Hail!

We had an awesome hail storm this morning — better than I’ve ever seen. The boys (once I pried them away from the pbskids.org game they were playing) were amazed. And they had a great time shoveling ice in the backyard when it was done.

Two Workers

We replaced the well-worn awnings on the new house and this morning Bruce installed the new ones. Finn was a huge help, as usual.

Bruce and Finn work on the awnings

Two workers

And here’s the fruit of all their labor.

New awnings

What the Boys Are Up To

I haven’t kept up very well this week, so here’s one post with some of the stuff the boys have been doing.

Working in the yard …

Working in the backyard

Building up the soil around the garage

Swimming in the bathtub …

Swimming in the bathtub

Hanging out in a tree at Cottage …

Finn hangs out in a tree

And, composing a Batman song with Teacher Art …

Finn and Teacher Art

First Fire

Bruce and the boys decided to try out the fireplace tonight. Finn was very excited to show me their handiwork.

First fire - Finn shows off their handiwork

The boys really enjoyed watching the fire and, more so, throwing newspaper in to keep it going. We need to get a fireplace screen, but for the time being, the fireplace is a hit!

Admiring the flames

Finn examines the fire

And here’s a wider shot of the living room that I took last night. We made a lot of progress over the weekend, and we now have the beginnings of an actual living room! And curtains! Fishbowl, be gone!

Hey, it's a living room!

The New View

Our cold and rainy night translated into one of my favorite things — snow-capped mountains! We woke up to a lovely view from our bedroom window this morning.

Snow on the mountains

Snow on the mountains

100s Project

To celebrate the 100th day of school at Aveson, the students do a 100s project — basically just a project using 100 of some item. There aren’t many restrictions — they prefer found, made or recycled objects and the kids have to be able to carry their final product. Ezra decided to collect 100 leaves, which he and Bruce did yesterday. Then Bruce got out the hot glue gun (his favorite toy) and they mounted them to a foam board. Here’s the result.

100s Project

Ezra actually used 99 leaves and 1 push-pin that he found in the garden. He is very proud of his project and can hardly wait to bring it to school on Tuesday.

100s Project

Some Progress

While the inside of the house is still a disaster (and let’s not even mention the back or front yards), the painters are done with the outside and we’re very happy with the results. We’re awaiting new awnings but here’s what we look like today.

Before:

Front

After:

Progress

Goin’ Way Back

I was doing some packing today and came across a CD labeled “Ezra Pics @ KJK Party 5/05” so I popped it into the computer to see what they were. They were, of course, pictures of Ezra taken in May 2005 when he was two months old. So cute!

Baby Ezra!

Baby Ezra

Baby Ezra

Thanks, Aaron!

Let’s Not Do That Again, OK?

A mere couple of hours after I snapped the picture of the boys watching cartoons in my previous post, things took a turn for the worse. At about 11:00 I noticed Finn felt really hot and when I took his temperature it was 104.4. I gave him a dose of Tylenol and put a call in to the pediatrician to see if I should take him to Urgent Care. A few minutes after that I walked into the family room to find him face down on the couch having a seizure. When I picked him up he was dead weight and unresponsive. I started yelling for Bruce, who came running from outside. I handed Finn to Bruce and called 911, screaming at the poor operator to send an ambulance.

The ambulance (and to Ezra’s delight, fire truck) came and took Finn and me down to Huntington’s ER. The paramedics could see that I was scared to death, and they assured me right away that he would be fine. They said what the doctors later confirmed — Finn had a febrile seizure caused by a spike in his fever. Apparently it happens a lot with little kids because their bodies can’t tolerate the sudden rise in temperature. They all did a good job of assuring me that he was OK, while confirming that seeing your child having a seizure is terrifying (and that we did the right thing by calling 911).

It took Finn a while to recover once we got to the hospital. He was very sleepy and we couldn’t seem to keep him awake for more than a few seconds, which was worrisome. When I finally felt like we were out of the woods, I snapped a picture for posterity’s sake.

Sleepy Finn in the ER

About an hour after he got a dose of Motrin, he finally started to perk up. And by perk up, I mean beg for food. Luckily we had a granola bar or we might have been in trouble.

Feeling a little better and having a snack

Our stay in the ER lasted about three and a half hours and when we left his temperature was 99.8. He’s had a few more spikes since we got home, but this time we jump right on it with medication and a lukewarm bath. So far, so good.

I was worried that Ezra would have some anxiety over this episode, but he seems fine. We were lucky enough to have Jerri come get him from the ER so he didn’t have to wait the whole time. (Everyone should have a great friend who lives a couple of blocks from the hospital and volunteers weekly in the ER so she can just waltz right back to the restricted area!) Once they got to her house, she tried to grill Ezra for details but he had none. I think the extent of his reporting was that the fire truck came.

All kidding aside, this incident made me realize just how fortunate our little family has been health-wise. I know several children with serious life-threatening health issues, and parents who have to deal with ambulance rides, ERs and hospital stays on a regular basis. I feel so lucky that Finn’s seizure is not related to any greater problem, and my heart goes out to the families I know and love who have to handle medical emergencies all the time.

Sick, Sick, Sick

After a couple of weeks of off-and-on runny noses and coughs, I finally took the boys in to get checked out by the doctor. Verdict: viruses. So, nothing much to do but wait. However, Finn also has a fever (103.3 last night), so the doc said to watch him carefully and bring him back Monday if it’s not gone.

Our best laid plans of four hours of babysitting this morning (we can get so much done in four child-free hours!) have crumbled and the boys are parked on the couch watching old Tom & Jerry cartoons (which they think are hysterical).

Sick, sick, sick

As a side note, they both got weighed at the doctor’s office yesterday. Ezra: 43.0 pounds; Finn: 43.4 pounds. Little brother for the win! He is one solid little linebacker.

Batman’s Errands

Finn and I had some errands to do on Wednesday and he wanted to wear his Batman mask.

Batman

My favorite part was that when I told him we were going to pick up Papa from work he said, “Mommy, don’t tell Papa that I am Batman!”

Building a New House …

… or at least that’s what it feels like. Bruce and I have never done as much major work to a house all at once. When we renovated our first house, we took it slow and Bruce did most of the work himself. But, since we’re trying to move into our new house in just over a week, we’ve got roofers, plumbers, painters, drywallers, wrought iron workers and electricians working at the same time. The house is a hub of activity. It’s exciting and a bit unsettling. It reminds me of one of my favorite Richard Scarry stories.