Oh, How I Dread a Doctor's Appointment . . .

and today was Annie's three-year check-up. Had I known how hellishly it was all going to go down, I would have pawned Jemma off on some kind friend, but no, she was there, too, climbing my left shoulder and crying to be let down as Annie took two separate trips to the bathroom and approximately 17 minutes to pee 1/8 oz. into a plastic cup and 3 oz. onto my right hand. You can imagine my great relief when the nurse generously assured me that it was "enough."

As if the managing of the children in the small office bathroom wasn't enough, Annie also had to have a bonus Hepatitis B booster today, because somehow she never got her third shot back when she was two. This part went exactly as you would guess, including a lot of squirming, hysterical crying, and trying to rip the syringe out of her leg.

Then there's the part where the doctor noticed Annie has lost a pound in the last six months in addition to having sporadic, weird diarrhea and started saying things like, "Does cystic fibrosis run in your family?" and, "I'd like to do some blood work to rule out celiac disease;" you know, the kinds of things that you have to pretend are so ridiculously impossible or else your heart would simply stop beating.

Breathe . . . . . .

I'm sure everything is fine. We just have runty children with sensitive stomachs, right?

Also today, we took Annie to meet her teachers and see her classroom in preparation for next Monday's first "real" day of school. The whole process took less than half an hour but was somehow very draining. The teachers both seemed nice enough, but normally-can't-be-quiet-for-one-second Annie became mute and wouldn't even smile in a picture while we were there. Hmmmm. I sense some deep anxiety. Luckily she met a new little friend on the playground while we were there and she gets to bring a birthday treat to the first class session, so I think she might get excited, after all. No knee socks yet (it was 100 degrees here today), but she was pretty cute standing on the steps and checking out her cubby.

Jemma ate a ton for dinner tonight: a bunch of pasta, a whole container of kid yogurt, about 10 raspberries, and some asparagus. Pigtails again today, which I can't get enough of. She's also decided that she's getting too old (and too busy) to take naps. Suddenly, she's crying and protesting for 15 minutes every time I put her down and only sleeping for 45 minutes! I have to smile, though, when I go in there and she's sitting up in her crib, bopping forward and back, and reaching for me to pick her up.

Here's hoping tomorrow is a happier and easier day!