Spring... break? Spring broken.

It's time to blog about this. Brace yourself for another LOOOOONG TMI (Too Much Info) blogpost - it is just the kind of couple weeks it has been...

I have literally had the worst 2 weeks in my life as a mother.

My intentions were so good.... somehow things went terribly wrong.

The original plan: my hubby is a teacher & works in a different school district than my children attend school in. This means my kids get 2 weeks of spring break, my hubby only gets 1 (the 2nd of my kids 2 weeks). Solution? I decided to go for a visit (shopping anyone??) to my parents place in the states, just me & the kids...

It went something like this:

MONDAY: do copious amounts of laundry & pack for the trip. Last minute trips to the store, finish & mail the last of a few photo shoots. Mail the last of Brynlea's birthday party invitations & other errands to prepare for the trip.

TUESDAY: pack van up, pack kids in van & leave for 3 hour drive (due to a fabulous outlet mall at the exact halfway point between here & there - it ends up more like 5 hours)... kids are great on the drive, I find a few really great deals at the outlet mall & arrive at my parents around 4pm.

WEDNESDAY: enjoy a relaxed day visiting with family & hanging out at my parents' place. Kids enjoy the extra space, backyard & cable TV (all of which we don't have)...

THURSDAY: weather takes a turn & kids get a little stir crazy. We run a few errands, trip to Walmart - then decide to treat the kids to a lunch at McDonalds & playtime in the "playplace"... BIG MISTAKE...

It was typical enough... amusing when Averie had to "rescue" not only her brother, but another little boy who were brave enough to climb to the top, but not brave enough to climb down... here's the rescue in action:

We quickly started to fear how grave our mistake had been. My sister, Stephanie, began to feel sick soon after eating there... before bed, my other sister, Shannon started to not feel "right" in the stomach...

FRIDAY: At 1am, I (who was sharing a room with all my children & a queen sized bed with Averie & Evan) was startled awake by Evan gagging on vomit. I hauled him out of bed & ran for the bathroom (yes, one of the absolute JOYS of motherhood - catching puke in your HAND!) managing to keep things from being too terribly messy - we meet Shannon in the bathroom having just been sick herself - oh no.

I get a bucket & head back to bed with Evan - only his pillowcase has fallen victim... easily rectified... he proceeds to wake up & barf about every 20-30 minutes for the rest of the night.

Around 3:30am, Averie awakens during one of Evan's "episodes" & says that she feels sick. I am thinking it is just seeing Evan sick that is causing it, but no- she requests the bucket & proceeds to become harmony to Evan's melody... they switch off about every 20 minutes for the rest of the night - till around 7am... him... her... him... her.... him... her... all. night. long.

Averie's face - she doesn't have freckles...
those are broken blood vessels ALL over her face from dry-heaving all night :(

By morning they are both complaining of being thirsty but can't keep anything down - even water or apple juice. I am starting to feel not so hot myself, but have not slept more than an hour & have cleaned up more vomit than I care to think about, so there could be a myriad of reasons for that...

I send my Dad to the drugstore for Gravol suppositories - they are not available without a prescription in the states - so he brings home chewable tablets. They take them - for Evan it sticks. Averie's comes back up. A few minutes later she tries another & it sticks. Phew! At least the barfing has subsided... Meanwhile, my Mom & my sister are both in a bad way... from both ends...

Around noon, it hits me. Death would have been kinder.

Thankfully Averie & Evan both fall asleep around 3pm, I follow them & we all sleep until 7pm. The kids wake up (Shannon is doing a little better by now) Then it hits Brynlea.

I continue to sleep (waking up when Brynlea stirs to hold a bucket for her - she is pretty empty & mostly dry-heaves - poor thing!) until 10pm. Put the kids to bed around 11:30pm - Averie & Evan are keeping food down now but are still pretty exhausted. Brynlea continues to dry heave periodically until around 2am... by morning the worst of it seems to have subsided...

