1st ER Visit

We had our first emergency room visit with Ashley today. The girls from across the street were over playing when Ashley came running into the kitchen screaming! I tried to get her to calm down and within a few seconds her mouth was full of blood. I yelled for Sammy to grab a paper towel and then the doorbell rang. Thank goodness it was Gordon ready to pick up his girls. We took a closer look at Ashley and tried to get her to tell us what happened. Apparently she was trying to talk/blow into this... ... and fell with it in her mouth. It's a tent pole for her princess tent that goes over her bed. It's only plastic but it did quite a number in her mouth.
Gordon took Sammy to his house and I packed up Katie and Ashley and headed to the ER. I called Andy on my way and he met us there. The nurse and doctor saw us right away and told us there isn't much they can do. The doctor called an oral surgeon and discussed if they should give her a stitch. They didn't want to sedate her so opted not to do it. However, they thought we should take her in tomorrow to see the oral surgeon. They sent us home with instructions and prescriptions for pain medicine and antibiotics.

Katie was very sweet to her for a few minutes and hugged her very gently... even kissed her.

And this is what it looks like now... after the bleeding mostly stopped. (It's not the best picture, but she's been crying a lot since it happened and this was the most she would open her mouth.) The doctor said she was lucky it didn't hit her artery. It was close but it hit the bone just enough to stop it. She'll still be in quite a bit of pain, though.

1st Day of School!

Today was Sammy's first day of Kindergarten! She rode the bus there and back with a grin just like this one! She told me all about her teacher, friends, recess, and snack time. Apparently that was the best part because they got chocolate chip cookies... but not the girl next to her because she's allergic. What? (Poor girl doesn't get to enjoy the yumminess.) I thought I might get a little emotional because most mom's do when their first kid goes off to school. Nope! I sent her on her way and went shopping with only TWO girls. Yahoo! I'm glad she gets to ride the bus with a couple of her friends and it stops just across the street. (It'll be nice for those cold winter days when I can stay inside and watch from the window.) Okay, so I have to mention the outfit. Andy and I discussed whether or not to get her a new outfit for the first day of school. The child has more clothes than I do! (I love that we get all of Thueson's hand-me-downs!!!) Anyway, Andy convinced me since it was always a tradition in their family... and since he caved on the ear piercing I thought it was the least I could do. So I took Sammy to good ol' Target and had her try on different outfits. She chose this particular one all by herself and said, "Definitely this one! I love it!!!" It had the sparkles and the embroidery! Man, is she a girly-girl or what? The bad thing, those pants are a size 4! She is so skinny around that the next size up swallowed her whole and spit her out again! I even tried slims, but no luck. If any of you moms out there have that same problem when it comes to shopping for your petite girl do you have any suggestions? I'm afraid she's going to grow out of these jeans lengthwise and not have any other options. HELP!

And just a little side note... I think we, as parents, started off school badly. Sammy had an assignment due today. She was supposed to color a picture of a school bus and write her name on it. (It was sent in the mail among a few other things.) I lost the first copy and asked her teacher for a new one on Friday. Last night Andy and I searched the whole house to find her paper crumpled and torn in the garbage! I was not about to ask her teacher for a 3rd copy! I taped it back together, ironed it flat, photocopied it, used white out where you could tell the paper had been ripped or wrinkled, and photocopied it again. It actually looked brand new! Andy said, "I think this is a bad omen."

I almost can't believe it!

I checked Sammy's hair twice today and both times she was clear of pesky eggs. (I can't tell you how excited I am!!! Wahoo!!!) Andy and I discussed her reward for being so good and came upon an agreement. Sammy and I walked into the mall and she asked what we were doing. Guess! "Are we shopping for clothes? Are we getting new shoes? Give me a hint." As soon as we walked into Claire's she started jumping up and down, clapping her hands, and squealed, "I'm getting my ears pierced!"(Before picture. Still extremely excited!)
(Little nervous because she knows it's going to hurt for a second.)

She said, "Mom, I just have to close my eyes." Okay, you go right ahead.

