She Got the Bronze!

Today I gave my kids love, time, patience and energy in a way that doesn't happen all too often.

My morning began with waking up late.  Then Michael threw up on our way to school.  Thankfully we had just dropped Mr. Sexy off at work so it was easy to turn around and get him cleaned up.  Then Michael barfed again on the ride home.  Fun.

Michael barfed 5 times by lunch.

After getting home that morning, cleaning up the mess, getting Michael situated on the couch and Denai down for a nap I could focus on Marie.  Turns out out internet wasn't working again so she wouldn't be able to work on her lessons or participate in her LiveLessons (webcam chat room/classroom deal).  Awesome.  Well, I'm no quitter and I devised my own lesson plan of sorts based on what she is currently learning in her online program.

It went swell.

Yes, swell.  It was interesting to see how little information she is retaining and how important patience is going to be in her lessons.  We sat for 45 minutes while she tried to answer the question, "What is different between this picture of the kitten and this picture of the cat?"  It was brutal.  And soooo boring!  I almost fell asleep.  No joke.  When it comes to coming up with her own ideas, Marie needs a lot more practice.

Less than an hour after Denai's nap I heard her screaming.  Awesome.  She really needed a solid nap.  Her eyes were puffy and red and she was covered in snot.  Great!  It turns out she grabbed ahold of a cold along with her crazy bad diaper rash which makes her cry every time we have to wipe her.  It's terribly sad to change her diaper these days.

So yes, what a day.  It's now just about 7:30pm and I'm SO READY FOR BED.  But not yet.  We fixed the internet for the first time today plus I have to watch at least part of American Idol with Mr. Sexy before I pass out.  Side note:  We have followed American Idol for years and this season is so far the best!  Woot woot!  Although Scotty McCreery's win was pretty phenomenal too...

Anyways.  I gave myself to each of my kids in a way that doesn't happen often.

Evan: Lots of TLC.  I rubbed his back every time he barfed and cleaned up mess after mess.  Poor kid.  I felt awful for him.  I served him fresh water, crackers and pedialyte popsicles.

Marie: I gave her time and attention that I normally don't.  We sat in the den, looking at each other, talking to each other, and hopefully at least one of us was learning something.

Denai: She needed me to coddle her for a bit.  I'm not a fan of coddling but every once in a while it's needed.

The most interesting outcome of today was Marie's change in demeanor.  When it was time to pick up Mr. Sexy from work she was all about announcing that she had her snow boots, hat, gloves, scarf AND a book to read for the car ride.  I ALWAYS tell her she needs her hat and gloves but she never grabs them when it's time to go!  And I haven't seen her initiate bringing a book in the car for a long time.  Reading in the car is good.  I used to get so much reading done there as a kid.

Another interesting element that came out of today is my sense of fulfillment.  I conquered!  The vomit, the alternative mini-school program and the extra sensitive Denai.  I didn't yell once, although I'm pretty sure I got angry over something stupid.  But hey, I'm no saint and we all know that!

I'm just feeling like a deserve a medal.  Probably a bronze though.  If I look on Pinterest I'll see what all the gold medalist mom's are doing for their kids who get sick and do school at home.