My Superman

I just wanted to give an update on Sam. He got his stitches out today and his ear is looking great! He was SO brave at the ER, too. He was very calm and didn't even freak out when they took his vitals and his temp. And he got right up into the chair on his own and didn't let out the slightest whimper as one nurse held his head in place and the other removed them. It went very smoothly.

Here he is doing his "suave" happy face before they came in.


We got a new coffee table/ottoman tonight too, that I am very excited about. It's a solve-all for every problem. We wanted to get an ottoman anyway, and we found one that works as a coffee table too. It's leather and has soft edges, so I don't need to worry about split ears anymore, and it also has these huge compartments for things--like the blankets and diapers, which the kids get into ALL the time now. The nice thing is, they won't be able to get into this one because the top is too heavy too lift. Plus, you can turn the top over to make a hard wood surface for coffee table use. Very nice.

And we are going back and forth on the whole haircut thing for Sam. It's definitely time for one, but we just LOVE his blond hair. I love running my fingers through it and how it curls in just the right way after a bath. It's a tough call...

I am really excited because I decided, on a whim, to take a trip with the boys out to Utah in two weeks to see my siblings (with Dave's consent, of course). I am SOO excited! I will be staying with Cindi most of the time, and then With Heather for two days. I can't wait to see them, and to see my other siblings.

And then in May, my mom is flying me out to Colorado for a laid-back one-on-one weekend with them. And get this.....WITHOUT THE BOYS!!! Yay! I am so excited. I have never ever been without either of my kids over night (except when I was in the hospital having Josh and you can't count that). I think it'll be really hard for me not to miss them, but it will be so much fun...and just what I need!!! I have a wonderful husband (and wonderful friends) for allowing it and staying with the boys. Thanks everyone for making this possible....and especially you, mom!

And this is just a really cute pic of Josh all dressed up. We took the boys to get vintage portraits done at Sam's club (weird I know, but the company that does them was there promoting) and Josh wasn't very happy with his hat.

"I don't wanna be Superman!"

Well, the last place I expected to be tonight was the ER. But I suppose everyone who has an emergency thinks that. That's why they call them emergencies, right? So, here's a narrative retelling of our adventurous night:

It was about 3:30 in the afternoon. I had just put Josh down for a nap, played "school" with Sam (taught him the sounds of letters and some minor addition problems), then put him in front of Toy Story 2 and was sitting down at the table expecting to have quiet time while I read my best friend's manuscript. Well, as quiet as can be in a house with a three-year-old still running free.

Just as I sat down, the sounds of a sharp thump followed by a tortured scream brought me to my feet. I ran in the other room to find Sam lying on the ground by our coffee table holding his ear. I immediately knew he'd hit his head on the corner of the coffee table (I always worry about the sharp edges), but thought it'd be nothing more than a bruise, like his little brother earned last week.

Until I saw the bits of blood on his hands. It's okay, I thought. No reason to panic just yet.

Then I gently moved his hand and my stomach rose at the sight of open flesh and gushing blood. That's when the panic settled in. I always worry what I will do if my kids get hurt in extreme ways like this if Dave isn't home because I am a total loss when it comes to thinking rationally and collectively in situations like this, and when I saw that the edge of Sam's ear had been sliced into and was hanging down and revealing the fleshy cartilage, I just about lost it. With a woozy head, I shamefully admit that the first words to fly from my careless mouth were, "Oh, sh**!" I know, I know. But you can scold me later.

I immediately shot to my feet and ran to the bathroom, instantly realizing the last thing this kid needed was his nurturing mother making things worse. He was already screaming and crying and freaking out enough as it was. So, mustering every ounce of poise I could gather, I calmly set him on the sink, grabbed a wet rag and placed it against his ear as I tried consoling him. As a million thoughts ran through my mind of the clinic and emergency rooms and my baby asleep down the hall--along with the concern of whether holding the rag against his ear was the right thing in the meantime--I called Dave.

