The Wonder of Antibiotics

This week has been quite the whirl. Sir had a PHP conference to attend in downtown Vancouver on Monday and Tuesday so the kids and I dropped him off at the skytrain both mornings.

On Monday, we left Sir at the skytrain at 8:30 and then we headed down the street to McDonald's for breakfast. We had to kill half an hour somehow since Toys R Us opened at 9. After breakfast we drove across the street to the toy store and wandered it's aisles for a good length of time (I really don't know how long we were there). I wanted to get some toy cars for PC. Then it didn't really seem fair to walk out with a $5 toy for PC and nothing for Dolly, so we re-wandered the store in search of a $5 item for her. We settled on a puzzle that has proved to be well worth it's cost.

Then it was off to Staples. I wanted to get some reading supplies for the kids. Since Staples didn't have everything I wanted in the right size packaging, we just got our poster boards there. Next stop was Wal-Mart to get the rest of the reading materials. Then the grocery store for the last ingredients for supper (that actually ended up being a mini shopping trip because we definitely walked out with more than our missing ingredients for supper). Finally we swung by the library on the way home to pick up a book that I wanted. By the time we got home, it was already naptime and we still hadn't eaten lunch. The kids were good though, everyone ate promptly and went down for naps just barely more than half an hour late.

While the kids slept, I got some work done around the house and then it was time to go pick Sir up from the skytrain. I'd like to say Monday ended there... but it didn't. We were home from the skytrain at 6:15ish, I threw supper together by 7, we ate and then headed over to Chasm and HisLady's for our Monday-night reading. Of course we tossed responsibility to the wind after the reading, and ended up staying late - as in getting home at midnight, but it was fun. And I was exhausted.

Tuesday started even earlier than Monday because Sir had to be at the skytrain at 8. After we dropped him off, the kids and I drove through Timmy's and picked up some TimBits, put some gas in the car and went home again to eat our doughnut breakfast and to finish our morning. Once the garbage out was out on the street, the kids were dressed and fed, and our lunch packed, we grabbed Emma's exersaucer and headed off to the meeting room to clean. We got there at 11, worked for an hour before stopping for lunch. After lunch we worked for another hour and a bit before the kids went down for naps and then while they slept, I finished up. We left at 5.

I thought I'd have plenty of time to get home and get supper started before it was time to pick Sir up from the skytrain. Until the van stalled as I tried turning out of the meeting room driveway. So, we sat stalled half in the right lane, half in the driveway for a good 10 or 15 minutes before our vehicle recanted and decided to operate again. Just being stalled sideways in one of two lanes is stressful enough, but having a gazillion other drivers drive right up to you, stop, wait for you to go, wait some more, wave you on, honk at you, shake their heads and finally drive around you doesn't help matters. After all, it wasn't like I wanted to be stalled there or stalled at all for that matter.

Then there was rush hour traffic. So, when we finally got home, there was a message waiting on the phone from Sir saying he was earlier than he'd expected, and that he should be ready to be picked up at 5:30ish. Ha! It was 5:42, but at least I was wise enough to leave the kids in the car and run in to check the messages instead of unpacking everyone just to turn around and pack up again. I called Sir, told him we'd be a bit late and ran back out to the car. Of course, in my rushing about, I hadn't been watching the temperature gauge and the first thing Sir noticed when he got in the car was that the dial was pointing to the 'L' in NORMAL. So, we stopped at a few gas stations until we found one that had a water hose as well as air and poured some liquid into our gasping radiator (yes, we have a radiator leak, but at least we already knew about it). We stopped at Canadian Tire on the way home to get some graphite powder for the ignition, and then took the easy way out and picked up some pizza for supper. And I think that's all that happened on Tuesday! I wasn't feeling so well, and went to bed early.

Wednesday I woke up sick. I'd been in pain most of the night and had hardly slept because of it. I was sore, had achy joints and muscles, a splitting headache and absolutely no energy. And it didn't get better as the day wore on, though I did manage to struggle through all the laundry. Even after I'd had a two and a half hour nap that afternoon, I still felt like I'd been run over by a truck. By the middle of prayer meeting that night, I knew I needed to make a doctor's appointment for Thursday. After meeting, HisLady offered to babysit for me if I needed it Thursday and I told her I'd call her the next morning. I put the kids in the pajamas, and we went home. I went to bed as soon as the kids were in bed, and even under five layers of covers I was still shivering. By the time Sir came to bed, I'd warmed up enough to allow the extra blankets to retire and the window to be opened a tiny bit for fresh air.

Thursday morning, I called the doctor's office and got an appointment for 11. Then we took Sir to work, stopped and had breakfast, I dropped the kids off at HisLady's house and went to the doctor's office. Within half an hour, I'd seen the doctor for 10 minutes, was given an antibiotic prescription, and was on my way. I dropped my prescription off at the pharmacy and then crossed the border for gas and groceries. Of course since I was crossing close to noon, I got to sit in a nice long lineup, but it's still worth it when you save 50% on your dairy products and you pay more than a dollar less per gallon of gas. Anyway, the border lineup back into Canada was almost nothing, and I was able to pick my prescription up, drop the cell phone off with Sir, and still pick my kids up from HisLady's by 2pm. By bedtime (two doses of antibiotics and an afternoon nap later) I was definitely starting to feel better. I slept much better than the night before, and this morning I woke up feeling almost as good as new. Almost.

And now my desk is being overtaken by little 'Hot Wheels' cars (sixteen of them to be exact) and my son, so I should wrap this up. Besides, I have diapers to change, a little boy to dress and plenty of work to do, but at least we don't have to be anywhere today! Just being home is almost relaxing!