Update

Just to clarify.....when I said, "Will said one of the young women had just called and announced that Claire had barf on her shoes and coat, so I went back inside, got Claire and all my "stuff" and headed back for the freezing van."......what I meant was that Claire realized some of Walter's barf was on her shoes and coat.

It just so happens she is the last child standing in this barf-off. Something in her amazing immune system is doing it's job and is refusing to get sick with the rest of them. On the other hand, Jane woke us up at 3am announcing she hadn't made it to the bathroom and had splattered in the hall. I handed her a burp rag and told her to wipe it up and go back to bed. I know, I know, I'm sure to win the mother-of-the-year award for that performance. An hour later she was back announcing it was her bed that got the shaft this time. I can't remember what my suggestion to her was, but she ended up sleeping at the other end of her bed with her feet curled up so as not to spread the puke around any more.

As of now, she's still moaning and groaning on the couch awaiting the return of her father who will hopefully bring the much needed Sprite her body and mind are craving. Everyone else has been eating normally and thankfully keeping it down. I think we're through the worst of it!

And OH!!!! I got to watch Survivor!!! All three hours of it. Let's just say, I LOVED it! Have you seen it yet? What do you think?

Murphy's Law

I should have known my day would be crazy when Walter woke up for a 4:30am nursing. Yes, he still nurses, but usually only in the morning before we all get out of bed. And maybe occasionally when he's super grumpy and tired or when we are in public and he starts squeezing my chest and asking for milk. Oh, that's a fun one. Ha, ha, ha! Yes, I'm being serious. Does that gross you out? I'm kind of a hippy. Didn't you know that?

Well, I was initially worried about him getting in bed with me so early, because I just knew it meant three hours of being kicked in the stomach while having my covers pulled off, but I was delighted to awake at 7:48 realizing I had actually overslept my alarm and needed to get going if I was to make it to choir practice on time.

Before I made it out the door, Henry announced he was sick and had a barf bucket next to him in bed (this happens sometimes when Hank doesn't want to participate in an activity. He can be such a faker), Kate was refusing to eat breakfast and was instead lying on the couch and William was ready to give up. I smiled sweetly and told him I'd see him at church where he could wrestle the kids in the pew while I sang in the choir. He seemed doubtful.

Three minutes into my drive he called and asked me to pick up the kids after choir practice and before church because Henry had indeed puked. Poor Hank had cried wolf too many times and hadn't gotten a drop of sympathy before I had left. I groaned audibly into the phone and told William I'd be there.

I saved a row in the back of the chapel and asked a couple young women to sit with my four children while I sang in the choir. I dashed out the door and called William on my way home to make sure everyone was ready to go, so we wouldn't be late. Jane answered the phone and announced that Kate had MADE herself barf and didn't have to go to church now. I asked William to keep Walter home so I wouldn't risk him barfing in nursery and being on everyone's bad list. He said Walter was just fine, had eaten a full breakfast and was playing with blocks. If I didn't feel comfortable putting him in nursery, I could just keep him with me the whole time. I could tell he wasn't up to the challenge of keeping him home while I enjoyed three hours of church so I said to get him buckled up because I was almost there. He said he'd do it, but that we'd have to jump-start the van because someone had left the interior lights on all night and it was dead. This is when I began to see the humor in the day and decided if Murphy was coming to visit, I might as well enjoy it.

We got the van started with the battery powered charger which William took back into the house to re-charge...even though I suggested we take it with us....just in case. Then off to church we sped, arriving only five minutes late. Thankfully, our pew was still empty and we were able to slide in without making a scene.

When it was time for the choir to sing, the two young women came back to help out while I went up to sing. Our first song was swell with everyone coming in at the appropriate times and cutting off together. I settled down into my choir seat ready to enjoy an uplifting sacrament meeting full of Christmas cheer. I couldn't hear any of my children yelling from the back and decided all was well. That's when a good friend poked he head in the back door and motioned for me to come out. Really? ME? WHY???? Up I stood in the middle of the first talk, feeling like a primary kid who forgot to use the restroom before the meeting, and with a smile on my face trying to pretend that all was well, went to see what the problem was. Turns out, the choirs first song didn't agree with Walter so much and he lost his breakfast all over Jane's skirt and the floor. This was too funny. Jane had a friend's baby blanket wrapped around her legs and her skirt was being rinsed out in the bathroom sink. You can't make stuff like this up. I took Jane and Wally to the van thinking I'd take Walter home to William and let Jane change her skirt. We could still make it back in time for the closing song and enjoy the rest of the meetings. Ha, ha, ha! I forgot Murphy was with us. You guessed it, the van wouldn't start....or go into neutral so I cold back it up to be jump-started AND everyone was in sacrament meeting the Christmas program. Could I discretely find the owner of the van next to us and have him jump-start my van? I called William and said "I told you so" and then asked him to bring the battery operated charger so I could start the car up again. I called him back two seconds later and told him I'd get his dad to come because he didn't have two sick children under the age of seven at home to worry about. Will said one of the young women had just called and announced that Claire had barf on her shoes and coat, so I went back inside, got Claire and all my "stuff" and headed back for the freezing van. Mind you, it was about 30 degrees or so outside and the heater didn't work with the battery dead so the kids were all shivering now.

