Stress is...

Finding out that our Daddy won't be coming as soon as we'd hoped, because we've found major termite damage in the house.

At this point, I'm just hoping we can get out of this without owing money.

I can always tell when things are getting to me because I start noticing that my jaw clenches and I grit my teeth, and my face breaks out and I start getting eczema flareups on my hands and fingers. I gotta chill, man!

Tomorrow we're taking Miss Alice to Children's Hospital in Dallas to her first endocrinology appointment here. On Friday we'll go to visit a regular pediatrician, where we'll attempt to get a referral to a pediatric neurologist at Children's also.

Isaac has had a terrible headache today, probably spurred on by his facial injury. His face still just doesn't look, well, right. I need to get him in to see someone ASAP to evaluate his condition. I don't know if that should be a dentist or a doctor, though. I'll give him another day or two and see if his headaches subside. The doctor who initially looked at him did say that this might trigger migraines. I just don't know if maybe his nose or the maxillary part of his face might've gotten cracked or moved out of place or something awful like that.

I told him that he needed to always wear a helmet when he rides a bike, even when I'm not around to remind him to do it. But I'm not sure that a helmet would've prevented that particular accident, at least not a typical bike helmet. Maybe a motorcycle helmet with the face guard thingy, but who's going to require their kid to wear one of those when they ride a bike? Anyway, I did tell him, but I guess I'll always worry. He's being such a trooper about it.

And then there's the little detail about SCHOOL STARTS ON WEDNESDAY. One minute I have a flood of great ideas and I'm totally psyched about getting started. The next minute I feel panicky and totally lost.

I'll be fine. It'll all happen. And we'll get through it.

On a totally different subject, why are the commercials on the USA network twice as loud as the programs? I was trying to watch The 4400 and couldn't hear the show's dialogue, so I turned it up, but when the commercials came on I thought the paint was going to peel off the walls. Sheesh. What's with that?