Car Accident, Bike Wreck, Pink Eye, Teething

This has been quite the week, and we are ready to put it behind us.  Monday night Dan's car started to hydroplane as he rounded a tight corner on a freeway on-ramp.  He overcorrected and the car slammed front and then back into the concrete median wall dividing his lane from the rest of the freeway.  He came to a stop facing the on-coming traffic, which had all come to a stop in time to avoid hitting him.  Dan was able to move the car to the shoulder and walked away unscathed.  The same could not be said for his car, affectionately known as Venus.  Venus was the first new vehicle we bought together.  She joined our family just a few months before Adam did, and has been a trusty and reliable friend ever since.  We had dropped her insurance to liability and the body shop came back with an estimate of over five thousand dollars to fix her.  The cost, along with the fact that she had almost 200,000 miles and no AC, led us to the difficult decision to say goodbye.  Wednesday Dan cleaned her out and removed her license plate.  We are selling her for $350 to someone at the body shop who plans to sell her parts on eBay.  She's a DNR and an organ donor.

Tuesday on his way home from school, the chain slipped off of Eli's bike, causing an accident which resulted in a sad, scraped-up boy claiming that both arms were broken (although one was worse than the other).  Being the kind, angelic mother that I am, I was dubious.  I called the nurse and she said to give him some Tylenol and see if he felt better in an hour.  I kept an eye on him.  He seemed to be using both arms somewhat, and there was no visible swelling, but on the other hand, he was trying to keep the worst arm close to him and kept saying he thought it was broken.  Dan offered to take him to the ER when he got home from work, and lo and behold, the left arm was indeed broken.

Wednesday night Esther's eye started oozing goo, and Thursday morning it was sealed shut.  That meant a trip to the Pediatrician and a prescription to fill.  Friday morning her other eye was equally bad, but I made an executive decision to just use the drops on both eyes, which she takes like a champ, and by now is almost 100% better.

Meanwhile, Naomi spent the week toddling around the house crying, probably due to an entire mouthful of new teeth coming in.  Normally she plays happily with her dollies and the curtains between the back of the couch and the picture window in the living room, but this week there was no happy playing.

And what did I do this week?  I decided that it would be the perfect time to dive back into one of my most addictive, obsessive habits: family history research.  If I could do this in moderation, it would be fine, but when I get on the trail trying to hunt down missing information, it is really hard for me to stop or to limit myself.  So I spent most of the week up until 2 or 3 in the morning doing research until my eyes crossed.  It was a Little Caesar's week for sure.

Yesterday I got to a good stopping point and put the genealogy away in the basement.  Today I took two excellent naps.  We are getting closer to a decision on Dan's replacement car, and time is healing his sorrow and frustration over the accident.  Eli goes to the orthopedist tomorrow to get a cast, hopefully one that will allow his elbow to bend.  Naomi is back to her quiet playing behind the couch, and Esther's eyes are clear.  Friday is a holiday for Dan and the children, my brother is coming to town, and it is almost Easter.  Here's to a better week!