Sickness already?

Did I mention I have 5 children?  Yes, well, with that being said, you would think I would be used to sickness?  Not really.  Because minus the 32 colds we each get a year (I don't consider colds sickness), my children are insanely healthy... I contribute that to many things, 1) the grace of God 2) a healthy diet 3) playing outside ALL THE TIME and perhaps the most important 4)at some time, eating large quantities of dirt from various objects, food on floor, licking fingers after digging in it, and of course, just feeling the need to put some dirt in their hands and chomp down the good ole' fashion way. 

I may be wrong about my assessment of my children's health, but bottom line, they are extremely healthy kids for living together in such "small" quarters.

Anyhoo-big G goes to bed last night by 9 at the latest and seems perfectly fine.  I awake at 12:33 (I looked at the clock!) to the moans and groans of something, of course, I didn't think it was an animal! 

I jumped out of bed and was extremely disoriented because all the blood had drained from my brain when I jumped and therefore there were black and white stars floating around my head as I stumbled to the kids bathroom to see what all the commotion was about.  There on the toilet was poor G.  She was wailing and complaining that she was going to throw up... ding ding ding-my signal to alert the dad in the house that it was HIS illness turn.  I do NOT do throw up. 

I'm half asleep, half dizzy from the black and white stars and was trying to find a barf bucket (those of you who have ever had Blue bunny ice cream, the bucket when emptied and cleaned makes a GREAT barf bucket for those children who can't seem to figure out how to puke in a toilet-which would be ALL my kids)
There's no barf bucket.  I'm getting flustered because G is my child who says she has a stomach ache and can't tell if it's gas or barf so I'm really wanting to find this bucket quick to avoid the mess I'll have to clean up if I don't. 
I'm yelling at Dad, "Where are the barf buckets?"  he is then alerted and begins his stumbling around in the dark (both of us wear glasses, so that doesn't help the thrashing about in the dark).  Someone tells me they're in the van.  OH yea, when we went to Knoxvegas, I brought 4 for just in case... You might think this is an obsession of mine...

I get her one and Dad gets the thermometer.  103.9.  Yikes!  She hasn't had a fever like that in YEARS.  I mean, seriously, YEARS.  I'm talking at least since she was 5?  So I start to freak- thinking-flu?  Great...none of them have ever had the flu, why not start now the first week of school?

I get her chewable Tylenol and she wails that she'll throw up if she eats them (again, had I had my wits about me I would have seen the box said meltaways, she didn't even have to chew!)  So I get her the liquid Tylenol.  Now, an almost 90 pound 10 year old has to drink half the bottle to get the right mg of dosage...she drank 3 teaspoons and cried for about the next 3-4 hours before the fever (or the Tylenol) finally calmed down.  She was miserable.  I'm not one to give medicine at the drop of a hat, so for me to beg borrow and plead for that Tylenol to kick in, was massive.  Finally at 5:30 I told her after we had done compresses on her head and told her the air outside was a tad too cold to open the windows (it was a balmy 50 last night??), that she had to try to relax for the next two hours until I could call the clinic (mind you , I had already called the doctor on call at midnight to make sure 104 was still ok to not be see immediately).  She calmed down, and actually stopped moaning and may have even slept for a few minutes.  I went in at 7:15 and she was actually cool and her temperature was 97.5.  It's been almost 10 hours since I gave her the Tylenol and she's taken a bath, eaten a little breakfast, and is already back to driving me insane. 

Can she go back to school now?


God bless you.  Give your children/husband/friend/family member extra love and a hug tonight and thank God for their health and your fortune to be with them.  This life is but a snapshot compared to the eternity you will spend with them in Heaven with our Lord.

Have a great Friday!!!