First Trip to the ER...Not For the Faint of Heart!

I knew that our run of no stitches, broken bones or ER trips would come to an end sooner or later.  And considering the adventurous group of boys I have I am actually surprised it wasn't sooner!  Well today was that day.  We were swimming at a friends house when Carter unsuccessfully attempted a back flip off the diving board resulting in a back flop.  My response, "Carter, let's not do any more back flips, they make me nervous and dad's not here to put you back together if you break."  JINX.  What happens next???  Carter does a front flip (which he has done hundreds of times mind you) and doesn't clear the diving board.  I'm not sure how it all happened, all I know is he came up out of the water with blood running down his face a little disoriented.  I swam over and grabbed him and helped him get to the stairs.  I SOOO did not want to look at it.  Thank goodness my good friend Amy is not as squeamish as I and looked at it for me.  She quickly responded, "How about I watch your kids for the afternoon!"
"He needs stitches?"
"Yep!"
At which point Carter started to fall apart.  We got out of the pool put a towel on Carter's head, I threw my dress over my suit and we were off.  I called Jared on the way to the hospital.  He asked how deep it was.  "I don't know."
"What? How do you not know?"
"I didn't look at it!"
"What?"
"I wouldn't be able to drive if I had looked at it."
"Just pull over and look at it."
"Amy looked at it and said it needed to be stitched and I trust her."  I didn't plan on looking at it...ever.

As soon as we got to the ER I realized Carter didn't have shoes or a shirt, oops.  Didn't think to grab his clothes.  They got him in pretty quick and while the nurse was getting his vitals and history he commented that if it was under the hair line they wouldn't do stitches but would staple it.  Carter's eyes got HUGE.  "Staples??"  I had the same reaction...in my head.  I don't think I would have been able to look at him if he had staples on his head.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) most of the gash was on his forehead rather than under his hairline so stitches it was.

Once we were in his room curtained area, they turned the TV on for Carter which was a lifesaver.  He went into that slightly frightening comatose stage my children enter while watching TV and stayed there until the lidocaine kicked in.  It was a beautiful thing.

When the doctors came in and took a look one of them commented that there was a hole in the galea, note to self - ask Jared what hole in the galea means.  Turns out it meant that the laceration was through the muscle, clear to his scalp...just in one small spot but still!  My stomach started doing somersaults.  The resident turned Carter towards me to show me the laceration and explain to me that it was a good cut (whatever that means).  I tried to quickly turn my head away but it was too late.  I had seen it.  I checked myself.  I wasn't lightheaded, I wasn't nauseous and I was still breathing and conscious.  I did however have to do a lot of self talk to keep my cool and not end up on the bed in the room next door (something that may or may not have happened when Gage got his tonsils out) or passed out on the floor (something else that may or may not have happened with a previous suture experience.

Jared showed up after a while (and brought a camera with him...it was killing me that I was there without a camera to document this experience!).  Carter was super brave and saw surprised at how easy it was.  Knock on wood but maybe next time he won't be so scared.  Although I have to admit, the idea of stitches is much worse than the actual thing!

3 hours, 4 deep tissue plus 13 surface sutures later and we're as good as new...with a little bit of a lingering headache to remind one to flip further away from the diving board next time!

It made me smile that my not so little boy still wanted to hold my hand.  And it may have made me feel better too... Love this kid!

I am totally avoiding looking at this photo while I type.  It makes my stomach turn.  And according to Amy it looks a lot better washed out than it did at the pool.  So grateful for good, unsqueamish friends!

Finally got a smile out of him...after the lidocaine kicked in!

Yes, I let the resident stitch him up...it's hard to ask for someone else when your husband is a resident.  Hope he did a good job!

No shirt, no shoes...no problem.

Who's Who?

Because I will forget - and this made me laugh

Carter - "Mom, I'm exhausted!"
Me - "Well you better hurry and get those legos picked up so you can go to bed."
Carter - "Do you KNOW the meaning of exhausted!?!"

Gotta love that 3rd grade attitude...

