Friday, September 27, 2013
Pics with mommy
I have very few pictures of myself with my mom. I don't want that for my kids. We TRY to use the self-timer and self-portraits. Here are a few attempts, September 2013:
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Sydney's First Drawn Map
At school, Sydney drew a map. On it, he included:
"This is my house."
"This is school."
"Grandpa Lowell's"
"Grandma & Grandpa's"
and
"Aunt Sue lives here."
:)
Sunday, September 22, 2013
One. Two. BOTH. (comparisons)
Silas LOVES to search for the moon, day or night.
Sydney LOVES to do search books, when he's not busy watching tv.
The boys LOVE to chase each other around the house.
Silas loves peanut butter & raspberry jelly.
Sydney loves peanut butter & nutella.
The boys just enjoyed peanut butter & honey for the first time this week.
Silas is two.
Sydney is four.
You'd never know their ages from talking to them; they talk A LOT! (Did you know that Silas recently used the word "actually" in a sentence? YEP! Used that word - in perfect context! He's quite a little talker; gets that from his dad. Right? NOTE: JOKE!)
Silas likes to go to the bathroom on the potty chair.
Sydney likes to go standing up at the toilet.
Both boys cover their ears in public restrooms because the loud flush scares Sydney and Silas now thinks that is normal protocol to run around with no pants on, but with your ears covered.
When given the choice, Sydney normally requests shorts.
When given the choice, Silas normally requests pants.
Both boys like to wear their shoes on the wrong feet.
Sydney loves salsa & chips.
Silas loves sour cream (& butter).
Both boys love getting POPCORN CHICKEN from Walmart's deli counter.
Sydney LOVES to do search books, when he's not busy watching tv.
The boys LOVE to chase each other around the house.
Silas loves peanut butter & raspberry jelly.
Sydney loves peanut butter & nutella.
The boys just enjoyed peanut butter & honey for the first time this week.
Silas is two.
Sydney is four.
You'd never know their ages from talking to them; they talk A LOT! (Did you know that Silas recently used the word "actually" in a sentence? YEP! Used that word - in perfect context! He's quite a little talker; gets that from his dad. Right? NOTE: JOKE!)
Silas likes to go to the bathroom on the potty chair.
Sydney likes to go standing up at the toilet.
Both boys cover their ears in public restrooms because the loud flush scares Sydney and Silas now thinks that is normal protocol to run around with no pants on, but with your ears covered.
When given the choice, Sydney normally requests shorts.
When given the choice, Silas normally requests pants.
Both boys like to wear their shoes on the wrong feet.
Sydney loves salsa & chips.
Silas loves sour cream (& butter).
Both boys love getting POPCORN CHICKEN from Walmart's deli counter.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Backseat chatter... BEER?
While trying to fall asleep last night, Mike kept talking to me. (I guess that is what HE feels like when I do that to him...) He mentioned how STINKING FUNNY Silas is... how he talks ALL THE TIME!!!!
Grandpa Lowell and I were JUST commenting on this the other night when we ran out to drop off a burger to Mike at work. Silas talked THE WHOLE TIME we were in the car! (And he makes perfect sense, too!!! It isn't just jibber-jabber baby talk!)
Today was no exception. Silas was chatty! Here's a snippet that made me laugh...
SILAS:
I like bee-yah.
MOM:
What?
SILAS:
I like bee-yah.
MOM:
You like WHAT?
SILAS:
I said I LIKE BEE-YAH!
MOM:
Beer?
SILAS:
Yeah, that's what I said.
MOM:
You like beer?
SILAS:
YEP! That's because I like EVERYTHING!
MOM:
You DO like everything.
SILAS:
Yeah.... I like beer... and peanut butter & jelly... and stuff.
MOM:
Why are you talking about beer?
SILAS:
Didn't you see that beer truck?
MOM:
Um.... NO
SILAS:
Oh... Sorry, you missed it! Maybe another time...
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Cold Fresh Water
For most of the spring and summer, our kids have proclaimed that they wanted to drink some "cold fresh water". They never really ask for simply water; it's always "cold, fresh" that they are looking for.
However, interestingly enough, their ideas of "cold, fresh water" are different. (Or perhaps, that has something to do with the fact that they like to often be difficult and want different things.... i.e. only ONE of them can eat each cereal because they want to do it alone, or how one wants to read a book and the other to watch a movie, or how one wants to go to the pool and the other to the park, or how PB&J is raspberry jelly for one of them and Nutella for the other.)
