The Christmas Surprise

We had a little Christmas miracle happen at our home last night, and I'm hoping that everyone will indulge me as I share one of the stories that I'm sure will be told in our home for years to come.

For as long as I can remember, we have spent one Sunday a month at Rob's parents' home with all of his side of the family.  Last night Ella refused to eat her dinner.  She complained that she wasn't hungry and her tummy hurt.  Both Rob and I blew it off as we always do, because as soon as Ella's plate of food hits the table, her tummy immediately hurts.  We forced a few bites down before letting her run around with her cousins.  As the night went on, she came back to me and acted a bit more cuddly than normal - and then started crying about everything.  I assumed she was really cranky because she has had some late nights lately - so we took her home and put her to bed.

At about 11:30, Rob and I were pulled out of a very deep sleep to Ella crying at the side of my bed.  I couldn't quite place what she was complaining about, but after touching her wet face, I figured she had a bloody nose and bounced to my feet.  While walking to the bathroom she kept telling me that she needed a bowl - and then threw up on the bathroom floor.  Luckily being only feet away from the toilet, I pushed her towards it JUST in time to catch most of the vomit.  We stripped her clothes, washed out the rug, and realized that we had been SUPER lucky. With the exception of a couple little vomit spots (next to my bed where she was crying, and a tiny bit by her bedroom door) we had made it out clean.  It was idyllic for a night-time vomit.

Most nights I am up for hours after puke episodes scrubbing sheets, giving baths, trying to get the stench out of my house. Not last night.  Right back to bed. Christmas miracle indeed.

This morning Ella woke up feeling happy - and had no tummy ache.  I figured it was something she had eaten, and fed her breakfast which she miraculously kept down.  I told Maddie to gather her things so I could take her to school.  Maddie yelled, "Mom, what's this?"

She came into the kitchen - carrying her backpack.  That's when it all hit me:  Ella's wet face, the tiny traces of vomit in her room and by the door.  Upon waking up sick, Ella scrambled out of her room to come and tell me, but didn't make it past her bedroom door...wherefrom Maddie's unzipped backpack was hanging.

Surprise!  Dried vomit all over all of the contents of Maddie's backpack. I had only witnessed, and cleaned round two of throw up.  If I had been in my right state of mind I would have realized that "little spots" of vomit don't just happen.  Throw up NEVER happens in small amounts.  I just didn't put two and two together.

I can't decide what excuse is worse for the papers left in Maddie's bag - the dog ate it, or my sister puked on it.  Maybe I'll just send it to school with no explanation and see what kind of response I get.

BDEM:  My sister in law, Marci, and I had a conversation last night about how to style girls' hair.  She insisted that any mother of three girls had to have a topsy-turvy.  I have tried manually topsy-turvying Maddie's hair in the past, and always end up with weird pieces.  So, while at the mall, Marci picked one up for me and hand delivered it.  I'm going to go try it on Ella's hair as soon as I'm done typing this.  Thanks Marci, definitely a BDEM!