At 7:40 in the morning I am called urgently upstairs by E who exclaims that M has her leg stuck in her bed. I assume that M just has both legs through the slats on the headboard of her toddler bed. Wrong! What I find upon entering M's room is M in tears and one knee wedged in between two slats in the metal headboard. Not being one to panic (at least not yet) I try pushing her little kneecap back. Nope. I try moving her knee up or down. Nope. No movement. Nothing. M is screaming and crying because she is stuck. I stop and try to think how we can get her knee in a smaller position because she had to get it in somehow. Yet she has it perfectly placed so that I can't extend her leg straight because there isn't any room to maneuver. Now I panic. How can I get her knee out. I can't budge the metal rods so I can't bend them or break them off. Her knee seems stuck. Meanwhile E is telling M, "You're going to suffocate and die!" M starts crying even harder. I tell E that she isn't helping and to leave the room. E goes and wakes up her sister, T who comes in to investigate and E once again says, "M you're going to suffocate and die!" T then asks, "Is she?" "No" is my very firm reply. I'm loosing patience with E using the wrong word choice and for scaring M. I don't want to have to call the fire department and tell them my child has her knee stuck in her bed. I don't want to call my neighbors because off all the mornings I didn't get dressed before I went downstairs and I'm still in my pajamas. What to do?
Butter, margarine--anything greasy comes to my mind. I run downstairs and grab the tub of butter. I come back up, M is still crying and passing E on the way up the stairs she says, "M is going to suffocate and die isn't she?" "No" I say exasperated, "she isn't going to die. You're using the wrong word." I hurry into M's room and proceed to slather her little knee with the butter and then I pushed on her kneecap and out her little knee came. She was still shaky and only wanted to be held. E and T are in the doorway thinking that butter was a good idea. I calm M down enough and then go and find E telling her that to suffocate means you can't get any air into your lungs. M was in no danger of suffocating and that next time she shouldn't say that anyone is going to die because it just makes the other person scared.
What a way to start the day.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Operation Hummingbird
Sometimes nature is cruel to animals and makes you weep as when we watched little baby peregrine falcons hatch and then die because of a sudden drop in temperature. Then sometimes it is not nature but man that causes the pain and it again makes you want to cry; yet, there is often reason for joy when nature takes control and an unconquerable spirit soars.
Yesterday when M and I went out to water the garden, I heard a buzzing sound coming from the cherry tree. Upon investigation, I saw a small hummingbird caught in the net we have put around the tree. What was to protect the cherries from bigger birds was now a trap for a beautiful hummingbird. I felt horrible and didn't know what to do. I called Steve at work and asked if he could come home early to help me. I didn't want to face a wounded bird alone. Yet he couldn't leave as the next bus wasn't for awhile. I then decided to call home as moms can fix anything. Mom asked if she could take a few minutes to think about what should be done. In the course of our conversation it was decided that she would try calling someone in the wildlife department and I would get the ladder, gloves, scissors to cut the net, a box to put the bird in and a special drink made for hummingbirds.
I went back outside and told the girls they needed to be quiet as we didn't want to startle the hummingbird even more than what it already was. E was given the phone and told to answer it right away if it rang. T and M were to make sure the box and drink were ready. I climbed the ladder and the hummingbird started beating it's wings frantically when it saw me approach. I tried to calm it down by speaking quietly to it and told it what I was going to do. I started clipping the net and had my gloved hand ready to hold the tiny, frightened bird. It was gorgeous with a dark purple band around its neck contrasted against the black head and light gray body. As I was clipping, I noticed that its little wing was caught on one of the net's strings so carefully I clipped the net--careful not to clip the bird. As soon as I cut it, the bird was free. I had no time to grab the bird but it was still on the inside part of the net. I told the girls they needed to see where it went. They ran around to the back and saw it up high. It would try to fly straight into the net trying to get out. But it would fly right into the net and then fly back. What had I done? I made a bad situation get possibly worse. Then as we tried to shake the net in hopes that it would fly out the top an amazing thing happened; the little bird flew right in between the netting squares and up and over our tall tree in the front of the house.
