MARTIN FAMILY FIVE: Rough day!

The morning was great...Miss Elise came over to stay with Adri while Gabe was at school and I went to school with Nate. I finished my volunteer duties a bit early and got in a quick grocery store trip, ALONE, before picking up the two little ones. We headed to my Mom and Dad's for a lunch date. We had ham sandwiches, strawberries and tortilla chips (you'll know why I point this out in a few minutes). I packed the kids up and headed to Carmel to visit Gabe's ENT doc. He had a follow up scheduled with the doctor (or so I thought) and another hearing test. We stopped in Lapel to fill up with gas and I noticed my tire was almost completely flat (a regular thing, lately) so I filled it up and we were off again. Gabe and Adri were occupied with Yogi Bear on the DVD player and I had an uninterrupted conversation with my friend, Carmen, for about 30 minutes. It was wonderful! Just as I hung up the phone and pulled into the parking lot at Dr. Shelton's office, Gabe said, "My tummy hurts." But, it was too late to do anything about it...his lunch (yes, everything...including the chocolate milk) was all over him, his booster seat, and the van! Yuck! Adri sat quietly and never budged. She was too busy watching Yogi. I started gagging immediately! I can change dirty diapers all day...even ones that aren't contained to the diaper, but vomit...it's hard to handle! Unfortunately, I didn't have a change of clothes for Gabe, but I did have a clean pair of underwear in Adri's bag. We got him cleaned up, using almost an entire box of baby wipes (good thing I got in that shopping trip, earlier, and my bags were still in the van) and rushed him in to the doctor's office wearing only his whitey tighties! We were about 20 minutes late and I knew at this point that we wouldn't make it home in time for Nate to get off the bus, so I called the school and told them to send him a note saying that he was to get off at his cousin's house (I'm so glad we have family nearby). I checked us in and while waiting on the doc to see us, I spent the next 10 minutes or so in the bathroom with the kids, giving Gabe a 'sink bath.' I could hardly stand the smell. I didn't want the doctor to vomit from the Gabe's odor! I'd seen enough puke for one day! I did the best I could and we were out in time to hear the audiologist call Gabe's name. She confessed that his appointment must have been moved or deleted form the system but they were squeezing us in anyway because she could tell we were having a bad day! She then offered him a gown (he loved this). About 30 minutes later, after a hearing test and a visit with his doc, there was an appointment scheduled for Gabe to have permanent tubes put in next Wednesday, May 18th. His hearing loss was 40% in each ear! URRRGGG! That darn fluid! I hate it, but am so thankful that there is a procedure out there that can immediately correct the loss. Soon after the news, we were on our way home and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon outside with the baby chicks...very therapeutic! Now, the boys are helping Daddy move some dirt and Gabe is still wearing that gown! He says he's never taking it off!