Things 'Round Here

So...Little Man's fever first appeared last Monday, signaling the start of the black stomach plague that's wreaked havoc upon this house.

And here we are, 12 days later, hanging on by a thread (and bottle of Lysol and bleach and Stain Out and Pine Sol).

We've had a few glimmers of false hope that the end was near. And then some major backsliding.

Last I posted, Chica hadn't yet succumbed to the ick. So I was kind of on the fence about sending her to school on Tuesday.

But Chicklet made the decision for me when I woke her up and she shuffled down the hall to her sister's room...where she promptly passed out again. Cold.

She was so terribly tired (and non-responsive to my gentle prods) that I decided no school run.

And I let her be.

And she stayed just like that for another 90 minutes, until I finally forced her into a seated position.

So a few hours later, when everybody seemed stable enough, I packed them into the car for a quick but necessary run to the store for supplies.

And that's when Chica decided to fall spectacularly ill, just like her siblings. By throwing up in the middle of Target.

Yup.

It happened.

I had about a two-second warning the volcano was about to blow, so I hauled up her shirt in front of her face to catch what I could. And then, after the best makeshift cleaning I could do with the whole trio hollering, I chucked the shirt in the trash can as we stopped up front to apologize and signal to someone about the mess.

And we walked out with Chica's maxi skirt hiked up into a makeshift strapless dress, and headed back home to our quarantine zone.

Chica sipped some chicken noodle soup...

And took a solid nap (as did the others)...

And we started fresh the next day.

The kiddos were tired but okay, so I thought things were on the uptick.

And the kiddos were so excited about Grandma's arrival, that had been planned for a few weeks.

And Grandma was unfazed by the germs.

So we took it easy and had a picnic outside to get some fresh air in everybody's lungs, and the trio was in heaven.

But heaven turned to hell when things got baaaaad again after nap. Chica was sick upstairs and down. :(

She made it through the night--only to be sick again this morning--both upstairs and down.

And just when I thought it was under control and she was passed out again...

I discovered Chicklet very sick up in her bed.

And then I cried internally and kept the laundry and bleach and Lysol and Pine Sol going--and prayed hard that Little Man wouldn't fall victim again.

All in all, they did fairly well for the rest of the day, but they're lethargic. And I'm lethargic. And sooooo ready to have the whole household well again.

So here's hoping for another fresh start tomorrow.

One that stays fresh.