Broken Arm

Wednesday, Malcolm fell on the playground at school and broke his arm.  I'm not entirely sure what happened because I wasn't there, and he has given me two different stories.  As best I can tell, one tire was propping another tire up at an angle, and he was standing on the angled one and fell off.  A few different adults either saw him fall or saw him right after, and no one though it was a big enough fall to seriously hurt himself.  He must have landed just right, because he has had several more spectacular falls where he was not hurt at all.

It happened on a day when another mom brings him home, so she rounded up the kids and brought him right home.  He was still crying when she dropped him off and it was an odd sounding cry for him.  I figured he was just scared, tired, and hungry, so I got him some milk and cookies to distract him and get some food in him.  It was sort of funny to watch, because he really wanted those cookies, but he couldn't stop crying and eventually just quit eating them. I called Kevin and he came home early to stay with Dorothy while Malcolm and I headed to the doctor to get checked out. The doctor checked his arm and sent us across the street to the hospital to get his arm x-rayed.

Of all the things we did, he really seemed to enjoy getting the x-rays.

He was very good and followed all the directions the lady doing the x-rays gave him.  She was really nice and he took to her very quickly.  He even asked for her before we left the hospital, and we happened to see her, so he was happy.

We waited while his x-rays were examined, then the doctor confirmed that his arm was indeed broken and that I would need to call the next morning to get a cast put on it. We had done a lot of waiting (thank goodness for games on the ipad to distract him) and it was after dinner time by the time we left the hospital. I let Malcolm choose anywhere local that he wanted to go for dinner and he chose Panera. There was a Dairy Queen just a few doors down from Panera, and he asked if we could stop for ice cream, so we walked over after dinner and he got a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate. I could tell he still wasn't feeling real great when he got toward the end of his cone and said he was done and didn't want to finish it. Poor little guy.

Working on his ice cream.  The arm in the air is the broken one.

The orthopedist was able to squeeze us in the next morning at 9:15, so we headed over there to get a cast put on his arm. This time I had Dorothy with me and she was very good waiting. Malcolm got to pick the color he wanted for his cast from a wide selection. They had lots of solid colors, but they also had a few prints. He chose a dinosaur print, which I have to admit is pretty cute, and very "him." After Malcolm had his cast on, Dorothy held up her left arm and told the guy, "I one too." She did not get a cast, but I promised her that I would wrap her arm with gauze if she wanted when we got home. By the time we got home, she had forgotten about it, so I never did it.

Malcolm was a little scared getting the cast on, and seems a little embarrassed about the whole thing. He did like that the doctor showed him a picture of the arm bones and circled where he broke his arm on the drawing. Malcolm got to keep it and took it to school to show his friends, and he was a little excited about that part.

He was very embarrassed and did not want to show off his cast.

He was curious though, and wanted to check it out.

He was still feeling a little shy and asked if I could stay at school with him for a little bit. By the time we got there, they were having their circle time and went outside not long after that. I don't think he really needed me, but Dorothy and I stayed while the kids were on the playground, and left when they went in to have lunch. She had a blast playing with the big girls at school, and it was great to let her run around a bit, since she had spent the entire morning sitting and waiting for her brother.

The big girls liked having Dorothy visit.

I am unclear on the game they were playing, but Dorothy was the center of attention.

Malcolm has a buckle fracture and will have to wear the cast for 3-4 weeks. We will go back in two weeks to have the arm checked, and I think he will get a new cast then. Luckily, it should be off in time for his birthday, which he was a little worried about.

Big Wheel Race

We don't typically do much special for St. Patrick's Day other than making corned beef and drinking Guinness.  However, a local brewery sponsors a Big Wheel race down a giant hill that ends at their establishment.  Adults are challenged to get a Big Wheel and configure it any way they like so that they can then race down the hill at incredibly fast speeds.  It was so beautiful out that we made our way down to watch the race and it ended up being a blast.  Malcolm loved it and wanted it to go on even longer.  On the way home, he was planning what his Big Wheel would be like when he is old enough to race one.  He is also toying with the idea of working with Kevin on designing one, then having "Uncle Jeremy" (family friend) race it for him next year.

They broke up the competitors into 7 groups, then did a final race with all of the winners.

In the wagon and headed for the race.  One of the people working asked Kevin if he wanted to race down the hill in the wagon, but he declined.

We had some time to walk around and check out the bikes.

This one was Dorothy's favorite.  I think she liked the pinwheels.

Some folks rode a Big Wheel that wasn't changed much or at all.  Others really went all out on customizing it.

No one needed to pedal.  They just held the legs up and zoomed down the hill.

Some had themes, like this E.T. one.

There was a bagpiper who played each time there was a race.

Safety first.  We were surprised to see that some of the people didn't have helmets, but the girl with no shoes was the one that really made us cringe.

This guy was really nice and offered to let Malcolm sit on his bike before the race, but Malcolm declined.

This guy had his feet on the pedals and I think it was helping to keep him from going too fast.

This one was John Deere themed.  The side braces broke off, so he tucked them under his arms like ski poles.

This bike is sagging a little, but not as much as a couple of others.  Those didn't make it to the bottom of the hill.

I couldn't capture just how fast these guys were flying, but it was impressive.  We had one guy wipe out right in front of us and Dorothy got really worried.  He was fine.  Several of the Big Wheels did not make it to the finish line, and more than one person ran across, carrying their bike.

