Yup, These Boys Bleed

{WARNING:
If the sight of blood makes you uneasy 
DO NOT READ THIS POST!!}

Okay, so it started Wednesday night.  I had a girls night, and Matt was in charge of the boys.
And apparently Isaac took a good bite out of his tongue.

(Also, Isaac got some of his dental work done.  He had to get a pirate tooth, poor guy; however he was on laughing gas the whole time and did AWESOME!  He loves the dentist.  And though his tooth ached a bit afterwards, he's glad he got it done.
Yup, I take FULL RESPONSIBILITY for his teeth.  I let him take a bottle to bed till he was 2.5 years old (mostly filled with milk or apple juice) and I didn't start brushing his teeth consistently till around that same time, too.  Parent of the year award?  I think not.  No worries, Eli and Titus have had completely different experiences.  In fact, I don't think Titus EVER took a bottle to bed.
Live and learn.)  

And Eli snatched some crackers while Matt was working with Isaac: 

{Again, DO NOT keep reading if the sight of A LOT of BLOOD makes you want to pass-out.  DON'T DO IT.}

Thursday, when Isaac and I came home from picking him up from school, we walk up to the door and see it open.
Matt yells, "Shannon, do not freak out... And grab the camera."

Matt, Titus, and Eli went out to the shed to get out the bikes.  A little scooter fell off it's hanger and knocked Eli in the head.  Matt asked Eli (who wasn't really crying) if he was oaky, moved Titus out of the way, and looked back to Eli.  

BLOOD, and lots of it.  

Matt got a flash back to an incident in Iraq, when a little girl was shot... yeah, that kind of blood.   

Titus and a puddle of blood. 

Read his shirt, "It's 'owl' good 2 me"

So it was a small head wound, which 1) head wounds bleed A LOT, but 2) Eli's been on aspirin since he was 4 months old.  His blood is very thin.
We've actually discussed that this--thin blood--is probably why his head bruises very easily.  Can't count how many bangs he's gotten on his big 'ol noggin!

He survived the rest of the evening just fine.  Pumped him with apple juice to help sustain blood sugar levels, and really tried to make him BE STILL.  Which kind of worked: he jumped around a bit and the wound opened again, but clotted after some applied pressure.


Hmm... That was fun.
And if you read this, and passed out, I'm sorry.  I tried to warn you!

Matt Teaches Skills

Dads are good to have around.  They pass on skills that moms (typically) don't even think about!  And Matt's a pretty skilled dude, so there is some sa-weet knowledge coming our boys' way.

Like, HOW TO PROPERLY THROW A BOWIE KNIFE INTO THE GROUND!   

And, HOW TO DO TACTICAL MANEUVERS! 

Eli and Matt clearing the back year.
Below: older woman neighbor keeping an eye on us.  It's nice to be watched ;) 

Titus, enjoying life inside the house. 

Isaac, trying to out flank his father and brother.  

Grateful for Matt, he makes raising boys fun and interesting! 

Also, I don't think we are the most "safe conscious" parents.  Two times on Saturday two different neighbors came out to make sure our boys were safe and okay... Yeah, we're on top of it, I promise.  But what's life without the risk of a broken bone?!

[picture] :: Behold, the Baby Bird!

Remember this post?
And how (HOW?!) can we forget this post?

Well it's now time to highlight Titus in his "Baby Bird" element:

Is it possible he's this vocal and worried about food because he's the youngest of 3 boys?  Whatever the case maybe, we know when he's hungry and wants to be fed!  Subtle he is not...
... Nor is he quiet about needing toys, watching a show, wanting to play, needing to take a bath.  He's just a vocal little dude!

Typically happy, too.  He's never really in a bad mood.  I also call him my "ray of sunshine."  His hair helps with the sunshine imagery, don't you think? :)

In the Southeast, I Observe:

Pretty much not a secret: I was really, REALLY nervous to move back to the Southeast.

