I'M STUCK!

I was walking down the street with my kids yesterday. Nate and Gabe were on bikes and I was pushing Adrianna in the stroller. All four of us were enjoying the spring like weather. We were all glad that the cold winter was finally behind us.

Our neighbors, the Lindley’s, were unloading groceries from their car, and stopped me. I could tell they were eager to catch up on the happenings of the cold months, since we hadn’t visited since the fall. “Mom,” Nate said. “Can we play with Jack?” “Sure, but stay right here where I can see you.” Jack, one of Nate’s classmates, had been playing baseball with his dad in the front yard and when he saw that I had stopped to chat, he asked if the boys could play. They headed over to an empty lot across the street to play in the mud and throw rocks and sticks. Harmless, right? We’ll see!

The talk was small between the Lindley’s and I. They continued on and on about how quickly the children were growing. I agreed.

“Mom,” said Nate. “Mom,” said Gabe. I ignored them, not wanting to have my conversation interrupted. “Mom,” Nate said, a little louder. “Mommy,” said Gabe, a little more impatiently. “Just a minute, boys, I’m talking,” I said, a little irritated that they were interrupting again. I could see that they didn’t need anything important…at least I didn’t think they needed anything important.

“Mom,” Nate said again. Once again, I ignored him. “AMANDA!” he shouted. “Gabe is stuck!” I looked up and saw that my 3 year old, who was luckily wearing fireman boots that I tried to talk him out of, was sinking slowly into the mud. I, wearing flip flops, ran over to him and tried to pull him out. Unfortunately, Nate wasn’t exaggerating…he WAS STUCK! He was so stuck, in fact, that I couldn’t pull him out easily. I assured him that it was just mud and he wasn’t going to get hurt, although I wasn’t so sure about that. I just wanted him to remain calm. I held his leg in one hand and his boot in the other, and pulled hard with both hands at the same time. One leg was free. I knew I had to act quickly on the other foot; otherwise, he would begin sinking again. I successfully freed him. Once again, Mom saves the day! “Now, get over there in Jack’s yard, boys, and stay out of the mud,” I said. I took a deep breath, relieved that things didn’t get too out of hand. That relief quickly dissipated, when I realized that I, too, was stuck in the mud. Who was going to save me? The kids? The Lindley’s? At this point, the mud was just a few inches from me knee. I managed to pull one foot out, leaving my flip flop buried in the sludge. If my 38 pound son was sinking at a rate of about 3 inches a minute…you can imagine how quickly I was sinking! If I didn’t get the other foot out quickly, I would soon be re-stuck! I somehow got the other foot out successfully, saving my other flip flop. Although, I wasn’t thinking at the time, what I would do with just one flip flop! I ran out of that mud as fast as I could, hoping to save my physical self as well as my pride. I was unsuccessful at the latter.

Just after making it to the street, I noticed the boys were playing happily in Jack’s yard and several neighbors, including Nate’s teacher, the unusually quiet older couple up the street, and Jack’s mom and dad, had been enjoying the show. I walked over to the Lindley’s, thanking them for watching Adrianna while I saved my son from the monstrous mud pit. Just about then, Nate had ventured back over the empty lot to get a ball that Jack had hit across the street. “Mom,” he called. I didn’t want to look. Luckily, he was able to get his foot out of the mud, but left his shoe behind. He had to put his foot back down, wearing only his sock, to free his other foot. The good news is that he saved both shoes and I didn’t have to go in after him. The bad news is that we had to throw those socks away.

We said our goodbyes to the Lindley’s and headed back home. After only about 20 feet, Nate started to get wobbly on his bike and just like a domino, he tumbled. “Mom, I’m stuck.” I’d heard that already today and knew that there was no way he could be stuck under his lightweight two-wheeler. I got closer. He was right…he was stuck! After taking off his socks, because they were muddy, he put his shoes back on without tying them. His shoe laces were wrapped around the pedals of his bike! I parked Adrianna’s stroller, told Gabe to hold up, and bent over, trying to free another child from being STUCK!!! I was able to unravel one shoelace, but because my hands were covered in mud from the previous rescue, it was taking me a while to free the other shoe. Nate lay there in the street, quietly. Just then, the Lindley’s came running out and bravely took on the task of saving Nate from the shoelace eating pedal of his bicycle. Just then, Jamie, a friend from church, drove by, on her way home from work. Typically, I’m not easily embarrassed, but did everyone I know have to see us experience these unfortunate mishaps? Finally, Linda had Nate untied. Jamie drove off, the Lindley’s headed back home after I thanked them generously, and we were FINALLY headed home. I prayed, “Please God, get us home safe.” This is typically not a prayer I have to say while on a walk around our neighborhood!

