"You're Doing a Great Job"

Hello there, Lovelies. I know, it's been a while. It's been crazy busy, I swear we go through these cycles that last for a few weeks of chaos, then back to our "normal routine" whatever that may be these days. So what's been keeping me so busy, you may ask? Well, I recently had to have a tooth pulled, our washing machine broke down and on top of all of that, we were still struggling with sleep issues. Don't cry for me, Lovelies. The truth is most of these things are solved now. Most.

So finally, I made the appointment with the Princess' doctor to address the sleep issues. Due to lack of a car, I had to bring both of the Royals with me. I normally prefer to find a babysitter for the one whom the appointment isn't for, but when it comes down to it, you have to do what you have to do. Seeing as how it's the first week of preschool for the Princess, it's more important now than ever to really get these sleep issues under control. So, as usual, I planned my outing down to the very tiniest detail I could.

I made sure to find the diagnosis paperwork, should the doctor's office need it. I pre-packed everything I could. I couldn't find my purse, so I used my son's backpack. Yep, I was the mom carrying a backpack that was clearly for one of her children.-- My hubby later told me that he had found my purse, it has slipped behind the washer. Where it still sits.-- Everything was going according to plan. OK, maybe not fully according to plan, we were about ten minutes late to the appointment.

We arrive at the doctor's office, and I get the Prince out first. I set him on the seat while I work towards getting the Princess out of hers. When I did, I set her down so I could pick up the Prince-- My first mistake-- the Princess tried to bolt. I grabbed her, and we made our way into the parking garage to the elevator. The Princess had never stepped onto an elevator before, and that tiny gap between the car and the floor of the platform really threw her off. Carefully, she did. Riding in the elevator, she stared at the floor that she could tell was moving under her, but the room didn't look like it. I couldn't help but giggle at the wonder on her face.

We get into the office, and the first thing she does is start running back and forth. I checked us into our appointment, all while keeping an eye on my little lady. It was an hour long wait to get back to the examination room. All the while, the Princess was running. I had tried a few times-- To no avail.-- to get her to sit next to her brother on one of the chairs. At some point I was finally successful, but I had to kneel in front of both of them to keep them entertained.-- By the way, if you were in the office that day, and I blocked your path, I am truly sorry.-- another little girl, no older than 5 years old sat on the other side of the Prince and smiled at me and the Royals.

Eventually, the Prince demanded to be picked up, and once that happened getting the Princess to sit in one spot is next to impossible. So she started running. Someone left the door to the back rooms open, she noticed. Within seconds, she had run into the back offices. You bet, I was the mom who then carried my youngest in my arms while running after her. I got a friendly smile from the nurse, and I asked which way to go to get back to the waiting room. After giving me directions she said, "You've got your hands full, huh?"

What I wanted to say was, "Nah, just getting my exercise." or something equally as sarcastic, yet positive. All that came out was, "Just a little."

Upon re-entering the waiting room, of course the Princess started running again. The same little girl from earlier decided that it looked like fun, and ran after her. Too cute for words. Finally, we were called back to a room. The usual steps happen, lets check weight. Of course they wanted her shoes to come off, and of course she ran to a supply room before I had a chance to catch her. I set the Prince down, and retrieved her. Got her shoes off, then got her weight.

Next, height. Stand against the wall. As I'm trying to position her, there goes the Prince, attempting to go exploring. Thankfully the sweet nurse did get him, and we got her height-- 3'4", I might add.-- then she bolted down the hallway. Suddenly feeling a pull between the Prince who was right there wanting to explore, and the Princess who is now down the hallway already exploring, I made the quickest decision possible. To chase after the Princess. Finally I caught up to her and got her back, and we were on our way to a room. Thankfully the nurse carried the Prince.

Once in the room, the basics are covered as well, check her blood pressure, get a bit of the "why" we are here today, heart rate, etc. The Prince decided this is the point where he is going to start screaming. I try to change him, no luck. He wont take his bottle, he just wants to scream in my ear. The Princess is going back and forth on being moody, or happy. The nurse finishes her duties and informs me the doctor will be in shortly. While we are alone, I work towards getting both kids settled. Graham cracker for the Prince. He's still not happy. Toys for the Princess-- Yes, I did pack several-- I hear the knock on the door and the doctor comes in.

The Prince is still crying in my arms, and the Princess is losing her cool very quickly. She sees the doctor's laptop and wants to play. When she's denied, that is it. We go into full blown tantrum mode.-- Which is kind of a good thing, because she doesn't generally do this in public, but having the doctor see it was key.-- The Princess went down the list of all of the behaviors: Head banging, heel kicks to the floor, squeezing things-- like my arm, or her stuffed animal.-- All the while the Prince is still screaming in my ear, and the doctor is asking me questions, and giving me tips as to next steps to take for a medical diagnosis-- Yes, we currently have an educational one, that covers her preschool. Once we have a medical diagnosis, I will make sure to let you all know of the difference--  and I am busy bouncing back and forth between children to try to calm both.

The Prince was tired. He eventually fell asleep on my shoulder. We wrapped up the appointment with a sleeping medicine prescription having been sent in to the pharmacy. On the doctor's way out, she told me, "You're doing a great job." Man, those five words meant all the world to me in that moment. I wont go into all the details of getting the Royals packed up and out the door, as I'm pretty sure this post is long enough. I will say, however, that upon getting back into the car and taking my first breath, I looked down and yep. I found the graham cracker from earlier. Down my shirt.

So yes, I was the stereotypical frazzled mom, chasing after one toddler while carrying the other. Clearly overwhelmed. The thing that made it all better was getting the affirmation that I was doing a great job. So to you, Mom in the grocery store with the child having a meltdown because you denied them the sugary cereal or candy bar or toy, you're doing a great job. To you, the parent driving the car while your children scream at you and you try desperately to keep your cool to drive safely, you're doing a great job. To all moms, dads, caregivers, guardians: You're doing a great job.