Hey Momma....Hey Mommy...Hey Mom

Well we made it 10 whole days before taking a day off from school. [What? 10 days is a long time...not really....I mean, I did have the ENTIRE summer to make my kids sick didn't I?] Cooper decided on Wednesday morning that he wanted to be sick. [That could be a slight exaggeration because no one wants to be sick...do they?] Of course, in our house, you must specify in what context you use the word sick. [Breaking out a little teacher lingo there: Vocabulary context....get you some of that!] You see, Coooper, being the eleven year old that he is, often uses the word "sick" to describe something good. For example, just this past Monday, when Boise State and VT played, Cooper described the uniforms of VT as "sick". [No, they don't need a doctor - ha ha ha.] Yet, Wednseday morning, Cooper was not "sick" as in cool or groovy or beast [Whole 'nother conversation people - don't ask] but he was sick as in fever, aches, and pains. So, 10 entire days into a new school year I'm getting a sub and staying home. [Though, I would be a big, fat, liar if I said that I didn't get right back in the bed and sleep 'til 9:45....it was nice.] Coop hung around the house all day, puny and pitiful, until we went to the doctor. As we were sitting in the doctor's office I noticed this ugly, nasty sore on his wrist. [Rewind to exactly two weeks before....Coop picked a tick off this spot during church. The tick was attached. Gross.]

Me: Cooper! Is that where the tick bit you? Cooper: Uh yeah...duh. I told you that. Me: Well did you tell me it left a nasty scabbed over place on your arm that looks infected? Cooper: No, I left that part out.

Well that changed things completely....my first instinct was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. [When I said that to Coop he looked at me like I had three heads...like I made that up or something.] Luckily, he did not have all the symptoms of RMSF but to be on the safe side the doc prescribed an antibiotic to cover it and help the infected bite. The horse pills [as Cooper calls them] will hopefully take care of him. [But will it keep him from telling lame jokes? Hmmmmm....]

Tonight I was a single parent. Not by choice but the JV was away, in Hickory, so I have not seen Craig since 8:40 this morning. [I'll get to this morning in a minute] Well lucky me [and I mean that sincerely] got to run the kiddos all over the place. Actually it was just Coop but the whole clan went with me. We literally went all over Cleveland County [well, I did skip Casar, but for other reasons] because Coop practices at Optimist Park so we went there....they sent me to the park for his uniform [He missed picking that up Wed. night because he was sick]...I left him and Molly there and ran one of Emma's friends back to the mall...then back to the park to pick up the oldest two [with uniform] ....then to see Mindy....then back to the KM. Needless to say, the Pilot needs gas :) The entire two hours in the car I think I heard the two words "Hey Momma" about 4928 times....no lie. Between Emma and Gabe, those two words get spouted ALOT. Most of the time the end of the sentence is either incoherent [Gabe], blasphemy [Gabe], or filled with loads of drama [Emma]. No one has ever accused my children of being quiet - no one. I should keep a tally sometime.

This morning I rolled over, checked the time on my phone, and flew [literally] out of the bed. We usually leave the house around 7:20am each day....today we woke up at 7:06am!!! OMG! Needless to say, there was a lot of shouting [Get up! We overslept! Put your clothes on! Brush your teeth! Change your underwear (I have to tell Craig that everyday)! Fix your lunch!] I mean, my house is crazy enough when we get up on time so can you imagine? We were out the door, thanks to wonderful people like KB, and on time - all six of us. [I don't know how much teeth brusing actually happened so if you were near a Short and they had halitosis then we apologize.]

On a serious note, I did get to see my good friend Mindy tonight and it was awesome. She looked great, despite not feeling well this week, and she was in great spirits. I had a fabulous visit with her, her girls, and her sweet husband Ronnie. I hope that you will take some time to drop her a note [www.caringbridge.org/visit/mindyhumphries] and pray for her. She will be visiting her oncologist next week to get firm plans on treatment so please lift her up with your thoughts and prayers.

If you are asked to give money, even if it is just $1 or $5 or whatever, to fight cancer then please don't hesistate to do this. Join your local Relay team, give to Susan G. Komen, buy something from a bake sale raising money for a cancer survivor, put your extra change in those jars that you see on counters, or simply donate your time, your baked goods, or whatever to fight this dreaded disease. My own mother is a cancer survivor...and you could say that my sister is too since my mom was diagnosed when she was six months pregnant with my sister. This is my personal mission :)

Looking forward to a great weekend with good friends and good food. As always, life is awesome.