Cam's 3rd Birthday Questionnaire

I saw this cute idea and decided to give it a whirl, we'll see if it sticks.  Here's Cam at 3!

A Winter Day at the Zoo

We've had a crazy mild Winter.  I keep waiting for it to really show itself.  While we have had some cold days it feels more like early Spring than Winter.  Every time we have a warm spell (where it gets up into the 50's) I seem to plan an outing somewhere outside because I am convinced it is going to be the last of the warm days before winter really hits.  It was supposed to be warmer on our planned trip to the zoo but the sun didn't quite make it out as the forecast had promised.  It wasn't too cold and we still had a great time viewing many of the forgotten indoor exhibits.  My favorite was the frogs.  We managed to see some them in the middle of their metamorphosis from tadpole to frog.  Half of the babies were still in the water with arms, legs and a tail and the other half had emerged from their tadpole days and were tiny little baby frogs, many of which still had a little bit of a tail that hadn't quite disappeared yet.  I was in awe.  The boys, not so much.  I think I stayed and watched those little baby frogs for 10 minutes and then realized Gage and Cam had since moved on.  Not something you get to see every day at the zoo!

The boys were much more enthralled by the tiger.  We don't see him moving around much.  He's usually taking a nap and sometimes we see him awake but he's usually laying down.  Today the boys gave their best "roars" to get him going and lo and behold he took off.  We stayed and watched him move around his enclosure for a good 20 minutes.  When we got home Cam was so excited to tell his daddy, "I scared the tiger today!"

Of all the animals at the zoo I think my little boys may have been the craziest.  They had many spectators as they trotted around roaring at animals in their crazy hats.  A guy even asked if he could take pictures of them. Like I said, the craziest of the zoo animals, and I got to take them home with me :)

Gage's scary face!

Here's to embracing the mild winter we're having now, instead of bracing myself for the March and April I am sure we are destined to have!

Three!

I can't believe my baby is three. {sigh}  Time really does fly.  Happy Birthday Cam!  You are the sweetest three year old out there.  I love that you love to cuddle, that you tell me you love me 100 times a day.   and that you say, "I love you bigger than an elephant," or "I love you to the moon!"  I love it when you give me a big bear hug around my neck and say, "I want to hold your head."  I love your dimples.  I love that you are so determined and such a hard worker, you're my big boy helper.  I love that you are talking so much more and can tell me what you want and how you feel, even when it's, "I want to punch you in the face."  I love the way you idolize your big brothers and want to be like them.  I love to hear the pitter-patter of your little feet as they run across the hard wood floors almost every single night as you sneak out of bed and run to the kitchen to sneak a string cheese out of the fridge.  You make me smile every day!  I wish you could stay small forever!  Thank you for being my best friend... even if it is just for now.

And I love that you sang "Happy Birthday to Me" all day long today :)

New Beginnings and a Happy New Year!

Last year was a bust when it came to blogging.  It makes me sad to look back at 2011 and realize that I didn't do a very good job at documenting it!  We did A LOT of fun stuff and I hope to go back and fill in the gaps, at least the big ones (like our 5600 mile road trip!).  Blogging became so overwhelming for me I had to let it go for a bit.  But, here's to new beginnings and better documentation of 2012!

We spent New Years Even in Utah with my sisters family.  We rang in the new year with our fellow Michiganders at 10:00 MST (which was midnight back home).  We had homemade party hats (my fave and only New Years Eve tradition), pans and spoons for banging, sparkling cider and egg nog.  The boys made a big fort out of the awesome fort kit Tiff made where they finally settled in for the night.  Here's to a fantastic 2012!!

Happy New Year!!  

Merry Christmas!

