And so it goes... start with a cry, end with a laugh.

Today started out easily enough. I actually woke fully when my alarm clock went off instead of slamming my phone against the nightstand until the beeping stopped. The baby had fallen back asleep from a very early feeding frenzy and was peacefully lying next to me on a pillow. I slipped into the bathroom to wash my face and pull on some clean clothes, brushing my teeth while simultaneously brushing my uncontrollable mop of hair. Glasses on, I tip-toed to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. The kids were being fed Lucky Charms by their Grandmother and they both seemed a little too thrilled at the idea. It may have had something to do with the handful of marshmallows in each bowl and the sugary goodness that was about to course through their tiny veins. I downed my hot coffee heaven-ness and prepared the kids for their doctor appointments. Well check-ups today. There should be no reason for fear. I, however, knew that the huge reassuring smile across my face was purely for the sake of my children. Shots would be involved. I didn't know how many. We headed out the door in a chipper mood with promises of a big prize for good behavior. Note to self: I really need to stop doing that if for nothing else but financial stability in my bank account. I'm such a sucker for these kids. Oh, and I also like to make things go as smoothly as possible. Nothing like saying "Guess what son? You are getting a shot today... BUT! You are also going to go to Kmart to pick out a FANTASTIC toy afterward!". Yup, does it every time. In any case, we made it to the office with a few minutes to spare and I tucked the kiddos away in a corner of the waiting room while I filled out endless piles of paperwork. Livy attempted several times to yank the pen out of my hand and for once I was thankful for the little chain that attached it to my clipboard. She might be able to snatch it, but only for a second. She would grab it and go running, only to discover a short second or two later that she was still running but empty handed. The pen swinging back and forth in mid air from my lap. It was quite comical, even if it was only comical to me... and no I was not embarassed when I let out a hysterical giggle and everyone stared at me while this stupid pen swung in the breeze. Before I could finish we were called back to the exam room and the kids were asked to remove shoes. Weight and height time. Yippee! Nothing too scary yet. The kids did as they were told and stood on the scale to be measured. Still pretty bland, we then moved back to the exam room. The nurse asked some questions about Riley, who was deemed the "first to go"... which honestly sounded kind of haunting at first. I realized quickly I only felt this way because I knew what was in store for him. I had not prepared him with the news of an impending shot and I was sort of regretting it at this point. I answered all of the usual questions about naps, bedtime, diet, etc. and then she moved on to Livy. I think we were kind of getting a two-for-one deal, although I was positive that wouldn't apply to the co-pay when we checked out. Either way I think I really like the idea of a co-appointment. More questions and then we are told the doctor will see us shortly. I happen to like the guy. The kids seem to as well. He came in just a minute or two later and was his usual cheery self talking about race cars and the like with Riley. Riley pulls two matchbox cars out of his pocket, a silent but incredibly proud look spreading across his face. More questions, two pairs of eyes, ears and mouths checked. Bellys squeezed and legs and feet inspected. The doctor announces that they are both healthy and gets right down to the dreaded subject of vaccines. I am holding my breath now and am watching Riley's face for the first sign of pure fear to take hold of his tiny little features. He hears that he will need a shot but it doesn't seem to phase him too much. The doctor looks at me and mouths "FOUR" and scrunches his nose. Ummmmm... what? I'm sorry, my brain immediately thinks... did you say four??!?! I realize I am talking in my head, not out of my mouth and the doctor is beginning to stare at me - me, wide eyed and not blinking or moving in the slightest. "OH. GOD." I say. Of course, this is NOT the expression that should be coming from my lips. Riley looks over and says with a more anxious tone "WHAT Mom?". Uhhhhhhh... I search for the right words as the doctor steps out. I explain to him that he is getting 4 shots but that they will only feel like a pinch. "Nah, I don't want them" he says non-chalantly like he has a choice. I tell him that these are for school and this is the most important way to make sure that he doesn't get a bad sickness around the other kids. I also finish with telling him that all of the other kids are getting these shots too, so it will be awesome to talk about it with his new friends on his first day of kindergarten. He seems to kind of like that idea. Livy, oblivious to everything, still seems to have some idea of what is transpiring. She has successfully tossed her shoes and socks at me and is yelling "Bye-Byes!! Bye-Byes!!". Little does she know that she's due for routine blood work. So, long