Dislocation

Last Monday, as my visiting teachers were over at our house, Lilie ran inside wailing,

"I BROKE MY BONES!!! I BROKE MY BONES!!! AHHHHH! HELP ME!!!"

As I looked at her arm, I could tell that something was definitely "off" and gingerly felt it, only to conclude that the entire bone felt out of place and she'd "just" dislocated her elbow. (You see, we've had prior experience with both broken arms AND dislocation, so I'm an expert now.)

If you like Lilie's "Bee Movie" from many years past, you should have been with us that afternoon. I sort of hate myself for the difficulty of keeping a straight face when my girl is in pain, but my goodness . . . she is something to behold.

"OH, WHY DID I DO THAT? I'M SO SAD I DID THIS! AAHHHHHHH! IT HURTS TO BAAD!!!"

Apparently, the girls had been playing on the swing set and trampoline and our resident dare-devil had made the carefully calculated decision that she could jump from the top of the slide to the trampoline . . . but had slipped before she even took flight. It's only about a four foot drop to the ground, but she landed right on her arm.

My visiting teachers were awesome and took the mayhem in stride (also having trouble keeping straight faces). We'd finished school and since we didn't have anywhere to go for the rest of the day, I was still in my fleecy "aztec-looking" leggings and an oversized hoodie. (Hot.) They told me that they could watch my kids while I took Lilie over to the Ready-Care. With that (miraculously) in hand, I told Lilie we would go straight there, I just needed to change into some "real pants". She yelled, "YOU DON'T NEED REAL PANTS!!!"

Hazel was very concerned about her sister, but the other girls are quite used to hysterics, so while I was quickly changing, they started playing and giggling. Lilie then yelled at them, "Oh! HOW CAN YOU BE HAPPY AT A TIME LIKE THIS??!"

Both properly dressed, Lilie and I made a speedy exit.

When Lilie was tiny, while playing with her daddy, she'd gotten "nursemaid's elbow" -- which is a very minor dislocation that can easily happen in toddlers. The remedy is fast and gives immediate relief. I was imagining this dislocation to be about like that.

We arrived at the Ready Care with Lilie practically screaming, where they deliberated for 25 minutes on whether or not they could "squeeze her in." About 5 minutes after we finally got into a room, a nurse decided we should just go down to the ER. (eye rolling)

All this time, I keep thinking, "How big a deal can it be? Pop that thing back in place and put the poor kid out of her misery! The ER? That seems excessive..."  Yes. I'm critical when I'm trying to not be worried.

Turns out REAL elbow dislocations ARE a big deal. Once we got into a room, they had to do an x-ray before all else. Had she broken anything, they would have just taken her into surgery. But, OH, the pain of positioning for those x-rays! She let everyone on that floor know that she was NOT HAPPY about moving her arm!

Poor girl. She was a wreck. She just kept saying, "Why is this happening to me? Why did I do this? AHHHHH! I can't do this anymore!!! My poor little arm!!!" She was given an IV (which she barely noticed) and administered morphine, which barely took the edge off the pain. They dimmed the lights and she started into a meditative "Oooooommmmm . . .."

With the IV and x-rays done, they were finally ready to put the bones back in place. Even with the morphine, she was going to be in a lot of pain, so they gave her a heavy dose of ketamine to drug her up and make her forget what happened next.

I was amazed at how hard they had to pull to get that humerus back in joint and SO thankful for modern medicine. After another x-ray they were able to splint and wrap.

This is my favorite picture of the night. She was SO out of it!
Her eyes were open, but no one was home. :)

All told, Lilie's elbow was out of place for close to 3 hours. She is one tough cookie -- even when she didn't think she could take anymore. It took her more than an hour to come around - with great hilarity in the process. Before she was verbal, she made some awesome faces.

And once she could talk . . . SO funny.

Lilie? Lilie. Do you know where we are?

"Uuuhhhhhhhhhhh. Yeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh . . . H, H, Hooooooooooo. Dooooooooooocc."

Yeah. We're at the hospital. The doctor fixed your arm.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrmmmmm. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrmmmmm. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmm . . . . "

Does it feel like your head is full of fluff?

"YeeaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaahhhhhh!"

All while her poor little pin-point eyes couldn't focus on anything!