SATURDAY: Everybody is eating normally & seems to be over the worst of it. We decide to venture out for some shopping. I made the mistake of giving a little too much yogurt to Brynlea for lunch (she is lactose-intolerant so it is a careful balance) as we pull into the parking spot at Old Navy - Brynlea PROJECTILE vomits. Did I mention she had yogurt for lunch? double eww.

I change her & clean the carseat as best I can - we spend the rest of our shopping in a VERY stinky van.

Playing in the play area at the mall...

SUNDAY: I am once again awakened in the night (2:30-ish) by a smell that would peel paint!! No one is complaining; they are all asleep, but I literally cannot go back to sleep because it stinks SOO bad!! It is Brynlea. She has exploded. She is getting ready to cut at LEAST 4 teeth - they are looking like they may even break through at the same time. It seems to affect her diapers every now & then. I don't know if that contributed but she was NOT doing well...

I changed her diaper & her pajamas, gave her a bottle & back to bed. She woke up at 6am with the same issue. We came downstairs to THIS:

Are you KIDDING me?!?!

We opt not to go to church since she goes through 3 outfits before we even have a chance to think about dressing for church. It's a good thing too. By the time my family returned from church, she had gone through 3 more outfits & had TWO baths!!

I take the carseat completely apart (something I got really good at while Averie had an issue with car sickness - which she has THANKFULLY gotten over) and scrub, febreeze, machine wash & generally disinfect/sterilize it.

MONDAY: everyone seemed to be recovered though Brynlea wasn't completely "normal" - the diapers were at least "containing" the problem. Now my Dad has come down with something & stays home from work.
The kids are going crazy again from being stuck in the house - we decide to go to "Charlie's Safari" - the kids have an absolute BLAST!! Lots of well-deserved & much needed fun!

TUESDAY: I just want to go home. We had debated about staying until Wednesday, but I am on empty - I need to go home. I have washed all the clothes I brought two times. Being sick has made Brynlea INSANELY clingy & she screams every time I leave her sight. My nerves are RAW. I feel broken.
We pack up & head home. My mom comes back with us. Uneventful ride home - sweet deals at the outlet mall again.

WEDNESDAY: Graham gets home - I want to be excited - I have missed him terribly, but all I want to do is cry. I have never felt so overwhelmed with the task of being a mother. I am SOOO glad he is home!!

THURSDAY: In a few weeks Averie will be in a fashion show. A girl who used to babysit for us is in the Fashion Design program at our local University & is doing children's clothing for her final project. She wants Averie to model her clothes. We had gone previously for measurements, etc - today there is a fitting. Just her & I go. It is FUN! I am beyond excited to see her in the finished clothes!! SOOOO adorable. I take advantage of the rare one-on-one time with her & take her out for lunch. We run errands together which take longer than usual. When we get home, Graham announces he isn't feeling good.

This is getting RIDICULOUS!!

FRIDAY: It is Brynlea's birthday!! I spend the morning baking cookies & a cake for Brynlea's birthday party tomorrow. Graham is still not feeling good, but watches the kids so I can run errands for the party, including running to the states for some necessities.

When we get home, my Dad & sister, Shannon arrive from the states - we go out for dinner to celebrate Brynlea's birthday. Graham is REALLY sick now. A few party guests hear he isn't feeling good & decide not to risk coming to the party. After the kids are in bed, Shannon & I head over to the clubhouse in my complex to decorate - we finish around midnight.

Graham is sick all night. At one point he actually falls asleep on the bathroom floor :( I hate feeling helpless when the people I love are hurting!!

SATURDAY: The birthday party goes really well (blogpost to come about just this) and Graham even manages to get out of bed & shuffle over to the clubhouse to see the cake & presents. BUT family ends up coming back to my INSANELY messy house... can you say HUMILIATION?? That wasn't supposed to happen! But my incredible in-laws (after some pestering by my children) offer to take Averie & Evan for a sleepover - THANK YOU!

SUNDAY: By noon today - Graham is about 90% recovered. My house has been about half cleaned & my children are home & happy.

Back to school tomorrow.

I need a vacation after our vacation.

Oy.