choose any adjective you like...

mayhem
bedlam
pandemonium
chaos
it doesn't matter... they all describe our morning! because december is an already packed month of events, i decided that all the kids' well check appointments with the pedi would be at the same time. allie had a four year check up, caleb had a three year check up, and riley was late for a 9 month check up. however, since i have not completely lost my mind, i made sure that lance could come with me. it began better than expected with both big kids enthusiastically being measured and weighed. we were largely impressed with their cooperation to this point. once we entered the room the nurse began the verifications and questions that come with each child while allie and caleb got far to familiar with their surroundings... turning the bed area into a balance beam and the drawers into drums. we graciously answered questions in between "stop that" and "sit down." allie did all the normal things: blood pressure, heart beat, lungs while caleb began to cower in the corner, arms folded whispering, "i'm not gonna do that!" while we coerced caleb to allow the nurse to do her job, allie began spinning on the doctor's chair and fighting an inward battle of playing with the nurse's laptop. once caleb had the litany of procedures done, it was riley's turn (sad when the nine month old is the easiest to deal with). all was fairly calm and i was relishing in the fact that this might actually turn out well when the doctor came in. we LOVE our pedi and he is truly gifted at what he does. we talked about allie and some concerns we have for her. she was super mature and let him check everything he needed to and would even spout off, "see, caleb, this doesn't hurt!" when caleb's turn arrived he fought everything on every front... he can not stand the tool that they look in his ears with and it sets him off every time! after doc. B determined that his ear infection was in fact gone (after three antibiotics), caleb simply could not recover! here is where it gets good... please picture it (so as to laugh along with me - not at me).

a very small room, two rambunctious toddlers, one infant, three adults, and a stroller. i'm holding riley with my back to lance, lance is holding a SCREAMING caleb, dr. b is attempting to talk to us about caleb's anger and response issues, allie is standing in the seat of the stroller that is parked in front of me. lance trys to make caleb laugh (b/c nothing else is working) by throwing his head back and lifting him up, throwing him back and lifting him up, throwing him back..... and b/c i've not seen any of this... i tell allie to get out of the stroller and i step backward as to move the stroller from allie's space... that is around the time that my elbow makes direct contact with caleb's two front teeth.

i know this story is long, but you're still with me, right? blood, screaming, screaming, and more screaming. his tooth was shoved up and a little back... dr. barrett steps out of the room to get caleb something... lance sits down w/ previously mentioned screaming child. riley is now crying and allie is asking 5-6 questions at a rate of 100 words a minute. i'm utterly embarrassed and ready to go. BUT IT GETS BETTER.... lance looks at me and says, "babe, you're going to have to take him." this is the first time that i realized that lance's face is ghostly white... i put down the crying baby, pick up the screaming toddler. allie picks up the crying baby and hands him to the nauseous daddy.... mom snaps at allie... allie puts baby down, dr. comes back in, sweating daddy lays down on floor, allie climbs on top of daddy, mom snaps again... leaving us with a total of three kids crying/screaming, daddy barely hanging in there, mom humiliated, and an always cool as a cucumber doctor... THANK GOD he is a chill man!

yep, i have never wanted to melt into the floor more than in this very moment! our story doesn't end there. there were still four shots and the exiting of the building, but that was all very trivial.

i'm currently praying that all parties will sleep and this will be funny in just a few days! in regards to my sweet husband: we don't know why that happened to him... he has made it through the birth of three kids just fine and, although he doesn't think he was helpful this morning... i'm so GLAD he was there!

just yesterday a friend described my life as a circus... point on!!!