Our Strange Little Man

Well, it's about time I posted something about Nathan! I'm realizing lately that he really is the odd-ball out in our family. He is our only boy. He has super blond blond hair and all the rest of the family has the exact same shade of brown. And, in a family full of hazel eyes he has the most beautiful big brown eyes! We can't figure out exactly where he came from . . . but he is so unbelievably adorable, that we've decided to keep him.

I have to share a funny story that is just SO Nathan! This morning we were going to pick Emma up from preschool and he wanted to take his library book into the preschool (he LOVES books). I told him "No, we don't take library books into the preschool" (because he inevitably drops them and they get mixed up with all the preschool stories). Then he proceeded to cling tenaciously to the beloved library story and I had to tear it from his hands, and drag him bodily from the car, all the while promising we would be right back to get his library story. Finally I get him out of the car with the library book still in the car and close the door. But, he refuses to be carried. He has this uncanny ability to make himself impossible to hold onto by twisting and contorting and then going stiff as a board. So I set him down on the ground and he immediately collapses on the sidewalk and refuses to walk. So I stand there for a few minutes and try to reason with him. To no avail. He will not be persuaded to leave the vehicle in which rests his beloved book. I'm questioning the wisdom of denying him the stupid book in the first place, but I've gone too far to turn back now. So I try another tact.

As I take minuscule steps toward the preschool gate, I say, "Nathan, mommy has to go get Emma, so you can come, or you can stay here sitting on the sidewalk. You get to choose." Thankfully, he doesn't call me on this horrible bluff. I would NEVER have left him alone on that sidewalk. But, he is still not willing to give up the fight, stand up, and walk next to me. He would never admit defeat so easily. Instead, he begins to slowly drag his bum across the sidewalk towards the gate. (I worry a little about the wear and tear this is putting on the butt of his jeans, but decide that DEFINITELY isn't worth the fight.) I'm just glad he is willing to move, and luckily we have plenty of time. So, I stand on the sidewalk with the gate open and wait for the 4 or 5 minutes it takes him to inch his stubborn little tukas across the sidewalk and through the gate. Then, I close the gate (I'm not taking chances on him deciding to dash back to the car), and step up the steps and open the second gate. I have to admit, I'm a little curious as to how he is going to manage the steps without standing up.

So, I wait patiently again until he reaches the steps and flops onto his tummy. He then proceeds to crawl/slither up the steps (still refusing to remove any unnecessary part of his body from the ground). Now I'm not irritated anymore, I'm actually quite entertained! After he slithers up the steps and through the gate he picks up the pace a little and crawls the rest of the walk way and through the preschool door. VICTORY!! I'm not sure who's victory it is, but I guess I'll take what I can get!! Ah, life with an 18-month-old is good!!

Lindsay's Black Eye

Monday morning was the first day I let Lindsay back on the playground equiptment at school after getting her cast off. I wanted to be sure her muscle had built back up in the broken arm enough to support her weight as she was climbing/swinging etc. before she got too crazy with all the playground equipment. I was a little nervous, but Lindsay wasn't, she couldn't wait to hit those monkey bars again. So, Monday morning I am walking into the house after picking Emma up from preschool (about 11:45) and my phone is ringing.

"Hello, this is Tina"

"Hello, this is the Turtle Bay Health Clerk" Huge gasp . . . my heart starts pounding . . . what has happened to my poor little munchkin now? You have to remember, I just went through the ordeal of having the nurse call me and tell me she was fine only to find out she spent the entire day at school with a badly broken arm. So, I know it's irrational, but I'm absolutely panicking.

"Lindsay is hurt" (more gasping and panicking) "She was playing at recess and she hit the bars, and now she is swelling and bruising." Could she possibly be more vague? What bars? What is swelling and bruising? How bad is it? Had she re-broken her arm? Or worse, a leg? I wanted to scream at this poor stupid woman who had proved so incapable of caring for my child last time. I tried to calm down and remember this was actually a very nice woman and ask calm rational questions. She finally went on to explain. Lindsay had hit her head on the climbing bars while she was spinning in cirles during lunch recess and she had a pretty good goose-egg with some bruising. (Couldn't she have just said that right from the start?)

