Boo Boo Buddy Update!!

Wes got his stitches out this morning!!! Woo Hoo!!  He did really well.  Then they gave him a colorful bouncy ball and all was right with the world again!  God is good all the time, all the time God is good! : )

Little Boo Boo Buddy!

We have had some challenging times at our house over the last few days.  Our little man Wes took a tumble on the playground.  He bumped his chin pretty hard.  I knew immediately when I saw it that he would most likely need stitches.  Thankfully we were at the park with friends.  They were not only a huge help to us, but also a great blessing.  Amazing how God puts people around us at exactly the right moments!  God's providence never ceases to amaze me!  Our friend Mari helped get a bandaid on the little man and kept Austin for me while Wes and I headed to the doctor's office.  I was afraid they wold turn us away since it was so late in the afternoon.  I thought maybe they would send us to the ER.  We must have been a sight to see because they brought Wes and I some wet cloths so we could clean ourselves up. The nurse even brought him a little teddy bear.  Have I mentioned that I really love our doctor's office and staff!!??  Wes was as tough as he could be all things considered!  The doctor got about two stiches in and decided to leave it at that.  Wesley's sobs made his chin quiver, so I can't imagine what that must have been like for our doctor! It was so hard to watch as a mama!!  This was way worse then watching both the boys get shots!   But, five minutes afterwards Wes was happily digging prizes out the the bin at the doctors office.  Even had it in his mind to grab one for his big brother!!  That alone both impressed me and warmed my heart! Wesley is a good egg!! :)

I wish I could say that's where our story ended, but no, there's more!  I have been begging Wes to slow down.  Since the very day after the stitches he has been trying to run, jump, and climb on everything!  Wes only goes one speed, fast.  On Monday I grew excited at the thought that we only needed to make it through two more days before his stitches come out!  Then towards the end of the night, Wes was taking a bath.  He was still as restless as ever.  And then of course, just before I'm getting ready to take him out of the tub, he begins playing around in the tub crawling on his hands and knees rocking around.  No sooner than I said, No don't do that, it might make you slip" .....Guess what? Before I could even finish that sentence, he slightly slips and taps his chin on the top of the tub.  And again I had that sick feeling in my stomach.   I knew right away by the look on his face that he bumped that exact spot.   So I took a look at the stitches, and sure enough he bumped the spot where he has the stitches.  Thankfully he didn't bump it too hard, but enough that I knew we were going to have to go get it looked at.  He of course is begging that we don't go.  He remembers the last time we went.  We get ready to head out to the least desirable place to be, Urgent Care.  In my head thoughts of swime flu and stomach virus exposure are swirling through my head.  Yes, I'm a bit of a germaphobe!   This had to be done though.  We had to take care of our little man!  We get to the medical  center and it's teaming with people.  I see people waiting with barf buckets and others wearing face masks.  There is a big welcoming sign in huge bold letters that says if you are showings signs of flu-like symptoms let the front desk know immediately.  It was a sight.  I wanted to run for the hills.  But, I grinned and bared it.  I said a silent prayer to God asking for protection.  After filling out registration papers, Wes and I chose to wait in an outer open area away from all the sickly looking people.   Not long after we got there, Eric and Austin arrived.  They decided to come join us for moral support.  It was nice that we were all together.  After almost two hours, we finally got to see a doctor.  He takes one look at Wesley's chin and says that it's going to have to heal the way it is.  Wes was thrilled to know he wouldn't be getting any new stitches.  Apparently his cut would have been more prone to infection if they were to try and do more.  I think the cut will leave a slightly bigger scar than he originally had, but at least he didn't have to suffer more.  The fact that the cut is on his chin is another plus.  It will be hardly noticeable since it's in that particular spot.  Eric and I contemplated rolling him in bubble wrap until he's all healed up!  We know that's not a realistic option....but that thought did cross our minds!! For now we will have to wait and see what the doctor says tomorrow.  He is supposed to be getting the stitches out in the morning....of course that was all before the incident on Monday night! We'll keep you posted! Say a prayer for us!!

Using Gross to Keep the Learning Fun!