Thankfully, he was just down the street and came immediately, where he took Sam without hesitation and drove to the clinic. By then the gaping, hanging ear flesh was back together because I had pushed it back together amidst calming my son and telling him how strong he was (the whole time screaming inside as my stomach rose and head spun).

After gathering our things (including Josh), I met them at the Bagdad clinic only to arrive in time to one of the P.A.s telling Dave they didn't have the proper tools here to get the job done effectively, so they bandaged his head and sent us on our way to the Prescott ER.

And of course they charged us.

Anyway, by this time Sam had some IBU Profin in his system and had gotten some Cars stickers, so he was feeling a little better. He actually slept the whole way to Prescott.

When we got to the reception desk in the ER, they immediately knew who we were, thanks to Bagdad calling ahead of us, but as soon as she started asking questions, Sam instantly interjected, "I'm all better now, lady."

We had fun counting and talking and playing with him while we waited (for forever it felt). Sam seemed to be doing great sitting there on the bed, seemingly unaware that his ear was severed or that his had was wrapped like a mummy. He and Josh both laughed their little heads off as Dave put on a show with a rubber glove and blew it up like a balloon.

At one point we were even talking about taking him to get ice-cream afterwards and that we were in Prescott and he adamantly insisted, "No, we are not in Prescott. We are at Doctor House's." We had a good laugh, especially because we have never mentioned Dr. House around him before...that we know of.

Then the wonderful P.A. came in and ruined all joy. She was fabulous, but Sam wasn't too aware of her charm--only that he knew something was coming. Here was her opening conversation with him:
P.A. Dawn: "I heard you hurt your ear."
Sam: "Yeah."
P.A. Dawn: "Were you running?"
Sam: "Yeah."
P.A. Dawn: "Did you hit your head on the table?"
Sam: "Yeah. And I was hurting and pooping and watching red Toy Story."

Let me explain that a little. Supposedly, right before the incident, Sam had pooped (I know...still in a diaper. That's another story for another time), which we couldn't end up changing until right before we left the clinic, considering the circumstances. And he calls Toy Story 2 "red Toy Story" because the first one is blue and the second one is red.

The procedure was pretty torturous--almost as much for me as it was for him. First, she numbed the area with lidocaine, which was the worst, most excruciating and painful part.

Let me deter for a brief moment. This whole thing has been hard for me to stomach. I have a weak stomach when it comes to stuff like this anyway, but add one of my children to the mix and I feel that if I let myself, I could easily faint. I know this is something so simple and easy to fix and it could have been a lot worse--trust me. I know all these things. But minor or not, I was still queasy all night. The whole drive to Prescott, my mind kept wandering and I kept playing the "what if" scenarios over in my mind, imagining worse things happening, etc. Because, I told myself, someday they will. I hate that thought. If I have this hard of a time with something like this, how will I react if a much worse injury happens? Even the sight of his blood staining my shoulder made my stomach turn (when it happened, before I held the flesh back together, it was gushing blood and it got all over Sam and me. Needless to say, I didn't have time to change before we left for the ER).

So anyway, back to the procedure. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it--I couldn't even handle looking at it, mainly just in knowing it was my son--so I left with Joshua and walked around on the other end of the big room with bunches of ER beds. I could still see and hear from a distance, but I was trying with everything in me not to let it get the best of me. I could immediately tell when they injected him with the needle because he let out the highest blood-curdling screams that just tore my heart into a million pieces. Looking down the way and seeing that little blonde head pinned to the bed broke my heart.

Then it got worse when he instinctively started calling, "Mommy! I want mommy!" So of course I ran over immediately and stood close to him at his eye level, constantly reassuring him that I was there and that he was so brave for the remainder of the procedure. Something about knowing how he instantly wanted me there made my heart swell. Knowing your kids need you and depend on you is the greatest feeling in the world. I love my Sam so much.