Papa showed up with his winter gear on and charged our battery with his nifty battery-operated charger. I guess our battery was completely out of juice, because it only gave it enough power to put the car in neutral so we could back it up and charge it with his car battery. We had to let it sit for a whole five minutes with his car running before it would even turn over. The kiddos waited in his car with the heater running so no one sustained any frostbite. By the time sacrament meeting was over we were heading out of the parking lot. I'm so grateful for my sweet father-in-law who so willingly ventured out on a freezing morning to rescue us...and the whole time we was humming a tune with a smile on his face. Thankfully we made it home without incident. Once we got in the driveway Walter showed signs of barfing again so I got a blanket in front of his face before he spewed all over the van. Too bad it got on my nice new coat, but that can be dry cleaned tomorrow.

Walter went straight into the shower. The clothes, blanket and carseat cover went straight into the wash. Then our three little sickies laid around while I discovered that Aunt Flo had arrived for an early visit. Good thing I came home from church early! Wally fell asleep on the couch all bundled up in his blankies. I got caught up on blogging friends while Hank and Kate breathed their stinky breath in my face. After a while Hank went running out to the living room and I could hear him using his barf bucket appropriately. Jane, always the good sister went to check on him and reported that Walter had just woken up and was barfing too. Yippee! More barfy blankets and clothes to wash. I even got to get out my upholstery cleaner and use it on the cushion. When everyone has been barf-free for a couple hours, I'll start doling out the popsicles.

Such a fun day. Kate and Wally are peacefully sleeping, William went to the other ward's sacrament meeting for his spiritual enlightenment and Christmas cheer and I'm blogging. I truly do find humor in a day with so much craziness. I promise, I'm still smiling!

The good news is everyone should be healthy for Christmas if we get this out of our system now!

A Week Off For William.... Staycation!!!

At 9:00 this evening I found myself still in my nightgown sitting on a stool in the kitchen so I wouldn't be visible from the living room eating Jello with strawberries and non dairy whipped topping. If it's non dairy, what is it? For some reason it makes me think of petroleum jelly and yet I still eat it. Why am I still in my pajamas and why am I hiding from the kids? What, have you never hidden from your kids just to eat a little treat without being questioned about it or asked to share? Well, tonight I was there... I needed a little alone time after 48 hours of house arrest...imposed on me by three children with fevers....and one of them is a barfer. Yuck, I know. It' been a busy week and I guess it all caught up with us.

Last Saturday we had big plans to go to Party in the Park! We were so excited to jump on the inflatables, listen to the awesome band, dance a bit, eat lots of food, when tons of prizes and see all our friends. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the park and realized it was not THE Party in the Park....just A Party in the Park. Does that make sense? It turns out a new church in town was sponsoring this fun little event and thought it was the city wide get together. We made the most of it anyway. The people were nice, the inflatables were bouncy and it was still all free!


They got the kids all excited for the puppet show and then when we got inside with the other 5 people in attendance we danced to the 10 Commandment Boogie, played dress up and Claire even mouthed the words to the Scooby Doo theme song for a special prize. Check out the yellow shirt above which she won and then decided to give away. Well, truthfully I gave it away for her saying it was too small after she said she didn't really think she would ever wear it. I scooted the kids back outside and onto the firetruck and then loaded them all up in the van. They were pretty disappointed that they'd done their Saturday chores for THAT so I took them all to the dollar movies where we enjoyed Nim's Island. I enjoyed the outing except for the part when Kate took off like a girl on a mission through the crowded lobby and disappeared in a sea of legs. OK maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but the thought did cross my mind that I probably just lost my 2 year old and would never find her again. I put my detective mind to work and headed straight for the game room where I found her practicing her moves on Dance Dance Revolution. Yes, she got a spanking right then and there. Too bad I had put her in a pull-up for the movie and my swat made a really loud noise which caused everyone to turn their heads while all she felt was a little pat. I marched her back to the theater, got the rest of the clan and headed straight for the van where I could buckle her in and not worry about losing her for the next 30 minutes during the car ride home.

