Quarantine

All three kids were home sick yesterday. Deanna and Dane had stomach bugs, Daelyn is running a low-grade fever - possibly strept.

It's amazing how small a normally large home can get when three children are all miserable in it at once. Deanna and Dane had waves of nausea and spent the day carrying around throw-up buckets. Despite my best efforts to keep them separated, they were all irritable (with each other) and overtired and I broke up more fights than I care to remember.

At one point, Dane was sitting on the footstool for our glider/recliner. He had pulled it in front of the TV and was peacefully watching a movie, with the throw-up bucket over his face, minding his own business. I was sitting at the computer doing some work on a fund-raiser I'm chairing for the school. Daelyn shot down off the loveseat and pounded Dane in the back, completely unprovoked and for no apparent reason (except, of course, that he's overtired and feels bad). Dane looked at me with big eyes that quickly began filling with tears. I shouted at Daelyn who climbed back onto the loveseat and burst into tears, shrieking with grief over his own actions (or the knowledge that the spanking spoon was very near at hand).

Around mid-morning, the school secretary called to touch base with me about the fund-raiser and asked how the kids were doing.

"They're all coming to school tomorrow. I know Daelyn isn't old enough for Kindergarten yet, but you'll have to find a place for him. They're getting OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!"

She cracked up. Being a mother of three herself, she fully understood, not to mention the fact that during our brief conversation, we were interrupted 3 or 4 times by fighting children that needed correction.

Having one child sick is bad enough. They're very labor-intensive buggers when they're ill. But three at the same time is a little much. Add to that Don's birthday (which was yesterday) and a fund-raiser that I HAD to get materials for out to the teachers, and yesterday was quite a challenge.

Today, Deanna and Dane returned to school (at least for a while). Daelyn has a 9:15 with the doctor for a strept test. I'm hoping and praying for a good nap.

If Mommy doesn't get some sleep, the children will be sending ME to school by Friday.