HANDS DOWN yesterday was my worst day as a mother yet!

This was my mantra throughout the day yesterday. I remember reading this quote a few times over the past few days and it came to me first thing yesterday morning when all hell broke loose first thing!

Yesterday morning started off with Jordan waking up ridiculously early at 5am with a runny nose and the obvious beginnings of a cold. He had had a terrible night, was awake 3 times and was clearly exhausted and absolutely miserable. Without exaggerating I can safely say that he literally cried and whined for at least 75% of the hours that he was awake yesterday. That resulted in 3 naps (although all 3 were short and clearly not helping with how he was feeling) and 3 HUGE cups of tea for Mommy. He didn't want to be held but didn't want to be put down either. And trying to keep him away from his barfing brother was no small task either. I tried to watch him in one room while still being around for James too.

Just a short video to demonstrate his total misery at the world.

James woke up yesterday and was quieter than usual and made an odd comment about how he felt like he had eaten too much dinner the night before (he had eaten almost 10" of a foot long sub from Subway!) but still wanted to get outside and play some hockey so off he went in his PJ's. He came in about an hour later saying he had a tummy ache and then proceeded to get sick. He is much like me and definitely not a fan of throwing up. I hoped it was just a fluke but had him stay inside and watch a movie anyways. Gave him a few goldfish and some fluids but unfortunately soon realized that he wasn't going to be able to keep anything down. My wonderful Auntie Mowat went out to Shoppers for some children's Gravol and I was shocked that not only was James able to stay awake after taking it (I can't even if I take 1/2 of a pill) but was still getting sick. I did get him to drink some juice and eat a little bit of chicken noodle soup with goldfish for supper because he said he was feeling better and was hungry. He finally fell asleep in Papa's chair at about 6pm, 3 hours after taking the Gravol and a full day of getting sick and watching TV. I moved him to bed at 7 but you could tell he really still wasn't feeling well.

My non-snuggler big guy just wanted his Mommy to hold him, which was hard to accomplish with the miserable 1 year old around.

 

When he finally did fall asleep this is what he looked like, complete with snoring!

 

I got a tired and cranky Jordie to bed at 7:30 and finally sat down to have some oatmeal for supper at 8. At 8:45 I got up and decided to go to bed as I was just so tired from a terrible sleep the night before and a long day. Just as I stood up from my chair I heard Jordan stir, then cough and then start screaming. I walked into the bedroom and moved his blanket and quickly realized he had thrown up EVERYWHERE, all over himself, his crib blankets, sheets, etc. So, at 9 pm it was off to the bath and then trying to keep him quiet while I cleaned everything up. At this point all I could do was literally laugh at the craziness of the whole day and think back to that quote again. He was luckily very happy and smiley in the tub. Clearly whatever had caused him to cough and empty his stomach was gone because when I finally got him back to bed he slept not bad through the night, only waking once for a few minutes.

The grossest mothering mess I've ever had to clean up. I would rather change 5 poopy diapers than ever deal with this kind of situation again!

At least he didn't cry in the tub like he's been doing lately.

As with all good stories though, of course it didn't end there. Just as I was putting the clean sheets on Jordan's crib mattress, James woke up moaning, sat up and got sick again! So, off came the blankets on his bed, a quick drink of water and back to bed they both went. I finally climbed into bed almost an hour and a half after I first started on my way there. James was awake again at 2am and just wanted to snuggle with me so I let him in, which of course resulted in a terrible 2 hours for me because he was moaning and moving all over the place. At 4:40 he sat upright and said he was done sleeping. I hoped he meant just with me so I sent him back to his bed, but 15 minutes later he was back in my room saying he was awake for the day. I went out to the den and put the TV on for him, hoping he wouldn't wake up his brother, but of course he did, so by 5am we were all awake for the day. I did make Jordan lay in his bed till almost 5:45 but still it's another long day ahead today.

This morning James said he was feeling much better but as soon as he ate breakfast I could tell he wasn't. Within 15 minutes it all came back up again, so...we're having another Mighty Ducks marathon day today and really hoping that he is done with this 24 hour flu now!

I had such high hopes for the day when they were snuggled up on the couch watching cartoons this morning before breakfast. But no such luck!

Even though yesterday I didn't get to have a shower or get dressed until almost 2 pm and didn't get my first meal until 3 pm, I wouldn't trade these moments for anything in the world.
Even though my hands are dry and sore from the constant hand washing and I have a literal mountain of barfy laundry to take care, I know that taking care of my boys is my most important job, and days like yesterday may suck so bad, but I always try to remember that I am still way better off than so many mothers and fathers in this world.

You always have to look to the positives of every single day and yesterday's positives were the extra snuggles I got from both of my boys.

Motherhood is truly the hardest job in the whole world, but also by far the most rewarding!