Somebody is Turning Into a Teenager

 James is an official teenager.

The boys helped me set up for a Batman party, decorating the room and pulling out the fun foods that James requested.

My helpful decor crew.  I was not very functional at the time and they helped a ton.

The boys had paninis, chips, and soda, the latter two which I allow for only special treats.  Baby had eight mini-glasses of squirt soda.  Apparently he knew to take advantage of the opportunity.  The rest of the boys drank up too.

Then came cake.  

James wanted homemade brownies and ice cream for his birthday.  However, his dad is out of town, so we decided to celebrate when he gets back.  But James still wanted a party and treat on his actual birthday.  I acquiesced.  So he gets two parties.  Spoiled much James?

I got him a yummy smelling oreo cookies and and cream ice cream cake.

And boy, was he excited!

At thirteen, he feels he is old enough to light his own candles.

We sang a very off key rendition of happy birthday...

...and then he made his wish!

The boys all approved of the cake.

Ev decided this was the best party he has even been to.

James tried on his new Batman shirt.  Unfortunately he couldn't get his other shirt off and got stuck.  It was very funny.

I think this is one happy birthday boy.  

Now, if only we can figure out how to convince him to stop growing...

Clumsy, Thy Name is Mine

You know that voice that sometimes comes with a warning?

I got that yesterday.  

I was getting ready to head downstairs and the little voice said,"Don't forget to hold onto the banister."

Like a teenager, I gave attitude to the voice.  "Duh.  I always hold onto the banister since I broke my leg last fall."

But I grabbed for the banister anyway.

And within the second step down, my left ankle rolled under me and I went crashing down.  Because I was holding onto the rail, I sort of swung sideways and crashed down just one step.

I know what you are thinking.  Because I was thinking it too - in the split second from roll to crash.  Seriously?!  Did I seriously just fall down the stairs again?!

I sat down and took a breath so I could assess the damage.  

My left ankle (the previously injured one) hurt yet again.  My right foot smarted like crazy, down near the toes, and my knee was skinned.  What am I five?

I picked myself up and gingerly put my weight on my feet.  Pain shot up both legs.  Well...shoot.

My husband was out of town again, my children needed to be picked up, and I am in the middle of packing the house for a move.  I do not have time to go to the ER.  I do not have time to break anything.

I had to go get the kids from school, so I grabbed Ev's hand and carefully hobbled my way to the car, praying with every step that the pain would go away. 

And as I sat in the car, waiting for kids to come out, I tried to ignore the pain that was persistent in both appendages.

By the time I got home, I could barely walk in to the house.

The boys brought me two ice bags, one for each tweak.

It was also the day of my oldest child's birth.  Thank goodness I had done everything but decorate for him.  

After two bags of ice on each foot, I carefully made my way downstairs to celebrate James' birthday.  

My ankle is definitely tweaked, probably slightly sprained and my big toe is most likely broken or severely sprained.

It hurts to walk.  But at least I can move. 

I iced them again before bed, hoping that I would be able to walk in the morning.  And by this morning, my ankle is stiff and my toe throbs...but I can still walk.  

The joint just below my toe is swollen but a broken toe is doable.  Way better than a fractured fibula.

I am thanking my God and my lucky stars that I was holding onto the banister.

I don't know why stairs have always been so hard on me but I have been falling down stairs since we moved to a house with them when I was in my teens.  Oddly it became something of a family joke.  I even fell down a flight on stairs on my honeymoon cruise.  Husband took a picture for the album...because that's a memory to keep.  

I suppose I can blame my wankles (weak ankles that tend to roll a lot) but I think that it is probably best to admit defeat and convince my husband to install one of those stair chairs in the new house for me so that I never have to rely on my wankles to get me safely downstairs again.   

In the meantime, I am carefully walking, grabbing onto everything in sight for stability, and listening extra hard for that quiet, little voice.  It clearly knows better than me.

James and the Doughboys

James went out with the doughboys on his own last week.  He also did an incredible job on a fifty-miler with his dad a few days before.  

Love in a Box

As a thank you, I was given a box of chocolates.  

My boys immediately knew that I wouldn't be able to eat any of the treats and they were high fiving each other on the way home because they knew that that meant that they could have the chocolates.

So a few days ago, I pulled out the box and let the boys enjoy them.

Some of the boys enjoyed them more than other boys...

And this is our little cutie as he is driving away from getting his first valentine from a girl...who according to her father, may or may not be betrothed to our son because our son put the moves on her a while back and held her hand.  Looks like he is happy about the possibility...

Building

As we move through every inch of our home and decide what to keep and what to get rid of, some of us get a little more distracted than others.  

Interests

For months now, Baby Ev has been overly interested in bathrooms.  He loves them.  He loves the faucet with the water, he loves the flushing toilet, he loves locking himself in.  So for months now, we've done our best to always keep the bathroom doors shut.



But like a shark that smells blood in the water and them hones in on the target, Ev has a sixth sense to know if one of the doors hasn't been completely latched shut.  He'll scamper off.  We'll hear a door shut, water being turned on, splashed around, toilets flushing.  And we will know that this work is not to be blamed on Steve the Ghost.  It's Ev.  Always.



And after he took advantage of a breach yet again yesterday, I was reminded of this sketch.



He may be no more interested in sewage then other people...then again, he may be a little more interested than other people.

The Fun Keeps Going and Going and Going...

My dad got Everett this card for his birthday six months ago.  It is the kind of card that, when opened, plays music, in this case, the tigger song.  Ev still loves to play with it. 

I love how he dances every time he hears music.  He may have no rhythm yet but his body is the kind that just needs to move to music.  It is so fun to watch!