Anyway, before they started the whole procedure, in order to keep his arms down, they put his arms behind his back in a pillow case (which they told him was like a Superman cape--he liked that idea until the next step), then wrapped a sheet tightly around him in a straight jacket effect. Then they laid him on his tummy and put a paper towel thing over his head while one nurse holds his head down, Dave holds his body down, and the P.A. sews.

It was utterly heartbreaking to see that little face beneath the paper crying for me. It was so cute though, because over and over again he kept crying, "I don't wanna be Superman!"

So....(sigh) five stitches later, here we are. Back at home, safe and sound. His ear looks pretty gruesom and reminds me of something similar to Frankenstein. But it should heal fast and in five days, we return to the ER and have them remove the stitches. And considering he will be free of infections (we are crossing our fingers), he will be as good as new with the exception of a cool scar.

Our next step is to buy some sort of protective guards for the edges of our coffee table. Because they are overly sharp.

A couple of times on the way home tonight, we had to check on him as he slept in the backseat to make sure he was still conscious and all (overly worried parents and a head injury aren't a good combo), but as soon as he spoke, letting his usual attention-to-detail self shine through, we knew he was okay. "Daddy, we have to stop by the doctor on the way home because your truck is still there." So incredibly smart.

Then tonight before bed, he sat on his bed whimpering because Dave had just shown him his battle wound in the mirror (great doing, daddy) and he was afraid to lay down because he didn't want to bleed everywhere. But then I told him he was brave like Buzz Lightyear, and since Buzz is his hero lately, he was content with that.

So that was our adventure of the night, long and drawn out for your enjoyment. :) It's just times like this, no matter how small and insignificant, that make you realize your blessings in your life and how rich and abundant the life of a parent is. I love being a mother. It is the greatest calling I could ever have in this life and my children are absolutely everything to me. It's too bad we can’t create a perfect, pain-free life for our children on this earth. It makes you wonder how Heavenly Father feels.

Anyway, here are a few pictures I took with my phone to capture the highlights of the evening (I wish I had had our normal camera):

This was after his head was "mummied" at the Bagdad clinic, before they sent us packing to the ER.

This is what it looked like after the skin had stuck together again, after removing the bandages and before the stitches. That slice was all open before and exposing the flesh as it hung open. (Yes, I am trying to gross you out)

In his little gown...knowing something unfun lay around the corner, but clueless of just how bad it really was...

After they wrapped him, but before turning him over. Letting it drain a little.

One of the few pictures Dave took. None of them do it justice (I still wish I would have somehow been sane enough to take pictures after it first happened), but this is her sewing him up.

And this is the end result, with an ear full of lidocaine and stitches that make him look like Frankenstein.

February Happenings

I thought I'd try to recap some of the little happenings in our lives from this month. Other than the birthdays, not much has been going on. Josh and I are both sick (waiting for Sam's turn, ugh), which is the 2nd round of sickness in our home this month. Not fun. We're thinking about investing in an air purifyer or something. One big hihglight is that as of a few days ago, Josh has started walking! Nothing incredibly serious, just a few steps, but we are very excited! Even though it means he'll be getting into even more stuff. Yay for me.

They (Sam and Josh) had their doctors appointments last week and both are very healthy! However, Josh is only in the 3rd percentile. It goes down each appointment, which is weird, but Dr. Sipes (absolutely love her, by the way!) isn't concerned because he eats quite a lot, is active, looks plump, and is very healthy. Our kids just must have small genes. :)

We got to go on a double date with Brand and Tiff Stewart last weekend, and though that might be a normal thing for most, it's an event worth celebrating in our lives. :) We haven't been on a date in ages and it was so fun to get to, and actually have a babysitter to watch the boys! It was the first time I had ever had someone else put Josh down for bed, but he did excellent...so thank you Cass!! We saw Shutter Island, which was just fabulous in my opinion, though very heart-wrenching.

Nothing new with Dave. Still plugging along at work and still trying to manage his health issues by managing his stress.

