Aren't They Adorable?

Is there really any need for words on this post?  Are these little ones not the cutest things you have ever seen?

It is quite a production to get this bunch of boys in four straight rows standing relatively still.  Matt is the third from the left on the bottom. He is very excited to be part of this "team". To have an official team and all of the necessary equipment to be a soccer player is such a big thing for this little boy.

Every Saturday we get to go out to Tuma and enjoy kicking the soccer ball around and learning some of the important skills needed to play soccer like the "big boys".  He loves putting on his shin guards and cleats "all by himself".  I smile and savor these little boy moments...they are fleeting.

Tomato Picking Gear

Evidently this mom interrupted a dress up superhero fight when I asked these two to go out and pick some tomatoes for a salad.  They took their adventure outside and tackled the task with much enthusiasm.

I am pretty sure that there were more eaten than put in the bowl and I did notice out the window that there was an occasional need for a sword fight (however, I didn't know that we had so many enemies living among the tomatoes!)




It was funny to watch Matthew venture in between the tomato rows to dig into the plants in the middle.  The plants are all taller than he is.  He would sneak into the tomato forest and come out with one or two tiny tomatoes (they are called currant tomatoes because of their size).  For the length of time he was in there, my guess is that he probably ate six or seven to the one or two that he brought out and put into the bowl.  Eventually we had enough to eat for supper!

A Little Throwback Thursday Story

This is the only picture that I remember of these two people.  I remember going to their house and my parents talking about them.  They were no relatives of ours, just a couple that my parents knew.  We called them Grammy and Grampy Mitchell.

I can't make out the details much more than that other than to say that my feelings of their house were happy and fun.  By looking at the picture, I would say that I am around two or very close to it.  My brother was born in December when I was about 18-19 months old and he looks around 4-6 months old.

We lived on the Air Force base in Limestone, Maine so most of my parent's friends and acquaintances were Air Force and lived close by.  I can't say that I remember much about their house or anything else which made me think that my memories must be tied to this picture as photographs do help us to remember things that we wouldn't always remember otherwise.

 I always thought that until recently.  There seems to have been a revival of these candy peanuts.  Just looking at them makes me a little sick to my stomach because I am not a fan of marshmallowy candy.  But...I was realizing that every time I would see a pack of them in the store, my mind went right to Grammy and Grampy Mitchell.  Weird.  This is the only picture that I remember Mom having of them in our family albums and no candy peanuts anywhere to jog my memory.  Even so, every time I see them, I think of that elderly couple in Maine who treated their little visitors with candy peanuts.  I am going to chalk this one up to "my earliest memory".

There Was This Broken Arm

Labor Day Family Gathering...

It is less than an hour in and we are heading to the ER.  Zachary fell off the monkey bars and whatever was hidden under the skin of that arm, all of us who were present knew that he was hurt.  It hurt BAD.  Off we went to get it checked out.

A LONG wait! (Ice wrapped
in Auntie Retty's dishtowel
was a blessing)

A little entertainment in the
waiting room

ERs on holidays are a nightmare.  Last time we were there, it was Zach and it was New Year's Day. The place was full of people.  People who I sometimes wanted to check their charts to see if they were for sure needing to be in an EMERGENCY room.  Not many of them looked like they were suffering all that much.

We waited on Labor Day for two hours before there was a room available for a doctor to check it. Even the triage nurse thought it looked rough.  We could tell there was something not right. I always hesitate a little when I think of taking kids in to the ER because "it is probably nothing" is what my mind says. The longer we waited, the more I felt in my gut that there was something to check out this time.

Our ER doctor ROCKED!

Finally an x-ray...by a great
patient x-ray tech!

Once in the room, Zach was much more comfortable.  I settled him in on the bed and propped a pillow up under his elbow and he started breathing a lot easier.  Poor guy, he has a lot of patience, I do have to say.  That, and he is tough.  After waiting for the x-ray lady and then waiting for the results, another hour and a half went by and the doctor came in with a surprised look on his face and announced that Zachary was one tough kid because it was indeed broken and we had an appointment to see the orthopedic doctor first thing in the morning.  Oh yeah, and there could be surgery involved in the recovery.

