Running in NOLA...

As mentioned in the previous post, I ran the Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans half marathon on Sunday, March 4th. It was really hard for me to leave that Saturday morning, just after Toben's visit to the ER. I was so worried about his teeth! However, my amazing husband had it all well under control. He encouraged me over and over to go ahead and leave, to enjoy my time with Erin, and to run the race that I had been working hard towards. (He later would tell me over the phone that it's probably a good thing that I was out of town that weekend, as I would likely be obsessing over Toben the whole time had I been home! Ahh, truth.)
So, off to New Orleans we went and we had a great time! Sunday, race day, saw PERFECT weather and gorgeous conditions for running. It was a cool start in the upper 40s/low 50s. There were some hilarious spectator signs along the run -- two of my favorites were "This is the WORST parade EVER!" in reference to the Mardi Gras parades held just a couple weeks prior, and "You've got stamina - call me!" seen at mile 12 (OK, that one was a little on the sketchy side, but at that point it made me chuckle and helped me to re-focus!). Erin and I ran together until mile 11, where she encouraged me to go on ahead. I finished in 2:35 and she was shortly behind me at 2:38. This is ten whole minutes shaved off of my time in San Antonio! I was excited about that. New goals are in the works for next fall... I don't think I'll run any more half marathons this spring and summer -- it's getting too hot too fast! Maybe some 5K's and 10K's though.

These photos are in crazy order. Oops!
Highlights of the trip: Seeing where Erin grew up (in Mandeville, right across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans), seeing where she went to nursing school in NOLA, driving around historic NOLA along the race route, running the half (duh!), eating beignets at Cafe Du Monde, walking around the French Quarter and along Pirate's Alley (first pic above), sleeping in on Monday morning, napping on Sunday afternoon, spending time with Erin.

It's Bound to Happen, Right?

This rough-and-tumble kiddo took a particularly rough tumble on Friday evening, March 2nd while playing on the playground at Chick-fil-A after dinner. It was the night before I was to leave for New Orleans, where I was to run a half marathon that Sunday. Awesome timing.

We had gone to CFA for a later dinner, just to get out and be together as a family after a long week. Ryan's hours have increased with an increased work load, and he was graciously taking care of all three boys for 3 days that weekend while I was out of town. We had finished dinner and the boys were playing for a little while while we watched. Toben came down the slide, hopped up, and skipped back to the stair steps to climb back up and do it all over again. On one of his skips, he tripped and went face-first into the lowest step... His upper teeth went through his lower lip... A mess of blood, ice, napkins, spilled milkshakes, hurried little ones, and tears and fear ushered us out the door and on our way to the ER.

Fortunately, my parents were able to meet us and take the older two boys while Ryan and I tended to Toben. We knew his lip was in bad shape, but we weren't sure about his teeth (which is what was causing me the most concern and fear at that moment). Thankfully we had virtually NO wait in the ER, and were seen almost immediately. Praise God! Topical lidocaine was applied to T's lip -- Ryan sat and held strips of gauze soaked in the anesthetic on his lip for nearly 20 minutes, and Toben sat there so still on the gurney. The ER doctor came in and examined his lip, and determined that stitches were indeed necessary (he even pointed out that he could probably stick a Q-Tip through the lesion... I about passed out). We helped to wrap Toben up like a little mummy to restrain his arms and legs, and I excused myself since I didn't know how I would handle watching him get stitches. I have a bit of an issue with needles, you see, and I didn't want to make this any more traumatic than it already was (apparently just for me -- Toben was a total champ). Three stitches and NO crying later, we were allowed to leave with a prescription for antibiotics to ward off infection in his tender gums where a couple of teeth were a bit loose.
I'm happy to report that he is looking nearly back-to-normal now! His lip is still a bit larger than it used to be, but I'm sure there is some scar tissue in there. I ended up taking out his stitches this past week -- they were supposed to come out on their own a week prior, but were being quite stubborn. I may have issues with my boys getting stitches, but I can definitely take them out! His teeth look to be just fine after a week of eating only soft foods. There is a slight discoloration to a couple of them, but I may be the only one who can tell at this point.

We are so thankful to our God who heals for watching over our Toben!

A "Real" Moment...

So, I feel the need to be real for a moment. Not that all the great, fun things I share aren't real moments either, but for the sake of my own memory and any other moms of small children possibly reading this I feel the need to share what life is like in this House of (Small) Boys.

It's wild. As in, bouncing on the couch and chairs and jumping from one to another wild. As in, constantly climbing on the cabinetry wild. As in, running around like banshees with colanders on the head and wooden spoons in hand wild. As in, gathering all the pillows and couch cushions in the house and making a pile to jump in wild. As in, this all happens in the span of 10 minutes wild.

I had good intentions of taking the boys to a local mini-golf place this morning. After all, it is Spring Break, and we should be doing fun things every day, right? Ha. We have been sleeping later than normal (thank you, time change, for making that possible this week) and being a lot less structured in our days. Well, the morning started out with Toben climbing out of his bed and undressing, then pottying on his floor. Cleanup on Aisle 3 at about 8:10am. One load of laundry was begun, and Caleb and Logan were awake shortly after. After settling the boys with a cartoon in our room, I hopped into the shower for a quick cleanup of myself, as it's been since Tuesday night since I last showered. Out to the kitchen to fix breakfast (and a cup of coffee for myself) with a wet head. While trying to fix breakfast (cinnamon rolls), Toben opened the fridge and as quick as lightning spilled my favorite coffee creamer all over the floor in the kitchen. Cleanup on Aisle 2. Back to fixing cinnamon rolls. It's now 9:20am. Pulled Logan down off of the kitchen countertop. Pulled Toben out of the fridge again. Put the cinnamon rolls in the oven, finally. Break up a fight between two boys, calm a crying child and put another one in time-out. Pull the rolls out of the oven. It's now 9:45. Let's eat! Logan spills milk on the table and himself. Cleanup on Aisle 1. Bring Toben back to the table so that he doesn't get sticky cinnamon rolls all over the couch. Clean up the table and boys after breakfast -- thankfully, Caleb helps me with this. Send Caleb to get dressed, make his bed and brush his teeth. Re-heat my coffee. Chase a naked Logan around the house to try to put clothes on him, and reprimand him for stripping down and sitting naked on the couch. It's now about 10:15am. Send Logan to brush his teeth while getting Toben out of Caleb's bathroom, where he's flooded the sink while I was dressing Logan. Cleanup, again. Wrestle Toben to dress him. It's now 10:45am.

As you've figured out, we didn't go to play mini-golf. I, however, need a nap. And a hairdresser. This head is out of control. Oh, the irony.

Instead, we did load up and go to one of our neighborhood parks for about an hour before coming home for a late lunch. It was a good release for all of us -- we all needed space to run, jump, climb, and (for me) breathe. It's easy for me to feel incredibly overwhelmed with these three busy boys, not to mention keeping up with the house and a small business.

I did remember the laundry after returning. Right now, the dryer is running to hopefully get Toben's favorite lovey, Monkey, dry enough for nap time.

And now, as a treat for finishing this ever-so-exciting diatribe, some photos from the morning. Enjoy.