Toenail-less in El Dorado

Here's the email that Mitch sent to some friends and family about my toe-nail incident Tuesday morning. He thought it would make a good blog post.

Here’s the whole story:

About 7:30 AM we heard a loud truck, presumably the trash truck, rumbling down Neel Street . This was earlier than usual, so I had not yet taken the trash to the curb. Jo Ellen hollered for me to get the trash, but I had just gotten out of the shower so I couldn't get to it in time. Jo Ellen clad in flip flops and a robe went running down the side yard pulling the trash can when she hung the big toe of her left foot on one of the stepping stones. She still got to the curb with the can, and managed to pick up the newspaper before hobbling back up the sidewalk. Her toe was a cringe inducing site, with the big toe nail pulled straight up with blood, dirt, grass, etc. My mom came over to stay with Ainsley; we dropped Will off at school, and then headed to the SAMA clinic since we figured a toenail injury would be low on the priority list at the ER.

We had to wait for over an hour, but eventually got to see Dr. Bevill. He gave her a shot on both sides of her big toe to deaden it. Jo Ellen did really well with that; I guess compared to childbirth it was bearable. He clipped off the nail that was sticking up at a 90O angle, and then got out something that looked like a catfish skinner to trim some more of the nail away. He decided that the 1/3 of her nail that was left appeared to still be attached to the toe, so he opted not to remove the remaining part since that would cause even more trauma. He said that we’ll know in a week if the nail will recover or start to slough off on its own. Sent her home with a prescription for antibiotics and instructions to keep it covered with Neosporin and a band aid, and wait for the soreness to get better. The new nail will just take time to grow in.

And to add insult to injury, the loud truck that started all this wasn’t even the trash truck after all. It came at the usual time.

After we got finished at SAMA, and picked up provisions at the pharmacy I did treat her to lunch with a Dr. Pepper at Sonic.

No matter how your day is going, at least you didn’t get your toenail ripped off.

Sincerely,

Mitch Colvin

Busy Weekend

The first weekend in October was a busy one. Friday was EHS Homecoming and the kids were excited about the parade and game. We dressed them in their purple and white and went to "the hill" at First Baptist. There were kids running around and throwing footballs all over the place. They ran around some but it was really hot, so we walked across the street to be in the shade to watch the parade. Michelle, Carson and Cooper Henry and Kendall Bonsall watched with us. Grammy, Papaw and G.G. joined us as well. The kids waved, marched, danced . . . they thoroughly enjoyed the parade, which was pretty good for a high school homecoming parade. A state trouper gave them each a teddy bear as we were leaving, which they thought was cool. We went to Minute Man with Mitch's parents and enjoyed some yummy cheese dip before going home to rest up before the game. The game was very crowded! We made it through the third quarter; El Dorado shut out Sheridan, so we didn't miss much.












On Saturday, Mitch bought us Spudnuts for breakfast. Spudnuts are an El Dorado original (or at least they are not found many places). If you have grown up eating them, you think they are the best donut out there! That morning we took the kids to the St. Paul Pumpkin Patch. The kids climbed the hay stacks, went through the tunnel, played on a tire swing, played in some corn, picked out pumpkins, etc. Ainsley even got her face painted like a cat. We came home with several pumpkins for the porch. This is a great fundraiser for St. Paul and I'm so glad they do it every year.













On Sunday, each kid had a birthday party to go to. Will went to Holden's 5th birthday party and Ainsley went to Canaan's 3rd birthday party. This was Ainsley's first party invite. Mitch was not super happy that it was for a boy, but they are Sunday School friends. She is still talking about going to Canaan's "Birthday House".

On the road again

The day after Mitch and I got back from San Antonio, we drove back to Little Rock to take Will to a Cardiology appointment. I had tried to change it so that we wouldn't be back on the road with no time between our trip, but it just didn't work out. Will went to school and I picked him up a few minutes early so we could hit the road. Ainsley went with us. We got there and Will was weighed, measured and had his blood pressure taken. He even stuck out his arm when the nurse picked up the blood pressure cuff - he knows the drill! He of course charmed all the nurses and staff and we were taken back to the exam room to wait on Dr. Seib (no echo this time!). We love Dr. Seib and are so thankful that he was on call the night Will was born and was flown to ACH. He is very friendly and down-to-earth; he does not at all have a "god-complex" like some docs that you encounter. He's great! The intern came in and asked us all of the usual questions about his breathing, activity level, whether he ever turns blue . . . . (we've always laughed about that; like, if he turns blue, we wouldn't call!). Dr. Seib came in later and Ainsley jumped in my lap and said "Not me!" He eventually earned her approval when he proved that he wasn't going to touch her! She got pretty restless and loud during Will's exam but he did fine. The news was basically that Will was doing well for now; upon exam the mitral valve regurgitation did not sound any different - no better, no worse - and Will is still tolerating it fine. No reason to rush into surgery. We did ask him some questions about what might happen in that event. We talked some about Will's dental issues and then we were done. Dr. Seib took both kids into the doctor's conference room/office where a couple of other doctors were working. He let them each pick out a treat from the treasure box and they both "worked the room" with their silly sayings, hugs and kisses. I thought we'd never get them out of there! We let them play outside on the hospital playground before we left. We were both thankful and relieved for a good report!

