Two weeks ago I was starting dinner and waiting for Mark to come into town. Mark would be home after dinner so I was planning on feeding and bathing the kids before his arrival. I had my mixing bowl out and was getting ingredients together for meatloaf. Henry came into the kitchen to chat and keep me company. He wanted to stir the glop in the bowl. As he did that, I sauteed some chopped onions and garlic. Once I added that to the bowl I got the meat out and started squishing it together with my hands. Henry was still chatting away. The stove had been off for about 3 minutes, but with a glass top stove it seems to stay hot for an extra long time. Doesn't take much time to place two fingers onto the burner of the stove but the pain sure lasts. As Henry started screaming I was frantically trying to get a look at his hand while raw meatloaf mixture dripped onto the floor. I finally had to go wash my hands, all the while saying soothing things to him. Even before my hands were clean I was shouting for Irene to get her shoes on. I knew that this wasn't going to be good. Thankfully, she listened and had her shoes on quickly. Gavin held up the works for a few minutes while I cleaned his dirty diaper. Then we dashed to the car, Henry crying all the way.
While driving to the Emergency Room I called Mark. Thankfully, he was in Michigan by this time and within two and a half hours from home. At the ER we were taken right into registration and then back into a room. I admit to having one very brief moment of panic when we headed toward the area where my mom had been. I didn't want to be in there while my child was in need. If it had been me then no worries but I couldn't do it when it was my son. It only took a moment to realize that that area was occupied. We were taken to a small room that had
Finding Nemo fish on the wall. Our doctor was the talented husband of one of the ladies I knit with. I tried comforting Henry by telling him we've been to the doctor's house and that he was the one with the blow-up bounce house in his basement. The doctor was great with Henry, the nurse was fantastic. Henry had two fingers with 2nd degree burns. His middle finger was by far the worse with the burn crossing the crease of the finger. He was given pain medication and a diet coke. Diet coke? Yes, he asked for it to help with the pain. I figured that if having it made him feel less pain then it was fine with me. Irene got one, too. When we were finished, the kids wanted to walk down the hallway to check out the cafeteria. They've remodeled since the last time I had been that way. It looks quite nice now.
We left the hospital with a prescription for pain medicine, gauze, burn goo and instructions to call Henry's doctor on Monday. Called Mark and gave him the details then headed to K-mart to fill the prescription. The pharmacist was fast and we decided to walk through the toy section. By that time the pain medication from the hospital had really set in. Henry was jibber-jabbering like crazy. We walked over to Subway to get a juice and wait for Mark to get there (Mark parks his truck in the big parking lot by K-mart/Subway).
In the two weeks since, we've been to Henry's doctor twice. Once for the initial visit and check up. It is a bit nerve wracking when the nurse tells you over the phone to make sure you give out pain medication before the appointment. That visit went well. The goal was to keep the blisters intact for as long as possible. Since the burn crossed the crease any scarring could impede the movement of that finger. We went to the doctor again this week because the blister had broken. Both fingers look great and there is no trouble with movement.
Did I mention that I'm going to make meatloaf for dinner tomorrow? Henry will not be allowed in the kitchen.
Irene turned 4 in June and we celebrated by having her birthday at The Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek. My dad made sandwiches and brought a picnic lunch for us all. My mother-in-law brought a Toy Story 3 cake.
After lunch we headed into the zoo. They cousins had to pose with the giant ant :-)
Irene was very excited about the giraffes at the zoo. Grandma got her face painted as a giraffe.
The zoo had a giraffe feeding section. We spent a lot of time here but it was so much fun to be up close to them!
It was a great birthday party and the kids loved it. Oh, in case you like the top Irene is wearing, I made that for her. I finished it late the night before the party.
I've been without a computer for a bit. My computer picked up a virus from one of the blogs I read. It ate my hard drive and after paying for a new one I am a bit 
We recently went to Dutch Village in Holland, Michigan. We've talked about going for years. The tulips were in bloom and we wanted to spend a family day together.
We had a Dutch buffet for lunch and then walked through the village. Lots of cute things for the kids to check out and a lot of information. 
Giant wooden shoe slide that Henry and Irene enjoyed.
Bunnies were available to hold, pet and brush.
And goats needed to be walked.
We went through the shops including a shop that sold all kinds of Delft. Some pieces were priced in the thousands! We bought some fudge made with Dutch cocoa and (of course!) we got wooden shoes for Henry and Irene. They've been having fun wearing them out and about. 