Wow, when Zach does something, he does it with gusto, I can say that much about him!  And, thankfully, but God's grace, he was tough!  We left the hospital with strict instructions not to eat after midnight just in case there would have to be surgery.

The Next Morning...

Off we went first thing to see Dr. Switzer.  If there is one thing I can say about this man, it would be WOW! In all of my life experiences with doctors, for myself, or any one of my loved ones, I would have to say Dr. Switzer is the tops!  He knew Zach already when we came in because he had been studying his x-rays "most of the night" were his exact words.

Holding the set while the
plaster dries

He was so great to explain what was going on and to act quickly to help us make a decision.  He had sent out Zach's x-rays to six other colleagues to give their input and was able to tell me what he recommended based on what he had heard AND was not afraid to say "if this was my kid, I would..."  We decided to have him attempt setting it and give it a week in the splint to see if the arm would heal straight.  If there were any problems at all in a week, he could still do surgery.

Holding the angle while
the fiberglass dries

That was good news.  Zach knew it was going to hurt and the doctor didn't try to hide that.  He told us it was written all over Zach's chart from the ER staff that Zachary was a tough kid.  He told Zach that he knew he could do it and sure enough, Zach was tough and the doctor got the bone back where it needed to be.  He wanted to be sure it was right so he sat there and applied pressure while the plaster splint was drying so it would hold it in place.

Itchy Itchy Itchy!

Doc wanted an x-ray in the splint to check the placement of the set and it all looked well with the exception of one thing.  Zach is a little stinker and had somehow found a way to straighten out his elbow a bit more in the splint than the doctor wanted.  He acted quickly and had a nurse wrap fiberglass around the splint and held the angle right where it needed to be while she wrapped and for ten minutes after while the stuff dried!  We loved him!

We are now getting used to the cast and all of the ways life will have to be different for the next few weeks.  Zach broke his left arm and he is left handed.  He told me "I will just learn how to write with my right hand better"! He makes me smile. He has found out this week how happy he is that his mom knits.  Those knitting needles work great to get in under that cast and scratch!  Twelve years of parenting and just now we have our first major broken bone.  That is pretty miraculous for any of you who know my children!

Matthew's First Day of School

My Have They Grown!

The first day of school is here for the majority of the children in the house.  I can put a few scrapbook pages together later but enjoyed this little comparison:

August 2008

August 2014

Time really does fly by fast when we aren't paying attention.  The problem is, I thought I was!  There is a little more to first day of school picture taking I learned as they posed for numerous different opportunities to remember this day in the pages of the Sloan family history.  Here are just a few of the favorites:

 And, there you have it...MIDDLE SCHOOL!  There was another child who started today and he was a little more subdued when he got ready to go to school.  His little brother was a little spastic but Zachary can usually overlook that and stay focused on the job at hand.  Today, it was getting a picture taken and get in the car in time to get to school!

And then, in a moment of sweetness, once everyone got to where they were supposed to be Matt and I were home in the kitchen getting ready for our day.

He said, Mom, you took pictures of everyone else today but nobody took any pictures of you!  I will, and he picked up my phone and took a picture of me.  Which seems like a great place to end the story of today, the first day of school for four of the Sloans.

Sloan Cuke and Zucc Farm

I am happy to report that I have totally been living life the last month!  Summer has gone so fast and it is hard to believe that the first day of school is coming up on Monday!  In the meantime I have been busy with the produce around here.

 Above you see a couple of the harvests of cucumber and zucchini.  There have been multiple pickings since they started showing up in the garden.

Here is what I have been doing with all this produce:

Making dill pickle relish

Dill Pickles

Zucchini Bread - MANY loaves

Here is the first batch of pickles and relish

It has been a busy month.  We have also had tomatoes, carrots, peppers and have saved a TON of money in the produce department of the grocery store.  I love that part A LOT!