I sit here typing-should be sleeping. Fleas are biting my ankles. Yes, gross. Totally gross. I've swept, I've mopped, I've sprayed, cleaned, and yes, even bombed, flea-bombed, that is, our house, for what seems like a thousand times over the last week. Tomorrow I plan to spray more flea stuff, recommended by the vet. Oh, how a little pest can be such a big pain. Our dog is free and clear, and I should be thankful, but I seriously think he gave them to me. I've been trying to be thankful through it all, thanking God I have feeling in my ankles, thanking God I have a house for them to infest, thankful that it's just fleas, and fleas die. They do die, right?
And our trip to the ER...
So tonight, we're at our friends' house and we hear a scream from the bedroom. It was Ana. I knew it wasn't a normal scream. I ran to find her drenched in fingernail polish remover. It was in her eyes, her shirt was soaked. We doused her with cold water over and over. Fortunately, my friend is a nurse. Ana seemed a bit lethargic and her eyes were red. Someone called poison control. They said to give her sugar and milk. She's allergic to milk. I was in serious-mom mode, and I had my mind made up that she was going to the ER. Kim and I loaded her up. I drove. I don't really know why. I just felt like I had to get there asap. Kim sat in Gabriel's car seat beside Ana. Jim and Kev had the rest of the kids at the house. We arrive at the ER and Kim calls home to ask about the ingredients in the remover. While she's on the phone, her husband says that her work pager went off (OR recovery room nurse). Again, fortunately, we're in the hospital, the same hospital in which she is needed, so she calls up to the OR. Yep, she's needed. Skipping lots of details b/c I'm tired and must get up for church, Kim was able to help w/ the patient in the OR, Ana was seen and was given a clean bill of health, and we were finished at the same time. We left the ER laughing. I'm sure people thought we were nutso. Seriously, is that not a Seinfeld episode in the making?! Even though we were able to laugh, the seriousness of it all did hit me several times, and of course, I am SO thankful and relieved that Ana is okay.
So, this is pretty much normal around here these days. Yesterday, Gabriel hid and ate half a tube of toothpaste, okay, it wasn't really half a tube (wouldn't want to have to call poison control consecutively for two days), got into Julia's candy stash, and rubbed deodorant all over his body. And this was all in the course of thirty minutes. Lest you think I don't watch my children, if you've ever been around us, you know these two work together. I'm sure they must scheme and plan in their cribs before I get them in the morning. One distracts me and the other carries out the plans. Or, one makes a mess, I clean it, and another mess is made before I get the first one cleaned up.
This is our normal...fleas, ER, and stuff like that. I'm so totally aware that it is by the grace of God that any of us make it through a day. We praise Him for it.
