Xander wore Ian's reggae wig again but I didn't get a picture. Ben decided not to dress up - he helped hand out candy.
Since our Saturdays are pretty much consumed with football, sometimes Evan gets bored at the games. Then he sits on my lap, hangs on me, whines that he wants to go home (meanwhile I'm mentally kicking myself for not leaving him home with Xander). So a few weeks ago, I pulled out my camera.
Evan loves mugging for the camera.
I don't think love is even a strong enough word. He makes a face - waits for the click, then demands to see the picture. And then he wants to do it all over again.
So we do.
Because if Evan isn't happy - no one is happy.
Last night I had a meltdown. That's what happens when I can't handle what's going on in my life. Luckily, Ian knows just what to say. He told me that all that matters is that we have each other and we are a family. We'll figure everything else out. His optimism has been keeping me going.
Today I was about to screen my last patient at work when I glanced at my phone and saw I had 2 missed calls from my mom and a text. I looked at the text. It said: "Alex is hurt. Come now." I called her and she told me Xander had ran into a brick pillar playing football at school. The ambulance was on it's way.
I don't remember the next 5 minutes, just that I quickly spoke to my office manager and she urged me to "Go!". I love my work. I love that I work with a bunch of women and we all support and like one another. We don't gossip about each other. We all care about what's going on in each others lives. And everyone their puts their family first. It's understood.
On my way to the school I called Ian. He immediately calmed me down. He's been doing that alot lately. Then I called Tiffany. And let me interrupt to say that Tiffany is da bomb. Seriously. Like I don't use ghetto words for just anyone.
As I saw the firetruck and ambulance at the school I had to tell myself about 1,000,000 times to calm down. Tiffany assured me that the school has to call emergency services. That made me feel better.
I ran into the office. As soon as Xander saw me he started crying. He later told me that when he got injured he kept telling himself not to cry because he didn't want to look whimpy - even though he pretty much had to be carried by a friend to the office. But then he felt he was bleeding and he thought, "It's o.k. to cry - I'm bleeding." I guess it's o.k. to cry when you see your mom too. He looked pale, tired, hurt (he had a sprained shoulder, a gash on his head and was sweating profusely)and scared. Mostly scared. My mom was still there (thank goodness for my mom. Like super THANK GOODNESS FOR MY MOM!).
The fireman was awesome and based on his assessment, he recommended we go to the hospital. Then the ambulance guys strapped Xander to a board (a precaution in case he had a spine injury - at that time his shoulder and back were hurting - plus his eyes kept rolling like his was going to pass out - I guess he had already fainted once) and took him by ambulance to the hospital. I met them there.
I called Ian to update him and then I called Tiffany again so I wouldn't freak out. It worked. She kept me calm. I think I even laughed - something about her mom and rubber gloves.
I took this picture on my phone at the hospital. I remember the doctor asking what his pain level was - 1 through 10 - 10 being the highest. All I could think about was that Brian Regan skit. Xander said 6. Which was probably about right - he was pretty miserable. They took him for xrays on his shoulder and a CAT scan because he couldn't remember exactly what happened. Also, at the school he was incoherant at times and extremely tired. The nurse gave him some pain medication and medication for nausea.
After about 30 minutes he started to feel better. Luckily, all of his tests came back good. The doctor superglued his head wound together and then we were discharged after being there about 2 hours. Really, it was one of my quickest ER trips. That sounds bad. Toward the end he was in fine form, singing and making jokes. Is it bad that I really enjoyed that time - with just the two of us. I love that boy so much.
Which made me realize that whatever is going on my life, I am so lucky to have 4 healthy boys. Nothing is more important to me than my family.
Thank you, THANK YOU! to everyone who texted me offering your help and support. It sounds so trite - but it really meant so much to me. And of course, especially thank you to my mom. Who was there for Xander. And for me. And fed my kids dinner. I love you, mom.
P.S. One of the sweetest things was when I called home to talk to Ben. I told him Xander was hurt but would be alright. He told me that he already talked to Grandma and that him and Max had said a prayer for Xander. :)
P.P.S. Also, his principal and the school secretary both called us tonight asking about Xander. The secretary actually called Xander on his cell phone (she's awesome). When I got to the school his favorite teacher was also in the office - anxious to find out if Xander was o.k. I love his school.
P.P.S.S. Thank heavens for awesome insurance! We paid $25 and don't anticipate having to pay anything else. UPS rocks!
*Xander thought of the title for this post*
Last Saturday my mom and dad hosted a Halloween party for all of their grandkids. But first, Xander returned from his 3 day camping/hiking trip. He was exhausted. I was relieved. Like super-duper relieved.
