Actual trip to the pharmacy with sick kids

Sometimes my friends without kids wonder if it's really as complicated as they hear to do something with 2 or more kids in tow, or my friends with one child wonder about how much harder it will be to do stuff with another child.  I remember how uncomplicated it was to do things with only one child, I get it. I'm starting to get it again now that the boys are in school 2 days a week.  What follows is just one incident from real life. None of these events have been exaggerated.  It is all true in it's rediculousness.  Because, really, you can't make this stuff up.

Background: 3 weeks ago, I drove the kids to Portland to visit my brother and OMSI and threw up the night I arrived. The following weekend I was supposed to visit my grandmother and Valerie threw up Thursday night. Violently, in quick succession. As within 10 minutes she'd thrown up in 2 bathrooms 3 times, her bed, and down my hall stairs.  So I wasn't that surprised when last weekend we were almost to my grandmother's house and Carter informed me he'd thrown up between the seats of the minivan.  So we pulled over, cleaned up as well as we could with babywipes and changed Carter into a pair of Valerie's pants and headed back home where I threw every chemical known to man on the spots trying to get the smell out (BTW... Kids N Pets + Hydrogen Peroxide + Resolve Carpet Cleaner with a topping of Fabreze will get vomit smell out of your car and what auto manufacturer decided putting carpet anywhere in a moving vehicle let alone one designed to move 3+ children in it?  That must be a man. A dumb-ass man. But anyway.....

Henri's also had this violent cough that shows up during the day, but it's ghastly at bedtime and about 430 am in the morning. We've been battling it with honey and Hylands Cough Syrup, but it was getting worse and Carter was getting droopier by the day and taking 1-3 naps a day.  So, off to the doctor we went.

This was my Tuesday....  after we went out running to the bank and postal service with 3 kids in tow because they were all home to go to the doctor, Paul finally had to go to work (thank GOD for a flexible work schedule for him) and at noon I had an appointment to see the doctor.

Noon... we head in to the doctor's office.  Valerie is running around the middle chairs, Carter is laying down on a bench practically asleep, Henri's coughing all over everything without covering his mouth.  Finally we get called in.  Valerie's hot and sweaty from her running around.  Right before the doctor comes in to see the boys she is dancing and spinning around and smacks into the corner of the metal exam table and is crying and looks like a mess when the doctor comes in.  The doctor is actually wondering why Valerie is not also being seen because she actually looks the worst at this exact moment.  After explaining that this is just how she normally looks she takes a peek at the boys.

Henri's verdict is a medium grade ear infection in one ear and fluid in the other.  The drainage in his throat is most likely causing the coughing, so we'll put him on antibiotics, esp since he hasn't had them in 2 years.

Carter has a double ear infection and looks so pale and droopy the doctor says if he doesn't perk up in a few days to bring him back in that there may be something else wrong with him.  I think she's actually worried about him.

So she calls the prescription in.  Ah, the wonders of taking 3 sick children to the drug store.  This picture has been going around FB and I completely understand it... 

Paul and I were watching a comedian last night and she was talking about how life is not that complicated for her and how going to the drugstore the worst thing that happens is they move everything around on her.  He says, "it's not so bad, right? " then I told him actual events from Tuesday.

We all file out of the car, eventually we get everyone going in the proper direction of the drugstore and into the store.  The pharmacy is in the back.  Valerie immediately finds a black path of tiles in the floor that goes around the store and takes off, Carter follows her per my plees, Henri and I shoot straight to the back, the most direct route.  We all meet up in the back.  Henri starts playing with the sign of where to wait. Valerie joins him.  I pick her up and tell Henri to stop.  Valerie starts flailing and kicks Henri in the head, Henri starts crying, Valerie starts crying because Henri hits her.  Finally it's our turn... to find out that it will be another 15 minutes.  We walk over to McDonalds because now they are all starving.  Share some food and go back, pretty much the same running around the store. 

Then we can get home for the drama of trying to get nasty tasting meds into Carter :)  but that's another story...