Okay, so I am pretty new with this stuff, so we will see how this goes. We have had a great summer. Very low key, laid back, not a ton to do. It has been nice to just be at home. Life is always an adventure with 7 kids. Today started off like all other days...we slept in as late as Mazden would sleep in. Now, Danny is supposed to leave on his Boy Scout Camping trip tomorrow but is terrified to go. I have been trying to pump him up about it for two weeks now. He uses every excuse in the book. He says he gets homesick, he is afraid of this one kid in his troop (he is much bigger and tends to pick on Danny quite a bit). I actually saw him doing it on one occasion, but evidently it is every single time they are together. But he really needs to go and generally has a good time when he does go-it is just getting him to get in the car to go. His next excuse was that he couldn't go because he had a dentist appointment on Thursday. So I called his dentist before we left for the gym and they had a cancellation today. So I set that up for Danny. We went to the gym, and then I drove the nearly 16 miles out to pick Danny up from his friend Josh's house. I ended up talking with my friend (Josh's mom) too long and time was running out. I drove like the wind to get home and dropped all the kids off and got Danny to the dentist. Danny has been having such horrible headaches for the last few days and so I really thought it was just that he wasn't getting enough sleep. But he complains of it being in his face/sinuses too. So I asked the dentist about it and he said that he suspects that it is his I-tooth that won't descend. It is stuck up by the roots of his other teeth and hasn't moved at all in two years. His concern is that the roots are growing into his sinuses. So I told him that the ortho had recommended surgery to bring the tooth down. He confirmed that he did in fact need to do that. I had booked the appointment for after our family reunion, but I am afraid that we will need to miss the reunion because Danny seems to be in a lot of pain, so I think it needs to be done sooner, rather than later.

On the way home, Danny told me that he didn't want to go because the food is gross and he gets so homesick and missed us. He hates oatmeal and macaroni. So I told him I would get him his own food. I also bribed him with a date with dad and I when he got home. I hoped that would work to get him through the next few days...you know, that goal or incentive at the end of the journey that makes the journey worth it.

I got home and the garage door wouldn't work. Got dinner ready with two hungry, crying girls treading under the feet. After dinner, we decided to work on Mazden's baby foot and hand mold. That was an adventure. I hope they turn out cute! Danny was crying because his guts hurt from constipation. So I guess the stool softeners I had been giving him aren't working, so I ran to Costco to get him some Miralax. When I got home, he was crying uncontrollably in his room. He is so frustrated and scared, and in pain, and not feeling well. He came down and told me that it isn't fair that he has to have all the problems. He wanted to know why the other kids don't have the problems he does. What do you tell your child when they ask you that? My heart was breaking for him. He has had far more to endure in his short years than most kids do.

I told him that sometimes people may have health issues, some times it is family issues, sometimes it is other things and that even though we don't think other people have trials-they really do. What is a trial for one-is nothing to someone else. I told him that these trials he is having now will make him stronger for the future.

He finally was able to go to bed. I hope he sleeps well.

That is the hardest thing I have found for me at least-to see your child hurting and not be able to fix it.