Remember Felix Unger, from the Odd Couple? Remember how he would get a kink in his back and be paralyzed in that position for long periods of time? Well, lets just pretend that I am Felix and Peter is Oscar. I occasionally have back issues where, when I bend to pick something up (for the 347,977th time) I have to kind of contort myself to get in the standing position again. Once in a while it’s much, much worse. And now I get to the point of this story. Today, it got much worse.

My back was feeling out of whack yesterday, and by this morning I was almost in tears. LOVE when this happens. So, just before seven, I weaseled my way to my REALLY not vacuumed carpet and placed my feet on my very “child loved” couch. (Why is it that being at kid level, you can really see all the horrifying reality of your housekeeping abilities? And in the most opportune times. I mean, really. Could I get the vacuum out right then and there? Argghh.) Anyway, as Peter and each child arose for the day, they were greeted by me, from the very unvacuumed floor. Most of which was, “are you okay, mom?” I got a cute little heart shaped card from the boys, wishing me well. (Do I have them trained or WHAT?) And Ruby told me that when “I was sick, I took medicine and went to sleep. And when I got up, I was better. You need medicine, mom?”

You only truly realize what you do all day, when you – in fact – can no longer do it. Peter volunteered to go into work a bit late to help get the morning up and running. So as I lay in the front room, did I mention on my very unvacuumed carpet, I "sweetly" shouted out the orders of the day. “Sam needs his planner, homework folder, leave his library book at home, and he needs a lunch for his field trip. The lunch needs a sandwich, chips, cookies, fruit cup and a water. They are located.,..” Get the picture? Then Ruby had to go potty. She was already dressed in her new Tinker Bell outfit, loving purchased by the greatest grammy ever. So when I said, “run!” She tried to make it, but accidentally got it all over her new Tink outfit. Which, I will now be calling “stink,” until I can get the laundry done. This was followed by lots of tears...Getting dressed, again, by dad. “Her red pants are over there and there should be a clean shirt in the laundry basket down stairs.” I asked if Simon could stay home from school, “to be my legs.” And you can guess the giant, “Yes,” I got from him. But on one contingency, “Could this be P-day mom? Like, you know, pajama day?” Sure, it can.

Samuel brought me baby, a little bottle, a little boo-boo, and we were off. Peter took Samuel to school, and I moaned and groaned on the floor for a couple of hours. Simon was eyes and ears on baby. Thank goodness I checked out the entire first season of Fraggle Rock last week. (who didn't love the Fraggle's?) So we were set! Ruby ran laps from my room of PBS out to the TV room of the Fraggle’s. Baby cruised the floor, taste testing any and every thing. And after a few hours, and a lot of OTC pills, I am on my way to recovery. Thank you my dear, wonderful, little family!

Tink, makes Pink.

Two side notes:

First, if you don’t know, there is no other color in Ruby’s world other than pink. Everything is PINK. She knows all her colors very well, but naturally; prefers, pink. So when she was learning to use the potty, I would say “make water in your potty.” (don’t look at me so crazily, you all know that a person will say whatever they have to, to get a kid to go pee in the toilet. “Yes, Ruby. You can have a Porsche on your 16th birthday, now sit down and go.”) So after she went, she was so happy, stood up and looked. The toilet is blue, add a little yellow; and it’s a gross green color. "This will never do!!" The bubble over her head displays. So she looks at me and announces, “Mom, I made PINK!” And this is the beginning of Roo calling her bodily waste, “pink.” What else would you expect from a very bossy, almost three year old girl to make? (she now yells, "I have to make pink!" as she runs to the bathroom.)

Second: I walk with a very cute 25 year old. And in reference to the Odd Couple or the Fraggles, she will, no doubt, have no idea what I am talking about. She asked me the other day if I have heard of “Magnum, some-one-or-other.” “Duh; P.I.?” She has also told me that she once saw Mork and Mindy on Nick at Night. “Doesn’t he say something like, “Ni-noo, na-noo?” Again, from me, "what?" “It’s Na-nu, Na-nu. Sheesh!” Obviously she never saw the cool buttons that said "na-nu, na-nu." (You see, I do love jacket buttons. I had one that said, “gag me with a spoon.” Loved it. Maybe we could bring those back. Anyone?...Anyone?) I like to think that she’s just “not with it.” But, in fact, I might be getting old. Dang, it.

I have concluded that this bad back day, was just too many days of lugging Dr. Chubby around in and out of the car. He is giant, you know. And we are in and out of the car many, many times a day. Hopefully, there will be a full recovery, and I will be moving his car seat out of the middle buckle. Where I don’t have to heave 25 pounds of chub, ten times a day.