"Moooooomm! You have twooo eyes!"

Lilie, I always have two eyes.  :)

"Ooooh! Yooou have FOOUR eyes!"


Then she started throwing up. Over and over. Darn morphine.


She was instructed to keep the splint on and report to the orthopedic surgeon in a week.

She's done well. The first five days, we were grateful for the hyrdocodone, but she's finally doing well with just some ibuprofen. Her elbow is still REALLY swollen and bruised and I've been extremely concerned that she still has very little feeling in three of her fingers. She can't bend her pointer finger or thumb at all.

At the ortho today we got a good understanding of why my concern is currently unfounded.

 ^^above^^ This is what her bones are supposed to look like (taken today).

^^ The above are the x-rays taken last Monday at the ER. ^^

Yikes!! Dr. Pennington said that to even dislocate your elbow, it has to tear the ligaments. With as badly as Lilie dislocated hers, all those tough little ligaments got shredded. She'll remain in this splint for at least another two weeks and then we'll reevaluate. Hopefully as the swelling goes down she'll regain feeling and mobility in her fingers. Until everything heals up, the risk of re-dislocation is high, so we'll only be doing some small bending exercises. Mostly just waiting.

Lilie with her customized sling at the ortho today. The size "small" sling we got from the hospital
was too small (the medium was too big) and the angle was all wrong with the splint,
so I made her a new one.
Of course her consolation monkey from the hospital had to have one too. :)

Hooray for some fun bathing days in the weeks ahead and a creative Halloween costume! :)

Kaleidoscope: Part IV

I've been writing about this scary exciting insane new journey that I'm on right now. I'm incredibly long-winded, so I'm breaking it into parts. Someday when my kids are in the throws of Weirdness and I'm in the throws of Give Up, I want to remember why we started this adventure. This is Part 4.

In Part 3, I covered what's been going on with Hazel the last few years in school. Lilie, is a different story.

Hazel has so much going on in her busy brain that it's hard for her to nail down one thing to focus on, Lilie has hyper-focus. Hazel is the child of never-ending curiosity and questions, Lilie is the intuitive observer. I never taught Lilie to read, she just listened to all of Hazel's questions (so many questions!) :) and just figured it out for herself.

We skipped preschool with Lilie. She doesn't crave the same kind of social time that Hazel does and I was afraid she'd be bored with Kindergarten if I did. Turns out, maybe we should have skipped Kindergarten, too. :) Two months in, Lilie came home and told me she didn't want to go to school anymore. I was surprised. "Why?? You love learning. Why don't you want to go to school?" Her answer: "Well, I already know all of that stuff so I'd rather stay home and play with you and Elsie. Then I could do whatever I want." 

Huh. I still sent her to school, but let her teacher know that she was bored. She told me that she'd do her best, but she still had a lot of kids that didn't know their ABC's or numbers and Lilie was already reading and counting to 1,000. (that was my favorite Parent Teacher Conference, when her teacher told me that while doing evaluations she'd had to stop Lilie at 200 because she was just going to keep on going. haha!)

First grade, Lilie had an incredibly energetic and artistic teacher. They adored one another. Even then, her teacher basically told me the same thing. She's bored. She catches on super fast, so she was trying to keep her busy with creativity while the rest of the class caught up.

Second grade, halfway through the year her teacher tells me that he'd actually been really frustrated with Lilie for not paying attention until just recently when he figured out what was going on. He had thought that she wasn't listening, but really, she was just bored. As he'd explain a concept, she understood it the very first time and then checked out while he re-explained it for the next 20 minutes.

By third grade (last year), Lilie finally figured out how to not frustrate or offend her teachers, so instead of obviously tuning out, she draws. Every. Single. Paper. Lilie brought home last year - the front would have quickly scribbled (and perfectly correct) answers and the back would have large, elaborate sketches, drawings, MURALS. Her teacher put such a positive spin on it with, "I think that's just her way of processing new information. As she's drawing, she's listening and learning." 

While I agree . . . clearly, she's got a LOT of extra time on her hands. And the conversation at home stays much the same, "What did you learn today?" Lilie: "I don't know."

Daughters in His Kingdom

The sun spills into our bedroom windows early every morning - a fact that Nels is not overly fond of, but which I love.

