stitches.

What.a.week. I don't know the last time I was so mentally and physically exhausted. Taking care of sick kids I can deal with. Taking care of hurt kids? Oh goodness, it's so hard. 

A week ago Simon was playing on the kitchen chairs, as he normally does while we clean the floors and he slipped and fell. Of course, this happened just 2 hours before Matt and I were supposed to head out for a long date day. I was upstairs getting ready and heard the cry. You know, the pain cry. Not the annoyed cry or tired cry or frustrated cry but the painful shriek that happens when something is really, really bad. Then 3 seconds later I heard the yell from Matt, in the voice that I knew meant something wasn't good.

I raced downstairs to see a lot of blood, a lot of tears and a lot of panic in Matt. Simon's lip was completely wide open and we knew we needed to get to the ER fast. 

Luckily we were able to drop the kids off at a friends house on the way to the hospital and sweet little Simon bravely sat in the car with a huge wet towel on his face covering up his wound. I still can't believe how calm he was.

 After several hours in the ER, 4 grown adults holding him down, lots of medicine that really just made him super disoriented, loopy and quite honestly, buzzed he ended up with 9 stitches in his upper and lower lips. Some dissolvable, many of them not. The swelling, the pain, the medicine...he was a mess. And...let's be honest, so were we. It was a long battle to get the stitches in and we all just crashed on the couch that night once we were home.

 Then it began the week long battle of keeping him comfortable while he tried to talk, eat and play. The doctors were shocked his teeth were okay (thank goodness!) but were worried about a concussion so we needed to have quite a bit of downtime for a few days.

 Luckily, lots of books, movies and playdoh helped.

 But poor guy was miserable at times.

 It hurt to smile, it hurt to talk, it hurt to brush his teeth. And then came Friday! The stitches could be removed! I should have known better but the staff made it sound like it'd be a quick, painless process so I opted to go by myself while the kids were at school and Matt was at work. Bad idea. It was a nightmare. From the trauma earlier in the week to the anxiety he had and the sensitive area of the stitches poor Simon just lost it. He was anxious, screaming, hitting, throwing and so aggressive. I had to hold him down for the attending doctor to slowly and painfully remove each and every little stitch, knowing that the resident on staff just wasn't experienced enough to tackle this case.

 In the end we were both in tears, both exhausted and both so happy it was over. I even got a teeny little smile out of him when we walked out the door, knowing a trip to his favorite froyo place was in order.

 But, the sweets had to wait because he crashed in the car the second I got back on the road to drive home! Poor guy was wiped out from a morning (well, a week really) of pure hell. He snored away for over an hour before waking up and excitedly saying he felt better and wanted some chocolate ice cream with extra sprinkles.

 And that's exactly what he got. Every little drop of it. And so well deserved.

 After such a hard week I was so grateful for a normal family weekend. We had basketball games, movie nights and lots of sunshine to run outside and play. Simon had his energy back and we all got the fresh air we needed.

Deep down I just knew Simon would be the first kid to get stitches in our family. He's fearless, brave and always trying to keep up with the big kids. Let's just pray we don't have to go through that again!

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a week of dates.

The older I get the more I realize that my true love language is quality time. I love to spend quality time with the people I love, in quality conversations, eating quality food and really cherishing the time we have. It's a nice break from our day to day routines, busy schedules and endless to do lists. And it's so important!

Our favorite babysitter was in town last weekend to visit her family for the holidays so we snuck away for a quick dinner and dessert while she played with the kids. I've been obsessing over a local food blogger now for several months, reading her books, following her on social media and pretending we are best friends. So, naturally it was only time to try her restaurant. And it did not disappoint! Matt said it was easily the best pizza he's ever eaten in his entire life. It was so simple with really good ingredients, a perfect crust and just the right amount of cheese. Seriously, if you are ever in Ballard, please go check out Delancey!

We wandered just a few blocks down to Salt and Straw for dessert to get one last taste of their seasonal gingerbread ice cream. But then, I sampled a bite of their lemon chevre cheesecake and was sold! 

 Without realizing it when we were scheduling dates Matt and I got to have another date the very next day. And this time overnight! For his Christmas present I booked a room at the hotel we stayed at for our wedding. I knew after a very busy month of birthdays and Christmas celebrations we both needed 24 hours to just relax. So we dropped the kids off at the beach house and made our way up to Bellingham. It was SO stormy (picture sideways rain, crazy winds and bitter cold) but we made the best of it by wandering through small, local stores moving as slow as we wished. I cozied up in the cookbook section of our favorite local bookstore, we sampled some delicious vinegar and oil next door and then went wine tasting.

 Since our hotel room wasn't ready we decided to venture downtown for more shopping at our favorite home decor store and then an early dinner at the restaurant we went to for our first date. D'Annas has the very best pasta and is absolutely my favorite meal of all time.

 I always order the exact same thing. There are so many delicious items on the menu but I just can't get enough of their homemade spinach rigatoni with marinara sauce and 2 meatballs (yes, you really need to order 2, they are so good!). We came back to the hotel and after a long day of walking, shopping and eating I laid on the bed and fell fast asleep. At 6:30pm. Out like a light! Matt figured it was a quick cat nap and I'd be ready to go out again later but I never woke up! Haha...clearly I needed a good nights sleep.

 The views from our hotel room were so beautiful, even on a stormy day.

 We woke up early the next morning (because that 6:30pm bedtime!) and wandered back to Fairhaven to our favorite breakfast spot.

 Even though it was windy the rain had stopped so we took a short walk to our favorite park where we got engaged and then headed back to pick up the kids. The best 24 hours we've had in a long time and so, so needed! Can't think of a better Christmas present to ourselves!

 Dating our kids is important too. I know that sounds weird but spending quality time with them is really what they want and love. A trip to the park on New Years Day was perfect. We aren't NYE people, never stay up until midnight or have a party but getting outside on New Years Day has always been a great tradition to start the year off right.

 Later that day the big kids were invited over to our neighbors house (and Carter's former teacher!) for a pasta and ice cream party. They hand rolled and cut pasta before cooking and eating it and then mixed and churned homemade peppermint ice cream. It was so fun for them and I know our neighbor had a great time too!

 And now back to routines. Big kids at school, Matt back to work and me spending my days with Simon. Lots of neighborhood walks, park dates and playdoh.

It's been a good start to 2019!

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