What a Day!

As Bess would say, "What a Day!" The day started normal...just like any other. Baby Frank and I left the house around 7:40, I dropped him off at Lauren's, and then I went on to school. I checked my messages on my cell phone around 9 and there was a missed call from Frank around 8:30. I called Frank back and he told me Bess was sick. She said her ears hurt. Since her tubes have fallen out in the past year, she has had maybe 2 or 3 ear infections. Of course, she told Frank that one of her ear plugs had fallen out of her ear in the bath the night before and I had gotten water in her ear. She said that was why her ears hurt. Who knows...Regardless, her ears hurt, and Frank gave in and let Bess have her pacifier and "Jammies" pillow.

I asked him if I should come home from school, and he said that he would take Bess up to his office until I got done teaching. He took her up there and she sat in a room and watched movies and was happy since she had her two favorites...pacifier and Jammies pillow.

After school, I went to pick her up. She really was not acting sick, but she said her ears still hurt. We actually had an appointment today at the ENT for Baby Frank so we were in luck. We then went to pick up Frank, came home, ate a quick late lunch, and then I tried to get a casserole ready for supper. Bess was watching Frank for me (they were both in his crib) while I cooked. I put the casserole in the fridge, threw some things in Frank's diaper bag, and we rushed out the door to the doctor. Frank had on no socks or shoes, his shirt was not the cleanest, and Bess had on mismatched socks and her hair was in her face (I'm not sure that Frank brushed it this morning), but we were all in the car on time...and there was a chicken spaghetti in the fridge that we could pop in the oven when we got home. I even remembered the forms I filled out for the ear doctor...This was going to be easy!

We got to the office and I noticed that the waiting room was about a fourth of the size it used to be. They were doing some remodeling. Great...The old children's waiting area was going to occupy the kids while we waited and it was gone...plus the stroller was in the car back in the parking garage! So here we were in a TINY waiting room that was filled with children and adults of all ages. Since I didn't have Frank in the stroller (not that it would have fit in the room anyway), I was holding him, watching Bess, and trying to get the forms and insurance card out of my pocketbook. Frank is a squirmer...I just about dropped him. Then, I saw a friend who was also waiting, so she watched Frank and Bess for a minute while I turned my forms in. She had already been waiting 30 min...How was I going to do this??? When I saw the sign on the wall that said "No food and drinks," I knew we were in trouble! I enojyed catching up with this friend, and her son and Frank are about the same age so they "played" together a little. Of course, Frank wanted my cell phone and her cell phone. He wants all things...whether it's cell phones, pacifiers, sippies, etc. He wants them all...No other child can have one! Anyway, Frank wanted my friend's cell phone the most so she said that was fine and I let her son play with (eat) my phone. During this time, Bess was being okay...What I had in my "pocketpurse" as she calls it seemed to occupy her. After 30 or so min. the boys were getting very restless. I was trying everything and nothing was working. Frank wanted to walk all around the waiting room, and he was especially interested in the bottle of a 9 month old little girl we met sitting near us. Then, my friend was called back (She waited well over an hour) so we did not have her cell phone anymore...This was not good!

In the meantime, my cell phone was ringing, but I couldn't answer it. I was pressing all the buttons and nothing was happening...This is a brand new phone that Frank brought home for me maybe 2 weeks ago. Then I opened the part on the back where the battery is and it was all wet inside. Note to self...DO not let children play with cell phones...esp. new ones! Okay, now the phone was on video and I could not get it to stop because I couldn't get the buttons to work. I had bigger problems to deal with than the cell phone, so I put it up and tried to keep Frank from getting other children's bottles, blankets, etc. while we waited. Bess was pretty good except that she wanted a snack and would not take NO for an answer. I kept on telling her the rules, and she was getting pretty restless.

Also, did I mention that this appt. was right in the middle of Frank's afternoon nap? With this ENT doctor, we had to take what we could get and if it was during naptime then we had to make do.

FINALLY we were called back to our room. What a sight for a 1 year old and a 3 year old. Bess was so excited about all the drawers filled with doctor stuff! She was not wanting to take no for an answer when I told her to stop, stop, stop. I had to threaten her with a pop. ..several times. How could I expect a 3 year old to act perfect, though, after waiting for so long with no kids waiting area. At one point, I was keeping Frank from getting into something and she had a drawer open and got one of those really long q-tips out and was trying to use it in her ears. Thank goodness the doctor did not come in at that moment, with a 3 year old going through his drawers touching things.

When the doctor came in, he looked in Frank's ears, and said they both looked bad...I guess that now makes 8 ear infections. He is getting tubes next Thurs. morning...Valentines Day. I'll have to get him a big Valentine treat! The doctor also looked in Bess's ears. She also had a double ear infection, and she will be getting another set of tubes and her adnoids (sp?) out in the next couple of months (or sooner if she has another infection before Spring). The doctor wrote some prescriptions and we were almost on our way. By the way, the doctor (being the very funny man that he is!) commented on Frank's nose...It seems extra bad during ear infections and he even wrote him a prescription for some medicine since it was almost raw. He said some moms come into the office and want to show him how bad their kids' noses get during ear infections. I assured him that I was not trying to show him this, but that I was trying to get a casserole made for supper before we left the house and I ran out of time. That is why the kids didn't look very neat!

Then, when I thought we were done, the nurse came in and asked me to sign some papers (since they will be giving Frank anesthesia next week). Bess and Frank both made a run for it out the door, and I tried to scribble my name and get after them. Frank was going through a trashcan in the hallway and Bess picked up the phone in the receptionist's area and was acting like she was taking on it. I had lost control...completely! I was trying to gather my things, the two kids, sign the forms, and still trying to press buttons on my cell phone because Frank was calling and I could not even answer my phone! I told the nurse, I didn't know if I should laugh or cry! We were finally done!

Now it was time to get the prescriptions filled and go home (and put our casserole in the oven). On the way home, Bess tells me she wants to go to the pet store and get a pet. This has been on her mind lately...NO WAY! At least, not anytime soon! She said she wants us to get a new gate and fence so the dog won't get out (That was my excuse for not getting a dog). She also said she wants a new baby sister. I can't seem to get it together with 2 kids and no dog...much less 3 and a dog!

We went through the Walgreens drive-thru and after waiting about 15 minutes behind 5 cars (I was not about to take the kids inside), we were told that it would be an hour to get them filled. That was fine...Frank could get them on his way home from work, except I could not call him and tell him this because my phone still did not work! In the meantime, I heard strange noises coming from Baby Frank...He was putting his hand in his mouth making himself sick in his carseat. It was definitely time to go home!

And the chicken spagehetti (that I doubled for a friend that had just had a baby) was very HOT...Way too hot for a nursing momma so there went that idea! When the recipe called for a can of extra hot rotels, I should have known...

What a day!