FreeLunchRoom - The #1 Freebie Trading Forum on the Internet! - Blogs - tlw468 http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/blogs/tlw468/ FreeLunchRoom is the number one freebie trading forum in the world! We are the fastest growing, largest, and most friendly community to learn about freebie trading! Sign up today! en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:32:39 GMT vBulletin 90 http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/images/styles/FreeLunchRoom/misc/rss.jpg FreeLunchRoom - The #1 Freebie Trading Forum on the Internet! - Blogs - tlw468 http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/blogs/tlw468/ Here we go again.... Wednesday October 29, 2008 http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/blogs/tlw468/2158-here-we-go-again-wednesday-october-29-2008.html Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:49:38 GMT I gotta tell ya, I am starting to wonder if this is even normal anymore....Anyone out there have sons that keep your hearts beating three times as... I gotta tell ya, I am starting to wonder if this is even normal anymore....Anyone out there have sons that keep your hearts beating three times as fast as they should be???

When I made my last entry, I was hoping and praying that I wouldn't ever have to see the inside of a hospital again. I suppose when you have boys, it's inevitable, as they are so curious, so danger-seeking, and so incredibly unpredictable. (From a mother's point of view, anyhow!)

Well, it was all about my middle son for quite a while....the tractor accident, the car accident, and the appendicitis. But it has been switched up for the time being. While I'm greatful that my middle son got a "reprieve", it has started all over with my oldest.

On Sunday afternoon, my husband decided to take three of the boys on a 4-wheeler ride to the gravel pit down the road about 2 miles. We live out in the country, and this is about as cheap of an outting as you can get if you're pinching pennies and still wanting to entertain your boys at the same time! They love searching for agates, so this is a trip we take fairly often. It occupies their minds and their time, which usually keeps them from picking on each other or getting into different types of trouble around the house. My husband took one wheeler, with my middle son on the back. My oldest son took another wheeler and was in second position in line, and my step-son was pulling up the rear. They were on a gravel road, and my step-son was having trouble keeping up because the gravel was flying in his face, despite his helmet - he didn't have the visor down. So he decided to pull up alongside my oldest son. This made my son nervous, so he kept a close eye on his step-brother so they wouldn't side-swipe each other. Meanwhile, my husband was slowing down ahead of them, and made all the correct hand signals....but because the other two boys were watching each other, they didn't notice.

My son ended up rear-ending my husband, and hit him in such a way that the wheels caught on one another and flipped my son into the air. He literally bounced off the road before making his final landing in the middle of the dirt road, where the 4-wheeler landed on top of him.

My husband quickly ran to him to see if he was ok, and got the 4-wheeler into the ditch while my son attempted to get up. They were able to get home, all four of them, on two wheelers. My son, being nearly 13 years old and with a bit of a more stocky build, was very difficult to carry, so we had to support him into the house where I had to gingerly get his clothes off to assess the damage. There were lots of bumps and bruises, and he began screaming like I've never heard him before. I got him into the car and called the ER to let them know we were on our way. They came out to help him into the hospital, thank gosh, or we'd STILL Be sitting in my car at this very moment!

Unbelievably, he had no broken bones! But he tore his hamstring, and nearly every part of his body from the waist down was beginning to turn purple before my eyes....thank God for helmets!! We were in the hospital for about 4 hours, and he has been home from school all week so far. He wasn't able to use his crutches because his wrists were so swollen and painful that he couldn't hold on to them. And of course, he can't walk because of all the pain when he moves his leg. Today his wrists were feeling a bit better so I got him out of the house to go and watch his brother's basketball practice. When we got home, I was going to re-bandage his leg again, when I noticed that his entire upper leg was SO swollen, it looked like it would explode!! And it is so purple and almost blackish. It wasn't a pretty sight. I immediately had my husband take a look. We're going in to see our regular doctor tomorrow to be sure there's nothing more serious going on. For now, he's elevating his leg....I'm hoping that will help a bit. And we're icing it as well. I've never been through this particular type of thing before, and the doc in the ER didn't really give specific instructions on what to do. (I'm NEVER taking anyone to that hospital again....I'll gladly drive a few miles farther to find a better one!!!!)

