Out of the Frying Pan...

So today is the big day that the dog loses her virginity. I'll refrain from taking pictures of the event. Here's hoping that she becomes large with many children. Since time is not on our side, this whole ordeal may be for naught. This is supposed to happen several times, a day between each visit. But since this should have begun happening on Wednesday, and the vet is closed over the weekend, we've got today. Girl, let's hope you're fertile! And boy, your days at our house are numbered if this is what we can expect from you in the future. I'd think your job would be next thing to glorious, dog. How many males out there would sacrifice a leg to have the sole purpose in life of procreating? With many women? On a regular basis?

And because life hasn't been exciting enough in the past two days, we've got more drama going on here. Josh, who was diagnosed with strep yesterday, woke up today with red spots all over him. I'm about 99.9% sure it's chicken pox. I haven't seen an in-action case since I was stricken at age 8ish, so I can't be completely certain. Here's the kicker; he's had the vaccine. I've heard that these things need updated once you near adulthood because their effectiveness wears off, but I really didn't think that 10 was near adulthood. I could be wrong on this. And here's another question: would he test positive for strep if he didn't have it, but was coming down with chicken pox? Because despite the fact that he was achy, fevery and said his throat hurt I really was shocked that he tested positive. Being a mom for nearly 13 years, and having multiple kids, I've had some experience with medical issues. And I usually have pretty good instinct on these things. I'll be calling the doctor as soon as they open, but in the meantime I'll be fighting the bad mom inside me. We've got no choice on this dog thing. So do I let the sick boy home alone while I run to the vet? Or do I take the sick boy along? Either way I'm the worst mom in history. Just once I'd like to get through one week in a brand new year while still in the running for Mom of the Year. Oh, well. It's bad moms like me that make all sorts of room in the competition for good moms everywhere. May the prize go to a deserving winner.

*And a disclaimer on the stay at home thing. We live in the country, the only people around are family, and they live just across the road. We've trusted our kids home alone before, just not for several hours. I'd love to ask my mom to stay with him, but she has a phobia of sickness. Any sickness. We could sneeze because I've finally gotten around to dusting, and she'd be convinced that we're all coming down with pneumonia. And every time she gets sick she blames it on us. I mean, with all these kids, surely someone had the illness that she just contracted. So knowing that she's right across the road, and a phone call away suffices.

Can I just say that I shudder to think that the chicken pox could sweep unchecked through our ranks? I am not a panicky mom in the least, but this has me simply beside myself with the horrors. I'm hoping that since they were all vaccinated, the severity of the case(s) will not be all that. It may be a good thing that the dog gets violated today. I need a big event to keep my mind from dwelling on the inevitable and unchangeable.


And on a lighter note...

There was a great delurking event last fall sometime, and I had nothing to do with it. I did not host it, I did not participate in it, and I did not delurk anywhere. The last one is mostly because I'm outspoken and usually speak up at my first visit to every blog.

What this great event entailed was simply saying hello on the comments if you've been reading. We have those wonderful stat counters that tell us that there are so many more people reading our drivel than there are comments left. This is good! People out there are seeing us! But sometimes it's heartening to know who, or how many, are actually enjoying what they read. (Okay, you can say "hi" if you don't enjoy it either. But I'm hoping that you're here daily for entertainment purposes and not your daily cricital session.)

So here is my New Year's resolution - for you! Take me up on this, please. If you've been reading my thoughts for any length of time I'd love to meet you. I promise I won't embarrass you, because I usually save that for myself. Today is the day! Resolve to delurk!