The Cup

I often find that one of the greatest challenges of motherhood is the doctor's office. I rarely get to go with just one child, there is almost always some sort of drama in the office, and many times the treatments that come from the appointment create a whole new challenge at home.  Friday was an experience I had not yet had though.

I have been lucky in that none of my children are afraid of going to the doctor. They really like their doctors and nurses and of course look forward to the sticker they get to choose at the end of the appointment. So when I told my 5yr old daughter she had a doctors appointment that morning she was not worried or apprehensive. She simply asked if she was going to have to get a shot. I assured that was not part of the plan and so she willing dressed and got ready to go. Now like I said before I rarely get to go with just one child. On this particular morning I had my 5yr old, my 3 yr old son, and the 10 month old that I babysit. So we packed in the car and headed out. Once we arrived Lil K confirmed that there was not to be a shot and happily strolled into the office. We did have to wait a little longer than usual but the kids were well occupied by the waiting room TV and the baby was entertained by the 2 year old boy who was giddy about the fish tank. Eventually we received the call to come back, I quickly gathered up all the belongings the kids had in such a short time manged to drop all over the waiting room and head back for Lil K's exam. Now the reason for our visit was that she was experiencing symptoms of a UTI. So the nurse immediately handed me a cup and said we'll need a urine sample. Having anticipated this moment I had given Lil K a bottle of water before heading to the office so I thought "this will be easy." (I should never have those thoughts.) The nurse was kind enough to keep an eye on the two boys while I enter the bathroom with Lil K in tow. We spent about 5 min in the bathroom and there was nothing. She just kept saying "but I don't need to go." I decided to wait until after visiting with the doctor and we could try again.  We went back to the exam room where Lil B and "I" were waiting and sat down. Within moments the doctor appeared. We discussed Lil K's symptoms and she agreed that it sounded like a UTI. Of course she would need the urine sample to confirm. She suggested that  we get Lil K some water and graciously offered to let us stay as long as needed to get the sample. By this point though, it's almost lunchtime, the baby (who had not yet had his morning nap) is no longer entertained by my singing or games of peek-a-boo, and Lil B is becoming harder and harder to distract from the spinning stool, rolling step stool, and the medical instruments on the counter. But I did want to get this taken care of so I think we'll wait 15 minutes.

Just moments after the doctor leaves Lil K jumps down from the exam table and says "I think I have to go potty." I open the door to grab a nurse for the boys, but there's none to be found. So I quickly round the three up (luckily I had thought to bring a stroller, something I had forgotten on previous visits) and make our way to the bathroom. When we get in there Lill K is bouncing around like she's going to burst at any moment.  I prep her and get set and NOTHING. She just sits there. Then says she's not sure she does have to go now. "WHAT?" I insist that she sit a moment longer, meanwhile Lil B suddenly starts doing the pee pee dance and crying "I have to go potty, I have to go potty!" and the baby is exercising his vocal cords. (I'm sure people walking by the bathroom were wondering what was going on in there.)  Lil K says "I think I can do it!" and squeezes her eyes shut and low and behold 5 little drops come out. (Sigh) I remove her from the toilet, put Lil B on and of course he could have filled two cups. We clean up and leave the bathroom carrying our sad little sample. I hand it to the nurse (which now there are 5 sitting at the desk that was vacant just moments ago) and she laughs and says "it's at least enough to do an office test, we'll just have to get more for the culture."

After the office test it's clear she does have a UTI but again we still need the culture. The nurse returns with a plastic bag containing a cup and instructions for our "at-home" sample. She tells me to drop it off anytime this evening, the office is also an immediate care and will be open until 8pm. I bundle up the kids and proceed with the rest of our day.. After lunch I drop my daughter off at preschool. When I return to pick her up 2 1/2 hours later she jumps in the car and says "I couldn't wait mom, I had to go." I'm thinking what is she talking about.  And then she says "they didn't have a cup at school." OH! Somewhere in our communication she had understood that the very next time she went to the bathroom she must use a cup. Now I don't know if she asked for a cup but I'm feeling bad for the teacher if Lil K was trying to explain why she needed a cup to go to the bathroom. I explained to her that it was ok we would take care of it when we got home. As we're driving home she says "I have to go to the bathroom really bad." Great we're 3 mins from the house and I'm going to miss this opportunity because we're in the car."HOLD ON!"  As soon as we pull in the garage we fly out of the car and into the bathroom. I prep her while she's dancing and squirming, get the cup and Yeah! Success!. Pop the sample in the fridge and now I can get on with my day and Lil K can quit worrying about peeing in a cup. Or so I think. A little while later we set down for an early dinner before our evening activities begin. In the middle of the meal Lil K asks "I need to go potty, do you want to get the cup?" Clearly I hadn't gotten across that we only had to do that once.