Nothing new with me, unfortunately....in my writing anyway. I've sent out a few queries (of which I've gotten 4 out of 5 rejections), so before I send out another batch, I'm working on perfecting my querie and synopsis. I've been blogging more extensively about this process on my other blog.

Outside of my wonderful little family life, I had an exciting change with my calling at church. The Young Womens presdidency has been re-vamped and I feel very blessed to have been re-called as the first counselor. Karen Anderson has been called as the president and I am extreemly thrilled to work under/with her! We had our first presidency meeting today and I am overcome with the spirit that this change is JUST what the young women in the Bagdad ward need! I have been feeling that something HAD to change the last couple of weeks and strongly believe this is an answer to many prayers.

Anyway, here are some pictures from throughout the month. And I know I need to make it a priority to get back on my regular blogging schedule. :)

This was Sam helping make his birthday cake a couple weeks ago...


Sleeping with Daddy during the Superbowl...

Sam and Josh with their presents. This is just going to be proof of the slacker parents we've been lately. We hardly did anything at all for their birthdays this year, but we did enough for Sam to be excited. I know, however, that next year he will be more aware of things and I'll have to go a little more out of my way to make it feel like a birthday. All we got them was Toy Story 1 and 2, but to Sam, that was the best gift. He is totally into that movie. He watches it AT LEAST once a day and when he's playing sometimes, I'll hear him talking about and to Sherrif Woody. :)









Josh with his cake...not quite sure what to think. He actually burned his little fingers once while trying to grab the flame. :)


They might not look very happy, but they were...I promise. :)

Birthday Boys!

February is definitely a month to shower all my boys with affections. Yesterday was Josh's first birthday, today is Sam's third, and Sunday is Dave's 29th! Wow...it's like the month of December in my own family. Anyway, I just wanted to cyber-express my love to all of them!! My family is the single most important thing in my life and I honestly could not be more blessed. I love my husband so much and appreciate all he does to support our family! He is such a hard worker and such a wonderful man. I thank the Lord for him everyday!

I am SO grateful for my wonderful little angel boys. They are my pride and joy in life and I don't know what I would do without them every day (even when Sam won't stop putting his feet on my laptop like he is doing right now...)! I love them and their precious spirits so much. I don't think any mom could be any happier.

Dave didn't want me to get him anything for his birthday this year because of how much money we just spent on our new TV, and I doubt we will get to go out and do anything for it this weekend either (or for v-day, for that matter), but I hope he knows how much I love him!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I will post pictures from Josh's first cake shortly!

What's Sleep??

So, I'm sitting here watching Mickey Mouse Club House, thinking how much I'd rather be in bed. Sam's been sick, and like always when he gets sick, it effects him HORRIBLY. Dave and I were both up ALL night with him as he threw up and whined...and had a CONSTANT cough in-between. There's nothing like finally settling back in bed for the tenth time, to immediately hear, "Mommy! My nose is running away!" Or *cough cough cough*. Argh. And then sometime in the middle of the night, a stupid parade went through town--honking horns and flashing lights. So upsetting.

Anyway, Sam is MISERABLE and extreemly high-maintainance when he's sick, so we are incredibly drained, but luckily Josh isn't sick....yet. Hopefully he doesn't get there.

We're Alive!

So, I know no one thought we were dead or anything because even though I haven't updated this in months, most of you have facebook and know I'm alive and well...but the title seemed fitting. :)

It's been such a long time, I'm not really sure where to start, but I guess I will just start with what's currently going on. Josh and Sam are coming up on their birthdays in a couple of week and I haven't really even given thought to what we might do for that. Josh will be the big 1 on the 10th and Sam will be 3 on the 11th (not to mention Dave's on the 14th). Any ideas?