We got home and hosed ourselves off. I put Nate’s tennis shoes in the washer, his socks and my one flip flop in the trash, and left Gabe’s fire boots on the back porch to dry.

I’ve always considered our neighborhood very safe. Not now! Take my word for it, on the corner of Carriage Lane and Barouche Street there is a shoe eating mud pit that’s not safe for children or adults.

By the way, the 2010 Boy Scout Pine Derby was a success! Nate came in 3rd place in his category! Good memories!

Nate, with his Participation and 3rd place trophies!

1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.

Placing the cars on the track...

The competition...

He's so cute in his Cub Scout uniform!

WHAT A WEEK!

It has been an amazingly warm and spring like week! We have enjoyed playing outside and I am hoping this warm weather stays! We even dusted off our bikes...and discovered that the boys have grown! They both need new helmets!

In preparation for Gabe's procedure on Thursday, Daddy and I took him out on a date! Thanks, Mom, for keeping Nate and Adri. Gabe chose to have dinner at DQ and finished his chicken finger meal with a butterscotch Dilly Bar. We ended the date with a trip to Build a Bear, where he chose a new buddy to take with him to the hospital. He picked a little monkey, which he proudly named Sammy. Sammy must do a good job of comforting Gabe because after only about 5 minutes in the car on the way home, he was zonked! I did not look forward to getting him up the next day at 5:30 a.m.

Thursday morning, after they took us back to prep for the procedure, Gabe got very quiet...much unlike his usual self! The nurse asked him lots of questions and he answered almost all of them with, "I dunno." He was scared, but was trying not to show it. She took his temperature, checked his heart rate and gave him an ankle bracelet with his name on it. Everything she did to Gabe, she also did to Sammy. He loved that! Then someone came back to take him to the operating room and he tried hard to hold back the tears. His bottom lip quivered as he said to me, "You not going wif me?" I tried hard not to cry, too! Matt and I waited for the next 30 minutes in a consultation room, awaiting the doctor's update.

She came in and assured us that everything went well. The hour or so in recovery was hard for him and hard for us to watch. He kept coughing and gagging, probably because of the tube that was down his throat during the procedure. After the nurse finally gave him to me, he snuggled up to me and napped for half an hour or so. After waking, he reluctantly drank some juice, had a few licks of a popsicle, and a few bites of applesauce. Finally, we were headed home with a VERY pitiful looking boy! He seemed afraid to swallow, thus, giving him a small drooling problem. I annoyed him by continuously wiping his chin. He asked for ice cream and a popsicle when we got home and his wish was granted. He even got to eat on the couch in the living room while watching Casper! After almost a 5 hour nap yesterday afternoon, the little guy was almost back to normal. And today, only about 36 hours later, you'd never know he had anything done. He amazes me...I'm not sure that I'd take it as well!!!

His hearing seems to be a little better. I kept whispering his name this morning to see if he could hear me and annoyingly, he said, "STOP doing dat!" Without a doubt, the old Gabe has returned! He's played with his mask (which the anesthesiologist allowed him to keep) and pretended to give Sammy surgery all day. He told me earlier, "I'll be the doctor and you be the bad guy." "Who's the bad guy, Gabe," I asked. "He's da one dat puts a tube in your mouf!"

Thank you all for the prayers and good wishes. I'm thankful for supportive friends and family! Although this was a minor procedure, it's NOT FUN seeing a child go through it! Now, we're praying for a healthy spring and NO MORE EAR or HEARING problems!!!

Per your request...

It’s been a while since my last blog. Although it’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted something online, let me assure you, our life has been no less entertaining.

Adrianna has had a busy few weeks…she’s now feeding herself finger foods and this weekend, proved that she has the skill mastered. I find very little stuck to her bottom or in her lap when I lift her from the highchair. I’m sure that a few bites are shared with Keely because she stays closer than ever to Adrianna! Some of Adri's new favorite foods include fruit puffs, cheerios,
chicken nuggets, and diced carrots!

Nate has had a really good couple of weeks at school. I haven’t gotten any calls from Mrs. Amrine or Mr. Kruer, which is a GREAT thing! He was rewarded for his good behavior by having a boys afternoon out with Daddy and his friends Justin and Cam. He told me later that afternoon, “I think it’s more fun to make good choices than it is to make bad ones!” You think? If only he would’ve figured that out months ago! His current project is preparing for the pine derby this weekend. He and Daddy built, painted and decorated a cute little car that will undoubtedly take first place, according to Matt. Win or lose, I’m sure it will be a great memory for all of us!

