A Week from HELL

This past Monday, I was awaken around 7am by Abby climbing into my bed for a cuddle as usual. Sammy then appeared at the door but did not join us for some giggles before I normally kick them out to go downstairs for breakfast. Sammy kept whining that she wanted to change her clothes. I kept telling her that she can go do it herself or she can wait for five more minutes until I get out of bed (I'm a little lazy in the morning). Well, apparently I wasn't giving her the attention she wanted so she vomited right then and there on my bedroom carpet. Well, that got my attention! I leaped out of bed to help her. She didn't have much in her stomache at that time of the morning so it wasn't much of a mess. However, she proceeded to vomit about fourty-five minutes later and then every twenty minutes to half hour after that for almost the next thirty-six hours! She also had a bad case of diarrhea. We had hardly a wink of sleep on Monday night as she slept on the floor next to our bed and vomited threw the night. The next morning I started to worry thinking that this thing had now taken its course for twenty-four hours and should have then gone away. However, she was just as bad the next morning. I called the doctor and they told me to give it some more time.

By 6pm that night, I started to really worry and did not know how I would make it through the night without getting some peace of mind that she was ok since she had not gotten any better. I took her to an urgent care clinic down the road after eating dinner. The doctor there took one look at her and panicked. She was severely dehydrated. He ordered me to take her to the emergency room immediately! Her eyes had sunken into her head with dark circles around them. Her normally plump, chubby little cheeks were sunken in and all her coloring was gone. She did not look at all like my Sammy. I freaked out and while driving her to the hospital was crying. She asked me why I was so sad. Hmmm... not quite sure how to answer that one. I couldn't believe she had gotten so bad. I was quite relieved in a way though that they were sending me to the emergency room too because I knew she would get help and get better.

When we arrived, they immediately hooked her up to an IV and gave her some Zofran (medicine to stop the nausea so she would no longer vomit). She kept asking if the doctor had drinks. She was so thirsty but was previously holding nothing down (not even the smallest ice chips). She lay there as limp as she had been all day. It killed me to look at her. I stayed with her in the emergency room until 1:30am when they finally got us a room. I was sleeping on a tiny bench there that was only long enough for me to lie on my side in the fetal position so I was very grateful to finally move to a room with a little pull-out bed. Sammy slept all night that night. I slept sporadically. She woke up the next morning and was still quite lethargic but looking much more like herself which was a great relief.

We stayed all day in the hospital trying to get Sammy to take in some liquid. They wanted her to be taking a certain amount of liquid on her own and she wasn't. I tried everything to get her to drink. Drink cups, cans, glasses and straws filled her little table. She would cry every now and then wanting to go home and wanting the IV out of her arm. Things turned around a bit when Daddy showed up with little pal, Abby. Abby brought Sammy her "hee hee" (which is what Sammy calls her favorite blanket because everytime I would give it to her when she was little she would laugh - hee hee - because she was so happy to have it). Daddy and Abby also brought Sammy's favorite show "Mary Poppins" as well as her Lilly doll and some books. Daddy and Abby stayed and played for the afternoon and evening. We took walks with little Sammy and her IV pole down the hall and on trips to steal crackers from the nurses' station. It was so cute to watch this little body in her tiny hospital gown and long, blonde, vomit-encrusted hair walking around with her IV pole (or spider as she called it since it had many legs). However, it looked like they were going to keep us another night. So much to Abby's dismay, Charles and she went home. I would have made Charles stay the second night but there was no way he was going to fit on the tiny fold-out bed they had (length-wise or width-wise). Reluctantly, I agreed to stay but then again, I don't know how I could have been able to bare leaving my little Sammy anyway.

After they left, I put on Mary Poppins which immediately brought Sammy to life. She started jumping up on every song (like she does at home) and be-bopping around to the music. Dancing with her IV pole, is how the doctor saw her when she arrived to check on her one last time for the night. She was FINALLY drinking more (after I told the nurse I was ready to dump all the juice in her IV bag) and feeling better. The doctor agreed to let us go home at 10pm.

We brought her home and she slept through the night without a peep. Thursday, she was extremely exhausted and slept most of the day. She vomited three times. She seems to be on the mend but it is still a bit worrying. Hopefully she will kick this terrible virus in the next day or two and be back to herself dancing to "a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down..." maybe Mary Poppins' remedy is all she needed all along...

