Injuries Abound

We just cannot seem to stay away from injuries around here.  Monday began as any other day until Josiah came running from the play room crying.  This was odd to begin with, because it is usually Henry crying and running from the play room.  For whatever reason, Henry felt it wise to volley a tupperware container (with a hard headed baby doll inside) at Josiah which left a hole in the bridge of his nose.  My first thought was, 'oh no, he's going to need it glued back together.'  My second thought was, 'I do NOT want to go back to another urgent care/emergency room.'  Currently, I am fighting Henry's ER charges of "dental surgery."  The hospital billed out $3000 to put Henry's teeth back in at the first ER and $5200 to take his teeth back out at the second.  This doesn't even include all the other charges totaling over $15,000 for what amounts to two stitches in his lip and one x-ray of his mouth.  But I digress.
So, Josiah had a hole on his nose, not huge, but still an open wound.  I basically held it shut for 30 minutes and then put on some gauze and tape to keep it together.  So he walked around with a pointed -up nose for 24 hours, but the wound closed nicely and we saved a couple hundred dollars.

After this, you can imagine my dismay when on Thursday Josiah walked into the kitchen with a bloody mouth and a tooth in his hand.  He said Henry punched him in the face and knocked out his (thankfully) already loose tooth.  Sympathy is not my best quality on a good day, but it's definitely not functioning well as of late.  "Josiah, why did Henry punch you in the face?"
"Well, (much hemming and hawing) I kicked him in the stomach."
Some days it seems easier to just throw up my hands in defeat.

It is now my goal to get our homeschool room put together and functioning next week so that we can start our school year lickety-split.  We need to get on a schedule and not have so much free time for injuries.  We spend three days next week at our Classical Conversations Practicum learning about the CC curriculum and how to teach it well.  So, that should get us all in the mindset to get the school year started right.  Plus, we got some Star Wars 1st Grade and Preschool Math/Reading/Writing books so the boys are ready to break those open.

Josiah did keep me laughing at the beginning of the week.  He had asked for a box of Whoppers from the grocery store and since they were on sale, I got them.  Plus, he doesn't understand that people eat a whole box at a time.  I give him 2-4 at a time and he thinks it's great.  :)  Well, he could never remember the name and kept calling them "whippers" and "waffles."  I laughed for several days until one day I didn't laugh and he said, "Why didn't you laugh at me?" at which point I realized he was saying it wrong on purpose.

Caroline is two going on thirty-seven.  Every time I tell the boys to do anything, she is right behind me repeating it to them.  Sometimes she even remembers the rules (imagine that) and regulates the boys before I've said anything.  Henry has a tendency to kick the cabinets when sitting at the bar in the kitchen.  If Caroline should hear him kicking, she shouts, "Enry, stop kicking! STOP KICKING!!!"  Of course, Henry finds this funny and in no way is going to listen to her so the matter only escalates.
Caroline also is fiercely independent.  This is what comes out of her mouth All. Day. Long:
"I do it.  I do it.  I DO IT! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.  I DO IT!"

Despite the quite hot temperatures here, we have been blessed with a shady backyard.  It seems to be shady most of the day, so we have played out in it several days this week.  It is a great backyard.  Josiah decided he was Tarzan one day and swung from the branches.  Caroline thought it looked fun and went up to the branch from which he was hanging.  "I do it.  I do it.  I DO IT! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.  I DO IT!"  Josiah, kindly, helped her swing.  He played like that for half an hour or so until one branch snapped.  Josiah is at best 34 lbs, so these branches are not super strong.  Clearly our Tarzan and Jane days are over.


The previous owners had planted two fruit trees in the backyard.  Last month, Todd and I tried to guess what they were, then this past week we talked about it some more.  We finally got the brilliant idea to take some fruit off and cut it open to see.  Figs and limes.  (Although, by this time the limes were a little obvious even though they were still quite small.  And one of us did guess figs.)  Figs.  Hmmmm.  We weren't sure about that one.  But we picked some and they're actually pretty good.  I don't know if we need an entire tree of them, but it is cheap fruit.

In all our unpacking we are finding all sorts of things.  We found a firefighter costume that hadn't been opened yet, so now both boys have one.  That prompted lots of fire fighter pictures drawn.  I thought they boys did really good pictures.

Josiah's

Henry's

The boys (and Caroline)  received a package from a favorite Sunday School teacher back in Virginia.  They are happy with all things new, so they have been enjoying everything.  This afternoon they flew their airplanes outside and Josiah really got into it.  :)

this guy got his airplane to fly really well

That's some intense launching face.

And finally, Todd had a major accomplishment today.  He took apart the elliptical in the garage and brought it upstairs to our bedroom AND reassembled it.  So, now I'm on the hook to get back on it.  I never thought we'd get the giant dresser or this upstairs, so he has proven me wrong twice now.  Twice in ten years.

Oh, as just in case you're wondering what our new house looks like, Henry took a few pictures today.  Enjoy.

stairwell

windowsill (side view)

view from said windowsill

Clearly we know where his career path lies.