The Sick Day

After experiencing the “it’s not fair” issue yesterday, today brought us new excitement.

The morning dawned bright and early at 5:00am….with the pitter patter of little feet.

Mommy? My feet hurt.

Huh?

Well, that means the fever is back up again.

Sure enough. 102.6.

Okay, one down for the count.

Check on the teen.

No response. Then a grunt.

Okay, two down for the count.

Two home and the other three left for school/work.

I checked in on the invalids throughout the day.

Evidently they played Monopoly Junior (Anna Grace dominated) and Checkers (Alex dominated). They cranked music, watched Nick, Jr., and ate lots of stuff.

I called once (well more than that...) and asked for a temperature update.

Alex couldn’t do it.

You know why?

They were eating banana splits. Cold mouth = not accurate temp.

Great.

The only issue the rest of the day was a broken thermometer and a certain child refusing to take her meds without a bribe.

Or so I thought. Yep, I know. This is my life.

Two hours after I got home from school, a sleepy, high temp Anna Grace pipes up with…..

Alex did a project today.

Uh oh.

He used a coke can, Styrofoam, gas, and fire. Oh and the hose. I hid in the garage holding my Elmo.

Oh my.

Thankfully the “try to make napalm” experiment was a bust or I might not have a house now.

Good grief. But at least both were happy, medicated, and fed today….all while I was at work.

And the “it’s not fair” child loved having the car and grocery store shopping ALL to herself.

We should be thankful for the little things, right?

It's Not Fair.....again

I thought I’d heard everything. After all, I’ve been a mom for over nineteen years. Surely nothing has slipped past that I didn’t know.

I was wrong.

We had an “issue” today about things not being fair.

Nothing new there, huh? After all, with four kids, it’s bound to come up more than two or three times.

I've heard....she has more than me, her piece is bigger, she got one more story, I wanted to wear that shirt today, it’s not fair……..and the list goes on….and on….and on.

But today’s “not fair” issue took the cake.

I never saw this one coming.

We arrived home from school today with two sick kids. Alex was having sinus issues which contributed to general yuckiness. Anna Grace came home with a fever……not extremely high, but something. Enough to make her feel….blah.

So out came the medicines, the talk of possibly being home from school, going to bed early. You know, that kind of exciting talk.

And out came the comment from Abby…

“It’s not fair that she’s been sick more than me.”

I almost dropped my water bottle.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

You are upset because you haven’t been sick more frequently?

And this makes sense….how?

I just shook my head in disbelief.

You want to be sick? You want to miss school?

(Oh bad question. I may got an answer I don't like. But Abby loves school so I may be safe!)

But tomorrow, if I leave Anna Grace at home with daddy, what will Abby say?

Of course, if her big brother is still sick, Anna Grace may be home with him and not daddy for the day. Two invalids hanging out together.

Oh my, if that happens, I see another blog post in the making…..

Veggies and Me

I am going to admit something huge. Something my mother would never anticipate. Something that will leave you speechless.

I hate vegetables.

With a passion.

Vegetables are gross. Especially the green ones. And the cooked ones.

The only ones I like to eat are the ones found in salad….and corn. That’s it. Oh, and baked potato. Green bean casserole will be made and consumed on holidays only. But everything else is disgusting.

I will eat them in veggie soup though…go figure.

Our amazing cafeteria ladies at school laugh at me all the time since I never choose the veggies for lunch. But who wants black eyed peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, lima beans, or other fun stuff like that?

Not me. Blech.

I’m also really bad about making them at home since I don’t want the “how come I have to eat these when you don’t?” discussion.

Thank heavens all the kids will choose veggies for their lunch trays when given the option. I haven’t killed that in them.

Or that’s what I thought.

The other day, Abby came home talking about the soup they had made in Pre-K. I had sent in bags of mixed veggies so anticipated her story.

Mommy, it was so good! We made soup with fruit in it.

Huh?

Perhaps we need to have a discussion about what are fruits and what are vegetables.

I am a Queen

A queen of multi-tasking, that is.

Take tonight for example. As I started tacos and rice for dinner, I was also….

making lunches and snack for tomorrow

checking the live stats on The Boyfriend’s baseball game

listening to the girls playing outside

texting the big kids about dinner and the game

unpacking backpacks and checking daily work/news

checking email at home and work

scrolling through Facebook to see what I missed during the day

and who knows what else.

And that’s just before dinner…..and after hitting Wally World after school.

Are you like me and your brain is in constant motion? From wake-up to bedtime, I am always thinking.

Is homework done?

Oh, can’t forget to buy milk tomorrow.

Is everyone’s backpack ready to go?

Gee, what did I need to do before bedtime? I already forgot.

Do I have a meeting tomorrow? Who with?

Man, I should have done some laundry today.

Guess we need to clean the bathroom.

Got to find clothes for tomorrow and get them laid out.

And the brain torture continues.

Until bedtime.

I gain a good six hours of blessed peace before I wake up with more thoughts in my head. I’ve tried writing down my oh so very important issues during the night. But then I can’t read what I wrote when I wake up.

Rats.

At 4am, I am up with my mind racing with my list of to-do's.

Is a mother’s work ever done?

Or am I doomed to this constant life of craziness?

Kissing Away the Hurt

As our kids grow, they encounter illness, stitches, broken bones, displaced elbows, chicken pox, and lots of other such lovely things.

Well, at least if you are MY kids.

Those are easily fixed. Lots of money changes hands, threads stitched, colorful casts made, creams given….and you’re all set.

And kisses from mommy always help.

But what do you do when the hurt is on the inside? How do you fix that?

Toss in a mom who is trying desperately to balance the needs of teens with little ones….and you’ve got a mess.

My big girl is struggling. Not with academics….all A’s right now. But struggling with roommates, living spaces, being apart from best friends, missing the boyfriend, not feeling special,....... and the list goes on.

I love when she comes home because we can talk for real. Trying to talk via email, text, or even phone just doesn’t cut it.

How do I help? What can I do to ease the pain? Barbie band-aids just don't work right now.

I remember being her age and struggling too. One of my best memories of college was when my mom came up for the day and brought me a pillow she made that said….

You are Special

I still cry just thinking about that day.

Not sure my mom even knows that.

My baby is not feeling special, feeling lost, and drifting. And I can’t help her. It makes me sad.

How I wish I could sprinkle some pixie dust and make everything okay. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

If you have pixie dust you can share, please mail it to me.

I hate not being able to kiss away the hurt.