A typically atypical day

Zach went in for a physical a couple weeks ago and based on some symptoms he's been having the doctor ordered an echocardiogram and a stress test for Zach. He had to go in for each of these on separate days this week. Everything turned out fine, but it's good to have the baseline results for the future.

Yesterday was the stress test which involved Zach 'running' on a treadmill. They had him go for ten minutes on a treadmill at nothing faster than a meager jog. That was nothing for a former marathoner but the real stress was the part where they shaved his chest (dry), sandpapered it (I don't know why) and then applied some chemical that stung to high hell and then attached the thingamajigs that did the reading. Zach said the shave was bad enough but then when the lady used the sandpaper he started getting really uncomfortable. He goes, "This really sucks," and she just looked at him, said "Sandpaper," then she started laughing.

I never actually checked to see if it was ok to post this picture, but he let me take it so I think by now it is understood that whatever pictures I take may someday end up on this blog. I made it as small as I could incase harry chests gross you out...haha.

Anyway, when he came home he was all weepy and needed babying. He was really hungry and had a headache because he couldn't have caffeine at all before the test, so he wanted a treat in the form of pizza. That was fine with me since standing at the counter cooking for an hour is not the most comfortable position these days.

We went to our favorite place and decided to just have the pizza there so we could go to the grocery store across the street afterwards. We'd just gotten a six cut but after Zach had three slices and Jacob had two (huge appetite lately by the way). Zach looked like he wanted more so I encouraged him to get a single slice and he said that if he did that he wouldn't be able to resist getting a soda too because there was a guy next to us drinking one and it looked good. Now I don't allow soda in the house and as far as Jacob is concerned it's something only for adults, like alcohol. But that doesn't mean that I don't like it. That and my recent discovery that soda helps the heartburn (Kevin's doctor's advice be damned) made it kind of hard for me to argue that he shouldn't get a soda.

Zach went up to the counter and ordered the pizza, then he pulled two options out of the case. "Stace, this or Pepsi," he called across the pizza place. I gave him a wide eyed look meant to shush him and then I looked away like it wasn't me he was talking to. This is how I am, I am such a health freak that even when I do want something junky I'm afraid to admit it to people and I get embarrassed to be seen buying it.

When the girl brought Zach's slice over to the table she offered to take the pizza box away. "No thanks," I quickly answered. When she walked away Zach just looked at me and insisted, "We are not carrying an empty pizza box out of here!"

He knew just what I was thinking but I tried to play it off. "What? I just want to use if for a craft with Jacob."

"Yeah right," he replied.

"OK, fine. I'll make a deal with you. You go up there and ask the girl if they recycle their boxes and no matter what the answer I will let you hand it over to her."

Zach said, "I'm sure they recycle them."

"I highly, highly doubt they recycle their pizza boxes."

"I don't care, I don't want people to see us carrying an empty pizza box."

"Hey doofus, once we close the box they won't know it's empty."

So then Jacob finished eating and started wandering up to the counter. I thought he was just being coy and flirty with the girl at the counter so I let him go and hang out. After a couple minutes I went up to see what he was doing. he shyly told me he wanted to ask he a question. I told him to go ahead so then he said, "Do you recycle your boxes?" Ha! I didn't even see that coming. She said they didn't and I just gave Zach a look. Somehow when I wasn't looking though the box got thrown out anyway and I scolded Zach for it. He tried to play it off like he fulfilled his part of the deal and that it was ok that it got thrown out, but I reminded him that is was he who was supposed to ask and Jacob had done it for him so that was cheating.

We left the pizza place, gazed across the street to the store and all decided we were too tired to go grocery shopping afterall. We decided to go up to the the site of the house my mom and Jamie are going to build to check out the pond. The bulldozer had just been there to level off the land surrounding the pond that was dug a few months ago and it looked really good. Then on the way home we swung by my mom's house to say hi and pick up a bottle of aloe vera that I knew was in the bathroom closet. I completely forgot the aloe for Zach's 'wounds' but we ended up staying for thirty minutes because a random smattering of my extended family was also there. I can't describe the craziness that entailed, there's no words for it.

We finally got Jacob to agree to leave (with a bribe of course - fudgsicles - which ironically we had to stop by the grocery store to pick up). It has been raining on and off all day long for two days, so on our way out of the grocery store parking lot we noticed a giant rainbow that stretched from one side of the sky to the other. I dropped the boys at home, grabbed my camera and drove down the road to take a picture. A year ago Zach would have hassled me about this, but I think he's finally learning to appreciate my inability to let a moment of life go without capturing it in a picture. The rainbow was too huge that I could only get a fraction of it at once, but here's one of the shots.


Back at home we all sat around the couch in exhaustion and that's the way we fell asleep. Sometimes we exhibit such spectacular parenting skills that it's astounding. *note the sarcasm*