Today Grace and I went to the neighboring town and picked up a new (to us) bed for her room. Months ago, she told me she wanted a daybed and even sent me a picture of the one she wanted (at Ikea). I told her I belonged to a Facebook garage sale group and that I’d watch for a similar bed.
Last night, the exact bed she wanted appeared for half the price of the new one at Ikea–and it included a mattress as well (no small expense). I was lucky enough to be first in line and so today found us standing in a stranger’s bedroom, puzzling over how to disassemble the thing. It only took us about thirty minutes to take it apart enough to get it out of the bedroom and into my mini-van. The other mom and I did all the work ourselves, causing me to declare, “Girl Power!” as we lifted the mattress through her house.
The hard work came when I had to put the thing back together. The worst part was when my helper’s grip failed and the back board fell onto both my bare feet like a guillotine. Except my toes were not sliced off. The tops of each foot were just bruised. Nice. But I got that bed put together with only one injury and no cursing in front of the children. (Here’s the bed, but not the exact one we bought): 
A couple of days ago, my husband woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach virus. He went through twenty-four hours of misery. I only hope my excessive hand-washing protects me from catching it.
On Monday this week, my poor daughter got her orthodontic appliance, a metal torture device affixed to her back molars with glue. Each day I have to turn it with a “key” that doesn’t at all look like a key. The device will spread open her palate so her teeth can be moved into alignment. She could barely talk on Monday and could not eat at all. On Tuesday, her speech was better but she could only eat what she didn’t have to chew. Now, she’s adjusting. And I only have to turn that key 19 more times.
This was our first full week of summer vacation from school. I only hope the upcoming weeks are less exciting.