Crusin'

Nothing like crusin' around town with Grandpa and Grandma in the old car. It helped Grandpa stopped for ice cream and went faster. :)

Beat Down

Where to start..... Ben, well, he is a scrapper. I thought John was pretty rough but Ben takes the cake. I have never had a biter, a real hitter, thrower or generally mean child. Ella and Jack are people pleasers and while Jack will whine, he will share. John is getting better and usually he and Jack have a screaming tug of war but we have not had any real memorable injuries caused by a sibling....until now. I guess it is because he is the youngest or maybe because he can't communicate as well but Ben is a fighter. You want his toy? You are going to have to fight him for it. Usually you don't know it is a fight until he is trying to pinch your face off or eat your finger but it is a fight to him. If one of the kids tries to move him off a toy, he will let them wrap their arms around his chest and as they begin to pull he will leave a nice bite mark bruise on their arm to remind them that he was playing with it first. He has a much more aggressive manner than my other three. I pray daily he finds the words to say what he means and leaves the Rocky attitude behind. Now, to the...incident.

As i am preparing dinner, i hear John and Ben playing in the living room. I can tell John is doing what he does best, aggravating. I can hear John running and jumping and some na nana boo boos and then i hear Ben scream. Then i hear a thud and John starts crying. I mean one of those something is wrong cries. What do i do? I keep cooking dinner. I guess i figure they will come into the kitchen to tell on each other so why stop cooking. John comes around the corner with blood all over his hands and dripping from his face. I obviously panic. I get him to the sink and start washing his mouth thinking i am dealing with a busted lip and i send up a quick prayer that he didn't get any blood on Wes's couch. i sit him up to asses and HOLY COW! Yeah, i had a busted lip and bleeding teeth. I still can't understand a single word that John is saying because of the crying and the extremely swollen lip. i get him a change of clothes and lay him in my bed with ice and cartoons. Ben got in big trouble. Fast forward, everyone is in bed and i check John's mouth. We have one loose tooth. and he looks like this.

I let him sleep with me so i can monitor him through the night. I wake up and the swelling is up in his face so i call my firefighter neighbor and ask what to do. He says take him in for x-rays just in case. I call my mom, she asks my high school healthcare teacher and the other healthcare teacher on campus. They say take him to the dentist. Good thing i was just there! I call the dentist and they say bring him in. This is what he looked like about 16 hours after hit in the face.

Thank the Lord, nothing was broken. All roots were in tact, jaw bone looked good, and we got some medicine for the busted lip/ulcers that were coming when lip started to heal and we had three loose teeth. There are four things that can happen. 1. His teeth can die and discolor. Nothing to do for that since it is just cosmetic. 2. His roots can deteriorate faster. Meaning he teeth will fall out sooner. I am not sure that means the permanent teeth will come in any quicker. 3. He can get an abscess. This means an automatic pulling out of abscessed teeth and again like option two, might leave Johnny toothless for a little while. Or 4. None of the above. The three loose teeth could tighten back up and be fine until it is time for them to fall out on their own. It is a wait and see. So you wonder what happened that fateful day? John pushed Ben around a little too much and Ben retaliated by throwing a Leapster Explorer at his head at an extremely close proximity. I am sure Ben didn't intentionally mean to hit him in the face but that little boy has an arm and John can tell you it is no fun being on the receiving end. Here is John and "the weapon".

It is okay to laugh a little at him. Half his face looks like he is a Who from Whoville. :) This is the inside of his lip two days later. His gums were the same purple.

He enjoyed all the yogurt and ice cream he got to eat while he recuperated. Most of all, i am sure you will all be glad to know that Ben has not broken his spirit. John still goes up behind Ben and pulls his ears and puts his feet on him just to hear him scream but, John has gotten a little quicker in dodging Ben swings. I think John learned a lesson.

Happy Birthday Ella

We began Ella's birthday celebration Sunday after Wes's marathon. I can't believe she is 7!!! We grabbed some lunch and hit the bowling alley. The kids had a blast! A little while after we got there the lights went down and the smoke came on for some cosmic bowling. I think that was the kids favorite part!

