So, now that we have theoretically reached the time of the day labeled Malay "bedtime" I can revue and see how much I got accomplished on the "To Do" list, such as it was.

I woke up this morning to the sound of the dog whimpering.  I let him out to go "do his business" and he proceeded to make wretched noises that made me realize the larger the dog, the louder the sound when they are experiencing digestive unrest.  I covered my ears, attempting to return to sleep, but the noise continued to the point that I decided I had a certain level of civic responsibility to the neighbors that reside drastically downhill behind us to see exactly what was going on.  Bracing myself I opened the door...and was greeted with an enthusiastic and overly affectionate 100 plus pound dog.  I sat down on the porch and cuddled him as he continued to make the disastrous noises because apparently he is allergic to the plants in the yard and it affects his breathing. Or he is allergic to himself.  Either way it is loud.  Very loud, and more than a little unnerving.

Waiting until my own eyes swelled shut, I removed my clothing and raced to the laundry room - where I discovered some of my recent book purchases had been put in a puddle next to the mice hacienda  (more about the current stand off on the mouse front another time)  proving my inclinations about having a print journal absolutely correct.  Wheezing and puffy eyed I stumbled through the kitchen and called upstairs for the children to get up.  Pausing only a second, I headed to the closet to get Abigail a shirt, and narrowly missed stepping in a terrarium of pee. 

Deep breaths.

There was no church.  There was no Veggie Tales (this was only because I mistakenly put on an episode I hadn't seen previously, and it involved a startling amount of bag pipes I wasn't prepared to deal with).  No dancing clothes.  No homemade play doh or stories.  But, and not entirely due to my worsening case of strep throat,  I did not yell.  I didn't even use an excessive amount of firm tone - which was not entirely because Starlet was so pale this morning that she made Songbird look tan.  Since Starlet skin is generally "naturally tan" this caused me to pause mid sentence repeatedly and play guess and check with her symptoms.  She claimed perfect health, but the "eye of Mommy" knows otherwise.

By dinner time three of the five were clearly so far under the weather that they had weather tread marks, I had already administered a few rounds of the alternating ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and even though they had not eaten enough of their dinner, I allowed them all to have healthy servings of ice cream. 

The laundry did get all put away, and the floor was swept repeatedly.  It is dark now, and the fireflies dancing in the field across the street, safely away from my children, are accompanied with a few final celebratory fireworks in the neighborhood. 

Good night house.