Happy New Year! And pass the painkiller, please.

In case I haven't mentioned it, and you don't read my husband's blog, Joel had oral surgery today. Yes, indeed. Let's cut on your gums and by the way, Happy New Year!

So this morning we all headed off to the oral surgeon's office. I say "all" because 1. Joel couldn't have the anesthesia without someone there to drive him home and 2. I didn't have any simple childcare options, though our self-sacrificing friends, Amy and Andy, did offer to watch the kids but it would have taken me longer to drop them off at their house and get to the doctor's office than the actual surgery took.

So, we all headed to the doctor's office. The kids had been threatened admonished to behave themselves in the waiting room. I counted on two things to help me keep them under control: the small waiting room on New Year's Eve with only one doctor in the office was bound to be pretty empty and a large bag of books, toys, & Cheerios to keep them distracted. I must say they all did really well considering they are going stir-crazy from being indoors and sick for over two weeks!

The surgery only took about 45 minutes. The oral surgeon thinks it was a success. He cut the gums, cleaned out a lot of infection (between the size of a pea and a grape! Ewww!!) under and around a tooth, filled the abscess and stitched Joel back up. He thinks the tooth was "sound." After Joel felt awake enough to walk to the van, we loaded up and headed to Wal-Mart (again!) to fill his prescriptions for penicillin and percoset.

I left Joel and Ellie in the van and rushed the boys into the store. I knew things were not going to go well when the woman kept asking me what kind of prescription coverage we have while SHE held the insurance card and looked at it and her computer.

Once she determined that Joel is in their computers and the information is still the same she asked if I would be waiting for the medicine to be filled. I explained that we had come straight from the doctor and my poor husband, was waiting in the van - my explanation was interrupted several times as I hissed threats of bodily harm strongly encouraged my eldest son to stop choking his younger brother. She then informed me it would be at least a thirty minute wait as they were very busy today and she couldn't possibly put me ahead of the others.

My aggravation level escalated several times during this interchange but when she said they wouldn't have any percoset until next week I almost lost my religion. What!?! How does a busy pharmacy run out of such a common drug?! A pharmacy with good customer relations would have offered to call the doctor to see if a different medicine in the same class would be OK. Not this lady. Clearly she did not want my business. And since the percoset is the painkiller, which I knew Joel would need when the Novocaine wore off in a couple of hours, I picked up the prescriptions and marched my kids back to the van.

I explained the situation to Joel and quickly developed a new plan. We took off for another pharmacy where I dropped off the prescription (another 20 minute wait!) and took the troops home. After settling Joel in bed I fed the kids lunch and then put them down for naps. I thought they were all drifting off to sleep and ran out to pick up the medicine. When I returned I found Ben in the living room instead of his bed.

O joy. Let the battle over nap time begin. I think I put him back to bed 4 or 5 times. Finally he stayed put and I actually got about an hour long nap myself. I may have mentioned that I have a cold. I have gone through a box of tissues in 5 days all by myself and alternate between blowing my nose and hacking up a lung. In fact, I've been coughing so much my ab muscles are actually sore! Maybe if I'm sick long enough I'll get in shape. After all, coughing is much less work than sit-ups.

After nap time I loaded up the kids for a trip to "Old McDonald's." Yes, ma'am. I'm the one who brought snotty-nosed and coughing children to play on the playground because I couldn't keep them quiet at home so their daddy can rest. Look at it this way, it's just a virus. If your kids pick it up it'll run it's course in 7-10 days. And if you catch it from them you will have an opportunity to work off some of that "pregnancy" weight. = )

We arrived home to find Daddy alert and in the kitchen scrounging for food. He informed me his empty stomach (he hadn't eaten since last night) wanted a steak and baked potato. Naturally his swollen gums do not agree. He settled for leftover mashed potatoes.

I asked when he'd last taken the percoset. "About a half-hour ago." This answer after he sat down in a chair because he felt woozy. "I think you should go back to bed." He promptly agreed. He now understands how I feel after my c-sections when the hospital nurses keep me pumped full of percoset. = )

That is how we have ended 2007. Sick children. Sick Momma. Teething AND sick baby girl. And oral surgery for Daddy. Bring on 2008! I can handle it. Especially if Joel has any of those percoset pills leftover. Don't even think I'm kidding!