Mother sense?

If ever I would say a mother sometimes just has a sixth sense (what it’s for I don’t know, it changes depending on what’s needed!), I’d say that yesterday I had ‘it’.  In the afternoon I was trying to figure how many months the kids had been healthy.  As in no flu, throwing up or seriously bad colds or coughs.  I think I got back to October (when the kids all got the swine flu) – anyways being that it’s winter it’s been a very long stretch and I’m very thankful.  I wondered if them having the swine flu (instead of getting immunized against it) built up their immune system…but I won’t open that can of worms today.  I thought back to March of last year when I wrote the Just Heard Vomit Edition and wondered if March would bring the flu again.

Well, I guess I knocked on wood.

After some late night texting with a friend and then staying up for a chat with my husband, it was closer to midnight when my head hit the pillow.  By 2 AM Audrey was awake with diarrhea in her sleep.  She wouldn’t go back into her bed so she snuggled in with us.  Then around 4 AM I heard “Mama!”  in a panicked, shaky voice and since Audrey was sleeping on me, Chris ran but as he walked in the room he heard:

“It’s too late, you’re too late – I throw uped” from Caleb.

I sprinted for the kitchen for a bowl (isn’t it amazing how fast you can move in those moments?).  But didn’t make it back for round 2.  As I hand over the bowl and start stripping the bed, now I’m hearing a quiet little voice “Mama, ope”.  Audrey has woken and climbed out of our bed and is standing behind the shut door asking for it to be opened.  She wanders out and wants in on the action.

Now 5 out of 6 are awake.  Good times.

I marvel at what a routine we have even though we only do this once or twice a year.  We don’t even talk we just work, do what we do…pull out the sick bed mattress, make a new bed there for Caleb, start the wash, get a wet washcloth, etc.  By 4:30 Caleb is snuggled into a clean bed on our floor, Chris is up and ready to go to the gym (not even joking about that, he really was!) and Audrey and I are tucked back in my bed.

Caleb whispers to me “Mama, did you know my tummy is hurting?”

I smile and kiss his head.  “Yes, I did know that.”

He asks “Can you lay with me?”

I think, well you do smell like vomit but… “Yes, just for a minute.”

It took an hour for the adrenaline to wear off.  Sleep came, a very tiny bit of it in between helping Caleb a few more times.  But it was good.

Just Heard

Kyler (with glee):  “I’m pretending I drink wine and wear panties!”

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Caleb:  “Do you want to be naked or un-naked?”

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Conversation that ensued in the van today –

Rylee:  “It’s almost spring time, that’s when babies come.  How are we going to find a daddy cat to make Basil have babies?”

I take a deep breath and try to think of what to say with all four kids in the car

Caleb:  “I’m going to smash it, I’m going to squeeze it so hard that spider!!!”

Rylee (insistent):  “I mean, what does the daddy cat do anyway?  Once the babies are born can we give him away?  How long do we need the daddy cat to make Basil a mama?  Does he give her something like an egg maybe?”

I turn my head down in the car and stifle a smile and giggles.  I am so immature I tell myself.  What to say….

Caleb (interupting again):  “This is going to be an awesome battle – do you smell that, I tooted!”

Rylee:  “If the daddy cat doesn’t do much then why do we need one in the first place?”

Mama:  “I’ll fill you in when we get home, it’s complicated.”  More than you know little sweet girl…

Caleb:  “Watch I’m capturing cars, see – there I got another one!”

Kyler:  “I need food.”

That’s a perfect example of my normal day – spent driving kids to music class and drama and the park and the oh-so-random conversations that we have.  Some days I’m annoyed by it but most I find entertaining…especially today.

Not Me Monday

Life’s been a bit heavy for “Not Me Monday” but I’ll join in this week.  Hoping for brighter days and just a little bit of peace this week.

I did not buy a package of peanut M&M’s for my husband only to bring them home, set them on the counter, look at them for 3 hours then finally cave and open them.  Upon opening them and eating a small handful, feeling guilty on caving since I’m working extremely hard to eliminate refined sugar from my diet, I certainly did not give the entire remainder of the package to my 22 month old baby.

I also did not buy chocolate for a friend who was watching my kids, forget to hand it to her as she left then give it all to my other kids so that I wouldn’t eat it myself.

I did not read Frog and Toad’s “The Cookie” story in bed at night to my husband and laugh all the way through it.  I certainly don’t have a  favorite quote from a children’s story but if I did it would take place after they spend the whole story trying not to eat all the cookies they made:

We may not have any cookies left Toad, but we have lots and lots of will power!

To which the delightfully neurotic Toad replies,

You can keep your will power, I’m going home to bake a cake!

I definitely did not feed my kids corn dogs two times in one week.  As Audrey would say “Ewwww!”.

I did not spend $70 at the laundromat washing clothes and bedding doing a bit of spring (flea) cleaning.  That would be insane.

I am sure that my kids did not brush their teeth only twice this week.

I am not embarrassed that most of this post is about food.  I do not even like food. 🙂