That was on Wednesday . . . on Friday we packed up again and went to Bentonville/Rogers for Mitch's "work" trip. We picked up Will from school and hit the road. The trip was long as we had to stop many times for the kids to go to the bathroom. This was Ainsley's first long trip since she has been potty trained. We keep a portable potty in the back of the van so we can stop easier and save a little time. It also keeps us from having to find a decent public bathroom every time. About an hour from Bentonville, Ainsley had an accident in her car seat. She soaked everything! We had to change her and then strip everything and wash it once we got to Guy and Julie's house. We got to their house and ate supper. Julie was at a shower and came in later. We hung out and played with Shepherd, who had just started crawling a little. The kids really enjoyed him! He was a little sick, but still very happy! That night we went to out hotel in Rogers and tried to settle in for the night. We'd planned to put Ainsley in the pack and play, but that didn't quite work out - Ainsley had a hard time going to sleep. Long story short, we all ended up in one bed, which was either a queen or a full - too small for 4 people anyway!

Saturday Mitch went to the AR/Alabama game with some co-workers and I took the kids to Guy and Julie's. We ate lunch and took the kids to a park before the game started. They had a great time and acted pretty good. It still makes me nervous to take them places by myself, but Guy and Julie were there to help. The plan was to wear them out before the game so maybe they'd take a nap.











We went back to their house and I got Ainsley down. Will watched the game with us and ended up napping on the couch with me later on. The game was disappointing; we lead Alabama (who was ranked #1 in the nation) for most of the game, but blew it in the second half. We hung out and ate supper and I bathed the kids before meeting Mitch back at the hotel that night. We decided to open the sofa bed and Mitch and Ainsley slept on it so that we were not all crammed together. I don't think either bed was terribly comfortable though!

We did a little shopping Sunday morning before meeting Guy, Julie and Shepherd for lunch. It was a good weekend, but we were glad to be home to stay for awhile!

San Antonio

Mitch and I took a trip to San Antonio at the end of September. He had to go to an Environmental conference with the NPRA for work, and I tagged along with him. It was the first time we have been away overnight from both kids! We left Will when he was 7or 8 months old to go to Chicago. We left Ainsley last year when we went to NYC, but Will went with us. So, for the first time in 5 years, we were childless. It was a much needed vacation for the two of us.

I did a little research on San Antonio for this post, to make sure I had dates and such correct. I read that it was considered "one of America's four unique cities" (the others are San Francisco, New Orleans, and Boston). We (I) left our camera at home, so we only got a few pictures on our phones.

We flew out on a Saturday morning from Little Rock and got into San Antonio by the middle of the afternoon. I had been to SA about 10 years ago when my family went to visit my dad's best friend from high school. Mitch had been a few times, but we'd never been together. The conference was at the Westin on the Riverwalk, so we checked in and went to our room. The hotel had "Heavenly beds" and we joked (but not really) that they were the best part of the trip, seeing as how we never get a good night's sleep due to Will's sleeping issues. I took a little nap and then we set out exploring.



We ate supper at a restaurant on the river called "Budro's" which had the best prickly pear margaritas and made-at-your-table guacamole you've ever had. Then we walked around at street level and saw this church - literally called Little Church - in the La Villita area.

La Villita was the first San Antonio neighborhood - it was originally a settlement of primitive huts for Spanish soldiers stationed at the Alamo.

Today it is a quaint arts and historical district. I did some shopping there later in the week and it was a nice little area. You can get to it from the river level by way of this outdoor amphitheater.


We saw the San Fernando Cathedral and went inside. They were having a church service. There was a mariachi band playing so we watched for a few minutes. Inside the church are the remains of Alamo soldiers entombed in a small coffin. On the wall next to it are names of many Alamo heroes. It is where Jim Bowie was married. Built in 1731, it is the oldest continuously functioning religious community in Texas. The walls of the original church still form the sanctuary of the cathedral.

We walked around for a little while longer and then went back to our room. We were so tired, I think we were both asleep by 9:00!

On Sunday we set out again on foot.



We read about a historic neighborhood that looked interesting called King William. We walked through an artsy area to get there and then turned into a neighborhood that we thought was King William - but it was more like just the "'hood", so we got out of there. On the way to the real King William neighborhood, we stopped at a place called the Guenther House. It was an old flour mill was built in 1860 along the San Antonio river. The house and restaurant were built between 1915 and 1918. It was a quaint, interesting place full of mill memorabilia and baked goods and accessories.


