Aches and Pains

Our adventure today was going to the pediatrician... Jenna woke up yesterday very restless and crying and couldn't seem to get comfortable. I gave her every kind of medicine I had to try to salvage the day- Tylenol, decongestants (she had developed a little head cold the day before)- and that seemed to make her better. At 4:40 pm yesterday... 10 minutes after the doctor's office closes... she woke up from her nap and pointed to her ear and said "ouchie." While I felt so bad for her that her ear hurt, I internally rejoiced that she is now of the age that she can tell me what is hurting her. Victory!!

I kept her on Tylenol throughout the day and night and she did well. This morning I called and got an 11am appointment. The girls got dressed in their red, white and blue outfits, celebrating Memorial Day a little early, and we all wore pigtails. I must say we were a pretty cute threesome. Jenna did indeed have a ear infection so we got a prescription and were off to the grocery store to fill it.

These are some of the factors that made this seemingly simple trip to the doctor's and to get the script filled take us about an hour and a half:
1. At the doctor's, we were in and out, but it took Michaela at least five minutes to pick out an appropriate sticker at the check out desk.
2. Walking into the grocery store, both girls have to walk on any available curb/ landscaped area. Any time Jenna climbs up over 1/8 inch off the ground, she needs help coming down. I am nervous that one or both will get run down at any moment. Getting them into the store is akin to herding cats.
3. Once in the store, the heavy negotiations begin. Can I get a donut? (Yes.) How about gum? (Maybe.) Can I get both? (No.) If I am a good girl, can I get both? (We'll see.) Nyum-Nyums? (That's Jenna-speak for M&M's.) (Yes.) Can I get whatever kind of gum I want? (No.) Can we get a car cart? (We don't need a car cart- we're just getting Jenna's medicine.) Can I sit in the front basket of a regular cart? (Why don't we just walk around...)
4. After we dropped off the script, we did get a donut for each of the girls. This was an important decision and several options were explored by both girls before settling on glazed with a chocolate frosting and half covered in sprinkles.
5. We went to sit in the deli area and then the trips to the water fountain (three times) began. Shockingly, Michaela did not ask to use the restroom.
6. After waiting the twenty minutes for the script to get filled, bellies filled with donuts, Michaela wants to go wait by the pharmacy. Jenna spies a bench nearby and decides it's necessary to nurse.. you know, a little milk to wash down that donut. As I'm nursing her, they call our name and I fumble to get up and get going, all the while telling Jenna, "Let go of me... let go..." and the college aged boy behind the counter sees what I'm doing, gets flustered and say, "Take your time!" I pull myself together (in clothing and spirit) and pay. Jenna decides she is not really interested in wearing shoes any more. She starts taking them off, I put them back on, she screams bloody murder and I scoop her up and carry her.
7. Now it's off to pay for the donuts. We search for a line that's reasonably short, since I'm carrying Jenna, and Jenna squirms to get down so she can see the M&Ms properly. I let her get down because I am quickly running out of energy. She puts a bag of M&Ms on the checkout belt, and when they magically disappear out of sight, she grabs another and puts it on the belt. I notice that they're on sale (3 for 99 cents!) and grab another. It'll be a good snack for during Jenna's nap after lunch. The girls spy a mirror at their eye level, used by checkers to make sure there is nothing on the bottom of grocery carts, and they stop for a moment to admire themselves and make some silly faces. They need several verbal nudges to rip themselves away.
8. Repeat #2 in reverse to get back to the car. We get home and get Michaela's snack packed for school, make a quick sandwich, and herd her out the door in 15 minutes.
Whew! No wonder I'm tired at night.