Saint Elizabeth

The other day, Emilie (daycare) called me at work to inform me that Katie had pushed Sam (a little boy at daycare) while they were going down the stairs. No one fell, and Emilie did not see this "assault". It was Sam's word against Katie's. Emilie asked Bethie if Katie had pushed Sam while on the stairs. Bethie said that Katie had. Katie was punished, and I was informed of the entire event in great detail.

That evening, I talked to both girls about what had happened. Katie swore up and down that she had not pushed Sam. Bethie, very calmly, said over and over again that Katie was lying and had, in fact, pushed Sam. Katie lost her cool. She shouted at Bethie, "Bethie! You couldn't see what happened because you were behind me!". Bethie conceded that she had not seen the push with her own eyes. I asked Bethie why she would say that Katie pushed Sam if she had no idea whether the push occurred or not. Bethie responded, "I know Katie pushed Sam because God told me!".

My first thought was "You are your father's daughter!". Dan does not cite God as a source of his knowledge, but he does use some pretty random-ass and sketchy obscure sources. Bethie had one-upped him!

I had to explain that to Bethie that despite her obvious (and mostly exclusive) direct link to God, she mustn't use God's whispers to her as evidence of infractions committed by others. In the future, I expect her to witness situations before she swears she knows what happened. Bethie was slightly put off by me and my dismissal of God's whispers in her ear. To get back at me, she started praying, "God, please make it snow. God, please make it snow". Why? Because Bethie knows that I am sick of shovelling the snow. I really don't want anymore snow to fall. Apparently, this link she has with God works two way: He tells Bethie about all the wrongs others commit, and she makes little requests of Him to exact revenge against a disbelieving mother.

What was Dan's reaction to this, you ask? He asked me if I thought Bethie would become the next Joan of Arc. I'm not kidding! Nor was he! I answered, "I hope not. She probably drove her mother crazy!".

Sicko: The Triology

It had to happen. Dan and I hoped that it wouldn't, but it was a bullet we couldn't dodge. Saturday morning, Sarah woke up and vomitted all over herself and her crib. Dan and I sprung into action. We cleaned and we cuddled and we started pumping Peadialite down Sarah's throat.

I had to go to work. I kept calling home for updates on Sarah's health. Each time I called, Dan reassured me that she hadn't thrown up again and she seemed to be fine. I held my breath. Could it be?! Was it a one shot deal?

As I was driving home at about 9:30pm, I called Dan. Again, he said that Sarah was fine. However, Emilie called and said that one of the little girls at daycare had ...wait for it...lice! Can you believe it?! I stopped at the pharmacy and bought the most powerful chemicals that would kill any and all lice. Just the thought of all the work that would have to be done if any of the children had lice exhausted me. Dan and I have been going none stop for weeks. As soon as there is a light at the end of the tunnel, we get hammered with something new.

Sunday evening, I checked and found no lice. Thank God! But we're not out of the woods yet. Apparently, it can take up to 2 weeks before the lice are visible. (As of Wednesday morning, still no lice)

Monday, we realised that Bethie was ill. I scooped up that child and rushed her to the doctor's office. Turns out she has a bladder infection! Poor little thing. She was in so much pain!

Tuesday evening, I started to panic. I was getting sick! This cannot happen! Because if Mama gets sick, the whole damn operation shuts down! So, I am ignoring all symptoms of illness in the hope that it will pass. So we'll just muddle through another day, and deal with whatever is fired at us.