Monday, William flew the plane to Kansas, left it there for maintenance and drove the five hours home because it wouldn't be ready for pick-up until Saturday! What to do with actual time off??? We thought about driving to Nauvoo for the pageant but then remembered we have a 4 1/2 month old who doesn't like traveling in the car too much. We settled on a STAYCATION!

Picture William singing this,

"Staycation, I don't wanna go away!
Staycation, take me on a holiday!"

It's been stuck in my head all week. :)

Tuesday we went on a family walk and ate watermelon at Grandma B's and Papa's.

Wednesday we got a babysitter for Kate and Hank and took the rest of the family to the Springfield Cardinal's Game.


Thursday, we loaded the van to it's weight limit and went camping at Stockton Lake. B, Papa, Diane, Sam, Tyler, Ronnie, Ross, Julie, Grace, Mary, Nolan and Maggie joined us for the evening. Ross and Julie brought their boat and we all had a wild ride on the inner tube...except Walter and Kate. While William and I held on for dear life and I screamed my lungs out, Ross smiled and laughed and pushed the throttle a little farther. Each time we hit the wake and bounced around like rag dolls I thought I just might die and leave poor baby Walter motherless. Who would raise my children if I was gone? Then William had the brilliant idea to let go when he slowed down to make the next turn and just like that our wild ride ended. Somehow I managed to drag my limp body into the boat and as I sat there with weak shaking arms and almost dislocated shoulders I realized I was so sad Ross and Julie are moving. Who will scare me to death and make me scream for my life if Ross isn't here to drive the boat? Who else thinks it's fun to watch someone cling to the tube and beg for mercy? I have to admit, I kind of like being scared. It's thrilling and that's why I get back on that tube every single time.


At sunset we had to put the boat away so we roasted hot dogs, ate watermelon and watched the kids throw mud and rocks into the lake. Everyone left us around 9:30 and then we enjoyed some peaceful time around the campfire. Who am I kidding? We have five kids. When everyone left I put Walter down in the tent and then tried to sit by the fire. It was so hot outside though that I had to scoot back about 15 feet just to enjoy the flame. The kids started begging to go to bed because it was so exciting to be sleeping in a tent. There was no way I was letting any of them near the tent until I was positive they would got right to sleep because I didn't want dear Wally waking up prematurely. We laid in the road and gazed at the stars, we listed to the LOUD sound of the bugs in the trees and finally settled everyone into bed around 11:30. Camping in Missouri is HOT so Will and I went for a midnight dip in the lake to cool down and then slept on top of blankets with a sheet to cover up with. All night, I was sliding down my slick foam mattress and then scooting back up. I'm pretty sure there was a ravine under me and when daylight came I realized the bugs were finally quiet but the birds were singing. Jane woke everyone in the tent up by trying to fold her sheet at 5:28am!!!! Thwap, thwap, thwap! She kept snapping her sheet trying to get it straightened out. I don't recall exactly what I said but I got her to lay back down. Just as I was drifting back to sleep I heard it again, thwap, thwap, THWAP!!! Kate sat up with a grumpy face, Hank rolled over and groaned, Claire whined something and Walter stirred. GRRRRRR! I think that was me growling. I sent Jane out of the tent but it was no use. Everyone was up and as the last child made their way out of the tent Walter's eyes popped open. Good Morning!!! We made the best of it by eating breakfast, swimming in the lake and packing up.

We drove over to a popular jumping spot called Chicken Rock. Usually it is VERY far out of the water but because we've gotten 44 inches of rain this year (it's only July) and we usually get 44 inches of rain for the WHOLE year it was the perfect spot for the kids to test their bravery. Claire and Jane must have jumped 50 times. Hank started off low and worked his way to the top, jumping three times before he smacked his face and decided to call it quits. Kate stayed on the low ledge, thank goodness and Walter hung out in his car seat while I jumped and then sat in my lap while I snapped photos. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or if I just jumped wrong, but I somehow managed to irritate my ear. I've been on ibuprofen since I got home because the pain is really annoying. Hopefully it will just heal itself.


