Lucky (Non-)Break

Well, we just finished up our weekend "off" in the middle of the run of tournaments.  Of course, it wasn't exactly a restful weekend (at least not for the most part) as we all headed to Buffalo (separately).  The boys left on Friday afternoon to go see Craig's family, and I left right after work on Friday and headed to see my family at my cousin's son's 16th birthday party.  I had a very nice time with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and my parents.  Oh, and my cousin Jamie brought her beautiful baby girl again, so I got some good snuggle time with her.  She's almost two months old and was the cutest when the pacifier would pop out and she'd use her mouth and her clumsy little hands to try to get it back in.  It was one of those ones with the stuffed animal attached, and she had the greatest look of satisfaction when it made its way back into her mouth--either through her efforts or with a little help.  It was adorable.  Oh, and she naturally smiles in her sleep--not just those sleepy smiles that most babies get, but her all-the-time resting face has this very subtle smile.  It's amazing!

Anyway, my parents took off early on Saturday for my mom to bike 10 miles in the Ride for Roswell, and luckily the torrential downpour forecast held off and she just had to deal with some sprinkles.  I left around 10am to stop at Walmart for gluten-free granola bars and then headed to Craig's family's house to meet my sister-in-law and head to a bridal shower for Craig's cousin's fiancee.  It was good to see the boys, but I did discover that I probably won't be sleeping there for a while.  His parents and brother's family have consolidated households--for lots of reasons--and we've lost the spot where we used to sleep.  While the boys and Craig seem to manage crashing on couches, I am not a good sleeper in situations like that, and will be a wreck if I try.  Things will be a little cramped and crazy for a bit until everything is settled, so in case you notice I'm not spending a lot of time there when the boys are, that's why.  I was actually debating how to spend my second half of the weekend--there, my parents', or back at home either solo or with Carter (who doesn't really get along with the big boys)--but that pretty much took sleeping there out of the equation.  Turned out the decision would be made for me, but more on that in a bit.

I had a lovely time at the shower.  It was a little ways away from there, a bit past where we go for my beach family reunion quite a bit south of Buffalo.  They had a tent in the yard, and the pleasant weather (that wasn't supposed to be) was such a bonus.  We had delicious food, and one of my favorite wines was in a mini bottle as a favor!  I even won the most amazing little Vera Bradley bag--pretty much exactly what I realized I needed last week when I went on Jacob's field trip.  I didn't want to bring my whole purse, but I didn't have a mini bag that was big enough for my new phone and a couple essentials.  And now I have one!  Seriously, way too excited about that!  The gorgeous cupcakes were the perfect way to finish, and we had a great time socializing and catching up.

Just as we were about to leave, my phone rang.  On the other end was Craig, who explained they were on their way to an ambulatory care center to get Carter looked at, as his pinky had been shut in a door.  It seems the big boys were trying to keep him out, and no one knows who did it (my money is actually on Jacob), but Carter's finger ended up in the space near the hinges and got pinched pretty bad.  Craig said his finger looked like a crushed can.  Yikes.  He couldn't bend it and he was in a lot of pain, so off they went.  Jacob sounded as hysterical as Carter, by the way.  It took us about 45 minutes to get there, but once I arrived, Carter was sleeping.  When he woke up, he actually seemed fine.  He could bend the finger and wasn't in much pain.

Of course, as I'm sitting there, I'm thinking about how this care center is out of our network and could potentially cost a LOT of money.  In-network urgent care is at least $250, so I couldn't imagine what this might cost.  If Carter was clearly still in severe pain or there was a clear issue, we would have just sucked it up.  But since he seemed fine, we made the decision to leave.  I'd bring him home, and if it got any worse I'd take him to an in-network urgent care at home.  Otherwise, I'd just get in with the doctor in the morning and have them take a look.  The nurse was so sweet before we left, though, cleaning out the cut, putting a band-aid on it, and giving him some ice.  I think she understood.

We had an uneventful evening, and I let Carter sleep with me that night...just because he could.  Aside from a couple close calls and then legs across my neck as we were waking up, it was fine.  We headed to the doctor by 9:30, and she suggested getting an x-ray today.  The main concern is that if there was a fracture near the growth plate, it could cause problems.  She gave him a splint, and off we went.

It was a very laid back rest of the day yesterday--the boys came home right around when we got back from the doctor and a couple other stops, and because it was rainy we pretty much just hung out all day.  The sun came out a little in the evening and the big boys went to Jacob's favorite park for some basketball, but because it would still be wet and Carter had a bum finger, he and I stayed home.  On a side note, lately I feel like a complete blob.  On the surface I don't feel extra tired, but when it comes to exerting effort to work out or do something active with the kids, it feels like a gargantuan effort.  I can't figure out if it's mental or physical.  I don't know what the deal is, but I feel like a crappy parent at the moment.  Sorry, had to get that out.

This morning we did the x-ray, and it was negative.  That meant we could ditch the splint--and thank goodness for that because keeping that sucker on Carter's finger was a pain in the neck!  I can't even imagine doing that for a month, particularly through two weekends of travel.  Right now he still has a little red bruising on the finger, with a pretty good sized cut, but otherwise it looks okay.  We'll see if the nail does anything weird.  He seems fine with it, though, and I feel so fortunate that he is doing so well.  It could have been so much worse!

Another busy week ahead now!  Today we got our new pool liner.  Next up, the arrival of Jacob's basketball hoop.  And of course, Pre-K graduation is coming soon!  Bring on Summer!