Miss Victoria

Today began VERY early. Molly was up at 3:30am cranky with a fever. I gave her some Motrin and put her back in her bed, but she was up again an hour later. Her fever had broken, but she seemed to have decided she wanted to be rocked - and would not accept anything less. I rocked her until 5:25am before she was sleeping deep enough to put her back in her own bed. Having slept only about 4 hours myself, I chose not to head back to bed and instead hopped in the shower and got ready for the day.

Who in the world wakes up at 6am on a Saturday? Well, Ava and I do, when it is the day of the 2012 National Walk for Epilepsy. We went down to the Capitol Mall area in DC and walked about 2 miles to raise money and awareness for epilepsy. We were part of Team "Victoria"us, in honor of Victoria Olszowy. Victoria is one of the "big girls" at Ava's dance studio, and this year she is also Ava's dance Big Sister. She and her little sister Veronica babysat my girls several times last summer, and we spend a good amount of time together between dance and just getting together for the girls to all play.

Walking this morning was an incredible experience. I explained to Ava as best I could this morning what we were doing. In the end, she got what was truly important: we were walking because we love Victoria. This young lady is everything I hope my daughters will grow up to be. She ALWAYS has a smile on her face - I'm not sure I've ever heard a truly mean or negative thing come out of her mouth. She has the biggest heart - all morning she spent as much if not more time with Ava as with her other same-age friends who were there. She was only diagnosed with epilepsy a few months ago, but has had other health issues in the past... or so I've been told. I've never heard the girl complain about a single thing, and again I have no doubt she's had a time or two when she would have been plenty entitled to be less than chipper. She is beautiful inside and out, and my whole family adores her. There is nothing we would not do for this girl, including get up at 6am on four hours of sleep and walk a few miles in the cold.

Highlight of the day: Ava was getting tired again (she had a few rough patches but overall handled the walk like a champ), but I pointed out the finish line and told her we were almost done. She immediately ran ahead to catch up with Victoria and took Victoria's hand. I'm not sure how it happened, but one by one girls began joining hands and crossed the finish line together. To see these girls joining together to support someone they love and a cause close to her heart was truly special. I am so glad we were there to be a part of it. On our way home Ava asked if we could go walk again next year, and I told her I certainly hope so.

Team "Victoria"us before the walk

Crossing the finish together

Special friends :)

Perspective

This morning was pretty rough. It began yet again with a puny Molly. She had a fever, and since she's in the middle of antibiotics the pediatrician wanted her to come in and be seen. So an unexpected trip to the doctor occurred, and after being prescribed a new antibiotic a trip to the pharmacist. We waited a while, since of course the pharmacy had yet to actually notice that the pediatrician had electronically sent over the prescription. In the middle of all this I have a clingy, cranky baby and an antsy toddler (Ava at least was at school). We were able to sit at home for all of 35 minutes before reloading in the car to pick Ava up. I was tired, stressed, sad about my sick baby... not in a good place in general. I was doing my very best to not take it out on the kids, and was only doing an okay job.

I sat at the light to turn out of our subdivision. Just as it turned green, I heard sirens and saw an ambulance fly through the intersection. As I saw it go past, I did what I always do when I see any emergency vehicle, and said a little prayer for the workers in the vehicle and the individuals they are trying to help. As I was doing this, I felt the figurative head slap I'm sure God was giving me. I was having a crummy morning, but the person in that ambulance was most likely in a much more serious situation than I had even considered that morning. I immediately felt the tension leave my shoulders, and my breathing became more relaxed. I will never know who was in that ambulance or what happened to him or her, nor will they know the positive impact they had on my day, but reminding me to keep all things in perspective and remember what is truly important.

