Last hoorah

Summer was almost over so to the splash park we went.



It was hot but not too hot. A gentle breeze was blowing. A picnic of sandwiches, Cheetos, and oranges was eaten.

I was laying on a blanket, chilling with home girl.



Watching my boys thinking, "What a good man I married. What a good father to my children."



Then I was rudely interrupted. Brian grabbed me, ignored my shrieking about how my nipple pads were gonna get wet (that's all I could come up with), and held me under a bucket until it dumped on my head.



As anyone would, I tried to get revenge.



Past due for nursing + haven't moved my body in a year = cant catch husband. It was futile. He just leisurely ran from me taking pictures. But don't worry Brian, I haven't forgotten.

Such a fun peaceful time. I didn't want the day to end.

Elmo cake

Six months ago I made Silas an Elmo cake for his 2nd birthday.

To my surprise, the boy still hasn't gotten it out of his mind. Just yesterday he asked for another Elmo cake. This happens at least once a week. I didn't realize the memory of a 2 year old was capable of such a thing. But since I've discovered the wonderment that is an Elmo cake I wanted to share it with you. It's really easy and only cost me $5.

You need 4 things:
1. a box cake
2. little tub of vanilla icing
3. food coloring
4. a red can of icing like this:

Now do this:

1. Prepare the box cake according to directions
       (I used strawberry to make Elmo's insides red)
2. Pour batter into 3 holes in your cupcake pan and pour the rest into a
      11x7 pan (or something close to those dimensions)
3. Print out a picture of Elmo that takes up most of the paper (just Google 
         "Elmo" images and you'll find what ya need) Cut out Elmo's face once printed.
4. Lay Elmo's picture on the cake and use a knife to cut around it  
         (it's not hard - trust me)
5. Cut out the eyes and nose (leaving holes/slots for the cupcakes)
6. Eat the eyes and nose you just cut out
7. Stick the cupcakes in the eyes and nose holes (you can do a little 
         shaping with a knife if necessary - make them stick out just the right amount)
8. Use the red icing for his face, the vanilla icing for his eyes, then turn
      some of the vanilla icing orange with the food coloring and do the
      same for some brown icing. Unleash your inner artist! (I cut out the 
         mouth of the picture and used it like a stencil to get the shape right)

It doesn't make a very big cake but trust me, this little red head harnesses much power. Here it is whispering sweet nothings into Silas' ear:

Our Labor Day

So it's official. Brian is accident prone. This weekend his left hand was the latest victim. He was using a t-post driver to drive down a t-post. This is a t-post driver and a t-post:

The red tube weighs about 20 lbs and you hold the handles and slam it down over the t-post. As Brian stood back to admire his work he decided one needed to be hammered one more time. He immediately regretted that decision. Instead of the driver going over the t-post, his hand landed in between the top of the t-post and the handle. Result: bloody gory mess and bye bye to his life long dream of hand modeling. (joking aside, he really does have nice hands)

He ran inside and I had to say a quick prayer that God would help me help him and not faint as I saw his pinky facing the wrong way and the bloody hamburger meat blooming out of the openings. I judged him to be about a 90/10, fat content wise. I sat him in front of the tv with a bag of corn and Malcolm in the Middle to take his mind off the pain. I'm a nurturer. After 10 people not answering their phones I finally reached my mom who drove over to stay with the sleeping children. We raced to the urgent care center and proudly walked in with our bag o corn and big green chip bowl that was catching the blood.

They cleaned out the fingers, soaked them in cleaning solution, and sewed him up. The doctor apparently skipped class the day they taught about having any empathy for your patients because, how do I say it, she lacked a gentle touch. I thought Brian was going to break the rail off the bed a few times. Or punch her. Either one. But he toughed it out and they told him he would have to have surgery to repair the crushed pinky.

The next day Brian told the surgeon, "Who needs a pinky anyways?" and made the decision to chance it and see how it heals on its own. The fingernail might be facing the wrong way but Brian has never been one to give in to vanity. I guess we will see how this one turns out.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a picture of the fingers after tucking all that meat back in and sewing them up:

And because I love you and can't leave you with that image in your head, here is a picture of my nephew, Little, who spent the holiday weekend with us. If you ever need a laugh or a little shot of happiness, you should hang with him for a few minutes.

Update:

Brian went to see a hand surgeon specialist today because he lost feeling in his finger and it was cold. He is going ahead with surgery next Thursday because the doctor said he severed the nerves and arteries and if he didn't do the surgery he wouldn't get feeling back and would lose alot of his gripping ability because the pinky is second in importance to the thumb...who knew?

Even Big Bear laughed

It was time for Silas to take a nap so I did the usual routine. I grab his blanket and pacifier and say, "I'm gonna go play with Big Bear," and start walking up the stairs. This is usually followed by a squeal and the little pitter patter of a two year old following close behind me, excited to play with one of his good friends.
Only today was different. There was no pitter patter, only a "bye bye mama." I thought this was unusual but I continued on and knew I had to up my game. From the top of the stairs I said "pssssss" which always gets his attention. All I heard was a little giggle of acknowledgment. Still no 2 year old running up the stairs. So I decided to bring out the big guns. I go and drag Big Bear over to the top of the stairs and say, "psssssssss!!!"

Once he saw him, he couldn't resist. He runs up the stairs and rounds the corner saying, "Big Bear! What a doin'?" In my deep Big Bear voice I say, "Oh nothin', what are you doin' Silas?" And in a voice that sounds like the little Italian Luigi off of Mario World he yells, "I'm a makin' a doo doo!"

And I watch as he waddles down the hall to finish the job.