This morning it is especially bright and prompts me to get up before the rest of my family. I need to bake the bread that had been rising on the counter all night for lunches today and I have five bodies in the home that have been in need of some clean clothing for a while.

I actually love doing laundry in the quiet morning sunlight. I hasn't been happening much, as evidenced by the five loads waiting to be washed, but I need to make it my routine. It makes me happy.

I turn on the oven, dump my bubbly dough onto the counter to rise a second time, and find the last session of General Conference to listen to while I start the washer and plunge into the four loads awaiting folding. Testimonies of Jesus Christ from apostles of the Lord fill my soul and I am reminded how important it is to drink from Living Waters daily. Another thing that hasn't been happening nearly often enough.

The girls wake up, Nels needs clothes that haven't been washed yet, the bread is cooking, and it's time for breakfast. The morning is rocky and filled with some frustration as I try (in vain?) to teach my girls to be responsible for getting themselves ready for school. I'm rushing to finish lunches, packing up hot bread. Everyone is late this morning. Again. {sigh}

Get Violet breakfast (she's almost always last to rise), clean up the spilled milk and flying flour. Change a diaper and back to the laundry.

As I slip the headphones onto my head I start THIS talk. Given at the General Women's Meeting in March and am transported back to attending that meeting with my two darling older girls. My eyes fill with tears and I remember that I still haven't written about that experience. Maybe it's just small, but I don't want to forget.

This was the first year that all the women of the church have met together in a General meeting. Both the Young Women and the Relief Society have each had their own yearly meetings, but this year all women from age 8 and up were combined. I've never had a chance to attend something like this with my daughters and the Spirit was overwhelming.

As I listened to counsel from inspired women and a loving apostle, tears streamed down my face and I was given a glimpse of the blessing it is to me to walk this path of life with these courageous, righteous, and beautiful girls at my side. I was reminded that these girls are my equals in every way. We knew and loved one another before we came to this earth and we are here to help each other return to the Father and do a great work while here. The meeting was one of the most spiritually charged moments I've had in parenting and I know that my girls felt it as well. Both Hazel and Lilie had tears in their eyes for much of the meeting as they snuggled their sweet faces into each of my shoulders and repeatedly told me how much they love me. They whispered to me how much they want to do the right thing and how happy they were.

I am truly a blessed woman.

Unpacking . . .

It'll kind of be like unpacking your house after someone else packed it up. You're never sure what's in the box and all too often you've got a bunch of random things in there that don't belong with the rest and you don't really know what to do with them. Yep. That's what this post is going to be like.

Speaking of unpacking, I've still got about 25 boxes to unpack. I'm not thrilled. I'm tired of unpacking. I feel like I've been unpacking for 2.5 years.

It's been foggy for the past three days. Everything is covered in hoarfrost. The weeping birch trees look like frozen fountains. It's kinda magical.

Hazel, Elsie, and Lilie can think of nothing but going to see their cousin, Winston, who is now a mere 30 minutes away. I don't blame them, those Moores are pretty great.

All three of them are also adjusting to school really, really well. I know I mentioned this in the last post, but seriously, I can't even express what a relief this is for me. I worry so much that we're damaging them by not allowing them to put down roots anywhere, but they are a testament to me that we have all the stability that they need right here within our family. They teach me.

Violet and Clara have watched too much TV the past two months.

Violet and Clara are learning to play really, really well together. It makes my heart happy. Today they are dressed up as a princess and a jack-o-lantern.

Orange is Violet's FAVORITE color. That makes me happy.

Clara doesn't really love clothes. Unless I put her footie pj's on backward (we had to cut all the "footies" off months ago), she wakes up naked, freezing, and in a soggy bed (because she also takes off her diaper) at about 2:30 every morning. Since implementing the "straight-jacket" sleeping method, we've all been much happier.

Violet is getting new glasses sometime this week. I am really hoping that it (again) helps mellow out the melt-downs that are so uncharacteristic of her pleasant, easy-going personality. Winter comes along and she spends lots of time drawing and her eyes get so tired. Her old glasses are too small and hurt her ears, so she doesn't keep them on.