Sydney's cold, fresh water comes from the glass bottle of water that we keep chilled from the fridge.
If you ACCIDENTLY give Silas some cold, fresh water out of the fridge, he will FREAK OUT and you will find yourself pouring it into a glass for yourself to drink instead.
Silas likes his cold, fresh water to just be tap water from the sink.
HOWEVER, whenever they are at Nana & Papa's house (and have access to the stocked bottom freezer) they drink an INSANE amount of cold, fresh water there because they have discovered:
a love of ice cubes!
However, interestingly enough, their ideas of "cold, fresh water" are different. (Or perhaps, that has something to do with the fact that they like to often be difficult and want different things.... i.e. only ONE of them can eat each cereal because they want to do it alone, or how one wants to read a book and the other to watch a movie, or how one wants to go to the pool and the other to the park, or how PB&J is raspberry jelly for one of them and Nutella for the other.)
Sydney's cold, fresh water comes from the glass bottle of water that we keep chilled from the fridge.
If you ACCIDENTLY give Silas some cold, fresh water out of the fridge, he will FREAK OUT and you will find yourself pouring it into a glass for yourself to drink instead.
Silas likes his cold, fresh water to just be tap water from the sink.
HOWEVER, whenever they are at Nana & Papa's house (and have access to the stocked bottom freezer) they drink an INSANE amount of cold, fresh water there because they have discovered:
a love of ice cubes!
Monday, September 16, 2013
TODDLER BEDTIME REQUEST: Stick stuck in rock
Silas requested a bedtime story. He wanted us to read the "Stick stuck in rock" book.
Stick stuck in rock????
Ah, you mean "The sword in the stone!!!"
• • • • •
Excited to see that our local library has the DVD; we've requested it and hope to have a family movie night one of these days... hard to beat those Disney movies!
Stick stuck in rock????
Ah, you mean "The sword in the stone!!!"
• • • • •
Excited to see that our local library has the DVD; we've requested it and hope to have a family movie night one of these days... hard to beat those Disney movies!
Thursday, September 12, 2013
SO SIMPLE. (Bookmark)
Grandpa Lowell and I started reading "Beautiful Ruins" together (until Grandpa discovered a LOVE of audio books instead and has switched over for the balance of this book). In my copy of the book, I had been using a Post-It Note as a bookmark. However, earlier today, I noticed that my bookmark was MISSING.
"Silas?" Mommy questioned. "Did YOU take Mommy's bookmark?"
"Oh. Yep!" he stated, so matter-of-factly and went to retrieve it from the side of one of his makeshift traincars.
At lunchtime, I announced to Sydney how Silas lost my page in my book because he took my bookmark.
"How many pages IS it?" Sydney pondered.
Grabbing the book, I flipped to the back to look for an answer. "337 pages!"
So simply, Sydney proclaimed "Well, I guess you'll just have to start over again."
(Upon further review, I was 193 pages into the book and had NOT planned on starting over.)
"Silas?" Mommy questioned. "Did YOU take Mommy's bookmark?"
"Oh. Yep!" he stated, so matter-of-factly and went to retrieve it from the side of one of his makeshift traincars.
At lunchtime, I announced to Sydney how Silas lost my page in my book because he took my bookmark.
"How many pages IS it?" Sydney pondered.
Grabbing the book, I flipped to the back to look for an answer. "337 pages!"
So simply, Sydney proclaimed "Well, I guess you'll just have to start over again."
(Upon further review, I was 193 pages into the book and had NOT planned on starting over.)
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
QUOTE: Following in my footsteps
I saw this online and really, Really, REALLY LIKE IT A LOT:
I don't want
my children
to follow
in my footsteps
I want them
to take the path
next to me
and go further
than I could have
ever dreamt possible.
–author unknown
Irony is yelling QUIET!
Mommy had to laugh when Sydney and Silas took turns yelling "QUIET!" at each other while sitting at the dinner table one day, waiting for their lunch.
"QUIET!"
Sydney yelled.
"KI-wit!"
Silas yelled back.
"Si-wes, I told YOU to be Quiet!"
"NO! I told YOU to be ki-wet, Syn-ney!"
Over...
and over...
and over...
