Puke Patrol With a Side of Gratitude*

I was really tired last night. Trying to throw together a semi coherent blog post at 10pm was a challenge, and I went up and got ready for bed shortly after I posted it. My house was quiet as I got ready for bed, and at the last minute I decided to use our little dolly to wheel our nightstands back into the bedroom so it would really feel cozy again.

Am I the only person that has trouble sleeping if I can’t see a clock immediately when I wake? I can suffer through with my phone if need be, but I really like to have a digital clock next to me when I sleep. I need to know what time it is whenever I wake up. I’m weird.

Anyway, I digress.

It was a little before 11pm when I finally crawled into bed. My bed. My glorious bed that I was without for two weeks. I had seriously just stretched out when I heard someone start coughing on the monitor. I flipped on the camera (bless you, modern technology) to see H throwing up in his bed. I flew out of bed and ran to his room with a bucket, hoping to catch the worst of it, but he was already pretty much done by the time I got there. Luckily the other two kids hadn’t woken up, I snuck him out to the bathroom so he could sit on the floor and hug a bucket while I called for reinforcements. M came up and cleared out H’s bed while I helped him get cleaned up. We tag teamed looking after H and changing his sheets, this time adding a layer of towels on top for a quick clean up and change if required again through the night.

H perked back up almost immediately, perfectly content to sit on the floor of our room and watch a show on the ipad while he hugged his bucket. After about 30 minutes of him not puking and bouncing around on the floor while watching Batman, it was clear he was feeling a little better. M got him tucked back into bed and just before midnight I finally, finally got to sleep in my bed. I want to say it was magical because it kind of was, but I also didn’t sleep well because I woke up every time I heard a little noise on the monitor, poised for puke patrol.

Thankfully, it was a singular occurrence and he slept through.

More importantly, P was in his bed three feet away and slept through the entire thing. My once terrible sleeper slept through his brother getting sick AND us going in and out of the room with flashlights while we stripped H’s bed then changed his sheets. I really wasn’t sure that putting all three in a room together would be a good idea when we started, but he is sleeping SO MUCH BETTER. Win!

We were all pretty tired this morning, so we had to decide whether or not to try and go to my family’s Thanksgiving lunch at my brother’s house an hour away. H woke up right as rain, with no fever and asking for breakfast, so we figured the sickness was probably a result of swimming + eating too much junk at the birthday party + having curry chicken for dinner (my bad). He seems to have a sensitive stomach like I do. Sorry kid.

I called my mom to ask her opinion, as I didn’t want to bring a potentially sick kid to a party and infect the whole lot… and within a few hours we all piled in the vanimal and made the trip.

I’m glad we did. It wasn’t perfect–H was overtired and cried a lot and P missed his nap and got mean–but I got to spend a few hours with my brothers, parents, aunts and cousins and the food was so delicious. My brother D and his wife T were perfect hosts, and while I missed my sisters, my brother R provided me with some much needed laughter while he and T serenaded us to a karaoke Celine Dion classic.

So, it was not exactly the Thanksgiving Sunday I imagined, but I still feel like I have a lot to be grateful for.

I’m so thankful H wasn’t more sick than he was and perked back up right away.

I’m so, so thankful that P is sleeping better. I feel sane most of the time again and that actually feels really nice. Who knew?

I’m so, so, so thankful to have the family I do. I’m thankful for M, in ways I can’t even possibly articulate… It’s such a small thing, but I’m so grateful to have a hands on husband who will go on puke patrol with me, with no hesitation. I’m grateful for our wee brood of children, who drive us crazy but also make our hearts basically explode with love. I’m grateful for my family. I know a lot of people say this, but I really do have the best family. We are all so different, but we fit together like parts of a puzzle, and once it’s together it makes something really beautiful. I’m also really grateful for my mom’s broccoli casserole and that my dad is a pie king and makes the best pies in the world. #itsbulkingseason

Lastly, I’m so, so, so, so grateful that my bed is back.

Fingers crossed for a puke free night tonight.