I think most of my readers saw this picture on Facebook yesterday, but I just had to share it again. That's Sam after he got into my make-up bag. I had it out on the table because I was transferring some stuff out of my purse into the swimming bag. I took a phone call and that was all the time it took for Sam to transform himself into Bozo, the clown. I may be able to salvage some of the tube of lipstick; his clothes, I'm not so sure. That kid!
And then Sunday night we were watching Dukes of Hazzard as a family when I heard Paul make an exclamation of surprise and quickly put down the reclining part of his seat. At that moment, Sam screamed and I jumped up and realized that while we were watching tv, he had quietly unscrewed the lid to the nail polish remover (that I had left out - bad mom). He splashed into his face and he screamed because it got into his eyes. I immediately ran him into the bathroom and began pouring water into his eyes (which did not increase my popularity with him!) Then, Paul rushed in and did it some more. I took Sam back from Paul and he immediately vomited all over me. So he must have swallowed some, too. We gave him a bath and he was calmer after that. Paul read the back of the bottle and it said to give him lots of liquids, which is never a problem with Sam. I don't think it was a huge amount that he spilled because the bottle wasn't totally full and there was still some left after the mishap.
My sister-in-law jokingly asked if we'd considered security cameras yet, given Sam's last week. I'm thinking maybe a leash! I remember that Ben was similar. Of course, he was a little older when he got his mobility, but he was driving me to distraction around the time he was 4 and 5 - super curious and no fear. He also had no balance, which didn't help. Sam has the balance, but very little fear, an inflated sense of self-confidence, and the stubbornness of an old mule. And he was such a mild and easy-going baby! I guess you never can tell...
I'm fairly certain I had another TIA (mini stroke) while I slept Sunday night. I had an extremely hard time waking up the next morning, which was odd, because I had gotten a 3 hour nap the day before. I should have not been that tired. But all the symptoms were there the next day. I was shopping most of the day with David and Ben, and I didn't even feel halfway human until mid-afternoon. My brain was sluggish, I couldn't talk right, my left arm just ached and ached. It's weird, because all my mini strokes have occurred while I'm awake. But, my actual, real stroke happened while I slept. Two days later I'm feeling pretty good. So, I recovered fairly quickly, as I have for the last year whenever I've had one. I see my neurologist in 3 months and I do think I'll mention it to him. I doubt he can do anything for me (except refer me to a shrink, with a little sticky note attached to my chart attesting to my unstable mental state, no doubt), but I suppose I should mention it.
When these happen, I can't help but worry that another real stroke is coming. The docs in Iowa City didn't seem to think that was the case, although they admitted that I would always be at a higher risk since I'd had one. But yet I know so many stroke survivors who have had more than one stroke. So I know it's a possibility. Still, there isn't a thing I can do about it. I'm taking care of my body (could do a little better, I suppose). So I don't want to spend time worrying about it. If it happens, we'll deal with the fall-out, I guess. But in my more melancholy moments I sometimes think that maybe I'm living my best years now, that the rest of my life will be spent in a post major stroke fog of mental incoherency and physical handicaps. At the same time, though, I know that if the worse does happen, it will be only because God thinks that is best for my life. And I can live with that.
I took the boys to the pool yesterday afternoon, which was the first time this season. I like it to be hot enough to justify spending the $15 it takes to get in. And for that to happen when I don't have other stuff going on is a rarity. As it was, I had to move around Ben's allergy shots and cancelled his social skills class. But we had a nice time. Sam was so cute. He crouched over in the water, walking through the shallower end, and paddled in arms in a really good imitation of a swimmer. He said, "I swimming, Mom!" I don't know where he got that!
David was very offended yesterday when he was told he couldn't use his snorkle at the pool. He protested long and loudly to me and I tried to explain to him the probable reason behind the pool's policy on water toys. Exasperated, he looked at me and said, "Mom - you're either for me or against me on this!" I'm still laughing over that one!