Adventures in Babysitting

This past Friday we were privileged to celebrate a friend's birthday with boat-loads of sushi and great conversation. However, having such a dinner in peace would require a babysitter. Not a problem, we have gotten many babysitters here and have been happy with them all. I asked Abby who her top pick was and called her. She was not available, nor was her second or third pick. Upon being rejected by Abby's third pick, the mother (of third pick) suggested the girl's older sister for the job. "Great," I responded and the deal was done. The babysitter would be caring for three children because our birthday friend was also going to leave her child (son who is two years old) with the babysitter while we were away.



Friday night came and I picked up the babysitter (we'll call her "C" for identification purposes). As I brought C into the house, a frozen pizza was going in the oven for the children to eat. C upon seeing the pizza declared that she could just order a pizza. I was a little confused and said that the pizza had just gone in the oven for the children but if she didn't want any, she could order herself a pizza or have anything else she'd like in the house. C replied that she would order the pizza in case the children wanted more to eat. Hmmm.... I don't know about other two and four year olds but mine only eat about a slice (if that) each. Therefore, the frozen pizza that was now in the oven baking was MORE than enough. Whatever! Before leaving we gave the babysitter the simplest of instructions: Put all the children in their pajamas around 7pm and put my two girls in their beds by eight o'clock. Then lie down with the two year old boy until he too falls asleep on the couch. After that, we left.



After a truly indulgent meal of gobbs of sushi, seaweed salad, miso soup, gyoza, edamame, vegetable tempura, sashimi and specialty rolls, all by the boat-load, we returned home. I was floating on a cloud I was in such heaven after such glorious food! I walk in the door to find Abby and our friend's two year old boy on the couch asleep in front of the t.v. showing Nemo. Ok I thought, perhaps Abby fell asleep early. Upon closer inspection, I realize she is not in her pajamas but still in her clothes. Hmmmm.... not too thrilled about that but I can deal with it. As I go further into the house, I see every child cup and plate we own on the counter as well as rags, crackers, cookies, juice and who knows what else. A complete mess! I hear talking upstairs and immediately go up to Sammy's room to find the babysitter reading her stories and Sammy intently listening and not asleep at 10pm! I return back downstairs with C and Sammy. C declares that she was "forced" to order pizza since she dropped the frozen one when she took it out of the oven. Upon entering the kitchen, I see for myself that yes indeed she dropped the pizza as I almost slip on the grease still slopped all over the floor as well as pizza crumbs, bits of sauce and crust, cookies, crackers and who knows what else. I then see the kitchen towel that she must have used to mop up the whole thing covered with red sauce and cheese lying in a crumpled mess along with all the other garbage on the counter.



I usher C out the door and take her home quickly so I can return and see what other damage has been done. My birthday friend finds her two year old son on the couch also still in his clothes with the worst diaper mess all over him evening going up his back. He was sleeping comfortably in this disgusting mess. It looks like C never managed to change his diaper or his clothes.



Our friends leave and Charles and I spend the next hour sweeping and mopping the entire kitchen and dining area floor. Charles declares that we can no longer even call her sister (the good babysitter) to babysit for fear that if she can't do it again, they will recommend C. That's ok. We have plenty of others to try. The children were not in any danger and probably had a great time running around like wild indians licking up scraps from the floor and munching on this or that. I guess I just expect my babysitters to at least follow ONE thing I ask of them and not to come home to a house in complete disarray. It makes me miss the Brazilians we used to have babysit in London. Not only would they babysit but they cleaned your house for you as well....those were the days....

The End of an Era

Call me a nerd, call me a sci-fi geek, I don't care. I just want to inform everyone that I am officially in deep depression and withdrawal because my favorite show of all time, BattleStar Galactica has now ended after four wonderful years. My life no longer has meaning....

I'm an IDIOT!

Yesterday, I had the brilliant idea to have a little manicure/pedicure party with Abby and Sammy since the weather has been so nice. I have been very eager to go out and get a pedicure done of my own but since that has not happened yet, I decided to endulge the girls. We got out all of our fingernail polish and they each got to choose which colors they wanted on their toes and their fingernails. I then decided we should paint our nails in the only room in the house with white carpet! Smart. We got all set up and even used the lid of a storage bin to place their hands and feet on while painting them. However, at the same time I was placing the open jar of nail polish on the white carpet. (What was I thinking you ask? I wasn't.) As I am sure you have guessed by now, the fingernail polish tipped over onto the carpet. It wasn't a light pink color but instead a nice, dark blood red. Aaaaaaagh! I started to rub it with nail polish remover but that just made the spot bigger. When Charles got home, Abby immediately told on me. He just rolled his eyes and said nothing... Does anyone know how to get nail polish out of carpet???

