Happy Spring!

Spring has sprung! At least for the first part of the week... Warmer weather included our first trip to the playground, which both kids enjoyed. We also got out the sidewalk chalk and the ride-on toys for an after supper block party. Well, if our house is a block. Then, when Scott returned from Cincinnati we took a family walk about town. Much fun!

Of course, by Saturday we were bursting out of the house. We'd had an unplanned four-day weekend after mama got a tummy bug. I was actually in pretty bad shape on Thursday. As in passing out while vomiting bad shape. I've only passed out twice in my life -- both times while vomiting and both times hitting my head on the toilet. Unfortunately, this time was witnessed by my two small and relatively helpless children. I'd spent most of the day on the couch except for an excursion where I brought Violet into the bathtub with me -- Milo was happily playing with his Star Wars guys and I needed to contain her long enough for me to close my eyes for a few, so she happily splashed and washed her hair while I melted into the tub. When the kids wanted to play outside, I brought a pillow out and laid on the deck near the sand table while they played around me. In retrospect, I should have called for help when it became obvious that I couldn't stand for more than two minutes without wanting to die.

Anyway, I was holding on for bedtime knowing that the minute I closed the kids' door, I was going to crawl over to my bed and conk out. I got them bathed (laid on the bathroom floor while they payed in the tub) and pajama-ed (with a five minute break between Violet's diaper and her jammies -- thank God Milo dressed himself) and managed to get up the stairs to their room. I sat down on the floor, propped against Milo's bed and Violet asked to nurse. She had just latched on when I realized that the exertion of carrying her up the stairs, heck probably just CLIMBING the stairs, was going to make me vomit again, so I plucked her off my breast, set her down gently, and dashed for the bathroom.

I think I heaved two or three times when everything went kind of gray and an alarm started ringing. I remember lying on the floor thinking, "There is a child in my dream and it is crying." I remember another part of my brain trying to convince me to stay asleep. But then I heard Milo's panicked voice calling, "Mom? Mom? Mom?" I snapped to alert and sat up, heaving a few more times. I felt him as he stepped over my legs, running into his room. Violet was in the doorway, screaming because she was mad that I'd stopped her from nursing. I couldn't do anything about any of it right then. I seemed to dry heave endlessly, but as soon as I stopped, I looked up and Violet was still screaming in the door frame, Milo was peeking out of his room and into the bathroom, eyes wide. I had a big glop of saliva on my arm, I must have drooled when I passed out. My shirt was damp, too, so I yanked it off and used it to wipe my arm. Violet ran from me when I approached her, clinging to the bookcase in her bedroom, not looking at me no matter how I enticed her.

I found a clean t-shirt and sat down right where I'd been sitting when I started to get sick. Milo instantly climbed into my lap with a Winnie-the-Pooh book. "Mom?" he asked, tentatively, "Mom? You scared me when you were throwing up and when you were lying on the floor."

"How long was I asleep on the floor?"

"Not long, you sat up real quick. But it was scary!"

"I know, baby... I didn't mean to scare you. I'm OK now, I promise!"

"OK. Can you read the Pooh book?"

Eventually Violet let me pick her up and nuzzle her tummy. I honestly think she was mostly just mad because I made her stop nursing, but I do know that Milo was scared. So was I, though. So was Scott -- he insisted I call for back-up as soon as possible, so Grandma Sue spent Friday helping me keep the kids out of trouble. I was still pretty weak Friday, but was feeling much better on Saturday -- hence the trip to the playground!

Oh, and in a note from Miss Extra-Cute: Toddlers should always smile and sing, "Happy! Happy! Happy!" It makes your parents want to give you anything... Last week at daycare, they celebrated a birthday and every since, Violet is walking around singing, "Happy! Happy! Happy!" It makes us all pretty darn happy to hear her!