BAH! HUMBUG!

For once, I am glad I didn't write this post in anger.  My calmer head almost never prevails, so I have to give it props when it does.

Today was just kind of shitty.

Dorothy woke up with both her eyes matted shut and puffy bags under them like a little tiny me (the bags, not the goop), so she and Cooper had to miss Little Gym.  This was a bummer for me because I generally depend on that quiet hour sitting outside the gym and soaking up free wi-fi to get so! many! things! done, particularly for my online adjunct class.

But no matter! We called the pediatrician's office, got a prescription for eye drops, found some old eye ointment from our last bout with pinkeye (ha ha ha-- I KNOW.  I am doing it wrong), smeared it in her eyes, and went out to buy all of the things for Jack's party on Friday (CAN YOU BELIEVE HE WILL BE EIGHT?!?  I CANNOT).

This took ALL.  MORNING and several tortuous stops.   We are having the party at a place without staff, so we have to supply a ton of stuff, and we invited a TON of kids, so I was trying to do things on the cheap, which I failed at miserably. We even had to go home and eat lunch before running to Costco.  And we had to run (literally-- both kids in the cart with iPads and me running to the checkout line at 1:30) so we would be home in time for Harry and Jack because our district lets out early on Mondays for teacher team prep.

Dorothy and Cooper wanted smoothies, which I bought them while checking out even though we were really cutting it close.  As we stood in a popup line (seriously-- when I paid for the smoothies with my groceries, no one was in line, but by the time we walked like 3 yards over to get them with our receipt there was a huge line!  Of people getting pizza, so it went quick) Dorothy told me her left ear hurt.  Then she started crying that her left ear hurt.  Really crying. Scream crying.  In a span of about 45 seconds.  It escalated quickly is what I am saying.

I called the pediatrician's office AGAIN on our way to the car and waited for a call back from the nurse as we sped home, unloaded groceries, settled Dorothy on the couch with Tylenol and a Frozen sleeping bag, got Cooper engaged in Legoes, greeted Harry and Jack, supervised homework, etc.  While I was in the farthest corner of the downstairs hanging up Harry and Jack's laundry, the nurse called me back.  She left a voicemail saying she was on her way to lunch and would be back at 3:00, and I missed the call by 30 seconds and had to wait almost an hour to talk to her.  Urgh.

Ben walked in the door to relieve me so I could go to a meeting and then do the work I didn't do during Little Gym and the project I am working on and was PISSED AT ME that Dorothy had a doctor's appointment at 4:15 because he had been counting on a quiet afternoon to get his own adjunct online work done.

In his defense, he has had to take the sick kids to the doctor the last like 7 times because people keep happening to get sick on his home days, and those trips across town really do eat up work time.  But you have to remember that I go zero work time all day and was about ready to have a heart attack from the anxiety of looming deadlines.  We ended up having a shitty fight, and I yelled that I would just take Dorothy to the doctor myself, but I so didn't mean it.

I ran to my office to hit up my meeting and grab a flash drive I need for my project.  This is about a 35-minute drive, meaning I would be woefully late for my meeting.  Which I never went to because Ben called me with Dorothy hiccup sobbing in the background because she heard me say I would be the one taking her to the doctor.  OF COURSE the mom guilt made me run into my building's media center for my flash drive (only to find that it was not ready, natch and WHY DIDN'T I JUST CALL BEFORE DRIVING 70 MINUTES ROUND TRIP) and turn around to go home to take her to the doctor.

Bonus!  I got to take Cooper, too!  And we all spent an hour in an exam room and a pharmacy waiting area.  Gah.

So, I dropped the little kids off at home and ran to Panera, Target (Jack lost his shoe (JUST ONE SHOE) again), and the library.  I am at the library now, writing this after doing the work that absolutely had to be done today and outlining one hell of a to-do list for my tomorrow.

This is how my day started out.  IT WAS A SIGN.