tales of a somewhat (but not too) unusual Monday

Today started at 4:15 a.m., when Eva called out for me to tuck her in. Exasperated, I reminded her that I did not want to be awakened for such paltry needs. Repeat at 5:45, but with my exasperation exacerbated. Although I fall asleep easily, I have a devil of a time going back to sleep when wakened in the early morning hours. Sleeping through the night is definitely the exception, not the rule, with Eva around. (Can someone please tell me why I can't reliably get a good night's sleep when my youngest child is nearing 6?!)

I thought that maybe, just maybe, today would be one of those rare days when she sleeps until 8:00. And since I knew that Max was going to be staying home from school today (sick), I was hoping that I might actually get to go back to sleep and stay in bed until 8:00. Guess who called out, chipper as could be, and ready to start her day at 7:00? Sigh.

Lucas developed what appeared to be an abscessed tooth last night, so I called the dentist's office as soon as it opened. They wanted us to come in right away. We found out that it was not an abscess, but an infection that developed near two loose teeth and that two new teeth were trying to come in, with nowhere to go. He had the teeth pulled and we were home by 8:30!

I called the pediatrician's office as soon as it opened, as well, and got an appointment for all of the kids: Max has had some hearing difficulties and what he describes as, "everything sounding robotic." Eva and Lucas seemed to have a recurrence of their sinus infections. Just another day at the Olivier household!

We walked out of there with 3 prescriptions for different antibiotics. We stopped at Sonic for milkshakes and a vanilla diet Coke for me. I dropped the kids at home and went to pick up the meds, plus cough drops with zinc and echinacea for good measure.

While I was there, I decided to make myself a salad at the beautiful salad bar at Harmon's.
Because they are pricey, this is a rare treat. And apparently I am nostalgic about this salad, who knew? It takes me back to my days as a new bride, when I had a full-time job as the receptionist/office manager for Ballard Technology, a small engineering firm in Seattle. I didn't have enough work to do. I was bored. But there was a QFC nearby, and I would go build a big beautiful salad during my lunch hour about once a week.

I know that I could make salads like this for myself at home, but the fact is that I do not. Maybe because I like having a vast array of choices, and when making a salad for myself, I make do with just a few add-ins. Here's what goes into my ideal salad bar salad:

mixed greens, plus some spinach
cucumbers
peas
cauliflower
grape tomatoes
hard-boiled egg
green onions
sliced black olives
cooked chicken breast (or sometimes cubed ham)
mushrooms
artichoke hearts
crumbled feta or blue cheese
sunflower seeds
raspberry vinaigrette

When I got home, all the kids were playing on Lucas's new PlayStation. In his room. In other words, not in the family room or kitchen. Ahhhhh. I sat down and ate my scrumptious salad with some homemade bread I made in-between appointments this morning. I sipped my Sonic drink. It felt like a nice reward for all the smotherhood I have been dealing with.

Here's the thing about having sick kids: it's almost better for all of them to be sick, because then they're all home and they can hang out and be sick together! Less clinging to me, fewer demands to field.

While the kids were occupied, I put in my headphones and resumed listening to my book club book (for tomorrow!) and worked on putting away Christmas. Yes, Christmas. We only started taking down the decorations last night! Not because we still wanted them up, just because of overall busyness. And general fatigue.

It felt very productive and satisfying.

In addition, I did something I have been wanting to do for months. (I am not exaggerating.) I started a seed culture. A seed culture ferments over time and becomes a starter for making bread. I read in one of my bread cookbooks that baking with a starter instead of yeast results in bread that is so complex, so rich and flavorful, so good, it is like bread to the max. But making a seed culture and starter requires a little babysitting – stirring several times a day, watching, adding, and so on for almost two weeks, so I just haven't had the time. Until now. I really want to taste bread to the max.

At this point, it was time to take Eva to dance. Because although she does have another sinus infection, she doesn't feel all that sick. I sat and listened to more of my audiobook (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet).

After dance, we dashed home, and the boys got in the car. We drove to BYU to meet Marc at the Museum of Art to see the Carl Bloch exhibit about the life of Christ. (It was my turn to plan Family Home Evening.) Even though Lucas and Eva get museum burnout much faster than the rest of us, resulting in a quicker tour than I would have liked, it was worth it. The paintings are stunning, and I was surprised by how many of them were familiar to me. Evidently, the LDS church uses a lot of his paintings that depict the Savior's life.

When we came home, I made peanutty noodles for dinner. (Lucas and Eva ate plain fettuccine, let's not get too excited.)

I read the second to the last chapter of Charlotte's Web before bed. How I adore that book! I do not want it to end. (It's gratifying that she loves it as well.)

And now I'm blogging. I don't even feel like a zombie! The Route 44 drink must have helped me to get through the day on 4 hours of sleep. And that's it. My long, busy, somewhat unusual Monday. Even with all the craziness, it was a pretty good day!