Drowning in vomit

If that title doesn't turn people away from reading this post I don't know what will.

We have sickness here. Too much of it.

It started out Thursday evening when #5, our youngest wasn't feeling well. He threw up three times that day and seemed better in the morning. However, late in the afternoon on Friday he wasn't feeling well and refused a cookie (a sure sign something is wrong). He threw up a couple more times that day, and today he was still laying around on the couch for most of the morning. He perked up later in the day and seemed okay. We ran some errands, got some things done and then in the evening #2 started feeling sick. We set him up with the bucket and pretty soon he was using it. #3 said he didn't feel like throwing up but his stomach hurt. We made him lay down in the living room as well. Pretty soon he joined in the fray, and #4 wasn't far behind.

At one point #3 was throwing up into a bucket in the living room while #4 was in the kitchen throwing up in the garbage can. Then #5 started to look green around the gills. He ran for the bucket which was unfortunately occupied by #3 and ended up throwing up on the floor and into the bucket. D took the bucket and went to empty it out, and at that point #2 woke up and said, "OH NO!" I ran over with a (luckily lined) trash can, and he threw up in it. Its one of the most disgusting things I have ever witnessed, and yet we were laughing about the horror of it.

I went to the garage and got a tarp. Are we cold hearted or what? We spread it out on the living room floor and made sick boys lay down on it with their pillows and blankets. We got them each their own bucket or container to puke in and they have spent the evening throwing up, sometimes at the same time, and sometimes one after the other. All of them refused to use Sally (for those of you not in the know, Sally is the barf bowl I have been using during pregnancy, she is a high class Tupperware bowl that will never EVER be used to store food again.) I have to say that I am kind of glad none of them wanted to use her since I still need her on a regular basis and I don't want their sick germs contaminating her.

If you have read this far without getting sick, I applaud your stomach of steel, and I beg for your prayers. If any of us are throwing up (other than morning sickness, I hope I can tell the difference) on Monday we will have to miss out on our family Christmas Eve celebration and that would break many of our hearts. My family used to get together monthly, then it became quarterly, but it has dwindled a bit to just a few times a year and our next get together with everyone at once is not until summer. Please pray for us to be healthy by Monday morning. And if we can't have that, then Tuesday. We are scheduled to fly to California and spend a few days in Disneyland the day after Christmas and our flight leaves early Wednesday. I don't know how we can take pukey kids on a plane, and they certainly wouldn't be able to enjoy Disneyland once we get there if they are sick. Not to mention that there will be cousins there as well and we don't want any of them getting sick.

#1 has been crying out of fear that we will miss Christmas with family. He is the only one of the boys that has not gotten sick yet, and D and I are dreading and waiting, and hoping against hope not to get sick. We know it will take a miracle considering the amount of puke we have been cleaning up. The boys have thrown up several times each this evening.

I hope your prospects for a Merry Christmas are looking better than ours are! I wish you all safe travels, and a puke free Christmas!