The week so far

We're two days into this work week and I'm already looking forward to Friday. I dare not ask if it can get any worse because I know it can. Maybe I'll just look on the positive side ... five o'clock is happy hour, right?

Monday

Leaving the doctor's office parking lot:

Dad: "It just cost us $100 to learn what you said before we went."

Mom: "Yeah. I'm thinking by the time we get them into junior high, I could have an honorary medical degree."

Dad: "If I could just get you set up with a prescription pad we'd be set."

This conversation took place after learning 62.5% of the small ears in our household are infected. Left ear infection for Alena; left ear infection for Alivia; left ear infection for Trace; left and right ear infections for Alysse. Be glad you're left ear doesn't live under our roof.

While I had all the sick ears pegged, to get the goods (a.k.a. amoxicillin prescriptions), we had to pay the pediatrician a visit. The practice has to love us. On the upside, however, I could lecture on ears filled with fluid and noses dripping with snot. Is that an upside?

Tuesday

Let me preface Tuesday's tale with the disclaimer that our children are closely watched and our house is relatively small, thereby making the closely watched part possible. Unless you're upstairs and I'm downstairs, I've got my eye on you (or very close to you). That said ...

Sitting on the living room floor with Alena while Alivia sat on the couch reading a book and Alysse continued to pull books off the shelf, I hear a loud, glass-breaking crash. I look up to find Trace in a sea of shattered glass. Yes, the only glass item sitting under six feet in our house and he manages to get to it.

Tossing Alena aside, I make a break for him scared to death he'll cut himself trying to get out of the mess he's made. He's screaming scared to death, I'm crying scared to death, the girls stand by watching, not sure what's going on.

Expecting blood to be squirting out from somewhere on him, I inspect him to see what damage had been done. The kid must be lucky because he left the whole mess with two small scratches on his right knee. How that's the extent of his injuries I don't know. I'll chalk this small miracle up as another favor God grants mothers of four small children.

Trace has become a little "Menacey" in the past few weeks. As in "Dennis." Ornery, curious and all boy, he manages to find trouble or create it far more than all the girls put together. Recently, there have been several toilet paper episodes, fingers caught in the door of our entertainment center and laundry baskets full of clean clothes emptied (as in dumped).

His escapades remind me of those my younger brother imposed on my mom. Countless windows broken one summer, a storm door jumped through and a golf ball flying through a basement window via a baseball bat. I see these things in our future.

I couldn't even cry over the broken vase (which had been a wedding gift and a favorite to me) while cleaning it up. I was too relieved that my little guy hadn't been seriously hurt in the event.

So, we're left to see what tomorrow holds. At least now we've got antibiotics, and all remaining glass is well out of reach.