Bloody lips and graham crackers

Last night I had to make a run to Quantico to drop off a new prescription at the pharmacy.

My cell phone only gets reception on the edge of the base over by the commissary and MCX. Once I "head into the woods" as the girls like to say, I have no reception.

As soon as I got back in reception area after leaving the pharmacy my cell phone alerted me to 3 waiting messages. THREE!! I was in the pharmacy less than 15 minutes and out of range for maybe 20 minutes.

My heart started racing.

First message from husband "You need to call me ASAP!"

Second message "Call me as soon as you get this. McKinley busted her lip open and I am pretty sure she needs stitches."

Third message "Tracey stopped by and he agrees that McKinley needs stitches. Reagan is across the street and I am taking McKinley to the Urgent Care Clinic."

I raced back to Stafford to meet them at Urgent Care.

The problem is there are two Urgent Care Clinics in Stafford and only one accepts Tricare Prime. Fortunately husband got this information ahead of time, so he went to the right one. I sat in the parking lot of the other wondering where they were.

I finally called and husband said the Urgent Care Clinic couldn't do stitches, so he was taking her to Mary Washington Hospital ER in Fredericksburg.

Could someone please define Urgent Care for me? Bandaids and Motrin, I guess.

So, I told him I would meet him down there since I had her Tricare card. Then we realized we were less than a mile apart, so he stopped at 7-11 and waited for me to catch up and give him the card. Truth be told, I really wanted to see how bad my baby's lip looked.

She is one of the toughest kids on the planet. She was laughing and smiling when I pulled up even thought her shirt was covered with blood and her lip was pretty puffy. She happily showed me the lollipop the doctor at Urgent Care gave her and told me it was watermelon and it was de-li-cious!

I picked Reagan up from the neighbors and we came home and waited for husband and McKinley to return.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, close to 1:00 am, they got home.

Husband reported that she screamed bloody murder when they numbed her lip, but that she was fine now.

She was very groggy, but proudly showed me her two stitches.

I took her upstairs to get her ready for bed.

She had been clutching two packages of graham crackers since she got out of the truck.

When I started to take her shirt off, she remembered she had them and said "Oh, wait mommy!"

She walked over to her sister who was sound asleep and put one package beside her on the bed and said "Here sister, I got some crackers for you."

Then she turned and handed the other package to me. "They gave me crackers at the doctor and I got some for you and Reagan, too."

Makes a mommy proud!!

Hurricane Damage

Last Friday we were pounded pretty hard by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan. We had torrential downpours, tornados - thankfully none touched down near us, and very strong winds.

When the remnants of Frances (or was it Gaston?) came through I took the opportunity to give the girls an impromptu lesson on hurricanes. We went to the Quantico Marina and stood out on the pier and watched as the winds and waves tossed the boats around. Now, it wasn't too bad because there were people out on the water in larger sailboats - though I had to question how many full sea-sick bags they had on board. But, it was enough to show them how strong Mother Nature can be.

I guess the hurricane lesson and constantly having the television on The Weather Channel or FoxNews for hurricane updates, complete with impending-doom music, sank in.

Saturday morning when the girls let the dog out Reagan exclaimed "Oh no, Mommy!! We have hurricane damage!!"

And, she was right.

The Great Caterpillar Rescue

This morning I sent the girls down to the basement to let the dog out while I went out on the deck to dry off the grill and put the cover on. Husband forgot last night, but remembered this morning - after he got to work.

"Oh no!"

"What's wrong McKinley?"

"Oh no! Oh no!! Mommy! Hurry come here!

As I ran down the stairs and through the wet grass Reagan joined in on the chorus of exclamations.

They were standing in the doorway looking up at the overhang.

"Look, mommy. That caterpillar is caught in the spider's web."

This is what I traisped through wet grass for!?

"Why is it stuck in there? The caterpillar needs to go back to his family! He needs his family!! He has to go to his cocoon"

And, then the tears started flowing.