There were two ladies doing it at the same time so she wouldn't change her mind after one. The right side didn't go through all the way and the lady wanted to pull it out and start over. Are you kidding me? I had her step aside and I pushed it through the tiny, tiny bit of skin. She was totally brave and barely whimpered but as you can see from above she loves them! She was so excited that she wanted to call everyone ranging from Hollie, Grandma, and Brigetta. And of course everyone she saw she had to show off her new bling!

Consumed...

I've been away from the blogging world and this is why... Any guesses?

Head lice! We have no idea when or where she got it, but it is so gross! She came down to breakfast and said, "Daddy, this is why my head itches. There are bugs in it." And she had a live louse on the tip of her finger! We immediately started looking through her hair and when we saw one move we were totally convinced she had lice. We sent Andy to Walmart and we started the Nix treatment right away. It took six hours to go through her hair and try and find those pesky eggs. The first couple days were the worst. I had to strip all the beds, do all the laundry (which I hate to do anyway), vacuum every inch in my house, all the beds, couches, and pillows that we didn't throw away! Sammy has been quarantined in her room since we started the treatment. Every morning and night we check her head for eggs/lice, wash bedding, and vacuum her room. I have made many phone calls to my SIL, Sarah, for questions. (Thanks SO much!) When Sammy is lucky enough to go out of her room this is the look she sports. I make her wear a shower cap underneath so that the lice are trapped and hopefully won't spread. Surprisingly no one else in the family has been infected with this disgusting, and highly contagious outbreak. Unfortunately, it's not gone yet. I still found two eggs this morning and we had such a battle to wash her hair that we almost shaved it all off. She starts school next week and if it's not gone by Thursday the hair is coming off! It's amazing how it has consumed our lives. It seems lately that is all we even think about. And when this is all done I'm going to try and convince Andy to let Sammy pierce her ears for a reward. She really has been very good through all the treatment, except this morning. She's been begging us for quite some time now and I think it would be really nice to let her do something big for all that she has gone through. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, that all happened after a long week of fun! We first went camping with my two younger siblings, my mom, and my step dad. We only spent one night and I didn't even hardly get my camera out, but we did have fun. As soon as we got back we finished last minute things before we had company. My brother, Nate, came to spend a few nights. And my SIL, Cindy, and my sister, Shiloam, flew in for our annual girls' retreat. It was my year to plan and we stayed at the Meadowood Lodge in McCall. It was such a great place!!! The whole time we were there it was rainy but we didn't care. 4 out of our 5 meals were provided for us as part of the package deal and it was so yummy! If you ever get a chance to go it's totally worth it.

Brigetta's birthday was on that Saturday so we of course celebrated! (I thought this card was pretty funny!

Here she is showing off her Cinnabar necklace from the girls. It was one that she wanted but didn't order. Happy birthday, B! We love you tons and are so glad we live close to you!

These were taken at a little 50's diner in town called, My Father's Place. Yummy! And oh, so much food! I ordered a banana split and it could have fed all of us!

Above: Mom, me, Brigetta

Below: Shiloam, Cindy, Ashana

Thanks for coming, girls!

Love Story meets Viva La Vida

If you haven't noticed already, I have a lot of Jon Schmidt's music on my playlist. I could listen to him all day! My sister, Shiloam, posted this on her blog I thought I would share, too. If you love listening to piano music as much as I do you will love this. And even if you don't care for classical music this is still a clever little arrangement/performance by Jon and Stephen. And I do really love what Jon has to say at the end. What a great thing for a dad to do for his daughter. So take a quick second to pause the playlist below and enjoy!

Saggy Tummy

Okay, so this was a little funny. The other day I was with my mom and sister waiting in a Dermatologists office and my mom starts looking through some books. One of the books showed a new type of treatment to help get rid of aging spots and wrinkles. It was funny to listen to my mom snickering at the before and after photos of people, especially when she got to the stomach section. She said, "Look at this one. It looks like it's her bum." At that point I had to see what was so funny. She showed me the picture and I said, "Hey, that's what my tummy looks like!" She didn't believe me. So I stood up (there wasn't anyone else around) and I pulled my shirt up so she could see what I was talking about. Ha, it really does! Not so funny now, huh? I guess that's what happens after having three kids... and losing a lot of weight since Christmas. We had to laugh about it for the rest of the day.