sick kiddo.

today i learned what it's like to be a "mom" while juggling a career ...

this morning haley texted me while getting ready, "i feel horrible."  we were running a little late, so i didn't see it at first.  i even dashed past her to the laundry room to snag a sweater and pants that had been tumbling in the dryer.  when i read her message, it was my turn to feel horrible.

i went in to check on her and take her temperature.  her stomach was achy, and she had a little bit of a headache, but no fever.  she's not allowed to miss anymore school since she's had to be out so much this school year.  we decided since she didn't have a fever, she would have to go in.  i felt terrible sending her and empathized with her as much as i could.  haley understood, so we headed about the day.  i encouraged her to eat a piece of toast, but she didn't feel like eating.  i suggested grabbing some saltine crackers out of the cafeteria once she got to school to carry with her to class.

i got a text message from haley at about 9:15 asking if she could go to incredible pizza with her friend nicole and a few other friends.  this gave me hope that she was feeling better.  unfortunately, when i asked how she was feeling, she said her head was stuffy and that her tummy still hurt.  i decided it was best for us to wait it out and see how she was feeling later in the day.

an hour and a half later i got another text message from haley.  she had thrown up.  in class.  and in mrs. metcalf's office (the assistant principal).  oi.  they weren't able to get a hold of my mom, and i knew there was little mom would be abe to do from muskogee anyway, so i instant messaged travis to see if he could get a ride home from matthew after work.  i had a short window to go get haley because my afternoon was filled with back to back calls beginning at 1:30.

i packed up my stuff and headed to catoosa.  it took a little over an hour from the time i got her text until the time i got to the school.  by this time, haley was in the principal's office and was looking pretty miserable.  i signed her out and headed to CVS to grab some ginger ale and speak to the pharmacist.  there has been a horrible stomach bug going around this year and i wanted to combat it from the beginning if we could.  unfortunately all they said was pedialite.  we walked out with our pedialite and ginger ale and headed across the street to subway to grab her some chicken noodle soup.  they didn't have any.  boo.

i snagged a sandwich and then headed up the street to schlotzsky's (andrea and jenny should love that).  thankfully they had chicken soup, so we grabbed a bowl and headed home.

when we got to the house, her temperature was higher than it was this morning, but it was still only 98.7.  haley tried to eat a little of her soup while i took care of the boys and wolfed down my sandwich.  i was already online replying to emails trying to take care of as much as i could before being on calls all afternoon.  she wasn't able to eat much of her soup, so we fixed her a glass of ginger ale, gave her some pepto, and tucked her into bed with a washcloth on her head and one on her throat.  didn't work.  right before i went back to get on my first call, i heard her get sick again.  poor baby.

she laid back down, i put the boys in to snuggle with her, and i headed back to my closet.  {have i ever mentioned that i have to take calls from my closet when working from home?  the boys bark too much and that's the quietest place i can find}.  my first call was supposed to last an hour and a half, but after i presented my 40 minute portion, i hopped off the line and went to check on her.  she was sound asleep and didn't even stir when the boys barked.   i let them out for a bit and stretched my legs while answering emails from my phone.

i wrapped up several other calls for the day and heard her stirring while i was on the last call.  she had been able to eat a little soup while i was working -- but when i checked her temperature, it had jumped to 101.2.  uh-oh.

now she's lying in bed.  i've become a germ freak and am spraying everything down with lysol and checking in on her every few minutes.

so, another new experience.  it was crunch time for a few minutes this morning. i had just finished some work, but had other work that needed to be done on a project that has to be completed this week and then i knew i had the afternoon calls and presentations.  i'm so grateful haley caught me when she did.  i would have felt horrible if she'd just been sitting and sitting waiting for me to come.

i felt like a whirlwind, and was so grateful when another call ended early this afternoon. 

now i have a trip to houston next week, and i'm sitting here hoping that if i'm going to get sick, that i get sick this weekend so i won't get sick while traveling.  what a weird thing to wish for.  vitamin c and lysol, here i come!