The Vomit Christmas

I'm afraid this Christmas will forever life in infamy as The Vomit Christmas. 

All was well on Christmas Eve.  That was our true Christmas since that's the day we celebrated with the kids this year.  It was a perfect, relaxing day and we didn't feel rushed at all.  Hubby spoiled the kids with a PS3 (even though I felt they were getting quite enough).  He insisted that he was spending his extra money how he wanted since he worked so hard through Christmas.  He had me on a technicality.  I must admit that I was pretty excited about my new bath towels, dish towels, and cloths.  I hadn't asked for them so it was totally unexpected.  Does that make me sound old and boring or what???

December 25.  I woke up early and started making muffins for the family.  Baby Girl was crying from her bed so I went in to check on her.  She said she hurt her head.  I figured she bumped it somehow on her bed so I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and tucked her in.  She felt warm to me but I assumed it was due to her many blankets and warm, new Dora pajamas.

As soon as the muffins were done, Baby Girl woke again crying.  I scooped her up and realized she was indeed fevered.  She said her head hurt again.  Lovely.  Her temp was 100.5 axillary so I gave her some Tylenol.  Twenty minutes later, she was up hopping around as happy as could be.

Since it was Christmas, I really wanted her to go to church.  I dressed the girls up so pretty (failing to get one photo) and carted the family off to church.  I kept Baby Girl with me instead of sending her to class.  She was fine the entire time.  Only when Hubby left to pull up the car did she begin to cry.  She always wants her Daddy.  I strapped her in her car seat and off we went with my mother-in-law.

I did some research online and found out that IHOP, Denny's, and Waffle House are open on Christmas Day.  Fortunately, we have all three of those restaurants right next to one another about fifteen minutes from our house.  With Christmas on a Sunday and the fact that we only had my MIL, we decided eating out was the best option.  She doesn't cook and I knew I surely wouldn't feel up to it.  Baby Girl fell asleep in the car, which I thought was a good thing.

First stop, IHOP.  Packed.  Not one parking spot.  We decided to move on.

Next, Denny's.  It looked more promising since the parking lot wasn't full.  We unloaded the van and treked into the restaurant.  The front lobby was packed so I stood right inside the door.  Hubby went to check how long the wait was.  Immediately, Baby Girl began vomiting.  I bolted out the door, turned the corner, and allowed her to finish outside.  She's not a skilled vomiter yet so it got all over me, all over her, and all over Brobee.  (The green striped alien may never be the same.)  I figured someone in my family would have come out to check on me...but no.  I found a package of Kleenex in my purse and did my best cleaning us up.  Then I went in the restaurant to clean up the floor.  Still no help from The Fam. 

I hollered to Son #2 to get the keys from Dad and I started toward the car.  He was nowhere to be seen so I tried the door.  Thankfully, it was open.  I piled in and continued cleaning up the vomit mess.  A couple minutes later, Hubby arrived at the car stating that the wait time was thirty minutes.  Um, nope.  They all got in the car and he asked for the keys.  "I don't have the keys."  #2 insisted he gave them to me.  "How in the world could have you given them to me?  I was holding a sick baby, cleaning up puke off the floor!"  Keys were nowhere to be found and he couldn't offer any more details than to say he gave me the keys.  After what seemed an eternity, I found the keys on my lap, under Baby Girl.  He apparently tossed them on my lap as I was maneuvering into the car.  We were less than thrilled.

Hubby drove next door to Waffle House.  I insisted that they all go in and eat while I stayed in the car holding the sick baby.  They refused.  Too tired to argue, I agreed that I would come in and hold the vomit-covered baby if there was a comfortable seat.  Hubby went into the restaurant to find it completely packed.  "We're just going home," he said.  "But I don't have anything to eat at home!  It's not like we can order a pizza!"  My MIL insisted and said peanut butter would be fine.  What a trooper.

By the time we arrived home, Baby Girl was conked out and it had been one hour since we had left church.  Tears were creeping into my eyes.  Not to mention, Son #2 was in A Mood and was about to get his face bashed in by grouchy me.  My mom came to the rescue, providing leftover salad, noodles, and hard boiled eggs from the day before.  Then, Hubby remembered the Honeybaked Ham in the refrigerator!  Ah, manna from heaven!  He had received it as a tip from a favorite customer!  I totally forgot about it because we were saving it for New Year's Day.  Isn't it amazing how things end up working out???

After one more vomit episode in her bed, I got Baby Girl down for a nap, changed my clothes, and settled down for a relaxing dinner.  We opened presents while Baby Girl continued to sleep.  Afterward, MIL watched Son #1 play PS3 for over an hour, laughing and laughing at the game.  It turned out to be a pretty OK day but it's not a day I would care to ever repeat.

How was your Christmas?  Hopefully there was no vomit involved.