No complaints

My day....
-Esther wakes up at 6:15.
-Lance feeds Esther and Hans breakfast since I am immovable.
- Hans, Esther, Annette, and I go to the plant nursery to purchase garden stuff.

-Both kids get scratched by nursery cat.
-Find an empty greenhouse to get out of cold wind. (I don't know if it got up to 60 degrees today or not...)
-Pull muscle in back in forsaken greenhouse while trying to pick up screaming daughter.
-Walk across nursery to car, avoiding cat. Put both kids in carseats without bending my back. Entertain kids in car without bending back. Annette finds out plight, drives us safely home.
-Lance gives wonderful backrub while Esther is napping and Hans is with Annette.
-Lance finds animal excrement on my shoe, dispelling fears that I was the stinky one.
-Bring Hans to doctor, find out he is not dying. :)
-I go to chiropractor, find out I am not dying either. Chiropractor uses some electrode mechanism on lower back that on a more intense scale may be used as capital punishment. Chiropractor also procedes to place high-tech ice cubes on me lower, lower, lower back (aka "rear") to "help". (I didn't know you had to go to medical school to put ice down peoples' pants!)
-I go to Starbucks to recoup. I forget about the frosty air and order a smoothie. I proceed to shiver and shake very similarily to the more expensive procedure I had formerly experienced. (Next time maybe I'll just skip right to Starbucks. ;)
-Go home, put Esther down for her second nap.
-Pull same muscle.
-Play in the dirt, eat great supper.
-Esther (1 1/2years old) pees on the potty 2nd time today.
-Esther runs around house without diaper, because I can't catch her and lift her to put a new one on.
-Esther piddles on floor.
-Hans takes bath.
-Hans pees in bath.
-Kids go to bed, and I find chocolate chips.
We had a great day today, and I just have to laugh at what life brings sometimes. I know this isn't in the hall of fame of funny, but this is just a somewhat-average day, a little taste of our life.

All is well

Hans is ok! We took him in today for the appointment to check on the mysterious lump on the back of his neck. The doctor said that he believes it is in fact an enlarged lymph node. He said that it is pretty common, and kids can have enlarged nodes from even a bug bite or being scratched from a comb or fingernail. Good to know. It was so scary, because it is pretty large for a little guy, and I guess it's human nature to always (for me) jump to the worst possible scenario. Thank Jesus that he is well! I too often take for granted what a blessing it is to have healthy children. On the other hand, thinking my child was possibly very endangered really drove me to prayer and a closer pursuit of our Lord. I can't really ever say that I would hope for my child to be on their death bed, but God is always in control and can work mightily even through such a terrible incident as that. I don't say that lightly, please don't interpret that wrong! I know several friends whose children are medically struggling, and it is really hard to see them suffering. Our Lord is powerful and omniscient.

No laughing matter

Kids get skinned knees. Kids get scratches, and bruises that seem to appear out of thin air. It's always a little scary to bring them in for their check-ups.... I'm always hoping the doctor realizes the marks are normal consequences of everyday play.
I found a lump on Hans' neck that is not from everyday wear & tear. About 9 months ago, at his normal, 2-year appointment, I asked the doctor about it. He thought that it was probably an enlarged lymph node from a cold. I proceeded to forget about it until recently when I rediscovered the lump, much larger than before. It's about the size of a dime, hard, and under his skin on the back right-hand side of his hairline. It's really making me very concerned. We have him scheduled to see our doctor on Tuesday afternoon after memorial day. I know this may seem very "motherish" and silly to be so concerned, but would you please pray for him? I'm trying not to be worried about what this could mean, but I really need to be more trusting of God. His ways are above ours, and His thoughts so much higher than ours. He knows what's best, and I need to really trust Him. I know this truth, but our hearts are still heavy.

Hans-isms

Hans has an interesting way of putting things.......
Smokestack- what he calls Esther's ponytail
Pack-pack- hitching a piggyback ride on someone
Kep-itch- ketchup
Noo-noo- name for his bike. The bell makes the sound, "noo-noo" when you ring it.
(not the usual "ding-ding.") He has special ears...
Tire-backer- chiropractor
Boo- what he calls uncle Lincoln. (he used to jump out to scare us and yell, "boo!")

Frequently asked questions..........
"What is that smell?"
"What is that noise?"

Frequent statements.....
"Hans EAT somefing!"
"Hans eat MEAT."
"Esther go nigh-night. Hans watch a movie!"
"Daddy strong, ... just like Hans!"
"Hans NEED..."
"Hans check e-mail!"

Hans' gift

I consider dandelions to be a flower. Now, anyway. My son is 2 & 1/2 and is the sweetest little boy on earth. After getting up on the wrong side, I, the cranky mommy, went to get yesterday's mail. upon returning to the house, my son was waiting for me just inside the front door. He handed me from his warm pocket a shriveled-up yellow flower of particular beauty. He was shy as he pressed into my hand the squished gem, his pudgy little hand soft in mine. As I hugged and thanked him for his gift, he smiled and tried to say, "I love you." I didn't cry, because I didn't want him to become confused and think he had done something wrong. I just hugged him again and gave the flowers a "dwink of water" as he calls it, in a little baby-food jar.
You can't buy those type of mother's day flowers anywhere. They're priceless.

Global Warming

Ah, yes, global warming is upon us. I can't believe the heat, the sinking polar bears, the, wait, what is this? winter in April? oh. my bad.

Sirens

My ears have been ringing on and off for a good two weeks.
The persistant chord of a very high A# and a C# not found in the range of a piano drive me near insanity. If a dog could hear it, I'm sure it would yowl in protest. Deer would run.
I finally asked myself, "why is this happening? Am I going deaf? Am I dying of some rare disease? Where is my chocolate?"
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.
My daughter is teething. She's pretty sure she's dying, but it's just teeth. She either has absolutely NO pain tolerance, (plus a kick for being dramatic), or it really is quite painful to the general population to get eyeteeth and molars at the same time. She will not let me set her down without throwing herself upon the floor (thunking her head pretty well), and so she just hangs on me and screams bloody murder right into, you guessed it, my ear. Little Darling, we call her. She is, really. I feel bad for her. It's gotta hurt, don't you think? She's tired, because even with Tylenol and OraJel, she is highly miserable most of any 24 hour period. Can't sleep. Neither can we. I just lie awake and listen to the melodious sound of.... sirens.

Helping out with laundry