The kids were encouraged to wear their costumes. Evan was Buzz, Joshua was War Machine and Rowan was Spiderman. Addy was a witch and Ruby was Tinkerbell.
There were games for the kids and chili, hotdogs and chips to eat. 
We made spiders out of oreos and pretzels.
My mom and Kim spent a lot of time and effort to make sure all the kids had a great time. We all had a blast!
Max got glasses. I really want Ian to write the post about Max at the eye doctor. I was there working so I didn't see all the drama but Ian was there for the whole exam...And it wasn't pretty. There was a lot of crying and little bit of screaming. Those of you who know Max know how much he hates to stand out or be different (he almost had a nervous breakdown when he had to go to school after he broke his foot with the boot on his leg). Luckily he only needs the glasses to read and do homework (he's far sighted).
Ian was shocked that I got Max to go back later and pick out glasses. The key was Ben. Max will do almost anything if Ben is involved. And we promised him that he only had to wear the glasses at home....for now.
The glasses came in yesterday. It took a little bit of strong-arming to get him to wear them. And then he wouldn't wear them with a straight face.
Later, when he was reading to me, Max exclaimed, "The words are so big! And not blurry at all!" "That's how you are supposed to see the words," I replied, "That's how I see the words." Well, Max did NOT like that. He was pretty upset that he sees different than most people.
He is trying to convince me that he needs Lasik. And that Jesus doesn't love him because he made him have bad eyesight.
He gets a star for every time he wears the glasses to do homework and read. When he gets 20 stars he gets a treat at Target.
So far, so good. Although he does make a point to tell me that he looks like Steve Urkell every time he puts them on.
I'm really hoping he gets used to them over time.
Let's all cross our fingers.A few weeks ago it rained. Hard. And every boy knows that the best time to play outside is right after a rain storm :). Liam invited Max to play at his house, so I took Christian to our house to play with Ben (I think we all know that Tiffany got the short end of that stick).
Evan and Josh were dying to look for snails and creatures, while the other boys wanted to play some football. 
I love that Christian and Ben have been friends their whole lives. Ben still considers Christian his best friend in the world :).
I have a feeling these boys will be friends forever too.
Also, notice that Ben is playing in flip flops. Only in Arizona.
I love Arizona when it starts to cool down. We all got wet, but didn't care. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
Friday Ben & Max were watching a sitcom in the family room while I was in the kitchen making dinner. On the show the mom was taking her daughter to work with her. When they got to work the mom's boss fired her.
Max looked at Ben and said, "I wish that would happen to our mom."
Ben replied, "I know."
Earlier that day I had came home to spend my lunch break with the boys. Sometimes I think it makes it harder on Evan that I do this. As I got ready to go back to work he clung to me, sobbing. By the time I got back to work I was in tears too.
I have been working for 10 months and every single day it is hard. I love where I work. I love the people I work with, but I hate leaving my family. And I blame myself because I am in this situation because of my poor budgeting skills and spending habits. The guilt is overwhelming.
Yesterday in church a woman gave a talk about strengthening her family. She talked about how she isn't perfect. How she makes mistakes all the time, but she constantly strives to do better. It was like a light bulb went off in my head. I am constantly comparing myself to others and I always fall short. I will never be where I think I should be. But I can always do better.
I take life one day at a time. I can't look ahead any more. I get too overwhelmed. I am so thankful for those people in my life who love me, listen to me, support me, help me. I hate needing help. I hate asking for it. I am so lucky to have people in my life who willingly give it.
We are still experiencing Football Fever over here. It's what my boys (Ian included) do and talk about. All. The. Time. Even Evan knows the name of NFL teams and players. And he was just as excited as Ben when Randy Moss got traded to the Vikings. It's serious over here folks. Saturday both Max and Ben had flag football games. Max played first and his team won 18 t0 12.
Max played great. He got a few good runs and his friend Jonah (pictured with Evan below) got a touchdown! Their team is undefeated.
Evan and Jonah have become good friends - Jonah considers it his mission to stop Evan from whining and crying. He does a great job. I owe him a dollar for his services.
Ben's game was next. Ben is quarterback and loves it because he hardly ever gets to be quarterback at school. Ben's team won 20-6. They were awesome!
Ashton (Jonah's big brother) plays on Ben's team. This means I get to hang out with their mom, Kahea, for hours each Saturday. She is one of my best friends. I love chatting, watching our boys and just hanging out with her. We have such a great time.
