"No Doctah Evah Gives Anyone Money"

Those who swoon easily, be forewarned, there are pictures of Hallie's stitches. That's right folks, Hallie had to get stitches tonight. It's always such a hard call to know whether to bring your child into the doctor, especially when it's after hours. But, tonight we decided to do just that.

Tonight while I was doing the dishes, I suddenly heard Hallie crying like she had been stabbed. Those of you who know Hallie know that she cries like this mostly when she feels she has been wronged in some way, so I wasn't too concerned. Rachel came up to report that Hallie had somehow hit her head. My response was to have her come up if there was blood -- no one came back up, so I assumed all was well (I know -- super good mom). 30 minutes later everyone came into the family room for scriptures and then some Mario Bros. While Jon was reading scriptures he looked over at Hallie and noticed blood on her pajamas. After some further investigating we realized that she had hit her head while running in the basement and she had a super deep cut -- we didn't notice it because it was hiding under her hair.

We cleaned it up and left the kids playing nintendo while Jon tried to read about head wounds online. After getting through maybe the first bullet point, he had to come and get me to finish reading because he was getting light-headed. I knew he had a hard time with shots/blood, but hadn't realized that it also extended to just reading about those things. Pretty hilarious!

After reading up on it, I decided we should take her to the urgent care around the corner. She was really scared (she could still remember the last time she needed stitches), but she didn't cry or anything. We really had a good experience with the urgent care, which I was super glad about. While I was signing in they let Hallie choose a little teddy bear that she could hold during the stitches. The doctor was really nice to Hallie and treated her with respect. He sat down before doing anything and explained everything that was going to happen, which to Hallie really makes a big difference -- she needs to know every step so she knows what to plan for. The doctor let her know that they were going to be giving her shots around the cut, and it was really going to hurt for about 2 minutes, but then she wouldn't feel anything at all. He promised if she held really still he would give her a special bonus prize. All in all, I really liked the doctor and thought that he approached the situation just right for Hallie.
Hallie was so sweet during the whole thing. She kept asking what they were doing and what different things were for. She cried while they gave her the shots to numb her head, but she didn't move even once. And then, once it was numbed up, she didn't even give a whimper. In fact, they have probably never had a more talkative patient. She just chattered away all during the whole thing telling the doctor all about Easter and Marmee and Grandma -- joking with the doctor about what colors she did and didn't like. In short, she was amazing. The doctor was super impressed that she didn't so much as flinch through the entire process. He told her he had never had such a still patient, adult or child. As a prize for being his best patient ever, he gave her $1!! And then to top it all off, she got a sucker on her way out the door. Who knew that getting stitches could be so good?!
Since the cut had been numbed, Hallie was feeling pretty great. She was excited to come home and show everyone all the things she had gotten. As she was walking downstairs with Jon, I heard her relaying the excitement she had felt at the doctors special prize, and then I heard her say, "No doctah evah gives anyone money!" It made me smile.

Overall, a pretty traumatizing experience for Jon (who still gets dizzy just thinking about Hallie's stitches), and an exciting yet painful one for Hallie. Unfortunately, the numbing shots have worn off now, so Hallie and I are sitting up watching a movie. Hopefully it will keep her mind off her head long enough that she can fall asleep. Wish us luck!

Easter

We have had such a great Easter weekend. It started off with the kids partying it up with the Snarr's at a birthday sleepover for Peter. That left Jon and I with only one kid -- way weird! Sky was in bed by 5:45, and then it was just us for the rest of the night. Pretty sweet, although it did feet strangely empty at our house. Saturday Jon and I (with Sky in tow) spent the morning weeding and planting the peas. That afternoon the Castleton clan (okay, only 3 siblings, their families, and Mom and Dad) came to our house to color eggs and to have an egg hunt. Way super fun. The kids loved searching the backyard for eggs, and some of those eggs were pretty sneakily hidden.

On Sunday we celebrated with the Hansen's. We were the first to arrive (even before Steve and Anita were there) and the last to leave. The kids loved that we got to stay for so long, thus ensuring that we saw all of the cousins and aunts and uncles. It also meant that we got the most snacks because the longer you stay the more you're fed. Yum yum! Anita had some Easter games with prizes and then the much anticipated Easter egg hunt. There is nothing that makes me smile like watching all those grown Hansen kids race around the yard trying the get the most eggs. There's no making sure that everyone gets equal amounts, or even making sure the kids get the most -- it's every man for himself, and it is just so funny to watch. Wahoo for Easter!

Hilarious Hallie

Man, bedtime (for the kids) is the worst for me, and I don't even do the actual putting to bed -- Jon generally takes care of that. It seems that Hallie always realizes there are a million important things to discuss just as she's supposed to be going downstairs. Here's how tonights conversation went:

Me: Finish brushing your teeth and go to bed.
Hallie: Mom, when's my birthday?
Me: Not for a really long time -- it's in December remember?
Hallie: But how many days?
Me: I really don't know Hal. Please just go to bed.
Hallie: Okay. Mom, when is Easter?
Me: Seriously Hal? We just had it yesterday so it will be a whole year.
Hallie: But how many days?
Me: (hoping to stave off any more day questions) Go to bed Hal.
Hallie: You go to bed!
Me: I will.
Hallie: As soon as we go to bed, you go to bed!
Me: Good night Hallie.
Hallie: You good night! (and then mumbled under her breath as she walks toward the stairs) I just really love Christmas.

This is just a sampling of the joys of bedtime with Hallie. She truly is hilarious! I realize that it probably doesn't always seem so funny, but I'm just feeling glad that tonight it was.

Rachel's school musical, Aladdin, was this past weekend. She was an Arabian princess (along with about 50 other girls). Rachel has been so excited for us to see the show. She has really been working hard at memorizing the songs, and more than once serenaded our family with what she was learning.
She did an excellent job (although sightings of her were limited amidst the throng of kids who were in the show). Luckily, Rachel was willing to re-enact her parts for the family on demand, so everyone got to see her numbers up close and personal.
The highlight of doing the show was getting to wear make-up, and not just eyeshadow and blush (which has been done before). Since it was stage make-up Rachel got to wear her make-up super dark, and she got to wear eyeliner and mascara! It was like a dream come true, until we had to wash it off -- I think she realizes that make-up can be a pain.
Rachel loved that so many people came to watch her. So, thank you to all who came and helped her feel that what she was doing was important to you. It meant a lot to her and to us.