Today I went to the lab here to take the test, which entails drinking a very sweet beverage, waiting an hour, then having blood drawn. People always talk about this test like it's the worst thing ever. I know in years past, the drink they made you drink was pretty nasty, but it's gotten considerably better in the recent past. The first time I did it, the drink they gave me tasted like a Fresca. Not too bad. Then the second time, I had one that was like carbonated fruit punch. This time it was like drinking orange soda. No big deal. And it's not even that much.
Now usually, you take the test in your doctor's office and after it's all over, you have your appointment. It's a little different here, though, since you always go to the lab for bloodwork. It's basically up to you to go on your own time. So my plan was to go drink the drink, go do whatever for an hour and then come back. So the boys and I get there just after 8:00am and the place was pretty empty, so that was good. The receptionist checked me in and poured me the drink right there. She told me I had five minutes to drink it (why would anyone need that long?). I chugged it right down, tossed the cup and was about to roll the boys out when she said, "You have to stay here." WHAT? She gave me a very sympathetic look and said I could either change the channel on the TV for the kids or wait on the bench just outside. I chose the bench. We got outside at 8:11am and I wasn't due to have my blood drawn until 9:15am. Wonderful.
The diaper bag was in the car and I was also completely without toys or books. So this should be interesting. First move - I did have a pack of pop tarts, so they each got one. Dominic - thank goodness - is reaching an age where more often than not he stays close and isn't all over the place. So he sat nicely on the bench and ate his pop tart. Not Clark. He sat for about two minutes and then scooched himself off the bench and took off. Sigh. After about five rounds of him running away, inevitably losing a piece of his pop tart and me/Dominic chasing him down, I strapped him back in the stroller. I look at my phone - it's only 8:23. Man!
Next, I give Clark the little calendar I carry in my purse. He thinks it's a book and starts to flip through the pages. All is good until he finds a small slip of loose paper in it and tries to eat it. It's 8:28.
So I dig in my purse again and find one of those emergency hand crank flashlights. Okay, that's not normally something I carry, but it had found its way out of the van and I put it in my purse to put back in. I'm glad I had sort of forgotten about it. So Clark plays with that for a while and then decides to repeatedly throw it on the ground. Dominic is a good big brother and keeps picking it up for him, but it gets old pretty quick. I finally give up on the flashlight at 8:42.
Next up is my cell phone. I lock it and hand it over to Clark. He pushes buttons and pretends to talk on it and then of course inevitably throws it on the ground around 8:50.
I'm still feeling pretty lucky because he hasn't started throwing a fit about being strapped into his seat and Dominic has been content to play with the Lego plane/boat creation he brought along with him. But I am starting to run out of stuff to entertain Clark with. The best thing I can find is an envelope, which he examines carefully. I put it on his head like a hat which amuses him, so that's good. After he tires of that, he decides to rip some pieces off of it and then throw it in the stroller basket behind him.
Finally, at 8:55, I hand him a pen - the last thing in my purse I think he would enjoy. I'm poised to grab it away from him in case he decides to scribble all over himself, the stroller, his clothes, etc., but he just looks at it and clicks the top a bunch of times.
At 9:00 (almost there!) I decide to let him out of the seat again and run off some pent up energy. So he climbs on the bench, climbs off the bench, runs away, gets dragged back by Dominic, etc. for the next 10 minutes.
At long last, I put them both back in the stroller and wheel back into the lab. Yes!! I made it.
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