Writing News

This week I started some online research. The first thing I do when I sit down at the computer in the morning is to read one or two news articles about Mexico. Over time I will slowly get a better feel for the country and some knowledge about what is actually happening south of the border. Presuming that the news is fairly accurate. But never fret I am not done with the creeping slow process of reading difficult non-fiction books about the ancient Mayans. And as I research plot ideas keep coming, along with the piles of excess archeological terminology.

Breaking News

Sweet boy #1 has not sucked his fingers for an entire 7 day week!!! Ever since he was 6 months old sweet boy #1 has sucked the first two fingers of his left hand for comfort and to sleep. Ever since he was 2 years old, I have been trying to get him to quit without damaging his sweet heart permanently. Finally, desperate and out of ideas I prayed about it. A few days later we were eating at the table and sweet boy #1 was holding a butter knife. Somehow (???) he slipped and stabbed the entire tip of the butter knife into one of his sucking fingers about ½ an inch deep. I freaked out and called our EMT neighbor, but no stitches were needed so we placed a Band-Aid on it and applied TLC. He had an awful day, tantrums and drama and tears, Oh MY. Then an awful night. He cried and cried but the cut was too deep for me to remove the Band-Aid which would allow him to suck his fingers and get to sleep. Finally he cried himself to sleep and when he woke up he was a different boy. He held his head a little higher, he had a new confidence, he had survived that dark night and come through on top. I never knew that sucking his fingers was such a crutch for him, but now that he has beaten it I can see the pride in his eyes. Who would have guessed? He just falls to sleep now. When I was putting lotion on him after his bath, he put up his normal protests about lotion on his hands (makes the fingers taste bad you know) and I told him “But you don’t suck your fingers anymore.” He paused, thought a minute, stood a tiny bit straighter, and held his hand out for some lotion. I would never have believed it if I wasn’t seeing this for myself. I can’t believe what a boost conquering this has been for him. I’m leaving the Band-Aid on for a few more weeks and then he’ll pick a prize. But there probably isn’t any need. He hasn’t even attempted to suck his fingers since that first dark night. And the prize is just frosting, I swear the boy is just bursting with pride in himself already.

Harrowing/Heartwarming

Parent Moment of the Week

Hmmm…well at one point this week I realized that sweet boy #2 had: 1 blue shoe, 1 puddle boot, 1 size 8 snow boot, 1 size 9 snow boot, and 1 cowboy boot. None of them had matches and we wanted to go outside! Finally we found the other puddle boot, but I have no idea where to find the others. Then sweet boy #3 got a hold of the celery salt from my spice cabinet and sweet boy #2 emptied most of it onto his head. Then sweet boy #2 and sweet boy #3 opened a Tupperware full of flour and pretty much bathed in it. But on the heartwarming side of things. The big boys are in a different nursery than sweet boy #3 when we go to MOPS. This is the only place that this ever happens and sweet boy #3 is used to always being with his brothers. I told the MOPPET ladies and when sweet boy #3 began to wail with determined intensity, they moved him in with the big boys. Well, sweet boy #2 (hands down our most violent child) wiped his tears from his face and loved on him until he felt better. Sweet boy #1 told me all about it and then sweet boy #2 explained: “I wiped baby_______ ‘s tears off and made him happy again.” Wow! From celery salt to flour to utter adorableness. It’s amazing.