The Fun Continues.....

Shortly after I posted last night's description of events, the drama continued, rather than subsiding. Micah was in bed, asleep, and Mark was dosing on the couch. Elijah had been playing with puzzles at the table while all the excitement worked itself out and was ready for bed himself.

As I took his hand and walked him to his bedroom, he said "My tummy hurts, Mommy." I honestly didn't know what to do. I had no way of knowing if he was legit or if he was just repeating what we had told him about Micah. It was one of those times as a mother that I was at a total loss. If he wasn't sick and I let him stay up, we would be waiting a very long time for something that wasn't going to happen. If I put him to bed and he was sick, then I was a horrible, unloving mother who wasn't listening to my son tell me he felt bad. So I sat with him for a few minutes and asked more questions, trying to deduce whether his tummy pain was actually in his tummy or in his head. I still couldn't tell, but I told him that although he was going to bed, if he needed me all he had to do is call me and I would come. I had him practice saying "Mommy, I need you" and he seemed to feel OK with that option.

Fast forward about an hour. I'm in the middle of watching a girl on American Idol claim she sounds JUST LIKE Mariah Carey (you and a thousand others, sweetheart), when I hear coughing and crying coming over the monitor. I ran in and saw my older son in a very similar situation as my younger son had been just hours earlier. Covered in sick. His sheets, his pillow, his comforter and his Pooh Bear. It was all very Deja Vu as Mark and I proceeded to clean up another child and his surroundings. Elijah was very distraught and didn't want anything to do with his bed for awhile, so I snuggled him on the couch and we watched the girl on American Idol prove that she sounds, in fact, NOTHING like Mariah Carey (surprise!) together.

Eventually he felt well enough to head to bed again, so we tucked him in, let him know we'd be available anytime he needed us, and kissed him good night.

That was the beginning of a night of sick. Over and over again, nearly every hour, on the hour, Elijah needed me. He soiled just about every blanket, towel, pillow and set of pajamas in the house. Poor guy was miserable . It finally stopped at about 5 in the morning, and since Mark stayed home from work, I slept from then until about 10:30 this morning. Elijah was up by 8. Go figure.

He went down for his nap this afternoon and has not woken up yet. We tried to rouse him, but he was having no part, so we let him sleep. Clearly he needs it. So does his Mommy. I'm not sure I'm going to be up much longer, either.