story short the nurse we have is as always, completely awesome, and she works her magic injecting my son in his thighs with several needles while I hold his hands. He doesn't fight. He doesn't flinch. He only tears up just a tad in the corner of his eyes and grimaces. I am the most freaking proud damn mother on the entire planet and I let out a "WOOHOO! YOU DID IT!". The nurse looks at me like I'm a slight bit nuts and then smiles. Probably more for my own amusement than hers. Livy is next, seated perfectly still on my lap and the nurse takes her finger and pricks it. I am expecting the worst again and am in shock when Livy doesn't even move. She stares at the nurse collecting her blood and says "WOOK Mommy!" as little droplets are collected in a tube. Does she cry out in pain? No. Does she cry out in fear? Nope. Does she cry out because I'm holding her tightly to my body in case she goes wild? Nuh-uh. She cries because the nurse just put a band-aid over her wound to stop the bleeding and she HATES band-aids. Her temper tantrum ensues until I rip it off of her. Magically the tears stop and she lets out a laugh like she was triumphant. We are soon moving out the door, shot record in hand for Riley's school registration, and on our way to Kmart for a toy. I can feel the excitement in the air already. Oh, and I can smell the stench of Livy's dirty diaper from a mile away. In my rush to get out the door I completely forgot to pack a diaper and wipes for our trip. I make a quick judgment call that Livy will be okay while we go into the store for 10 minutes so they can get their prize. Riley reminds me that everyone will think we stink when we go in, but I quickly remind him that it's either stinky-ness and a prize or we go home. I'm sure you know which option he chose. A quick trip in and we are walking out the door with an alien watch and a barbie doll in tow. I open the car door to load in the kids and look down. DAMN. A flat tire. I thought the car felt lop-sided when I pulled into the parking space. I decide, with my very womanly brain at the moment, that it only appears to be half flat, whatever in the hell that means, and I am going to try to make it home. Thank GOD dear hubby can't read this right now. He'd be more than a little disappointed that I said that. Yes, friends, I know better. So I literally make it across the street before I decide the tire sounds too weird and the car is lurching too much to go any farther. I call AAA and request service. The current time is 10:40 am. They will be here to service my car at 11:23 am. Ummmmm... okay. I start to tell the lady that 11:23 might be a little too late over the phone because my daughter has a dirty diaper and I don't have any back-ups. I stop mid-sentence because I realize that she could give a rats ass if I was sitting in a tub of baby puke at that moment. There is nothing she can do. She sounds confused and I apologize. I tell her I don't know why I said that, I'm just stressed. I thank her for the help and tell her I will keep an eye out for the technician and his truck since I'm sitting in the middle of a parking lot. I'm sure she will discuss me with her other AAA operator pals at lunch. Oh well. What can you do... So I decide I have plenty of time to run in to the store and get some diapers and wipes and milk and a bottle. Livy is screaming by now and I know she's tired. There is no way on God's green Earth that I am going to sit here until 11:23 with her like this and continue to smell that terrible odor through the car. I hit the button for my window to air it out for a moment so that it will hopefully smell a little better in case the tech needs to get in here and the rain and drizzle comes pouring in. I quickly pull up on the auto button for the window but nothing happens. GRRRRRRRR. I swear. I cuss. I tell my car "I HATE YOU CAR" and I hiss at it. You see, if it's not my seatbelts that are broken, it's the rear tail lights. And if it's not the tail lights it's the lights on my dashboard controls that are going out. If it's not that, it's my DAMN WINDOWS. "ARRRRRGHHH!!!" I scream and yank on the button as hard as I can. Magically the window starts going up. And up. Almost there... it stops. There is an inch to go but it won't budge. Thankfully I had enough sense to park under a tree so there is only a minimal amount of rain coming in at this point. I yank Livy out of the car, put her on my hip, release Riley from his buckle and we go running. I toss the kids into a shopping cart and literally run through the grocery store like I'm on one of those shopping spree shows. I completely miss the baby aisle at one point and do a U-turn that would qualify me at the track. Wheels screeching loudly and loud "YAAAAY's!!" from the kids and we are speeding back in the other direction. I toss in a pack of diapers, a pack of wipes, a small carton of milk and a new diaper into the main part of the cart, decking Riley in the head twice. He thinks it's funny. That's only because somehow I managed to not leave a mark. I run toward the check-out line, swipe my card and bag up my groceries. Just as I walk through the exit door with plans to change Olivia's diaper and get her settled into her seat with some milk for the remainder of our wait, my