Blood suckers!

Yesterday Gracie comes in the house and says to me "Hey mom when I do this it hurts my arm". I see her hold her arm up in the air like she is trying to flex her bicep. In a Gracie sort of way that is. As I kneel down to take a closer look I realize that the top of her forearm from the elbow down is swollen, red, and tight almost like a Popeye shaped arm. "Ooh Gracie what happened?" I said. "I don't know." "Well, what do you mean, did something bite you or sting you?" "No." "Well, when did it happen?" "I don't know." O.k.....so obviously this isn't going so well. My investigative skills with my kids lately have been pretty unrevealing.....especially when it comes to when and how they are getting hurt. So, after no success with my questioning I call our favorite Pediatrician's office for the umpteenth time this week asking to get us in asap. No problem!

Come to find out it was most likely a couple of mosquito bites that had started to infect the soft tissue in her arm. O.k. so can I just say here that we are so tired of the mosquito bites so far this season. They have been vicious. I say vicious because it's one thing when it's just you you have to worry about. But when you have five little squishy and soft, warm bodied little babies/toddlers to defend that keep getting bit before you get the spray out, its seems a little vicious!

So we left the Doctors with a dose of Benadryl and a prescription for an antibiotic. Phew! Not too bad. Especially when I think back to the early days with the twins.....not bad at all!

Swings, Trampolines, Skateboards, just a few of the many dangerous inventions for fun...or pain!

You would think that I would take advantage of the fact that I could get to bed a little early tonight but....no. I can't help but stay up until Brandon gets home. He's on call all week and this is just the beginning.

I always hate it when he has to go. Even though I do have a little bit of quiet time after I've put the kids to bed.... I still wish he was here. I just can't settle down for bed until he is home again.

So...here I am. Hoping to make it quick so I can get upstairs and pick up where I left off....... I started reading 'The Lovely Bones' about a week ago. So far this summer my evenings have been consumed with some pick off the New York Times best sellers list. I'm quite enjoying myself. I picked my book up today and felt guilty for reading during my "mothering hours". Yes the three youngest were napping but still..... I guess I felt I should have been cleaning or baking something with my almost rotten bananas. I guess there's always tomorrow!

Yesterday Braden had a special visit with one of our wonderful and very familiar Pediatricians, Dr. Pollary. After a fall from a swing onto a stone slab my sweet boy was helped up and assisted over to the owners mom after stumbling to the ground at least three different times. Can you say c o n c u s s i o n! No thank you!

After he came to the house and found me I asked him what happened and he kept answering, "I don't know", "I don't know". That's when the panic set in. I called the Doctor's office, explained what happened, and pleaded to get Braden in.

So, of course, as all Mom's know....by the time you get to the Doctor the child no longer has a fever, or is no longer showing signs of serious pain, or well.....in my case....memory loss.

After a gentle and thorough assesment Braden seemed to feel much better and no longer showed any sign of injury. The prescription was to watch for any signs of vomiting, drowsiness, or unequal pupil dilation. And, no potentially dangerous activities, which could cause more bruising to the brain for the next two weeks. O.k., sure, no problem Doc! We will make sure of it!

Well.....so far so good, except of course for the little fall backwards on the grass after we got home while running away from Daddy. Oh, and the crazy jumping up and down for no reason that made him stop abruptly and inform us how painful it was in his head.

Yeah, but other than that this should be a breeze. Besides, that was just day one!

Joking aside, even though it helps keep me sane, I am so grateful he will be just fine!

Once again....it's been awhile. I will try to keep it sweet and simple. It's been four months since my last post. Let's see how much I can cram into this "simple" update. Besides it's the pictures that say it best! But before we get to that, here are some of the highlights of the last four months in the Eskelson household.....


*Braden turned 5

*Braden gets registered for Kindergarten.

*Braden breaks our flatscreen T.V. throwing the WII remote at it. (P.S. Not a highlight! )

*Grace turned 4

*Carsen and Cierra turned 2

*Brandon lost over 30lbs.

*I lost 17lbs.

*Kyan lost a few lbs. and spent some time in the hospital. (Not a highlight)

*Carsen discovers his love for elephants.

*Braden joins a T-ball team.

*Brandon becomes a T-ball coach.

*Cierra moves out of a crib and into a toddler bed.

*I FINALLY finish reading Breaking Dawn.

*Grace moves out of nursery and into primary.

*Cierra discovers nursery equals snack time!

*Carsen gives nursery a try. Kind of likes it.

*Brandon and I celebrate our 7th anniversary.

And once again..... I reflect on my life with a fulness of heart. I feel so lucky to have this family.