"Tommy Did It"

Little Cam was diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech about 4 months ago.  In simple terms there is a breakdown of the ability to form words somewhere between the brain and the mouth.  He tries to talk but the words are often unintelligible.  Speaking is extremely effortful.  It has been so frustrating for him (and me at times) when he tries over and over again to tell me what he wants and I just can't figure out what he's saying.  He manages to use a little bit of sign language and comes up with a lot of his own in an attempt to get his message across.  There have been days that I have just started crying, I feel so bad for him and his inability to get his message across because I can see how disheartening it is for him.  But on a happy note he has been going to speech therapy 2-3 times a week and we have seen some good improvement in his ability to verbally communicate and yesterday he said his first 3 word sentence!  We had the Lever's over for dinner and Tommy is just a month younger than Cam.  They have spent a lot of time together over the past 2 years and Cam adores Tommy.  They played so quietly together in Cam's room while we visited and after they left I went into his room and saw that they had been very successful in tearing his room apart.  There wasn't a toy left on the shelf or in a basket or bin.  When I asked Cam, "Why did you dump ALL of your toys out all over your room, it's a mess?" he responded, "Tommy did it."  I laughed because I knew Tommy had help and I laughed because I was thrilled with Cam's ability to communicate these three words to me!  It's amazing the things we take for granted, like something seeming as simple as the ability to speak.      

Cinco De Mayo

I  have the best cousins ever!  My cousin, Janet, came out to watch the boys so I could go to a conference in Palm Beach with Jared.  I went for walks and runs along the beach in the morning, sat on the sand and read a book and when Jared was done with classes at noon we went out for good eats, went boogie boarding and sea kayaking.  It was fantastic R&R!  I wish I could say the same for her "vacation."

Jared and I got home on May 5th and were welcomed by a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta!!  There were Mexican flags, tissue paper flowers, a pinata and 3 little sombrero clad muchachos, complete with 'staches!  It was adorable!!  Janet was so cute with the little guys, they all adore her!!  My boys may have been more excited to have her come stay with them than I was to go to Florida, and I was pretty excited for a little break!  They all had a blast and I have to admit I was a little jealous of all the fun they were having with Janet.

A few pictures of the muchachos at the fiesta!

We gave Janet the honors of breaking the pinata open after the boys gave it a valiant effort.

'Stache Kisses!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!! 

Marathon Madness!

I did it!  I ran another marathon.  The cheesiest marathon to be exact (Wisconsin Marathon) and it was pretty cheesy.  I ran, I laughed, I sang, I ran, I questioned my sanity, I cried, I smiled, I ran, and ran some more and I finished 26.2 (or 26.55 according to garmin) in 4:13:24.  I had hoped to finish closer to 4 hours but there's always next time!  I still beat my last time and considering the craziness in getting there and that I only got 3 hours of sleep the night before the race, I'll take it.

We had hoped to leave home at 3:30 but all piled into the car at 4:33, one hour behind schedule in true Robbins fashion.  With a 5 hour drive ahead of us we could still make decent time and were hoping for decent traffic going through Chicago.  Just as we were pulling out of the driveway we got a call from Carmen, my friend who was also running the marathon and who we were meeting in Kenosha.  They had broken down in Jackson, MI and needed an alternator and couldn't find one in Jackson.  After driving around trying to find an alternator we finally found one and headed out.  I think Jared may have been a little over confident in his ability to help Alan change their alternator.  After 3+ hours they finally had the new one in.  We called in some take out to the Olive Garden just up the road, loaded the kids back in the car and started to leave.  The Hillstead's weren't following us, we circled around.  Their car now wouldn't shift out of park.  They must have done something wrong.  It was now after 8:00 and we decided to call it a loss, loaded Carmen and her stuff in our car and headed to Wisconsin (after dropping her family off at a hotel).  I felt terrible leaving Alan and their kids stranded in the middle of Wisconsin with a broken down car but there wasn't much more we could do.  We finally got to Kenosha at 2am.  A little less than ideal the night before the big run.  I had quite a bit of anxiety at this point and didn't sleep great for the 3 hours I was in bed and finally got up and got ready for the race.

