A picture is worth a thousand words

Some may remember, a while back I posted that I was the one who often set the tempo for our days. My mood dictated the way things either progressed or digressed. Well, I lied. Joe definitely is the tempo setter around here and today boy did he set the tempo! He did not even set foot out of bed, our bed I might add, when it was obvious this child was going to be a handful. Actually handful is and was an understatement. I did nothing that came close to resembling handling him either, in the least bit. In fact Joe believes he does the handling around here. He has been known to go so far as telling us, "I make the rules, not you. I say the way it goes, not you." That's Joe.  At 8:15 Zoey's O.T. arrived and even she could tell Joe was on fire. From the decibel of his voice, to literally jumping from counter to floor, to couch, to floor, to counter. In about 3 seconds flat. Yeah, Joe was going to make it known early that life was going to be anything but mellow around here today. And so it went.  Joe fulfilling the tempo of our day.  Too many examples to sight for you all.  Too exhausting to even replay them in my mind, let alone set it to words. So, I will leave you with the high points. One in particular. It will say it all. To our landlords, I apologize in advance if you happen to be reading this. We promise to take care of this "accident" (Joe's word, not mine). I was upstairs feeding Zoey. Lately she is so distracted when she nurses that I try to sneak away to get her to eat a little better. First mistake when it comes to Joe. Never leave that child unattended. So in strolls Joe, through my bedroom door, with a jar of maraschino cherries. Requesting an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top. No problem Joe, but bring the cherries down stairs and I'll be right down. A brief thought flashed through my mind. Glass jar. Tile flooring. Maybe I should take the jar. No, he can do it. He's 4 1/2. One minute later I hear, "Mom, it was an accident". Up I fly from my chair. Scaring Zoey with my sudden movement. What did I find you ask? Well, since I didn't hear a crash it unfortunately had nothing to do with the jar vs. tile. Instead, cherry juice vs. carpeting. Light, light beige carpeting. Trailing down my stairs. He said, "I was was just trying to smell them." The rest of the day went something along those lines. I tried so hard to let the voice of a young man who wrote a book called "ADHD and ME", reverberate in my ears. He said something like this, "Parents, we are not out there trying to make you mad. Look at it as a wiring thing." I'm trying, really, really trying. Today I failed. It was a difficult day for Joe and me. As the day ended I sent him up to start his shower. After 10 minutes I heard no shower. I flew upstairs fully intending to find him up to no good. Instead I found the sweetest sight. There was Joe leaning over Zoey's bed, singing to her, right along with her music. Holding her hand. Rubbing her little forehead. Talking so gently and lovingly. My two littlest ones. My ones that struggle each day trying to find their place in this crazy world. My Joe, who needs me so badly right now and I often feel guilty that I'm not able to give him all he deserves because Zoey needs me so much right now too. Because she is smaller and more fragile she ends up with the biggest piece of me. The great thing is, tomorrow is new day. I will try and disperse my pieces a little more evenly tomorrow. The tough thing is I need to spread it to cover not only two little darlings, but four others and a husband and maybe, but not likely, a little sliver for myself. 

*Side note: That fever thing Joe had going on on Sunday, turned into a nasty sore throat. One my Dr. was certain was strep. Turned out not to be. Instead, a yucky virus. Joe was back to himself today, obviously, considering prior post but Jake came home early from school with a fever and napped  and went to bed at 6:20. Zoey was a little off on Monday but we discovered two top teeth trying to pop through that explained it, however and this is a big however, she fell asleep at 7:30 tonight and woke back up at 9:15 and was warm. How warm, I'm not sure. Enough to warrant some tylenol. Please keep her in your prayers as fevers and seizures DO NOT MIX! We are huge germaphobics since Zoeys birth. So much so that we purchase the exact hand sanitizer that they used in the NICU. It stands waiting for any and all who enter. We use it without thinking, at all times. No one can hold Zoey without using it. No one can touch Zoey without using it. We have been so blessed that Zoey has only really had a cold and a little stomach virus since her birth 15 months ago. We are fanatics inside and out of the house about germs. In the beginning it literally was a matter of life and death for her. She is much stronger from a medical stand point now, but we are still vigilant about her staying healthy.  And with a family our size and all we come in contact with on a daily basis, it's a miracle there is not more floating around here. So please say some extra prayers for Zoey. She doesn't need another thing to battle right now, even if it's only a virus.