Looks like the Wii came in handy. Ella and Jack both had strikes and spares. :)

After bowling, we had to have some ice cream (and a serious thumb wrestling match).

Monday Ella headed to school, birthday sash and all.

She had a pretty awesome day considering everyone was having their Valentine's Day party. :) After school we met Eric and took Ella to Claires. She had asked to get her ears pierced. This was not uncommon. Every now and then she will ask and we will say sure and then i tell her how much it will hurt and that she has to clean and take care of her ears after. That is usually enough information to make her put it off for a while longer. This time she was ready.

Turns out i was the one that could have waited. She was a brave girl. She said it stung and her ears hurt and she cleans them and turns them like she was told. A little birthday cake and presents (who knew lip gloss would be such an awesome gift) and our celebration was done.

Well, only for a few days. 10 to be exact and then we would celebrate Ben's birthday. Whew, all these birthdays are wearing me out!

Mercedes Half Marathon

February 13th, Wes and a friend, Lauren, ran the Mercedes Half Marathon. They ran it last year and did it again. I think that is torture but what an accomplishment! We went to cheer him on and since we didn't know anything about it, of course we were late. We missed Wes by about 10 minutes. The kids diligently held their signs until we realized he had already passed. Halfway back to the car he sees my texts and calls. We head back to meet him. The kids thought it was amazing. Congratulations Wes on another stellar run!

Now off to celebrate Ella's birthday with a little lunch and bowling!

Dentist

Now that we are settled into our new home it is time for the check-ups. We started with the dentist. X-rays and cleanings. Ben tried to get his done but he isn't quite old enough yet. :) Everyone had a good check up and Ella had a few weak spots but no big deal right now. I am so thankful my kids love the dentist and doctor. I really liked the dentist too. Turns out that would be important since we had to go back see her two days after this appointment. That blog coming soon.

Ella gets a haircut

Ella finally decided it was time for a haircut. She couldn't wait until the next day so when we got home from school i chopped her hair off. I have got to start taking her somewhere. Ha.

Before:

After:

Grandparents programs

We are 6 weeks away from the end of the school year. It has been quite an exciting year for Ella since she was enrolled at three different schools. Lucky for her two of them we close enough so her grandparents could come for special grandparent programs.

The first was during our brief enrollment at Clanton Elementary. It was grandparents day and each classroom had there own set up and then the whole grade sang a song or two. Mr. Mark and Mrs. Connie couldn't make it but they sent a nice letter for Ella's teacher to read to her. Mom and Dad got to see all of Ella's work and that thrilled her.

The second was a Grandparent"s breakfast at her new school, Meadow View Elementary. It was strategically scheduled during the book fair week. Coincidence? I think not. :) Anyway, Mom and Dad were able to come up and Eric showed up a bit later since he was also home. I hear they all had trouble finding her classroom (someone should have taught the student guide to read a map of the school). They all made it and Mom and Dad got to eat with her before they left to get back to work and Eric stayed to take her through the book fair with her money from Grandma and Grandpa. Sweet girl picked up something for her brothers while she was there. Mom passed on having pictures made at the school. I should have told her daddy he has to brush her hair in the mornings. Ha.

Snow Day

We got our first good snow in our new house. I understand we weren't snowed in but a good coat of snow is saying a lot for Alabama. Ella still had school so after dropping her off the boys ventured outside for a bit. They couldn't figure out what to do first but they loved it.

It was just too powdery for a snowman and most had melted by the end of the day but it was still a fun morning. Even the animals had a good time.

Happy Birthday Eric!

Eric was able to celebrate his birthday at home and we were all happy about that. He started his day with breakfast in bed.

We hung around the house all day and the boys helped me make two cakes.

One because i wanted to try it and the red velvet because it is Eric's favorite. We met Mom, Dad, and Wes for dinner then home for cakes and presents.

The next day Eric's Mom and Dad came for the day. There was lots of Wii competitions.

Overall i would say it was a good birthday for a 31 year old. :)

Funny Faces

This is only a funny face when it isn't directed at you. Dad got "the look". Ha.

Divas....
:)
Well, Jack thought this was a funny face.

I am sure most of you know John usually puts on a funny face every time he sees a camera...

Ben is learning his own...