The forecast had said rain, which I was dreading.  I was thrilled to head outside bright and early to be greeted by the sun!  The first half of the race was great, I was keeping a good pace, just under 9 minute miles.  The sun was shining off and on again, the scenery was gorgeous - right along Lake Michigan, and there was a good amount of crowd support.  At mile 12 the marathon and half marathon split and it didn't take long to realize the marathon crowd was sparse.  My split at the half marathon mark was 1:58 and change.  I was doing pretty good!  At mile 18 I could feel the exhaustion start to kick in and I started to slow, I was having a hard time keeping pace and was running around a 10 minute mile.  After "holding it" for 4 miles I finally spotted a port a potty at mile 18.5 and made a quick pit stop.  At mile 22 exhaustion took over, everything hurt, my arches, my toes, my ankles, my knees, my hips, my quads.  I had muscles aching that I didn't even know existed.  I asked myself why I thought running a marathon was ever a good idea and swore I would never do another one.  Everything from the waist down was screaming at me to stop.  I wanted to stop and walk, rather my body wanted me to stop, period.  I couldn't stop.  My goal when I ran my first marathon was to RUN a marathon, no walking (with the exception of the few steps it took to take a drink at the water stations).  I couldn't let myself walk, so I kept on trudging.  There was a lot of self talk going on between miles 22 and 26.

Just before mile 26 I spotted my boys and their neon signs cheering me on, my heart melted, I got a huge smile on my face and I started running faster.  I blew them kisses and kept on trudging for the last little bit.  They ran across a park and greeted me once again right before the finish line.  They were the best (and cutest) cheerleaders ever!  

I crossed the finish line and wanted to collapse.  I kept moving and soon realized my teeth were chattering and that I could see my breath.  It really was cold out there.  I finished!  A little slower than I would have liked but I finished!  The post race party was very Wisconsin, brats, beer and cheese, go figure!

I was online 2 days later looking for another race.  That's the crazy thing about running...it's very addictive.

Shiver me Timbers, such swashbuckling fun!

This little pirate is 5!!!

We had an abundance of madness with

9 little pirates for the par-tay.

Lots of swashbuckling fun with pirate stories, games, a treasure hunt and of course a pirate ship birthday cake!

Heavy, heavy, hang over your head,

What do you wish John with a bump on the head?

I love freezer paper...it makes it so easy to make the perfect shirt to complete the pirate party get-up. 

Lumpy the snowman even got in on our pirate action!

The cutest pirates I've ever seen!!

Happy Birthday Gage!! You are the sweetest 5 year old in the whole world!  I love your hugs and kisses and that you still love to cuddle.  You have so much energy and spunk, I love it!  You know what you want and you go for it, I love you're determination -- except for when it contradicts what I want :)  I love you little man...never forget your promise that I will be your best friend forever!  

PHEW! Birthday month is over...3 birthdays in 4 weeks is exhausting!

He's Famous...

...or so Carter says.  Carter's Cub Scout troop was on the front page of the Royal Oak Review.  Of course I missed it!  One of Gage's classmates saw the picture and showed it to her mom exclaiming, "look mom, Gage is in the newspaper."  I guess they look a little bit alike :)  She asked me about it and I had no clue because of course of all the times I've read the dinky little newspaper from front to back, the week my kids in it I junk it without even taking a peek.  Well, a friend send me the link and here Carter is in all his notoriety and prestige, hehe.

photo by Patricia O'Blenes of the Royal Oak Review

Celebrate the BIG Day Mad Scientist Style...

This week Carter wants to be a scientist when he grows up, and actually it's been the future profession of choice for a several months now.  So when his birthday rolled around we celebrated mad scientist style, with dry ice, exploding soda geysers, kool-aid concoctions, exploding "atoms", slime and lots of laughing and fun.  We got into costume and went to work in the lab.  When I started dressing the boys in their white coats and goggles and doing their crazy Einstein hair one of the boys yelled, "Makeovers!"  Too funny!  Even little boys like to get makeovers of the right variety.

None of Carter's friends have baby's at home.  It's so fun to see them dote over Camden.  They insisted Cam get a scientist makeover too!

Our Kool-Aid mixers

 Such a fun party, probably my favorite so far!  Happy Birthday C!