Good Problems

This week we started school. Something crazy happened every single night to fill up our time, to keep us out of routine, to keep my children away from their much needed rest, and to keep our house looking crazy.

Monday...After school, I went to the dentist because my mouth had been hurting for like two weeks. The dentist said I had TMJ. I'm still not sure exactly what it means and haven't had time to look it up myself online, but practically it means that I have to deal with it with Ibuprofen and not chew a lot of ice, gum, or peanuts (which I don't do anyway). We left the dentist's office and headed to the pediatrician's office, because Bear had been complaining of a sore throat since Monday morning. Jimmy met us there and stayed with Bear while the doctor determined that Bear had strep throat. After a trip to get his meds., I took him and met Papa J halfway since he could not go to school the next day. Needless to say, both twins felt that staying with grandparents was a great way to deal with sickness.

Tuesday...After school, I went with all three girls to pick up Bear. We ate supper and later Lou Lou wanted some lemonade. The jug was completely full, and as she walked into the dining room with it, it spilled all over EVERYWHERE. Lou Lou loves cleaning floors, so she jumped right in to help me clean up. We tried some spray stuff, but it seemed to make everything even stickier, so we switched to just plain water and a mop to at least make a dent in the mess.

As we continued to clean, Bug came to me with her cup in her hand and said, "Can I please have more lemonade?" I said, "You've already got some." She said, "No, I don't," as she turned her glass upside down and the last big drops at the bottom of her cup fell to the floor.

A few minutes later, Bear asked me for a cup of lemonade, while we were STILL cleaning. Maybe the floor of MaJe's house is not level because the lemonade seemed to stretch from wall to wall. I took a break from cleaning to pour some lemonade into the glass he was holding. When I had poured as much as he wanted, he said, "That's good," and walked away with his cup while I was still pouring. More lemonade on the floor!

We wisely chose NOT to give Birdie any lemonade:)

Wednesday...I took the baby girls to church with me while Jim took the twins back to see the doctor. This time Lou Lou was complaining of an earache. She had tubes put in her ears when she was a little over a year old. Apparently, these tubes were clogged and the doctor took them out. The doctor said this may have been impacting her hearing, which I hadn't noticed as being a problem lately but Jimmy and his Mom had. Lou Lou said that she felt like her ears were giant open holes on the sides of her head, so I know her ears felt better.

Thursday...When I went out to my car with the twins after school, it would not start. Click...click...click. I called Jimmy first to no avail and then tried Mama C (Jimmy's mom). A friend from school took Lou Lou to dance for me, and Bear and I waited for a response from SOMEONE. Finally, Mama C called back and said she was on her way. She picked us up and then drove by the dance place to get Lou Lou. We all went to her apartment, and I took her car and picked up the baby girls. I had called them to let them know I would be later than usual, and Birdie's teacher said she had been crying since 4:30, my normal time of arrival. It's amazing how even very young children get into a routine and notice when things aren't the same. I drove the baby girls by to pick up something quick to eat from Burger King - yuck! I'm more anti-fast food every day, but because of my circumstances (low energy, no car of my own), I went ahead with something quick and easy. They did eat the apples with their kid's meals and weren't aware of the caramel dipping sauce that BK provided.

I kept calling Jimmy and couldn't imagine where he could be. When things aren't right, I start thinking crazy things, and by 7:00 I began thinking about wrecks on the side of the road and missing person reports. Finally, a little after 7:00, he called me. He had had car trouble at the same time, and didn't have his cell phone with him. We went and bought a new battery for my car, which worked. Yay! He got his car worked on Friday, and it was something minor. Another Yay!

Friday..Nothing happened of interest on Friday. What a boring end to our eventful week! After school, we went to MaJe's for Lou Lou's piano lesson and supper.

Saturday...Bug woke up at 2:45 this morning and I still haven't been able to go back to sleep. I don't know why. Sometimes my mind races over what's happened this past week and what's coming up, what I'm planning for school for the coming week, what I need to do to get our house back in order, how I can make our routine run more smoothly. When I stay up all night, it impacts everybody's routine. My choices now are try to get some sleep, or take a shower and begin looking online for some nearby yard sales, or make a meal and grocery plan for this week, or begin writing lesson plans for next week. The good news is, no matter which I choose, I have an extra day this weekend to catch up on sleep and all the rest of the above.

Throughout the week, I kept thinking what good problems we had. There could have been other diagnoses, more expensive problems with the cars, noone to keep Bear during our first week of school when we feel that we definitely have to be there. We thank God for the blessings of four wonderful children and all the ways that they make our lives more interesting!