Gabe’s hearing has continued to be an issue and it was confirmed today that fluid in his ears and enlarged adenoids are the problem. He’ll be having tubes put in and his adenoids removed on Thursday. Considering how inquisitive he is, I started talking about the procedure with him today and gave him lots of time to think about it and ask questions. I’m confident that being open with him about what’s going to happen will make him less fearful. Not to my surprise, he hasn’t shown any anxiety about it, thus far. He informed me this afternoon that he as actually looking forward to it because he’ll get to ride on a stretcher, take a nap in the hospital, and enjoy all the ice cream he can eat! We're also preparing for the procedure by having a special date night with the litty guy...just Daddy and I are taking Gabe out to dinner and to Build a Bear to get a 'feel better baby.' He told me this morning, "I tink I want a penguin. I name him swippery!"

I am in a book club that meets once a week, although, I haven’t been in a while because the kids keep getting sick. One of the women in our group told me that she feels like she knows the kids better than me because I’m always writing about them and write little about myself. As a mom, I think it’s easy to neglect yourself and it’s actually been difficult for me to come up with a good description of the kind of person I am…outside of motherhood. I thought and thought, and I think I did come up with something…though it might not be exactly what Pam was talking about!

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT AMANDA (a continuation of '10 Things that make me happy.')

1. It’s hard for me to go to bed at night when the house is a mess. I lay there and think about all of the things that need done and know that if I just got up and did them, I’d be more rested in the morning.

2. I THOUROUGHLY ENJOY FOOD and anything that has to do with it. I love eating food, cooking food and socializing around food. To no one’s surprise, this interesting fact about me is no doubt the reason I don’t weigh 120 pounds! On the downside, I sometimes can't say no to food. I have been known to eat a box of ceral in one day!

3. I love to sing anywhere and anytime. It’s a difficult thing for me, though, because I don’t understand why God would give the love of singing to someone and not give them the talent!

4. I can peel an orange leaving the peel in one piece.

5. I think I would make a good receptionist because I love typing and organizing things.

6.My favorite time of day is naptime…not only because the kids are napping, but because I sometimes do, too!

7. Staying at home with my kids is sometimes very lonely. I’m a social person and if I’m not intentional about getting out of the house and mingling with other adults, I get lonesome. I feel very guilty about telling this to my ‘working mom’ friends because I don’t want it to seem like I’m complaining.

8. My least favorite household chore is laundry. I dislike sorting, washing, drying, folding, and putting it away. I consider getting a part time job, often, just so that I can hire someone to do the laundry.

9. I know that we’re supposed to “cover our children in prayer” but I often feel like I fall short. Is it possible to pray for EVERY part of their life and their future? I hope God knows that I can’t remember everything!

10. I have little patience and was once told by a friend that if you pray for patience, than God gives you lots of opportunity to practice using patience. I don’t pray for patience anymore.

11. I often joke that my life could be a sitcom, but I’m actually not joking. I’d love for our family to be on the first Reality TV show starring a ‘regular’ family and their day to day life. I think it could be a hit.

12. I need about 100 hugs a day from my husband, otherwise I think he’s mad at me.

13. My great grandma died when I was a senior in college and I still think about her every day. I didn’t realize how much I loved her and how special she was to me until she was gone. I regret not telling her more often when she was alive. I’m sorry that my children won’t know her but am delighted that they’re making memories with my mom and dad like I had with her.

14. I want to have more children but am afraid that I won’t be able to give each of them the attention that I want to if we have more.

15. I complain about the frugalness of my husband, but am so grateful for his levelheadedness and the fact that he introduced our family to the teachings of Dave Ramsey. Because of FPU, we’ve paid off about $70,000 in little more 3 years. We’re soon to be debt free! It would probably be soon, but we now have an adenoid procedure to pay for!

16. I like to rearrange furniture and paint a room when I need a pick me up.

17. I don’t like to shop…unless it’s a gift for someone else.

18. I never did anything behind my mother’s back when I was a kid…she always found out so there was no need to lie. If I did something I wasn’t supposed to, I just told her. She never got angry at me…at least she never showed me her anger. I want to have that kind of relationship with my kids.

19. As a kid, I had all kind of weird pets. The rule was that if I took care of them, I could have anything (except cats). I, however, don’t think I’m going to have the same rules for my kids. I realize as an adult, how gross some rodents can be and I don’t want my house to smell like guinea pig!

20. I didn’t hear ‘I love you’ very often as a kid (although I never doubted that I was loved) so I make a point to tell my kids that I love them at least once a day…sometimes 20!

21. I like to be fussed over, but don’t consider myself high maintenance.

22. I am secretly terrified about raising a girl.

23. I try to teach my children about the love that God has for them and how no matter what we do or say or no matter where we go, He’s there. I hope they’re listening…most of the time.

24. I love gardening and yard work and don’t even mind the sore back and sweat that comes along with it.

25. I try to be a good listener, but often find myself being supportive by saying, “I know what you mean because I…” I am working on JUST listening.