A Mom HAS to be Flexible

Not in doing the splits, of course, but in knowing that your day will NEVER go as planned, and you will have to be continually able to rethink and plan the family agenda.

Before I go into the gory details of my day yesterday, I want to thank everyone who offered warm thoughts, words, prayers, and even DINNER (yes, from one of my most favorite people in all the world!) on my behalf. It is all so very appreciated.

Yesterday I woke up feeling better than I did on Wednesday, which was rather fortunate as our day was very full. See my plan and the necessary adjustments to said plan below:

6:25[6:50] Wake up to [hit snooze alarm before getting up to]shower and make Dave's lunch before the kids are up, [well, at leat before the two older girls, since Number Three climbed in bed with me sometime around 2:30, and then again around 4:45].

7:00 Take Dave to the bus stop.

7:05 Start getting kids up and ready for the day. Change diapers. Pack Number One's lunch and snack. Make sure everyone is dressed, with hair combed, teeth brushed, and tummy's full. [Make sure Number One is all ready. Work some on the other kids. At 7:45 jump in and out of the shower super quick.]

8:00 [8:06] Take Number One to school, [still making it before the tardy bell at 8:15]. Come home to finish last details. [Dry wet hair. Put on a little makeup to avoid looking sick.] Change diapers.

8:30 [8:38] Take Number Two to school.

8:45 [8:50] Drop Number Two off at school [five minutes late]. Head to Sam's Club, Target, and the grocery store (for sugar cubes for the igloo Number One will be constructing at school.)

10:10 [10:15] Take Number Three to gymnastics [five minutes late again! Just have too much to do and not enough time].

11:00 Hurry and dress Number Three. Load kids in van to get Number Two from school.

11:15 Pick up Number Two from school.

11:30 Drop off sugar cubes to Number One's school.

11:40 Drive through Wendy's and another place with good salads for lunch. (I haven't been eating enough lately because I don't feel well enough to make myself something that sounds good...I knew I needed strength today, so drivethrough became the most appealing option.)

12:00 Unload kids at home. Change diapers. Eat lunch.

[12:02 While still unloading kids, groceries, and lunch items from the car, hear ear-piercing, blood-curdling scream from Number Two often reserved for when Number Three has done something horrendous, like take a toy that is very important to her. Feel frustrated. Enter house to find her clutching her head and dancing in pain. Feel sad for her. Try to soothe her and interest her in lunch. Find she is in a great deal of pain. Discover that she turned too soon when entering the kitchen and whacked her head into the granite countertop overhang of the bar. Administer ibuprofen and try again to calm her, meanwhile setting up lunch and attending to needs of other kids, also setting timer for when we have to be ready to leave. Finally get her to the table to start eating. Feel startled by another shriek when she finds blood on her fingers that were near the wound. Feel badly that I hadn't checked it more carefully. Notice matted blood in her hair in an oval roughly 2 inches by 1.5 inches.

12:18 Try to calm her all over again so I can call the pediatrician. Find that the office is closed from 12-1 for lunch. Attempt to get through answering service. Tell nurse what happened, and ask if I ought to bring her in. Accept nurse's response that I have to clean it thoroughly enough to get a good look before they will schedule me. Endure the trauma of trying to clean the head wound of a still mildly hysterical five year old.

12:35 Call nurse. Give description of the wound. Make plans, as directed, to go to the local ER. Eat a little lunch, and encourage kids to finish theirs. Change diapers. Call friend to say we will not be visiting.]

12:45 Leave to visit a friend.

1:00 Visit with friend in her home.

[1:00 Leave for the ER. Have a horrible time finding a place to park. Realize after parking a half mile away from the ER that both Number Three and Number Four are asleep. Load Number Four in stroller, and carry Number Three, while encouraging Number Two to trudge through the freezing parking garage with head wound on the way to a place she doesn't want to go. Find ER check-in, and discover that this is the most kid-friendly ER in the world, with a pediatric section and darling elderly volunteers in pink coats who lead the kids on an "adventure" to get to the pediatric part. Breathe a small sigh of relief, and an even bigger one when the doctor says they can glue it rather than shaving her head near the wound and putting in staples.



{Lucky for those of you who dislike the sight of blood, the glue stuff is very reflective which makes it difficult to take an accurate photo of the actual goryness (is that a word?) of the wound. Dave says I should have gotten the picture, "while it was gaped open and bleeding." I will try to remember that next time.}

2:10 Call a friend from ER to ask if she can pick Number One up from school. Call school to ask them to pass the message to Number One.]

2:30 [3:00] Pick up Number One from school [friend's house]. Head home for [super fast gathering of] snacks, diaper changes, and to gather piano books.

3:10[3:15] Leave for piano lesson.

3:30[3:32] Drop Number One off at piano. Sit in van with rest of kids. Try to do something productive.

4:00 Head home from piano.

4:20 Unload kids. [Find that Number Three and Number Four are both asleep. Sit in van with them for a half hour to give them some extra rest before Open House, and to try to get a breather myself. Run in the house, leaving them in van to get ready to do picture reorder. Help Number Two finish gathering props for the Nursery Rhyme she has to present at school Friday. Hear kids crying in van. Unload them. Find self unable to console Number Three who will not stop screaming. Try to calm her for an exceedingly long time. Succeed, but only if I don't put her down.] Call Sears to reorder pictures. Change diapers. Make nutritious dinner.

[5:45 Start boiling water for pasta. Continue to hold Number Three or hear her scream.

6:10 Tell kids to eat quickly so we can go. Realize Dave should already be home. Check email again. See his suggestion that I order a pizza as it has been a rough day. Wish I had checked email earlier.]

6:10 [6:25] Change diapers. Load kids in van to go to Open House at Number One's school.

6:30 [6:40] Open House.

7:30 [7:45] Come home. Throw kids in pajamas. Brush teeth. Read scriptures, sing song, say prayers. Lights out for kids.

8:15 [9:00] [Start to] D[d]o dishes [and other general cleanup]. Clean up house still is disarray from sick mom with busy kids.

[9:25 Sit down by Dave to watch a little MythBusters and hope my stomach will settle so I can finish the dishes. Allow Dave to takeover dishes during commercials. Fall asleep.

12:35 Wake up to realize that dishes aren't quite finished, though they are very close. Finish them. Get last most crucial items accomplished.]

10:00 [12:55] Go to bed. Head to bed. Set alarm, read a little scriptures, say a prayer, and pass out.

And if you are still reading...congratulations! It was a long day, and I am sure it makes for a super long read.

Now, after a day like yesterday, imagine my utter joy to discover that today was a snow day!!! I just couldn't have been happier to find that I didn't have to take anyone anywhere (Dave even worked from home). I got to take a little nap when Number Four did, which I so badly needed. The kids played in the snow with Dave (Number Four and I ventured out for a little while to take some video and still shots). This was the kind of flexibility I was craving after the previous two days.

And then, as if on cue (I had just said to Dave, "Too bad that the cook isn't in the house making dinner right now.") two of my favorite faces pulled up at our home with a dinner delivery of a warm and delicious soup, complete with tasty bread and dessert too! Sometimes, it really pays to be flexible.