Yesterday Was Not a Great Day.

Yesterday was not a great day. Once it was over, I looked back and I was able to find some good things. Like our happy math lessons (really...the kids enjoyed their math yesterday!). And how the kids tried something new at dinner and they liked it!However, there was some serious overshadowing going on.

My dad popped by - as he often does - and got the dog all riled up. He hadn't even stepped in and she was prancing and dancing and howling through the screen door at him. I hate that. It's not good company manners.

He let her out so that he could pet her on the front step. I hate that too. The dog is a husky. She needs to be leashed at all times. She's not the most reliable creature around. Sure, she does the whole come, sit, stay bit. But only if she's properly motivated with food. Additionally, we live on a very busy street. Sure enough, today was the day: She bolted.

In the confusion at the front door either the dog or my dad managed to dump my container of baby pepper plants. I lost half of them.

Dad left before I could talk to him as during all this, I was dealing with lunch on the stove and it was over before I could get the cheese stirred into the macaroni. Oh, the dog did come back after a mad tear across the lawn.

Disaster #2 started out innocently enough. The kids were chewing gum during our read aloud. Gum is kind of a treat around here. They had both got some in their loot bags from a weekend birthday party. They both blew a great big bubble: their best ever. See?

Now, the unfortunate thing was that Kori popped her bubble and it stuck to her face. Firmly. No joke.

An hour later, after trying to get the gum off with a dry cloth, a wet cloth, a cold cloth, a warm cloth, an ice cube, our fingers and telekinesis...we gave up.

Brian called during this mess and I was good enough to snap at him. Nice wife, eh? He, being the wonderful guy that he is, called me back five minutes later and gave me The Peanut Butter Tip. It goes like this: rub peanut butter on the stuck gum and the oil in the p.b. will dissolve the stickiness in the gum and just like that you're back to butterflies and blue skies.

Except it got worse.

Oh, the gum was removed - easily and completely. But suddenly there was a big, raised, white welt in the growing redness of Kori's upper lip where the gum had stuck and where she had rubbed raw peanut butter. And, because it made sense to her, Kori proceeded to rub her itchy eyes. Within no time at all she had bloodshot eyes and hives along the inside of her nose up to the corners of her eyes. Of course, by now I had clued in and she found herself washing with soap and water so fast it made her head spin.

Me thinks perhaps she never really outgrew her allergy to peanut butter. See, she had one reaction when she was a toddler. Since that time, she has not eaten peanut butter, but she has been exposed to peanut-exposed foods with no reaction at all. Our doctor has told us that she is one of the 20% of children who outgrow their peanut allergy. Me thinks it's time to re-evaluate our position on that one.

So other than a few other mundane, frustrating things, that was the jist of my day. I'm glad Bri got to go out after work. He went to check out a buddy's new boat and do some fishing. I had climbed down from my snarky perch by the time he came home. And today was somewhat better. Heck, anything would have been an improvement.