So, my blood pressure is creeping down closer to a normal level . . . nothing's broken after all. But, this time I am wise (I've learned from experience). "Can I talk to Lindsay?"

"Of course . . . Lindsay, your mom wants to talk to you"

Now picture the most sad quiet little voice you've ever heard . . . positively dripping with unshed tears. "Hi mom"

Sweet, sympathetic mommy voice suddenly--irrationally--trying not to cry. "Oh, honey are you ok?"

"No, it hurts" and those sad little tears are falling now.

"Do you want mommy to come and get you baby?" In my mind I know this is just ridiculous, honestly, it's just a little bonk right? But, I just can't help myself.

In a voice so quiet it almost isn't audible. "Yes." What do I care if she misses the last couple of hours of school. My baby needs me.

So, I rush to the rescue (Nathan and Emma in tow), and pick her up from school. And once she sees me she just can't seem to stop crying. Not her usual, loud, drama tears, but pitiful little tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. Her face looks sore, with quite a bit of swelling around her left eye and it's already showing discoloration, but she is a tough kid, I can't figure out why she's still crying over this little thing.

Then it hits me. She's probably remembering the last time she was sent to the nurse with a little injury (from the same monkey bars, no less) and she's probably just terrified of what is coming next. (painful caste-setting, x-rays, poking/prodding etc.) She's probably going through the same trauma her poor mother is dealing with, only it's probably a zillion times worse, because she's not old enough to understand if she is really injured or not.

Anyway, long story a little less long than it could be (not short by any means), I made sure she understood that she wasn't broken, and she wasn't going to have to put a caste on her face (she laughed at me over that one), and we snuggled and I tried valiantly not to cry (still working on that one as I type this blog). Then I brought her home and spoiled her rotten--lots of snuggles and ice and then the whole family got to go out for Baskin Robins icecream after dinner. And today she is fine. But, she didn't want to go to school today because she has got a BEAUTIFUL shiner, and she didn't want everyone looking at her.

She did go to school though, and she survived it! And I survived it, and we all survived it, and hopefully the next time I get a call from the school health clerk, I'll be able to be calm and cool like I'm sure all the other moms in the world are. (Yeah right!)

I wish I could have gotten the picture to show the black eye a little better! It looks pretty gruesome in person, but the flash was fading some of the color out. Anyway, it gives you an idea.

Lindsay's Broken Arm

Lindsay got her cast off today!! She was so excited to get it off, and she loved the whole sawing it off her arm part. But, once it was finally off, she didn't want to even move her arm. It has taken her a couple of hours to get over the fear of moving it and now she is starting to use it a little. She was so excited when I told her it was ok to ride her bike and run and jump again, she did a little victory dance! And now she is gleefully zipping around our backyard on her bike (she's probably going to break her other arm judging from the speed she's going around those corners).

Anyway, the orthopedic surgeon said it healed very well and she doesn't even need to have a half cast or brace. And she doesn't need any physical therapy (thank heavens). But, her arm looks kind of funny now. The doctor says it's fine and will correct itself, but the bone grew extra deposits on the side and top, and her arm is just shaped a little different than it was before. According to the doctor though, it will just correct itself and be back to normal before long. So, I guess we're going to have to trust him on that!

We are just THRILLED to be out of the cast and have Lindsay back to her old active, energetic self!! And she can take a normal bath, and wear her long sleeved shirts and put her arm in a coat, and pull up her own pants, and do all her normal stuff again! YEEEEAAAAAHHHH!

Chester

I am finally fed up with our stinkin' little rabbit. I swear lately it's like he's having pms or something. He is usually such a sweet little thing and loves to play and cuddle, but a couple of weeks ago we started seeing a whole new side of him. But, first a little background info . . .

