The collision

Last Thursday night, Bill was just getting home from a day trip to Dallas.  It was about 7:30 p.m. and Will, Kate and I were outside just hanging out, waiting for Dad.  This is about the only nice time to be outside.  It cools down to a bearable 100 degrees.  Refreshing.  ??  Anyway, Kate and Will were swinging side by side, absolutely enjoying themselves.  I look away for exactly one second and see Bill coming around the corner of the house.  Almost simultaneously, I hear a big thud.  A big one.  I look back toward the swings to see Kate wide eyed, still on her swing and Will on the ground.  I immediately tell Kate to grab Will.  This knee jerk reaction received much thought later.  Why didn't I just run pick him up?  She was a little closer, but clearly she was stressed.  Just a little insight as to how much I rely on her.  This can be good and bad, but that is another blog post.  Kate grabs Will, as instructed, and we meet her halfway across the yard.  We take one look at Will's eye (me looking through my hands like a kid....saying, "I can't look" and Bill looking directly at it like an adult.  Thank goodness he makes up for some of my weaknesses!)  He needs stitches.  You can guess how this one happened.  He hopped right off of his swing and walked directly in front of her.  He moves quickly.  I know this for a fact. 

Kate, Will and Bill get themselves together in a flash and head for the car.  Claire has hands clasped over her mouth, tears running down her face and questions galore....is he going to be okay?  does he have to get stitches?  will it hurt?  what if he doesn't need stitches, then what?!  oh, NO!!!  These are some of the questions and exclaimations I recognized through her tears.  I am spinning around looking for the diaper bag, filling up a sippy cup of water, (is anyone even thirsty?), looking for my phone and just generally going into a slight panic mode.  Claire is busy searching the house for a full box of kleenex in anticipation of lots of crying (from her, not Will).  It is at this point that Bill sticks his head in from the garage and says...."We are going.  You and Claire can follow us.  See you at St. John emergency room." 

Good plan.  Claire and I pull it together and head out shortly thereafter.  We get to St. John, find the other half of the crew and wait for the doctor.  Yes, he needs stitches.  Three of them.  More crying from Claire (bless her heart), and a little more panic from me.  Kate is cool as a cucumber and Bill is about to absolutely disown both me and Claire.  Some interesting dynamics during a very brief, very minor emergency-type situation.  What I learned is that (a)  I did not miss the mark when I went to business school instead of med school.  (b)  if you have the choice, I would opt for Kate in an emergency instead of me or Claire, and (c)  I am once again thankful for my husband. 

Oh, and Will?  Yes, this was actually about Will, wasn't it.  Will was a trooper.  Happy and totally undisturbed by the entire event, with the exception of the 10 minutes it took to actually sew it up.  Stitches are out now and there is just a tiny bruise. 

In addition to being a rock for us all at age 9, Kate is also pretty tough.  Her knee took quite a hit in this whole process.  She mentioned it initially and I totally blew it off in my panic over the stitches.    When I finally got around to taking a look at her knee....wow!  What a bruise. 

We now have proof that Will does indeed have a very hard head!  Kate swore to never swing again.  But I am happy to report that this only lasted 4 days.  She was spotted swinging yesterday, same swing....right beside Will. 

One little knee...

meets up with one little eye...

and we get our first stitches!  Three to be exact. 
But look at me smile! 

   

*  just a small note about Kate's knee.  I took that picture the same night it happened, about three hours after the collision.  It tripled in size before it was all said and done.  Perhaps Kate's knee was the real victim!  Hard head, I tell ya! 

Orange Beach - another one in the books!

Had such a good time this year....saw family, went sailing, watched fireworks on the beach, ate lots of seafood, went to a fantastic Children's Museum in Gulfport with my Mom, played with cousins, had a shrimp boil, went on a dolphin cruise, played in the pool, hung out at the beach, went crabbing, made sandcastles, played a little putt putt golf, rode the ferris wheel, did a little shopping, and Will made his first build-a-bear.  What more could you want?!  AND....the weather was fantastic.  Didn't get much above low 90's and with an ocean breeze - perfect.  I think we'll be back next year to make it 5 years in a row! 

Here are a few pictures....Or a ton of pictures!  