Prayers of gratitude were given that the little hummingbird could fly and was free with prayers of hope that it would be alright.
The girls and I were ecstatic to see the little black speck fly higher and further away. What a brave little bird!
Yesterday when M and I went out to water the garden, I heard a buzzing sound coming from the cherry tree. Upon investigation, I saw a small hummingbird caught in the net we have put around the tree. What was to protect the cherries from bigger birds was now a trap for a beautiful hummingbird. I felt horrible and didn't know what to do. I called Steve at work and asked if he could come home early to help me. I didn't want to face a wounded bird alone. Yet he couldn't leave as the next bus wasn't for awhile. I then decided to call home as moms can fix anything. Mom asked if she could take a few minutes to think about what should be done. In the course of our conversation it was decided that she would try calling someone in the wildlife department and I would get the ladder, gloves, scissors to cut the net, a box to put the bird in and a special drink made for hummingbirds.
I went back outside and told the girls they needed to be quiet as we didn't want to startle the hummingbird even more than what it already was. E was given the phone and told to answer it right away if it rang. T and M were to make sure the box and drink were ready. I climbed the ladder and the hummingbird started beating it's wings frantically when it saw me approach. I tried to calm it down by speaking quietly to it and told it what I was going to do. I started clipping the net and had my gloved hand ready to hold the tiny, frightened bird. It was gorgeous with a dark purple band around its neck contrasted against the black head and light gray body. As I was clipping, I noticed that its little wing was caught on one of the net's strings so carefully I clipped the net--careful not to clip the bird. As soon as I cut it, the bird was free. I had no time to grab the bird but it was still on the inside part of the net. I told the girls they needed to see where it went. They ran around to the back and saw it up high. It would try to fly straight into the net trying to get out. But it would fly right into the net and then fly back. What had I done? I made a bad situation get possibly worse. Then as we tried to shake the net in hopes that it would fly out the top an amazing thing happened; the little bird flew right in between the netting squares and up and over our tall tree in the front of the house.
Prayers of gratitude were given that the little hummingbird could fly and was free with prayers of hope that it would be alright.
The girls and I were ecstatic to see the little black speck fly higher and further away. What a brave little bird!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Oh my...
If people link to your blog then perhaps you need to update it--but what to say? How about something funny?
M likes to take off her diaper and run around commando. It has become a constant struggle to keep her diaper or pull-ups on. Once you do get them on, off they come in about five 5 minutes. The other day I had just put her diaper back on for quiet time/movie time. I went into the office to work on a talk I have to give but then decided that I should really unload the dishwasher first. (There is nothing quite like procrastination.) I went upstairs and passed what I thought was a diaper but would M really take it off already? She looked so comfortable laying on the floor with her purple blanket covering her. I decided to ask. "M do you have your diaper on?" To which M lifted up her purple blanket and laughingly says, "No!"
There you have it. When M goes commando she'll tell you when she has to use the toilet. Yet, if you put underwear or anything else on her she feels free to just go whenever.
Long live Commando M!
M likes to take off her diaper and run around commando. It has become a constant struggle to keep her diaper or pull-ups on. Once you do get them on, off they come in about five 5 minutes. The other day I had just put her diaper back on for quiet time/movie time. I went into the office to work on a talk I have to give but then decided that I should really unload the dishwasher first. (There is nothing quite like procrastination.) I went upstairs and passed what I thought was a diaper but would M really take it off already? She looked so comfortable laying on the floor with her purple blanket covering her. I decided to ask. "M do you have your diaper on?" To which M lifted up her purple blanket and laughingly says, "No!"
There you have it. When M goes commando she'll tell you when she has to use the toilet. Yet, if you put underwear or anything else on her she feels free to just go whenever.
Long live Commando M!
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