Irony is yelling the word QUIET very loudly.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
One lucky mom
I love my boys SO MUCH! I feel SO BLESSED to be their mom! They bring me more joy than I EVER thought possible. They make me laugh. They make me proud. Can't imagine my life without them! They mean THE WORLD to me!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Onion eyes and swim goggles
Sydney helped me chop onions for our Sweet Onion Spoon Bread. We wore swim goggles. (And we took some pictures!)
Want to be remembered for being A FUN MOM!
Our self-portrait:
Want to be remembered for being A FUN MOM!
Our self-portrait:
Photo by Grandpa Lowell:
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
She doesn't like me...
Asked Sydney about one of the new girls in his classroom, wondering if she is nice. (He currently has "two special friends at school" who are both girls; Kimberly is his "girlfriend" from 3 year old preschool and Kylie is his new friend that is a girl this schoolyear, he reports.)
When I asked him about JOSIE, he sadly announced "She doesn't like me."
"Really?" I asked. "Why not?"
Sydney explained:
Well, she's not very nice. She didn't like me very much when I was pretending to be a crocodile at her.
I laughed, wondering WHAT I could say to fix this.
"Well, buddy... I can see WHY she might not have liked that too much. Girls aren't really into being chased by a crocodile, I don't think."
"They're not?" he asked, perplexed.
"No, not really."
"What do girls like to pretend?"
Again, wondering HOW to answer this without getting myself into trouble. "Um... girls like to be gentler things... like butterflies and princesses; not mean things that will eat you."
"Oh..." he pondered. "Well, I was a crocodile and she did NOT like that!"
OH, SYDNEY... you've got SO MUCH TO LEARN about life.
When I asked him about JOSIE, he sadly announced "She doesn't like me."
"Really?" I asked. "Why not?"
Sydney explained:
Well, she's not very nice. She didn't like me very much when I was pretending to be a crocodile at her.
I laughed, wondering WHAT I could say to fix this.
"Well, buddy... I can see WHY she might not have liked that too much. Girls aren't really into being chased by a crocodile, I don't think."
"They're not?" he asked, perplexed.
"No, not really."
"What do girls like to pretend?"
Again, wondering HOW to answer this without getting myself into trouble. "Um... girls like to be gentler things... like butterflies and princesses; not mean things that will eat you."
"Oh..." he pondered. "Well, I was a crocodile and she did NOT like that!"
OH, SYDNEY... you've got SO MUCH TO LEARN about life.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
What a day! Excitement and ER for Silas
Went in for Portraits this morning. Ended up at the E.R.
Rest of the day (and throughout the evening) we're watching Silas for (more) signs of concussion.
At 10:40pm, he JUST went to bed! (*Was busy chatting up a blue streak... telling us that his favorite part of his day was going to the doctor and having the pukes and getting a bucket for his pukes and then, getting a magic pill for the pukes to stop...) HILARIOUS!
• • • • • • •
SO, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED;
Scurried out the door - without breakfast - thinking that we'd be back home in a jiffy. (We had the 9am appointment.) Wanted to take advantage of the portrait promotion package deal for $12.99 (with a free gift that would likely make a PERFECT Christmas gift for a grandparent!) Deal ran through this day only.
At the studio, we worked with the same gal who we worked with the past few sessions. (I like her A LOT! No pressure to buy, buy, buy and she makes it easy for me to select THE ONE POSE that I would like to buy. Plus, she's great with my kids!)
During our shoot, Sydney is NORMALLY very photogenic and cooperative. This time, however, he was being a little stinker. Then, of course, when he started acting up - his baby brother (often) imitated his actions. They crawled out of the place where the light was set up. Sydney would throw is foot out towards the camera at the last second. Sydney would suddenly have airplane arms. Sydney would reach up and mess his entire head of hair. Sydney would stick out his tongue or hide his face. He's USUALLY cooperative FOR HER! (Somehow, he had convinced himself that he would still be allowed to go to Target to look at toys.)
Afterwards, I sat with the photographer picking out our picture(s) for the 1-pose special and 3 pics to use on the free cards. Just as we were finishing up, Silas started to cry (a hurt cry) and the photographer announced "Uh-oh! Man down!"
"That's a hurt cry!" I announced and walked towards Silas.... who was coming towards ME with his hand on his head.
I picked him up and asked "What happened?"
Sydney announced "I think he might have hit his head."
Silas cried.... until his sound was inaudible.
"Silas! Breathe!" I shouted and blew into his face. (That was some serious crying!)
And then, I don't recall what happened next.... his eyes rolled in his head and his head snapped back and I knew that I had just lost him.
