Seven Quick Takes Friday

1. Dave took Jacob, Hannah and Benjamin to their very first magic show on Tuesday night. At the end of the evening, the twins burst through the door with stories of hands cut off and restored, scarves turned into birds and rabbits popping out of hats. Benjamin was a little confused and just seemed happy to have gone on an outing after supper. However, the introduction of a magician into the lives of Jacob and Hannah has completely thrown their vocational plans off track. While driving the next day, I could hear J and H arguing quite intensely. Their dispute was finally settled with a desperate question to Mommy from Hannah:
"Mom, can you be a husband and a magician?"
"Yes."
"See, I told you, Jacob!"
Pause, "What about a nun and a magician?"
"We'll have to talk to Sr. Teresa."

2. This conversation occurred while J, H and I drove down to the city on Wednesday night for Jacob's orthopaedic appointment on Thursday morning. About ten minutes outside of our small town, Jacob loudly proclaimed: "See you later, small town. Watch out, big city, here we come!" About an hour later, when he was describing how excited he was to go on a trip, he reassured me that he still loved home with the following statement: "After all, Mom, we all know that home is where the heart is." There is good reason that we call him cliche-boy.

3. Speaking of orthopaedic appointments. Jacob had his eighth x-ray in a month and met with a great doctor in "the Body Shop" at the hospital. J received a new cast - glow in the dark - and has to be seen in three weeks to decide what should happen next. The bone is healing quite well but it is still at a 29 degree angle. The doctor tried to manipulate the bone, but it has been healing for four weeks already so he didn't have much luck. He told me that it is extremely rare to have to re-break a bone surgically, but he will need to see Jacob over the next 8 months to determine whether or not the angle of the bone is affecting the mobility of his hand. We shall see. This would not be the first time that Jacob has proved himself to be extremely rare.

4. As always, the staff at the hospital demonstrated how great they are with kids. The orthopaedic technician (the maker of the cast) also proved his worth with mommies as he attended to me when I nearly fainted upon the removal of J's cast. I think my near-faint had something to do with three things:
a. There was a series of shots of what a child's arm looks life if water gets inside a cast. Gross.
b. There was a before and after of a child who had failed to wear a bike helmet in a serious accident. Horrendous.
c. I happened to glance at both of these as the technician began to cut through the cast and, I guess, it was just too much.
I have never fainted before but the signs were unmistakable: my stomach started to rise, my sight grew dark and my skin clammy. I dropped into the nearest chair and gladly took the wet cloth that was offered. As the technician assured me, "No worries, Mom. It happens all the time." Jacob didn't notice.

5. Below is what happens when I choose blogging over children.
6. Dave and I still haven't celebrated our anniversary. It is the deciding game of the Stanley Cup tonight so I have decided to book a babysitter, reserve a table at a restaurant, and surprise my hubby with a date. We shall see if we make it to next year's anniversary. Just joking. I'll probably watch the game with him.

7. As I waited in line at the registration desk at the hospital, I noticed a chart on the wall listing the meanings of the various codes (e.g. Code Blue, Code Yellow etc.). Aside from the usual codes for cardiac arrest and the like, there is also a code for a missing child and for Disaster - Code Orange. I am still wondering what ominous event would necessitate a Code Orange. The newly declared Flu Pandemic? Cough, cough.