is it over yet?

In the past 7 days, the following ridiculousness has transpired:

Henry slipped and bumped his chin causing his teeth to slam down on his tongue. His sharp canine tooth dug in extra hard and came as close to going all the way through his tongue as you can imagine. Profuse bleeding, gaping wound, sore mouth...what next?

Just as we were recovering from the tongue-piercing, Henry slipped off of the bench seats of my parents' hot tub into the 'deep' part in the middle, and he panicked as his head went under. I was right next to him the entire time. Although he didn't breathe water, he was scared half to death. As I was fishing him out.................

James slipped on the steps next to the outside of the hot tub and bumped his chest on the bottom step. I was holding a screaming Henry still, so my mom raced to James. By all outward appearances, he was fine. Oh, except for the fact that he wasn't breathing. He got the wind knocked clear out of him. After more than 20 seconds, he took a breath. About 20 seconds after that, he took another one. Holy scariness. Normal breathing resumed shortly thereafter......are we done yet.....................no.

The next morning, both of them were sick with a cold. Green noses and coughs. Of course, it was our first assigned day to work in James' Sunday School class, so I had to go on to church to work while Jared stayed home with the sickies. I told J that if he brought them outside, the humidity would probably help loosen up their stuffies. I got to church where not one single 18-20 month old soul showed up for my class, so I was given the go ahead to clean up and leave. It's a good thing, too, because 5 minutes later.....are you ready for this.....................

Jared called to tell me that he had taken the boys outside, and Jamesies got stung by a bee. His finger swelled up twice its size, but Jared was able to keep the reaction under control by dosing quickly with Benadryl and keeping it iced. He didn't seem to be having trouble breathing, so Jared was pretty sure we weren't headed for anaphylaxis. Lovely.

On Tuesday, Henry had to miss school because he was still sick with the crud. After we had been trapped inside just about all day, I decided we should go outside for an evening ride in Henry's truck. Henry was driving and James sat shotgun. Normally, we only drive in straight lines. On that particular day, we were driving in the street when Jared arrived home from somewhere. Henry was beyond excited to go see him, so he accelerated to our driveway and whipped that truck right in behind his daddy. Of course, as they are turning in, James chooses that precise moment to look over his outside shoulder to see where I am. So, after a tongue-piercing, a head dunk, a breathing cessation, and a bee sting,..........................

James toppled head first out of the side of the truck. He didn't land hard, but he gashed his head open on the ground. When I picked him up 2 seconds later, there was just a tiny cut visible....within 5 seconds of that, the cut started GUSHING blood. Words cannot explain how much this thing bled. As I passed Jared running into the kitchen with James' head and hair covered in blood that was dripping down my arms and legs at this point, I heard him say (trying to convince himself, I think), "don't panic...he's going to be okay." The bleeding was under control quickly, and I had my mom come over to the House of Accidents to help me decide if we needed to get stitches. She thought it would be more traumatic than beneficial, and based on the tinyness of the cut, I agreed. So, phew, we thought we were done.......................

But, alas, one more for the scrapbook...

This morning, as Jared was holding Henry in his lap to help him put his shoes on for school, Henry decided he wanted to play with Jared's phone. We weren't in a hurry to get to school, so Jared let him. A few seconds later, Henry pushed some buttons that made the kid program close down on the phone, so Jared told him to 'let daddy have it to fix it.' Henry pulled it tight to his chest. Jared reached his hand in to take the phone from Henry, and the H-man screeched and jerked the phone away from Jared...in an upwards and backwards direction...right into Jared's front tooth...which abruptly cracked in two and fell into Jared's throat.

All that said, Bosephus my sweet hubs and I would like to calmly warn all of you to steer clear of our place. We've got a black cloud overhead this week. The only good news around here is that it's almost Friday.

Henry goes to school.

We did it.


















