Unfortunately, about 2:00 a.m. on Friday night, Nolan started throwing up. That continued for most of the night. What's a mom to do? We had eleven tickets to the Circus. No one would be home to stay with him. Add that to the fact that he just had to miss a Chuckie Cheese birthday party a couple of weeks ago due to an ear infection, and well, there was no way he was going to be left behind again. So I gave him some children's Motrin (which usually works wonders) and loaded them all up. I prepared a mobile barf-bucket for Nolan -- just in case.
As we were driving to Nashville, Garrett started complaining that he was sooooo tired because Snowflake (our kitten) had kept him awake all night. I had my suspicions that it may be more than that. We got to our seats early and everything seemed to be going well. We were seated on the upper level and had a great view of all the preshow activities. Uncle Bill offered to take Garrett down to the ring-side to participate in the activities. Unfortunately, before they even got to the elevator, Garrett became sick. He tried to run to a bathroom, but not knowing where it was, ran in the wrong direction. Needless to say, he didn't make it and my brother ended up having to clean him up. What a saint!
Meanwhile, I stayed with Nolan in our seats. I thought he needed to drink some Sprite to stay hydrated. Let's just say it's a good thing we were seated on the aisle. We had to dash up about ten steps, push through a curtain, and make a run for the family bathroom at least four times during the show. Once, we didn't make it to the bathroom, but fortunately there was a large trash can in our path.
I felt horrible. Nolan and Garrett felt worse. Preston wouldn't even sit near his brothers. Liam was tired and ready to go home. When the Circus was over, I carried Nolan and Uncle Bill carried Garrett to the car. Nana helped keep track of Liam. Meanwhile, Aunt Cori called in a prescription for Fennigrin (sp?) suppositories and another anti-nausea medication that comes in a melt-in-your-mouth tablet.
Despite it all, the Circus was good. One thing we really missed was the elephant rides they used to have before the show. Apparently, they don't do that anymore because of a few incidents where elephants have attempted to run from the ring with children still on top. One of my favorite memories of Garrett from when he was just barely 3 is the time he rode an elephant at the circus. As the trainer was helping Garrett down, he looked up at him and said "Done with elephants, now where's the tigers?"
Back at our house, I gave the tablet to Nolan and Garrett and they settled down for long naps. Garrett started feeling much better right away. He and Rachel got play the Wii together along with Preston and Liam. Poor Nolan was still out of it. Nolan woke up and wanted to be with the family, so he moved to the couch. After he initiated our couch (again, this time with SunnyD) I knew he needed the dreaded suppository.
Anyone who thinks parenting a sick child is no fun has never heard the giggles coming out of our bathroom. Since I've probably already provided too much information already, I'll just say it took several attempts. In the end, no pun intended, it was well worth the effort! He felt better almost immediately! He downed a banana, then licked the bottom of a bowl of applesauce, and topped it off with another cup of Sprite ... and he kept it all down. Success!!!
Understandably, Uncle Bill and Aunt Cori decided not to spend the night at our house. (Little Emory was feeling bad too.) We didn't get to spend nearly as much time with them as we wanted. My nieces didn't get to taste test the Barbie cereal I bought last week. But, I'm glad we got to see them for a little while.
Boy, what a difference a day can make! By Sunday morning everyone was feeling great. The temperature warmed up to a balmy 49 degrees (as compared to the single digit weather we've been having) and we played outside all afternoon. I've added photos of the before and after at the end of this post.
Martin was cleaning up a tree that got struck by lightning a few weeks ago in the woods behind our house. He cut most of it for firewood, but the scrapes went into a burn pile. He had a big bon fire going and the boys decided they needed to make s'mores. The fire was way to hot, so Martin made them a small pile of coals for toasting marshmallows. I was a bit leery at first, but it turned out to be a great idea. I guess you could sum up our weekend follies with the old saying, "All's well that ends well!"
Hopefully, more adoption news soon!
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus "Bellobration"
Poor Nolan - Not exactly the type of photo I hoping to take at the circus
Making S'mores
Roxie searching for a treat!
They don't look sick to me!
Preston practicing his circus skills
*Update: Martin, and cousins Rachel and Emory were all sick on Monday. Whatever kind of stomach bug it was, it's highly contagious! Liam had it last week and lost 3 pounds. He went from 36 lbs to 33 lbs. So far, Preston and I are holding our own and washing our hands complusively (not that I wouldn't like to lose a few pounds myself.) :D
1 comment:
Oh poor guy. I hope he gains back those three pounds.
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