It's a Miracle!

Woo hoo! Praise the day, it's a miracle! Shout out "hallelujah" from the roof top! Our vacuum cleaner broke....finally! Thank heaven!

When we moved to Chicago and into our new house, we had nothing. We left all of our belongings minus clothes, books and toys in London. We had no appliances and no furniture. Some kind people in our neighborhood had pity on us and gave us a few items since they were moving. One was our kitchen table which we were very grateful for because for several weeks it was the ONLY place we had to sit in our entire house besides on our beds and without it, we would have had no where to eat. Besides the table, these people also gave us a lamp, some blankets AND a vacuum cleaner. My heart sank when I saw the vacuum cleaner. I had just spent the last six weeks eye-ing which shiny, new vacuum cleaner with all the fancy gadgets attached that I wanted at every store we went into. (ok, I know I am pathetic but this is my life!) I knew when we got this vacuum that my NEW vacuum cleaner would then be bumped to the bottom of the list of needed items. I don't mean to sound ungrateful but this vacuum is old. It has no attachments and is heavier than anything. It can't get those hard to reach places. It is so difficult to clean the stairs and is monsterous to push around. I have been quite rough with it in hopes that it would break. No luck!

However, today my luck changed and I wasn't even trying to destroy it. I was simply just vacuuming because I am expecting a house full of people this afternoon and simply wanted to clean the carpets. Halfway through the job, the vacuum suddenly sounded different and I noticed the roller on the bottom was no longer turning.

I called Charles in delight and announced the death of our vacuum. He then asked if it happened after I dropped it out the second story window "accidentally" a half dozen times? To which I responded, hmmm I didn't think of that.... Then he wondered if I had "accidentally" run over it seventeen times; another trick I could have tried months ago and didn't think of - darn! He then threatened me that he would research the repair of vacuum cleaners online all day and would be sure to fix it when he gets home OR he would ask our handy neighbor to give it a try.
NOOOOOO! I screamed! ....Now to get rid of that vacuum once and for all. It has caused me enough pain. Where can I dump and abandon this thing so no one will be able to resurrect it? Maybe I will bury it in the backyard in a shallow grave, no a deep one, then I will pour cement over it and seal the deal... Die vacuum, die!

I can't believe I am not even upset that my carpets will not be clean for our guests today. I am too busy laughing and digging. Any suggestions on which NEW vacuum I should purchase this weekend?

Snack Person

Abby goes to afernoon preschool here in Chicago. Each month the children have a day where they are “snack person.” When you are this special person, you get to sit in a bean bag chair for circle time, you get to bring and help pass out cups, napkins and snacks to the other children and you get to be the first person in line. You also get to bring a "show ‘n tell." This has become an increasingly bigger deal to Abby each month. In fact, she asks me all month long, everytime I take her to school when she is going to be "snack person."

Today she is "snack person" and you would think it was Christmas! She could not sleep last night at all. We never have trouble with her getting out of bed anymore after we tuck her in. But last night, she was too excited. She got out of bed multiple times. The only way I could get her to stay in bed was to have her sleep with Paddington Bear (her "show ‘n tell") and to tell him all about being snack person.

This morning she woke up at 7am. She came in and snuggled with me but could not stop talking and did not go back to sleep like she normally does. She was out of my bed within minutes and getting ready for school. Her school doesn’t start until 12:45. She was frantically trying to find her backpack to put her "show ‘n tell" in as well as all of her snacks. Her frustration that they would not all fit in her backpack finally motivated me to get out of bed. She decided to wear her newest and best dress and was ready for school as of 7:30am. She then kept wondering how she was going to carry her snacks and Paddington in her backpack when they just did not fit. I just gave in and helped her put Paddington into her backpack and then got a “special” bag for her to pack her snacks, napkins, cups and juice in. She is now all set and keeps asking how long until school starts.....four hours and forty-five minutes....