What a complete mess! This whole week has been aggravating and hectic. My arm has been really bothering me so I'm not on the computer much anymore. The children have also been banned from all movies during the week, except an occasional educational one. So for them, it's freed up a lot of time that they can spend on other pursuits, such as drawing on their walls, dumping flour over their sister to make her a "ghost", and other assorted fun.

Sigh... They have been doing pretty well though. They only beg about 3 times a day wanting to watch something. The only time I broke down was for the Halloween Tree, but that's educational, right? I mean, you learn about culture, history, geography, etc. :D However, due to a problem with the boys hanging out of their window all the time, CPS was called. We had done everything possible short of nailing them shut and nothing on the market worked. The University doesn't allow us to mount bars. So now, the windows are nailed so they open only partially. We're going to be in a lot of trouble with University when they find out but I saw no other option. We will have to replace the windows when we move, but that's a much smaller price to pay than medical expenses or even a funeral. :(

I took the kids to the library this week and they were reasonably well behaved. We spent an hour there and I came home with several great looking books. Charles also talked me into checking out Monster House but was disappointed that he can't watch it until this weekend. Charles rode his bike all the way there and most of the way home. He did pretty good. That was not our only stop. We also went to an activity where the kids made Leaf Windows. We made a big loop out to the grocery store to get milk and pizza for dinner and then stopped in to see Papa Stu. He was preparing to bottle some wine and Charles enjoyed smelling the wine he was preparing. James just wrinkled his nose and hid behind me. Charles, I think, will be our little connoisseur when he's older and will enjoy the finer things in life.



We had a quick picnic lunch outside and then we all went in for siesta since everyone was exhausted. I was putting clothes away in the girls' room when I heard a huge thud from the boys. I go running in there and James is on the floor holding his arm while Charles was on James' bed laughing maniacally. The little twerp had pushed his brother off of his own bed! I checked his arm but since there wasn't any swelling or obvious brakes, I was hoping that it just might be sore for a few days. However, the next day as we were getting ready to go to the store, I put my hand around his wrist to pull it up so I could put a glove on and he acted like I was cutting his hand off or something; I had barely touched him. He had been sensitive about it all day but with me barely touching him like that it meant something was up. So Carey called James doc to see if we could get an appointment for the next day but we were in luck and were able to see him that night. So James and I hurried of to quickly run to the store for the needed stuff, grab some sandwiches for our dinner (or in James case, a corn dog from the deli), get gas, and we were off. We arrived with good time although, there was a bit of a mix up at first. Apparently, another James had also been scheduled to visit but his mom called and rescheduled and they got the two mixed up! Bleh So here was this nurse trying to tell me that no, James did not have an appointment right then, that I had called and rescheduled and I just wanted to throttle her because obviously I wouldn't be there if I had just called and canceled! Argh... So we finally get back there, they take Mister James' measurement and then the nurse starts jotting down notes and stuff. She asked him what happened and James told her everything up to a point. He was telling her that his left arm was hurt instead of his right. Sigh..... So when I said no, that he had been complaining about his right, at first she looked at me funny but then she put pressure on his right wrist and it was obvious that that was the one paining him so she got this knowing look on her face and just chuckled. The little twerp tried it again with the doc but was soon routed then too. The doc said he thought it was a fracture but sent us up to the hospital for x-rays just in case so I got to sit around in another waiting room for an hour. Sigh... The good thing is that Carey's friend Ben was there for an MRI so we sat and talked for quite a bit so it wasn't so bad then. We finally get back there, James did great with the tech and then was really psyched because he got to see his bones. LOL He liked looking at the x-rays and I'm glad the tech let him. The doc called back the next day to let me that it was just a fracture, and James had to keep the brace he gave me on until it stops hurting him although, if he doesn't cooperate with that, he'll have to get a cast on. So I filled his head with horror stories from when I had to have a cast (itching, awkward baths, shriveled puny skin, etc) and his eyes got real big and he shook his head. LOL So I don't think we'll have any problems there.

When I got back, my friend Patti asked if I could drive her to the store so we ran away for a little while. We ended up at Jo-Ann's big sale where pretty much everything was on ale. I had already been there earlier in the week and wasn't supposed to be there. However I had remembered that I still needed the lining for Deedee's coat (can't beat fleece at half the price) and I also picked up a chunk of pink fleece with orange white flowers (looks better than it sounds) to make Deedee a hat, gloves and a scarf. I also picked up a little chunk from the remnants that was cream with a large gray & black floral with splashes of red to make hat & mittens for Kitty.

James' therapist meetings went well and of course, James just had to tell Kathy all about his arm. I have no idea if he told his therapist Mindy or not since Carey's mom Sue took him to that appointment. Since an adult has to physically be in the building for his preschool, that was a big time crunch so Sue volunteered to take James. Of course, today wasn't the greatest. James decided to be a big butt and we were running really late. He was in a power struggle. He kept pretending he couldn't hear me, and we got caught at several lights because he wouldn't go. Both of the boys were on their bikes and often James would arrive at a crosswalk before me. The sidewalks can be narrow so I couldn't always pull up beside him to get him started on his way. Sigh... We sat through three lights at one intersection before he finally consented to go. So even though Charles was right on time for preschool, James was phenomenally late for his appointment since Sue still had to drive him clear across town. Blech... None of the other kids showed up for Charles' class but he and Deedee had fun anyway with cornstarch goop. They had a blast making that stuff and even Kitty got in on it. James also coined a new term: crocagator. LOL He was playing a magnet game with his therapist Kathy. It was a jungle scean and she handed him a crocadile. She said she wasn't sure which it was, James stared at it for a few seconds and then shouted out crocagator. LOL

The kids hit their gramma up for lunch, the starving little buggers. And they chose the embroidery that was getting put on some Halloween shirts she's making them. Deedee chose a ghost to match her earrings, James wanted bats, Charles insisted on a cat, and an adorable pumpkin was chosen for Kitty. I can't wait to see them.