I really can't tell you why, cause I really don't know the reason... I guess all those uncomfortable memories from high school/middle school came flooding back and I wanted to run in the opposite direction.

(True story: I cried a lot about this move back to the Southeast.  Hugged my mother-in-law like I never wanted to let go when the time came to drive away.)

And it's not like my high school time was bad, to any degree.  It was just high school, ya know?  But it was high school IN THE Southeast, so everything that "I went through" seemed to be attached to the South.  And since the Southeast (if you like it, or not) is very different from the Northwest.

To sum up:
Uncomfortable memories were made while living in the Southeast = weird feelings towards the Southeast
Happy memories were made while living in the Northwest = warm feelings towards the Northwest

The move has happened, and we've been living in these parts for around 6 months (Bama and Georgia), and guess what?  Ain't been bad at all!  Really enjoyed my time here.  No one seems to be uber judgmental, and everyone is pretty friendly.


But here's what I observe:
People want to comment on my kids ALL THE TIME.  What is it about walking through the parking lot that persons want to have a CONVERSATION with me about my kids--actually, start a conversation about THEIR experiences with children, either boys or girls or just one.  Goodness, Southern people, I'm trying to get to the store with my crew--can't really laugh about your stories about your niece's 2 boys!

Oh, right... Observe time, not tangent time... 
People are a bit too friendly here in the Southeast.
What's different than the Northwest?  Oh, there in NW, I was basically left alone.  A few smiles, nods of the heads, sometimes a narrative--which for me, was nice.  Working with 3 small boys means I need to be focused, not distracted by random stories that I don't have time for.

(True story: my mom stayed with us for two weeks when we lived in Rexburg for Isaac's birth.  
She came home from the grocery store, and said, "People are so serious here.  No one spoke to me the whole time I was there!")

And I get it.  I was really Southern when I moved to the Northwest.  I had a lot of the same tendencies, being friendly but almost too friendly--and the North-westerners, not accustomed to Southerns, knew I was fake.
But I didn't know I was fake.  Not until Matt pointed it out--one of those "first year of marriage awkward conversations."

I've been working really hard to stay friendly, but sincere and AWARE of the people's circumstances.  It's been a process, one I work on continually.  I often go over a social event in my head, and then ask Matt's input.


Umm... yeah... I guess I had to get that of my chest.
I love people, and I'm grateful to get to know and interact with many, and especially those of different cultures.   Maybe I'm hard on Southern culture, cause I'm from the South, and it's my home culture.
(Cause, really?  Who wants to have a stranger talk to them in a parking lot?  Not me, I guess.)

Again, I'm having a great time here.  Been able to make a lot of friends, and I have loved the warm weather!  I mean, it's Dec 5th, and 75 degrees outside!  Eat your heart out, Idaho!

Also, I haven't had so many church conversations in years.  Every LOWEs delivery man, natural gas man, plumber man, invited me to their church.

(True story: the LOWEs delivery man drilled me on Christ's life to see if I really was a Christian.
"Jesus died on the...?"
"Cross."
"He died for our....?"
"Sins.")
 
People are open here... and that's good... probably?  Yeah, I think so... probably?

Grateful for Food

I'm going to get all personal and talk about something that's a bit taboo: money.  

One thing that we've learned during Matt's 11 years of service in the military is that our money/pay is going to be fine, and everything/back pay/reimbursements we are supposed to have will come. 

It just might take thousands of phone calls and months of waiting.  

Which was the case (again) this fall.  We kinda, foolishly, thought Matt's pay would be worked out by October so that we'd be able to start paying off certain loans come due.  

After a big scare in September known as "we have only 100 dollars to our name to last for the next 10 days," we started to get really worried about the coming months.  

We were getting paid, for sure, but at a level of someone who didn't have any previous years in the military; and none of the reimbursements from lodging Matt had to pay for were coming through.   

October was tight.  Like squeeze my heart--twist my intestines--curl my feet--tight.  

We had a budget, and every penny went somewheres, besides to us for living (it seemed).  I became pretty creative in the kitchen!  Biked a ton, and barely left our few blocks so we wouldn't use gas. 

