Just another ordinary day....or so I thought

Today (or yesterday now) was just another ordinary day. We got up, ate breakfast, the girls played and then we got ready for Natalie's return to dance class. She had a great time with all the new girls in her class and Kaitlyn enjoyed playing in the playroom. On the way home, Kaitlyn fell asleep (which isn't too unusual in the car) and then took a really nice nap (3 hours!). Natalie ate a good lunch and wasn't really into taking a nap so she watched Lady and the Tramp quietly on the couch. The girls played with their dad while I finished up dinner (we had lasagna, which would turn out to be not so great later on in the night). After dinner we played a little more and then watched a some tv before bedtime at 7 pm.

After finishing our books I got up to put Kaitlyn to bed and she says "my tummy hurt, need medicine"...ok...I had some kids pepto in the cupboard, but she wasn't interested (Natalie ate one for good measure...she loves those things) and off to bed they go. Kaitlyn wasn't in there more than 5 minutes and I hear her coughing and wretching.....up comes some dinner in her crib. Great! Clean her up and try again. She starts crying...I go in her room and she just doesn't look right..."cough, cough" she says....translation..."I have to barf"....I take her into the bathroom, but we don't quite make it to the sink in time. Projectile vomit (red of course from all the lasagna she ate) on her bedroom floor, on her bedroom door, on the carpet and all over the bathroom floor. A little got into the sink, but barely...she has this thing about being hung over sinks....just hates it....so while she is screaming about being over the sink, up come more dinner. Of course, Natalie is in the middle of it all "helping".

So, after another pj change (2 and counting) and crib sheet change (1) she has no desire to go back to bed..."sit on couch"...ok...downstairs we go...she barfs a few more times (we hit the kitchen sink this time...still screaming over it...with the help of a towel...however now some got on me.....wardrobe change for me x1). She eventually falls asleep on the couch and off to bed we go at 10 pm. By 11:30 Kaitlyn has once again barfed (now just dry heaving) but is too tired to even get out of her crib for a bedchange...I wipe it up with a towel (one of many before the night is over) and she goes back to sleep.

At 1 am, Kevin wakes me up and says Natalie is calling me (apparently I had just entered my REM sleep and was O-U-T). She is asking for a glass of water (not unusual since she does it ever so often), however she takes a few sips.....doens't look quite right (even in the pale light of the night light I can see she is about to be sick). Before I can get her to the toilet, up comes her dinner....all over the carpet and on the bathroom floor. PJ change for Natalie (3) and back to bed. Not an hour later, Kaitlyn is drying heaving again...wipe it up and back to bed.

Now it is 3 am. Natalie is up again, but this time she makes it to the toilet. She now needs a washcloth to wipe her face and hair (more laundry) and needs yet another pj change (4). Our stupid toilet has been breaking about once a day....and of course she barfed in the toilet and I got to flush...what do you know, the chain breaks and we can't flush it....Great! Now the entire bathroom is going to have the joyous odor of barf!! While I am getting Natalie cleaned up yet again, Finley decides HE is going to start wretching and barf himself. At this point all I can think is..."well, at least I will have the steam cleaner out anyway today"....but since he is no stranger to barfing in the middle of the night....he actually makes it into the bathroom, hits the linoleum and doesn't even get it on the bathmat...Good job Finley! He even cleaned up his own mess (gross!). But whatever, it is less mess I have to deal with.

Kaitlyn continued to sleep the rest of the night while Natalie was up about every 1/2 hour. We finally got up at 5:30, I called in sick for tonight and the girls rested (Natalie actually slept) until Kevin got up at 6:00. By then, Kaitlyn had asked to eat several times, so off she went to the table...she killed a cup of yogurt, a few bits of banana and a few bits of peanut butter toast, a little milk and a little oj (her dad is a sucker for her sad puppy dog eyes!). She has kept this down and seems to be in good spirits. Natalie on the other hand...drank a little bit of water and about 15 minutes threw it all back up....guess she is not as ready yet!

Good times! This is what I get for thinking (I didn't even say it out loud...and all you nurses out there know why!) "wow....our kids haven't ever had the flu before"....great!