Bikes, Splinters and My Cool Husband

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! To be honest, I completely forgot about it until about 2 seconds ago. Thank you pregnancy hormones once again..if it is not written down, I don't remember it. True story. I am not even wearing green! Yikes. I will go change after I post this. I hate getting pinched. There is something so wrong with that weird tradition. I better hurry and throw together a green dinner as well. ;) That is the fun part! The kids will love it, and it will spice up the night.


A few events occurred yesterday, but none of them have to do with each other. They were all worth documenting though, so here goes some randomness.

First.

Around 11:00am yesterday morning, I got a phone call from the parent who was teaching preschool that morning. Mary had gotten hurt. Mary does not cry from pain very often at all, so the tears I heard in the background told me that she really was in pain.

I got to the house, and Mary's tear stained and dirt streaked face told it all. She was cradling her hand with her other hand.
She told me that she had "a few slivers" that "hurt really bad, but I didn't need to see them or touch them." hhhmmmmm

When we got home, I pried her hand open, which caused some loud screams from Mary, and I literally gasped. Mary had 8 HUGE splinters embedded deep down into her hand and fingers. Everything was all swollen, and it was a mess. None of the splinters were going to be easy to get to. They were all big and deep down in the skin.

We soaked her hand in water, I got out the needle and tweezers and the next hour and 1/2 were some of the worst moments of both of our lives. Yes folks, it literally took 90 solid minutes to get them all out. It was TERRIBLE!


(Someday I will have a really cool camera that actually takes a picture of what I am trying to take a picture of. For now, hang in there as I continue to post one blurry, bad picture after the next. In case you can't tell, this is Mary's hand a while after the slivers were out. The picture doesn't really show it, but there are 10 cuts and a few bruises all over her hand. It is also still pretty swollen.)

Back to the story:
Mary tried so hard to be tough, but I could tell is was absolutely killing her. She sobbed the entire time. I HATED being the one who was digging, pinching, poking, squeezing and causing even more pain, but the splinters had to come out. They were really big and already getting pussy. I comforted her in every way I could think of, and we had a lot of breaks so she could relax for a few minutes and soak her hand before we moved on to the next splinter.


So, 8 splinters (actually 10, the lady at preschool got two out before I got there) and an hour and 1/2 later, Mary's hand was a swollen, bloody, pussy mess, but she was happily looking at the lipstick at Walmart picking out her "prize" for being so tough. I was drained and feeling terrible for causing my little girl so much pain for so long, but the job was done. I hope to never repeat the process again.

Her hand still looks nasty today, but at least the swelling is down and she can wiggle her fingers again. She is one tough little girl.


Next.
We decided that since Sam is now riding his bike pretty fast and far, it was time for him to get a bike helmet. His helmet came with some extra padding for his elbows and knees. Sam LOVES it, and I love watching him run around in it. His favorite thing to do now, is to get the bike going down the hill as fast as he can, and then slam on the brakes. This has provided for hours of laughter and fun. Too cute! I think we have been outside more than we have been inside for the past few days. Fine with me!



Next.
I just wanted to show how cool my husband is. I sure love this guy. He rocks!

First attempt...I accidentally took the picture too soon.


The real thing.
I dare you to try this...it is incredibly hard to do, but so cool!