Okay, so here goes. All my kids are dressed and looking fabulous. Seriously- I was thinking to myself, 'Dang, you are good! Look at what you've done! Kids are dressed, we are packed to leave, and we are on time!' That was the last positive thought for the next twelve hours or so. Just before we are going to leave, Claire starts telling me she doesn't feel well. Uh huh. This happens often with her as she has a really sensitive reaction to feeling full or feeling like she might throw up. Knowing that the clock is ticking, I am asking her to please get in the car. She wouldn't budge. "I'm not going. You can't make me! I am going to throw up!" she kept pleading. "Claire, we are going. There is no discussion around this. I will get a ziplock bag so that if you throw up, you'll be okay," I added. Once I got her into the car, I grabbed the entire box of gallon ziplock bags (just in case). We made it about fifteen minutes before she threw up. I thought maybe she ate too much candy but no. Poor Claire barfed every ten minutes or so THE WHOLE 2 HOUR RIDE to the hotel. I felt so bad for her. Michael and Matthew were gagging over the sound of her barfing and I think I threatened them to stop or else! (I had NO idea what 'else' meant but it worked!) Her hair was curled, she had a matching white bow in her hair like her baby sister, and her dressed was freshly pressed and beautiful. Claire, however, was a ghost. A pale ghost who wanted to be ANYWHERE but trapped in a car barfing, flanked by her annoying brothers who laughed and gagged every time she threw up. Honestly, it was a nightmare. Poor Claire.
We got to the hotel and I made a beeline to the front desk and checked in. I ran back out to the car (in heels, mind you) and got Claire and lead her up to our room. She looked so sick, so weak, and so miserable. Stomach flu on Easter? Really? Obviously, we weren't going to the brunch. We got all our bags out of the car and packed into our room. Damien took Michael, Matthew, and Emily to the brunch and I changed out of my dress and climbed into bed with my Clairey. This was not fun.
Damien insisted I go to the brunch for a few minutes so I reluctantly got dressed in my now crumpled dress and headed downstairs. Emily was so happy to see me. I said hello to a lot of family and friends but basically plunked down at our table and sulked with a smile on. You know, this is always the way crazy things happen! It's like life almost waits for things to pick up speed before it hurls a nasty virus or terrible situation at you. We were stuck. She was too sick to drive home, we couldn't get our money back on the room, and I was sickened with the thought of this pukey mess going through all the kids- one by one.
To further complicate things, we had planned to celebrate Michael's birthday that afternoon in the hotel . . . by the pool. It was pouring down rain, Claire was barfing, and I had a cooler of cold drinks and appetizers for a party that seemed doomed. I didn't want to infect anyone else. This 'sucker of a virus' is so stinkin' contagious and I didn't want to pass it on to anyone! Our solution was to have the party in another room. We ordered pizza and Damien brought the cooler to his parents room and everyone packed in there for Michael's celebration. Yeah, no pictures of that. I was helping Claire who was just a mess.
Once the party was over- Michael, Matthew, and Emily took a bath in the spa tub. They loved it! I did feel bad for Claire but she was not getting off the couch anytime soon. We tried to make the best of the crazy situation. It was tough. You try having six people in a hotel room while trying to quarantine a sick child. Oh, and one of the six people is a crawl happy baby who loves her sister. Anytime we turned our back- Emily was heading Claire's way. I prayed for the time to pass so we could just all try and attempt to sleep. But the thought of Claire barfing all night and waking everyone else was making me feel a bit depressed.
Lo and behold, we all had a great night of sleep. Claire woke up a COMPLETELY different person. She had energy, an appetite, color in her face, and a renewed spirit. Isn't it crazy how the stomach flu can just enter some one's body and shake the living heck out of it- only to leave 24 hours later? So weird. I checked my other kids to see if any of them looked sick and they all looked good. Claire didn't get to take a bath in the spa tub, but she did get to spend some quality cuddle time with her two younger siblings!
We were so thankful that Damien's parents were so supportive, understanding, and helpful during this stressful time. Before we checked out that day, we spent some time in their room and enjoyed one another's company. We barely got to see them the day before so we needed to catch up and relax a bit. Of course, Michael found a basket full of chocolate and ate most of it and Emily spent the entire time trying to eat unidentified objects off of the floor. Never a dull moment!
Looking back on Easter morning, I wish I would've trusted Claire's intuition a little more. Would it have changed the outcome of the day? I don't know. But I feel bad when I think about this little sick girl, crammed into a dress in the way back of a mini-van, barfing over and over into ziplock bags to the amusement of her brothers. You know, I am SO HAPPY I got their pictures taken before Easter this year. We didn't get one picture of them together in their outfits on Easter. I guess it pays to be organized. Mental note to take the pictures before the event every year! Happy Easter Everyone!
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