Leaping in the Snow

We finally got some snow here in Minnesota.

Sure, we've had a few inches here and there, but this has been a weird Winter for us. We've had very little precipitation and warm temps have caused our snow to melt quickly.  It seemed like Winter never arrived.

Now, I'm not complaining, but I have missed the snow. So when we got dumped with snow last night and today, I was pretty thrilled. And when school, ABA, and occupational therapy were all cancelled I was pretty excited for a Snow Day!

It didn't take much convincing for Elijah to take a nap with me in the late morning.  It's pretty nice to be able to snuggle with both of my boys, one in my arms and the other kicking in my belly.

We decided to wait until Andy got off from work to head outside. Elijah doesn't last too long in the cold and I wanted to share the Wintery-goodness with all of my boys.

I've been waiting all season for fun in the snow. Snow Day 2012 delivered.

Pretty awesome leap-day if you ask me.

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Our Lobby Friend

Seriously, there really is never a dull moment around here.

Yesterday, Elijah had the staples from his head removed and then ABA therapy in the afternoon. Near the end of his therapy, his therapist brought Elijah to me and asked me to take his temperature. I did and it was over 100. Bummer. Therapy was obviously cancelled from that point and cancelled for today.

Last evening, Andy and I decided to take Elijah to Urgent Care. When he'd had his staples removed, they said to watch for a fever, a sign of infection. Elijah's nose has been stuffy for almost two weeks and we figured it wouldn't hurt to get him seen as soon as possible.

We took him in and found out he has an ear infection, his first in his four and a half years. Interestingly, he didn't have a fever at the clinic, which makes me wonder if our thermometer is inaccurate. Today, we're having a sick day together, wearing elastic pants and generally behaving as we usually do (a cold doesn't slow this kid down). Oh, and his head wound isn't infected and is looking great, by the way.

While we were waiting to be seen at Urgent Care, a guy in the lobby started to chat with us. He reminded me of my dad, if only for one reason - they both like to find strangers and carry on a conversation (hi dad!).

The guy told us that he drove truck for a living, how he'd driven all night, that he'd gotten only two hours of sleep, that his apartment wouldn't allow him to have a dish so he had cable which was "so stupid", that he'd gotten an extra hundred bucks to unload his trailer earlier that day.

I told him I hoped he'd get some sleep that night.

"Oh, yeah, I will. There's only one show I want to stay up for tonight," he said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"One Tree Hill," he replied.

He told us how he'd gotten hooked when he was living with someone who watched it.

Then he mentioned that the only other show he was hooked on was WWE wrestling.

Last night, I was flipping channels and saw that One Tree Hill was airing. I laughed. Imagining this rough and tumble WWE-fan truck driver sitting on his couch watching a show that is marketed towards the young and female struck me as so, so funny.

There's something admirable about a person who isn't ashamed to admit that they like something that might be embarrassing. Everyone needs a harmless guilty pleasure.

Good for you, lobby friend. I hope you enjoyed your show and slept well last night.

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Impromptu Nap

I was trying to eat a quick lunch before needing to head out for an Elijah doctor appointment. I'd eaten about half of my sandwich when I realized that Elijah was being much too quiet. I can usually keep an ear (if not always an eye) on him by listening to him play with his noisy toys. The house had become silent, which usually means trouble. Right?

I walked into the next room to find little man sleeping peacefully in the sunlight, something I remember doing as a kid. This is not the typical behavior from our active little guy. I stood and watched him for a moment, soaking in his cuteness and savoring the moment.

Love is an understatement.

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Never a Dull Moment

WARNING - This post contains a picture that may gross out some. Don't scroll down if you don't wish to see it (for the rest of you, it isn't that bad).

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Remember how I once wrote that life is always full of adventures?

Well, yesterday was an adventurous day.

Thursdays are usually pretty busy with ABA therapy in the morning and in the afternoon. Yesterday, we also had our new OT come during the lunch hour to help us work on oral motor and fine motor skills. In the fifteen minutes between the OT's departure and the next ABA therapist's arrival, Elijah managed to have a temper tantrum, trip, and fall into the corner of a piece of furniture.

I picked him up and that's when I saw the blood and the gash on the top of his head. I kind of freaked out. There was a lot of blood.

I scooped Elijah up and brought him to the kitchen, grabbed a washcloth and held it to Elijah's head to stop the bleeding and called Andy's cell and put him on speaker phone. Andy later told me that his phone was cutting out so all he could hear was, "A lot of blood...don't know what to do."

In a few minutes, Elijah's ABA therapist, N, knocked on the door with a smile on her face. I answered it with Elijah in my arms. "Um, hi," I said. "Elijah hit his head and I think I need to take him to the hospital. This just happened." I motioned to his head.

"Yeah, that looks like it needs stitches," N said. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

I ran upstairs to get bandages and proceeded to wrap the little man's head. I was so flustered as I ran around trying to get my brain straight. My adrenaline was in high gear, my heart beating fast. N helped me by putting Elijah's shoes on his feet while I gathered my things to get ready to head the hospital.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" N asked. "Have you eaten anything? Grab yourself a snack. You don't want any other problems," she sweetly suggested, looking out for me and my pregnant belly.

In the meantime, Elijah was as calm as can be. He cried a little bit when he first hit his head, but was quiet and ready to get on with the rest of his day. I wish I could say I was as calm as he was.

We arrived at the hospital and were quite the spectacle. Elijah, a bandage wrapped around his head, was skipping into the hospital with a smile on his face. People couldn't help but smirk at him as we walked past. By the time we arrived at the hospital, my nerves had calmed considerably. I was starting to wonder if I was overreacting.

Andy showed up not too long after we did. A short chat with the doctor later, three staples to the head, and Elijah and I were on our way back home. The wound wasn't too bad, thankfully.

Staples.

Staples! My kid has staples in his head. Ew.

To be honest, I'm surprised we haven't had an injury like this sooner. Little man is fearless, has a high pain tolerance, is visually impaired, and is on the move more than any child I know. Oh, and he trips a lot.

Ouch

That was really not how I was expecting my Thursday to go. I don't think it was what Elijah was expecting either. The first thing he did after we got home was go and look at the piece of furniture in question as if he was trying to figure out how that happened.

There really is never a dull moment around here.

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Time Travel

"Did you go to the NICU today?"I asked Andy last night.

"What?" Andy asked with a concerned and confused look on his face.

"I went to the NICU earlier today. I figured you went there too."

Andy, puzzled, looked at me like I was losing it (this is not the first time I've gotten a look like this from him).

"Think about it, Andy. Did you use the bathroom at the doctor today? Did you wash your hands?"

"Oh," Andy said, realization overcoming his face. "The soap. Yes, the soap."

We had a six-month check-up with Elijah's rehabilitation medicine doctor (Dr. Nice Guy) yesterday. On the way out, we both used the bathroom. As I stood washing my hands in the sink, suddenly it was four and a half years ago and I was scrubbing up my hands and arms in order to be able to see my fighting-for-his-life-son. It's amazing how something like a smell can transport you through time (and I know I'm not the only parent who's bothered by the smell of hospital soap).

As I glanced at myself in the mirror, I was happy to see myself in the present time, knowing my boy was being lovingly placed into his car-seat by his dad and not laying in an isolette nearby.

Please don't tell anyone that I've discovered the secret to time travel. It can remain undiscovered if you ask me.

Eli and his wild hair

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