By 3:00 or so everyone was tuckered out so we loaded up once again and drove home. We all zonked in the car and then I even got a small nap in at home before we headed to the Rodeo put on by our two wards. The kids enjoyed the sack races, greased pig catching, eating watermelon and watching Dad and Mom in the tug-of-war.

We made it home around 8:45, got everyone bathed and bedded and then Will and I enjoyed a movie together while eating popcorn, apples and cheese my favorite! Have you seen The Golden Compass? I thought it was a pretty intriguing movie but I've read some pretty disturbing things about the author of the book and the whole scheme behind the movie. I love snopes.com for my little background investigations.

Well, the rest is history....shortly after the movie ended, Walter woke up with a 101.9 degree fever, Jane started complaining her head hurt by mid morning and Hank followed shortly after. Jane's been the only one with the barfies thankfully, but I've been stuck in my house for 48 hours, in my pajamas....because what is the point of getting dressed and now that Hank is feeling better he's dressing up in girly clothes. Is it possible the fever damaged his brain? I'm pretty sure I just read it only does that if it goes above 107. There's been a lot of sleeping, tylenol and craziness going around here. William got to go pick up the airplane in Kansas yesterday and enjoy church childless today while I listened to funny comments like these....


Mom = Marie=Me :)

Mom: Hank you better finish that yogurt drink.
Hank: But I'm not hungry.
Mom: Maybe Kate will eat for you. (This was before I realized Hank was sick)
Hank: Kate, I'll let you be boss of the house if you drink my yogurt drink.
Kate: OK Hank! Thanks! I get to be boss of the house! (guzzle, guzzle, guzzle)
Hank: I made a good rule, didn't I Mom?

***I do have a friend who asked me once if I've ever actually seen starving children because I hate seeing food be wasted so much. Is this something my parents instilled in me?

Mom: Don't you dare throw up on my carpet!
Jane crawls to the edge of the carpet and barfs on the hard wood floor.
Yes, I got a towel and helped the poor child.

After making a disgusting drink concoction for the kids....
Mom: Do you like it Claire?
Claire: Yes, I just don't like looking at it. It tastes a lot better than it looks.
(I sure didn't think so but I gagged it down with a straw anyway because as I previously stated I hate wasting food.)

Tomorrow is a new day and I hope, oh I hope everyone is healthy and well when the sun rises.

Blurkers and Barfers

First of all, I'd like to give a shout out to my new blurkers from Missouri. Welcome to Republic, Springfield, Mount Vernon, Halltown, Sarcoxie and Miller! Woo HOO! If I missed any of you I apologize. If I named you, then leave a comment...please? Oh, I sound so pathetic. I promise I do have friends.

Last night was a repeat of the night before only to a lesser degree and with a new child. Sorry no pictures. I'm washing my hands constantly and touching as few things as possible. Clorox wipes and a bottle of watered down bleach are my new best friends.

Hank was the latest victim of the 24 hour bug and was so sweet about it. After his 3 am bath I tucked him back into a newly made bed with towels and a barf bucket. He insisted he didn't need any of it because he "didn't have no more fro-up Mom". I told him to keep it just in case.

I awoke pleasantly this morning to find he was true to his word. And...even though I made him keep the bucket close by all morning, he never had to use it. Hooray! It was probably because he had seen his sister puke in it the day before and thought that it was too germy to get close to. He kept telling me "ew, it tinky Mommy," but I assured him I had washed it with soap and hot water.

Today was a barf-free day, although I did have to clean up a peed-on couch, spilled apple juice, rice squares cereal crumbs and do a few loads of laundry. I'm really crossing my fingers that we are in the clear now. I'm a bit worried though, because this evening I got a good two hour nap and we all know what happened last time I napped. I am doing all I can to stay healthy and well. I'm staying away from sugar, treats, and all candy (gasp)....eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and keeping up on the liquids. I hope to get away from all this sicky blogging soon!

For heaven's sakes I've got a life to live and things planned on the calendar. AND, I've got a budget to stick to which is difficult when you're buying extra Sudafed, Mucinex, EmergenC and DanActive's to help your dead-as-a-dog husband recover from the influenza. Oh, didn't I mention it before? William has been down and out since Monday night when he arrived home from his 5-day trip. UGHHH!

P.S. If I get to choose which sickness I contract from my family then I'll go with the 24 hour bug. I'd rather throw up a few times than have the aches and chills for days on end. Have I completely grossed you out? I wonder if all this ralph-talk will change the rating on my blog?

C'mon, aren't we all moms here?