Collecting Bracelets

So tonight I washed all the piled up dishes in the now-working sink (yeah!!). Made a frozen pizza for the boys and I to munch on and decided to set everything else aside and play Wii with the guys--since a goal of mine this month is to play more with the boys! DH was at a Kairos meeting for the night so it was just us. We played Mario Party 8 and we were having a good time. (I love it when we can all get along!) Uno was sitting next to me on the couch and he kept sticking his right leg out straight. He said, "Mom, my legs don't match anymore, look!". I looked over and sure enough his right leg (where the stitches are) was very swollen all the way down to his calf and up his thigh. I made him prop it up for a while to see if that would help. After a bit I called my neighbor to ask her if swelling after stitches was normal as her kid has had plenty of stitches (Quatro), she stopped by to take a look. She agreed that it didn't look right (I told her she needs to be a Dr.). So, I called the nurse on call. She told me that I needed to take him to Children's to the ER because of the risk of cellulitis. So here we are again...I'm on my own, I have a houseful of boys (Quatro stayed to play with us) and I've got to take Drama Man back to the hospital. Did I mention that I'm exhausted? So tired!! So I call my mom and she rides with us. (All the rest of the boys went over to Quatro's house to spend the night!) Drama Man cries on the way because he doesn't want to miss the Bible quiz meet tomorrow. He cried because he doesn't want a shot. He cries, and cries and cries. He doesn't even know WHY he's crying. He's just crying. I have to admit, I think I could relate if I could allow myself to just cry like that...but I can't, so anyway. I just tried to keep my wits about me. We got right in at the ER. I think they were pretty concerned about him. The Dr. came in about an hour after we got there and ordered another x-ray of his leg to check for abcesses and blood work. Oh my, blood work might as well have been a death sentence for the kid! My mom had gone home and DH came in. Us and hospitals--that's never pretty. He's always sure I'm overreacting. ME??!! If it were up to him we'd all never require medical attention...and Uno's leg would just fall off. He and Uno are like oil and water when Uno's dramatic. That makes me crazy. I decided to clean out my purse as a diversion. I found Uno's hospital bracelet from the other night that he told my mom to save for me. I asked him if I could throw it away and he said, "No, don't you keep those for scrapbooking?" I gave it to him and he put it on, on top of his newest bracelet. So, 3 hours later...Uno's eating a popsicle and feeling better about life. The doctor says that all the tests came back clear and fine and we can go home, but he wants Uno to be back at the Dr. tomorrow for another check. (But yes, if he promises not to run around he can go to the quiz meet!) Still concerned about the swelling. So on the way home Uno sleepily says, "Mom can we try out some more hospitals? I want to go to a different one tomorrow to have my leg checked." I'm only half listening and it's registering. I say, "What, why do you want to go to another hospital? Haven't you had enough?!" He says, "Well, no, I've decided to start a hospital bracelet collection and I want to see what other colors I can get, I already have a green one and a white one."