Happy Birthday, little p!

Happy Birthday, little p! You are 3 today! You had a rather abnormal entry into the world but since then, have been a joy to our lives:) even when you are throwing a tantrum you are still a joy and a miracle for us. May God grant you many years!!!

Jedi Battle gone Awry...

Big P has been running a fever since Monday evening (it is now Friday morning). No other symptoms and he has been, for the most part, just a little less exuberant than normal. He is eating, drinking, etc. normally.

Anyway, on Wednesday evening, after dinner, I was downstairs cleaning up the kitchen. Paul was upstairs with the boys. They were engaged in some intense Jedi lightsaber training. Paul goes to the bathroom to put on a bathrobe to make himself more of a Jedi (I guess- I don't know much about such things) and all of a sudden little p is screaming. Paul runs in and finds his lip split and he is bleeding profusely. We all pile into the old mini van and head to urgency care. When we are finally seen by a dr. he tells us we need to go to the Emergency Room as they will probably want to sedate little p to do the stitches since he is a squirmy almost three year old and his lip injury repair will need to be precise.

Off we go to the ER. By 10pm (Big P is about due for a next dose of tylenol) we are not in a room and little p is running around the ER as if nothing had happened. I call mom and dad and the come by the hospital and take me and Big P home. I could not sleep so watched episodes from season 1 of Lost until Paul returned, at 1am, with little p who immediately said, "I missed you mommy!" They did not sedate him (almost, though, because I guess he was hysterical in the middle of the stitching). We did not get a before picture but here is an after picture. And a picture of me with my younglings!

Note: I like the picture of little p- we had just finished saying prayers so it was taken by candlelight and you can see, in the background (and a little blurry) our icon corner with lit candles.

Facebook 25 Random things about me...

I cut and pasted the 25 random things about me from Facebook (yes, I have a Facebook account and spend way too much time on it:)

1. I have been deported from a communist country.
2. I love love love to read. and I am always reading something.
3. Currently, I am trying to read the Bible in a year, following the Orthodox books (apocrypha).
4. I love that my children have book lamps attached to their bunkbed so that they can read before going to bed, too (which they do- and they turn off the lamps at a reasonable time).
5. I do not have a spleen- it was removed soon after giving birth to my second son.
6. When they removed my spleen, I was told that it is very rare but some people have a second spleen. Turns out I am one of those people. They removed the second spleen, too.
7. My favorite color is green. My favorite smells are green (fresh cut lawn, cucumbers, pears, green peppers, etc.). I think this must mean something but I am not sure what...
8. I have the greatest family ever. That includes extended family and inlaws. I love my husband's side of the family, too- they are good people.
9. I have seen National Lampoon's Vacation too many times to count. We recorded it from TV years ago, totally edited. But last night is the first time I have seen it unedited. I think it is funnier without the swear words, personally.
10. My faith is very important to me. It took me a while to find it (even though I am cradle Orthodox and have never left the Church) but it has sustained me through the good and the not so good.
11. I love politics and having a good political discussion BUT as I grow older I tend to stay away from these types of discussions. I find that politics has become a private matter for me.
12. I love to listen to music and I love to listen to it really loud. My children also love music and listen to it loud, too.
13. I am becoming a homebody. And I love it!
14. I can put my whole fist in my mouth.
15. I enjoy the outdoors- camping, hiking, etc. but I do not like sitting in the sun. In fact, I missed the rain when I was living in San Diego!
16. I talk way too much. I am working on changing this.
17. My nose is crooked from a biking accident when I was young.
18. I really want to learn to knit and or crochet.
19. I am not at all artistic. I am also not into decorating. I am finally, 3 1/2 years after moving into our home, putting things on the walls and doing bits of decorating.
20. I hate mushrooms.
21. I want to go to the Holy Land someday.
22. I can be very emotional
23. I am almost always optimistic.
24. My sons are named Pavlos Nektarios and Petros Nektarios for Sts. Peter, Paul, and Nektarios. Pavlos is named for his grandfather, Fr. Paul (but we use the Greek form of the name) and Petros is named for my dad. Nektarios is for St. Nektarios because we love him!
25. I love to dance, especially Greek dance. My husband hates to dance.