I knew this week was going to be tough, appointment-wise, but didn’t anticipate it being quite this bad. First off, I wasn’t planning on a trip to the ER on Saturday afternoon, which would usher in a cascade of other events making my week all the more difficult.
Monday started out with me driving Tilly to her weekly babysitting job in the morning, then taking Tucker to Cub Scouts in the afternoon. That was all cool, except while we were at a local ice cream shop, getting a tour for Scouts, Avi’s school called to tell me I needed to pick her up because they thought her face was infected and she needed to see a doctor. I asked the school nurse if she could give her an ibuprofen for the swelling. I had sent Avi to school with a note that morning, explaining what happened and saying that we were treating it with ice, popsicles and ibuprofen. I was told “I’m not allowed give her ibuprofen; we don’t even have any here” which seemed a bit ridiculous, since she had parental permission and part of the school nurse’s job is to, you know, administer medicine. Well, I was half an hour from her school and Tucker was deep in the bowels (bowls?) of the ice cream shop…so I had to wait until he re-emerged with his Scout buddies.
I took Apollo with me hoping he would be enticed to eat some ice cream (high fat!) instead he nibbled on the sides of his cone and called it good.
So we had our ice cream (Tucker’s Scout leader informed me he ordered espresso…apparently the only Scout to pick that particular flavor) and missed the rest of the meeting. We headed straight to the school and picked up Avi, who looked better, in fact, then when I had sent her to school that morning.
This was taken as soon as I got her home…You can see the swelling and slight redness.
A dose of ibuprofen and she played happily the rest of the afternoon. I felt obligated to call the doctor since the school was so worried. I spoke to the nurse who assured me that there were no signs of infection: she had no fever, no puss, very little redness, which was not warm to the touch. In other words, she had a swollen, scraped face from being hit in the face with a stick. Who knew?
Yesterday was Mom Spot, our church’s moms group. Staying home wasn’t an option, since my daughters all help out with childcare. But yesterday, I had to leave Hezekiah and Apollo home with Enoch because they both had fevers. After Mom Spot, I came home, fixed lunch and then took four (count ‘em four) kids to the doctor for various appointments (two well-child, two to discuss chronic issues). Halfway through the appointment the doctor made eye contact and asked how I was doing. “Me?” I asked. “Fine”.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“I don’t know how you do it.” he said, and continued with the appointment.
I pondered his statement after the appointment, and I suppose my life seems much (worse?) more hectic from the outside than it feels. These are my kids. My family. Taking care of them is what I do. I guess it isn’t every day, however, that our doctor sees four kids from the same family to discuss/treat: failure to thrive, stitches, fever and cough, well-child exam, bed-wetting, and a referral to a psychiatrist (not for me, though the doc was probably willing to refer me too at that point). Not to mention, Iris has been in on her own several times lately getting everything in order for her immigration to New Zealand, and of course, the call about Avi’s “infected” face. In the end we were in the office for over two hours. By some strange coincidence, Apollo had a fever and cough, so the doc looked him over and listened to his lungs, even though we were there for his weight issues.
Then it was a mad dash home where Judah and Tilly were baking pre-made pizzas so the boys could rush off to Scouts as soon as Chuck got home.
This morning Mordecai had a two-hour appointment beginning at 9 am. I dropped Judah and Tilly off at work, took Mordecai to his appointment, then headed to Lowe’s for paint and then home…for less than an hour before I picked Judah and Tilly up, took Judah to school, stopped at Costco then took Tilly in to the doctor for a travel-related vaccine. And now I’m home.
Did I mention I’m on-call for a birth? Thankfully, I don’t have to leave home tomorrow until after dinner for Iris’s bridal shower. And, best of all, BEN!’s fabulous sister, Claire, arrives to spend nearly a month with our family.
So, things are kind of busy around here, only to get more so as the wedding draws near. Did I mention we are in the middle of painting our living room and dining room? Not because now seemed like a good time, but because a little something forced my hand. I won’t go into the details because you’ll probably think of something much more interesting and creative than the real reason. Suffice it to say our living room and dining room are torn apart and look like a construction zone.