Backtracking a bit here, back to when I was at the ER with him. My husband had to bring his son back to his mother's house so he could get to hockey practice in time, so I was off to the hospital with just my two boys. My husband, like I said before, had gotten the damaged 4-wheeler off into the ditch...remember? Well, after he dropped his son off, he was going to go back and pick up the 4-wheeler and bring it home. Obviously when the accident happened, it wasn't a priority to get the ATV back home....it was all about getting my son some medical attention. Anyhow, when he got to the ditch where he left the wheeler, it had been STOLEN!!! So by the time my boys and I returned from the hospital, we had the police over as well....to file the report. What a crazy and draining day!

To be honest, I really don't care that it was stolen. I'm glad it's gone! I should put the other ones out by the road with a sign that says "FREE! HELP YOURSELF!!!" Because as of right now, I'm DONE with 4-wheelers. This situation could have been so much worse. We are SO incredibly lucky that my son is OK. His teacher told me this morning that her best friend just lost her only son in a 4-wheeling accident back in August. He was only 19 years old. So it really put things into perspective. All these fun toys and things that everyone wants, but can really do without.

I really think there is someone watching over my kids. Even though two of them have had some scary situations in the last couple years, they have been so lucky as well. But every time something happens, and after the dust finally settles a bit, I'm left wondering, "What's next?" It's a scary feeling. And I don't like it one little bit.

It's so hard to not become over-protective, because aside from my middle son's appendicitis, all of these incidents have happened while they are away from me. It makes me want to keep them close at all times. And it's hard on my kids when I get that way, so I'm trying very hard to not do that, but keep them safe at the same time. That's a bit tricky, without following them everywhere they go! I hope I can relax a little bit soon....and I hope that my kids never have to see the inside of a hospital again!!! ]]> tlw468 http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/blogs/tlw468/2158-here-we-go-again-wednesday-october-29-2008.html Another Chapter... http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/blogs/tlw468/1957-another-chapter.html Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:40:00 GMT Sunday September 21, 2008

Well, if you've read my first blog, you'll know that my 10 year old son was in a tractor accident a little over a year ago. It was pretty serious. Then about a month ago he was in a car accident and his eyes were injured from the airbag, but fortunately they healed in a few days....thanks to God for that!

He wasn't feeling well this past week, and I figured that it was just the same old thing that all kids pick up as soon as they go back to school again and are subjected to all sorts of germs and icky things. But by Friday, he was really miserable and I kept him home from school. Again, I just figured it was the stomach flu. But by Saturday morning at 5am, approximately 12 baths to relax himself later, it was getting worse rather than better, so I took him to the hospital. It turns out he had appendicitis....POOR KID!!! By the time he got to see a doctor, he was in so much pain, but he never cried, he never complained. He just kept moving around trying to get comfortable, which was proving more and more difficult.
After waiting for I don't know how many hours, the surgeon was FINALLY ready, and he had his appendix removed. We spent the night, he and I, in the hospital Saturday night and came home this afternoon. He's doing great! I, on the other hand, am exhausted!!! I haven't slept in three nights, and here's this little guy who is rubbing MY back in the midst of his own pain as I laid in his hospital bed with him waiting for the surgeon. He's such an amazing kid! I'm so lucky to be his mother!!!

But if anyone could possibly PLEASE send some good things his way in hopes that he NEVER ends up in the hospital again, I sure would appreciate it!!!! I think he's had enough already... :o)

To those who may have been trying to reach me, I do apologize for not getting back to you. I was a little busy.....and I'm sure you understand. :o) ]]> tlw468 http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/blogs/tlw468/1957-another-chapter.html My very first blog!! :o) http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/blogs/tlw468/1860-my-very-first-blog-o.html Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:59:05 GMT *September 6, 2008 Good Saturday Morning, Everyone! * *I decided it was time for me to get with the program and start my blog! I think this is a...
September 6, 2008
Good Saturday Morning, Everyone!

