It has been quite a week. You know the old saying, "If mamma aint happy, nobody's happy." Well the Murphy's used that expression with a slight twist this week. "If Erin's not happy, nobody's happy!!" She stayed home from school sick last Thursday and still has whatever it was that she had last week. She basically has the same symptoms as the rest of the house, cough, cold congestion, it seems that her and her father must be cut from the same cloth because she feels that she is the sickest kid in the history of the world. Now mind you this is the kid who underwent 8 major plastic surgeries, blood transfusions root canals, mono and wisdom teeth extractions. Heck she was eating chicken and garlic bread the same day she got her wisdom teeth out. She seems to have an unusually high tolerance for pain but when it comes to the big stuff but when it's something like the common cold she morphs in to a miniature Dave Murphy. She was off school Monday for the holiday and they were off school for some reason on Tuesday. She stayed home on Wednesday and braved the elements and went Thursday and Friday. We went to the doctor on Wednesday and she prescribed some antibiotics for her. Of course Erin's response was "see, I told you I was sick, even the doctor believed me." I don't think I ever argued the fact that she was sick I just didn't see the need for all the cruelty that was being enforced by Sybil to her siblings as a result of this debilitating illness. Last night she was begging me to call her dentist at 9:30 at night to get an emergency dental appointment because she had such a bad tooth ache. I explained that tooth pain is often a result of sinus infections. She refused to believe me until she looked it up on Web MD. She said "Oh my God mom, I have a maxillary sinus infection." I said "Oh God Erin, hurry up call 911. That is a fancy name for teeth, get over your self. Grandma gets on Wb MD with every ache and pain she has, she now has every kind of cancer, heart disease, endocrine problem, and she probably even has symptoms of gonorrhea. They need a tab for The Sky Is Falling for Erin and Grandma. Maybe I should have become a nurse my passion is overwhelming.

Ryan lost his winter coat sometime over Christmas break. We had been so many places it was hard to remember where he could have left it. He does this every year. He gets hot while he is playing, takes it off and forgets that he has it with him. He has been wearing one of his hoodies to school since he doesn't have a coat. We don't have any hand me downs that aren't girly so he has been just fine with his hoodie. Normally it's fine but there have been quite a few bitter cold days in Jan and Feb. Luckily on those days school has inside recess. I was on the phone with my sister this weekend and I walked in Ryan's room looking for Maggie's shorts to her soccer uniform that always disappear and what did I find hanging up in Ryan's closet but his missing winter coat. I could have died. My sister started laughing, she said "I hung it up when I cleaned his room for you at Christmas." The party we had when I was "taking one for the team." and throwing up, she helped me out by cleaning for me. My kid has went to school looking like an orphan for months and his coat was right where it was supposed to be the whole time. Fabulous!

I overslept two days this week and the kids had fifteen minutes both mornings to get ready for school. Poor Ryan my patience with his little, helpless self is normally pretty thin but try to cram in an hours worth of berating in fifteen minutes, that is quite a feat. Don't worry I'm a professional, I managed somehow. I think my wonderful maternal words of wisdom for the day were, Ryan you are lucky I'm not a violent person because I would love to hit you right now. The following morning I informed all my offspring, no one would be going to bed without picking up all of their mess from the night before. I was tired of waking up (late) to a messy house. The new rule would be strictly enforced starting today. Kelsey informed me that Ryan announced to the whole carpool that his mom said that she wanted to hit him. Ryan said "I did not, I only told Jason." Kelsey said, "Do you think no one else heard it." Well on the bright side if DFS shows up on my doorstep, thanks to the new rule the house will be clean.