Amid the thousands of wonderful things that I've not recorded in the past year, Violet got her hair cut by her Aunt Genny this last Thanksgiving while we were in Utah. It's adorable and she loves it.

Clara loves to dance. Any music results in a spontaneous dance-party.

Clara is SO SASSY! Many, many unexpected things in her life are met with, "Why you do dat???" One of our last nights in Sandpoint, she was playing chase with Daddy and I scared her as she came flying around a corner. She jumped, squealed, and then immediately said, "Why you scare me, Mom?!!!" We took the girls to see "Frozen" a couple weeks ago and right at the most intense part of the movie, it's silent, and the princess has just turned to ice. Everyone is very sad, of course. Clara yells, "WHY YOU DO DAT, DAD???!!!" It "broke the ice" (haha) and everyone in the theater laughed.

My girls are growing up so much. While I was at our new place with the movers to unpack the truck, Hazel stayed home from school and babysat her three younger sisters for NINE HOURS - and was still smiling when I relieved her at 5:00. I was only a 1/4 mile away and checked on her frequently throughout the day, but she did awesome. I really count on my Hazel. She loves to read, loves to talk, loves to be with other people, and loves learning. She has one of the most pure hearts I've ever known.

Lilie reminds me of myself daily. She loves creating and colors. We had a tour of their new school the Friday before everyone came back from Christmas break and she asked repeatedly about the art class. :) She is an incredible artist. A true introvert, it is so hard to pull information from her about her day and what's on her mind anytime but in the quietest one-on-one moments. She talks plenty and LOUDLY, :) but it's hard to hear what's in her heart without listening. I'm trying to learn how to listen better.

Elsie is such a little people-person. She is loving her new school and LOVES being the "new girl". Her teacher adores her and commented on how wonderfully she's transitioning - as if she's always been part of their class. At her first parent-teacher conference in Sandpoint, her teacher had talked about the possibility of moving her up a grade. She's ready, both intellectually and socially and only misses the cutoff by a month. Nels and I spent a day or two thinking about it and in the end decided that she's right where she needs to be. She is really starting to develop helping others and reaching out to those who may be struggling as a big part of her personal identity. We feel that it's a benefit for her to be older in her class. It thrills my heart to see her take others under her wing so much. She is such a warm person.

This is Elsie with her friend Henry before we left Sandpoint. He was in both her Pre-K class last year and her Kindergarten class this year. To say that he LOVES Elsie would be an understatement.

Nels? He's doing good. He likes his new job and he even gets to come home for lunch on a regular basis. He told me last week that because of security measures, working real late at this job isn't even an option!! Can you believe it?! :) Really, they seem like a great company. And starting today Nels and I are doing another 30 day sugar fast - like we did last January. Gotta get ready for Costa Rica this summer! :)

As for me, I'm really looking forward to the day when I break down the last box. In the meantime, I scheme all day about what I want to do that evening when the kids finally go to bed and I "clock out" for the day . . . so far I haven't been able to actually DO that since we moved in, but I keep hoping.

(my first knitting project - in our temporary apartment - before the boxes and boxes and boxes came)

And most days, since I don't leave the house (and sometimes when I do), I wear something colorfully crazy --- because it makes me happy (and sometimes hides my hair that I haven't washed in three days).

I'll have to remember to pair up that hat with the orange tights, multicolored skirt, and blue slippers I'm wearing today. :)

Ready or Not

It's the third day of school and it's already like we never left.

Dragging to get up and backpacks on the floor. :)

Hazel is in 4th grade this year, Lilie is in 3rd, and Elsie, my tiny girl that has been wanting to go to school for at least 3 years now, is finally starting Kindergarten.

For their first day, I walked each of them to their classroom and met their teachers. Lilie, my little introvert, tried hard to not let the apprehension get the best of her, but when we walked up to her room she couldn't help but shrink behind me and wish for invisibility. I talked to the teacher a moment and then tried to usher her in, but she resisted. Just then, a friend came rushing out the door excited to see her, gave her a big hug, and she immediately relaxed. I assured Mr. P that within 10 minutes you'd never know that she gets nervous. Ever.

Hazel was just ecstatic to be there and barely said goodbye to me as she walked through the door on the arm of one of her friends from last year. It's so crazy to me - I clearly remember being in fourth grade. They all look so tall and these next couple years, big changes are ahead for all of them. I can't believe we are already here.

