No one event. Just a long, slow build up of stress acerbated by sleep deprivation. Both kids have colds and between that and teething, Olivia hasn't slept through the night for abour four or five days now.

At least the Job Place called me and will be cutting me a check as soon as I fill out their w-9 (I forgot a digit on my tax id on the invoice I sent them).

::passes Sean a pot of coffee::

::or possibly a handful of Ambien, whichever he needs more::

You are doing such a fantastic, loving job of caring for S. Also, I'm in awe of your from-scratch cream soup skillz.

We are bt-less now. Hec is all collapsed back in bed in a pile of gronk; Emmett is going to be all disconsolate when he awakens fully and realizes the magical board game bt brought with him is also gone (I can't for the life of me remember the name, but it involved the construction of churches and other public edifices within a walled city, the acquisition of large sums of cash, building permits, dice, and pirates).

Raq, that is just jaw-droppingly, embarrassingly bad behavior. And these are actual elected congresscritters and spouses, Washington powerbrokers with sway over all our lives? God help us all (if He can stop crying and throwing up long enough to manage it).

ION, I just got the statement (not technically a bill yet until after my insurance deals with it) for the two days in the hospital at the beginning of the month. No surgeries, no production of an actual baby, just a room and an IV drip and blood draws and noninvasive monitoring -- $16,606.43. Including almost $600 worth of VD and blood typing tests duplicating tests my regular OB had already done that they could have had faxed over to them anytime for pennies, and $60 for 50 mg of Zoloft (Hec brought my Zoloft from home, but meds from home are not allowed). Plus $4100 a night for the room.

My insurance should cover all but a couple hundred of it, but the list of charges and all the freaking duplications is just bergoggling. I can't even think how Sean and S. and all the people without insurance manage to negotiate all this without coming totally unglued or descending into mindless panic. It's craxymaking.

Also, {{{Cash}}}

I thinka Buffista baby needs this outfit: [link]

$16,606.43

::faints::

the magical board game bt brought with him is also gone (I can't for the life of me remember the name, but it involved the construction of churches

I'll be it is Cities and Knights, a variation of Settlers of Cataan. Fela worships it.

Oy on the bills JZ. Cover your eyes!

{{Sean}

{{Cash}}

I'm leaving in a few minutes to get ready for my interview at 1:30. I'm all kinds of excited about it.

Have a great interview, Calli!

$16,606.43

Jesus God on a monkey stick.

Hey Cashmere, how old is Big O?

(I ask because of zoo tickets -- "child" is considered 2-12. And I can pre-order discounted tickets through my office, and I just need to know whether Big O is old enough to need a ticket.)

He's 2 years, 4 months, Steph.