"Silas? Silas? Breathe! Breathe buddy! Um... call 9-1-1! Please!"
I laid him on the floor. I felt badly that I didn't know CPR, but figured that ANYTHING I did was better than nothing at all. I couldn't just sit there - staring at his little body while waiting for help to arrive. When attempting to breathe for him didn't seem to be working, I wondered if he was having a seizure. I've never really witnessed one before. His mouth was clenched shut. (Remember, my attempts at CPR/breathing for him appeared to be failing me.) I attempted to pry his tiny lips apart.... and his clenched teeth.
All of a sudden, he started to cry.
Immediately, I was relieved. I related it to choking.... when someone is coughing, that's a good thing because it means that they are getting air through.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Silas Guard."
"Who's your mommy?" I quizzed.
"Sarah Guard." he replied, sleepily.
"Who's your Daddy?"
Silas started to cry. "I don't wee-member!"
"That's OK! You don't need to remember right now. You're doing great!"
"I want my monkey!" he announced, throwing his thumb into his mouth.
"I have your monkey! Here it is! Right here!" as I retrieved MONKEY from my nearby bag.
Silas looked like he was going to fall asleep.
"Stay with me, buddy! Open your eyes, please!" I announced, as I was still hovered over him, straddling his little body.
I had grabbed my cell phone and called Mike at work, letting him know that SOMETHING had happened and that Silas was alert now. Mike said he'd be right there!
A policeman arrived first. By then, Silas was upright in my lap.
"Hey, buddy, You don't feel very good, do you?"
"No." he said timidly.
"What's your name?"
Pulling his thumb from his mouth, he announced "Silas Guard."
Soon, fire & rescue arrived. Silas was TOTALLY IMPRESSED to see all of the firemen in "the picture store". They checked his vitals and asked if I wanted him to be transported to the hospital. They HIGHLY ENCOURAGED (multiple times) that we take him in to have him checked out!
"I think that THAT would stress him out to ride in the ambulance. I'd prefer to take him in his own carseat, I think." (Knowing that MY ambulance ride was pretty expensive last month and how Mike wished that he would have thought to drive me to the ER himself instead - on the night that I felt funny, couldn't sleep and later learned that my potassium levels were quite low.)
One of the firemen asked Sydney what had happened. Sydney took him over to the cushionless couch. The boys had been building a fort... and then, a slide. Sydney reported "I think he hit his head right over here!"
Mike walked in. "Hi, Daddy!" Silas lit up with a smile and ran over to him across the sea of rescue personnel.
The men packed up their gear and we signed some paperwork. When they left, Silas was TOTALLY IMPRESSED to see them all load into a firetruck and drive away. (He had NO IDEA that they were all there FOR HIM!) The photographer, by then, was a crying mess, blaming her pregnancy hormones. "I can't believe how great you did! You were AWESOME!" she said to me.
"YOU did a great job talking to 9-1-1!"
She assured me that THAT was NOTHING compared to what I did for my little boy (who she confirmed WAS BLUE!!!)
I asked if we needed to pay for our pics, since we were at the very end of our session, having picked everything out. "NO! GO! Make sure he's OK! This can wait; it isn't important!"
So, we left and loaded into our car. Silas was a hot, sweaty mess. (Mike drove his truck separately.) On the short ride to the hospital, Silas kept trying to fall asleep. (Granted, it was likely only 10-something in the morning.) Sydney and I kept trying to talk to him and I would reach back and grab his foot in an attempt to keep him awake.
On the way, Sydney announced "Um, Mommy? Silas might have got hurt because I pushed him off of our slide. That's how he hit his head." (The truth comes out.)
The fact of the matter was IF I HAD BEEN WATCHING THEM, LIKE I SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING in the first place, they wouldn't have been building forts with the cushions... they would have been sitting at the table, playing with Lego blocks. Also, being that WE were THE ONLY ONES in the studio that early in the day, I didn't think they could get into too much trouble. Clearly, I didn't win "MOTHER OF THE YEAR" for taking them out without breakfast OR for NOT SUPERVISING THEM! (Poor kids... we have reclining couches so, our cushions don't come off. They had SUCH A GREAT TIME building forts and pretending to be in ships.... before the slide idea POPPED into their heads!)
