A Mother's Work

How does a gal stay ahead? I seriously think that for every day Brian comes home and the house looks the same as when he left it, I should get some sort of bonus pay. Here is how my morning went:

Aiden has been getting in his molars and has been pure misery since last week. He has woken up frequently at night since Saturday and last night was no different, except that we let him fuss and drift back to sleep on his own when neither of us could pull ourselves out of bed at 3 am to read the star book for the twentieth time. He slept in until 9:30, which gave me some time to get ready this morning. I got him fed, dressed and we headed up to the library for the 11 am children's song time. Aiden was having a fit when we pulled in the parking lot, thinking we were running errands. Once he saw the other babies, he cheered up and did okay for singing time. I let him play with our friend's babies and the other children and then took him to go check out some new board books. (Brian and I have all thirty-something of Aiden's board books memorized. We just can't handle reading them yet again!) He found a sister book to one he already has and clutched it to his chest the entire time while I VERY quickly grabbed some other board books from the bin. Prying this new beloved board book from his grasp long enough for the librarian to scan it was the end of the world. I took my red-faced, sobbing little blondie to the car and strapped him in, working delicately around the book he was pressing even more firmly into his chest. Once home I got Aiden some milk and laid him down for a late but much-needed nap. I listened to him say "no-no-no" and fuss for about 20 minutes before going back in to check on him. The smell of poop nearly knocked me over when I walked in his room. I felt so bad but was grateful the diaper had contained everything. I scooped him up to go get him some lunch, since he was refusing to sleep.

I got him situated in his high chair, warmed up some soup and prepared a drink, all to the chorous of his crying. I got one spoonful of chicken & stars in his mouth when the food triggered his nausea. WAVES of curdled milk vomit game gushing from his little body. It landed in his lap, sloshed down the booster chair and pooled on the floor. The smell was horrid and I fought back my own heaves while trying to quickly wipe off the vomit from his hands and legs, that he was now flinging all over the kitchen. I stared from the top and went down, cleaning off Aiden, stripping his puke-covered clothes, wiping down the high chair and mopping up the floor. I rinsed the clothes in the kitchen sink and tossed them in the washer, then ran to gather up the rest of the darks to run a full load. NOTE: I should mention that every single time I spend the 45 seconds to get the laundry out of our master closet hamper and Aiden's hamper, he gets into some sort of trouble.

Aiden's room STILL reeks so I pause for another 5 seconds to spray some of the air freshener that I keep on his bookshelf. I am walking back with my arms full of clothes when I hear the trashcan fall over and Aiden's irritated but frightened cry. I kick enough trash out of the way to toss the clothes in the wash so I can have my hands free to pick up this new mess. I am putting vomit-soaked paper towels back in the trash and I realize this half of the house reeks, too! I add soap to the washer, close the lid, grab the candle I have on the counter, pull out the lighter, light it, set it on the kitchen table and turn back to the pantry. And there is Aiden, standing over the big blue bin, holding open the lid and shoving fistfulls of dogfood into his mouth! YUCK!! I rush over and am having to fish out all these little round choking hazards, all while Aiden is fighting me and coughing throw-up-and-dog-food scented air in my face. I'm about ready to hurl and can't do much more than hold Aiden over the trash can when the dog food triggers a second wave of nausea. (At least THAT got it out of his mouth!)

I decide I've had enough, Aiden is melting down and since all food is making him sick, I decide a nap needs to be the new priority. I offer some watered down juice to rinse his mouth and lay him down still crying. He's silent - and practically asleep - before I can close his bedroom door. Thank goodness, because I need a break! Maybe next week Aiden will love the library hour, reading board books in the children's corner, checking out a few to read at home and enjoying a nice, warm lunch with his mom. I certainly will feel better when one side of the house no longer smells like poop and the other side is clear of all puke! LOL!