He lives in a cage in the corner of our living room where he is showered with attention and lots of good things to eat. I scrub out his cage once a day and he is fed twice a day, plus all the snacks and treats the kids are always giving him. And, we try to let him get out of his cage and run around for 15 min to 1/2 hour morning and night. This gives him enough excercise to stay healthy and keeps him happy--or so we thought. Usually he just runs and jumps and plays in the middle of the living room, which is so funny to watch!! But lately he's got it into his head that he has to crawl behind and under the couch, so then, every morning and evening we blocked off both the entrances to the back of the couch with pillows. So then he chewed holes in my couch pillows and yanked the pillows out of the way and crawled under the couch anyway. This was really starting to get on my nerves, but we just blocked it up better and went on with life, then comes yesterday when our nice, house-trained little bunny peed on both Emma and Lindsay--one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and then peed on my floor. Now I'm feeling really ticked off.

Then this morning I let him out of his cage and instead of just going and playing like a nice little bunny, he proceeds to chew a hole in my reletively new and very expensive LEATHER couch. I was so mad I was envisioning a nice bunny stew!! (I am ashamed to say that when I saw that big old hole in my couch I actually kicked my poor little bunny.) I know, it's reprehensible to kick a poor defenseless little animal, and I have since repented of my evil ways. Then, instead of bunny stew I decided to just sell the little pain in the tukas and get it over with once and for all and I started envisioning how much I could make off him (certainly not enough to repair my couch). I could probably sell a cute little bunny like him with cage and food etc. for $40 or $50 though, and that might take some of the sting out of it. Just pass him off on some poor unsuspecting family.

But, alas we will not be selling the little miscreant! Jerry talked some sense into me, and we have just decided that it is time Chester became an outside bunny. And to tell you the truth, I am just really relieved not to have the smelly little guy in my house anymore!! I went through and scrubbed down my whole living room. I even moved all the furniture and scrubbed out all the corners (very satisfying to have it so spotless--even if it is only until the kids get home!). And now Chester is in his cage in the backyard basking in the early spring sunshine. So, all's well, that ends well . . . at least for now!!

News from February!

Hello all!! I am a natural born list maker! I make lists about everything . . . lists of things to do, shopping lists, lists of things to pack for trips, lists of goals, lists of things I’m going to eventually do, but not anytime soon, and the lists go on and on. I think it is therapeutic for me. It gives me some illusion of having my life in order, and I know that with my mush for brains, I have to write things down or I am just going to forget them. So this month, I would like to present you all with a list of things we’ve done this month. Just a couple funny stories or happenings, but somehow having it in list form makes me feel very happy with it!! Hope you all had a wonderful February! Love, The Coleman Clan

Nathan
1) Was helping me unload the dishwasher (one of his favorite things to do) and had emptied all the silverware and most of the bowls by the time I realized that he was taking each thing out of the dishwasher and licking it before he put it away in its proper place.
2) Fell down on the kitchen floor mat and got it stuck to the Velcro on his shoes then proceeded to drag it around with him (he couldn’t get it off his shoes) screaming and tripping over it. I know that shouldn’t be funny, but I laughed my head off!
3) Is trying desperately to give up his second nap. But I am trying not to let him. Two short naps works so much better with our schedule of pick-ups and drop-offs than one long nap. So mostly he is just refusing to take any naps, or if he does take a morning nap, then he refuses an afternoon nap, so he is a grouchy monster for the last half of the day. I know he’s going to win this one, I just can’t figure out how to get him a nap mid-day right in the middle of trying to pick up Lindsay and Emma.
4) Learned several new words this month: ball, bird, oh no, car, and hello (just to name a few). He is starting to vocalize more and more!

