Chronicles of Poo

Don't read this if you don't appreciate a healthy discussion about bodily fluids being expelled from the body, from both ends. I'd like to record this for my sake and am not making anyone read it. This week started out with an overly whelming list of things to do. For starters, instead of working one day at my client, I had committed to three. I am working on some very large projects and they need extra help so temporarily, I agreed to a few more days. On Tuesday, I got a call from my mom that Hazel threw up. My mom said I didn't need to come home so I stayed at work. Later on, she threw up and had diarrhea in my mom's car. I know no one needs to know the details, but for posterity, I hope everyone never wonders about the kind of person my mother was. I took the kids home and did our usual. Hazel wasn't feeling great, but seemed to be better. That night, I felt like I should go check on her around 9:00pm and she was in the middle of throwing up all over. We caught the last few drops in the bucket I left with her in bed. I changed the bedding, cleaned her up and got her back to bed. Wednesday I cancelled on my client. Even if Hazel was better, I wanted to hold her while she wasn't feeling great. Hazel was very weak, but we had no diarrhea and no puke. Thursday morning, was even better and we went to the park. Thursday afternoon, Hazel woke up after sleeping for about 30 minutes. I went in to discover the grossest thing I have experienced as a mother. Even with a pull-up on, there was poo all over her clothes, on the sheet, on the mattress pad (thank goodness I have the mattress in a plastic cover!), on the plastic of the mattress, down the slats of the crib, onto the metal grid that the mattress rests on and onto the carpet. Not in one spot, but two. I cleaned her up, rinsed the the bedding off, threw everything in the wash with lots of bleach, sprayed Lysol all over her room and wiped down her entire crib with a disinfectant wipe. Once I got that done, I baked a cake for a stake Relief Society meeting. It wasn't going to win best of show, but at least it tasted good. After dropping it off, I came home and made pizza for dinner. It turned out really good! I used Peter Reinhart's recipe for the dough and the sauce. Hazel asked to go poo-poo about 8 times in a 15 minute period and went every time. It wore me out picking her up, lifting her on the toilet, holding her on the toilet, taking her off, washing our hands and putting her back in her chair to eat. The second I sat down she'd say, "Momma, need to go poo-poo." So we'd repeat. Over and over and over. I was so wiped out by the time I put everyone to bed (of course Jason had softball games so he was gone when all this happened). That night was uneventful, but I had to go to work the next day so Jason took the day off. So here we are on Saturday. Hazel is slowly getting better and the consistency of her poo has improved. She is eating and drinking and is back to being a bit feisty.

Needless to say, I dropped the ball on a lot of my clients this week. I'm usually good at multi-tasking. However, when my kids get really sick, it's like I focus on only one single thing: taking care of the sick child. Nothing matters as much as that. When I was really stressed Tuesday night, I decided to read old blog posts and see what March of 2012 was like. And guess what? On a day I was supposed to go to work, Clara spiked a high fever (for the first time in a year). I had to cancel on the people I was working with and I was really stressed. The thought quickly came to me: it all worked out then and everything was fine, and it will be the same this time around. After all, I can only do my best. It's interesting to me how quickly and easily nothing else matters when my kids are sick. That is my number one priority and it doesn't matter what else I have to sacrifice. My mothering mode kicks into overdrive and my focus narrows completely. Life seems to be still and simple in our home as I take care of basic needs while the world continues to swirl around with chaos around us. It was also comforting to be reminded that I went through a similar thing a year ago and everything turned out in the end. Sick kids are no fun, especially on a holiday weekend. We've had to miss so many fun things because of this. Jason and I have been trying to tag team so Clara can at least enjoy herself. I wish we could make memories as a family, but it has been good for Jason and I both to get lots of individual time with each child. Last night Clara and I went to dye Easter eggs while Jason stayed with Hazel. This morning a friend took Clara to an Easter breakfast because Jason was gone golfing. Jason took Clara to Dan's 30th birthday party while I stayed with Hazel. Tonight I think I'm going to take Clara to the Easter pageant while Jason stays with Hazel. It's not ideal. And I have lots to do (although I do have to admit having to stay home with Hazel took a lot off my plate). But, I have felt so grateful for so many things since this all started. My mom. The flexibility of my job. The flexibility of Jason's job. Bleach. Disinfecting wipes. Lysol. Weather cool enough to air out the house. Feeling okay about being a slacker at work and feeling at peace that I was doing the right thing and not second guessing my decision to cancel on my client and underperform. Washing machines. Being able to let Clara enjoy so many festivities. Getting to be the one to wait on Hazel hand and foot (even if I did just about lose it Thursday night after she asked me for the 8th or 10th time to go poo while I was trying to eat my dinner!). That Hazel is potty-trained and other than the crib episode, all other poo has gone in the toilet where it belongs. Prayer. And life. Life people! I don't think it's a coincidence that things like this happen so often when I am maxed out with work. It's always a good reminder of what is really most important in life and that it's okay to slow down every now and then. Plus, it's just the stomach flu. I will gladly take that if it means I get to stay on earth with my family.