Sick Days

Something wicked this way comes (Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I)

It started a couple of weeks ago, with Megan complaining almost incessantly of a headache and an achy stomach. She is kind of a drama queen (oh what a bad, bad mother I am for saying that), and went about her daily life of school, piano practice, etc. The day after the Daddy-Daughter dance she was so beside herself that her head hurt that we forced her to take a nap. The next day she seemed better so we didn't come up with anything more than her being overtired.

Of course that next day was the day that Isabelle woke up feverish and couldn't manage to keep down her breakfast or a snack. She too complained of a headache, but a long nap cured her of what ailed her and she was back on her feet the same afternoon.

Oblivious that what ailed Isabelle was the same thing that ailed Meg, we went about our week last week. Until Thursday afternoon, when Drew started complaining of a headache. We went for a ride to the nursery to get ideas for our gardens, and on our way home he vomited all over the inside of my van. He spent ALL day Friday sleeping on my couch and limped his way through Saturday and most of Sunday. Then we realized that what Meg had had spread to the others.

Last night, we couldn't find Isabelle; we thought she was with the big kids playing, but no. She was in her bed, asleep. At 6:15. By 10:15 she was up, vomiting, again. She has spent today in and out of sleep on the couch. Annabelle, not to bed left out, has joined the ranks of the fallen with the fever, a headache and as AndreAnna calls it, "flowers".

My poor kids. I sat all day Friday with Drew on the couch while he burned up and slept. I sat all day today with Izzie while she burned up and slept. I made countless trips to the bathroom with Annie and tried to console her. I feel AWFUL for giving Meg such a hard time about all her complaining. I hate when my kids are sick and there isn't a damn thing I can do for them.

I think I'll take to wearing Lysol in a holster on my hip, garlic around my neck (who knows, it may work on more than just vampires) and giving alms to whoever we pissed off so that my kids can get healthy again. In the meantime, I need rest, coffee, rest and a vacation.

V Day

I am quite fond of Valentine's Day. I love all the red and pink, and the hearts and the mushy, smushy cards that make you throw up just a little bit in your mouth when you read them. I love buying little gifts for my kids (this year it was socks~Hannah Montana for Meg, Cars for Drew, Elmo for Izzie and Abby Cadabby for Annie). Doug and I don't go overboard with gifts for each other. He got me a Pajama Gram with very lovely Valentine Day pajamas covered in conversation hearts and I got him a couple of movies that he likes (National Treasure and The Saint).

This year we did send the kids to their grandparents so that we could have some quiet time. We didn't have plans except to finish cleaning at our other house (it goes on the market tomorrow, again, wish us luck that we sell it, asap), which we did after Drew had hockey and we drove the kids to their grandparents' houses and got them settled. We grabbed some lunch at our favorite little breakfast/lunch place up the road where the owners are friends of ours. Brian, the owner, is a singer and sang at our wedding. It's that kind of place. He knows what Doug likes to eat and they always make my veggie sandwich just right. We haven't been there much since we moved, so it was nice to stop in. We took our lunch back to our vacant house and had a quiet meal before cleaning and then heading home.

Unbeknown to us, poor Drew was having an awful Valentine's Day. Apparently the poor kid spent Valentine's Day throwing up at my in-law's house. He just lounged around there, napping on the couch when he wasn't throwing up. So while we were blissfully enjoying the silence, he was sick. No one called us to come get him, because they felt we deserved a break. Hopefully it was a one-time thing and no one else gets sick.

Doug and I enjoyed some Chinese take-out that I got to eat HOT, we watched The Saint,then the Bruins game. It wasn't an over-the-top Valentine's Day. But it was quiet, and just lovely. It was our 17th Valentine's Day, although the first few we spent apart since I was in college in NY and he was in college in ME. I think our feelings about the day are the same as they were 17 years ago. We love each other. We love spending time together. Really, what more can you ask for?

It's inevitable of course

Tomorrow is Halloween. The older kids are incredibly exciting to go trick-or-treating. The younger ones of course don't have much of a clue. We will be escorting Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (in silver shoes as it is in the story, not ruby slippers like in the movie), Spiderman and Pooh Bear and Tigger around the street that Meg's school is on. It's a U-shaped street and even though there are dark houses, the kids get a boatload of candy.