I tried to explain the purpose of the spider's webs and how they help spiders catch their food so they can eat.

Bad move.

"NO!! Caterpillars are not food! They turn into beautiful butterflies. Mean spiders should not eat them!"

"Everyone should have a chance to turn into a beautiful butterfly." Reagan added as tears started rolling down her face.

I'm convinced.

I took a stick and detached the spider web from the overhang. Then I put the caterpillar in my hand (I hate touching crawly things, by the way) and the three of us started gently pulling the stands of web off of him.

When we finally had him free enough I put him down in the grass and he crawled away.

My now smiling girls, tears long gone, wrapped themselves around me in one of the biggest hugs I've had in a long time.

"Good job, mom!!"

"You're the bestest caterpillar saver in the whole world. You are a superhero."

"When I see him after he gets to be a butterfly, I'm going to tell him 'Thank my mom.'"

Oh, look. Here come the tears again. But, this time they are mine.

Is it October, yet?

Reagan has asked me this question no less than 10 times over the past week.

Finally, today I asked her if she was looking forward to October because Tia and Wita (husband's sister and mother) were coming for a visit?

She said "No. That's not why."

Then, I asked if it was because she and McKinley were going to spend a few days in Arkansas with Khaki (my mom) while husband and I go to Dallas for a convention.

"Nope. That's not it either."

Well, then help me out here kiddo. Mommy is drawing a blank.

"Because Food Network says October is when kids get to cook! And, I am really excited about that!"

And, I guess she is. She just brought me a picture she has been working on for nearly 20 minutes. It is a chef - a pretty darn good one for a 4-year-old with all kinds of food around him. There are carrots, cheese, cabbage, apples, cherries, oranges, strawberries, broccoli and asparagus covering the page. She is so very proud of herself!

And, so am I.

Is it October, yet?

Costco

really should have special hours set aside for people who do not hurdle carts and knock over old ladies to get bite-sized samples of food.

Seriously, if folks are that hungry Costco has a very reasonably priced snack bar.

Yesterday, I actually witnessed a man in a suit push past two older ladies to get a sample of Italian Ice.

I am assuming he had just come from church. I am also assuming he slept through the sermon or it didn't take, unless the sermon was "Others be damned. Look out for number 1."

I really need to tape a piece of paper to my steering wheel with the following:
1. Look at a calendar.
2. If the date is the 1st or the 15th DO NOT go to the commissary.
3. If the day begins with an "S" DO NOT go to Costco - or any other store in the greater DC or Fredericksburg area for that matter.

My basement smells like

a doggie house of ill repute.

Last night I wasn't feeling well, so I went to the bedroom to lie down and watch a little mindless TV leaving husband in charge of the children and the dog.

That was my first mistake.

I heard him tell the girls to go let Cooper out and make sure he had water.

No problem there. He is their responsibility in certain areas and they do a good job.

About 30 minutes later the bedroom door flew open and my little darlings came running in asking in they could lie down with me.

Then it hit me, just as McKinley was about to leap onto the bed.

"Why do you two smell like a whor... er, what is that smell?"

"We sprayed Cooper because he smelled yucky."

"How many times?"

"I sprayed him 4 times because I am 4." Reagan informed me.

"I sprayed him 3 times because I am 3! McKinley added with great delight.

All I could think is how glad I was husband didn't spray him.

Apparently in the process of spraying the dog (one squirt of the doggie perfume is almost too much) they managed to get it all over their clothes and in their hair.

Ugh! Can't a mommy be sick and get some rest for just a little while?

After getting all cleaned up and smelling like little girls I did let them come in and snuggle with me.

Cooper is banished to the basement until his eau de cologne wears off. Just opening the basement door is enough to nearly knock you down.

Ah, what I would give for a dead bird carcass for him to roll around on.

Do you know

how much you can get done around the house when the cable internet is on the fritz for nearly two days?

A veritable butt load!!

My house is nice and squeaky clean and no one is allowed to touch anything.