Emma
1) Made a very cute Clifford the big red dog picture out of a paper plate and two big floppy ears! She and Nathan both love it!!
2) Made her preference for horses painfully obvious when I was singing her bedtime song one night. I started out with this lovely made-up song about how Emma is a princess (I was pretty impressed with how it was going), but she stopped me and told me “I don’t like songs about princesses; I only like songs about horses.” And then she made me scrap my beautiful princess creation and sing a song about a horse instead.
3) One night Emma was careening around the living room as fast as she could and she turned to me and said “Did you see how fast I was going? Heavenly Father was helping me go ‘peedy’ [speedy].” Then she promptly bows her head closes her eyes and says “Heavenly Father, please help me go peedy” and she opens her eyes and runs around the living room as fast as her chubby little legs can carry her and stops in front of me looking triumphant. “See, it worked.”
4) Is getting really good at writing her name. We are still working on those kindergarten “m”s and “a”s, but it is definitely legible!

Lindsay
1) Caught a mysterious chicken pox-like rash from the hot tub at our family reunion in Shaver Lake. (Turns out it’s not that mysterious, it’s actually pretty common and is called “hot tub folliculitis” try saying that three times fast!)
2) Broke her arm when she fell off the monkey bars at school. (On Friday the 13th no less. I knew there was a reason that day was bad).
3) Survived an entire day at school with a broken arm before I came to pick her up and knew right away there was something really wrong with the arm.
4) Went to an orthopedic surgeon and is now wearing a bright purple cast up to her armpit (which she loved at first, but is now starting to get pretty tired of.) Turns out both bones in her arm are broken and one of the bones has two hairline fractures on the end of the bone; close to the growth plate, but they are pretty sure it wasn’t affected. It was a worse break than we were originally told, but it still seems like it should heal well and she should be out of the cast in 3-4 weeks!

Tina
1) Survived three weeks of almost constant rain (night and day) with three kids!! (Where’s my medal?)
2) Made approximately 15 trips to Turtle bay elementary school where Nathan, Emma and I walked about ¼ mile in the pouring rain to pick up Lindsay and then turned right around and sludged another ¼ mile back to the car. (Did I mention that rain is not my favorite thing?)
3) Helped to cast Lindsay’s arm. This is a first for me (and hopefully a last), but the urgent care center was short handed, and the nurse couldn’t find anyone to help set the cast, so I got to do it. I did a good job too. I held Lindsay down and helped the nurse to form the cast around her arm, then held the arm while the nurse wrapped it up. All through which Lindsay was screaming and crying because it was really hurting. And I didn’t even cry a single tear until we got home and then I went in my room, shut the door and completely lost it!
4) Spent most of the month with terrible headaches that wouldn’t go away (even with Excedrin migraine) and was sure I must have had a brain tumor or something, before I finally realized it was just a really bad sinus infection. (I have to say, I feel a little sheepish about thinking of brain tumor before I thought of sinus infection). But, now I’m on antibiotics and I’m already starting to feel more like a human being again!

Jerry
1) Took his whole family on a very fun trip to Shaver Lake where we all had a fabulous time playing with all the Coleman family aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents!!
2) Put in a lot of extra time at work this month because Gordon and Jackie were both out of the office. (Gordon had to have surgery mid-month and is still trying to recover). I know Jerry will be very relieved when Jackie is back full-time!
3) Finally convinced me to let him drag us all to a logging convention in Anderson (which I was sure was going to be unbelievably boring). But, it actually turned out to be very fun! We got to go to an animal show they were having and see a lemur, a tree climbing porcupine, a beaver, and a barn owl—up close and personal. Very cool! (One of the VERY few times in our marriage when Jerry was right and I was wrong! J )
4) Went out in the pouring rain to try and hand-scoop out our gutters (all the rain was just going over the sides of the gutters and not down them) and now they are working much better! This is good because we are in the middle of another huge rainstorm. It’s supposed to rain for the rest of the week at least. (Oh Goody!)

PS I’m not one of those people who makes short, one word lists. Sorry!