Nursemaid Elbow

Today was a very long day. Last night, Orion didn't sleep well because of this nasty cold he has. Poor boy keeps waking himself up coughing. I'm really annoyed that they don't make a cough syrup for kids under the age of six! Actually, that isn't true, I did find one for ages two to six, but it doesn't work great. Anyway, because he didn't sleep well, we ended up sleeping in until 8:00!! Personally, I think that if your up for three hours in the middle of the night, you should then sleep in three hours, but Orion disagrees. He only slept in two extra hours.

Well, after we all got up, I dragged Phil and Orion out to go grocery shopping with me. We hadn't been in forever, and I just made up the menu for the next month, so it was a huge endeavor. Well, after we finished at Costco, we stopped to have a bite to eat. On our way out, Orion decided he didn't want to leave, and pulled down to floor while Phil was holding his hand. Phil pulled him back up, but then Orion was just crying. At first we thought he was just throwing a fit, but he didn't stop crying. The whole way home he was whinny and would start to cry without any provocation. I thought maybe he was just tired. It was after all, almost an hour past nap time, and he hadn't slept well.

We got home at 1:30, and were bringing in groceries when Phil noticed that Orion wasn't using his right arm, at all. My first thought was that maybe had a dislocated shoulder. I remember my mom telling me once that if you re-dress a child, lots of times that act will pop the shoulder back in. I tried this, and he screamed, and still didn't want to use his arm. So I called the doctor, and we had an appointment for 1: 45. We all piled back into the car (Orion screaming when I had to move his arm to buckle him in the car seat) and headed to the doctor. After a quick examination, he determined that Orion had Nursemaid Elbow. Basically, a tendon on his elbow tore, and then wasn't in the proper place. The doctor had to try four times to get it back in place. He was concerned even then that he hadn't gotten it and that we would have to go to the ER.

We got home about 3:00, with instructions to call if he didn't start to use his arm within a couple of hours. He started using it almost as soon as we walked in the door, so no more worries. We do have to be a little careful with it for the next week, but he is happy to use his arm again, and doesn't scream in pain when you touch it. It was so hard as a mom, to sit there and try and hold him still while the doctor is causing him such pain. Phil felt awful, like it was his fault. I think he still feels really bad, even though Orion really is back to normal. If only all injuries were so easily fixed.

We are so blessed that it wasn't more serious. Also, can I just say how glad I am that Orions doctors office is right here in Mount Horeb, and I can be to it in just a matter of minutes. A lot of my friends here in Mount Horeb still have to take their kiddos all the way into Madison. How blessed we are to have wonderful doctors so close!

Christmas Traditions

A couple weeks ago Phil and I were talking about different traditions our families had during Christmas. His family does new pjs on Christmas Eve and for Christmas breakfast- they have ice cream, cheerios, strawberries, and bananas. My family traditions were reading the Christmas story by candle light on Christmas Eve and we used to go caroling for FHE the Monday before. There may have been more traditions, but these are the ones that we both really liked and wanted to carry on to our family. But then we were talking about starting our own tradition. Philip said (half joking) that we should have green stroganough for dinner, because as a kid, he always thought it was really cool to have colored food. I just about lost my lunch at the thought of eating green stroganough, but (half joking) suggested green fried chicken with red mashed potatoes. Philip thought this sounded like a GREAT idea. So today for our Christmas dinner, we had a green and red feast. We had green chicken, gravy, peas and salad. And red potatoes, rolls, jello, and cheesecake. The chicken didn't turn out as green as I would have liked, and the potatoes were more pink then red, but it was colorful!!



The rest of our Christmas was wonderful!! Orion got up at about seven, and we went out and showed him his train set. He was THRILLED with it!!

We would try to get him to open something else, and he would get bored with trying to open the present, and go back to play with the trains. He also really liked his Cars toothpaste, and his firetruck puzzle,

and his vacuum.

But really, he loves his trains.

Philip got a couple of sweaters and a DS game, I got a couple of kitchen items, a game and a couple new movies. As a family we got a new toaster oven, dining room chairs (THANK YOU WANDA AND ROBERT!!), and a puzzle of the Salt Lake temple, a game and some pictures of Christ (THANK YOU MARK AND JULIE!!). It was a wonderful day. Phil and I decided that watching Orion opening his presents and being excited about them is way better then getting our own gifts. It's funny that a lot of times, I have more fun watching Orion play and have fun, then I would have doing something else. I find myself doing things for Orion (like going to the library or McDonalds) just because I know Orion will have enjoy it. Anyway, We hope you all had a wonderful merry Christmas too.

Our Christmas Eve

I think if I were in any other family, I would have waited until after the Christmas day fun was over with but since I am a Bainbridge now, I have to post specifically about our pjs.