I decided it was time for me to get with the program and start my blog! I think this is a great way for people to get to know everyone better, and a way to just vent, say what's on our minds, or just share what's going on that we feel is worthy of sharing!

I don't have any venting to do, so I thought I'd just share a little info about my family!

I am a full-time mother of three boys, ages 8, 10, and 12. I've enjoyed staying at home with them for nearly the last 10 years now. My 8 year old is turning 9 in just over a week....so I better add that in or he'll be very disappointed...lol! (I'm not EIGHT, mom! I'm 8 & 3/4!!) :o)

My oldest son is a karate kid. He started a couple of months ago, and has been working very hard. He has already gotten his Gold Belt, which is belt #3! For those of you who are curious, there are LOTS of different belt levels, and I believe it goes like this...
White, Gold Stripe, Gold, Green Stripe, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Brown, Black Stripe, and Black. (Hope I didn't miss one...) He's really excited to get to the next level, but it takes a lot of work! After getting his last belt, he was able to start a 2nd class for sparring. He really likes that one, because he gets to use all this cool gear and gloves and pretend to punch people....so instead of him socking his brothers, he can take it out on his karate partner instead....lol! At least that guy knows how to protect himself and no one gets hurt!! :boxing: Hee hee!


My middle son has had quite the last year and a half. Back in April of 2007, he was at a friend's house, on a farm, and he was riding his bike. A farm tractor - yes, it was one of the BIG ones with the wheels that are like 7 feet tall - hit his bike and he fell and was run over by one of the tractor tires. It ran over his back and broke his ribs. His broken ribs punctured his lung, bruised his heart, he had a concussion, and was black and blue all over his face, and of course had a ton of cuts and scrapes on his body. Not to mention the tire tracks across his upper back. He was airlifted to a hospital in the cities, where he was in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit for a couple days and then moved into the Peds unit. Miraculously he recoverd very quickly, and was out of the hospital on the 4th day!! He missed 3 weeks of school, but he didn't seem to mind that part.... ;o)

Same son, a month ago, was in a car accident with his father. He was spending the weekend with him, and his dad accidentally rear-ended someone. It wasn't a terrible crash, and no one was seriously injured, but the airbag went off and hit my son in the face, and the airbag actually ETCHED his eyeballs. He couldn't see for about 3 days, but I learned something very interesting.....Did you know that the eyeball regenerates it's own layers like every hour or something like that??? I did NOT know that. So he looked like a pirate for a couple of days, and his eyes are now back to normal. I can only thank God for the miracles we've had. My son could very well have had a much different outcome, but for some wonderful reason we've been extremely blessed! He is one tough, brave little guy!!
OK, so some GOOD stuff on my middle son now! He's a big sports kid! Loves just about all sports, and is currently playing football. Has a game again this afternoon, which I'm really looking forward to! It's his first year playing, so he's really pumped!!!

My youngest son is in the 3rd grade, and he's a really smart little guy! He won the Academic All-Star Award two years in a row, and was recognized for his acheivements down in Bloomington, MN at the Mall of America both years. It was really fun, and we're very proud of him! He's also a basketball player, and enjoys hockey in the winter just for fun.


And me? Well the one thing I am really looking forward to at the moment, other than watching my kids enjoying their activities, is a trip we are planning to Hawaii!! Courtesy of my folks who decided to purchase two extra tickets to let my husband and I tag along....they are amazing parents!! Haven't chosen a date yet, but will likely be within the next year. Can't wait!!


Well, that's about all for now! I'll update more later on. I hope you all are enjoying the autumn season! My favorite time of year!! :o)
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