2 nights with Ralph

I feel like I've been transported back in time. I spent the last two nights up with sick kids. I am tired and I smell like puke. Just not beer and cigarette puke!

Poor kiddos, one by one they both got some weird stomach bug. I usually think this would be food poisoning, but it doesn't make sense to me, with the way it manifested. Wed. night Annika wakes me up at 1am and said she threw up in bed. She is covered in the lovely stuff and her PJs are also covered. So, quick strip the bed (funny thing is Lauren RAN to her room and shut the door; she does not want to even see the offending stuff!) throw the dirty smelly sheets in the laundry (nothing like doing laundry at 1am) and strip me and kiddo so we can wash her hair. I contemplated trying to help Annika shower without hopping in myself, but with her being tired and, well, just being Annika, I figured I'd probably be drier inside the shower than outside. Washing Annika's hair is not an easy job on a normal day, but when she is tired and cranky, it is not a pretty sight.

Finally, all showered and fresh, Annika and I are redress and hop into our (new mattress) bed. Scared that she is going to throw up again, I throw a towel down on the sheets and attempt to sleep. Not much luck; every time she moves I wake her up and ask her if she is feeling OK. Somewhere around 4am she got really mad at me and yelled, "NO! I am not going to be sick again!" Oops, guess I was hovering a bit ... but it was self-preserving hovering. My new and very expensive mattress does not need to reek of puke after only a few months!

Well, fast forward 24 hours, and suddenly it is groundhog day. Only this time Lauren is hovering over me, naked, telling me she threw up. Which is weird, because Lauren has only thrown up three times in her entire life. Up I get and strip the bed (and blankets for this one) and thankfully Bill was awake too and helped rinse the vomit off the sheets. Shower Lauren (I stayed dry this time) and put her back in bed. 15 mins. later I get an instant replay. Strip, rinse, remake bed. Lauren and I lay down in her bed together, convinced that we are almost through with this. Nice thought. The poor girls was up every 15-30mins. the rest of the night, until 9am, when our last visit with Ralph occurred.

So, today I have washed three beds - this includes covers, comforters, sheets, pillows, mattress covers, and in the case of the queen bed where Annika and Lauren were on Wed. night, one mattress scrubbed too. OK, that part is not so much like college. Just the raw eyes and smell of vomit.

The Glamorous life of a mom.....