TheMommyBlog

Tuesday, September 30, 2003

...when I thought today would be a happy lark to the hospital where it would be like Old Home Week followed by lots of playtime at the trains?? Dylan was a frightened mess for the first time ever during his echo, and then we waited FOREVER to see the doctor. Ninety minutes in Diagnostic Services and two hours in the clinic waiting room yielded three minutes of “how’s-he-doing-everything-all-right-well-great-come-back-in-two-years!”

And the trains weren’t even running. We poked at the buttons and made them go chuggachuggawoowoo a few times and then got the hell out of there.

Monday, September 29, 2003

The kidlets are finally resembling humans again. Logan’s Kindergarten teacher still isn’t interested in having him in class yet (gee, did that huge kleenex blister put you off?), but at least they are off the couch and interested in their usual energetic/destructive activities. I on the other hand was practically catatonic at work after three days of hardly any sleep. Daphne leeched it right out of me, which I think is hardly fair considering who pays the bills around here. Look at her. I just want to poke her to get even.

The boys made (well, decorated) cookies to celebrate feeling better. The frosting is green because the bottle of red food coloring fell out of the cupboard (thank you very much) and shattered on the counter. I was off camera, having a very large glass of wine.

Tomorrow is Dylan’s annual echocardiogram, and our opportunity to thank the good doctors at Stanford for saving his life three years ago. I am happily taking the morning off to hold his hand and spend eons watching the trains go round the model railroad in the hall outside Diagnostic Services.

Uncle David is here too tonight, and the boys are absolutely beside themselves. They’re acting like crackhead chimpanzees on a deadline.

Sunday, September 28, 2003

Krispy Kreme donuts
strep throat
miserably sick trio of children
SpongeBob SquarePants
lots of cuddling
second helpings of donuts
three strep screens between two children
runny noses
Dora the Explorer
painted screen doors
urgent care clinic
endless viewings of “The Life of Mammals”
urgent, simultaneous needs for cuddling
more donuts
house trim painting
24-hour on-call lap provision
Playhouse Disney
antibiotics
bickering
really runny noses
non-stop cuddling
predictable bed-wetting accident
ewe//ukjk,uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu children on lap while typing at keyboard
new appreication for Kleenex with lotion
Vigilant donut regulation
erratic sleep
hoarse, whiny voices
vows never again to bring donuts into the house
simultaneous irritation and guilt vis-a-vis non-stop whining
resolution to buy stock in makers of Kleenex

Thursday, September 25, 2003

A tiny little crack of sunshine broke out of the clouds. The wire that went astray in Karachi came back to us and I think I can start breathing again. The kids have strep throat, I’ve been a nervous wreck at work, and I have to take the car in to repair the damage from being rear-ended this month. At least I can take “check with the bank daily for signs that I’ll be able to keep my job” off of my to-do list.

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

So I thought I would be a total hero last night, because Logan’s 4-DVD set of “The Life of Mammals” arrived in the mail from our trusty EBay seller. In China. Hey, some of the writing was in Chinese, but the seller swore that the contents were exactly the same as on the sets sold here. Can you just see the SUCKER brand beggining to emerge on my forehead?

We tore off the wrapping (there were upwards of a dozen interesting-looking postage stamps on it) and popped the DVD for “Meat Eaters” into the machine and settled back on the couch. Nothing. Then, “Check disc for scratches or dust.” Then, the machine refused to give up the DVD.

“Mommy?”

“Hmmmm?” (Dreading the exchange coming up in 5,4,3,2,1...)

“Why isn’t it working?”

“Well, I think that these movies we got from China don’t go very well with our player.”

(Angrily) “Well, that wasn’t very smart!”

“Huh?”

“That was dumb of the mailman to get them from China! He should have gotten them from California!”

“Um, honey, the mailman didn’t choose them, I did. And even if he did, it might hurt his feelings to hear you say that.”

“Oh. Well, maybe that wasn’t the best way. Maybe you should have bought them from someone in California.”

So I did. For almost double the cost, which brings the total I have spent on this very excellent series narrated by none other than Richard Attenborough to exactly four dollars more than the retail price listed on Amazon.com.