Oh, You Know, Just The Usual

***I apologize in advance for the yucky nature of some parts of this post.  If you have a squeamish stomach about toddlers with tummy bugs, I suggest you don't read this post! Lol.***

Well, yesterday was one of those days where you're like, "Can it be bedtime yet?"  If I weren't pregnant, I'd have needed a BIG glass of wine by the end of the day.

Wednesdays are sometimes tough because Mara doesn't have preschool.  She only naps about 50% of the time now, so Wednesdays where she refuses a nap are hard.  This pregnancy is kicking my ass and I often use her nap time to rest as well, so when she doesn't nap I am exhausted.

The day started out fine.  She woke up around 7:30 or so and we took our time with breakfast.  Corky went off to work for the morning (he usually works from home on Wednesdays but since he's losing part of today's workday due to a Father's Day party at Mara's school, he decided to work yesterday morning at the property) and Mara and I soon took off for the Children's Museum.  Mara loves the Children's Museum and we go often since we have a membership and it's free.  

On a small side note, I called Corky from the museum at one point to ask him if he needed anything from the store on our way home.  I mentioned that it always amazed me how, at a museum made for CHILDREN that is about as kid-proofed as a place could possibly be, Mara always manages to find an unsafe/inappropriate way to use things.  Crazy!  The kid has a talent for giving me adrenaline spikes, that's for sure.  My hair will be gray in no time!

Anyway, after the Children's Museum, we came home instead of going to the grocery store.  Mara was yawning and looking tired and I was fading fast, so we opted to come home for a nap and do the grocery store and other errands later.  Mara took a nap (and I fell asleep with her for a while) and all seemed fine.

Mara woke up at about 1:50pm and came downstairs.  We puttered around for a little bit and at about 2:20, she announced she had to go potty.  What followed was a very sudden, very icky case of diarrhea.  It came on very suddenly and it was extremely watery.  The next few minutes, Mara walked around holding her tummy and saying she had a tummy ache.  It appeared as though she was experience stomach cramps.  When she went to the bathroom twice more in the next 15 minutes, I decided something was up.

I remembered that the night before, Mara had decided to "brush her teeth" with the dirty dish brush from the kitchen sink (germaphobes are certainly convulsing at this point).  Because of this, I was worried about salmonella or e.coli, so I called her pediatrician's office and they advised me to bring her in for a 4:50pm appointment with her doctor.

At 2:50pm, Corky's mom arrived.  She comes over every Wednesday after work to hang out with Mara for a few hours so I can run errands or take a shower or whatever.  At the same time as she showed up, Corky announced that Abby (our French bulldog) had gone missing from the backyard.  Poor Grandma, she walked in and I said something like, "Hi! Welcome to the chaos!  Mara is having diarrhea and Abby went missing.  Would you mind hanging out with Mara here while Corky and I go hunt for Abby?"  Thankfully, she was a good sport and agreed to try and handle the poop situation while we went looking for the dog.

After scouring the immediate neighborhood for half an hour on foot, we decided to hop in the car and look that way.  We drove for another twenty minutes and still no sign of her.  Corky dropped me back off at home to check if Abby had returned and to see how Mara and Grandma were hanging in there (Grandma had forgotten her phone so she couldn't call).  I decided to check up the path just behind the house one more time and it was a good thing I did, as out of a bush popped Abby!  I've since told her she's grounded forever.

After splitting the errands (Corky went to the grocery store while I went to the pharmacy and bank and Grandma stayed with Mara), Mara and I headed off to the doctor.  We tried to collect a stool sample at the doctor but it had urine in it and couldn't be used, so they sent us home after a quick exam with a stool sample collection kit and two pairs of gloves.  How on earth was I going to keep watery poo separate from urine??  It took several (messy) tries but eventually we got it and the sample was dropped back off this morning.

About the time we arrived home, Corky was starting dinner preparations as my dad was coming over for dinner.  My mom is out of town until Saturday and if left to his own devices, my dad would eat Taco Bell or some equally hideous thing, so I always make a point to invite him over for dinner when my mom is gone.  Corky informed me upon my arrival that he thought he was coming down with a cold.  We took his temperature only to find that it was 100.9 and he had the aches and chills.  Lovely. So I completed dinner (as we couldn't have him breathing germs all over the food).

Despite the tummy situation, Mara ate well at dinner and in fact requested an extra piece of toast before bedtime.  Corky went to bed at about 7:00pm so I was flying solo with Mara the rest of the night.  Bath, butt cream (as she was getting a rash), PJs and bedtime all before 9:00pm.  Thankfully, she slept all night, only getting up once for a very brief time due to a nightmare.

This morning, things seem better except that it appears Abby ate a bit too much grass on her little field trip yesterday.  She vomited green in her kennel yesterday evening and refused her breakfast this morning.  However, she jumped at the chance to get treats twice today so I'm confident she'll soon be back to normal (whatever that means).  Mara and Corky both felt well enough, thank goodness, to go to preschool and work today, so it seems that the Father's Day party is still on the agenda.

Just another day in the life, you know.  Parenthood is ever so glamorous.