WORST. DAY. EVER.

well, at least in recent history. after my post yesterday things took a quick downward spiral with dave having to come home early to much crying, puking and pooping. i am beyond tired. it turns out that there is some sort of stomach virus making the rounds -- info provided by a panicked call to the pediatrician -- and the lee boys were the latest victims. i can honestly say that after almost 5 years of parenting, and 14 months of parenting two, i was not at all prepared for the horror that was yesterday.

just when you start to think that you're getting the hang of being the Mom Who Has Things Somewhat Under Control, you wake up to a double-dose of diarrhea so bad that your kids are crying when you have to wipe their poor red butts. last night it was so painful for jack that i was sitting facing him on the toilet, holding his hands and telling him to squeeze mine as hard as he could so i could help take some of the pain away, then crying with him when he wailed, "Why is this happening to me??" and "I don't want it to come out! It hurts! It hurts!" over and over. poor little guy. how do you explain to a kid who has never felt pain like that that he's just got to deal with it? the shit's gonna come out, kid, so you've just got to suck it up! yeah, that doesn't work so well on a 4 year old. thankfully, nate's biggest probem wasn't the pooping itself, it was the wiping of the yeast infected testicular area -- oy, the CRYING. heartbreaking. there were a few moments when jack was crying on the toilet and nate was crying in the next room while dave changed his diaper -- i truly felt like i wanted to die. i hate to bring it up again, but it is that dreaded time of the month for me, so at those moments of wailing and suffering in unison i really felt like i was going to lose it. i felt like i couldn't bear hearing the pain in their cries anymore! if dave weren't there....well, i'd rather not speculate on how i would've dealt with the chaos. i would have, obviously, but it would've been, um, difficult.

it would appear that the boys are better today -- only a few loose poops for nate and none for jack, so far. oh god, PLEASE. hmm...my tummy feels a little funny, though....

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!