Last Friday night I felt like I was on top of the world (and completely exhausted).
It started at about 3:15 pm when I got that dreaded call from daycare. “DS3 has pink-eye. You have to come pick him up.” That morning DS3 was in perfect health, so of course I double checked with daycare, “oh, he was fine this morning. Are you SURE it’s pink-eye??”
They were sure. And they were right. When I got to daycare 15 minutes later (yay for working from home), his eye was bright pink, glossy and all puffed up. He definitely had pink-eye and needed antibiotics. Before Shabbos.
So, on the way home from daycare I called the doctor’s office. The local office was closed, but I was able to get a 5:30 appointment at and office 30 minutes away. I had no choice, so I went into planning mode.
What made me the most nervous about this doctor appointment was that 1. all 3 boys would be with me 2. it was at their dinner time and 3. DS2 is new to the non-diaper world.
So, without much of a choice, I got home, emailed my (new) boss that I’d have to sign out early, popped some chicken nuggets in the oven and finished my work. Oh, and I also tried to make sure that DS3 didn’t touch his infected eye.
When 4:45 came along, I popped DS1 and DS3 in the car, each with a baggie of chicken nuggets. We swung by daycare to pick up DS2 and were lucky that he just finished using the restroom as soon as we got there. I didn’t really have time to make a bathroom stop!
We were on the road in no time and got to the doctor’s office just in time for our appointment. With Shabbos coming, I knew we couldn’t hang around. Luckily all of our food was cooked already.
Of course as soon as we got there, DS1 and DS2 had to go to the bathroom, so we spent the first minutes there taking turns in the bathroom. I was so lucky that the office was mostly empty! I can’t even describe what was going on.
We saw the doctor, she called in a prescription and we were back in the car on the way to the pharmacy. I thought that by the time we got to CVS they would’ve had our prescription filled, but no such luck. We had to wait around for it. I strapped DS3 in a shopping cart, put DS2 in it and all 4 of us took a walk around CVS for what seemed like forever.
At the end of all this drama, we made it home around 40 minutes before Shabbos, prescription in hand.
When I think about how amazing I felt after this “event” I didn’t know exactly why… isn’t this what all moms do all the time?
But in truth, it’s not what I do all the time. I very rarely go places alone with all of my children. I split errands with DH or go when the kids are in school or when my afternoon babysitter is with them. They are a rambunctious bunch and I always think it would be too hard for me.
So, after doing it, while rushing before Shabbos, I think this trip was a success. For me as a mom, for DS1 and DS2 who didn’t go hungry, and mostly for DS3 who had his medication before a long Shabbos.
Do you travel alone with many small kids? What are some tips and tricks you can share for making it a smooth trip?
Until next time,
Shaindy
awesome job! When I take my 2 with me its hard, can’t imagine 3, I do find that if they are fed and have something small to play with ie crayons, a hand held toy they are much better behaved. I also find that giving the big one a job- ie find me something orange also helps.
I agree – it’s hard. I’ve got 3 and pregnant with a 4th so now it’s just physically hard. Unfortunately I’m not very good at meal planning and such, and while I do plan on leaving work early to make it to the store before I pick up the kids, it rarely works out that way. So what is left for me to do? I pick up all 3 kids and head to the store – always an adventure, always a lesson in patience. By the time we are finally done, and I finally trudge through the parking lot with all of them and finally make it home, and finally lug everything into the house – I am wiped out!! I need like 30 minutes to recuperate. 🙂 But I will say – the kids always earn compliments from strangers!! But generally speaking, we try to split up duties so not one parent is “stuck” with all 3 out in public…