Drama Day

How much drama can one day hold?  Quite a bit, apparently. I had my consult about my enlarged spleen.  The doctor took quite a while.  I got to read an entire People magazine :).  When he came in, he said I was a puzzle.  He's fairly confident the enlargement is caused by an infection.  So I'm getting blood tests.  And hopefully the blood tests will help them figure out the right antibiotics to make it go away.  If not, then we have to do more tests.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a quick resolution.  Of course, I have the paperwork for the blood draw and then I wait two weeks for the next appointment.  He said that there isn't a rush.  It's fixable.  One way or another.

When I mentioned the endless cold, he suggested drinking a lot of fluids and resting.  No cure for the cold :).  So I'll fit that into the day.

The doctor appointment lasted almost two hours (we spoke for about ten minutes).  Then I had to rush to pick up the kids, and stop for milk, then feed the kids, then clean the bunny cage because the hutch that was supposed to arrive on Monday should now arrive on Friday.  So he's a in a travel cage that we're cleaning daily.  Then I ask Anika if she ate the meal she wanted me to buy for her at the store.  "Yes, Mom."

But something in her demeanor had me check up on her story.  Nope.  Untouched food in the trash.  I didn't yell or get big-angry.  And it was a little tough to stay calm, because she and I have been talking about telling the truth.  And I'm frustrated, not at her, but frustrated about the whole sick for two-more-weeks.  And worried about what comes next.  And feeling overwhelmed with papers, forms to make Lenkaland a business, unfinished mail needing to be sent, everything . . .

At the same time, I find cool words can be just as effective with kids.  So I thought awhile while she waited in her room.  And I took a some deep breaths.  I would rather you make mistakes, I said, than lie.

She was worried because I asked her if she was really sure about the food before we bought it.  She was scared I would be mad.  And I would have been frustrated.  But trust is the biggest thing of all.

She said it was a dirty lie and I told her no, because she was trying to protect us.  She wanted to protect me from disappointment and protect herself from frustrated-mom.  She thought a real-lie was much more deliberate, mean, and hurtful.  To her, what she did wasn't a lie.  It was a solution.

We talked about lying and solutions and truth.

Children fascinate and amaze me.  The things we take for granted as real, they find absolutely astonishing.  Seeing the situation through her eyes, I understood her reasoning.  Mama didn't need one more thing in the day.  She was trying to help :).  We sorted it all out and she agreed to change for next time.

She got an earlier bedtime as a consequence and we set them up with Monsters, Inc. so we could record the podcast.  She came in at the end of the podcast, saying her stomach and feet hurt.  "When I stand," she said.  I told her it was probably just her emotions or she needed a drink of water or too much playing today.  She trundled off to bed at the earlier bedtime.

Then, ten minutes later, she's throwing up in the bathroom sink.  She really is sick.  Thirty minutes after that, all over the bed.  We change all the sheets and I get her in the shower to rinse off and we set her up in a comforter-sleeping bag by our bed.  Another thirty minutes, another tossing.  Yikes!

I'm so glad I didn't go ballistic on her.  So glad I didn't dismiss her complaints as a way to escape her consequence.

Now, though, I'm hoping it's something she ate (before the neglected food), because with my lowered immunities, I don't want the flu.  We were just talking about how I need a flu shot this year.

Oh my, pile a little more drama into my world :).  Isn't this vacation?  Fall break?

Waiting for my break . . . :)

Here's a break.  Asia came over so we could photograph the crafts we're going to sell at Victorian and Cornish Christmas (local street fairs) this year.  Inspiration for the holidays!  We'll have finished crafts along with patterns.  The hope is to get patterns up on Etsy for our far-away friends as well.  I'll let you know!