....

Love you buddy.....sorry I made you wait a week for an x-ray. You are one tough little dude!