Doctor, Doctor

Yesterday morning started off so productive.  The kids were off to school and I got the house back under control after the weekend (Hey!  You have no idea what a HUGE undertaking that is!) and worked on the laundry.  Then Bella went off to kindergarten and it was time for Carter's 12-month doctors appointment.  Everyone was cuted up and chipper and ready to go, and I loaded the boys in the car, the umbrella stroller, the diaper bag, and even remembered the extra papers for Carter's meningitis vaccine.  During the 20 minute drive over, Wade falls asleep.  Sigh.  That means I'll have to wake him up, he'll be grumpy, and he'll freak out even worse about the elevator ride up to the second story office.  (Wade is TERRIFIED of the elevator.  Anyone who knows him well will understand this.  He has an absolute coronary every single solitary time we go to the doctor's office because I always start walking toward the elevator hoping this will be the time we don't have to traverse the stairs with either the stroller or the carseat.  It's never been 'the time'.  I always have to mentally prepare myself for this moment a day or two ahead of time when there's an upcoming appointment.)  Oh well.  Also during the drive Carter coughs a couple of times, but I don't think much of it: he's been a coughing a bit this week, getting over the awful cold he had last weekend.  So we get to the office, I unpack the stroller and set it up, get out the diaper bag and my purse and hang them on the stroller, and go to get the baby.  When I open the car door, I am flooded by the smell of barf.  YES, BARF.  Carter is wearing the cutest t-shirt, khaki pants, jacket, socks, and even little hunting boots (because this is what we do as parents.  For some reason we think "Hey! doctor's appointment = appropriate time to show off how cute my baby is!"  So we dress them to the nines, only to strip them down to their diapers for the exam, and then have to put tons of cute yet time-consuming, uncomfortable clothing back on while they are wailing because the just got poked with a giant needle.)  and everything is COVERED in barf.  Head to toe.  Plus the carseat.  For 45 seconds I stand there absolutely stunned.  Then I go into panic mode.  Any spare clothing in the diaper bag?  Nope.  Haven't packed around extra clothes for Carter in over 6 months.  Could I strip him down and carry him in a blanket?  Nope.  Must have left it on the dining room table.  Do I even have a towel?  Nope.  I've started to be a clean freak about my new car (who knew I had it in me?) and I have no spare anything.  While I'm dashing around and not actually looking at my baby, I forget how bad the situation actually is.  So I see baby wipes in my diaper bag and think SUCCESS!  I yank them out of the bag and turn to open the car door again.  Again, I am accosted with the overwhelming barf-smell.  And realize once again how uncontrollable the situation is without a bathtub and a washing machine.  Finally I come to my senses.  From the parking lot, I call upstairs to the office and reschedule the appointment.  And now I get to do it all again tomorrow.  Hooray. 

On the bright side, Wade slept through the entire ordeal, and even slept for an hour and a half after we got home.  In the afternoon, Wade + Car = Naptime.  Huzzah!

Alright, so I know I posted about this next stuff on facebook, but I wanted to record it here too, ok?  This is my blog, I'll do whatever I want.  So there.

Today is Dr. Seuss day.  For all of you without kids in elementary school, it means a huge reading marathon for at least half the day. It also means eating too much junk food and going to school in pjs.  Shane went to buy treats this morning and the kids were running all over the house, putting pillows in clean pillowcases (YAY!  For once, I remembered to wash the pillowcases before Dr. Seuss day on purpose!) and gathering blankets, pajamas, and books.  The funny stuff started with this:

Bella: "Mom, I have a tummyache."
Chance: "Bella, Dr. Seuss Day shouldn't start with a tummyache, Dr. Seuss Day is supposed to be the cause of the tummyache!"

The boys all went off to school and everything seemed to be fine.  Bella's treats, blanket, and pillow were all packed.  She said she still had a tummyache, so she laid on the couch with a pillow and a blanket.  For awhile she looked like she was thinking really hard about something.

Bella: "Mom, will the doctor be at school today?  Do I have to get a shot?"
Me: "Um, no?!"

That is when I realize Bella thinks Dr. Seuss is a DOCTOR.  I try to choke back my laughter as I try to explain to her that Dr. Seuss is the author who wrote Horton Hears a Who, Green Eggs and Ham, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas and tons of the other stories she loves, and the celebration is for his birthday.

Ahhh, my silly Bella.  How I love you.