close call

Got a phone call about 7 am this morning from the post office, saying the turkeys had arrived! Nice to have them here and get it going versus knowing it's coming up and waiting. Does that make sense? But certainly NOT what I was wanting to deal with today. You see, yesterday I took a nasty spill. John was down at the barn with the truck and flatbed trailer, and on the trailer was his new farm toy, err I mean implement, a Woods 6 foot tiller. He had just picked it up. It was about 5 pm and Allie really wanted to walk down and see Daddy. I was tired, had been out in the sun mowing the entire afternoon while she napped and Ash was at school, and was ready to get inside and get dinner going. But I thought, fine, she hasn't seen him all day, we'll walk down, chat a minute and then come back to the house. I get down there, standing next to the trailer admiring the tiller, and then say OK we're going to head back to the house and I start walking parallel to the trailer, when all of a sudden BOOM out of nowhere Penny dog barrels into me full speed from behind - I had NO warning - like a MAC truck and literally flew my feet out from under me. I was HOLDING ALLIE on my right hip and fell to my right side - I heard John holler (scream isn't a good word for a man, is it?) and it happened so fast yet strangely in out-of-control slow motion. My lower shoulder blade/back cracked into the trailer light of the flatbed, and I hit the ground. By the grace of God Allie did not hit the trailer, she was still fast in my arms. As I was falling I felt myself clutch her tight and kind of fold her into me. I was stunned and immediately hurt all over, especially on my right side - ankle, hip, shoulder blade/back, and forearm. I only have one scrape on my arm and a half dollar size bruise (for now!) on my back, but wow the soft tissue damage is definitely there beneath the surface. I have been on Tylenol/Advil ever since and as I am typing this I can tell I need a re-dose. So terrifying, the what-ifs. I am so grateful Allie didn't crack her head on the trailer, that I hit my back/side instead. I was so mad at Penny I could have strangled her. She immediately doubled back when I hit the ground, and I had a grip on one of her ears and I think she knew she had messed up. John had to tell me let go her ear, after about a half a minute of Penny rolled on her back submissive. I then asked him to take Allie, I was shaking all over. Allie hadn't been crying, but when John took her from me, she starting wailing and was literally hysterical. She didn't calm down until we got back to the house, which seemed to take forever with me walking pitifully slow and John carrying Allie. I think she was really shaken up and scared but not hurt, thank You, Lord. Once inside I went straight to the hot shower and Advil while John fed the kids. I have only seen Allie like that one other time, which was ironically earlier this week. Asher stepped on a board down near the turkey pen that had nails in it, it was turned over upside down but somehow he flipped it over and then planted his foot right on it, the nail went through his Croc and barely punctured his skin, but it scared him good with the board stuck in his Croc. I was terrified that half the nail had gone in his foot, and these are big wood nails. I screamed (I'm a girl, I can say scream!) for John before I even got to Asher, afraid of what I'd find. Thankfully it was just a surface wound, but it was a scare for me and a lesson for Asher to never step on boards lying around, and about Allie, it terrified her to see Asher bawling and upset I guess, and she was just hysterical although not a thing was wrong with her. So! Tougher week on the farm this week! Needless to say I did not do any planting or any heavy lifting for that matter today! I am right-handed and am having to overly think before I pick something up. So you can see why hauling turkeys and brooding equipment and feed and water did not appeal to me today. The turkeys got settled in once I got Allie down for her nap. We had the area set up in the barn again, but just didn't feel comfortable with the ventilation and the fact that it is supposed to be back in the mid-30s next week! So into the shop they went. I set everything up after a few trips to the barn on the 4-wheeler and then unpacked the poults. The brooder light burned out about 30 seconds after I plugged it in. It lasted 6 full weeks 24/7 with the chicks so I guess it had enough! Just glad it did it before I got the turkeys in and went in the house! Thankfully John had a back-up light. I did check on the turkeys several times the rest of the day, which is the reason we had to miss our Library Storytime this morning. There are 20 turkeys, no free extras this time - these turkeys cost 3 times as much as chicks so I guess they are more diligent with the count, haha. They are all straight run which means they are not sexed, so we do not know how many hens/toms we have yet. They are very leggy, tall and a lot thinner than the pudgy chicks. I will take pics tomorrow. John got called in tonight around 9 pm. They needed him to do the anesthesia for organ recovery, and the nurse told John they were taking everything but the liver, which could mean several hours. And he can't do his typical anesthesia as apparently that compromises something or other? Anyway he hasn't actually done this before, as usually organ recovery teams come in with their complete staff I guess. He said it would be challenging but I know he will do a great job - he always seems to get the strange cases when he is on call. I could tell his adrenaline was already kicking in to be in top mode before he even left the house. He said he would plan on staying at the hospital the rest of the night since he wasn't sure when the case would finish. Tomorrow is Friday - yay for Fridays! - and I have invited my friend Rhonda and her little girl Rachael, who is just a few weeks younger than Allie, over for a morning/lunch playdate. I think Rachael will enjoy the baby turkeys and I know Allie will love having a friend over. Asher also plays really well with the babies and he is excited to have "company" and already has the morning planned out, LOL. Oh, the meeting with the school board did nothing (of course) other than reiterate that it is all about money, and that maybe they will reinstate it in a year or two. I found out yesterday that Ms Pam has been having some attitude and discipline issues with Asher these past few weeks, he has been pushing the limits of things he knows better on, which he has been doing at home too. She said she thinks its because he knows he is leaving St Pat and going to a different school for Kindergarten. I don't know about all of that, but John and I did have a discussion with Asher about it and will continue to reiterate how we listen and mind no matter what the future holds. I wish she would have brought it up sooner. The only reason she did yesterday was because Asher broke out of line and came running to me as I was walking up to sign him out, and that is a big no-no. The children are supposed to wait in line until their parent signs them out and Pam or Pauletta know that, and then say OK you can go with your mom/dad. What I think is funny is that Ms Pam has a way of talking about your kid that makes you feel like YOU'RE being scolded, LOL. (And I'm not the only parent to think that!) OK, off to bed! It is late and my bones are aching. I hope to upload pics tomorrow or over the weekend of my recent scrapbook layouts (from March that I never posted) and also of the turkeys and our playdate.