When we arrived at the walk-in-clinic, Silas threw up as soon as he was out of the car. He was ghost white, cold and clammy. Thankfully, I had a contingency outfit in our bag from the photoshoot so, we changed his clothes. They also gave us something to catch puke in. A few minutes later, a male nurse came out to talk to us; then, he walked us to the ER, claiming that we would be best off there. ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$ was running through our heads in disappointment.)
While checking in to the ER, he threw up again. And more once we were admitted to ROOM 6. Poor little guy...
ER nurse talked to us. ER doc talked to us, confirming that Silas was displaying many signs of concussion. Doc explained that five years ago, protocol was to do a CAT-scan right away. Recently, they have changed their beliefs because CAT-scans increase your odds of developing cancer significantly. So, they just wanted to observe the nauseated, tired little boy for a while.
The nurse brought in a MAGIC PILL to help his nausea.
Mike went back to work.
We attempted to watch TV, but the 2 channels that had "boy shows" (kids programming) were the 2 channels that HAD NO SOUND!!!! I wondered how long I would be able to entertain 2 kids who had skipped breakfast in a tiny ER room.
Baseball! Great!
"Take me out to the ballgame... take me out to the crowds..."
"Buy me some peanut butter and cracker jacks... I don't care if I EVER get back...."
That lasted ONE SONG before baseball was boring our 4-year-old television connoisseur.
They had started to play with the hospital bed. They had started to run laps around the tiny room. Eventually, I had poked my head out of the curtain and asked "Would it be OK if we walk around this loop?"
The nurse announced "I guess that would be fine. OR you could go down to the waiting room if you want." (Ahhh, music to my ears!)
In the waiting room, the boys watched the fish in the tank and played with the minimal toys while I attempted to call Donna to see if she could get ahold of Lowell for me; Lowell was at church - since it was Sunday morning. At that point, we had NO IDEA how long they were going to keep us; the doctor had hinted at keeping us for a few hours. (EEEK!) Unfortunately, Donna wasn't in town and our phones kept acting up.
Suddenly, the ER doc came into the waiting area to observe Silas at play with his big brother. He thought we would be OK to go home and keep an eye on him there. (I was SO RELIEVED to hear that!) On our way to the car, I left a message for Grandpa, letting him know we were heading home again.
We were discharged with instructions for concussion. Doc assured us that 18-hours post-injury was THE MOST CRUCIAL time for brain swelling. We were allowed to put Silas down for a nap, but NOT let him sleep longer than normal. We were told NOT to push him to eat; letting HIM lead.
As soon as we got home, Silas announced that he wanted Macaroni & Cheese.... and Peanut Butter & Jelly! After lunch, he went down for a nap and Grandpa Lowell showed up a few minutes later.
Grandpa and Sydney went to the park to play. When Silas woke, we drove down to get them. Then, we headed over to Sam's Club to pick up stuffed salmon for dinner. Ordinarily, Silas LOVES samples and will eat EVERY SINGLE THING! Today, he ate only grapes and cake. He kept announcing "I don't think I like that...." (THAT is NOT like him!)
Also, every time we went outside, he announced "It is too sunny! I want you to carry me!" (His pupils were super TINY most of the day, regardless of being in dark or light. Thankfully, they were equal in size.)
He had run into the column next to the sunporch door. THAT made me nervous, too.
At dinnertime, he announced "I don't want anything!" (Strange for Silas.)
By the time we sat to eat, he had decided that SOME FOOD would be OK. Then, he agreed to eat some "crunchy things" out of my salad AND have a little salad, too. He also was interested in my salmon. (YAY!)
That was a relief! He did yawn a lot more frequently than normal, but I was relieved at how well he was doing, despite the possible forecast that was given in the ER.
It was a late night; he wasn't sleepy at bedtime. He just kept TALKING and TALKING and TALKING! He told me that his favorite part of his day was "going to the doctor's office... and had the pukes... and then, they gave him a bucket for his pukes... and then, they gave him a magic pill for his pukes... and then, his pukes all went away! THAT was my favorite part of today!"
I laughed. "Did you say PUKES?" (Repeatedly, no less.)
"Yeah! I did say PUKES!"
"You're funny, Silas!"
I took him downstairs to tell Mike the F.P.o.D response, but when Mike asked him the question, he excitedly said "My favorite part of today was going to the picture store and all the firefighters were at the picture store and then, the firefighters all climbed into their firetruck and then, they all went ZOOM-ZOOM-ZOOM away in their firetruck! THAT was my favorite part of today!"
