So, first off, let me just say that I’m sorry that the last few posts have been pretty negative, but this one isn’t going to be much different. On the up side, there has been a lot more traffic at the toy library lately and I still have the best husband ever, who has gotten even more amazing after watching the movie Fireproof the other day. And my kids are pretty awesome too, so for those things I am very grateful.

However, today totally sucked! First, let me back up an entire year to when I was about 8 months pregnant with Abby. (Warning: if you are a man or squeamish woman you probably want to stop right here.) At that time I found a very small lump in my left breast, like a tiny pebble, that everyone thought was a clogged milk duct. After I delivered her it went away. Fine.

Fine, that is, until a few weeks ago when I started getting this weird dull achy pain in the same spot where the lump had been. Then the pain started radiating down my shoulder and upper arm and there was a little bit of (WARNING again) milky discharge. Also, since the delivery that breast has been significantly larger than the other. Finally, I got worried and made an appointment with the doctor. Today was the day of the appointment.

Luckily, my mom is on her spring break so she was able to stay with the kids while I went to the doctor. (By now you’ve probably ascertained that this did not go so well.) She could feel dense tissue and “something palpable” in the area I was talking about as well as one other area. She also told me I need to lose 20-30 pounds to get back to my pre-baby weight. She said I’m no longer allowed to eat bread, rice, pasta, corn, potatoes, or peas. Or caffeine! OR CHOCOLATE! Also I have to exercise at least 30 minutes a day. She told me she was sending me for an ultrasound and possible mammogram, which might need to be followed up with a consultation with a beast surgeon. She also gave me a prescription for vitamin E and a slip for blood work. Oh, and I had a pap smear, which as you know (since by now supposedly no men or squeamish women are reading this) is not the most pleasant thing in the world.

So I had to call Eddie and tell him to take the afternoon off to stay with the kids. Kirsten took over at the toy library and my mom went with me to the women’s imaging center. I have to say everyone on staff at Apple Hill was amazing. They were very warm, friendly, and positive. A young ultrasound tech named Autumn took the images and warned me they’d probably need to do a mammogram, which they did. (How many people can I get naked in front of in one day?) Then we had to go wait again so I could have several vials of blood drawn. I should probably mention at some point that this is all highly unusual because I’m only 25.

Well, thankfully, neither the ultrasound or mammogram showed any signs of cancer. However, because there is that “something palpable” hiding in there somewhere-Autumn could feel it too-I most likely do have to have a consult with the surgeon. Meanwhile, I’ll be here at work by myself for at least another three hours. Fun times.

So, to sum up, today I have had a pap smear, breast exam, ultrasound, mammogram, blood work, been told to get back into my size 4 pants, and do that by not eating virtually anything, especially CHOCOLATE, and now I’m at work until 8pm. Oh, and there could very well be a surgery in the near future. I think it’s fair to say, “March 2, 2010, I don’t like you very much.”

Ok, I’m not updating daily as I originally intended. My bad, but I really don’t need another thing on the to-do list. Take today, for example…
I woke up with the baby at 6:30 and had all three of us (Nick, Abby, and myself) fed, dressed, and out the door by 8:15 to go to Mom N Me at our church. The program doesn’t actually start until 9, but I need to get there early because I’m on the steering committee and it’s my responsibility to make the coffee. We had to leave in the middle of the presentation because Abby was crying inconsolably and pulling on her ears.
Ear infection? An 11 am last-minute doctor’s appointment said no, just fluid in the ears, most likely from teething.
Got to the toy library by noon, and good thing because we actually had quite a bit of traffic today because our add was printed in the latest issue of Clipper Magazine, which just came out. Nicholas had his OT appointment at 2, which (thankfully) we can do right here at Tiny Toes. Cue pop-in visit from ad sales. Cue phone call informing me that Kirsten (my employee) has fallen down the steps while 6 months pregnant. Thank God mom and baby are both alright, aside from being a bit sore, but she will be in the hospital overnight for observation.
Kept the kids with me until after 5, when Eddie was able to pick them up. They were actually really good today, all things considered.
Continued to play phone tag all day with a reporter. Guess we won’t be able to schedule that interview for tonight after all. For the best, because I’m exhausted. I still have two more hours and a story time to do before I can crash in front of American Idol.
Coming in early tomorrow to open for our playgroup. Mommy needs a nap. Why did I think running a business and keeping the kids with me all day was going to be such a great idea?

Yay! I finally had some families come to bedtime stories tonight! Two moms who were friends brought their children. They were very sweet and complimentary. The best part was the way they heard about Tiny Toes. The Jewish Community Center, which operates one of the largest preschool programs in our area, had sent out a mass email to their parents that I didn’t even know about! They were on my list of places to contact about handing out fliers, etc., but they beat me to it.

It was a pretty long day because the one employee I have is sick, so I had the kids with me at work for almost six hours before Eddie could pick them up. Nicholas wound up falling asleep on the floor (of a room that was not his bedroom) for the first time in his life, the poor guy was so exhausted. I hope Kirsten is feeling better for her sake and mine because I have three appointments and a dinner date scheduled for tomorrow that I’m going to have to cancel if she’s still sick, plus I’m sure she’d much rather be hanging out with kids and toys than home feeling yucky.

Time to call it a night and head home.

I love my children. I really do, I swear. But in the past 24 hours I have been thrown up on twice, peed on once (twice if you counting being up at 1am having to change pajamas and sheets), bitten multiple times, and bled on. I’m also continuing to fight a loosing battle against the couch cushions. I did manage to sew two sets of curtains for our newly remodeled kitchen, though, thanks to my mom who drove up from Baltimore to help out with the kids for a few hours. It was a very productive visit, since we also managed to order the food for my sister’s college graduation party. Did I mention we’re hosting a graduation party for my sister this weekend? Well, we are.

I also finished an article I was writing and submitted it to a parenting magazine. I’ll have to wait to see if it gets accepted before I can submit it to any others since they like to know your article will be exclusive if they decide to publish it.

Eddie must be on cloud nine because after his ski trip the Ravens won their play-off game against the Patriots and he just found out he got a raise! I’m hoping some of his luck will rub off on me because I could really use a nice pick-me-up to combat the major burn-out I’ve been feeling lately.

We have been trying to plan a trip to Florida for the spring since our friends have offered us a room in their home and our Disney credit card has a few hundred reward points on it now that we could use to take the kids to the Magic Kingdom. I’m not sure I’m going to last four more months.

I really want to do another overnight at the Marriot in Lancaster, where I went with my friend Lauren for our Black Friday shopping trip. The restaurant in that hotel, the Pen Square Grill, is amazing. If it’s still around in twenty years I might try to convince my children to have their wedding receptions there. Maybe I could can convince Eddie to use some of that raise money to take me on a Valentine’s Day overnight trip next month…. although… Martin Luther King Day is next week. That would be even better.