Rough Week

****a bright spot in a very yucky week****

We did manage to get in the scavenger hunt for the kiddos on Valentines' Day, and the Nerd brought home some sweet stuffed animals and balloons for them as well. Other than that, this past week has not been much of a celebration. Here's a little timeline:

2/11 at 7:00 pm - the Spud develops a fever and severe diarrhea. He has to run to the bathroom often and needs assistance when doing so. Therefore the Nerd and the Spud set up camp in the living room for the night.

2/12 at 9:30 am - I head off to church with the other three kiddos, figuring that whatever bug the Spud's got, it'll pass over soon.

2/12 at 8:00 pm - It appears that the fever and diarrhea are not going away any time soon. It's my turn to stay up with the little guy, and his lack of eating and very pale face worry me.

2/13 at 3:15 pm - After many calls, I am able to get my little man in to see the doctor. She does a thorough check while he flirts with the nurses and tells them he is going to marry his mommy. :) All the usual things are ruled out, even a urinary tract infection. While we are waiting for some test results, Spud makes another run to the bathroom. This time it's bloody.

2/13 at 8:00 pm - I get to stay up with the Spud (and the baby!) again. This night is made even more fun by the fact that I have to collect three stool samples from one very stubborn and uncooperative little boy. ugh. gross.

2/14 at 8:00 pm - The Spud's fever is gone, but he is still very weak and sick. The Nerd offers to take the night shift so as to give me some rest.

2/17 at 6:00 am - The Drama Queen wakes up, complaining of stomach aches and chills. Oh joy - she is running a fever too and has the same bathroom issues. And I call her the Drama Queen for a reason - that girl is no fun when she's sick!

2/18 at 6:00 pm - I get a call from the doctor to inform me that one of the Spud's stool samples has grown a bacteria that looks like salmonella. I am surprised by this and wonder why it took a while to infect the Drama Queen then. I tell the lab tech as much and he puts in an order for samples for her too. I am becoming a pro at this. Meanwhile, Little Sprout has had a low-grade fever all day and has been very grumpy. It's hard to tell if she has diarrhea because she is only 2 months old.

2/19 at 5:00 am - I wake up with the same bathroom issues as the other kiddos. No fever thankfully, but miserable and definitely not able to go to church. The baby seems better, but the Drama Queen is still pretty sick.

2/20 at 9:00 am - I change Little Sprout's diaper and find a tiny amount of blood. I freak out and call the doctor. Well, I call a representative that puts me on hold forever and then finally get a hold of an advice nurse. After several more phone calls, my doctor and Little Sprout's doctor both decide they need samples from us too. Sigh.

2/21 at 7:00 am - I wake up completely overwhelmed. The baby is screaming, and I have to warm up a bottle for her because I can't nurse her right now due to the fact I could be passing salmonella on to her, which is very dangerous for babies. I desperately need to pump, the Spud (who is finally back to his normal self) has raided the kitchen again, the other kids are demanding me to make breakfast and kill a scary spider, and I still need to do these other stool samples.

Yeah. It's been fabulous. The Drama Queen does seem a lot better today; so I am hoping the baby somehow avoided all of this. And the Nerd. I can't have him getting sick too!