Friday, December 30, 2011

The Emergency Room

What is it about the holidays that make people -- well, us -- sick or injured?  Here we are, pre-New Year's Eve, and G.I. Joe is in the ER.  The same ER, mind you, that I was in just a few days ago on Christmas Day.  Oh yes, we got up, opened presents, had breakfast at IHOP, and came home ... only to have my beloved Acue Vue 2 Oaysis go AWOL in my right eye.  That sucker rolled up like a window shade and disappeared so far away that I couldn't even feel it.  So after a fruitless hour of one-eyed searching for the wayward lens, I drove myself to the Army hospital's ER with visions of contact-lenses-gone-rebel dancing in my head.  They successfully removed the said lens after some very creepy feeling numbing drops and 20 minutes of searching for it later.  So I went along my merry way.  The next day, Sun 2 took a nosedive into the edge of the nonworking electric fireplace and earned his first shiner.  Aside from a bruise and one frantic call to our beloved family doc later, he was no worse for wear and happily eating apples and watching Ni Hau Kai Lan. 

Now here we are, on the cusp of another holiday, and G.I. Joe develops symptoms much like appendicitis.  Well his parents came for the holiday, so I stayed home with Moon Princess and Sun's 1-3 (it was  wayyyyyy past their bedtime, anyway!) while they went to the hospital.  After ruling out anything appendix related, our conversation via text message went something like this:

"Well what in the world could that horrible pain be?"

"Doc says it's a hernia."

"How in the world did you get a hernia?"

"When the kids and I were playing yesterday, felt like something ripped."

Ahhh, that rang a bell.  I remember him mentioning that.

Now mind you, G.I. Joe has three combat deployments under his belt and two fistfulls of Purple Heart medals to show for them.  But it takes a 7, 5, and 2 year-old to bring him down.  Hooah! 

Is it wrong of me to be a bit wary of any more upcoming holidays?

Thursday, December 29, 2011

The Inaugural Post

Hello from Utopia!  Dinner is done.  The kids are bathed.  Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman plays in the background.  My husband, G.I. Joe, plays with Sun 2 (middle son) and Moon Princess (daughter) while Rambo, the German Shepherd, looks on like a furry guardian angel.  Sun 3, (the baby) just learning to crawl, attempts mobilization on the living room floor.  And Sun 1 (oldest son) ... well, Sun 1 ... where did he go?  Oh, he's back in the bathroom, bathing all six of the stuffed Angry Birds in the sink.  Belle the Wondercat just dashed through the living room, clearing Sun 3 in a single leap.  The two Italian dogs are asleep, hidden beside the entertainment center, while the little blue-eyed husky, Luna, just snuck out the doggy door, sopping Angry Bird in tow.  WELCOME TO MY HOME!  We had a wonderful home cooked meal tonight, the recipe is going to be posted next.  Needless to say, G.I. Joe and I are exhausted, happy, full, and ready to go to bed so we can play Words With Friends ... but the kids are all STILL set on go!  I hope you enjoy it here as much as we do!