Being that I'm a foodie, anytime I find a food related topic that can be applied to one of our subjects I can't help myself. As we started our study on ancient history I was searching for books to supplement our material. Just reading the title raised my curiosity. What do you think? (It's Disgusting and We Ate It! True Food Facts from Around the World and Throughout History) The title sounded so promising. I don't know why I love the gross stuff. I'm weird that way. I would laugh until I cried watching the TV show Fear Factor. If the challenge didn't involve eating something disgusting I was highly disappointed. Not that I would ever dare eat any of that stuff, but I do enjoy watching someone else give it a go. I checked out this book out from our local library. I had to go on quite the search for it. I cannot understand why the library only has one copy!! This is quality stuff. Don't kids love these kind of books?  I was a bit surprised! I think Austin might a bit squeamish. I think he gets that from Eric. Wes on the other hand, became a huge fan of the book. This was his book of choice, asking for me to read it multiple times. It was yet again one of those moments of truth. Wes is so much like me. Austin is just like Eric. Not to say Austin didn't find the book interesting, he did. He just wanted to be sure that he personally wasn't doing any eating immediately before or after the reading of this book. The illustrations in this book really add to the fun. There is so much history throughout the book, along with standout humor.  That was a definite highlight about this book for Austin.  I was even surprised that the Bible was referenced in this book.  That author mentions the diet of John the Baptist.  They didn't have these kinds of history books when I was a kid! Maybe if they did, I actually would have liked the subject back then! Thank goodness for homeschool! I get to take advantage of all the things I missed out on!

Freebie Fans!

 Well.....we tried hard to take advantage of Chick-Fil-A freebie offer on Monday. We got dressed in our sports fan t-shirts. We headed out for an earlier lunch. Then when we arrived at the restaurant the parking lot was insane. The parking lot was jam-packed with sports clad people. We didn't even attempt going in. We knew by the looks of it that obtaining lunch would require a very long wait. It was not a sacrifice we were willing to make. Being that it was lunch time, we were famished. I had also spent that morning doing a run. My hunger was extra powerful at that moment. The first place that popped into my head was Moe's. It probably came to mind because it was a restaurant close by that our whole family easily agrees on. When anyone says the name Moe's I automatically start hearing in my head someone shouting, "Welcome tooooooooooooo Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeessss!" This franchise has certainly coined that term. So off to Moe's we headed. When we walked into the restaurant it was fairly dead inside. After we were sat down with our lunch, more people began to trickle in. I knew instantly that we weren't the only ones that headed to this restaurant as plan B. Quite a few folks came in wearing sports shirts. I guess we all like a freebie, but when it involves a long wait and huge crowds.....sometimes it's just better to go with Plan B!

Artists at Work

Texture Monsters

Giving the monsters an environment.

We are doing some monsterly artwork at our house. The boys made texture monsters by using the soles of their shoes. Wes made a print of his sole with paint. Austin made a print using a colored pencil. Then we gathered all our monster story books for some inspiration on creating their own monsters. This project definitely has us thinking about the story WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. We are so excited that the story is being made into a movie. The trailer to the movie looks amazing!!

Once the boys created their monsters, the next task was to draw an environment for the monsters to live in.  Austin quickly sketched out a street scene for the monsters to reside on.  This post will have to be a two part deal.  After the boys complete painting the scenery we will have a second post to show the finished project.  You really should check out the trailer!! :)See the trailer here!  Check back soon for the finished artwork!! :)

Sticker Boy!

Have I failed to mention that life with Wes is NEVER EVER boring??? He always manages to give us something to laugh about! I usually know he is up to something when he is very quiet. He was born noisy. The only time he is very quiet is when he is busy at work. These free stickers arrived in the mail. He just thought that was the coolest thing ever to arrive in the mail. Well, that and packages from grandparents. He is a smart kid! On the day the stickers arrived he made sure to stick every single sticker on his legs while watching his favorite cartoon. On this particular day when I decided to investigate the quietness, I found one very content sticker boy! At our house we always make sure the camera is ready to go!

Wes is growing up fast! In the blink of an eye he became potty trained, learned how to swim, and now officially knows how to write his name, or at least his nick name. (Wes) Actually, if you call him by his full name, he will inform you that his name isn't Wesley, it is in fact, Wes. Be sure to call him Wes unless you want a stern correcting from a three year old! :) Trust me as one who has been corrected! All I know is that all this rapid growing up must be from trying to be just like his favorite big brother! Next thing I know he'll be asking us to take the training wheels off his bike!! Oh my!