It Smells Terrible, So Terrible

This has been a very hard week. As soon as Robbie and I decided to go to bed early Sunday night, Henry threw up in his crib. He cried out to me, and I hurried to his room. The telling smell hit me once I opened the door, then my bare foot confirmed my nose's discovery. So gross. I took over with Henry in the bathtub, and Robbie took over with the floor, crib sheets and blankets, PJs, etc. The laundry was already backed up, so this sealed the deal. The diarrhea started the next day with Henry and the baby. I changed a ton of nasty diapers. Evelyn complained she didn't feel well after she got home from preschool. The kids have been whining, fighting, fussing, and overall making me want to tear my hair out of my head all week. I'm tired and emotionally drained from the stamina required to be "on" 24/7. Henry keeps throwing clothing fits...he wants the football monkey PJs, he doesn't want socks, he wants Yaya's cleats, he doesn't want a coat, and on and on it goes. The girls have been fighting A LOT, and a mama only has so much patience for such nonsense.

We put up the Christmas tree on Friday, and Henry will not leave the thing alone. I caught him with a broken unbreakable Christmas bulb ornament and a plastic candy cane. He was golfing. He keeps tossing stuffed animal dogs into the tree, and he keeps insisting I call him Henry the Baby T Rex. At least the nickname fits! He also showed me how he climbs onto his diaper changing area to get out of his bed, and he said as he lowered himself carefully to the ground, "See Mommy. I hold on right here." He thinks he's such a big shot.

Robbie got a root canal on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Read...dollars down the drain right before the holidays. Yesterday after work he fixed the ceiling light in the baby's room, which was falling out of the ceiling. He had to go into the attic to figure out the problem, and I prayed he would not fall through a ceiling somewhere. I also discovered a leaky pipe in the basement yesterday, so Robbie had to go the hardware store for parts. We were still working on fixing the house after 9 pm, and I was so ready to be DONE.

This morning the baby woke up at 5:12 am to nurse. Henry went to get Robbie out of bed to take him potty. Once I fed Vivian and returned to our warm bed I found two big girls in it. Their fighting began over whose legs were where, and I was too tired for it. I just wanted to curl up with my sleepy husband and snooze for 30 more minutes.

Well, this morning my stomach is unsettled. Henry just absolutely filled his diaper with liquid poop, then he used the potty with more #2. As I helped him, he said, "It smells terrible, so terrible." Finally, God gave me some comic relief. Henry was totally right, but the fact that he verbalized it at age two was hilarious.

We are really excited for Dad and Jane to arrive from Illinois tomorrow, but I have a laundry list of things to get done before that time. I need some stamina, and I need to feel better. I sat looking at my upside down house this morning and wondered if there is some service that provides a Mary Poppins type person to come in and take over the joint. Why can't mommies get sick days? I need to rest in bed, and I also need some clean diapers. I think I am almost out of Henry's, and this is not a good problem to have right now. God help me.

On the "glass is half full" side of things, Robbie did a grocery run for me last night, and we are no longer on the verge of being out of milk and fruit. I do not have to take any sick kids to the store, and that is a beautiful thing. Also, the baby has been her sweet self. She's scooting herself all around the floor, and I think she ate some real Christmas tree leaves from the branches.