Not fun"knee"!

Back in August, AJ injured his knee in football.  Since then he's "tweaked" it a few times and seen a couple of doctors and PT's.  We all agreed that it was time to see an orthopedic doctor, and this week it was confirmed that it's not good.  "A complete tear of the ACL" is what the doctor said of the MRI results.  Now this is bad enough news in itself.  I know because I've heard it 3 times personally.  Needless to say, I think it hurts even more when it happens to your kids. 


To make the situation worse, because he is 12 and still growing, this presents a difficult problem of ACL surgery.  Normally, they drill through the bone to attach the new ACL, but his growth plates are not yet fused, and drilling into them is a big no-no, unless you want to stunt his growth in one leg.  So, at the end of the month, we are meeting with 2 different orthopedic surgeons, on 2 different days, in 2 different directions, who said they work with pediatric patients, so we will find out more then.


So for now, we are just processing all of what is going on and asking for prayers for AJ.  If you know him at all, you know that the boy is all about sports, and we are learning this week about trusting in God and His Will for us, and what we can do in the present moment to find peace, comfort, strength and a positive attitude to be grateful for the blessings in our lives. 

Rocky & Bullwinkle

So most of those reading this will know who or what those 2 names mean.  For those that don't, they are 2 cartoon characters that were popular when I was a kid.  Recently, we had our real-life encounters of "Rocky & Bullwinkle". 

Bullwinkle is a moose, and this fall, a moose was traveling through our area.  You might be thinking, "So what?"  Well, moose do not frequent this area, so to see one is very rare & it was figured that he was sick.  He hit quite a few farms and towns along Hwy 68 here in SW MN and I read last week that he died in Sleepy Eye, a town about 80 miles from us. 

Where does Rocky come in?  Squirrels run around here like crazy and we enjoy watching them frolick around.  There is a huge one that visits our yard quite often, and even more since we started throwing out the bread crusts (for the birds) that the kids won't eat.  He has even dared to come up on the back deck to taunt our cat watching from inside the patio doors.  So imagine my surprise when, while in the kitchen, something large and furry (that was not the cat) runs into the room from the side door area.  It caught me off guard and I shrieked, which scared it back to where it came from...downstairs.  As I frantically ran to find out where it went, I envisioned those videos of squirrels ransacking people's homes as they attempt to get it out.  I opened the patio door before chasing it out of its hiding space, but then realized that it would have to run through the kitchen to get out.  I put my "let's-be-rational-hat" on and decided that if I opened the side door (which is right at the top of the basement stairs) that he would hopefully go right outside after being chased from the basement. 

As my plan is coming to execution, Jason walks in the back patio door to a family excited beyond all belief.  "There's a squirrel in the house!", the kids all exclaim.  "Of course there is!", he says, "the back door is wide open!"  As I explain what's going on & my initial plan to get the critter out, he realizes why the door is open.  Now we're scrambling to get it all ready before Rocky ransacks the house, so as I was brainstorming, Laney headed downstairs with a broom to persuade him in the right direction.  Jason stood guard in the kitchen doorway to keep him from getting further into the house.  Laney found him downstairs perched upon my office chair and instinctively went around his opposite side to then coax him toward the stairs.  He didn't hesitate and scampered quickly up the stairs and sailed out the open door, not even bothering to go down the steps. 

Mission accomplished, hearts pounding, excited squirrel herders' smiling faces rejoiced in the encounter and the fact that he didn't get far into the house.

We pondered all day how that stinker got in, and I just figured the kids left the door open after coming home from the grandparents house earlier.  But, I found the answer the next day when a mess of shredded insulation and a popped-off chimney cover revealed the, now drafty, entry point.  He also managed to dump board games all over as he attempted to find a place to get out by one of the basement windows.  I am not sure how long he was in our house, but I am thankful that we didn't have any other evidence of his visit that a few messes. 

A while ago, one got into Jason's parents house when they were gone for the weekend.  He made a mess, as well as chewed and scratched up woodwork around several windows, while trying to escape.  Let's just say I was nervous about leaving for the weekend this Thanksgiving after remembering that incident, but Rocky must have learned his lesson and stayed outside this weekend where he could finish his bread crusts.

Guess who's 3 today!!

I found another "Sleeping Noah" picture that I missed, and one that happened after my post.
These make him look like he has narcolepsy.

Sleeping beauty or what??

