As with the ebbs and flows of the tide, we have ebbs and flows of doctors appointments. We are going through massive amounts of appointments for Joshua, so it was doubly annoying to have to take Daniel this week.

Monday night Daniel started acting weirdly: he was fussy (he never fusses, he shrieks) and he wanted to be held (very uncharacteristic). I snuggled him on the couch, in a way thankful for the odd behavior that forced me to sit down and spend time with him. Finally, I took his temperature and found it was 103.8.

The next day I assumed he was better and ran an errand at the mall. I noticed he was a little flushed when we got there, so I took off his jacket. He was being really, really still and quiet in the stroller, so I checked on him, only to discover the "high fever face": glassy, puffy eyes, gray skin and flushed cheeks.

Of course, I panicked in the mall, having wayyyy too much experience with high fevers (thank you, Joshua and meningitis!). I stripped him down to a onesie. I literally ran through the mall to Target (hurray for Target!), grabbed a bottle of baby Advil, ripped it open, and gave him a dose. Then I grabbed a package of juice boxes and ripped one of those open too. Luckily, Daniel had just learned how to drink out of a straw - I put one in his mouth last week, and when he didn't figure it out I made a sucking motion with my mouth. He laughed at me, then tried it and it worked! So, since he could drink out of a straw, Daniel got his first ever juice at the mall. We then went home, and I wondered how people judged me as I took my baby out to the car, wearing only a onesie in the 40 degree weahter.

I then called the doctor. Of course, they could only get me in at 4:20. This meant I had to take all my children.... which I avoid, so I asked the neighbor to keep Joshua.

This story, believe it or not, has a point and the point is this: while at the doctor I bit Daniel's finger. Really, really hard. Here's how it went down: The doctor was behind schedule and we had to wait for forty minutes in a teeny, tiny exam room. Daniel was nicely sitting in my lap and for the most part Claire and James were good. Until they weren't. I can't remember what they were doing that made me angry, but I have this habit of clenching my jaw when I am trying to control my temper. Since I was so angry that the world was turning red, I didn't even notice that the sick baby that had been patting my face had his finger in my mouth. I was so red with anger that I didn't even hear his shrieks or feel his finger between my teeth.

When I finally unclenched and did a damage assessment, it wasn't too bad. He quit crying almost immediately. But still, had the doctor noticed the marks, how would I have ever explained that one??????