Adventures in Puke and No Power.

I had a post planned for today about Locker Rooms and my new insight into them but that is going to have to wait until another time. After my day, I am ready to through in the towel, put up the white flag and how ever else you want to say it; GIVE UP!

My day today started at 3AM, when Jeff and I were awakened by Jake screaming, not crying but screaming at the top of his lungs. This screaming was so loud that it woke up Claire and Quinn. I ran up stairs to find out what has caused this commotion. From the sound of it, I half expected to find Jake's arm cut off and on the floor.

What I found was a baby covered in puke. I run Jake down stairs, strip him as I walked and thrust him into Jeff's half awake arms. Then ran back up stairs, strip the bed, put new sheets on, got bottles for all the screaming babies, tuck them back into bed. Sleep.

It is now 3:37AM, they are all quiet and as I go back to bed, I hear the thunder in the distance and see lightening out the window. Great a storm, I hate storms. How am I suppose to sleep now?

Jeff and I settle back into bed. I am just about asleep when the power flickers. Oh no, its out. Its back. Its out. Its back. Its out! Jeff gets out of bed to open the kids doors upstairs so that we can hear them because the monitor does not work. Everything is still quiet. I try and get some sleep.

We are just about sleeping. Then we hear Hayden screeching on the top of the stairs. He is scared. Since the doors are all open this, of course, awakens the babies. And also makes Jake puke, again. Jeff helps Hayden. I settle Claire and Quinn down, strip Jake and the bed again.

Damn it, there is no clean crib sheets. You see yesterday, I had the great idea of stripping all the kid's beds but I was saving laundry for today. So I wrap Jake in a towel and take him down stairs to our bed. That way he will not wake the other two and we all can get some sleep.

The three of us were all comfy in bed, when Jake gets squirmy (see a smart person would have guessed that he was going to puke again and walked into the bathroom but not me) and erupts yet again (I didn't know that a small baby had this much in him). Jeff and I clean up the mess and I take Jake in another clean towel to the living room where we sit in our big recliner.

Jake and I get settled into the chair and actually get some sleep. Now keep in mind, I have no idea what time it is and I can not see a thing except for what shows up with my little flash light. We sleep off and on, Jake pukes one more time, and at some point decides to clap for a while (I have no idea).

It is now day break, I get my cell phone see that it is 6:48AM, I here Claire awake and bring her down. Still no power. I get a milk bottle for Claire and some juice for Jake. They drink while Jeff and I decide what to do.

While we are talking, Jake sits up and pukes everything that he has just drank. Hayden is awake and thinks it is so cool that we are using flash lights. But he is very hungry and not into waiting. We decide to go to McDonald's for breakfast and then maybe, just maybe the power will be on. I get dress and try not to look into the mirror because I know that I could scare the living dead. I can't make a hat work so my bed head will have to do (this is the style right?).

So everyone eats and is happy, even Jake. He ate some pancakes but right before we left, pukes again. Sorry McDonald workers, I know that you have a long list as to why you hate your job, while here is one more thing to add to the list; baby puke.

As we are driving home, I am praying, Please God let the power be on. Please God, Please. No such luck (I knew that we should have gone to church more often). What do we do now? We decide that Jeff should go to work and I will put the babies down for a nap here (there are not a lot of places that we can go where there are three cribs for the babies to sleep) and then if the power does not come on, I will go to the mall.

I put the babies down, Jake passes out. Claire and Quinn are having a party. Hayden wants to watch a movie. We have a portable DVD player but of course, the battery is dead. I am exhausted. Hayden wants to put a puzzle together. Claire and Quinn begin to scream. It's hot! It's muggy! There is no air conditioning. I don't have a second cup of coffee and this day is definitely a 3 cup day.

THAT IS IT! HAYDEN, GET INTO THE CAR! WE ARE GOING TO NANA AND PAPA'S.

I have never packed up so quickly. I grabbed the babies, buckled them in and we were off. I reek of puke, I want a shower, I want, no NEED more coffee. I call my mom, "We are on the way."

About 30 minutes later, we were at my mom's house. I unpacked the kids and ran into the shower. I am clean. I can't remember the last time I had a better shower. I am ready to face the day, sorta.

We spent that day at my mom's house. My mom, dad and sister all stayed home from work to care for us. They fed us, cleaned us, did all puke stained laundry and best of all sent me off for a nap. God Bless Them!

So now it is 8:30PM, we are back home and the power is on. The kids are in bed fast asleep. My cocktail is in hand. Jeff is in the shower now for the first time. I am waiting for my second turn because I still smell like puke (and rightly so, Jake has some stomach bug and has been puking all day).

I think that for this moment, all is right with the world. I may even reconsider putting out the white flag, but we'll see.