not so good with puke…

Alright, so enough with the serious stuff –  Here’s what they are teaching me today…

I had a fun lunch with friends and their kids and then decided that as long as I had four kids in the car I ought to run a couple errands. First stop was back home to write a check so I could pick up the fundraiser pizzas that my husband sold for our pre-school. I put an educational video into the dvd player in the car and ran into the house to get the checkbook. As I was running back out I almost tripped over Anna Mae.

 

Before I could ask her what she was doing out of the car I noticed that she looked a bit green. She was talking in her normal sassy, 4 year old going on 12 year old voice while she explained that she had a tummy ach and if I’d give her a minute she would just go throw-up and then she’d be ready to get back into the car.

 

With total disbelief I rolled my eyes and told her to go throw-up, but to hurry it up. She had been fine all day and I had not clue of any illness setting in. However, I changed my tune when she walked calmly into the bathroom, held her own hair back, and puked from here to Tuesday!

 

I decide we had better unload the car and re-evaluate.

 

I put Anna Mae on the big couch, turned on PBS, and fed Grace. At 4pm, with no fever, constant chit-chat , and no further puke, I decided we had better get back into the car to get those pizzas. Anna seemed fine. We reloaded and it all went fine until I decided to press my luck and go pick up Cole’s new violin

 

I got everyone out of the car at the violin shop and herded them into the store where the sales man was dealing with someone else. Being a responsible parent I gave each child  a glare to let them know that we were going to wait patiently and not make a huge spectacle of ourselves. When I got to Anna Mae I noticed that she again looked just a bit green.

 

Sure enough two seconds later she grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the bathrooms. I shouted for Cole to watch the baby and Truman and when I arrived with Anna at the bathrooms I politely knocked on the door. Anna rudely opened the door much to the surprise of a young woman who was snapping her jeans. “Oh,” I said, “Ahhh, well, when your done my daughter just needs to throw-up.”  In the short time it took me to say that much, Anna started to lose it again. Taking my cue to be polite she muttered, “excuse me,” as she re-opened the door walked up to the toilet and finished puking. I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry, but as she washed her hands around this now frazzled teenager, she announced, with patience,  that I should go get the violin, so she could go home and back to her couch.

 

Once home, I did get her settled back in with her favorite Tupperware bowl, favorite blanket, and favorite cup. Anna decided to nap until her dad came home. He walked into the family room alarmed to find Anna sitting on the couch again puking. “Theresa, are you going to help her, she’s puking again,” he called to me.

 

 “Nope,” I answer, very aware of his disapproving expression, “Anna can handle it and she will let me know what she needs when she is done.”  

“What?” he asked trying to understand.

 

But before I could say anymore Anna answered, “I’m find Dad. Mom just needs to bring me a clean wash cloth so I can wipe my face off and it would be nice if you would put in Cinderella. That’s what I like to watch when I am sick. And could I have a cup of water?” And finally, “don’t worry about Mom, she’s good at being a Mom, but not so good with puke…”

 

I think Tim stopped listening…