Last Tuesday, Henry woke up around 7:15 without a fuss (he's a 9:00 sleeper most days), ate his breakfast well, and let me 'make him handsome' - that's what we call brushing our teeth and hair around the Chesshouse. He put on his new school shirt - creases ironed into the arms nicely, I might add - and was as giddy as a schoolgirl boy to get to his classroom.

The plan was for me to take the H-man while daddy kept James at home. We thought the whole family driving to the first day of school might overwhelm Henry or make him sad that he didn't get to come home with us. As we were leaving, though, he asked if 'my daddy and my Jamesies could take me to school, too.'

And just like that, the first day of school became a family outing.

I had been nervous for months (okay, maybe years) about how this would go for our sweet boy. He hasn't always mixed well with other kiddos, and he has never been fond of going into the care of strangers. When we toured the preschool in February last year, I chewed my nails to the quick worrying about if he would ever be able to do this. At that point, we were in the throes of the infamous two-year old resistance, and I honestly believed he would be sent home the first day with a note that read something like, "We're sorry, but your son just isn't preschool material." heehee. I registered him anyway - on a hope and a prayer, y'all. Oh, the minds and hearts of mothers.

Well, as the months passed, it seemed like we were turning a corner. Isn't that how it always is with parenting? Just when you get yourself nice and freaked out that your kid has issues, it all works out just fine...until the next thing comes along. When will we learn, moms? Anyway, back to turning that corner -- by his third birthday this past July, he was a new man. I mean, completely different from how he had been any month prior. He wanted the company of other children. He enjoyed walking into his Sunday school class (this was a 2-year battle, guys). He asked for the kids he met at parks and playgroups to come over to our house. He started sharing his toys. A new man.

Holy moly, not a moment too soon, we just might be ready.

We arrived a few minutes before class was to begin, so we made a trip to the bathroom together. We had a short talk while washing his hands about being kind to the other children and obeying Ms. Patty and Ms. Allison. He listened carefully and told me he would be a nice boy to everyone. With that, he was ready to head in.

And, head right in, he did, my friends. He bound happily into the room and started playing with a few other kiddos who were already in there. I felt bad even grabbing his attention to say goodbye, because he seemed to have already forgotten that I was anywhere around. I did it anyway.

"Bye, Henry -- mommy will be back in a little while, okay?" He replied without looking up by waving his hand and saying into the toy he was holding, "alright, see ya later, mommy!!"

And, just like that, all of my first day of school anxiety melted away. I walked out to Jared and James waiting in the car with the biggest smile on my face, proudly returning the thumbs up that Jared was questioningly giving me from the front seat. As I climbed in, Jared and I gave each other a high-five with the wide-eyed realization just setting in..."we've got one in school."

We did it. We all did it.

on borrowed time

About a month ago, we went on our annual family vacation to the beach. James turned 17-months old about a week before we left. On the day of his 'birthday,' I remember telling Jared that James is still so far from his 'terrible 2s' at this age...whereas, his big brother was in full-swing fit-pitching glory by now.

One week later, while we were enjoying lunch at the beach house, he showed me that I had spoken too soon. I still wouldn't crown him a full-swing, fit-pitcher by ANY stretch, but I did, in fact, capture his very first temper tantrum on camera. This was prompted by my telling him he could not sit outside on the balcony in the blazing sunshine.

No, Sweetface, not the faceplanted silent treatment!!

He hasn't done it again since, but from the looks of things, we may just be on borrowed time...

We've got a big day tomorrow...

Henry and I have enjoyed this Sesame Street clip for years. Yes, years. I can't believe that tomorrow is really the day that pre-school becomes something more than a word in a song. I hope to post something more introspective later, but for now, I need to think smiley, happy things.


If you know me at all, you know I'm a bundle of nerves and emotion this week. I never slept the night before ANY of my own first days of school...could have probably guessed that sending off my little man would bring all that bubbling right back up.

Wish us well. I'll let you know how it goes.