No grand plans, just lots of grand moments

     That pretty much describes our summer so far.  We have no grand plans.  We are headed to our annual beach spot in a few days with some of our favorite people.  And we will make a stop by my Mom's house to visit with her and Michael...more favorite people!  But, all in all, we have been taking each day as it comes and just hanging out....playing in the sprinklers, enjoying our vegetable garden, watching movies, watching Will (better, and always more amusing than a movie!), riding horses, swimming, and loving the fact that we have no schedule.

     For whatever reason, there has been less bickering in my house lately.  Maybe it's age related, maybe it's the slower pace that comes with summer, maybe my relentless lectures about patience, kindness, and flexibility are paying off, or MAYBE my girls got together and decided that they would give me this gift for the summer!  I doubt it, but I'll take it.  Less fighting, less arguing, less bickering.  Whatever the reason and for whatever length of time it continues, I will enjoy it. 

     One grand moment for me this summer was setting up my old dollhouse for my girls.  It was actually my Mom's.  I believe her grandfather built it for her.  In any case, it's got some age on it and it's a pretty special family heirloom.  I had every intention of getting it out of the attic, making some repairs, maybe repainting it, buying new furniture and dolls and then unveiling it!  Well, I did get it out of the attic and dust it off.  That's where my plan stopped.  However, I decided that they would probably think it was pretty cool just as it is.  I had played with it as is and loved it...AND I was afraid they would soon lose interest and be too "old" for it!  So - I set it up and cleaned it up as best I could.  I took all the furniture out and realized that I actually already had quite a bit.  I had it all spread out on the guest room bed and when Claire Woodard opened the door and saw it all - her face was priceless.  At age 7, this is right up her alley.  Kate is almost past this stage, but she had so much fun cleaning up all the furniture and organizing it.  They do go in and play with it together, but more times than not, I find Claire playing with it on her own, lost in her own little world.  So glad I did not wait another year to get it out!  The great remodel I had intended to do will have to wait for one more generation!

Here are a few of our grand moments.

Dusting it out

Getting it all cleaned up

Almost ready!

Some of this furniture was my Mom's and some was mine...all pretty old! 

Getting it all set up

Watering our butterfly garden

Riding lessons

grooming Buttercup

Giving Bubbles a kiss! 

Never too hot for this guy...doesn't miss a beat out here helping his Dad!

Sweet Missy.  Kind of looks like she's being held against her will, but trust me, she loves Kate!

We are not winning any prizes for best looking vegetables or aesthetically pleasing gardens, but they are GOOD!

All worn out

           

All things little boy

When we first found out we were having a boy and began spreading the news, almost everyone would slip this into the conversation..."You know, little boys are really different than little girls."  Yes, I know this.  They would also say things like, "They are really physical, they don't just sit and color or quietly play with dolls."  "You are really in for a change."   These people delivering the warnings had one thing in common.  They had never met my girls. 

My house has been busy since the day Kate could move about on her own.  My sister in law recently posted a blog about their sweet baby boy who is almost a year old.  She said he was busy from the moment he woke up in the morning and went hard all day long until bedtime.  This so accurately describes all of my children.  Kate was an easy baby in terms of temperament.  She was so sweet, so easy to discipline but you better be ready for her when she woke up and there was no letting up until we tucked her in at night.  I was teaching a mom and baby yoga class when Kate was born.   I remember being amazed at the babies that would just sit in one place on the mat next to their mommas.  Kate made it about 7 months before she became too squirmy and too busy.  Until then, she was amazing.  She would sit for an hour at a time in her little swing and allow me to get through most of the class.  However, once she realized she had a choice in the matter....she was off!  Claire was much the same.  Look who she had for a role model!  With Kate leading the charge every day and Claire doing her best to keep up, it was a busy place.  One day, when they were about three and two, Bill came in from work and asked the usual question...."How was your day?"  I answered, "Good.  We played with play dough, dressed up as princesses, made a fort, painted toenails, strolled our dollies, finger painted, and played with pots and pans....and that was just the first hour they were up.  I've got more." 

I'm grateful for their energetic little bodies and curious minds.  It makes for a tired mom at the end of the day, but that's okay with me.  Will is no different in terms of activity level.  And, as people "warned" me, he's a boy!  But what they might not know is that I had some great training.  The girls prepared me for this little fellow and I have two very good helpers this time around.  Here's our favorite busy boy!