Josh is a human vacuum, as far as food goes. He's completely opposite from his brother in the eating department, which couldn't make me happier. It is still a constant battle to get Sam to eat anything at all, while Josh inhales everything in front of him. Even when he's full (and I'm not even sure he gets full), he's begging for food. Especially the last few days. I'm assuming he's going through a growth spurt (if not, this kid will eat us out of house and home) because he's been eating non-stop and last night before bed he nursed me dry and still drank 5 ounces of formula after that.

Anyway, I'm hoping his eating habits are gaining him the weight he needs because at his last doctor's appointment (about 2 months ago) he was only in about the 10th percentile and hadn't gained any weight since he was 6 months old. It's crazy, because to me he looks so plump and chubby. But apparently he's small...closer to the size of a younger baby rather than a one-year-old. The almost-bald head doesn't help him look any older, either.

But he's doing great and so much fun. He has such a fun personality and we get such a kick out of him. Watching him and Sam play and fight and laugh together is seriously the best joy I could have ever felt. I never imagined it would tug at my heart so much. I'm so glad they have each other and that Sam has a little compadre now.

Sam is just a sassy, funny kid. He says the FUNNIEST things and we are always breaking into laughter and blown away by things he says. I had no idea he listened so much because he picks up on things I never even thought he was around to hear. One of his new favorite songs is "Pants on the Ground," and for any of you who've seen American Idol, you know what I mean...

Anyway, nursery is one of his favorite things about the week, and thanks to our WONDERFUL nursery leaders, he learns so much! They are amazing. He will come home from church singing primary songs that I didn't even know he learned and I will hear him playing with his toys sometimes, playing out little scenarios with Jesus and Joseph Smith, etc. I love my little guy and the special, wonderful spirit he has.

Unfortunately, Dave has been feeling less than perfect lately. Since November, he's had prostatitus and it's been a huge inconvenience/discomfort in his life. He's been on numerous antibiotics and drugs to help, but nothing has and it seems his urologist has even given up on him. He was told that time is really the only thing that'll heal--if it ever does. So, we are being prayerful.

I finally finished my second novel last night, final edit and all, but I won't go into that here. If anyone's curious about it, check out my other blog. But that's what's been occupying so much of my free time (free time, meaning staying up late at night till I'm dragging the next day because night is the only time to myself).

Besides everything else going on, unfortunately we've been sucked into quite a few shows this season as well. It seems there are too many this time for us to keep up with, and thanks to DVR, we have a whole list of them that still need watching. 24, House, Heroes, Chuck, and the Bachelor take up our Monday nights (after kids are in bed, of course...and no, we don't watch them all in one night. Usually it's just one show before bed). Then the rest of the week is filled with American Idol, Mercy, the new Human Target (not sure how I feel about it yet), Scrubs, Better Off Ted, Modern Family, Community, the Office, and...some others I'm sure I'm forgetting. Oh, and the beloved Lost starts again next week! :)

Between my writing and spending time with my family, I've been attempting to get some good reads in, too. It seems I'm always renewing my library books because I can't finish them too quickly, though. I've been kind of addicted to Nicholas Sparks lately, trying to get caught up with his stuff, and am currently reading Dear John. I refuse to see the movie until I'm finished with the book. Like I'd actually get a chance to see it anytime soon, anyway...

I will try to do a better job of keeping this updated with family info and pictures, I promise! I also just want to give a shout out to all my long-lost Bagdad friends, because I feel like it's been ages since I have seen or hung out with anyone. I seriously feel like a recluse and that I've been shut off from the world. It doesn't help that we've been gone a lot, too. But thanks to facebook and blogs, I feel I can still be a part of your lives. I have such amazing friends here--the best, strongest examples of women there could ever be. You guys are all wonderful and amazing, and even though I haven't seen anyone in a while, I love you guys!

And now for the pictures. I'm not putting up all the holiday ones because that would take FOREVER and I've already put them up on facebook, so I'll start fresh with this month.

Here's Josh trying to get my attention while I sat in bed writing...


This was the result of our freak rain storm in Bagdad. This river bed is usually bone dry and we had to get a picture for evidence that sometimes AZ can be normal!

