Spencer's Doctor's Appointment and Other Miscellaneous Merriment From the Day

Spencer had his annual check up today. I love that we've had the same pediatrician and nurses for so long; all of them exclaimed about how big Spencer is getting. Where has the time gone? How can he be going into middle school next year? My sentiments exactly.

Spencer weighed in at a whopping 73 pounds and is 4 feet 10 inches tall. That means in the last year he grew 3 inches but gained only 5 pounds. No need to tell me we have a bean pole on our hands - finding pants that are long enough but won't fall off of his waist is becoming increasingly difficult. He certainly has the Roper physique!

Poor Spencer was surprised that he had to get 2 shots during the appointment. That's because I forgot to warn him. And that's because I didn't realize you had to get shots before going into 6th grade. (The doctor figured it was easier to give them to him now rather than drag him back in this summer with "all four of your brood". I love that woman.) While getting the shots I told the nurse about how when Spencer was a baby he almost never cried when getting shots, and then we teased him about crying now. He was a champ and only winced a little, which is saying a lot because one of those shots was a tetanus booster and those things sting! (I have to say that while it is easier to see your 11 year old get a shot compared to him as a baby, it's still hard. I always wince more than they do!)

After the appointment we decided to grab Spencer a bit of lunch since he said his class eats at 11am. He chose McDonald's, and as we walked in we realized he had left his coat at the doctor's office.  Doh. So we quickly decided that we would order and then Spencer would eat in the car. He decided to branch out from his normal Happy Meal and ordered a 2 cheeseburger meal - and snarfed it all down between McDonald's, the doctor's office, and back to his school. It was really quite impressive. He certainly has the Madsen appetite!

I had to race to pick up Tess and Cole on time. And when I got there I realized I had to hide all of the McDonald's evidence or I would never hear the end of it, especially from Cole who thinks we need to go out to eat for lunch every day. It was like covering up a crime scene - I wrapped it all up in a garbage bag, hid it in the trunk, and opened the windows to get rid of the smell. All at top speed because I was supposed to be inside the building getting the kids right then. I felt like I was living lots of the stereotypes of mom-dom that morning: chauffeuring kids hither and yon, marveling at how much kids can eat, racing from one place to the next, doing crazy things like hiding McDonald's bags in the trunk in order not to have to deal with the aftermath of a fast-food crazed five year old... (I was rockin' a good hair day, though, so that made it a little better.)

Spencer just got home from school and informed me that he had been mistaken - his class actually eats lunch at 12:00. (I should have remembered this from taking him out to lunch for his birthday. But I didn't because that was a month ago and I never expected to need that bit of information again.) ((Also, I expected my 11 year old to know what time he eats lunch. Obviously, I expected too much.))

Me: So did you just sit and talk to your friends during lunch?
Spencer (looking at my like I'm nuts): Nooo. I ate lunch.
Me: Wait - you had two lunches today?
Spencer (as if the answer is obvious): Yeah.
Josh: WHAT?!??!!?! I WANT TWO LUNCHES!! WHY DIDN'T I GET TWO LUNCHES?!?! WHERE DID SPENCER EAT??!???!??!
Me: Dang it.

It must be noted that I had warned Spencer not to let any of his siblings know about McDonald's for this very reason. It's on me that we had this conversation out in the open instead of hiding in my closet. Dang. Josh is, and I kid you not, at this moment pouting in his room over it, refusing to do his homework. (That boy LOVES junk food.) Stupid McDonald's and your delicious, golden fries...

I'm not sure how to end this post or if there was really a point behind it. I guess I'll just summarize:

1. Spencer is growing like a weed and shows no sign of stopping. This is a good thing.
2. I will apparently go to great lengths to not have to deal with food-obsessed children. I *think* this is a good thing.
3. I am not very good at following through on the previously mentioned great lengths. This is a bad thing.
4. Josh is a punk. This is NOT a good thing.
5. I love being a mom. Good thing.