Then we found the real King William neighborhood, and it was gorgeous. There were huge, sprawling houses and smaller, quaint houses, but they were all very historical and architecturally interesting.




Later we took a street car to the downtown area. We were trying to find the Spanish Governor's Palace - another place of the map that looked interesting. We didn't find it right away but did end up at the Market Square, which had many shops and produce vendors. We ate at a place called La Margarita's and both agreed that it was the best Tex-Mex food we've ever had!! We walked toward downtown again and found the Spanish Governor's Palace this time. They had taken some liberty with the fact that it was both a palace and that it housed the Spanish Governor. It was an interesting place none the less. It was built in 1749 as an adobe structure that was the residence and headquarters for the Captain of the Spanish Presidio - it's purpose was the protect the San Antonio mission (the Alamo) and it's surrounding colony. It became the seat of Texas in 1772. The city of San Antonio bought it in 1928 and by then it had served as a tailor's shop, a bar, and a school. In the front stands the coat of arms of the Spanish Kind Ferdinand. The building consists of 10 rooms and out back is a pretty courtyard and fountain (I read that the fountain is supposedly haunted - I'm glad we didn't know that at the time!)



After that we walked to the Alamo. We had both been there and decided not to go in, but we sat outside and did some people-watching for awhile. My feet were killing me by this time, and I needed a rest. We later found a glass art store that Mitch had seen advertised. I love all types of blown glass and glass art. Most of it was sooo expensive, but I enjoyed browsing anyway.

We went back to the hotel, got dressed up and went out to eat at a restaurant called Bigga on the Banks. A law firm treated some clients (and their guests) who were attending the conference. It was a fancy-shmancy place with all the courses, and it was all delicious!

The next day Mitch was in his conference all day. The Westin had a spa with a variety of spa services, so I treated myself to a facial and a massage. They were so, so, so nice! I enjoyed every minute of it. I had never had a facial but I really liked it! Later I walked to the River Center Mall with Kara, the wife of one of Mitch's co-workers. We ate lunch at Chili's and shopped for a few hours. That night Mitch and I ate at Casa Rio's - home of the colorful umbrellas. A duck nearly ate Mitch's leg! Later we shopped and ate ice cream (we did NOT eat healthy on this trip) and took a boat ride. Our tour guide told us all sorts of interesting facts about San Antonio, the buildings we were viewing, and the River Walk itself. On the way back to the hotel we stopped and sat on "marriage island", where about 300 marriages are performed each year.

The next day while Mitch was in class I went to the exercise facility, walked around La Villita to do some shopping, and met Kara again for lunch. I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside by the river reading. It was so peaceful! I loved it. We left to go to the airport at around 3 and had an uneventful trip home. We got in late, so the kids stayed with Mitch's parents one more night.

It was a nice get-away before a very busy coming week.

They are listening!

I am very behind on blogging and have pictures to post from our recent activities, but I will get those up later. I wanted to write a couple of stories down so that I could remember them. Sometimes I forget how much kids are listening even when you think they are not. Then they say something that slaps that reality in your face. And sometimes the associations kids make about things they hear can be pretty comical.

Funny Will and sweet Ainsley . . . .

Our dog Daisy hates thunder storms! It stemmed from a storm a long time ago when a tree fell on the porch where her dog house is. Since then, she would rather be out in the rain than on the porch during a storm, so Mitch's parents let her in the garage during storms now. So one Sunday at church Gill (Papaw) was in Will's Sunday School class for Extended Session (volunteers rotate keeping the little kids' classes during the worship service). The other teacher was leading the kids in the story about Noah's Ark. She explained how Noah gathered two of every kind of animal to put on the ark because it was going to flood. She talked about how it rained and rained and rained for 40 days . . . and Will turned around to his Papaw and said "You need to put Daisy in the garage" HA!

One of Will's therapists, Kristi Lowery - OT and one of the co-founders of Hope Landing - found out about 6 or 7 weeks ago that she has breast cancer. This is her fourth round of cancer since she was about 12 years old. She went for her yearly mammogram and next thing you know - cancer. Mitch and I have been talking about it and have told Will about it as well. We haven't talked to him about details, but he knows that she is sick and that she cannot come to Hope Landing for awhile. We arranged for him to send her some flowers right after her surgery. He reminds us every night to pray for her. We had not, however, talked about this specifically to Ainsley. But one night while we were saying bedtime prayers, she said "Pray for Mrs. Kristi be not sick anymore". That just melted my heart. I was surprised that she had been paying attention to that topic, but I was so proud that she knew to pray about it!