Quarantined

The phrase, "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy", comes to mind when I look back at the last week and a half. Except for lucky Matt, our family was hit hard by the stomach flu. If reading about puke will make you sick.....well you just might want to skip this entry. Elizabeth had been a little sick to start with but I didn't think much of it until I was sick too. Matt must have known it was bad when he came home from work to his OCD wife lying on the floor with the clean laundry unfolded on our bed, toys everywhere and the kids watching their third movie for the evening. I felt so bad for Elizabeth because she wanted me to hold her so bad, but if I just shifted my weight it would make me throw-up. I 'd be holding my hair in one hand and holding Elizabeth back with the other while puking into a bowl on the floor. Oh how I counted down the minutes until Dad was home!! Matt was great the whole time. He took care of the kids and found our bed under the laundry so I could pass out. He'd just finished getting everything in order when Caleb started losing the contents of his stomach. After getting no sleep from cleaning Caleb up all night, I begged Matt to stay home because I didn't know how I'd be able to take care of the kids with Caleb so sick and being sick myself. I can't blame him too bad for going to work. Within a couple of days Kayden joined the fun. I kept waiting for Matt to get sick too, but he never did. After 7 days of puke, I called the doctor to see why this wasn't going away. I was cleaning everything down- Lysol was my friend- so why were we still sick?? They told me I hadn't "cleaned their system out well enough". It was mostly just Kayden who was still sick. The pediatrician said only clear liquids for 24 hours. Kayden didn't like this at all!!!! He was crying and begging and sneaking food. He pulled food out of the garbage. I put a lock on the fridge and pantry door. A 3 year old doesn't understand why he can't have food. Kayden still puked after no food for 23 hours (couldn't make the 24- you try denying your child that long!!).Kayden trying to break into the locked up pantry.

This is Kayden after one of the many times I had to tell him "no" to food.

The boys and I carried around what we called our "puke buddies" (a bowl to throw-up in). It was pathetic. Just when I thought we were getting better Matt or I would be cleaning up again! One afternoon after Caleb got home from school, Kayden was sitting on the kitchen table watching Caleb work at the table and then said, "my tummy hurts", then he fountained into Caleb's lap. I was very proud of Caleb. He didn't get mad or sick himself. He just said, "it's all over me". Luckily I could laugh at it myself as I was cleaning it up. It was always sad in the morning when I'd go to get Elizabeth out of her crib and sometime during the night she'd thrown up and we didn't know, so it was caked all over her.

Another false alarm of thinking we were all better, I had my mom watch the boys. Her poor couch will never be the same- sorry Mom.

But, I'm excited to say we all went to church today and no one has thrown up in 42 hours!!!!!

Quarantine over!!!!! We've missed playing outside of our house!