It had to happen some time.  I have boys, after all.

On Thursday (April 26th), around 6:00pm, the boys were in the living room, playing around their Cozy Coupes.  They were climbing into them, Dukes of Hazzard-style, when one fell over on top of Cooper (I was in the kitchen, getting ready to make dinner) and then when Coop started crying, I looked back again, he was next to the Coupe and Spencer was now on top of him.  I asked him what was wrong and he was crying too hard to respond.  I picked him up and set him on the couch to assess the damages.  I asked where it hurt and he pointed to his right shin and asked if I could put a band-aid on it (through tears).  I said, “Sure, hang on!”, grabbed a band-aid and slapped it on.  He asked for another one to be placed right below that one.  Done.

I sat him down on the couch to calm down and told him he could watch a cartoon while I made dinner.  Jay came home about 20 minutes later and dinner was ready soon after.  Jay told the boys to come to the kitchen to eat, so Spence slid off the recliner where he had been sitting and then Coop did the same thing, but he cringed and then fell to the ground crying when he did so.  Jay asked what had happened and I repeated the story.  He thought maybe Coop had a sprained ankle or some thing was hurting him.  Cooper asked me to carry him to the kitchen for dinner, where he proceeded to eat nothing.  He looked so sad that I knew something had to be wrong.  Jay checked Coop’s foot, applied pressure on it to see if he could discern whether the leg was broken and couldn’t decide.  I called the after hours nurse line and was told that if Cooper couldn’t stand on his own, it was most likely broken and I should take him to the ER immediately.  Jay thought maybe we should wait til the morning and take him to the doctor, but finally we determined that the pedi couldn’t do x-rays anyway and Coop seemed to be in a lot of pain (even though he kept saying it didn’t hurt and that he didn’t want to go to the doctor) and DEFINITELY could not stand on his own, so Jay took him to the Med Clinic here in town.

Luckily, the Med Clinic didn’t have tooooo long a wait (Coops and Jay left the house just before 8pm) and they were able to x-ray a 3-year-old.  Plus, it was only $60 and Jay said (most of) the staff were very nice.  Around 10pm, I got a Voxer message from Jay and it was Cooper’s voice saying, “Mama, I bwoke my yeg.”  My baby!  My poor, poor baby! 

I’ve never broken a bone before, but I certainly thought it took more to break one.  Especially with as much milk as Cooper drinks.  I guess there will be no more rough-housing!

Anyway, they couldn’t put a cast on it at the med clinic, so they just put a splint on it and gave us numbers of 3 pediatric orthopedists in San Antonio.  I called all of them the next day as soon as we got up (even though Coop and Jay didn’t get home until after 10p, he still woke up bright and early.  No rest for the wicked) and found that Friday is “Doctor Slack-Off” day.  None of them answered the phones before 9 and one even was as late as 9:30!  With it being Fiesta in SA, I was worried we wouldn’t be able to get a cast for him at all if I didn’t get there bright and early.  At 9 straight up, I called one office again and finally they answered their phone.  The receptionist told me she would work me in and asked if I could be there by 10a.  Uhh, seeing as how I needed a baby-sitter for Spencer and still had to drive way over to Stone Oak, I wasn’t sure I’d make that.  I called my MIL anyway and asked her to hurry on over.  She got to our house about 9:45 and we sped off.  I am surprised that we got there by 10:15a and I drove the speed limit the entire way.  Wow.  No traffic will do that, I suppose.

We signed in and didn’t have to wait very long at all.  I brought my iTouch and let Coop play some Thomas the Tank Engine puzzles and matching game.  When we went back, the doctor said that he didn’t think it would take longer than 3 weeks for Coop’s leg to heal and that they would do the cast right then and there.  They had make it go halfway up the thigh because the doctor thought one that went below the knee would shift and fall off and he thought one right above the knee would probably do about the same thing.  Coop *does* have skinny ole legs.  So way above the knee it was.  And no walking cast either b/c the knee had to be set at a 90 degree angle.  Can’t catch a break!  Oh wait…

Cooper was a trooper the entire time.  He was so good.  He just grimaced a few times when the guy who put on the cast had to adjust Coop’s leg so it was straight.

We were there probably about 45 minutes, I’d say.  The guy making the cast was very nice and so good with Coop, he was gentle and explained what he was doing so Coop wouldn’t be afraid or think it would hurt.

See how high up it goes on his thigh?  I told the guy I was going to take pictures and he said he was glad I was doing that.  He said that very few parents took pictures and he would encourage them to do so because it is really neat to watch the change.  Not in a broken leg or whatever, but for clubbed foot babies.  He explained what a club foot was and how they could fix it.  Amazing what you can achieve with just some plaster and whatever that other stuff is. 

I thought for sure he would go for red or green (his favorite colors, he says), but he wanted orange.  I hoped he’d choose glow-in-the-dark, but nope.  How cool would a glowing leg in the dark be?!  Apparently not at all.  Hmph.

When we were done, I asked about a waterproof cover and the doctor said he suggested not even doing the plastic bag/duct tape trick because a) it rarely works and b) I could sponge bathe him easier/quicker.  And because of the bend in the cast, he said getting water in it would be bad because then it would mold and get nasty behind the knee.  So yeah, sponge baths.  It’s really too bad that Cooper hadn’t had a bath for 2 days before he broke his leg.  Oops.  I hope the doctor didn’t look at Cooper’s toes and make a mental note to call CPS.

After getting our instructions, we headed to the check-out desk.  While standing there, we heard a saw coming from one of the exam rooms.  Cooper grabbed me and asked what that noise was.  I told him it was a saw and that’s what they used to take the cast off.  Rookie mistake.  I swear I never think before I speak and really should get into the habit of doing so.  He clutched me and kinda screeched that he didn’t want a saw to “cut off his leg”!  I assured him that they probably never cut any legs off in the process and that they usually know what they’re doing when they’re getting those casts off and he did not look swayed.  I should have said it was grasshoppers making that noise.  ::smacks forehead::

A cool ~$600 later and we were on our way.  Since Coops hadn’t been eating very well since the night before, I asked what he would like for lunch and when he said “fries”, I said, “ok!”.  We made a Wendy’s run and when we got home, Spence was a little afraid of the cast.  Cooper quite enjoyed the attention he got that day and played up the sympathy card.  He also kept making the most ridiculous excuses:  I can’t eat that yogurt because I have a cast on my leg.  I can’t go outside because I have a cast on my leg.  Spencer realized that Cooper was getting more attention and started complaining of random ailments himself:  I have a  bad feeling, mom.  I don’t think I can go to the store.  My eyes are hurting from all the eye-rolling I’m doing.

Coop has been a really good sport, he hasn’t really complained about pain and he knows that he can’t get in the sandbox.  He loves the idea of sitting on the couch and watching cartoons and swinging to his heart’s content.  He can still ride shotgun in their truck and he can scooch himself around the playroom all by himself.  By the end of the 3 weeks, I imagine he’ll be a pro at getting himself around to where he wants to be.  And at wrapping us all around his little finger.

Jay built ramps from the house to the deck and from the deck to the yard so we can pull Coop in the wagon and outside without any hassle.  He can’t go to school because they can’t make any provisions for his needs since his class moves around too much.  School is out in 3 weeks.  So, you see what I mean here?  He will be missing the last 3 weeks of school.  I feel so sorry for him, but I’m going to ask if he can come on the last day or something so he can say good-bye to his schoolmates.  Poor guy.

But wait!  I’m more sad for myself, frankly.  I have to hang out with him when I’m supposed to have T/Th mornings to myself!  ::shakes fist::  Argh!  And they don’t make child-sized wheelchairs.  I checked.  Sad.

Wish us luck and hope we don’t all go crazy.  Or that Coop gets bed sores from sitting on the couch and watching too many cartoons…

…which I’m sure he wouldn’t mind at all.

 

Second Easter was at the IL’s place.  I was glad they decided to have it after naps because that meant we could have two Easters in one day and who wouldn’t want that?

The boys love seeing their little cousins, Logan and Oliver (both 2, but not brothers) and, of course, Tyler (who is 14, I think).  They love Tyler.  They adore him.  And Tyler is very good with them, so that’s nice.

While waiting for the roast to be ready, we did the egg hunt in the backyard.  Spence and Coop, having an extra year in this egg-hunting experience, as well as practice from earlier in the day, really cleaned up.  I’m not sure they left very many for Logan and Oliver at all.  I said that maybe we should have a 3 and over edition and a 2 and under one because it really was not fair how many eggs my kids came away with.  Maybe we should handicap them in some way–tie their legs together perhaps?  That wouldbe funny…

As soon as we let the 4 little boys out of the gates, Coop and Spence headed left while the other two headed straight and to the right.  It was like my boys were being paid to find eggs.

Following their beloved Tyler.

He looks so serious.  I guess egg hunting *is* serious business.

And with that, Easter is over.

 

We had 2 Easters this year.  I really like Easter, actually.  You hide eggs and let the kids find ‘em and then you eat lots of good food.  I think we should start hiding stuff at Thanksgiving too, it would up the awesomeness factor.

First Easter was over at my sister’s place in Buda.  My grandparents, my uncle John and his family, my parents were there as well.  My mom, dad and I hid about 400 eggs in the backyard (my dad being stealth ninja egg-hider warrior man) and then let the kids go a-hunting.  As long as it took us to hide the eggs, it sure didn’t take very long for the kids to find them all.

My sister doesn’t really have any trees to speak of, so we had to be really creative with our hiding spots.

Spencer is still an egg-hunter bad-ass, but Maya gave him a little run for his money this year.

Cooper also moved along more this year.  In years past, he moseyed along and thought carefully about the egg, maybe opened it up to look inside (there was nothing in the eggs, never has been) and then finally placed it carefully in his bag.  This time, he grabbed the egg and was off to find another one.

Nope, this year Maizy was the moseyer.  Hey, it had to be someone.

I think Maya might have had the most eggs, but we didn’t count because we didn’t want there to be any fights.  We’re not dumb.

We had ham and potato salad, rolls, veggies of different sorts…um, I’m sure there were other things, but I didn’t eat them.  What I did eat was…

Jennifer made lemon cake balls.  I usually hate cake balls.  I think they’re disgusting.  But these?  They were drool-worthy.  In fact, I stole 2 on our way out the door. 

 

I totally meant to post a “where are they now/what kinds of stuff are they up to” blog entry about the boys (not so much about Jay…) and I got caught up making the boys special t-shirts to wear to school and planning all sorts of crazy details for their birthday party this coming weekend. Ack! I am overwhelmed!

Here are my beautiful birthday boys

And the old guy…

(and here are the shirts I made that took a zillion years, tons of attempts and lots of frustration at the sewing machine, at curvy lines, at the tension knob…)

As Jay always says, “Good enough for who it’s for.”  They’re 3, they don’t care.  They just like that their “names” (i.e. the letters) are on there.

And this morning, getting ready for school

We don’t have any plans for the rest of the day, Jay took off, but who knows if he’ll want to go out and do anything to celebrate or just stay home and play.  Either way, there will be cupcakes involved. 

When the boys were little, we would play in the guest/computer room and I would put a bunch of pillows all over the rug in there.  Then I’d let the boys crawl around on it and bounce on the pillows.  Ah, it was great fun.

Now, I usually keep the pillows put away in a cabinet under the tv.  However, the boys know where the pillows are and sometimes they’ll get a wild hair to grab them all out and either make a “road” (they line them up in a long column and then step from pillow to pillow, or in the case of today–get on the Rody and bounce from one to the next) or they’ll pile them all up and dive into them.  Sometimes this ends in tears because someone has stolen a pillow or 5 off the pile and the guy jumping off doesn’t realize it until he’s smacked into the hard floor, but since they’re resilient, they jump back up and reform.

This was today’s effort, I thought it was pretty awesome.  And just shows how completely and totally different they are from each other.  One is like me where he puts one toe in to test the waters and then wades in slowly, where the other is just like his daddy and just heads straight in, no matter what the danger may be.

Ha!  Pssh!  See the date on the video?  See what day it is now?  Obviously I forgot.

The boys were in a Christmas program for their school.  For weeks, they’d been learning “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and another song I’d never heard called “God is Watching Over You” (uh, kinda creepy).  And finally they put their learning to the test.

Watch and see if it did any good. 

Christmas Program 2011

 

ETA:  Jay uploaded this video on to his own YouTube account and for some reason, set it to private.  When he gets home, I’ll have him change the settings on it so I can share the video.  Check back later….

Here’s my little Coop, “driving” the truck. In fact, I have two examples for you to laugh at view.

 

 

We might need to install seat belts that go over the shoulders and some airbags.

I don’t know if I told y’all that we got the boys a battery-powered Power Wheels truck for Christmas.  Well, we did.  And they love it.  In fact, Spencer is about ready to hit the road for real, he’s such a good driver.

Cooper, on the other hand, is a terrible driver. Which is what I would expect of most 2- to 3-year-olds. It’s more shocking to me that Spence *is* so good. But then, I really shouldn’t be surprised, the kid has been adept at anything with wheels for his whole life.

If you have children and a spare $300 lying around, I highly recommend one of these cars. Even when it is parked, it’s a fun toy. When I park my car in the garage and I’m getting the boys out of their carseats, they always ask if they can play in their truck. Then they run over to it and start loading up the back end of it (exactly why Jay made sure to look for a Power Wheels vehicle that had a spot for storage) with just about every little thing in the garage. When the battery is in, Spencer does a 30-point turn out of the garage and then down the ramp to the yard. Then he proceeds to drive Coops all around the yard, stopping every few feet to pick something up: sticks, rocks, bricks, toys, grass, anything. Very rarely does Cooper get to drive (which could contribute to his bad driving), but when he does, it’s funny to watch. Where Spencer puts the truck into the fastest gear and zooms around, Cooper putt-putts along. He’s a very cautious driver.

I certainly hope the way they drive this little battery-powered car does not translate into how they’re going to drive the real deal when they’re older. If so, oy vey! We’ll need to get Spence some really good insurance.