At 3:45am, my cell phone alarm went off and I went in to wake Silas. Wondering HOW to wake him and assess his cognition, I decided to change his diaper. I was alarmed when he held his hand to his ear, hoping that his brain did NOT HURT!
"Does your head hurt?" I asked.
"No. I'm fine. Nothing hurts!" I diapered him and he climbed back into his bed.
Wondering how else to assess him, an idea popped into my head. "Do you think you can help me feed the cats?"
"Oh, yeah..." he announced "I CAN help feed the cats!", hopping out of his bed again.
YEP, he was JUST FINE! (I was SO RELIEVED!!!)
When he woke for good - I was SO HAPPY that he was his normal, happy self. (Although, I did make him wear his bike helmet after he & Sydney started twirling in circles until they were dizzy enough to fall down; I didn't need ANY more excitement that day!)
We're still watching him... 7-10 days out, but he (thankfully) APPEARS to be JUST FINE!
*For the record, the photo place upgraded our session to a full 6-pose portrait package FOR FREE! (I felt SO GUILTY that they did this; I seriously was only going to buy the $12.99 1-pose special with the FREE GIFT item.) I was told to STOP COMPLAINING. So, we've now got some (more) ADORABLE pictures of the boys!
Rest of the day (and throughout the evening) we're watching Silas for (more) signs of concussion.
At 10:40pm, he JUST went to bed! (*Was busy chatting up a blue streak... telling us that his favorite part of his day was going to the doctor and having the pukes and getting a bucket for his pukes and then, getting a magic pill for the pukes to stop...) HILARIOUS!
• • • • • • •
SO, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED;
Scurried out the door - without breakfast - thinking that we'd be back home in a jiffy. (We had the 9am appointment.) Wanted to take advantage of the portrait promotion package deal for $12.99 (with a free gift that would likely make a PERFECT Christmas gift for a grandparent!) Deal ran through this day only.
At the studio, we worked with the same gal who we worked with the past few sessions. (I like her A LOT! No pressure to buy, buy, buy and she makes it easy for me to select THE ONE POSE that I would like to buy. Plus, she's great with my kids!)
During our shoot, Sydney is NORMALLY very photogenic and cooperative. This time, however, he was being a little stinker. Then, of course, when he started acting up - his baby brother (often) imitated his actions. They crawled out of the place where the light was set up. Sydney would throw is foot out towards the camera at the last second. Sydney would suddenly have airplane arms. Sydney would reach up and mess his entire head of hair. Sydney would stick out his tongue or hide his face. He's USUALLY cooperative FOR HER! (Somehow, he had convinced himself that he would still be allowed to go to Target to look at toys.)
Afterwards, I sat with the photographer picking out our picture(s) for the 1-pose special and 3 pics to use on the free cards. Just as we were finishing up, Silas started to cry (a hurt cry) and the photographer announced "Uh-oh! Man down!"
"That's a hurt cry!" I announced and walked towards Silas.... who was coming towards ME with his hand on his head.
I picked him up and asked "What happened?"
Sydney announced "I think he might have hit his head."
Silas cried.... until his sound was inaudible.
"Silas! Breathe!" I shouted and blew into his face. (That was some serious crying!)
And then, I don't recall what happened next.... his eyes rolled in his head and his head snapped back and I knew that I had just lost him.
"Silas? Silas? Breathe! Breathe buddy! Um... call 9-1-1! Please!"
I laid him on the floor. I felt badly that I didn't know CPR, but figured that ANYTHING I did was better than nothing at all. I couldn't just sit there - staring at his little body while waiting for help to arrive. When attempting to breathe for him didn't seem to be working, I wondered if he was having a seizure. I've never really witnessed one before. His mouth was clenched shut. (Remember, my attempts at CPR/breathing for him appeared to be failing me.) I attempted to pry his tiny lips apart.... and his clenched teeth.
All of a sudden, he started to cry.
Immediately, I was relieved. I related it to choking.... when someone is coughing, that's a good thing because it means that they are getting air through.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Silas Guard."
"Who's your mommy?" I quizzed.
"Sarah Guard." he replied, sleepily.
"Who's your Daddy?"
Silas started to cry. "I don't wee-member!"
"That's OK! You don't need to remember right now. You're doing great!"
"I want my monkey!" he announced, throwing his thumb into his mouth.
"I have your monkey! Here it is! Right here!" as I retrieved MONKEY from my nearby bag.
Silas looked like he was going to fall asleep.
