It's back!!!!

The pink eye, that is. This time it is Joel, and I am expecting that I will get it next.

Joel woke up at 4:24 this morning crying because his eyelashes were crusted together. Poor baby! We didn't know that he had it until then. Steve was up by then, too, so we cleaned his eye and then fought him to get some drops in. Evan was bad with the drops, but Joel is even worse! I am going to have a LOT of trouble trying to get them in by myself.

So, there went our plans to go to the movies today. Thankfully we had some movies from the library, so I decided we would have a movie day at home. I was hoping this would help us all by minimizing the things that Joel, and then Evan or I, touched. I forgot that Joel doesn't sit still for movies very long. Evan does, so I was hoping that at least that would help. Alas, Joel feels the need to be in his brother's space and messing with him. So, now I am trying to keep them physically separated.

As for the movies themselves, the first one from the library was so scratched that it didn't work at all. The second one was working, until close to the end when it apparently broke the DVD player. It started skipping and then the screen just went kind of stripey, with green, red, yellow, etc. I can't even get the DVD player to eject the disc. Right now we are watching tv and later we will try the VCR.

So, it is one of those days where everything is going wrong, or at least not according to my plans. At least Joel is still doing well with the potty-training today, even though he doesn't feel all that great. Yeah, let's focus on the positive!

Playing doctor

The boys have been playing a lot of doctor and hospital in the past 3 weeks or so. I wonder what could have prompted that, hmmm?

*flashback*

They play this game together, and Joel plays it by himself with the toys. I know that they give "flu" shots sometimes and that the animals cry sometimes, but then they are consoled and things are better. (All shots are referred to as flu shots by the boys.) In the first picture Joel is giving Evan a shot. Joel's bed is usually the hospital bed, although we have also found them using the changing table as the bed.

Joel still remembers the incident and talks about it, but his toe is much better now. The nail bed is the only part of his toe that still looks injured. He only complains about it hurting when he doesn't want to do something that he has been told to do. This is how one of those episodes typically plays out: he will start to walk, jump up, throw himself into a sitting position with his legs under his bottom, and say (or cry) that he can't walk because his toe hurts or because he keeps falling. Very mysterious how he keeps "falling" in this unusual manner, or how his toe could possibly be hurting after all of that. All of me would be hurting if I tried something like that.

In other related news, Evan has been to the doctor for a continued nasty cough. He saw a nurse practitioner who said that he had a "little" bronchitis. She said that it was probably viral and best to let it run its course. He is mostly fine, but every time he has a coughing attack I cringe. He doesn't complain about it, and he is acting just fine. He hasn't even had a fever. VBS probably just made it last a little longer because it was such a tiring week.

The boys have been to the pediatrician 4 times since we got home from our July 4th trip. Hopefully, we will have fewer visits in August! (Dare I hope for fewer visits for the rest of the year?)

A pleasant breakfast conversation

Joel (to Dad): Can I see your eyeballs?

Dad shows Joel his eyeballs

Joel: Can I pop them out?

Dad: No, we can't pop our eyeballs out.

Evan: Unless you're dead.

**silence**

Dad: I don't even know what to say. What's wrong with you guys?

Hmmm. Is this a boy thing or a 5-year-old thing?

Exhausting!

That about sums up my week. VBS was fun, but I came home and took a nap almost everyday. Last night I went to bed about 6 or 6:30, got up about 9:30, went back to bed about 11 or midnight and slept until 9am. I then took another (shorter) nap while Steve and the boys went swimming. The boys went to bed early last night, too, but apparently they are still tired because they have been very grumpy today. Looks like it will be another early-to-bed night.

Here are a few shots from Evan's adventures in VBS this week.

practicing his music

listening carefully at story time

singing in the program on Friday

And here are some from Joel's adventures.
He cried every day when I dropped him off. After a ritual of several hugs and kisses, he took his place under the table with his blankie and paci. The teachers assured me that this was for my benefit and that by the end of the week he came out quickly after I left.

with one of his favorite youth helpers

at the program - he was not supposed to be participating, but ...

Blueberries!

Okay, so this blog is really about two topics, but both have to do with blueberries. The first is that when we were in MS for July 4th we got to pick some really yummy blueberries at my dad's house. Evan enjoyed getting to participate in the picking and was really good at it. We all enjoyed eating them, although I put most of them in the freezer and am not letting anyone get at them right now.

The second is that this week is VBS at our church! You might be wondering what that has to do with blueberries. We are studying the fruits of the spirit and in keeping with that theme Evan's group is called the "Blueberries". They are a cute little group of kindergarteners! We are also taking two of the girls from Evan's class last year with us, and the four kids are having a great time together.

Joel is also going, but he stays in one class the whole time. His class is called "The Pea Pod". How cute is that! He really didn't like staying without me the first day, but he is getting better.

I am one of the storytellers of the VBS. We are taking turns with the duties. I told the story Monday and am on again on Friday. We will also have a closing program that day, and I will update the blog with more pictures I am sure.

No more stitches!

Apparently the ER made a mistake and put in non-dissolvable stitches because they should have dissolved out several days ago but didn't. So, today we went back to the pediatrician and he had to remove the stitches for us. It was not as traumatic as getting the stitches, but it certainly wasn't easy or pleasant for anyone. Joel was squeezing my hand, crying, and telling me that "it hurts really much!" and "I don't like it!" All I could do was agree with him and try to talk about other stuff. The nurse was holding his little foot still and the doc was snipping and pulling. Evan just sat in a chair and read. He may have been watching, but he certainly didn't say anything. By the time we got home Joel was able to laugh, so he recovered pretty quickly. He has gone back to full activity and the toe is healing quite nicely. He still likes to use his hurt toe as an excuse, but by now that's about all it is. Thanks for all of the prayers and concerns for Joel and his toe!

So tired ...

But not too tired to let go!

Today was a huge errand day for the boys and me. We haven't really been out of the house all together this week, except for that quick trip to the doctor on Monday. So, today we were out for about 4-1/2 hours, and Joel missed his nap. Correction: he missed a real nap, but he did sleep for about 5 minutes on the way home. When we got home I knew he was asleep, but I didn't realize that he still had his sucker in his mouth.