The boys in their snazzy suites! Love it! Too bad Josh was so mad. It was after church and he was ready for a nap.

The many faces of Joshua... He loves smirking at the camera. :)

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I figured I should also write a quick blurb about how we are doing and what's going on with us right now, since my kids are being good and everything. Ha. Yeah right. Josh is sitting here screaming, so it'll be quick.

We are still in Bagdad, obviously, Dave is still working in the same job, and not much is new, but I'll go youngest to oldest...

Josh is growing like a weed and is chubby and wonderful and cuddly. He is almost 9 months old now, but still doesn't sleep through the night. :) Fun for me. He loves his older brother and they have so much fun together. He is a total mama's boy, by every explanation. I leave the room, he cries. I put him down, he cries. But it's okay because I love him. :) He is so cheerful and happy and fun and probably the most photogenic baby I've ever seen. He has his first tooth on the bottom, which has been fun for me dealing with his extra grumpiness. He has his next checkup in a week, so I'll report stats then.

Sam is doing new things every day and is becoming so grown up. He is very smart and defiant and starting to get a sarcastic sense of humor. :) He is also very stubborn and can be a REAL pain in my butt, but then a second later he can turn around and be the sweetest boy I've ever seen. He started "preschool" with Christa a couple months ago and is LOVING it (though it will probably not continue anymore). He loves learning and interacting with other kids and is GREAT for other people. :)

The only new thing with me is that I finally finished my book--the final edit and everything! Woo hoo! So, I'm working on my grueling query letters and synopsis, mini synopsis, etc. etc. etc. so I can start researching agents to send it in to. Writing the book was definitely the fun, easy part. This part feels like homework--homework that I actually care about and want to be perfect. LOL. Anyway, thanks to those of who who currently have copies of my final manuscript and are reading them. I started reading it to Dave the other day, feeling SOOO lame because he isn't in to romances, but I have been very very pleasantly surprised that he actually really likes it so far and is anxious to know what happens to the characters.

Anyway, Dave had a health fair a few weeks ago here in Bagdad that he ran, and in that process, he had his blood taken and it was high. He always new it was high, but this time worried him more. Thinking about his dad and seeing his life go in that same path gave him a brutal wake-up call, so for the past few weeks he has been EXTREMELY strict with his diet, determined not to end up that way. I have been sooo proud of him. He is eating smaller portions (and still always starving), eliminating as much carbs and refined sugar as possible, and he is working out every single day--even when we are out of town on the weekends, he'll get up early enough to run. Anyway, he's been taking his blood every morning and the results have been extremely depressing. He finally has an appointment today to see what the deal is, though the numbers we see scream diabetes. We are still hoping for something more positive, and praying, but we wont know till we go in and get checked for sure. We will keep everyone updated.

Our prayers go out to everyone in our family (and outside of it) who are struggling. It seems there is a lot of that going on right now and the list of people to pray for just grows each day. I just thank the Lord for our blessings and hope everyone else can receive the same kind of blessings we get.

We are excited to be going to Colorado for Christmas! And we were excited that Braxton and Cindi might be coming for Thanksgiving, but Brax lost his job and we aren't too sure it's gonna happen anymore. :( We are praying for you guys and hopefully you still can come!!

Halloween was great. We spent it with the Stewarts in the valley and went trick-or-treating with the kids, had a little shin-dig, the usual. Unfortunately, Brand was sick, but still made an appearance as Darth Maul so that their Star Wars family could be complete. They all looked so amazing! Tiff did an amazing job sewing the costumes and they found killer masks. Dave still didn't know until that day what he would be but through together a last minute viking costume that actually looked pretty amazing. I was a witch, thanks to Tiff having the things on hand, Sam was a cowboy, and Josh was a monkey. It was lots of fun, but now Sam wont stop asking for candy. He will randomly say things to me like, "Mom, I love candy."