Later I get my two older boys ready to go to their basketball practice, I grab the sample from the fridge, toss it in the car and we drive off. As we're rolling down the road B (10yr old) picks up the bag with the sample and says "What's this?" "Your sisters pee," I reply. He quickly puts it down while C (8yr old) hollers from the back of the car "Let me see, I want to see it." ?Boys?

We run over to the doctors office and I run the sample up to the front desk. I explain to the woman at the desk what I have and the instructions I was given all while she's looking at me like my head is spinning and I'm spitting pea soup. She carefully picks up the bag and says she'll see if anyone is still back there but "no I can not leave the sample at the desk." Seriously? Even though it's after 5pm there a couple of nurses are still in the peds area and happily accept the sample we worked so hard for. Thank goodness. Now we just wait for the results.

Jealous Much

I know that I am very lucky to have a mother who is so involved with my children. I know that I am lucky that my children love and adore my mother and want to spend time with her. But I have to say sometimes I am a little jealous of her. If my mother calls and invites them to her house their bags are packed and they are waiting by the door before she even gets off the phone. They think nothing of jumping in the car with her and heading the 2 hours to her house with barely a kiss or an "I love you" to me. Even the youngest two love to be with her so much that they talk from the time they get back from one trip to the time the next trip comes about how they can't wait to go to Grandma's.

This past weekend was no different. My mother came in on Friday to spend the day, watch the kids that evening so Roy and I could have an evening out (we usually only get one when she's in town) and then leave the next afternoon after lunch. All was going well until she said she was ready to pack her car and head home. Lil B (3) wanted to go with her, mom couldn't resist. Of course you can imagine with five children I rarely turn down an opportunity to send one off for a day or two (for their sanity and mine) so I agreed and began packing his bag. Immediately Lil K (5) decided that she too should be going with Grandma. Unfortunately  she had school on Wednesday and Mom wasn't planning to bring Lil B back until Saturday. So the answer was no, but I reminded her she could go another time and that it meant she got to spend New Year's Eve with ME. Her face dropped to floor, her eyes began to well, and her voice to crack as she said "ok." In seconds she was in full throttle sob. You know the kind where they can't breathe and even after they are done  they are still choking in the air as if it could begin all over again. She ran to her bed, climbed the ladder and lay there sobbing for the whole house to hear. This was more than my mom could bear.  She came to me with a plan to meet me on Monday at our favorite meeting point just between our homes. As sobs drifted through the house I told mom not to worry, Lil K would get over it. But the heartbreaking sounds were too painful to endure and so I relented, packed her a bag and sent my two youngest home with their beloved Grandmother.

Two days later I packed the other three kids in the car and forged through the 1/2 inch of snow Indianapolis had received that day causing a ridiculous number of car accidents one of which we got stuck behind turning our forty-five minute drive into an hour an fifteen minutes. We finally arrived at the designated location and happened to pull in at the exact same moment as Mom and the little ones. I look through the window of the car and Lil K is waving excitedly at me, Lil B sound asleep. I open the door to help them out and he wakes up. His eyes flutter and try to focus, he suddenly realizes it's me and not Grandma (we look alot a like so sleepy eyes sometimes confuse the two at first), screams begin pouring out of his mouth "I don't want to go home yet! I wanted to stay long time! I don't want to go home."  After quickly assuring him we weren't going home right then, but going into the restaurant to have lunch WITH GRANDMA, he calmed down. There were no hugs or kisses for me, no "I missed you." He just trotted behind Mom into the restaurant to get his milkshake.


Lunch went smoothly (well as smoothly as it can with five kids) and then it was time to load up and make the trip to our house. I put off the inevitable as long as I could, letting the kids stay inside with Mom while I switched the car seats around, put suitcases in the trunk, and collected up the various travel entertainment the kids had brought with them. And then it was time. I put Lil B in his seat and at first it seemed all was well but then the tears began to fall. "I want to go with Grandma, I want to stay long time." I quickly hurried the others in the car hoping that the faster we got moving the sooner he's cries of woe would stop, plus it was really cold out and I wanted to get in the car with the heater. With a quick hug and a thank you to Mom we were off, Lil B still crying. I promised over and over that he could go again soon and that Grandma would be over to visit before long. Eventually his crying ceased. After a few moments of silence in his sad little voice he said "You take me to see Mrs Ellis now." Great! He'd rather see my neighbor than go home with me. Guess I'll have to be a little jealous of her too, now. I won't even mention how excited he was to see the dog.