Spring Consignment Sale

Yes, it's that time again where I sell off the kids' old stuff and try to find bargains on the things they will need for the next season.  For those of you who have commented on how the kids are dressed, this is how I can afford to have them wear such cute stuff all of the time, and even let them wear it to the playground and in the sandbox.  I only do one of the many consignment sales around.  Growing Cents of Style is who I use because I like that they are picky.  There is less pure junk to wade through like at some of the others I visited a few years ago.  The quality is good and the prices are fair.  This time around , I spent a total of $150.87 and made $193.20 in take home profits, for a net gain of  $42.33.  Hooray for coming out ahead!

My non-clothing score was this indoor/outdoor, double sided acrylic easel for $25! We can even adjust the height so that Dorothy can reach it easier. I love that they will be able to use this outdoors and we can keep the paint mess out of the house. I also love that they can paint directly on the acrylic and it can be just washed off. Their painting style is either to make one mark and declare themselves done (wasting paper) or use so much paint that the paper is saturated and it disintegrates. I have also found a website with lots of neat ideas for acrylic easels and we will have to try some of them out. I had never heard of the Lakeshore Learning company, but they seem to have a lot of really interesting products.


The kids took to the easel right away. I'm so glad I got the one where they can both work at the same time.



Kevin lowered it so that Dorothy could reach it easier, and it is a perfect height.

On half price day, I picked up three hard cover books from the Magic Tree House series for $5.00.  I will probably hold on to these until a Christmas or birthday when Malcolm is reading at that level.  The books look brand new.

As for the clothes, this time, the pickings were a little slim in the 2T girls (very surprising) and the 4-5 boys. I did still find some great things though.


Malcolm's Stash

From left to right:
navy swim trunks with alligators from Gymboree:  $5
red and navy knit shorts from Gymboree:  $3
trains pajamas from Gymboree:  $2
striped, roll-up beach pants from Hanna Andresson:  $7
white leather Keds (new):  $10
brown leather Stride Rite sandals (new):  $10 (these are for next summer and I am hoping they will fit then)




The beach pants are really cute but were washed out in the first photo.  They are light blue with ivory, white, and red stripes.

On half price day, I found two more things for Malcolm:

jeans shorts from Gap: $6
summer pajamas from The Children's Place: $3

I'm glad that I took advantage of some great sales last fall, and bought several shorts/shirt sets for Malcolm that he can wear this summer.  He has a few pairs of shorts from last year that I think will still fit, so I'll just get (or make) him some t-shirts, and he should be all set.  He still needs sandals, but those can wait for now.


Dorothy's Stash


navy sailor dress that appears new:  $5
I love sailor outfits and regret that I never had one for Malcolm.  At five dollars, she can wear it for play and just be cute.



red and white polka dot outfit:  $5
knit navy shorts and orange and white stripe tank from Hanna Andersson:  $6
The shorts and tank will be perfect for gymnastics class and Dorothy's favorite color is orange.


blue and white dress with green polka dot trim from Hanna Andersson:  $7
polka dot tunic top/dress and pink leggins from Hanna Andersson:  $10

Dorothy also got a pair of these brown polka dot shoes for $10. She already has a pair and loves them, and I found a new pair in the next size up, so I bought them. She has worn the first pair a lot and I have been surprised at just how much they go with.

I picked up two pair of Smartwool socks for her for next winter. I have been wanting to try them, but they are really expensive. For $4.00, I'll see how they do.

On half price day, she got some more goodies:

striped pants from Gymboree: $1
striped terry cloth cover up from Zutano: $7

I liked the pants when I saw them the first night, but didn't buy them because there was no top to go with them. While looking on half price day, I happened to see them next to a yellow shirt with a white daisy on it and they looked great together. The yellow shirt was being sold with some white shorts, but both the shirt and the shorts had stains on them, so I put them back. I stopped by Buy Buy Baby on the way home and found a darling plain yellow shirt that matches. I'm going to applique a daisy on the shirt to match the pants. I'll blog photos when it is finished.

The cover up will be perfect for the summer when we spend so much time at the pool and at swimming lessons.  Sometimes things don't dry out in between, so I am happy to have an extra.  



new, with tags, pink gingham smocked dress from Neimen Marcus: $7
watermelon dress from Hartstrings: $3

I am such a sucker for smocking and for anything from Hartstrings. She didn't need either of these, but they were far too cute to leave behind.  I usually pick up a few Janie and Jack items, which I also love, but there wasn't much in that brand this time.  I guess I'll just have to go to their store and shop in person.

A Month Behind

I had not gotten pictures off of the camera in about a month, so I am way behind in my blogging. Let's go back a month, to the weekend before Valentine's Day, shall we?

The week before, Malcolm finally started writing, and it was mostly legible! He couldn't remember how to spell his name, but if I said the letters out loud, he could do it and he was very pleased with himself. He was excited to write his whole name, all by himself, on the Valentine cards for his class. I wrote his name on a post-it and stuck it to his table so that he could look at it when he needed help to remember what letter came next, and he worked on his Valentines on and off all weekend. Dorothy, of coarse, had to get in on the action too.

Since I am a month late in posting this, I should add that Malcolm can now write his name with no outside assistance.  He is on the cusp of reading and writing and it is a very exciting time.  He is picking out words he knows by sight when we read books, he is asking us to spell lots of things so that he can write them, and he is practicing sounding out some words.

Concentrating very hard.

His Valentines came with stickers, so I set Dorothy up with some little bits of paper, a pencil, and her own heart stickers.

He loved choosing where to sign his name and put the sticker.  He didn't usually pick where I would have put it (open spaces), but he was proud of his efforts.

The older Dorothy gets, the closer they seem to become. If you had told me that siblings could like each other so much, I would have thought you were crazy. Sure, they bicker, but no where near as much as I expected, and they play nicely together more often than not.

Cuddles for everyone! (The bear's name is Cuddles)

There is more proof of sibling love that my husband posted here.