Holy Mole-y

Our days lately have consisted of baseball and occupational therapy, gymnastics and homeschooling, speech therapy and gardening... and mole removal.

Huh?

Yeah. Joshua had a congenital mole that had started out the size of the head of a pin. It was between his toes, so I had forgotten it was there until he came to me recently and asked what was growing between his toes. When I looked, it had grown to the size of a dime.
We saw our family doctor, who referred us to a dermatologist. Because the mole was suspicious, he recommended removing it immediately. I hesitated and we got a second opinion. When the second dermatologist also recommended removal, we agreed.

FYI: The dermatologist showed us an easy mnemonic that lists things to watch for in moles- ABCDE. A is for asymmetry, B is for (irregular) borders, C is for color (changes), D is for diameter (larger than a pencil eraser), and E is for evolving. Joshua's mole fit all of the criteria of a suspicious mole.
On Friday Joshua's mole was removed. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and he had no trouble waking up from the anesthesia this time. He has been very easy-going about everything, which has been great!

He's in a bit of pain and still can't (or won't) walk on his own yet. The mole was large and the doctor wanted to remove a good margin around it so the wound is quite large. Because the mole stretched up the sides of two toes, the doctor couldn't do a skin graft either, so the hole was just packed and left open. It should heal from the inside out. It bled quite a bit the first night and I was starting to get worried but it looks better now. It's supposed to take 6-8 weeks to heal, which is rough for an almost 8-year old boy who just wants to run around.

We're waiting on the pathology report, but hopefully the mole hadn't turned into anything funky yet.

Add this to our list of weird, random things that happen to us when we least expect it.

Under Quarantine

We started the week off on Sunday with six happy, healthy kids.

Monday morning brought the stomach flu for one child, which we first hoped was a fluke.

Monday night brought the first spots of chicken pox for Nathan.

Now we are wrapping up the week with a full-fledged virus invasion.

Nathan has a mild case of chicken pox. All of the other kids (except Ryan) have had it before, thankfully. Nathan had a day of feeling under the weather but has been his normal, energetic self since then. I'm pleasantly surprised that he has so few spots and is not feeling sick or itchy.

As for the rest of us, five out of eight have been hit with the tummy bug. And one of those five just shared a cup of water with one of the healthy three, so I expect that we are not done yet. I suspect that we picked this bug up through the computer since it's going around Facebook right now. (Haven't you ever felt like that? You read about a friend's child getting sick and suddenly one of your own kids gets sick.) If there is one thing I can't stand, it's stomach viruses. There is just very little personal hygiene and extensive cleaning that prevent it from sweeping through a family with young kids. Yuck!

If I had to guess, I'd say that by the time we're all feeling better from the tummy bug, Ryan will have the chicken pox. March madness... I feel like I need to shower in bleach.

I'll be back when the quarantine is lifted. Be careful out there, folks!

Loving Arizona

It's sort of strange being back in Arizona. We never thought we'd live here again and it's comforting to move to a place that is somewhat familiar. I remember saying that I wouldn't mind living here again... and here we are now.
I took this picture almost 3 years ago. This weekend we had dinner here.
When we lived here in 2009, the kids and I were just visiting. We stayed for several weeks so that we could see Jason before he left for Iraq. There was sort of a cloud hanging over us, although we tried to really enjoy every minute that we had together. The kids had no idea what was coming.

It is so much easier to spend the day out now. I spend a lot less time worrying about what's packed in the diaper bag and a lot more time dragging the kids on desert hikes. Eating in a restaurant is less of a logistical nightmare. (A little less.) Maybe it's just getting enough sleep that makes you really appreciate having bigger little kids. (Yeah, it's probably the sleep because I hate them growing up so fast!)

This time, there is no looming deployment. We are just... here. Living. Enjoying our time here, knowing that another move is coming next year. It's kinda nice!
We had lunch in Tombstone this weekend. As I watched Sarah and Joshua sitting on this bench, it was strangely familiar.
We walked the same streets and stopped in the same places. But this time we have a smaller stroller... and bigger kids!
We've downgraded our stroller. Finally! Although, Leila and Sarah were both sitting in the double stroller after a long day of walking. It's harder pushing four kids in a double than it is pushing 5 kids in a quad.
(Sarah loves riding on Daddy's shoulders!)
We visited one of our favorite spots this weekend. There is a beautiful river just outside of town and the kids love to stand high on the banks of the river and toss pebbles into it.

There is just something really special about watching siblings hold hands. Don't you think?
There have been a few cool days here, although clouds are a rare sight. We have had quite a few windy days. One night last week brought 60+ mph wind gusts that carried all of our patio furniture away. That was exciting! (This is the view from our backyard.)
Even though it's 70 degrees or more at our house, there's still a light dusting of snow on the mountains. Love that!

It's hard to believe that we have only been here for 2 months now. It is already feeling like home. I guess that's a good thing!