"Stay with me, buddy! Open your eyes, please!" I announced, as I was still hovered over him, straddling his little body.
I had grabbed my cell phone and called Mike at work, letting him know that SOMETHING had happened and that Silas was alert now. Mike said he'd be right there!
A policeman arrived first. By then, Silas was upright in my lap.
"Hey, buddy, You don't feel very good, do you?"
"No." he said timidly.
"What's your name?"
Pulling his thumb from his mouth, he announced "Silas Guard."
Soon, fire & rescue arrived. Silas was TOTALLY IMPRESSED to see all of the firemen in "the picture store". They checked his vitals and asked if I wanted him to be transported to the hospital. They HIGHLY ENCOURAGED (multiple times) that we take him in to have him checked out!
"I think that THAT would stress him out to ride in the ambulance. I'd prefer to take him in his own carseat, I think." (Knowing that MY ambulance ride was pretty expensive last month and how Mike wished that he would have thought to drive me to the ER himself instead - on the night that I felt funny, couldn't sleep and later learned that my potassium levels were quite low.)
One of the firemen asked Sydney what had happened. Sydney took him over to the cushionless couch. The boys had been building a fort... and then, a slide. Sydney reported "I think he hit his head right over here!"
Mike walked in. "Hi, Daddy!" Silas lit up with a smile and ran over to him across the sea of rescue personnel.
The men packed up their gear and we signed some paperwork. When they left, Silas was TOTALLY IMPRESSED to see them all load into a firetruck and drive away. (He had NO IDEA that they were all there FOR HIM!) The photographer, by then, was a crying mess, blaming her pregnancy hormones. "I can't believe how great you did! You were AWESOME!" she said to me.
"YOU did a great job talking to 9-1-1!"
She assured me that THAT was NOTHING compared to what I did for my little boy (who she confirmed WAS BLUE!!!)
I asked if we needed to pay for our pics, since we were at the very end of our session, having picked everything out. "NO! GO! Make sure he's OK! This can wait; it isn't important!"
So, we left and loaded into our car. Silas was a hot, sweaty mess. (Mike drove his truck separately.) On the short ride to the hospital, Silas kept trying to fall asleep. (Granted, it was likely only 10-something in the morning.) Sydney and I kept trying to talk to him and I would reach back and grab his foot in an attempt to keep him awake.
On the way, Sydney announced "Um, Mommy? Silas might have got hurt because I pushed him off of our slide. That's how he hit his head." (The truth comes out.)
The fact of the matter was IF I HAD BEEN WATCHING THEM, LIKE I SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING in the first place, they wouldn't have been building forts with the cushions... they would have been sitting at the table, playing with Lego blocks. Also, being that WE were THE ONLY ONES in the studio that early in the day, I didn't think they could get into too much trouble. Clearly, I didn't win "MOTHER OF THE YEAR" for taking them out without breakfast OR for NOT SUPERVISING THEM! (Poor kids... we have reclining couches so, our cushions don't come off. They had SUCH A GREAT TIME building forts and pretending to be in ships.... before the slide idea POPPED into their heads!)
When we arrived at the walk-in-clinic, Silas threw up as soon as he was out of the car. He was ghost white, cold and clammy. Thankfully, I had a contingency outfit in our bag from the photoshoot so, we changed his clothes. They also gave us something to catch puke in. A few minutes later, a male nurse came out to talk to us; then, he walked us to the ER, claiming that we would be best off there. ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$ was running through our heads in disappointment.)
While checking in to the ER, he threw up again. And more once we were admitted to ROOM 6. Poor little guy...
ER nurse talked to us. ER doc talked to us, confirming that Silas was displaying many signs of concussion. Doc explained that five years ago, protocol was to do a CAT-scan right away. Recently, they have changed their beliefs because CAT-scans increase your odds of developing cancer significantly. So, they just wanted to observe the nauseated, tired little boy for a while.
The nurse brought in a MAGIC PILL to help his nausea.
Mike went back to work.
We attempted to watch TV, but the 2 channels that had "boy shows" (kids programming) were the 2 channels that HAD NO SOUND!!!! I wondered how long I would be able to entertain 2 kids who had skipped breakfast in a tiny ER room.
Baseball! Great!
"Take me out to the ballgame... take me out to the crowds..."
"Buy me some peanut butter and cracker jacks... I don't care if I EVER get back...."
That lasted ONE SONG before baseball was boring our 4-year-old television connoisseur.
