Nursemaid's Elbow

My sister-in-law taught me this trick after a not-so-fun Sunday morning trip to Urgent Care with her then toddler Michaela who was diagnosed with and treated for Nursemaid's Elbow . If after you swing your child by the arm or pull them up by their arms in a hurry (a la from the pew!) and they start HYSTERICALLY SCREAMING you probably dislocated their elbow. Something about their little bones that makes this especially easy to do.

Anyways, to correct this:

(1) With one hand, hold your child's arm bent against their chest, with their little hand up towards their face and their elbow pointing to their toes

(2) With your other hand, rotate in their hand in a circular motion until you feel or hear their ligament pop back into place

It is not a difficult technique, but sometimes tricky, especially with a thrashing, pained little person.

I accidentally dislocated Isabel's elbow last night. :( She started screaming. I immediately did this maneuver and she started laughing. Piercing pain to no pain instantly might be funny. Maybe? Only to Izzy. She is a special person.




**Please, please, please use your head. If it wasn't a gentle motion in which your child's elbow became injured, or if there is blood, or whatever else, your child might NOT have a dislocated elbow but something else more serious. Take loving care of your kids and take them to the doctor immediately!

Ouch

Besides my bed, I missed two things on vacation, my big red pot and my kitchen knives. Christopher assured me that I would not need my cast iron soup pot on vacation so I didn't bring it to North Carolina (I did try!), but my knives were not around to be stowed in my bags. I sent them away to be sharpened. They needed it! They were so dull.

They're back and they're SHARP. Man! I have cut my fingers 6 six times already. My left hand is especially hurting. I am missing the fingernail on my index finger (I sliced it right off) and I have a deep cut down the middle (hence the gauze in the above photo). I have assorted nicks on the other appendages. Must. Slow. Down. While. Chopping.

Caption Contest

Please leave your entry in the comments section. I will provide a prize to the winner. Contest ends in one week (20 Oct 2009).

St. John's 125th

Chris and Pr. Steeh

In the lofty pulpit.

We arrived home yesterday after a long weekend in Michigan to celebrate St. John Lutheran Church's 125th anniversary. My husband was asked to preach, which is a great honor. St. John's pulled out all the stops (literally)--the music during the service was great!

All of my husband's family was able to stay with my in-laws and we were all together for a couple nights. There were 20 of us around the dinner table on Saturday night! The cousins had a great time playing during the day and the grown ups had a great time chatting late into the evening.

John C. Campbell Folk School

We went to the John C. Campbell Folk School's Fall Festival while we were in North Carolina. It was one of everyone's favorite things about our North Carolina trip. Local artisans were invited to sell handmade pottery, scarves, wooden bowls, stained glass, soap, wooden toys, etc. on the school's property. My mom bought me a beautiful scarf. Chris brought himself a handmade broom for his sauna.

There were also 2 stages for live bluegrass music and dance performances. This particular stage was amazingly beautiful. The backdrop was the mountains. It was difficult to get a good picture, but just trust me that it was gorgeous. Claire was mesmerized by the cloggers. I could totally picture her in a clogging dress and shoes dancing her heart out to Appalachian hits!

This is a picture of the other stage. Not as pretty, but the music was quite good.

We all shared a pulled pork dinner for lunch. The pig they were cooking was HUGE! It made our hog look really tiny!

We arrived in the early morning and by 1:30pm the kids were pooped. I think that Chris and I could have stayed all day under the pavilion listening to the various performers. The bluegrass was authentic!

Pulling Up

It seems much too soon, but Gus has been pulling himself up on whatever is close by. He isn't quite crawling, but is VERY close to getting the hang of it!

MIA

Missing somewhere in North Carolina:

(1) Pink, fleece jacket. Size 7-8.

(1) Pair of flip-flop sandals. Purple. Size 11-12.

(6) Six pacifiers! Mam brand. Boy colors.

If found, consider yourself an expert hunter of lost things. Please return.