Dance Class

Tonight was my jazz class. One night a week I go somewhere by myself and spend an entire hour thinking of NOTHING. My concentration is on not injuring myself and maybe making a move or two look good. Tonight I needed my dance class even more than usual. Sleep has not been good to me, the girls were pretty wired today, and due to a conference call Ben was completely indisposed until AFTER the girls were in bed. I was tired and my patience had hit its limit. I needed to leave the house and just be by myself for a bit. It felt so good to have conversations with other adults and not have to stop every 30 seconds to do a head count of my kids. I love my daughters and husband more than life, but tonight I am very thankful for the hour of blessing that was my dance class. Now I just have to cross my fingers that I will be able to move in the morning!

Wedding Bells

Tonight bathtime provided a most humorous conversation. I'm not sure how it began, but as Ben was washing the girls, Ava said, "I can't wait to get married!" To which Jocelyn promptly replied, "I want get married too!" Ava then proceeded to explain to Jocie that their Daddy would walk them down the aisle to their husbands. Ben sort of slumped his shoulders and muttered something along the lines of "I am so not ready for all this." It was a very short, very lighthearted interaction between them all. It made me laugh to see Ben already dreading something that seems so far away. And yet, I'm sure it will seem like no time at all before those three babes all bathing together in one tub will be grown up bathing their own babies. The last 5 1/2 years alone have flown by, I can only imagine how much faster time will pass us by in the years to come. But for now, I'll settle for silly statements from my girls that make Ben's heart speed up in panic and my heart smile with joy.

Braids and Blood

Today had two highlights, one from my eldest daughter and one from my youngest. First thing this morning I put two french braids in Ava's hair. She has been asking me to do this for a few days, but by the time we would remember there wasn't enough time. Because while her hair is certainly growing, it is still not SUPER long, and braiding it can be quite a task. After almost 20 minutes, my fingers were cramping horribly, but the braids were in her hair and a big smile was on her face. These are the small sacrifices I am more than willing to make to bring some joy to my child's day.

view from the front

the back

A few hours later, Molly and I were sitting in a lab waiting room waiting for her blood work to be done. We had not made an appointment, so it took a little longer, but we still only waited about an hour. While we were there, we encountered more than a few very grumpy people. Everyone seemed to have something to complain about, especially why it was taking the lab techs so long to call people back. Molly immediately began to work her magic: she toddled around the entire waiting room, babbling and grinning at each person she passed. It was incredible to watch - not a SINGLE person could resist smiling back at her! She brightened the days of so many people in that hour, and I had myself a very proud Momma moment. She took getting 2 1/2 vials of blood drained from her like a champ too, but I will not soon forget watching Molly be the light of so many strangers' days the way she is mine everyday.

Molly's battle wound from her stick

A Spoonful of Sugar...

Today, like everyday for the past few months, Molly had medicine to take. As of this week we are up to three medications taken two times daily: she gets her antibiotic and claritin in the morning, then those two as well as a multivitamin with iron at bedtime. And today, as always, she took every drop like a champ. The child never complains or spits her medicine out - and I know for a FACT that most of it tastes pretty nasty. I can barely stand just the smell of the multivitamin, I can't even begin to imagine how disgusting it tastes. I know most children (my girls included) who at least go through phases where they refuse to have anything to do with medicines they have to take. I am so thankful my easygoing Molly is willing to take her medicine without the proverbial spoonful of sugar - and will even do so with a smile on her face :-)

Dinner Theater

Today was another day of ups and downs. Not sure what's been in the air but these girls have been off the charts with their energy levels. I even gave myself a time out of sorts, escaping to Target for about an hour just to prevent myself from going stark raving mad. (Very grateful to Ben for allowing me to escape and take over the task of wrangling the crazy kiddos.)

Dinner, however, seemed a short reprieve from the chaos. Jocelyn and Molly were playing with each other, guffawing uncontrollably. Ava and Ben resorted to playing the Quiet Game, which provided just over 15 minutes of much-needed silence from at least half of the table. It was still not serene by any stretch, and I still wonder when exactly my house turned into such a zoo, but at least for a short time today we were all 5 in the same space enjoying each other's company. I hope these are the memories that my children remember in the years to come - crazy, loud, chaos full of laughs and love.