What a Morning!

I'm sitting down to blog this at 9:00 am. I've been up since 6:10 am. Here's a synopsis of the last 3 hours:

*****WARNING***** A discussion of multiple types of bodily fluids to follow. I'm a mom and that's what moms eventually end up talking about. Bodily fluids become the battle scars we bear with pride, the very essence of our being. Well, that may be a slight exaggeration, but bodily fluid conversations do come with the territory of being a mom. If you feel queasy, weak-kneed, nauseous, loss of appetite, or otherwise unwell at the slightest thought of bodily fluids outside of the body, feel free to move on by this post.
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6:10 am- Head for the shower, excited about the prospect-soon-to-be-reality of a full day of shopping in Canton. Wonder at what treasures I might uncover during the day.

6:30- Wake up the boys for breakfast

6:35- Realize Micah isn't feeling well. Mentally wonder if he's faking. Yesterday he had to stay home from school b/c he vomited the day before. He ended up going shopping with my mom and me because he was perfectly fine all day. He had a blast so I think he may be trying to weasel his way into another shopping trip for some undivided attention and more sugary treats.

6:40- Start getting ugly with Micah b/c he won't get up and get dressed. He says his head feels like it keeps "yanking" when he tries to sit up. I'm still not sure I believe him.

6:45- Force Micah out of his bed into the bathroom so I can try to get his Dennis the Menace hair to lay down.

6:46- Micah throws up in the clean sink. It was literally just cleaned yesterday (Murphy's Law at work). Mentally note that I'll have to clean it again when I get home from Canton b/c I'm still planning on going.

**In order to redeem myself from seeming like the winner of the Most Selfish Mom of the Year award (and so close to Mother's Day!), I need to explain that, with some regularity, ever since he was little bitty, Micah will have a single episode of vomiting after which he acts and feels perfectly fine (case in point: Thursday, as mentioned above). I can't explain it, but it happens. Regularly. I swear.**

7:15- Finally ready to get the kids in the car, only 15 minutes behind schedule. It's pouring buckets outside (God's Divine Clue #2 that we should stay home, #1 was probably the vomiting).

7:17- Got soaked while loading the kids into their seats. Micah says he's too weak to buckle his own seat belt. I'm still thinking he's being a bit melodramatic. He proves me wrong by vomiting again (Divine Clue #3).

7:20- Decide to take the 2 younger children to school, figuring Micah will perk up by mid-morning, even though he's too ill for school at the moment. He can at least sit in the stroller while we shop in Canton.

7:35- Micah throws up for a 3rd time. I'm beginning to get the picture that he may really be sick. Then he starts screaming "Oh, this is bad! This is really bad!" When I inquired what he was referring to, he tells me, "I accidentally pooped in my pants." (Divine Clue #4 since I'm too hard-headed toput the first 3 together.) Fabulous.

7:37- Pull the minivan into a parking lot to further investigate the underpants incident. He's clean! Whew, that was a close one. But I finally decide that while vomit is one thing, diarrhea is quite another and NOT a chance I'm willing to take at an open-air market with a major lack of quality public restrooms. Vomit can be caught in a bucket or cup. Not so with the other end.

7:40- Turn the van around and head home.

7:45- Remember that Missy, who usually eats breakfast at school, has nothing to eat for breakfast at the house because Cade ate the last 2 packages of oatmeal for breakfast. Decide to pull in for some kolaches when I get back into town.

8:00- Pull into the donut shop for donuts and kolaches. While waiting in the drive-thru, I hear a funny noise coming from the backseat. My guess is that it's Micah throwing up again. It's not. It's Missy. Doubly fabulous. Of course, her throwing up sets off Micah again. I find my self turned all the way around in the driver's seat holding 2 plastic cups to 2 mouths vomiting simultaneously. We could be a circus act.

8:02- The donut shop is out of kolaches. Things are REALLY going my way today (said dripping with sarcasm). I order donuts for my mom and me, but still nothing for Piper since she can't have donuts due to her egg allergy.

8:05- Pull into the driveway, unload the kids and head inside.

8:10- Make all the children some toast with jelly. While they are all engrossed in their eating (read: quiet) I decide to put away some groceries I bought yesterday. Find ants in the pantry.

8:11- Begin to clean out he pantry to get rid of the ants. While doing so, I manage to spill an entire ziplock baggie filled with birdseed (leftover from a pincone-and-peanut-butter winter birdfeeder project) on the freshly-swept kitchen floor. I thought the bag was sealed. I was obviously wrong again.

8:12- Begin to laugh maniacally at the ridiculousness of my day so far.

8:13- Get out the vaccum to suck up all the birdseed.

8:20- Get Missy cleaned up from breakfast and change what I soon will discover is only the first in a series of disgustingly poopy diapers occurring within a 30 minute time frame.

Besides the poopy diapers, things begin to settle down a bit. Here's to hoping no one else gets the nasty bug Micah and Missy seem to have contracted, although Missy seems to be acting a bit more normal than Micah does at this point.

Since I've started this post, things have settled down even more. Micah has just been laying quietly on the couch. He hasn't thrown up anymore. Neither has Missy. Cade's perfectly fine, except that he must have hit some growth spurt b/c I can't keep his belly full. That's how Micah acted yesterday, though, so I hope it isn't a sign of bad things to come for Cade.

I have learned 2 things today in all of this. At 8:30 there was a tornado that touched ground in Canton. Initial reports indicated that the tornado did disrupt Canton Trade Days, injuring people and turning over cars and trailers. If mom and I had left this morning on time with no disruptions, we would have probably been in Canton by 8:30. I believe that God is sovereign, but it's not often that we actually get a glimpse of exactly why things don't go our way, why we have hold-ups, hang-ups, and distractions. I got that glimpse this morning.

And secondly I learned, or was reminded, of my own selfishness. I'll admit I was ticked off that Micah was sick this morning. I really wanted to go to Canton. I know he wasn't sick on purpose, but I was still irritated that I wasn't going to get to do what I wanted to do. I've been reading in Ephesians for our Monday night Bible study and there's so much about walking in love, being servants to one another, and imitating Christ. Lord, forgive my selfish attitude this morning. May I never cause my children to feel bad for doing something they cannot help. I pray that I will love my family and sacrifce lovingly for them that they may ultimately see Your glory and follow You all of their days. Amen.