If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

After three kids and seven years of parenting we have finally reached one of those milestones: a broken arm!

After soccer yesterday, I was getting in a much-needed and long-overdue chat with a friend I hardly ever see. Kaedon was playing with her son while Maia and Isa rode bikes (and I intermittently made half-hearted attempts to get them to the car!).

Right when it was time to go, Isa took a spill on her bike. We pulled her out from under the bike, checked for bumps and bruises (there were no bruises or scrapes!) and got her to the car. She was crying quite a bit, but it was also a little past dinnertime and I figured she was tired and hungry.

In the car, I looked back at her and noticed her arm looked a little weird. (maybe this was mommy paranoia?) Just to be sure, I asked her (without giving away that I had a certain arm in mind) if either of her arms hurt. She pointed to the one that was already suspect. With no real reason to suspect a break, I just felt that something wasn't right.

We got home late, the house was a wreck, there was nothing to eat for dinner (we had already had cereal for breakfast and lunch...there are limits, even for cereal), the girls were both crying, I had an appointment at church in 20 minutes, and my legs were killing me. I normally try not attack Miguel for a few minutes, but when he walked in the door a bit later, I said "I NEED SOME HELP!" I canceled my appointment and sat in the recliner holding two crying girls while he made dinner. Even though there wasn't much of a reason to suspect a break, but I still felt deep down that her arm was broken.

Dinner and medicine helped the atmosphere at home tremendously. We decided to wait until the morning, and if her arm still hurt, take her in to be seen. In the morning, there was still no bruising or swelling, but she couldn't turn her hand over and her arm was still really tender.

We went to Urgent Care and got X-rays, and the X-ray tech showed them to me briefly before we went back in to see the doc. I couldn't see anything and felt pretty silly, thinking I had been overly paranoid. I was very surprised when the doctor came in, saying the arm was broken after all! (mixed feelings here)

I chatted with the doctor while she casted her arm. She would periodically ask Isa questions and Isa would only look very gravely at her cast without saying anything. After she left the room, Isa held up her arm and said "Mom, its on the RIGHT arm!" (incidentally, the WRONG arm!) Can't believe neither I nor the doctor even noticed. Isa said the entire time she was casting it, she was thinking "wrong arm! wrong arm!" (THATs why she was looking so serious!) So Isa actually got to have TWO casts for a little bit-- a pink AND a purple. We took a picture with my phone and sent it to Dad (who as yet didn't know whether she had a break or not) and Grandpa/Grandma. We thought it was a pretty good joke to appear to have two broken arms instead of just one.

Afterward, we got her a treat and some medicine and she got to watch TV all afternoon! She said "this is kind of fun!" What a cutie.

Scholasti-Mom

I have a friend who will soon be a stay-at-home mom! In response to her request for ideas on how to maintain a brain as a mom, I thought I'd post a thought (or two). I don't mean any of this to sound preachy or soapbox-ish-- its just that kids and learning and kids' learning (I don't just mean intellectual!) are things I am more passionate about than just about anything else! If this is all obvious information, then take it with a grain of salt. :)

1. IF you have any, leave behind any preconceptions about "woman's work" being degrading. Women have made successful businesses as seamstresses, chefs, doctors, decorators, even "home organizers!" Doing the same things at home can be just as challenging and rewarding with the right attitude. All the other stuff aside, is there a more important job in the world than being a mom?

2. Let your child's curiosity lead you. Kids look at the world with such a fresh perspective. Things we take for granted, like the color of the sky and the blowing of a breeze are all new to them. As you help satisfy their curiosity, you may learn something that you would otherwise have taken granted! You can also stoke their curiosity by having some of it yourself. "How do flowers grow?" or "what causes the wind to blow?" may be questions that lead to an exciting mutual discovery. (I have learned more out of children's books at the library than I did in college! Physics, astronomy, math, literature, botany, you name it!) And teaching something really is the best way to learn it.

3. You don't have to go somewhere fancy every day, but find little learning opportunities as you progress through your day. I still remember watching Becky show Eleanor the moon once after a get-together and explaining a bit about its phases. No wonder she is so smart!

4. Periodically expose your kids to the best classical music, art, dancing, theater, science, etc (even if its on a CD or DVD!). They may not be as excited as they would be for Water World (and I'm not saying NOT to go to Water World, just to not do that exclusively) but if YOU are excited, its hard for some of that not to rub off. My kids love dancing around to the "William Tell Overture" as much as they do to more "cool" stuff.

5. Become a miniature child development expert. Researching the human brain and how it works not only helps in understanding each phase your child goes through, but can be enlightening in regards to human nature in general (including your own!).

4. Stay connected with the world through high-end journalism. I love to listen to NPR while I fold clothes or get ready for the day. I also love reading a couple of Wall Street Journal articles a day or sneaking in a bit of the "Economist." I like to think of it as learning from some of the brightest minds in America right there in my living room.

5. This is probably too obvious: challenge yourself with books and discuss them with others. :)

6. Mindless tasks don't have to be mindless. Agatha Christie once said that she planned her novels while doing the dishes. Some of these kinds of tasks are a great opportunity to think and plan without having to completely focus on the task at hand.

7. When within the budget, use travel as a teacher. We like to work in at least one cultural event per family trip. Going to the preserved home of a favorite writer or diplomat is more personal than just reading about him/her in a book.

8. Understand that you may not always be perfectly stimulated at all times (you probably wouldn't feel this in your job, anyway!). Raising kids does require some sacrifice, even if that just means changing the timing of something you really want to do or learn. In the end, it is so worth it! Imagine, as a kid, thinking, wow, my mom is an amazing, capable woman, who could do just about anything, and she chose me. What kid wouldn't feel the power of their own potential when the most powerful woman in his or her life sees him/her as a top priority? What will that child not be able to accomplish? And knowing that you've empowered someone else will contribute more to your being than just about anything else.

Back to School and Little Boy Grows Up

Its that time of year again! Is it okay to say I'm so glad summer is over? I actually survived another summer pregnant with no air conditioner, and I wouldn't do it again! My family also survived a summer of pizza, hamburgers, and eating out. I hope my kids won't be ruined for life in a culinary or nutritional sense.

I was happy to have all the kids home when the summer began, and I enjoyed seeing them more often (and not having a tight schedule to keep). Each year as Kaedon has gone to school, I have gotten really sad at one point or another. I was also curious to see how I would do sending off Isa this year. Its hard to be sad, though, when I know she has been so excited! Half-day kindergarten keeps me so busy running back and forth that it is also hard to have time to miss her! We'll see how we do next year.

This year, I also have to admit, I am enjoying a little quiet time during the day, as well as having a little more one-on-one with Maia in the morning and Isa in the afternoon. Its actually nice to have a schedule again, which means I also get a little quiet time at night back as well. (Hence a Jane Austen or two-- I'm loving it!)

Kaedon had a birthday and lost a front tooth on the top, which made him look so old! He also seems to have grown a ton recently. All this has made me wonder what has happened to my little boy! Watching them grow is definitely bittersweet.