They had started to play with the hospital bed. They had started to run laps around the tiny room. Eventually, I had poked my head out of the curtain and asked "Would it be OK if we walk around this loop?"
The nurse announced "I guess that would be fine. OR you could go down to the waiting room if you want." (Ahhh, music to my ears!)
In the waiting room, the boys watched the fish in the tank and played with the minimal toys while I attempted to call Donna to see if she could get ahold of Lowell for me; Lowell was at church - since it was Sunday morning. At that point, we had NO IDEA how long they were going to keep us; the doctor had hinted at keeping us for a few hours. (EEEK!) Unfortunately, Donna wasn't in town and our phones kept acting up.
Suddenly, the ER doc came into the waiting area to observe Silas at play with his big brother. He thought we would be OK to go home and keep an eye on him there. (I was SO RELIEVED to hear that!) On our way to the car, I left a message for Grandpa, letting him know we were heading home again.
We were discharged with instructions for concussion. Doc assured us that 18-hours post-injury was THE MOST CRUCIAL time for brain swelling. We were allowed to put Silas down for a nap, but NOT let him sleep longer than normal. We were told NOT to push him to eat; letting HIM lead.
As soon as we got home, Silas announced that he wanted Macaroni & Cheese.... and Peanut Butter & Jelly! After lunch, he went down for a nap and Grandpa Lowell showed up a few minutes later.
Grandpa and Sydney went to the park to play. When Silas woke, we drove down to get them. Then, we headed over to Sam's Club to pick up stuffed salmon for dinner. Ordinarily, Silas LOVES samples and will eat EVERY SINGLE THING! Today, he ate only grapes and cake. He kept announcing "I don't think I like that...." (THAT is NOT like him!)
Also, every time we went outside, he announced "It is too sunny! I want you to carry me!" (His pupils were super TINY most of the day, regardless of being in dark or light. Thankfully, they were equal in size.)
He had run into the column next to the sunporch door. THAT made me nervous, too.
At dinnertime, he announced "I don't want anything!" (Strange for Silas.)
By the time we sat to eat, he had decided that SOME FOOD would be OK. Then, he agreed to eat some "crunchy things" out of my salad AND have a little salad, too. He also was interested in my salmon. (YAY!)
That was a relief! He did yawn a lot more frequently than normal, but I was relieved at how well he was doing, despite the possible forecast that was given in the ER.
It was a late night; he wasn't sleepy at bedtime. He just kept TALKING and TALKING and TALKING! He told me that his favorite part of his day was "going to the doctor's office... and had the pukes... and then, they gave him a bucket for his pukes... and then, they gave him a magic pill for his pukes... and then, his pukes all went away! THAT was my favorite part of today!"
I laughed. "Did you say PUKES?" (Repeatedly, no less.)
"Yeah! I did say PUKES!"
"You're funny, Silas!"
I took him downstairs to tell Mike the F.P.o.D response, but when Mike asked him the question, he excitedly said "My favorite part of today was going to the picture store and all the firefighters were at the picture store and then, the firefighters all climbed into their firetruck and then, they all went ZOOM-ZOOM-ZOOM away in their firetruck! THAT was my favorite part of today!"
At 3:45am, my cell phone alarm went off and I went in to wake Silas. Wondering HOW to wake him and assess his cognition, I decided to change his diaper. I was alarmed when he held his hand to his ear, hoping that his brain did NOT HURT!
"Does your head hurt?" I asked.
"No. I'm fine. Nothing hurts!" I diapered him and he climbed back into his bed.
Wondering how else to assess him, an idea popped into my head. "Do you think you can help me feed the cats?"
"Oh, yeah..." he announced "I CAN help feed the cats!", hopping out of his bed again.
YEP, he was JUST FINE! (I was SO RELIEVED!!!)
When he woke for good - I was SO HAPPY that he was his normal, happy self. (Although, I did make him wear his bike helmet after he & Sydney started twirling in circles until they were dizzy enough to fall down; I didn't need ANY more excitement that day!)
We're still watching him... 7-10 days out, but he (thankfully) APPEARS to be JUST FINE!
*For the record, the photo place upgraded our session to a full 6-pose portrait package FOR FREE! (I felt SO GUILTY that they did this; I seriously was only going to buy the $12.99 1-pose special with the FREE GIFT item.) I was told to STOP COMPLAINING. So, we've now got some (more) ADORABLE pictures of the boys!
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