Head down!!

I think that the true colors of a parent come out when their kids are sick. We have 2 1/2 sick kids.

In unrelated news, I don't think I'm meant to be a parent. 

We must have caught the back end (not literally) of a stomach bug. And the poor kids are paying for it. Let me take you back a day so you can fully appreciate our happenings as of late.

Two days ago I notice that Theodore's left leg is slightly swollen. Probably not noticeable to anyone else but it caught my attention. That same day he suddenly gets flush, like really really flush and hot so we give him ibuprofen and put him in bed, where he sleeps. Soundly.Then yesterday I notice that not only is his left leg still swollen but it has increased and now his left arm is also swollen significantly. On top of that, he had another incident where he suddenly turned super red all over and felt hot. So I took his temp, but it was normal. And on top of that, not only is his left arm swollen but it is intermittently getting really hot to the touch.Only his left arm. So now our concern has become clots. After many calls between the doctor, the husband, the PICU, and the  hospital we are headed into our local hospital to have a doppler study done of his blood vessels to make sure there are no clots. HUGE THANKS TO THE VASCULAR TECH WHO STAYED AND DID THE STUDY. Without you we would have had to go to Baltimore. 

So the results show a clot, right? Wrong. They show nothing. Not a thing. Everything looks clear. We should breathe a sigh of relief, right? Wrong. We are left wondering what is causing the left side of his body to swell and change temp. Also, if you will recall, when we were in the hospital in February he had a study for clots that came back negative and within 24 hours he had large slugs in 3 different veins. *shiver*

A husband home from work early, a rushed night, a stressful few hours, and an unforseen conclusion and the night is over. 

The good news is that Theodore's mood is normal. Happy happy happy. Today he has done well except he is still swollen and had a slight fever. He is also in need of his vent tonight which he hasn't needed in a month.

This brings us up to almost present time. And believe it or not, Theodore was the 1/2 kid I was talking about about earlier in this post when I referred to 2 1/2 sick kids. This could be a first. 

I'm gonna cut to the chase. We've had 2 kids puke tonight. We've dealt with puking before but todays was looooooooonnnnng and drawn out. It was a little "my stomach hurts" and "I think I have gas" and "I'm going to take a nap" all day long. Nothing drastic. Which, quite honestly, I prefer. It is much easier to handle in my opinion. Nothing drastic until I have 2 kids asleep on the bathroom floor because they both think they're going to puke any second. Neither do. No, they wait until they are getting into pajamas to puke on their floor. Or, with a bucket next to them, with a bucket mind you, they puke all down the side of their mattress. All after 9pm. And maybe that doesn't seem late to you, it's not really. But when you wake up at 5 am like my husband and had a night like our previous one, 9 pm might as well be midnight. 

And one of those little stinkers, at 11:30pm is still awake because being sick scares him, and I just know that I have a long night ahead of me. 

So, to you supermoms out there who just keep smiling while cleaning up puke, I salute you. I watch you from the other side of reality and realize that I will never be you. I will never enjoy having 2 1/2 kids sick, or losing sleep, or making apparently unnecessary runs to the ER. I will just be happy with not cursing in front of my children in these situations or not letting them hear me complain about them to my other half (or, lets be honest, anybody who is unfortunate enough to walk through the door at that moment). I am a questionable parent and I accept that. What's wrong with being questionable anyway?