Snowy Days

While we did not get the whalloping that our Old Kentucky Homeland received, we did get a bit of snow and ice this week. On Tuesday Ian got his first chance to really play in the snow and both boys enjoyed sledding. First, though, Ethan had to have his cast removed! The arm of infamy is completely healed.

(I never managed to get Ethan to stand still for a snow picture.)

Three of My Favorite Things

I’m not much for posting on a regular basis. That means you’re lucky to get the “important” updates about kids, broken arms, holidays, or life-changing drama. That also means that you rarely see a post here about mundane stuff like “What am I making for Dinner?” or “Today I Fell in Love with the TiVO”. When you rarely post, there isn’t much need for filler.

But, I have three things that have lately captured my attention and I really feel the need to share them with you today. Plus, Ethan is on a two hour delay for school. I swear I’m going to throw him, in his pajamas, in the snow/ice out the back door if he doesn’t use his INSIDE VOICE! WHERE DID THIS KID LEARN TO YELL?

Moving on….

Right before Christmas I downloaded the new Nickelback album "Dark Horse". I’m not a music connoisseur and certainly not qualified enough to tell you why this music appeals to me. I don’t know what genre it fits into or why I like it. I just know that I like singing along (out of key).

For Christmas Mark bought me an MP3 player. I think I was the last person in the Western world to own one. I specified that I wanted this one: Sansa Fuze. It is so tiny, and perfect, and I’m in love with it. I can listen to music while washing dishes or making dinner without the children groaning about the noise from my computer speakers or Mark grousing about having to hear country music. (Seriously, a boy from Kentucky who gets the twitches when he hears the Judds. Just.Ain’t.Right.) The "Dark Horse" album, along with previous Nickelback favorites, have “most played status” on my player. When, and if, we ever get an elliptical machine I’m looking forward to working out while jamming to my favorite tunes.

For my birthday Mamma bought me then next installment in the “Pink Carnation” series. If you have never read any of Miss Willig’s books, and you are a fan of historical novels set in the English Regency period, PLEASE go pick up “The Secret History of the Pink Carnation”, the first book in the series. Technically speaking these are historical romances, but not in the lewd “Please don’t let my mother/boss/professor of literature see me reading this” way. The author’s prose is polished but not stuffy. Her background, as a Harvard history grad and a lawyer, probably helps endear her to me. That she mixes the historical- and well researched history at that- action with a first person narrative of a self-professed American anglophile working on her dissertation research, only enforces my identification with the protagonist. Willig's characters are genuine, with foibles so recognizable that you’d swear she was writing about your slutty, but endearing, best friend, your outwardly mousy sophomore year roommate who secretly possessed a caustic wit, and your own not-so-minor “did he just look at me?”freak-outs about that gorgeous hunk in the vegetable aisle. Pick up a copy at your local library and tell me you aren’t hooked. I read "The Tempataion of the Night Jasmine" in six hours with barely a break to make dinner and tuck the boys in bed.

So that’s me: jamming to Nickelback on my MP3 player and consuming good books at an insane pace.

(Edited to fix "best fried" into "best friend". Sigh.)

Belated Casting Call

A month ago we were visiting Mark’s mother in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Harrodsburg’s historic Fort Harrod is right in the middle of town and contains a beautiful and fascinating osage orange tree. There is a picture of it here: http://parks.ky.gov/findparks/recparks/fh/photogallery/album02.htm
When Ethan was seven months old we first took a picture of him sitting in that tree. We have a picture from every year since. So, while visiting over the holidays we HAD to go take the boys' picture in the tree.

I woke up that morning with a splitting headache that was quickly approaching migraine status. So, I stayed at home while Mark took the boys and cousins to the Fort. They had great fun climbing all over the tree and we got some great pictures.

Those older boys are teenage cousins Dalton and Seth, whom Ethan followed around and thoroughly hero worshipped the entirety of our trip. Whether through some need to show off for them or just a sudden spurt of bravery, Ethan climbed one of the higher branches of the tree.

And fell.

Eight feet.

Mark brought him home and carried him upstairs. Ethan was sobbing hysterically. Mark, in his gift of understatement, said “Ethan fell out of the tree. He says his arm really hurts.” In case you are wondering, hearing that your six year old has fallen out of a tree is an almost instant cure for a migraine.

We both fussed over him for some time, checking him for any obvious broken bones or large gashes. He had no bruises and except for a scrap on his head and the arm he was favoring, he seemed fine. He cried and moaned every time we moved his arm, but could move his wrist and fingers. After 30 minutes of being fussed over he cried himself to sleep. Mark and I both decided he was probably just sacred and concluded he would be fine once he woke up.

Except, he was crying again after 45 minutes and wouldn’t let us even think about touching his arm. Finally, after consulting with my aunt who is a nurse and who was worried he might have fractured his collarbone, we decided to head for the local ER.

Once he had been assured that the doctors would not be giving him a shot and that they were only going to take pictures of his arm, Ethan was quite fascinated by the whole process. He joked with the doctors, completely charmed the nurses, and solemnly informed us that he knew all about X-rays because he had learned about them in school. He even said “cheese” when the x-rays were taken.

One look at the x-ray and it was obvious even to our laymen's eyes that his left arm was indeed fractured just above his wrist. The ER splinted the arm, gave him a prescription for Tylenol with codeine and sent us home.

The next day was New Years Eve. I called the local orthopedist but he recommended waiting until Friday or Saturday before casting the arm so that the swelling would go down. Once he heard that we were from out of town, he suggested just waiting until we were back home before having anything further done. Thankfully I called that day to get an appointment with a Virginia orthopedist, since the earliest appointment I could get was for the following Tuesday, 7 days after the injury had occurred!

By the time “cast day” rolled around Ethan had to be continuously reminded that he HAD a broken arm. He was constantly rough housing with his brother and forgetting that his arm was in a splint. The bone was already starting to heal when the cast was applied so he’ll only be in it until January 27. Ethan got to pick out the color- bright orange- and we shelled out the extra $15 for the waterproof version. He’s happily writing with his right hand now (ARGH! Just when we got him to focus on one hand- his left- this has to happen!), has mastered the art of getting his shirt sleeves over his cast, and has had all his friends sign his arm. He told me a few nights ago that he wanted to keep his cast forever.

This was the same night he told me he wanted a motorcycle…..

I think my migraine is coming back….