Mother's Day Do-Over

Last week was Mother's Day and I must say that it was the start of something pretty awful.

Eulee woke with a pretty high fever on Mother's Day, but she was acting perfectly normal, so we didn't think much of it.  We still managed to go to a nice brunch with my family in the afternoon.

But after that it was all downhill...

Every morning Eulee would wake up with a high fever around 103.8.  The fever would only go down to about 101 with both Tylenol and Motrin. Eulee was just plain miserable, which means that we were all miserable.  She wasn't sleeping through the night.  She wouldn't play by herself.  She was crying and screaming all the time.  She wouldn't let me put her down.  She refused to walk around.  She would take a few steps and then just freeze in place and scream for me.  It was not fun at all.  By Tuesday, I was losing my mind.  All the screaming, all the crying, all the carrying.  Do you see all the cuteness below?

And on top of all that, we were really worried about the high fever given Eulee's seizure episode a few months ago.  We had to do all we could to keep her fever down.  I was calling the nurse a few times a day.  I felt like a crazy lady!

Finally on Wednesday night Eulee's fever broke.  We were ecstatic!  Then she started breaking out in a rash.  I knew it would probably happen with that high of a fever, but then it was all over her trunk and face.  

It turns out she had roseola, like Elina or Evie had when they were a baby.  Poor Eulee, she just didn't look well with the rash all over.  But I was glad to have my real Eulee back on Friday.  It was amazing how thankful I was to have her back to feeding herself and playing by herself and just smiling and laughing again.  Makes all the difference in the world.

THEN to add to the mix, on Wednesday Elina stayed home from school because her stomach hurt so badly, she couldn't really sit or stand.  She said she felt like she had to throw up!  I let her stay home, but then she was fine by noon so whatever it was had passed.

AND THEN Evie had been complaining about these 2 cuts she got on her right leg.  I had noticed them when she came back from camping 2 weeks ago.  She said that they were hurting.  I had been so focused on Eulee that I was a terrible mother and never even gave her leg a glance.  By mid-week I decided to really take a look and the cuts looked odd.  They were scabbed over, but they had this halo of dark pink around them...and they were firm to the touch when I pressed on them.  At first the nurse thought they were infected, so we started Evie on an antibiotic.  But then the area with the 2 cuts started to bubble up like a big blister.  It looked awful!  The pediatrician and dermatologist said that it looks like contact dermatitis.  They were guessing it was an allergic reaction to poison ivy!  Who knew??

As you can see, it was a crazy awful week.  Everyone had problems and I was going batty.

So this past weekend, B said I could have a Mother's Day do-over.  Saturday was soccer games in the morning and the rest of the day was just hanging out and getting some house things done.  I even managed to get a nice massage in.  Then on Sunday, I woke up late to breakfast in bed.  

I was going to go out on my own and wander around some stores, but I decided that what I really wanted to do was to be left alone in the house to complete tasks that I never get to.  So instead of going on a shopping spree by myself, I opted to spend a few hours organizing and cleaning out all the kids' closets!  For months I've been getting clothes out of plastic bins or different piles everywhere.  Now, the kids actually all have in-season clothes that fit...INSIDE their closets...IN drawers and HANGING on hangers!  I know it sounds like a lame do-over, but honestly, it gave me the most satisfaction when I went to bed that night.  Now when I walk into the closets, I don't keep thinking in my head, "Man, I really need to do this..." or "I'm never going to get a chance to do this..."  I love it!!  See, it's just the little things in life that make me happy now.

To make it even better, while I was locked in the closets, B and the kids were making a special Mother's Day dinner.  Elina set it up like a restaurant (her restaurant is always called Zunday's) and she took our orders and served us food they spent the afternoon making.  We had salad, breaded cod (baked in the oven), Elina's famous sesame brown rice (she mixes white rice with soy sauce and sprinkles sesame seeds on top), and brownies!  It was so delicious!  Then Elina performed magic tricks and then all the kids had a dance party for us to watch.  It was an awesome night!

Even though it wasn't a glamorous Mother's Day to most people, to me it was one of the best ones!  I managed to relax, accomplish a huge goal, and eat a yummy dinner that I didn't have to prepare!!

Best. Day. Ever.  

And even though my kids exhaust me to no end, I love love love staying home with them.  Watching all the milestones...shuttling them around everywhere...changing diapers...signing permission slips and not losing them...waking up early to make breakfasts...getting hugs and kisses all day long....listening to giggles and laughs...wiping food off of faces...cutting toenails...getting boogers out of noses...trying to remember whether tomorrow is a P.E. day or not...filling water bottles...emptying water bottles...refilling water bottles...doing dishes...tucking the kids every night...

Best. Job. Ever.

Seriously.

Yay, moms!!