911

My poor Siena was about to walk out the door for school on Tuesday when she dislocated her knee. I didn't know how to move or lift her, or how to pop it back into place, so I called 911. I was just hoping that the paramedics would put it back in place and then I would take her to the doctor, but they said it was safer to take her to the hospital so that her injury wouldn't be worsened, and so that an orthopedic surgeon could be called if needed. Of course, by the time the ER doctor finally got it back into place it had been an hour and a half since it happened. So that couldn't be good. Anyway, after X-rays and a tantrum from Paul (about the way hospital staff aren't always under the same insurance plans as the hospitals) we were back home by 1pm with crutches and a knee immobilizer. She has to use them until she sees the ortho surgeon on Mon.

Needless to say, she is exhausted from hobbling around school and up and down the stairs in our house, but she is improving each day.

Halloween '09

Halloween was fun this year. I tried to keep it easy. I skipped the trunk-or-treat at the church because there are usually so many Halloween parties that I am sick of Halloween by the time it actually arrives. The only party we had this year was for Spencer's preschool. Unfortunately, the only picture I took has Spencer's fingers in his nose. Then Halloween night I had plenty of energy for trick-or-treating at home. Siena went to a friend's house, so I only had Spencer and Lily with me. They were done after just going down our street, so it was an easy night.
I bought Lily's princess costume instead of making it. I called her the Princess and the Pea because she has a hard time sleeping. We already had everything but a red scarf for Siena's pirate costume, and the only sewing I did was to make a lion's mane for Spencer's super hero costume. He had been telling me for months that he wanted to be a superhero with whiskers and a mane. Since he already had the cape, I decided a mane wouldn't be too hard. I made it out of a fuzzy novelty pillow. It looked more like a wig than a mane, but he was happy.
I thought he looked like a character from "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Paul thought he looked more like the "Greatest American Hero."
The video clip is a song that Spencer learned in preschool. He likes to strip down at home because he is always hot. I asked if he would prefer to get sing with clothes on, but he could care less, so here he is!

California Vacation

For the kid's fall break in October, we took a trip to California. We visited Paul's Aunt Sally and Uncle Jim in San Jacinto, and then we spent the rest of the week in Huntington Beach with Paul's parents, his Uncle Andy, and my brother Tom. We had such a great week. It was filled with lots of excitement at Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland, and most of the remaining time was spent at the beach. We also went to the Irvine Park Railroad for a fall festival and to the Ocean Institute in Dana Point to learn about sea life.

Tom, if you read this I wonder if you can send the picture of you and me that you took on your cell phone at the beach.