phone rings. It's AAA. He is waiting by my car. Grrrrreat. I just bought all this crap for nothing. NOTHING. I tell him I am the crazy lady running through the pouring down rain in the parking lot toward him. I see him turn and wave at me. The sky is coming down in buckets now. The tech is nice enough and has already started jacking up my car. I can't put the kids in just yet he says. Alright. We huddle under the tree in our cart but it doesn't help much. Livy's blanket is over her head and Riley is squinting at me, barely noticing the water running down his face as he is more and more fascinated by this stranger changing our tire. Large loud tools all around, he says "Coooooool". The tech finishes up and directs me to toss the kids in. We look like drowned rats and my mascara is running down my cheeks. I hand him a tip and we get in. I don't even bother returning the cart. I just don't have it in me. Car started, I attempt to put my window up once again and it finally closes tightly. Off we go to Grammy's house where little Natalie is waiting. Things get uneventful for awhile, we eventually meet up with dear hubby at a restaurant for some food and somehow we manage to feed all 3 kids and ourselves in very little time with Grammy's help. Hubs decides he will take the baby home and Grammy is on her way out too. Myself, on the other hand, has just been talked into a walk around the pond in 97 degree weather at dusk. With mosquitos. To look for frogs. Yay. Both kids are so excited that there is no way I can deny them a quick walk around the pond. One kid in each hand, we exit the back of the restaurant and begin our descent to the walking trail around the pond. As I had guessed earlier, Livy only made it about a quarter of the way before she wanted to be carried, and so I picked her up and did my best to tote her along. Carrying 29lbs in that heat and humidity is no easy task. Especially when I had to stop every 2 minutes while Riley ran to the water's edge to look for another frog or reptile. We finally made the entire loop and there was a request for ice cream. Sweat is now pouring off of my face, my back, running down my arms. Sure, anything to go inside and get out of this heat. Two cups later and we sit at a little table by the indoor fountain to enjoy our tasty treat. I snap a picture of them both eating, they are just too adorable. I also did it for documentation purposes because they are both very rarely at the same table at the same time. And with that, Livy jumps down and runs over to the towers of high chairs not far from where I am sitting. She has this weird obsession with buckles. Any kind of buckles. And by any, I mean ANY. She doesn't care if it's in the baby swing, the car seat, a chair cushion, or presently, the high chair safety strap buckles. People start pointing and commenting on the little girl squatting down and clipping all of the buckles together. I don't think they quite realize just what she's doing. She's not just clipping them together. She's clipping mis-matched buckles together on literally a dozen or more highchairs. All I can picture is some poor schmuck trying to pick up a high chair and realizing it's connected to another one... 5 highchairs down. I begin to stifle my hysterical laughs and Riley stares at me. He doesn't get it. I try to explain and he says "AWWWWW! Livy. You. Are. In. TROUBLE!". I start laughing until the tears are pouring down my cheeks. I just can't stop. The more I picture my cute little girl down there creating some cruel joke for both the restaurant guests and staff alike, the more I laugh. I finally get a hold of myself when an old woman eating by herself gives me a dirty look and round up the troops to go. We make it home and with much coaxing I eventually get the kids stripped of clothes and usher them toward the shower. They are beyong sticky and gross. Livy is a tad testy, she's tired I'm sure, but she goes in with only a minimal fight. Riley, however, is in a silly mood, and is lying buck naked on my bedroom floor singing. I yell at him to get up and get in the shower. No movement. I yell again and threaten an early bed time. No movement. I threaten to take away summer camp next week. He stands up. A curious gleam in his eye, he belly laughs and screams "Mom, watch!". His little naked body starts running in a circle and he screams "See!! I'm chasing my own butt!!". The laughter from earlier in the evening is NOTHING compared to what is coming out of me now. I can't even see. My body in spasms, Riley realizes he's found a way to really get me and so he continues chasing his own butt in circles like a dog chasing his tail. He is screeching out "HEE HEE! HEE HEE!" as he gallops in a full turn over and over again. His four band-aids on his thighs a blue blur as he moves. When I finally catch my breath I tell him that he's a natural born comedian and point to the shower. He happily obeys and slides in. Who knew. I began the day with tears and fears and in just a short 12 hours I am once again with my little funny-man who is happy (and naked) as a lark. I learned that when you are dreading something terrible and are not sure how you'll pull through... the kids will never let you down when it comes to bouncing back. That, I am sure of.