One day I joked to a friend about living on rice and beans. 

That night she and another friend showed up with big bags of groceries.  I was very overwhelmed, and teary, but very grateful for their act of kindness.  

That wasn't the first time someone had dropped groceries at our door--sometime last Fall in Boise, when our student loans hadn't been processed and we had to spend our extra money during Eli's heart surgery in SLC, lots and lots of food were anonymously left on our door step.  THANK YOU anonymous person(s)!  

So our pay is being worked out.  Thank the Lord above (seriously)!  We are able to meet all our needs, and have extra for other little things... you know, like groceries, gas, fun little things here and there.  Also the reimbursements are coming through, which is sooo nice.  

Last week, for the first time in 6 weeks, I went REAL grocery shopping. 

Having lots food makes me really happy...

What we came home to after Thanksgiving break.

 "Laa!"   <<< Angels singing
Do you see the light of Heaven shining down? 

... and this experience has also made me realize that I really need to get our food storage in order.  

3 months supply of food and 2 weeks of water, here we come!! 

 

Introducing "Science Saturdays"?

I hope this is something that we can keep up:  every Saturday do a little science project with the boys.
So for we a 1 for 3.  Mmm...

Our first "Science Saturday" was 3 weekends ago, and it was building a backing soda and vinegar volcano.  Of course we had fun!  (Though Eli was a little nervous and ran away when the first reaction occurred.)

Looks like there were some casualties! 

I have this dream that every Saturday will be like our own personal Mythbusters episode... Probably not realistic, but I like the idea of this tradition--and so does Matt, by the way :)

A Ramble: Isaac Boy, of Late

This afternoon/evening I've been looking through our photos.  Guess what?  I've uploaded over 200+.  So I'm behind.  (Which being updated is important, since this is the way that grandparents from the corners of the USofA keep up with us.)

I came across this picture of Isaac, and it got me thinking about him...

... Yes, this is our first born.  Completely covered up by a blanket--his doing when he wasn't feeling well. 

He had strep throat (or a similar strain of bacteria) the week before Thanksgiving.  It took him 4 days to knock the fever down, so he stayed home the week before Thanksgiving then had the week of Thanksgiving off from school.  

It was fun to have him around for 2 weeks!  (But also a little stressful; he's used to a full day of school, and was bored a bunch.)

He's a silly kid and a good kid, but probably too much like me.  He's gotten my anxiety, and easily freaks out.  I catch myself saying the same thing that my mother said to me, to him: "Isaac, settle down or you're going to have a heart attack before you're 16!"  What really bothers him is Eli's and Titus' lack of understanding about, well, life.  He gets frustrated when Eli won't play his games, or when Titus can't get how to share crackers.  

Isaac is learning a lot at school.  And I believe having a good time.  This boy is vague, and pretty imaginative, so I'm not sure what's fact or fiction when he tells me stuff.  His reading really progressing.  His school is doing "sight words," and he's starting to really pick up on patterns/letter sounds/sounding out the words. 

What I do know is that his sense of humor is not diminishing.  He is silly, goofy, full of noises, and starting to be really adventurous. 

When we first moved to Georgia, we were all a little overwhelmed with the outside--hot and humid: times 1,000!  Isaac was still into his bug fear, so stepping outside into critter infested Georgia was a living hell.  

I started doing "nature journals" with the boys so that they could see the good in the outdoors.  Go outside, observe some cool things, come in, write down what you saw/did, then draw a picture.  It was really fun.  I did that once or twice a week.  I've stopped, since the boys have actually started to see the good in the outdoors and no longer are afraid to run in the yard, etc.  But maybe the "nature journals" would be really fun to keep up?  It's pretty funny to hear the boys' perspective on life, and see their pictures. 

Back to point: Isaac likes playing outside, and has a lot of fun running around the house, and hanging off the car. 

I love him.  I'm grateful for his perceptive on life--even though we stress each other out!