School Vacation Day One: The Pickle Jar

Yesterday was going pretty well. We got up and did our usual morning routine at a slightly slower pace, and then went to the gym. Things were going great! Not much fighting, I was feeling pretty calm about the things that weren't going well (and this is really the key, I've learned) and I started to think about lunch. Mark wanted pb & j, Eric a cheese sandwich. They have to want opposite things every single choice, but I was okay with it. Grilled cheese and pb & j it is! Everyone is happy. Then they started talking sides and they wanted pickles. We had just bought a huge, ginormous jar of pickles at Sams so I got it out and put it on the counter. I opened the fridge and got some leftovers out for me, and cheese for the grilled cheese. I turned around and before I could put the stuff down...

CRASH!! Glass breaking, Zack crying. Zack was bleeding so I went into crisis mode. I cleaned him up and upon seeing his finger thought he'd need stitches. I also thought I'm no doctor and maybe I'm wrong. I hoped for the latter, but started gearing up for a long afternoon in the ER.

Thank goodness for friends! I called my friend to see if she could come sit with the boys. To be honest I was first going to ask her if she could come tell me if I was overreacting or not, but then the amount of blood coming from his finger told me I needed medical help.Thank goodness for Mark, who when I shouted "Someone bring me the first aid kit!" ran and got it right away. Thank goodness for my neighbor who came over until my friend could get here. Which was seriously 5 minutes, but I couldn't think about anything except getting out that door and to a place that could help my buddy.

My older kids were on my not so nice list (watch out, it's not too late to call Santa!) as I walked out the door and they were both in tears because I wouldn't let them eat the pickles that were on the floor, amidst glass and Zack's blood. I left with one behind the couch, and the other in a puddle of tears. About PICKLES!! Nevermind the fact that their brother was going to get stitches. Clearly we need to work on compassion and not being total selfish little brats. I usually don't call my kids names ESPECIALLY on the blog, but Selfish Little Brats fits nicely in this case.

Long story short (and it was a looooooong time in the ER) he now has 3 stitches in his middle finger and some dermabond on his other hand. He'll be all better soon.

So, first day of Christmas Break... survived. But not by much. We'll see what day 2 brings. Hopefully lots of quiet, peace and loving sweet children who play for hours without fighting. Hey, I can dream.