Its been a while...
We have been fighting the stomach bug on and off for a long while (hoping we are off now). Mostly Noella, but Mariel has had moments, too- like throwing up first thing on Easter morning. SOOO many fluid substances coming out of my children (and even dogs!) from various parts, it is hard to keep up. Right now (fingers crossed, knock on wood, whatever we need to do) all seems well and everyone in good health. Lets keep it up!
Lots of general chaos, with Patrick being out of town, me getting ready for a conference next week, my parents visiting for a few days, and all of the normal (or less than normal) day to day activities. A good example: this evening. I was getting Noella in her jammies and sent Mariel to go to the bathroom. A heartrending wail of pure agony from the bathroom brought me and a naked baby running.
Mariel sobs "MY RING IS IN THE POTTY!" Hysterical crying. Noella promptly pees all over the floor.
I determine that somehow (details unknown) her precious plastic pink ring went down the toilet. We look, I even put my hand in, but no ring to be found. I am not putting forth more effort than that, and the sobbing restarts. I manage to clean the floor, get Noella dressed, nursed and to bed while placating a disaster of a child. Soothing and cuddling, story in bed, and then she turns to me with a
look. If you have a child, spouse, or sibling, you may know the
look that means I have something to say that I am not sure I should. Each person has their own. Mariel's is a little smile, often with an "Um, Mom?"
"When I dropped my ring in the potty at school I could get it out."
"What?"
"I dropped my ring in the potty at school, and I could get it out. But at home when I dropped it in it disappeared."
(Trying to remember if we washed our hands really well before eating dinner)
"You wore it today? You dropped your ring in the potty at school TODAY? How did it get in the potty?"
"It was an accident. It wasn't on my finger, it wasn't in my hand, I just dropped it. But I got it out."
"Did you put the ring in our potty on purpose? To see what would happen?"
"No. It was an accident." Sobs resume. "Mom, now I only have TWO rings. I need THREE rings."
"We can use your piggy bank money to get a new one. That won't go near the potty."
"OK." No more tears. "And I can use the rest of the money to buy a new dress up...."
... and she moves on. But I am wondering what else will be journeying through our plumbing on "accident." Also, she may now think that when she cries, Noella pees.
Here are some long overdue pictures:
In between bouts of serious stomach issues, we managed an Easter egg hunt with a friend and fellow princess:
Easter was not quite as planned, as Mariel woke up sick and Noella also ended up in rough shape. We skipped church, Easter dinner, our fancy dresses, and pretty much anything that involved effort. Noella was worth a few good photos:
But Mariel mostly looked at me like this when I tried to take her picture:
It was a gorgeous day, so spirits were a little better when we went for an afternoon walk.
Noella was home with us for two and a half days last week because she was having such tummy troubles. She has not suffered for her "sick" diet of yogurt, toast, applesauce and crackers. For those who have not seen her eat lately, she is a voracious eater and very advanced with the spoon. On this particular afternoon, she was being a little goofy. Here is her yogurt beard:
