Happily Ever After...

...Yes, the story ends well. And I thought I'd give all of the details at once so that nobody has any reason to be worried...

On Sunday night, Justin woke up at midnight screaming in pain and saying that his stomach hurt. We got him out of bed and tried to understand what was going on. He just kept saying "my stomach hurts!!!" We moved him to the bathroom where he sat on the toilet rocking back and forth and holding his lower stomach. He would say things like "It feels better if I curl into a ball" and "Mom...it hurts all over..."

After about 10 minutes when he said he was sure he didn't need to go, we snuggled him up and put him in our bed. He was there for about 2 minutes when he started to throw up this black tar kind of throw up. I rushed him to our bathroom where we discovered he didn't need to throw up anymore. He lay down on the carpet and told me he couldn't take a deep breath because it hurt so bad. I looked up at John and told him to call 911. He called, they sent an ambulance, and as soon as they got here, Justin started to get his color back. (There's something about three large men in uniforms with a ton of equipment squished into your Mom and Dad's bathroom that seems to take your mind off the problem!). They checked him and said that it didn't seem like he had any signs of trouble with his appendix but asked if we wanted him to go to the hospital anyway. I said that I felt very uncomfortable with the pain he was in. So, into the ambulance he goes...

I, as any reasonable person in New England at midnight might do, dressed myself in capris and a sweatshirt. I got in the car to follow the ambulance and I could not stop shivering! I couldn't tell if it was adrenaline, worry, or the chills. I think it was a combination of all three. I followed the ambulance to St. Anne's (I knew the routine after taking John there for slicing his finger off!!!) and parked. When they took me to Justin, he was lying in a bed and he seemed fine. Well, that figures!

The doctor came to see him and said that it was likely a virus and that he had seen similar symptoms recently. They gave Justin an apple juice and he rested in the bed for a while. At about 2:00am they released us. On our way out, we stopped at the check-out desk, and this is when it finally all came out. Justin threw up. This was not a dainty little bout of throw up, but rather a firehose style explosion of everything in his entire body! It went all over the counter, the papers, the firemen sitting at the table next to the desk, the floor, me, Justin, the wall...you get the picture. The nurses swarmed, comforted him, got him back in bed, and took care of the mess. I was kind of thankful that it happened because 1) he felt so much better , 2) I looked a little more legit for bringing him in, and 3) the nurses cleaned it up!

Eventually they armed us with a prescription for nausea medicine and sent us home. Justin felt fine the next day - thankfully. It has been an interesting experience as John and I look back wondering if we overreacted. My conclusion is that with all of the fears we have today about sick children, we made the right choice. I'm so thankful that we have a system that we can call for help when we need it and especially that we have the ability to ask whatever questions we need to.

It was the Portsmouth Volunteer Fire Department that arrived up to help us this week. There have been may occasions where the fire department has been a great blessing to our family in the past. We have survived two seasons of San Diego Wildfires due to the hard work of our firefighting community and they have come to the rescue on two different occasions when our children needed emergency help. If you ever have a few dollars rolling around in your pocket that can go to a worthy cause - please consider your local fire department. They're lifesavers!

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P.S. Since it's hard to see, the picture is of the ambulance and the flashing lights outside our house as I (in my capris) ran outside to follow in the Suburban. Justin was already in the ambulance when the picture was taken.

Pumpkin Carving

Today was all about pumpkins! First we turned the house upside down to get rid of the dog hair so that Julie could come visit us (and because we decided the house was a disaster anyway). After that I took the kids (with Leah) to the grocery store for cider and to the pumpkin patch for some good carving pumpkins! They had fun picking out "the biggest pumpkin on the patch!" We went to "The Potting Shed" in Middletown and we met the owner of the farm when we pulled in. He found us a great parking spot where "The Beast" would fit as well as the perfect tree for my son to use as a bathroom. When we asked for a bathroom, he noticed Justin jumping up and down and said, "We'll find you a nice little tree ... I need to fertilize anyway."

After we got our pumpkins, I made the kids pose for pictures. As you can see, they were not really into it. I was the shouting Mom that you see at the pumpkin patch telling her kids to smile and act like they're having fun. Once we got the pumpkins home, Todd and Julie arrived. I didn't realize this ahead of time, but this was one of Julie's first years carving pumpkins. She says she remembers doing it as a kid but never really focused on it. She did a great job! We all had dinner and the kids played before they decorated cupcakes. Orange cupcakes. It was a great afternoon and I can't wait to show our jack-o-lanters off nex weekend.

Belcourt Castle

Rhonda and Regan took Annalise and I to a Halloween Party at Belcourt Castle today. The girls wore their costumes and looked beautiful as Ariel (Annalise was Ariel this time) and a litle Wahini. Nathaniel met us there after his football game. The castle was set up with games and prizes for all of the kids - the girls played "Tip the Troll", Pin the stem on the pumpkin, "Fishing", Ring Toss, and a couple others I can't remember. After the games were done, they did a magic show, got balloon creations, and had a costume parade. I think the hit of the day for Annalise was decorating cookies and cupcakes. (She ate quite a few...). She was also quite a ham when she got picked to be an assistant in the magic show!

The life of Justin

Justin's attending 2nd Grade at "Howard W. Hathaway" (he gets after me when I shorten it to "Hathaway") Elementary School this year. He was in Mrs. Marsden's 1st grade class when we got here in January and he's graduated to Mrs. Dufour's class for second grade. I've been volunteering once a week in Mrs. Dufour's class so I get to see him grow and learn new things. Some of the kids in his class are Isiah, Caleb, Janiece (the kids I often work with), Jake (who is Brynn's brother), Nick and Holly (from soccer), Hannah (Tiny Mite Cheerleader), Brennan (self proclaimed author), and many others that I'm learning as the year goes along.

Justin usually rides the bus to and from school but I often find the excuse to drop him off or pick him up. Every morning the principal (Dr. Martin) will stand out front waving to all of the parents regardless of how cold it gets. Justin rides bus 9 and gets dropped off right outside of the door next to his classroom. On the days that I pick him up, I go through the chaos of picking a number and getting in line to check him out in the library. (Yes, you check your kids out at the library...). On the mornings when I drop him off he usually gets out of the car and blows me a kiss before running to the door. Usually he'll yell "I love you Mom" and I melt. Our other favorite time of day is when he gets home from school because, for just a minute, he smiles that special smile that starts in his eyes when he sees us. He's usually got a dog treat with him (compliments of Ms. Caroline, the bus monitor) and Jasmine is so excited to see him that she wags herself into a pretzel. Justin usually comes in and wolfs down a PB&J before we head off to football and the evening slowly winds down on the sidelines of Portsmouth High School's practice field...

Girlfriends

Annalise has made some great friends in Portsmouth. Leah lives across the street and spends a lot of time here playing with both Justin and Annalise. She has two older brothers and she's happy to play girl games with Annalise but just as happy to rough it up with Justin and Bayley when the occasion arises. Regan is a friend Annalise met when she first arrived for ballet class last January. Regan has been more and more involved in her life as ballet continues and as she sits on the sidelines with Annalise while Justin and Nathaniel tough it out on the football field. And who could possibly forget Ava? She's kind of the "little sister" when the girls play during football since she's a little bit younger. She's the sweetest little girl in the world and she has a great time following whatever lead Regan and Annalise play. Gwen and Brynn are the best buddies that Annalise could hope for at school. The three are the "preschool divas" and they play the part well! At the Fall Festival tonight we discovered from Gwen's Mom and Dad that our little one is not the only little diva who refuses to wear anything but a dress. We took Regan with us tonight and the girls were Ariel, Snow White, and Snow White for the evening.

Mom's Magic

To my children: Today was a hard day to be a parent and I spent the day wondering how I could teach both of you how to always be good kids who do the right things. I came up short. I'll always choose "firm but loving" and pray that we're teaching you how to be the best you can be. Sometimes it's hard. I'm writing this because I usually write about the good days and sometimes there are bad days too. The important thing is that we learn from our mistakes, wake up tomorrow, and choose to do better.

Mom and Mom-in-Law: I'm sure that neither of you knew the power of what you were doing at the time, but you both sent me notes about Christmas today. They gave me perspective and made me feel better. Moms are good at knowing when a simple word is needed and you both helped out today even if you didn't know it at the time. Hopefully I'll have the same sense when I have grandchilren of my own who have parents who still need me from time to time.

Apple Picking

We got up and went to Ballet this morning just like normal, but today I had a very good time talking with the moms about healthcare, Bernie Madoff, "the Balloon Boy", President Obama and all of the other topics I usually shy away from. It was a great conversation with representation from the ultra conservative to the very liberal and it had some foreign points of view. There is a lot going on in our world and I'm not sure what to think of it.

What I do know is that my kids are CUTE! (When they're not being completely maddening, that is). Last night they sent me a little bit over the edge and I was Mom'd Out!!! Today, John fixed it all by letting me lounge on the couch in a warm patch of sunshine with my new library book. I have to admit there was plenty of napping sprinkled in, and all the while he kept the kids upstairs entertained with some pixie movie. God Bless my husband!!! After my nap, we went Apple Picking.

Apple Picking was very fun - the Orchard is located in Middletown near the wineries and it sits one of the prettiest streets I've seen in a long time. I now have several new prospects for my "Dream Home". The man who owns the orchard was very friendly and showed us different types of apples, his tree labeling system, and he gave John some more ideas for cooking with apples. Justin got to be in charge of the "apple picker" which involves a long stick so you know he was in heaven!!! We wound up with three bags of apples and when we were checking out, the man who owns the orchard peeled an apple for us with his special corkscrew peeler - it was absolutely delicious!

After we got home, I went scrapbooking with Cindy Ross while John kept the kids at home and made soup with Justin. When I got home, Justin told me exactly how to use a knife and how to rock it back and forth without moving the tip for safety when chopping fruits and vegetables. I believe that he and John had a great everning together. (Annalise was a big girl and played at Leah's for most of the time). John and Justin made a version of Jen's "apple stuff" for dessert and it was the first thing I saw when I walked in the door. I admit, I may have indulged and had it for dinner at 9:00 this evening. Even though I know it had no nutritional value, and I would never let my kids do that, it was darn good!

All in all, it was yet another perfect New England Day!