i've got my work cut out for me

attempting to raise this child (and the other one, too!).

Man this boy gives me a run for my money. It's a good thing that I am not a paranoid mother, because if I was I would have suffered multiple heart attacks by now. As it is, he's got my heart pounding and me uttering prayers right and left. Between his constant climbing and jumping on and off of everything, his wandering off, his no fear of strangers, his feeling of complete invincibility, and the fact that he is just an active four-year-old boy, he has me feeling like I've been through the ringer on some days.

A few weeks ago he gave me a real scare. We had taken Matt to the dentist in the morning and while we waited we walked around downtown. It was pretty warm and humid, and Kaden was his usual self--bounding, skipping, and hopping around the entire time. After we picked Matt up we ran a few errands and picked up some groceries. On our way home both boys fell fast asleep. I had the air conditioning running the whole time in town and on the way home. We pulled into the garage and the temperature was in the 90's. I asked Matt to start unloading groceries and I would put the boys to bed. I took Becham first, laid him down and came right out for Kaden. It had been less than 2 minutes. When I got to the car Kaden had woken and was crying and Matt was telling him to get out of the car. I went to Kaden and helped him out and started to grab groceries.

I noticed him trying to climb back in the car and he was saying something that made no sense. He couldn't find something and as I asked him to tell me what he was talking about he made less and less sense. I pulled him out and tried to shut the door and he stumbled. I lifted him up and he stumbled again, still uttering nonsensical things. Then he started gagging and acting like he was going to throw up. I grabbed his hand to help him walk inside. He kept tripping and couldn't even stand and I started worrying. I picked him up and we hurried inside. I laid him down on the kitchen table and he had his head turned to the side. I asked him to look at me over and over and it was like he couldn't. His eyes were glossy, his cheeks red, and he just looked different. He wasn't sweaty at all and I was convinced he was having heat stroke. I took him into the living room and we sat on the couch. I had Matt get a cool wet cloth and some cool water. I was asking Kaden his name, my name, easy questions and he couldn't answer them at all. He threw up and I kept thinking, okay, when do I decide to call 911?!? I was racking my brain trying to remember the right things to do with heat stroke, which is completely different than heat exhaustion.

I gave him a few sips of cool water and laid him on the couch with his feet up and the cool rag on his head. I just talked to him and after about 3 minutes he started acting more normal and by 10 he seemed tired, but fine. He lounged around most of the day. I looked up heat stroke and decided that is what happened to him for sure. With kids it can come on so fast, especially if they have been active and they haven't had enough to drink. He had been drinking stuff all day, but that kid never stops and he does seem to get hot easily. It was just so crazy how fast it happened. Literally in 3 minutes or less. I was so thankful that I had done just the right thing to help him (thankfully no doubt from inspiration, and a class I taught at girl's camp), and he responded to it quickly.

It's so scary all of the things that can go wrong so quickly. I try not to entertain thoughts about what could happen at any moment, what could have been this close to happening at one time or another. It's amazing any of us survive anything. I know that having kids will give me a run for my money for the rest of my life, for one reason or another, but I just hope that I am paying close enough attention, that I am able to calm my mind and think clearly, and in the instances when I really have no idea what to do, I will be inspired and guided. Phew, this is tough!