What's inevitable of course is that I have a sick child. Izzie started acting really whiny yesterday after a VERY short 45 minute nap and I assumed she was tired. Today she woke up overly warm, so I gave her a spot of Tylenol. As the morning went on, she was more whiny and paler that normal, and just wanted to sit with her head on my shoulder. After quick trip to pick up Drew at school, she ate a quick lunch and is now sound asleep. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she wakes up miraculously healed.

It's karma or something that makes kids get sick before something special~Meg was sick for her first Christmas, the twins were sick for their first Christmas and Drew was sick for his second day of school this year. I don't know how they know that something special is about to happen and therefore they need to get sick, but at least with my kids, that's how it works.

So, send some good thoughts my way that 1) Izzie is better when she gets up and 2) that the others remain healthy. Thanks.

Barforama Redux

Oops, I did it again (thank you Britney Spears). No, not me, but Barforama has struck, again. OMG when will it end? We have been battling this stomach thing since June 21st. And now we're going thru it again and again. Drew is finally better. Now Izzie has it again. And Annie, minus the barfing (so bumorama?). There is pretty much nothing worse in the world than seeing your kid sick, and really not being able to do a damn thing to make them feel better. Except clean up the barfy clothes/sheets/stuffed animals and move on. Needless to say, I may ramble a bit here and there, seeing as I was up at 2:30 for the day pretty much (omg run-on sentence).

If you don't follow me on Twitter (why don't you? ha), then let me update you~we're having a TORNADO warning here in Maine right now. We get hurricanes, but usually just remnants. We get Nor'easters, both rain and snow versions. But tornadoes (which I misspelled on Twitter due to lack of sleep and coffee) are not very common here. It has been raining cats, dogs, buckets, sheets, etc. pretty much all day. My lovely gravel road is flooding and the rain is creating new paths down the road. If and when the sun ever shines again, my lawn will grow 3 feet almost immediately. On the bright side, I don't have to water my gardens. Have I mentioned that I hate summer?

Some of my blogging friends have been having a tough go of it lately and I don't know what to say to make them feel better. I try to say the right thing on their blogs, or on emails, but sometimes it just isn't enough. I have a friend who is a blogger and I want to go visit her and hug her because it's been MUCH TOO LONG but remember those four kids? I want to visit with JUST HER. She knows who she is and I'm sending a shout out that I miss her and love her.

Hey! Barforama!

Think the Macarena. That is how that phrase has been singing in my head since about 10pm last night. I am working on about 4 hours of sleep here people, so bear with me. We had just sat down for a popsicle nightcap when I heard a cough that resembled a gag coming from the twins' room. Turns out, poor Izzie had barfed all over herself, her bed, her lambs (her favorite, I-can't-sleep-without-them stuffed pink lambs), EVERYTHING. So, I scooped her up and rushed her to the bathroom to give her a tubby. (Wait, I need to backtrack~Meg barfed a couple of weeks ago and had what we thought was "nervous tummy" over the impending end of first grade, and a dentist appointment. Nuh uh. Turns out she had a stomach bug. She passed that bug to Drew, who woke us up Thursday night barfing, and other things. He still isn't right). Anyhoo, while I was trying to find Izzie under the barf, Doug cleaned up the bed and Annie watched him. I got Izzie all set and brought her downstairs to settle her down. She was laying on me and I was rubbing her back, and then she looked at me, and barfed all over ME. While I was squawking for a towel, Doug yelled that he had Annie and she was barfing. OMG! So, for the next 3 hours, we had the girls up in our bedroom/bathroom, dealing with the barfing. Taught our 17 month olds how to stand on a stool, hands on the toilet~you know, proper barfing techniques. Finally got them to bed around 1 and I tried to sleep, all the while listening to the monitor for more barfing sounds. Annie was up at 4:45, but no barfing, thank god. Only a little more barfing from Annie this morning, and the girls have been barf-free since then.

So, this was the first time that we've had to deal with barfing twins. I know it won't be the last. I am, however, hoping that the next time they need to barf, they can TALK and warn us. Because the element of surprise when it comes to barfing just bites (no, not Barq has bite). At least Izzie got a bit whiney before it was her turn, so I had some idea to rush her to the bathroom. Geez.

To add insult to injury, I haven't felt swell all day. I haven't decided if I'm just fahreaking tired, or if, as is par for the course, I am getting sick as well. I am looking forward to some dinner at some point tonight, and to lay on the couch and try to watch the Red Sox gain some ground on the Tampa Bay Rays (why did they change the name from Devil Rays? I would love to know the reason). Ack, more coughing gags over the monitor. Calgon, take me away.