SLED FREE OR DIE

The Bach's came to visit.

We had a FUN day.
On the schedule of activities?
SLEDDING!
Here are some pictures Sister Bach took.

Thank you again for coming!
(and come back soon!!!)

The LONG walk up the hill...
(LOVE this picture)

Sledding = Joy

MAN DOWN!!!

NO...I DO NOT THINK

I can dance.
But it sure was fun trying.

BEN'S BEEN GOOD....

Have YOU?!?!

THE REST OF THE STORY...

Here's the rundown:
Monday Ben was at BB's.

She gave him night meds - and told me so.

Shortly after Steve picked him up.

Put him to bed after arriving home.

Gave him a second set of night meds.
(unbeknownst to me)

See...I forgot to relay that SMALL detail to him.

An hour later I went upstairs.
They were both sleeping.

I had an impression about the meds.

I asked Steve if he had given them to Ben.

YES was his answer.
My heart sank.

I called his doctor.

"Get him to the hospital" was his reply.

Ben was unconscious at this point.

We couldn't wake him.

(it was unnerving)

The ER put two IO's in his shins

(still no reaction from him)

and pumped lots of fluid

to help with his VERY low BP.

The local ambulance came

and I cringed.

I can't help it.
I SMELLED fear

as they approached him.

It's a mother bear thing.

As they are walking out the door,

the medic grabs my arm and says...

"We ain't gonna let the grass grow
driving up there if ya know what I mean."
WHAAAT?!?!

I turn to leave trying hard not to roll my eyes.

He grabs me again and tells me,

"And I know your husband's a cop, but you ain't gonna have the same leeway as us medic folk, so don't try to keep up with us."

Might I add that these are the medics that took an HOUR to load Ben onto the stretcher and into the ambulance?  It was painfully slow.  I had my bed made, things unpacked and almost fell asleep by the time they arrived. 

The PICU put an IV in,

took his IO out...
ran more fluid,

and Ben slept the rest of the night.

AND then all of the next day.

He was in his happy place.
The end.

(I hope)

HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!

Yesterday I was sitting in front of my Christmas tree, finishing up the last of my cards, while thinking about this past year.  It seems like not a week goes by where there isn't SOME kind of drama in my life.  And I'm not even Relief Society President.  I was actually thinking that THIS must be the week.  This is the week that will sail smoothly and happily by, and my fellow blog readers will be just as happy about it as I.  After all, Christmas is only 2 days away.  Only good things, right?  That is, until the lines of communication go awry.  Sometimes it happens.  And it just so happened to be last night.  I'll go into more detail tomorrow, because tonight I'm plum tuckered out.  Here's the cliff's note version.  Ben was accidentally overdosed on his medication.  He spent a night in the PICU for observation.  (We arrived at 2am)  He received his first (and second) IO's.  (IV's that go directly into the bone - shin bones to be exact...drill and all)  Blood pressures were dangerously low and heartrate was hanging around 40.  He was un-arousable...completely unconcious.  We were discharged this morning and spent the day going to our appointments as regularly scheduled.  The good news?  He's gonna be fine AND I happened to get all of my cinnamon rolls made and in the car before all of this happened.  That means there were some very happy nurses, doctors and valet friends.

   Ben going by ambulance.

In the PICU, nurses looking for IV access.

The IO that stayed in the longest.

The other IO that didn't last very long.

Ben at one of his doctor appointments.

It was a whirlwind trip.  My head is still spinning.  I'm beyond exhaustion.  AND I'm going to bed.

HEY LADY...IT'S ME!

The other day I was in Walmart exchanging some items that we had but didn't end up needing.  Kayla was waiting patiently for me in the car.  When I was done, I walked out of the store and in the distance a lady happened to catch my eye.  I could have sworn it was Stevie's 2nd grade teacher, someone that I dearly loved and hadn't seen in awhile.  She was unloading her cart into her car.  In my mind I decided that I was going to detour her way to say hello and give her a big hug.  As I was hurrying towards her with this OPEN MOUTH LOOK OF EXCITEMENT, I noticed that she too was appearing very happy to see me as HER mouth had a WIDE GRIN on it.  Had I paid more attention, I might have noticed the "not sure I recognize you" look in her eyes.  My eyes were locked on hers and hers on mine as I moved closer.  I was trying very hard to contain my excitement, although I must admit that I started to half skip at this point.  I got even closer when it was starting to dawn on me that maybe this wasn't who I thought it was...my head started doing that tilt of confusion, afterall she was STILL smiling at me, WHY was she still smiling at me?  My pace slowed way down as I started to doubt myself.  I should have picked up on the clue that she was unloading her basket faster and faster never taking her eyes off of me, probably hoping to jump in her car to get away before I reached her.  It wasn't until I was a couple of car lengths away from her that I finally saw her clearly and realized that this was NOT the lady I thought it was. My body then made an abrubt left turn back to my car, only this time I was running.  Inside my car...waiting for me...was my 14 year old HYSTERICALLY laughing at me as she had witnessed the whole thing.

TIS' THE SEASON...

For WRAPPING!
Hours and hours of wrapping.
Santa has some pretty cute helpers. ;)

Every year the police department chooses families that are in need and delivers Christmas presents to them on Christmas Eve. There is a lot of work that goes into it before that night. There is a lot of shopping, sorting, and wrapping to be done. We've carried on this tradition for many years now and my kids look forward to it every Christmas. I love that they can be involved in something so wonderful.

Merry and Bright!
Lots and lots of Christmas cheer ready to be delivered.
I am grateful for happy hearts and willing helpers.
Bonus shot of Stevie's healing bruise. This picture doesn't really bring out the lovely colors, but you get an idea anyway.

THREE'S A CROWD...

One of the teachers at the high school where Steve works gave this pink doggie bed to him to bring home for Mickey. It's a dog bed for ONE. He thought she would like it. She LOVES it. Apparently the boys do too. I've been laughing all day because we have two roomy beds for the pugs and it's THIS one that they ALL want. More than once I've seen Max standing on the outside watching Mickey and Sue share the bed wondering how he could get his beefy body on board without capsizing it. He finally figured it out. These are some pictures I took through out the day. Three is definitely a crowd...but a happy, warm, snuggly crowd.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS...

Is a new incisor.

Thursday is basketball night.

I'm still on the injured reserve list,

so I stayed home with the kids.
2 hours later I got a phone call.

It's Steve.
An elbow to the mouth and one less tooth later,

I make a phone call to our neighborhood dentist.

That ought to be a pretty bill

for someone who has NO dental insurance.

GOOD GRAVY!
(note to self: buy mouthgards)

The GOOD news?
Now he REALLY looks like he's from NH!

REALLY?

( Apparently changing a seven year old's bum requires a pediatric size mask, actually it require a WHOLE lot bigger of a mask, but it's all we got.)

There are just NO words for this post.
(probably because I'm LAUGHING so hard)