Landing Strep

Yesterday when I left work I picked the kids up at school and we headed for Tulsa so that Abby could get her new bite expander. So far as I can tell a bite expander is a retainer. At least that's what we called 'em back in my day.

On the way down Ab didn't even play her Gameboy or listen to her mp3 player. When we left she was even quieter. I was scolding her for not talking just because she didn't like the lisp the retainer gives her. She didn't reply which irked me even more. Finally I said, "Abby, talk to me!" and she did. But she spoke through a mouth full of spit. Because her throat was hurting so bad she didn't want to swallow. I'm a great mom.

She fell asleep on the way home, something she NEVER does and when we walked in the door she said, "I think I'm gonna puke" and then she did. Poor baby. She was running a fever, was white as a sheet, was chilling to the point of shaking and was refusing to swallow. I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she had gotten Strep.

I called the other aide in my department, told her I wouldn't be in since our supervisor was scheduled to be out and I couldn't tell her, and while I was on the phone with her, her daughter started yakking. But when she called me back later she said it was because she'd just chugged a whole bunch of kool-ade. Ain't kids great? First thing this morning I called the PA's office and of course, got the machine because every other mother in the county was calling at the exact same time. I left a message telling them that I was pretty sure it was Strep because I just finished my own antibiotics and if they could just call her in some amoxicillin rather than have us sit in the germ-laden waiting room I'd be forever grateful. The receptionist called me back 10 minutes later and asked what pharmacy we use. Halleluiah.

She's done nothing but lie on the couch and play My Sims on the Wii all morning. Fortunately the game doesn't require the movement that most Wii games do. She's been able to play while lying down, covered up under three blankets, while sipping Sprite. It's after 2 and she just now asked for something to eat - wow, a whole piece of toast. I don't care if she eats as long as she's drinking, though. She's not happy I'm keeping her home tomorrow, though, but according to everything I've read about Strep, you're still contagious until you've got 48 hours of antibiotics in you. To protect the other kids, she's going to have to stay home tomorrow and play Wii again. Poor thing.

I've taken the extra day off to catch up on laundry since Sam had to wear boxers to school today instead of his usual boxer briefs. He was hilarious this morning on the way down the driveway to catch the bus because he'd take a few steps then stop to shake one leg. I'm not sure if they were creeping on him or if the ahem, freedom was bothering him or what. Regardless, he was cracking me up. Next time I need a laugh I think I'll hide his underwear.

I've also tried cleaning my room which, come to find out, isn't any more fun when you're almost 35 than it was when you were nine. We have a glider rocker that has to be moved to our bedroom when the Christmas tree is up and I managed to find the chair this morning under the gigantic pile of laundry, board games and the Leap Pad that I had to take away from two certain children who decided at the exact same time that it was the most fun thing on earth to play with ever. However, the chair cannot be moved back to the living room because Paul's new ShopVac has taken up residence where the chair usually sits. BUT since we discovered last night that our chest freezer up and died, we'll now have room on the carport for the ShopVac which means we'll have room in the living room for the rocker which means I'll have to find some other place for those board games which right now is looking like the window seat which is already covered in so much crap that I'm considering setting fire to the entire room and being done with it. Run-on sentences rawk.

Tomorrow I'm getting my first manicure ever. I'm not going whole-hog and having acrylic nails put on because one, those suckers are expensive and two, I may be part diva but I am not foo-foo enough to keep up with fake nails. Hell, I forget to put lotion on my hands until they're cracked open and bleeding. But Paul and I are going out with Tater and her friend for her friend's birthday this weekend and I dunno, for some reason I felt the need to kind of get girled up. I'm also getting my hair colored tomorrow so those grays can go back into hiding. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail the other day when I got home from work. I like the way my hair looks in a ponytail, but there is something inherentlly wrong about a kicky little youthful ponytail with wiry gray hairs sticking out all over. I stood in the bathroom at work the other day plucking out gray hairs until the cutesy caseworker that after Abby met exclaimed, "OH Momma, I just LOVE her hair! And her CLOTHES! She's wonnnnderful" came in and caught me. She kept saying, "Oh, you're not old, Kristin," but I know secretly she was thinking Bless her poor heart while she was reassuring my old ass.