A day in the life a mother

I love being a mother, I really do, but man, today was very trying. Here's a quick run-down of my day:

Bad: Jacob started coughing last evening. He has a nebulizer, but he isn't wheezing, and his chest doesn't sound tight, so the albuterol won't help. I cant' give him cough medicine with all the recent news about the dangers of cough medicine. He is awake coughing all night...and so am I.

Good: He starts to sound tight in his chest about 5:00 a.m. so that means I can use his nebulizer and albuterol to help with the coughing. The albuterol helps. Praise God.

Bad: I look at the expiration date, after I've given it to him (bad nurse), and the albuterol expired 10-2006. Oops.

Good: Call the peds office and they call in a refill without wanting to see him. Plus we get scheduled for flu shots. Not a good thing according to the kids.

Bad: Drive 15 miles to Pharmacy, as they said they would have it ready for me, and they in fact need another hour. Now what do I do with 2 kids for an hour at 11:00 a.m., one of which is coughing and the other is screaming that she's hungry? I don't want to drive home just to turn around and go back, what with gas at $3.20 a gallon.

Good: See a McDonald's, and the neighbor and her 6 year old daughter are there. Good, maybe they'll behave.

Bad: See a McDonalds. Kids refuse to sit still, Jacob spills entire jug of milk on floor, Clara fills her diaper and since I anticipated a quick trip to town, I don't have a spare. I pray that someday she'll not think the potty is an alien wanting to suck her down and want to use it. After eating, and I use that term loosely here, I get the kids in the van, only to find I'm blocked by crazy people wanting in the drive-thru. They've formed a line in a place there wasn't supposed to be a line. I sit there for 15 minutes as people continue to pull right behind me to get into line and block my way. I finally start backing up until someone is forced to let me out before they pull up behind the next car. Damn people.

Good: Get to pharmacy, meds are ready and the insurance paid for the entire amount and the box of premixed albuterol looks like it'll last forever.

Bad: Get home to lay kids down for a nap, Jacob gets to the top of the stairs and vomits...and it travels ALL THE WAY DOWN. I ask him if he is going to vomit again, he says no, then promptly vomits an even larger amount all over my feet.

Good: I manage not to vomit, give Jacob clean clothes and a much needed breathing treatment, lay the kids down, clean up the vomit and get to take a nap myself. They sleep for 2 hours.