Picnic for dinner, anyone?
I am hoping to keep up on blogging, but bear with me. If things are slow on the blog, that probably means things are not slow around here.
If I lived close…I’d be there to help.
Thank you, Vivian, that’s so sweet. I’m really doing fine. Busy, but not overwhelmed.
Me too! Praying instead! Just remember you are making memories- between all the appointments and doctor visits that is! 😉
Thank you, MIchelle, prayer are great. And I really am doing just fine.
WOW When is the wedding?
May 6th!
Do you sleep? I’m glad the doctor wants to take care of you, too! But it does sound as if everyone is thriving and all bases are covered. I am old enough to remember school nurses who had their own little well-equipped room, plus a uniform, plus the right to administer whatever they thought the kid needed from a well-stocked supply. I had thought things were better in the States than they are here in Germany, but when my younger son cut his hand badly at kindergarten some years ago, the teacher–who was a nurse!–wrapped the hand in gauze because she “wasn’t allowed” to put anything on it, no antibiotic ointment, nothing. Cool packs and cool water are all that’s allowed. And when my daughter got bitten by a tick in the middle of a class trip–since she was away, my husband and I were at a play, cell phones off–there was a message from the teacher: Was she allowed to remove that tick (that had nestled down for the night under several layers of my daughter’s epidermis?) Yes, yes, yes!!!
Your life sounds like mine. There are so many doctor appointments… Hang in there.
Blessings. Dawn
You are one busy women, don’t know how you do it. Here in New york they can’t give pain meds to kids without a signed note from the doctor and you have to supply your own. So if you have a child that say has cramps regularly you can get a note done at the start of the year as a PRN and have it for the year.
Crazy! Chuck and I wondered about that…I mean the doc *wants* her to have ibuprofen to help with the swelling…so stupid they have to have such crazy rules…
“Taking care of them is what I do.”
I love what you said here. You are an excellent mother. Sometimes though I have to wonder, when people act like we are doing something super-human when we are so very busy taking care of what is ours!
And as crazy as it gets, i can tell you’d not rather be doing anything else in the world (okay, on most days…)!
Exactly. I am used to my family and my kids…not very much different than everyone else. I am a stay-at-home mom, so doing all this stuff is my “job”.
Before I had kids, I once had a conversation with my mother where she described flying with the three of us kids when we were 4, 2, and an infant. “That sounds awful,” I said. “No,” she said serenely, “That’s just what I did.” It makes more sense now, with kids of my own. That’s what you do.
Blessings and love to you all in this busy time.
Exactly, Robyn. I look back at the early years when all my kiddos were tiny and wonder how I did that!
In the middle of all that you said “stopped at Costco” – when I go to Costco, it’s the event of the day! I really don’t know how you do it…
And you kind of need to live in Bellingham to even understand what “stopped at Costco” even means for us!
The “stopped at Costco” was the scariest part of this post!
Hi Renee, you are so young and pretty. It’s not so much that I’m amazed that you take care of your family so well in a normal way without going nuts, I’m just wondering how to harness that kind of energy and sanity in my daily life for my nine year old son, also in cub scouts, husband and myself. I feel overwhelmed, disorganized and tired and I don’t do half of what you do. I’m 51 and already raised a 22 year old son who lives on his own. I just don’t have the energy and I don’t think I’ll ever have enough time unless they make longer days. I love how you make it work and everyone pitches in. It’s evident that there’s a lot of love to go around. I wish my son had other siblings to share and play with. I really like the idea of fostering or adopting, not saying I would do it now, present conditions not ideal. Your children are beautiful and each one unique. You inspire me to do more. I know you think you’re a regular mom, but you’re not, you’re a supermom in my book. No use arguing. Thanks for sharing. God bless you all.
Thank you for your kind words. I honestly feel like I’ve aged about 10 year since this blog post was written (less than two years ago). We do have: lots of love, encouragement for each other and laughter. Those things fill in the empty spots, I suppose.