Then, we came home and Paul grilled steaks for us. I cleaned out my freezer a few weeks ago and found a bagful of them in the bottom. I didn't even know we had them! I had set out a loaf of frozen white bread to thaw while we were gone and it was ready for the oven by the time we came home. And, best of all, we had our first batch of Iowa sweetcorn! This was Sam's first year to eat it off the cob, and he loved it! So, it was a pretty perfect afternoon and evening!
Will got a little sunburned at the pool, somehow (despite my insistence on sunscreen) so he had me spray his back with this blue, cooling, ointment, sunburn stuff last night. When I did so, I noticed that he has stretchmarks on his lower back! He must be doing some fast growing!
This morning Will came home from weightlifting full of news about football camp. This is something they didn't have last year. But for 3 days the first week of August, the football players will be camping out at the school, doing football stuff all day long. I guess they'll knock off in the evening sometime and have free time, with a curfew of 11 pm. Will said that a number of area schools do football camp, often actually travelling out of town for it. Pleasantville is just having the kids bring tents to the school.
Ok, so the mom in me worries about this a bit. For three solid days, Will will be surrounded by primarily unsaved boys. I worry about him working that hard in the heat. You always hear of some football player, somewhere, dying from heatstroke in August practices. I worry about this free time the boys will have in the evening hours. What will they do? I don't like the idea of Will riding around with a fellow teen aged driver. I worry about some kid swiping his mp3 player out of his tent.
But yet...he will go and I will force myself to not fret. I have always wanted to hang onto the boys loosely and not smother them with my fears. Obviously, I have to be wise, but Will is almost a man. His coaches are good Christian men and I'm pretty sure they will have control over the players and activities planned so it's not a Lord of the Flies type thing at night. Yes, Will could collapse on the field and even die. But, you also hear of teenagers dying in car accidents even more frequently than from football practice and yet, I continue to let him ride and even drive in vehicles. It will be fine. The boy loves football and I'm not going to stand in the way of that.
I did casually comment to Will this morning that he would have to really be aware of his testimony during these 3 days and instead of brushing me off, as he often does when I say something serious, he said, "I know, Mom. I already thought of that." That makes me feel better, that he's taking that seriously, anyway.
Ben had his weight check this morning with the nutritionist out at Methodist who has been working with us. In the seven months since he was last seen, he has put on 11 lbs! That is fantastic! He's also grown 3 inches. He's still at the 20th percentile for weight (50th for height) but honestly, he's always going to be on the thin side of things. And that's fine - better thin that not! But in his case, his lack of fat reserves was causing lack of energy. And that was our main concern. But he's coming along. Our nutritionist asked me today how tall Paul is and when I told her she nodded, and commented that Ben is going to keep growing, height-wise, at a considerable rate for the next few years - which is not exactly news to me! But as his height increases, so will the weight goals. Right now he is up to 96 pounds and she wants to see him at 104 pounds by our next visit in January. She wants me to start feeding him ice cream before bed and suggested some of the V8 fusion drinks as an alternative to no-calorie water. We had to go to Hy Vee anyway today, so we loaded up on ice-cream sandwiches and drumsticks, much to Ben's delight! The nutritionist was also excited to hear of Ben's weight training at school. So, between the extra calories and the school's help with the weights, we're hopeful Ben is going to get further and be able to do more.
We have a heat index of 110 today and Paul called and said he just got down off a roof. Poor guy! But he said it "wasn't that bad." I would have just died in that kind of heat. As it is, our poor air conditioner is having a hard time keeping up today. But I'm so thankful we have it! I just can't wait until these kids are grown so I can walk naked around my house on days like this. I'd probably try that once and get caught by the mailman or a kid coming home unexpectedly (wouldn't that scar their retinas - hah!)!
Well, with that disturbing mental image, I shall sign off. Too much work to do and too little time to do it in...
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