Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse...

Tuesday was REALLY rough on me. I had Zachary from 12-4, and of course Tyler from his usual 8-5:15.

I just felt stretched apart. I was a Gumby.

And then came Wednesday. No Zachary this time, but James was really upset basically all day, wanting to be held--ALL DAY. Nothing like a 10-pound baby in the left arm and a 27-pound toddler in the right to throw your back out. By the end of the day, I was about to cry with relief that it was over.

And then there was Thursday. It was a great day! I had all three boys again, but this time Zachary came in the morning, from 8 to 12. Olivia came over to play, I think, and the day just seemed to fly by. I knew I wasn't going to be taking care of any children besides my own on Friday, so it felt like the weekend. It was great!

But then...

At about 4:00, James got really upset again when I was feeding Tyler. He cried for a few seconds and then threw up. This has happened before in the last week or two. Therefore, I just attributed it to the same old causes as before: 1) congestion from James' persistent cold and 2) adjustment period with Tyler.

Then Ben came home a little early. I stayed home with Tyler, waiting for his mom, who was stuck in traffic, to arrive, while Ben took James to get some bread to eat with our dinner. (Usually we make our own bread, but it had been A. Long. Week.) They came back inside within just a couple of minutes, and James had thrown up all over himself and the carseat and the car.

Oh yes.

This is our log from Thursday night:

4:oo p.m. threw up, small amount, normal
5:00 threw up, very large amount, full of food
5:10 threw up, small amount, food-ish
5:15 threw up, bright yellow
5:25 threw up, bright yellow-green
(at this point we called the doctor)
5:40 threw up, bright green
5:50 threw up, same
6:05 threw up, same
6:15 threw up, same
6:30 threw up, same
6:45 threw up, milky (had just attempted to nurse)
(at this point we FINALLY got the medication from our stupid, STUPID, worthless pharmacy)
7:00 threw up again, bright green
7:20 threw up
7:45 threw up
8:15 threw up, milky (another desperate nursing attempt)
8:50 threw up
9:45 threw up
10:45 threw up
11:55 threw up
12:20 a.m. threw up
2:20 a.m. threw up

And James couldn't sleep in the bed, so Ben and I had to take turns sitting up in the rocking chair with him all night. So, basically, that was the worst day EVER. Until...

5:00 p.m. Friday: Ben has just cooked dinner (pancakes) for an extremely exhausted crew. We've taken James to the doctor and it's been pronounced that we did an amazing job keeping him well-hydrated through his spew-fest, and that it's most likely gastroenteritis brought on by loads of mucus from his cold, or maybe food poisoning, or, you know...whatever. Susan's blood sugar is a little low, and she starts to feel like she's melting...so she crams down some pancakes...just before bringing them right back up into her lap.

OH JOY!

Luckily, I didn't puke as often as the J-man did. We already had the medication, that really helped! But it was pretty horrendous. AND THEN...

11:00 p.m. Friday: it's Ben's turn!

So, actually, Thursday evening through Saturday evening, those were the worst DAYS ever. But luckily, we have a great friend who came over and helped us take care of James for a couple of hours on Saturday so Ben and I could sleep it off, and I'm happy to report that It, whatever It was (though certainly not gastroenteritis or food poisoning), has moved on to Its next victims.

Watch out, though! I've noticed this thing is making its way through my friends in the blogosphere...you know, those with whom I have NO physical contact...some of whom live far, far away from me...so you could be next!

That's what's up with us. How's your day been, so far?