Today was a very nice day. Yesterday, I dropped our pizza on the over door, so this morning, I turned on the automatic clean on our oven. That was kinda a mistake. Our house still smells!! Luckily we spent most of the day with the Husteds, so the smell didn't bother us too much. We had fun playing games and singing carols and eating nummy food. At about 5:30 we headed home. We gathered in the basement, where it doesn't smell so bad, and read the Christmas story, then watched the Nativity. I sometimes think "I could give birth in a nice clean barn with the animals close by if I had to." Then I watch the Nativity, and hear the flies, and think about having to give birth with flies swarming around my head, and am then VERY grateful for nice clean hospitals!! Afterwards we opened our Christmas jammies. This is Philips favorite part of Christmas. He LOVES getting new soft pajamas every year. Funny story: I always do laundry on Monday. Always. I can get all of our laundry done in just 5 loads, so I only do laundry on Mondays. Well this last April, on a Tuesday, Philip put his pjs in the dirty clothes. I asked him if he got something on them, to make him put them in the hamper. His response " Well, they haven't been washed since I got them, so I figured it was time". Apparently he didn't realize that I wash them once a week with everything else. But GROSS he was wearing for four months every day thinking that they hadn't been washed!! This may not be a big deal if he only ever wore them at night in bed, but there are lots of Saturdays where he doesn't get dressed, and Sundays we get home from church, and on go the pjs. Silly boy, but I love him !!!

No Snow

Well, it did it again. We woke up to a foot of brand spanking new snow on the ground this morning. Just when I finally had the driveway completely clear and dry!! Orions response every time he sees it snowing is "no snow, no snow". You can hear the disappointment in his voice and then I feel really bad. Poor boy. It could be a really long winter if he doesn't learn to like this fluffy white stuff. The picture is of the snow on our balcony. Kinda makes me wonder if we should be shoveling that off too. The drift goes above the railing. Have fun shoveling that Phil!!

Christmas Tree

This first picture really has nothing to do with the rest of the post, but it is so "Orion". There are many many times when Orion will find a hat, put it on, and then just go about the rest of his day. Lots of times he brings me a hat, and really doesn't understand why I don't want to wear it all day too.

So yesterday was a wonderful day. Sacrament meeting was awesome. We had several musical numbers, all of which sounded great. It is always wonderful in my mind to start off church with the Spirit so strong. After church and naps, we decorated the Christmas tree. It was fun to watch Orion try and help. He would try and hang an ornament for a few seconds, and then decide it was much easier to just lay it on a branch. Having him help also meant that a lot of the decorations ended up in the same spot. But it was fun.


Afterwards we watch The Testament. Orion really didn't like it. He kept asking for Cars and entertaining himself by jumping all over mom and dad. After we put Orion down, Philip and I just sat and cuddled, and talked until I went to bed at 9:30. It really was just a great day. From start to finish.



Today, was also a good day. I had an ultra-sound this morning. I love being able to see my baby. It is always so comforting to hear that little heart beat, and feel instant reliefe. Everything is OK!! The baby was quite active during the ultra-sound too. I think it flipped completly around 5 times during the 10 minutes. But we got to see it's arms and legs and toes and hands, and lots of tiny perfect parts. I think even Philip enjoyed it. Afterwards we went Christmas shopping and out to lunch. Again, it was just a really good day with my wonderful husband. How blessed I am that he chose me to be his wife!!

wicker chairs

When Philip and I got married, we were very very blessed to receive many free furniture items. Our big arm chair , the couch, washer and dryer, and our dining room table and chairs. The chairs for the table however are wicker. At first this didn't really bother me. I didn't really like how they looked, but they were functional and free!! Now that we have Orion, things have changed.
Have you ever tried to clean spilled pudding off of a wicker chair? It kinda wipes up, but a lot of it goes in between the little cracks. So then you have to go get a knife and try to clean out the cracks. And it isn't just pudding that causes problems. Anything that causes crumbs, or can be spilt, pretty much doesn't work. This summer, we had an awful ant problem. It took us a while to figure out why. It wasn't until Phil dropped one of the chairs and noticed a whole bunch of ants fall out, that I realized where they were getting their food. Eww GROSS I was sitting on that!!! We finally got rid of the ants, and I am much better about putting our chairs in the shower. But (and here is the reason for this very random post) what can I do to make my everyday clean up of these evil chairs easier? (And I need a "this will cost less then $10" option!)

Say Chee

We have had a very good week. Philips parents were in town for a few days this week, and it was wonderful to see them. Phil took Thursday off so that he could spend the day with them, but then Mom, Wanda and I went shopping for a good part of the day. The boys stayed home with the kids and played games. I think that they still had a good day, despite having to "babysit" all day. Later that night we all played some games and just enjoyed each others company. To me, the only thing that could have made it better, is if my parents were there too.

So tonight, in preperation to blog, I decided to take a picture of Orion. I got the camera out, and instantly he holds really still, and says "chee". I don't know where he learned that from, but I thought it was adorable. The pictures turned out really good with him saying it too!

Christmas

I love the Christmas season!! I love the music, the lights, the decorations, the crowds, the spirit. I love going to the store, and finding a great gift, and while I am standing in line, thinking about how exciting it will be to give it away. I love standing in a long line, and just when it is my turn, I let the person behind me go ahead. I love the smells. I love making plates of goodies and taking them to my friends. I love getting the plates of goodies. I love (this year) how every time Orion sees a nativity, he says "Esus" which interpreted is Jesus. I love going to church and listening to inspirational Christmas stories. I love the feeling of peace I always feel this time of year. I love gathering with my family on Christmas eve and reading about the birth of Christ by candle light. What a wonderful season this is. I hope that all of you enjoy it, and feel the Spirit this year.