Motherhood

The only job that doesn't come with sick days...

Which explains why, on a day when I felt badly enough in the morning to stay home from my paid job (stupid sinus infection!), I'm doing dishes and laundry, driving carpool, organizing the backstage crew for B's ballet school, and filling out a million forms for M's Boy Scout trip this weekend.

Thank goodness for DH, the best hubby in the world, who made french toast and drove the morning carpool while I slept in. (This despite the fact I'm sure I kept him up late last night with my coughing.)

Back to School Shopping, Part 2

School supplies are all taken care of, and it only took two trips to Staples! When the kids arrived home on Wednesday, I grabbed B's shopping list, and asked M for his. Naturally, when I returned home with the pile of stuff, we found a SECOND list of stuff that he needed for science. Nothing fancy, just some graph paper and colored pencils, but it meant another trip to the store today.

Today was the second day of school. M came home sick in the middle of the day. Fortunately, it seems to have been a short-lived intestinal bug, and he's feeling ready to go back to school tomorrow.

B also left school early today, but this one was planned. She finally got the retainer she's been wanting (in lime green, no less):


She was supposed to get a bottom retainer today, too, but that one didn't work out, so we have to go back next month and get a fancier model for the bottom.

Aches and Pains

On Fridays, our office goes out to lunch. Today, I was enjoying a nice bowl of minestrone at Orso in Berkeley when my cell phone rang. (I never give out my cell phone number, so when I do get a call I know it's important.) It was M, complaining that he didn't feel well. So, off I went to pick him up from school. He had chills and aches, so I made him a cup of tea, gave him some children's Tylenol, and let him sleep on the couch. After a 30-minute nap, he felt well enough to have some lunch. He's been lying on the couch ever since, with occasional forays into the kitchen, and a second dose of Tylenol at dinnertime.

Whenever anyone in our family is sick, I become obsessed with handwashing, to the point where my knuckles are usually cracked. I guess it's time to stock up on hand lotion again...

We also gave Otto a bath tonight. It wasn't on the schedule, but when I opened the garage door after dinner, something smelled horrible. Like rotting fruit. Like the pear I gave Otto a couple of days ago and forgot about. So, DH very kindly dragged the whole winter home (a grape bin, 48" x 48") outside and hosed it down, then carried Otto into the bathtub. I used the handheld shower to spray him down with warm water, and he actually seemed to like it! I then let him soak in the tub for a while--it helps tortoises to poop if you soak them, and we hadn't given Otto a bath for ages.