The ER, Dead Plants, and Sleep Deprivation- It is Time for Mom to Have a Night Off

Last week was my kids' Spring Break which meant no school for them and long days for me.

The weekend was exhausting with a Surprise Birthday Party for my brother Randy, and then Easter activities that went from 8am until 9;45pm (Church, then Easter Brunch and Games, and an Easter Dinner) between all of the family events.

And to our surprise the night was far from over. Just as I was getting ready to hit the hay around 11:45 I hear a coughing or choking sound from my boys' room. I thought it sounded like someone was going to be sick but when I got into the room I realized my 4.5 year old was coughing and having a very hard time breathing. I sat him up and he could not breathe well. I gave him Children's Benadryl and then tried the breathing mask w/ medicine (we have it for our youngest son).

After my son's breathing did not improve, we decided to head to the ER just to be safe. Of course, by the time we checked in he was beginning to sound better and now I questioned if we should have headed to the ER.

We waited the standard 3 hours and by this time, I was really ready just to give up and go home. But finally someone came to see us. We were basically told if our child sounds better by the time we get there we can just go home b/c they cannot help us unless he cannot breathe upon arrival.

So we had to wait 3.5 hours for a doctor to do nothing and tell us it was probably croup. My kids have had croup before and it is scary and hard to watch your kids trying to breathe, but this time it seemed different and we had been with a dog earlier in the evening (and one time my son did have breathing problems after sleeping where a cat often lays).

As we drove home I was still not convinced that my son had croup.

After sleeping for 2 and half hours, the day started again. I was exhausted and I have no idea how my husband went to work after sleeping only an hour.

Thank goodness I had no obligations to be anywhere or meet anyone so I worked in between giving the kids activities. The evening was a typical evening- my 2 older kids went to bed around 8, I was doing some work, and my husband was working on taxes.

I spent the evening packing for the next morning, as I was heading to my mom's house with the kids.

To my surprise the sleepless nights, messes and exhaustive days were from from over.

I was getting ready to get in the car with my kids and head out of town, I see Blood Drops All Over the Carpet in my son's room. He was already up and did not mention any blood. At first, I was very concerned. There was a decent amount of blood on the bed and floor. But apparently he had a bloody nose in the middle of the night (he does tend to get them on occasion). But the last thing I wanted to deal with was cleaning up this mess. I was already behind schedule.
We got into the car, and within 20 minutes we hit traffic leaving Virginia Beach on our way to PA. I was already tired, and not too happy about the traffic.

We stayed in PA at my mom's for 3 nights and it rained most of the time. The kids were antsy and wound up the whole time from being stuck inside most of the time.

The night before I was heading home (Thursday) did not go much smoother than the rest of the week, as my middle son woke up and got sick at 3am, and my littlest coughed all night long.

I had to get up and drive us home 2 hours later. Of course, traffic through DC was horrible and my son spit up his food onto himself in the Car. When I stopped, I tried to wipe it off and carefully take his shirt off but some how I smeared it all over his head.

The week seemed to be one challenge after another and I still had 2 more hours in the car. I was praying the excitement of the day was over.

We hit more traffic, I had no coffee left, and I was ready to pass out.

We finally arrive home.
I unpack, and do a little work.

I need a break by now, so I am excited we have a sitter for the kids for the evening(even though I feel liking crawling under my covers and going to sleep instead of going anywhere).

A few weeks earlier I planted seeds and had been watering them every day. But when I arrive home the plants look dead upon arrival- as if my day was not already a struggle, now I'm kinda ticked.

Even with our crazy week and the traffic, sleepless nights, and dead plants, I had a wonderful week filled with hugs, laughter, and exploration. I can't say I enjoy the sleepless nights or sick kids, but I do enjoy being able to be there for my kids and to make their childhood fun, and memorable.