Elsie was so thrilled. She sat at the table with her name tag and immediately started coloring. I asked her if she was ready for this or if she'd like me to stay with her for a few minutes. She stopped what she was doing, got a very serious thinking-face, and finally said, "I can handle it. You can go." You're sure? "Yep!" I walked from the room with a smile on my face, past the crowd of parents at the door with worry and tears in their eyes.

A few hours later, I pull up to see her leaning against the building looking quite annoyed. I excitedly asked her about her first day of school and she grumpily proceeded to tell me that:

A- she didn't get to go outside for recess. When I justified that it was only the first day, she said, "Well. My teacher said that we'll go outside for recess on special days and today is the first day of school - A SPECIAL DAY - so we should of gone outside today."

B - she didn't get to play with whatever she wanted in the classroom. Again, it's just the first day and I told her that school isn't really about getting to do whatever you want all the time. "Well, they had toys that I wanted to play with and I should be able to play with them."

C - nobody liked her new clothes. "What are you talking about? How do you know that, did someone make fun of you?" She then explained that she'd showed other kids her new shirt and nobody really cared.

LOL! I love my girl. She makes me laugh everyday. I'm sure that she'll have the whole classroom straightened out in no time at all. At home, she makes little picture lists all over her room (since she can't spell all the words yet) - lists for morning, playing, and bedtime routines. This girl is going to have the whole world marching to the beat of her drum by the time she's 9.  ;)

We stopped by the park on the way home in an effort to make up for the disappointment of recess where, within 5 minutes, Elsie bruised her tailbone and got the wind knocked out of her by slipping from the monkey bars and Violet got sand in her eyes. Good grief...

We didn't stay very long.

Yesterday when I picked her up, she was all smiles and had lots of good things to tell me about her morning.

The older girls are loving their classes and are happy to not be riding the bus this year.

With Kindergarten, we are going to be spending a lot of our time driving back and forth to the school, but we are all happy for the return of routine and I pray that's it's an excellent year of learning and growth for my girls. They all soak up knowledge and have so much to give that can bless the lives of others. I'm so pleased with the incredible little women that they are.

Summer Perfection: Part 1

From the get-go, we've always said that Sandpoint was a temporary move. A rest stop on the way to . . . wherever . . . we're going . . . eventually. :)

"Somewhere we'll stay for, I don't know, probably three to five years."

But you know what? I don't know how we'll EVER leave.

Not with weeks like this.

Today as I sat on the beach talking to friends and watching my kids play in the water, sand, and sunshine

I made a decision.

Honey, if things don't work out at Coldwater, we're livin' in a tent! (it can be done! we know a man who does.)

Seriously. How is it that you are not ALL living here with us?!

Clara, at almost 2, is still the sweetest little feisty angel. She holds her own with four older sisters and rolls with the crazy when we stay at the beach for five hours and miss naptime.

Monday she just snuggled right up on my lap mid-afternoon and fell right into dreamland. Holding my sleeping baby is like dreamland for me . . .

Tuesday we skipped the beach and I cleaned my bedroom. A miracle that resulted in the discovery of my keys (missing 10 days) and my glasses (missing 3 months).

Wednesday Nels skipped work and we took the girls to Silverwood. A blast that resulted in the realization that Hazel and Violet don't really love rollercoasters and adrenaline makes me talk a lot.

Dinner at Olive Garden with my beautiful girls, a (yet again) angelically nap-less bebe, 

and their handsome dad.

Today was just summer at it's finest.

Poor Lilie inherited her daddy's pink skin.

diving Elsie

While my angel baby AGAIN slept at the beach, for the first time since we moved here, I went swimming. It was SO FUN!!! Lilie, Hazel, and I swam out to the logs separating the beach and the boats with our friends the McClellands and played King of the Log. It was awesome. I love good friends!

After four hours in the sun, we returned home to pick thimbleberries across the road and golden raspberries in the backyard.

thimbleberries: fuzzy, delicious cousins of domestic raspberries

my "I'm ecstatic that I've not had to water this green grass once this summer" face

my "I'm in heaven" face

Again, I need to ask: how is it that you are all not living here WITH US?!