I've always been somewhat fascinated (and slightly envious) that some kids can pretty much sleep anywhere, no matter what's going on.  Noah is no exception to that!  In fact, it's become quite an entertainment that he sleeps in such odd places and at odd times (like at ball games, and not when he should be, like at bedtime!)  He has been my exception to the rules about naptimes and bedtimes and I have to say that I have given up the fight.  Usually because I'm really tired, but also because we all need a little quiet time!  So when he gets his, I get my stuff done, for when I try to do it how I want it, neither of us gets what we need.

 

Here are some of the interesting spots for sleeping Noah...

 under the Christmas tree,

crashing with big brother after a busy day of playing,

during a snack (looks like ice cream),

 

after his dental procedure (can't blame him there!)

 this is DURING a snack (looks like "chocolate toast", aka. toast w/Nutella),

 



lunchtime (pretty sure it's still in his mouth),

(Sorry that one is sideways...he's at the table in a chair!)

 

playtime (puzzles help me relax too!),

this pillow was just too comfy!

 

And this one tops the charts so far!  Noah and Ian were playing in boxes and we suddenly noticed that he was quite comfy in his upside-down box.  (This was actually during nap time hours, but the kids had come home early due to bad weather, and he usually doesn't fall asleep well when they are home.)  This spot must have been "juuust right" for him.

 

In his defense, I think he comes from a line of easy sleepers.  I have plenty of pictures of Jason passing out with the kids as babies, and only I know how many of our conversations have been cut short by his ability to zonk out in between questions! 

 

 And it doesn't end there!  Here's one I got of Jason's dad this summer.  (Having all of your kids and grandkids under one roof for one weekend at a lake cabin will do that to a man!) 

Oh, is that a nearly-full beer?  Now you know he was tired!

 

What happens...

...on the first school day of snow?  Kids are so excited, but anxious to have all of their winter apparel in order.  It's either lost, too small, too big, too itchy, or too ugly.  For the most part, we did have everything somewhat ready for today's winter storm.  What I wasn't expecting though was a call from the school soon after the day started.  It was Faith on the other end. 

Faith:  "Mom, can you bring me my pants?"
Me:  "Huh? What?? You didn't wear pants to school?"
Faith:  "Well, I was in such a hurry to get to school that I forgot to change out of my pajama pants."
Me:  "Aw man! You forgot to change out of your pajamas?!" 

I proceeded to grumble and rant about why I felt this was such an inconvenience, for a number a reasons that mostly went through my head:  1) what a pain it is to bundle up a toddler in the yucky weather to travel 2 blocks, 2) we no longer have a garage, so every window was iced over for that very short trip,  3) I had yet to get out of my own jammies and put my "face on",  4) I was just not wanting to go out in the weather, at least not yet anyways!  But try as I might to get out of it, I knew that the problem was not going to solve itself nor was she going to be able to wear jammies for the day, so I did my job as a mommy & delivered the pants.

Wouldn't you know that they would end up getting out early that day anyways?  So, with all my plans for the day aside, I must jump-start my "inner peace" focus a few hours earlier so that I can get through a full afternoon with my over-charged kids and their high-emotions about everything going on...Hmmm, sounds like just dealing with little versions of me!

The ones you won't see on the Christmas card...

...but are fun to see anyways!  Enjoy!

 

 

Dress up day

 Friday 10/31 was a busy day for our family...and many in town probably!  Kids were dressing up for school, then they got out early for football sub-sections and then get back to town to get in a little trick-or-treating. 

The kids in the Catholic school are given the option to dress up as Saints for a costume contest in which they dress like their Saint might have and then give a little presentation on who their Saint is.  The kids prepared more this year and all placed in the top 3 in each of their classes.  AJ - St. John, Apostle & Evangelist (3rd place);  Laney - St. Catherine of Bologna (1st);  Faith - Guardian Angel (1st);  Ian - St. Patrick (2nd). 

For Halloween, Laney was a bag of jellybeans...we blew up balloons all week!  Ian has been begging to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for 2 years now, so I thought I would surprise him with an actual costume since he's never really had a new one of his own.  He pretty much wore it all weekend.  AJ threw together a hunting costume and Faith loved her wings so much she remained an angel for the night.  (They were pretty cool, I must admit!)

 

 Noah was supposed to be Superman, but he would only wear the cape, and you really can't see it...

 

...but SuzyCat liked it!  We added the devil horns just because that's what she acts like sometimes

and to see if she would actually tolerate it.  She surprisingly did.