No Encore Please

Last weekend STARTED how really well.

Like EXACTLY how I wanted it to.....

For the first time in 18 months Brooks and I drove to Columbia, SC and went to the temple together. 

My friend who is a sucker SO nice watched my 8 + her 5 for the 7 hours. When we got home at 11pm my kids were all asleep in their beds. It's fun to have a friend to swap with, but she's also my friend that I sometimes go with as well and leave our husbands with the kids. haha

(and the random guy photographer clearly didn't get a good picture but Brooks REFUSES to take a selfie......like he will DIE a selfie-less life, I promise.)

The next day was a family day, with NOTHING on the calendar. No work, games, parties, nada.  It was nice to just go on some walking/hiking trails with all the kids.

Kellyn started out all smiles..... (and yes, skirts are appropriate hiking attire for her)

Until there was a TEENY incline....and because the family knows we're only as fast as Kellyn is when we go on hikes, she spent a lot of time on sibling's backs. Spoiled princess.

It really was a nice day and meant even MORE to me because I knew we were going into one of the "Bad" work weeks where we don't see Brooks much at all.

He also has to cover on Sunday during church.....which I have to mentally talk myself into my you-can-do-it attitude before braving the 3 hours by myself.

Besides the estrogen meltdown by my daughter before church it actually was a really easy day at church.

We get home and later in the afternoon people start acting all tired-like....which maybe we kept them up too late the night before.....?

Then I get a text from Brooks saying that they will actually let him come home for a few hours! YAY.

He got home JUST in time to snuggle everyone and watch the laying around unfold.

Okay, but first let me zoom in on Brooks over there, because I couldn't stop laughing....

Kellyn laid in this exact position for over 20 minutes!!!!!! I'm STILL giggling looking at this. haahaha

We ate dinner (grits/eggs/meat.....this is an important detail as you will find out later)

Right after Kellyn puked all over Brooks. She was pathetic.

She kept puking and puking. Probably 8 times that night. She would puke and then scoot over and just point to it without saying a word.

Then Emerson started. Then Iris. Both made it to the toilet. (Iris doesn't have very good aim though).

It was like Brooks came home RIGHT in time to help me clean up everyone's puke. Then Royce started puking. Brooks and I just kept going from spill to spill and I just kept saying, "Oh honey, I'm SOOOOO glad you came home today. Aren't you?" and he would laugh.

I kept thinking, WHY DID I FEED THEM GRITS AND EGGS?!?!?!

(here Brooks is getting the "chunks" out in the toilet.....something I don't "do")

At one point Iris was in our bathroom puking in around the toilet and Emerson was in the only other bathroom getting ready to puke. But Royce comes rushing in and needed the toilet that very moment (because I REALLY was tired of the floor spills)

He didn't exactly make it and puked on the floor/rug on his way to the toilet and then got flat out angry because he's puking. (He is one of those ONERY sick people).  Emerson to get out of his way jumped up on the ledge in the bathroom.

Upon seeing Roycey throw-up everywhere Emerson started letting lose but didn't have anywhere to go except hang his head over the top of the shower.

Poor kids.

And even POORER kids that they have a mom to come in a take a picture and start quietly laughing (at how ridiculous this was) as I was rubbing his back. Like we have never been hit like this before and run out of toilets to puke in!!!!

I was just so grateful Brooks was home because I really DO hate cleaning up puke. 

I had been texting my friend Laura at the time all this started so ended up taking all these pictures to give her the play-by-play. Next thing I know there's two bags of soup/crackers/coloring supplies/paper/markers/snacks on my doorstep that she left me, which definitely came in handy the next morning.

Anyway, back to Sunday night. I had been watching my kids drop like flies and the only ones left were Camden, Aleeya, Bronson, Brooks, me and Everly.

During the night didn't disappoint though..... Aleeya doesn't run too fast when she's sleepy so there was kinda a puke pathway to the bathroom for me. Meanwhile Camden is puking in a bowl downstairs and I'm starting to feel awful. I just threw a few towels over Aleeya's misses and went to my own bathroom to empty out my innerds. I was up a few times that night for myself but I tried to keep it down because Brooks had to get up and be at work by 4a.m.

The next day Brooks and Bronson got a milder form of it, but by Tuesday morning we were all back to 100%. I was marveling at the whole thing though, on how amazing our bodies are. Everyone's really bounced back quickly and I'm grateful it was over fast. It never was really too overwhelming or stressful just because they. were. sick....and kids get sick. I can't expect them to be healthy all the time or act like it's the end of the world. I'm just shocked this was the first throw-up bug we've gotten all winter!

The ultimate winner though is Everly. She never got a thing!!!!

The ultimate loser? My laundry pile. Hands down.

As good as my weekend started out last time, I just would PREFER not to have an encore performance for this weekend.