Week of the Barf

The week of the barf began about 2:30 am on Monday morning. It went down hill from there. Bad dreams are one thing but having sickness spread from one family member to the next is not as fun as playing dominos. In spite of the barf, the triumph from the week is that my continuing education credits are DONE! (At least for 2 weeks until I get to do 20 more credits for 2010.)

Here is a detailed story of day one from L4’s perspective: “This morning around 2:30 am, we woke up to K2 screaming for his customary midnight meal. His cries weren’t getting any softer, so I stumbled my way to the boys’ bedroom. Upon opening the door, I was greeted by that smell which all parents dread- the pungent aroma of vomit. As I came to my senses, I was surprised to find Underfoot clutching my legs. I flipped on the light and saw that he (and his bed) were covered in dried goo. I picked up both boys and carried them down the hall, alerting Mama that now was the time to get up. She asked what was wrong... I told her... We did our best to get K2 fed and Underfoot cleaned. (I’ll let you figure out who took which role.)

After getting Underfoot cleaned up and into a new pair of pajamas, I foolishly set Underfoot on our bed while Mama and I surveyed the damage. A few moments later Mama asked me where I put Underfoot. On our bed, of course. At that instant I was rewarded with another round of vomit, only this time it was all over OUR bed. We got K2 back into his bed and Mama started to rock Underfoot. He erupted again while in her arms. She got him into the bathroom, but not quite far enough. At least it was the linoleum and not the carpet.

We then got down to the business of cleaning up the mess. We rinsed out his blankets and sheets in the shower and then started laundry. We vacuumed and cleaned the floor in the boys room so that at least K2 could sleep in peace. Underfoot vomited again so we decided to give him a shower. In the process of bathing him, I was rewarded with a warm sticky sensation down my back, just as I was finishing my shower. I cleaned him up again. Around 3:30 we decided that I wasn’t going to work today, so I sent an email to my boss letting him know my situation.

We made our bed up, we all (Mama, Underfoot, and I) got back into our bed, and we kept a bucket right next to Underfoot for the rest of the night. He didn’t have a fever, but whatever nastiness that haunted him caused him to vomit about every 15 minutes until around 8 am. Mama would hold Underfoot up so he could hit the bucket and I would fetch the rag to wash off his face. Underfoot begged for water several times. Each time we gave in to his request, he puked again. It was very difficult to tell him no.

Underfoot finally fell asleep around 8. He slept until 9:30. By that time K2 was awake and ready to start the day. I stayed home from work. Mama spent the day finishing her Continuing Education Credits required for her Counseling License. In the end, I went through two pairs of pajamas, Underfoot went through three, and Mama changed her shirt once. K2 came through the ordeal unscathed.”

So L4 thought that K2 was unscathed. As mentioned above, the illness spread like dominos. I was next then K2 and finally L4. L4 stayed home from work three out of five days this week.

Fortunately the sickness past before a Sunday School party on Friday night. L4 teaches the 13 year-olds at church. He has about 16 students. Eight came to our home for homemade ice cream and games. It was a lot of fun to listen to them banter with each other. Underfoot learned how to play “Duck, Duck, Goose” by observation and then by participation. K2 got a lot of attention too.

On Saturday, we felt the best of all and decided to get some UV rays and worked outside. Projects completed: lights replaced in the garden area, soil rotated in a garden box and then replanted with beans, peas, lettuce, and broccoli seed, debris from old plants cleaned up, turnips picked and preserved, and flowers transplanted, and weeds pulled. Underfoot and some neighbor children helped with the digging in the dirt.


K2 had a tooth break through and is not eating very much. He purses his lips together and refuses to eat at times.