Tuesday, December 16, 2008

the circle of life

A week ago at about this exact time, I got a phone call from Kendall's school saying that she was in the nurse's office with a fever of over 102.  I went to pick her up and took her to the pediatrician, where we found out that she had pneumonia.  We picked up the prescription and went home to settle in for a few days of hanging out inside and getting better.  That first day was pretty crazy.  She had a fever of almost 103 and the ibuprofen was doing nothing to help bring it down.  When it was time for bed, she said she was freezing cold.  Patrick put one of his sweatshirts on top of her pajamas, and then we tucked her into bed with 6 blankets on top of her-- and she still said she was cold.  We told her that she'd warm up and to just try to relax and go to sleep.

About 30 minutes later, I was downstairs and heard Kendall calling to me.  I went up to her room and she said, completely calm, "Mom, I just puked."  I look in her bed, and somehow, she had managed to get it on every single blanket and sheet we had put in her bed, and all over the sweatshirt.

"Oh, I'm sorry you puked, sweetie," I said.  "Could you not make it to the bathroom in time?"

"No.  I just puked because I was SO hot!"

Of course she was!  She must have had every spare blanket in our house on top of her!  So I start cleaning her up and stripping the bed and trying to make light of the situation, I said, "It sure isn't much fun cleaning up puke!  When I was little, my mom cleaned up my puke, now I get to clean up your puke, and when you're a mom, you'll get to clean up your kids' puke!"

I'm pretty sure that's the first time Kendall's ever thought about that, and all she could say was, "Ewwwwwwww!"  Oh, honey-- just a very small glimpse into the life of a mom!

**Update:  She stayed out of school all last week, but went back yesterday and is doing great.  Unfortunately, all of the rest of us (including the baby) came down with colds of varying degrees that we're still working through.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

So sorry to hear that. I have had the same thing happen where every single blanket was the lucky winner. Crazy mama life but yet so fun at the same time. Hope you get better soon!

Steph said...

Sounds awful.....i am glad she is doing better though now. happy holidays!

Mirien said...

Oh, I'm so sorry! Hopefully you'll be finished with all the germs before Christmas! So far (knock on wood) we're all healthy--hope we can keep it that way.

Isa said...

hey there! I just found your blog. Hope you are all doing well again! I can't believe how much Berkley adn Kendall have grown!

McInnes Family said...

Poor little thing! I absolutely hate when my kids are sick. And I can't do throwing up. There is nothing worse :( Hopefully everyone gets better in time for Christmas. I love your Parade posts. I have always wanted to see the Macys Thanksgiving Parade in person. What a cool experience for your kids. Glad you guys had a fun trip. Have a Merry Christmas!

jessie said...

Poor Kendall! I'm glad she's feeling better! Sorry to hear that the rest of you are now feeling poorly, though! :( Hopefully you'll all be feeling great by Christmas! :)

Kerry and Dave said...

I'm glad she's feeling better! I'll never forget last Christmas right as we were boarding the plane to fly back to Maryland after the holidays, Lacey puked ALL OVER herself and me. I didn't have a change of clothes for either of us, so I stripped Lacey who flew naked home in the middle of winter and I flew home sopped in puke the whole way, apologizing to the girl next to me for my stench!

Jordan said...

Isn't this time of year a drag, illness wise?

By the way, I'm TOTALLY up for an Anthropologie trip with you. We'll have to arrange something and we'll make the trek to Charlotte!

merry Christmas!

Corrine said...

i am so sorry no fun with a sick child. hope y'all were better in time for christmas.