Sat Feb 14

Whew....it was a busy day!

At 9am, Samuel had basketball at the YMCA. We were there til about 10:10 & then headed home. We all did chores around the house & ate lunch.

At 12:15, we left again. Larry had a 1:00 appointment to give plasma at the local plasma center. (They pay you to give after all!) We decided to go with him because we had several places we needed to go afterward. We figured "this can't take too long, right?". Larry told me ahead of time that there was a kid's room in the building where we could go sit & wait for him. I was picturing a place like a doctor's office waiting room with some toys or a TV w/ kiddie shows playing. We waited with Larry in the regular waiting room til it was his turn to go back to the donation area. While he got his pre-donation physical, I took the kids & headed for the "kid's room". We spotted the door & went in, only to find that there were 2 other ladies in the room with a few other kids. There was a little table, some toys, a TV, a giant shelf with tons of toys & games & puzzles. There were baby beds, baby swings & bouncy seats....essentially it was a full day care all in one room. Wow. I was impressed. Not many doctors' offices have this much stuff to entertain the kids! When I realized that the 2 ladies were trying to engage all three of my kids in playtime, I noticed their badges & matching scrubs. They actually worked for the plasma center as babysitters for the children of people who had come to give plasma! I think I audibly gasped as it all sunk in & I started backtracking, trying to explain what I had come in expecting to find...not realizing that this was a 'babysitting' area. Suddenly I realized that my kids really didn't belong there. This was for people who didn't have another adult present who could watch their kids while they gave. But what would they do in the sterile, quiet waiting room for an hour if they didn't play in this room? They had intentionally NOT brought toys or books or anything because we were expecting to play in the "kids' room". Oops. I sat down at a table with Sarah, thinking that I'd just play games w/ the kids & do puzzles & stuff til Larry was done....and then 1 of the ladies in the room commented to me that I couldn't stay. The kids were welcome to stay & play if they wanted to, but I wasn't supposed to stay with them in this room. umm...ok. Talk about feeling awkward. By that time, Samuel had found a little friend & was playing checkers with him. Sarah was engaged with some sewing cards & wanted to stay with Samuel. I was torn about what to do. I mean, if they went to the waiting room with me, they would get bored REALLY fast & end up annoying me & everyone else to death. At least in this room, they were occupied & having fun. I had no idea how long we'd be there. I decided to let them stay & play for a little while but figured I'd come get them in a while. After all, there's no need for these ladies to babysit my children when I'm just sitting around reading magazines in the waiting room! I made Savannah come with me to the waiting room. She had 2 thick books she was reading, so I knew she'd be occupied w/ those. I assured the kids that if they got bored or just wanted to come to the waiting room with me, they could do so at any time. It was 1:10 when I signed the kids into the childcare room. About 2:00, 1 of the childcare worker ladies came to the waiting room w/ Samuel. He wanted to ask me how much longer it would be. We checked with the lady at the front desk & she told us Larry had "just" gotten started....it would be at least another hour. :::gasp!::: I was a little stunned at how long this process was taking & was really wanting to go pull the IV from Larry's arm & say "let's go!". After all, we NEVER allow our kids to stay in the care of a complete stranger and here I was doing just that! I was feeling really uncomfortable with the whole thing, but before I could comment about that to the childcare lady, she & Samuel disappeared around the corner. I went over to sit down by Savannah & think through what I ought to do. Would it do anyone any good for the kids to come sit in the waiting room? Were they enjoying their time in the childcare room? The whole thing was just weird....but honestly I was enjoying the quiet time to read a magazine & they seemed happy. I tried to set my mind at ease that these women were HIRED to do this job by a public health entity, so surely they are well-trained & certified in CPR/First Aid. (see how I was justifying things in my mind?) I kept agonizing back & forth for about 10 minutes before I decided to go peek in & check on the kids. Savannah held my purse & keys in the waiting room while I did. I went in & found Sarah working feverishly on a Valentine's Day project for me. Samuel was performing a puppet show with another kid. Hmm.....they were REALLY doing great. Nothing seemed amiss in the childcare room. No crying babies. No snotty-nosed kids. No fit-throwing toddlers. Well, maybe this isn't SO bad after all. I asked the ladies "Are you SURE it's ok if they're in here?" I told them I felt guilty about leaving them to be cared for when I was out in the lobby just relaxing & doing nothing. They assured me it was OK & not to worry. :::sigh::: So I went back to the waiting area to finish my magazine (I read it cover to cover!). About the time I shut the back cover, Larry approached the desk & was done. WHEW!!!!!!! I probably looked like a marathon runner the way I took off for the childcare room to get the kids out. Boy...I don't do well with situations like that.

When we left the plasma center, we went to the mall. Sarah got a gift certificate from the store in the mail this weekend for a free Build-a-Bear. Tomorrow is her birthday & the store sent a card to kids who've registered in the past who has a birthday during President's Day weekend. What a treat! She took some of her own money (from Christmas) to buy clothes & accesories for her animal. She brought home "Cinnamon", a floppy-eared rabbit with a red & white valentine outfit. Very cute!

We left the mall & headed for Walmart. Several weeks ago, Savannah's Nintendo DS button stopped working. It's a "flipper" button (for any of you with a DS, you'll know what I'm referring to). It's not used on ALL games, but it IS used on several that Savannah loves to play. She bought the DS for herself about 18 months ago and she was just devastated when it quit working. We called the company about getting it repaired & figured out that we could mail it to them (at our expense) & have them fix it (about $90) and then they'd ship it back. Between shipping it & paying for the repair, we could pay the same amount & get a whole new DS. And if we got it repaired, there's nothing to say that the other flipper button (or some other part) wouldn't die next week. We decided it was the wisest choice for her to buy a whole new DS instead. We told her that we'd help her buy it after we got the tax return. (We got it on Thursday.) And so, today we got the new DS.

Before we got out of the store, a friend from church called & told us that she'd got us a heart-shaped pizza for supper & wanted to bring it over! Wow! And so...after a long day of busy-ness, we were treated to a yummy supper!

This morning, we were discussing how blessed we are in so many regards. We have lots of friends, we're all healthy, we have a home. A friend from high school has just found out that his younger sister has a pretty extreme case of cancer. She's only 28. You know...every day that we live without cancer is pretty huge. It seems like these days, we ALL know someone who is battling with cancer at any given time. And so, if we make it a single day without being personally stricken, it's a miracle! Anyway, in discussing all these things, we were reminded of how blessed we are.

And tomorrow, we celebrate another little blessing. Sarah will be 8 at 1:36pm tomorrow.
I will post her birth story tomorrow afternoon. Good night for now. And happy valentine's day!