Not a good alarm clock

Gunshots, that is. Our neighbor across the street and to the east was murdered at 6 a.m. as he came home from work. I counted 8 shots, but the little yellow cones the police put up showed 12 or so. I know the little girl, a 1st grader, and her mother through my job in the after school program. This was the little girl's stepfather. I am just in shock. Just at a time when I really need to feel that our home is a safe haven this happens. I am so sad for the family. They seem to have a lot of support as so many people have been coming and going all day. Food has been brought in. I cannot imagine what they are going through. I fell asleep in the living room last night and so I heard the shots loud and clear. I cannot get that "pop" sound out of my head, nor the sight of him laying on the ground. I feel like I'm about ready to go over the edge.

Riley came home from school yesterday around lunch time with a stomachache. After the shooting this morning we just planned on keeping the shades pulled and the girls home so they didn't see what was going on. They don't need to question the safety of their home right now. They need to feel secure and we'll do everything in our power to keep it that way. Well, when Riley did finally wake up she had a temp of 100 and she complained her gum hurt. She said her gum hurt last night, but I looked at it with a flashlight and it looked fine. Well it didn't look fine this morning. A trip to the dentist resulted in a diagnosis of pericoronitis. She's allergic to amoxicillan so she was prescribed clindamycin. She has not mastered swallowing pills yet, but I got the capsules because we were told by the pharmacist that the liquid is just absolutely horrible. I thought, no problem, I can open the capsule into chocolate pudding and she can eat it up. Riley is flat-out refusing it; she'll swallow the pudding, but not the pill; just about throw up, etc. We feel very well-versed in giving medication to children because of our 7 years of experience of doing it with Shelby. But...this is crazy ridiculous. Our dentist is off until Thursday and there's no way this infection can go untreated until then. I've put a in to the on-call Pediatrician for some help. This is CRAZY.

We heard from Chicago saying that Dr. Superina was called into emergency surgery today. The nurse reassured us that first thing in the morning she'll be on him for an answer.

We're having a rough time here. Please send some positive, calming vibes and prayers our way. Thank you.