Too Much Excitement

     Yesterday was way too much excitement for me.

     The day started at 5:30 am (should have been 5, but I reset the alarm clock for 5:30). Thing 2 had to have an EEG and an EKG and they wanted her sleep deprived so that she would sleep through the tests. If kids that age aren't sleep deprived, then they usually have to sedate them to get them to cooperate. They like to avoid sedation if at all possible.

     At 7:30, we woke up Thing 1 and they took a bath. We got dressed and had breakfast. Then it was time to leave. We took Thing 1 to a friends house. Thing 2, being grumpy and sleep deprived, started crying when she realized that she wasn't getting to stay. Then came the one hour car ride. Have you ever tried to keep a sleep baby awake in the car? Every 5 minutes, I was reaching back there and tapping on her leg while saying "Wake up, Baby. You can sleep when we get there."

     We finally get to the hospital (without her actually falling asleep). We were 30 minutes early, but we had to register. They were shocked that we were early to register. Apparently, most people think that an 11am appointment means that you get to the hospital exactly at 11. They were pleased that I was early, but surprised. When we got into the EEG room (just a few minutes after 11), they had Disney Junior on the TV. They had me sit in a chair with Thing 2 in my lap. She stared at the TV the entire time they were taping sensors to her. When they needed her to move, I moved her and she never took her eyes off of the TV. It was a long test. We watched an entire episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and a good portion of Pocahontas before we were finally finished. She never fell asleep.

     As soon as the EEG was finished, we headed straight to the EKG room. Thing 2 was a little hesitant about this one because she had to sit on the bed by herself. I could sit next to her, but I couldn't hold her (not enough room). The nurse was very good about getting her calmed down. She explained to Thing 2 what she was going to do. Then, she reexplained as she did it. Thing 2 was watching intently and calmed down. The nurse ran one practice test to make sure that everything was working good. When that one came out, she handed it to Thing 2 and asked her to read it to her. Thing 2 said "Up, down, up, down, up, down.", as she moved her finger along on of the lines. She "read" us the results for the next 5 minutes while the nurse ran the test 2 more times and the results printed.

Thing 2 reading the results

     
     After we were finished, we hit a drive through for lunch (it was 1pm!) and headed home. As soon as we got back to town, we went to get Thing 1. When we got there, Thing 2 wanted to play, so we stayed for a bit. At about 3:15, I loaded the kids in the car and headed home. It's important to note that these particular friends live on a tiny (barely 2 lane) road with 5' deep ditches on each side. They recently put gravel on each side of the road in an attempt to "widen the road". I stopped at the end of their driveway, then accelerated as I turned. The tires on the passenger side hit the gravel on the right side of the road. They then (in an attempts to make all the times move together), started spinning faster. This shot the van towards the wrong side of the road. I hit the breaks, but the front tires were already on the gravel on the other side of the road. So, the tires stopped spinning, but we started to slide. And we slid right into that 5' deep ditch. I managed to not hit the other side of the ditch and to not flip the van over (the cop said I deserve a medal because he doesn't know how I did it). I immediately called my Dad, who left work and came right over. Before he got there, my friend called. And I said (all nonchalantly), "I drove my van into the ditch in front of your house." They don't technically live in town so it's a bit of a distance from their house to the gate. She was shocked, but immediately sent her husband (my cousin) out to help. As he stopped, so did a local doctor. The girls and I were still in the van because I was afraid that if we tried to get out, I would tip it over. My cousin and the doctor propped the van so that we could safely get out. After we were out and they knew that everyone was ok, the doctor went on his way and my cousin called the sheriff's office. They deputy (that I know) showed up and called a wrecker (I know the owner) to come get me out. The rest of a long story short, about an hour after I drove it into the ditch, it was out. The wrecker service was able to get it out without tipping it over. The girls and I were fine because we were all properly restrained. The van is fine. Not a scratch or dent. Nothings broken and it's driving just like normal. The only thing that was a problem was there was some grass and dirt embedded in my tire. I took it to the tire center and they fixed it right away (the owner goes to my church).  Thank God for small towns and for looking out for me yesterday.

That's my van in the ditch.
The tow truck had just gotten there and they were discussing the best way to get it out.