Barf Week

A week ago Barf week began - 7 kids, a different kid every night for 7 nights in a row.  (Mel is on guard for tonight!)  Throwing up is so universal.  Eventhough it's terrible, everyone can relate and has a story of their own and enjoys commiserating.  Kinda like giving childbirth I guess.  So, for anyone who likes to share barf stories, here's how our week went - 

Last Wednesday - Hyrum, all of a sudden after dinner he's holding his tummy and feeling ill, so he gets to stay home from Scouts.  When I return an hour later, he had thrown up in the toilet and was feeling better. No clean up or laundry or future symptoms for him, sweet.

Thursday night - Lily puts herself to bed saying she's sick and said, we believe, that she had "toys" in her mouth. ? During the night she wakes up wailing which is a frequent occurance, only she's not rambling incoherent jumble this time, but is telling us "I sick!"  Corey takes her to the bathroom, and she throws up on the way to the toilet, all over the bathroom counter and sink.  Tooth brushes and hair combs were safe in the drawer.  Still some clean up for me, but not carpet mess, so we're good.

Friday night - Wesley is feeling sick after dinner.  "You might throw up.  Here's a bucket."  He puts himself to bed.  Wakes up an hour later, throws up in his bucket, and goes back to bed.  I take bucket.  Sweet!

Saturday night - Abi is feeling sick and skips dinner.  She lays down on the couch with a big salad bowl and falls asleep.  Wakes up an hour later, throws up in her bowl, and falls back asleep after a few cheers of "Good job Abi!" from Corey and I.  Thought we were done after, but Lily came back for an encore presentation.  She had put herself to bed on Mel's bed and threw up all over Mel's comforter and over half of her (Lily's) big dog that she got for Christmas that Mel stores on her bed.  Mel's glad she hadn't gone to bed yet.  Laundry to do and I take Bunky Bunky (Lily's dog's name) and am scrubbing him down like what I think shampooing a horse would be like as he straddles the side of our tub.

Sunday - Ethan feels sick in the morning.  He stays home from church with me and the girls.  I tell him not to throw up on the carpet.  During the night he pukes in the toilet.  Good job Eth.  He stays home from school Monday.

Monday - Joseph goes to a birthday party and they go see the Harlem Globe Trotters.  He is feeling ill and fears what's coming - he doesn't want a shot of him puking to be broadcast on the jumbo screen.  He holds it in and ate way too much food for someone who is feeling ill - I give him a bucket and his 1st puke around midnight makes it in there, then he throws up again at 2 a.m in the sink.  It clogs the sink, obviously, and he comes and tells me.  I clean it up, NASTY, while he goes back to bed.  Don't throw up in the sink next time Joe.  He told me that once he threw up in the sink and I was glad.  "Well, sure, the sink was better than the carpet, so I was glad, but if you have the choice, throw up in the toilet instead of the sink, ok?"  Got it.  He stays home from school Tuesday but is feeling fine most of the day after getting food into him again.   Lily woke up crying when I was cleaning up Joe's gunk so I went and lay down in her room for a bit.  At 4:00 she wakes up saying "I gonna throw up!" and I go from sound sleep to making a football sprint and Lily touch-downs her barf right into the toilet, Score!  Good job Lily!!  The 3 year old showing the teenager how it's done.  She goes back to bed.  (Don't know why the bug is picking on poor little Lily, this is her third go at it, sheesh!)

Tuesday night - I'm jumpy after we go to bed and get up 3 times for random things thinking I hear someone about to puke.  To help calm my vomit nerves, I spread blankets on the floor around Lily's bed (just in case).  12:30 I hear a sloshing sloppy splat.  I think it came from Corey's side of the bed, like Lily came over there and threw up - I walk over, don't see anything.  Go lay in bed again.  10 seconds later another slopping wet slosh sound again followed by Sophia's cry.  She threw up on the big shag area rug in our room.  Only one drop of it got on the house carpet.  Luckily it was right on the edge of the rug ~ I take Sophi and clean her up, she falls right back to sleep, Corey helps me lift the carpet over to the tub where the puke was ever so conveniently placed right on the edge of the rug.  I get the OxyClean and USAdvantage and miraculously scrub red spaghetti barf out of the cream colored carpet.

SO!  That's been our Throw up Week.  The joys of motherhood.  It's all about perspective, and my perspective is that the carpets are still clean after spaghetti throw up and red vine licorice barf, so I am a happy camper, seeing as I've learned to function without sleep for the most part.  At breakfast this morning I told Melodie she's it for sure tonight.  She feels confident in her immune system and is determined to resist!  She said "Well, what about you and Dad?"  We'll, I've been touching the stuff all week, if I haven't thrown up yet I don't think it will get me.  But maybe the Barf Bug is just saving the toughest challenge for last, so we'll see, maybe it's my turn. I've been wanting to throw up every time I'm smelling their stuff, (Ugh - Joe's in the sink Monday night was the worst), so I don't think I'd mind.