After today, I think I need to invest in a first aid handbook. First, Ham came downstairs this morning with a gushing nose bleed.  I’ve heard people say tilt your head back but common sense told me that would just make it run down her throat. Then I thought I remembered that you are supposed to tilt your head forward and pinch your nostrils but it seemed like tipping the head forward would just make the blood run out faster. So, I sent my son the computer to google “how to stop a nose bleed.”  Thankfully it stopped faster than our computer.  Then at the pool babe-o’s got stung by a yellow jacket on her little pinky toe.  I’m thinking a nice paste of baking soda- or is it meat tenderizer- would have been good. 

We haven’t even covered last week in the country which had Ham getting stung by a single wasp three times on her big toe and our oldest getting a huge burn on his arm from the tractor’s exhaust pipe.  Again, all I could think of was what you are not supposed to do to a burn, which is put butter on it.  I should have been a nurse.

Thank goodness we’re all not afraid of the same things in our family. We’ve each had our turn freaking out over the various creatures we encounter in the Bristol hills of New York.

My son was delighted to find a single deer leg in our front field. Not sure how it got there and spent a good amount of time figuring out what animal could take down a deer. I think we determined that it was a pack of coyotes.

The mice don’t bother me so much as long as they don’t get into the good snacks, but I do not care for the spiders. While Ham has had her share of bee stings, including one on her big toe while she was laying on a raft in the pool, and doesn’t care to have anymore.

As I was trying to get three little people (and one husband) out the door at 7am for an early flight, I recalled my sister-in-law Susie reading aloud words from the book, “Breaking the Good Mom myth,” that asked if we parent as a “leader and a guide” or do we parent as a “boss and a nag?”  Ha.  Any smart mom knows how to be a boss when she needs to.

I’m always amazed at how much stuff I need to pack for a trip and why is it that my husband can fit all the things he needs for a  week into a carry-on bag?  Anyway, my bossiness paid off and we made it to the airport on time.   My stress melted away on the plane when babe-o’s looked out her window at the clouds and exclaimed, “look where we are- where God lives!”

Last night a flu bug forced me to do something that I’m always threatening to do- i got into bed early, as in the same time as the kids which was 8:30.  I know moms don’t often get to take sick days so I thought I’d at least take a  ”sick night.”    The kids were dumbfounded.  First Babe-o’s came in and asked what I was doing.  I told her I didn’t feel well and was going to bed early.  “Why do you get to watch tv?” she asked.  Next out of bed was Ham who wanted to know if she could get in bed with me and keep me company.  And finally our oldest came in and that’s when I told them the next one out of bed would be grounded. 

But most astounding was my dear husband who had camouflaged himself with a wonderful bedside manner coming in to feel my forehead and see if there was anything I needed.

We just wrapped up a five day visit with the kids’ cousins from Ohio. They love playing together and I always enjoy my sister-in-law Susie.

She is the Queen of Theme and made us an Asian dinner one night – with fortune cookies, and made more things out of a watermelon than I can remember including, watermelon margaritas for us and smoothies for the kids. The mommy cocktails were very much needed after a day spent as tourists in the  windy city.  We wised up after a day or so and realized the kids were happiest playing at home in the sprinkler..and so were we!

As we sat on my porch very much enjoying doing nothing,  we recalled that when we were little our moms didn’t worry if WE were having a good time.  No, Susie’s mom dragged her around antiquing while my mom made me go to Higbees Department store and watch her shop.  That made us feel less guilty about going out to play tennis while my dear husband fed five children and put them to bed. It was the perfect end to the week.

Babe-o’s had a little playdate today and when I picked her up she was wearing her friend’s tutu and was sporting a new hairdo. As I admired the five ponytails on her head she said, “Rosie’s sister gave me a new hairdude.” It was a hairdude indeed.

When you swim with your kids do you paddle around trying to stay dry from the shoulders up? I was happily reading a book, watching my mom swim with the kids over the Fourth of July, until it occured to me that I do the “mom swim!”

I’m not saying I’m going to do a cannon ball off the diving board any time soon… but I need to be more fun at the pool.  I’ll start tomorrow since I just washed my hair.