Dodging the Abyss

My day was one of those especially fun days only a mother can truly understand.
Bridget got up this morning complaining about a “tummy ache”. Within the hour she was puking. Then diarrhea followed. She spent the first half of the day alternating between the two.
We have what the kids fondly refer to as the “barf bowl”. It’s a plastic bowl just for these special occasions that the kids can keep with them so they can puke without having to do the mad dash to the bathroom.
I decide to take what seems like a quiet moment to scrub down the bathroom. Bree is set up in the living room, watching TV, handy dandy barf bowl alongside her. Keegan and Claire are playing and Seamus is doing his schoolwork upstairs. While I’m in the bathroom cleaning, Keegan comes by to check on me. I ask him where Claire is. He said she’s in the living room. I tell him to go inside right away and check on the girls, make sure Bree is ok and Claire isn’t by her. Keegan comes running back and says “Oh Bree is puking again!” I yell, “Where’s Claire?” He says, “Sitting on the floor by Bree.” I run inside to find Claire sitting opposite Bree, happily playing in the barf bowl.

I snatch Claire up and run to the sink to wash her up, while screaming madly for Seamus to come down to help so I can hand him Claire and go to Bree.

Later, when Bree finally falls asleep for a while, I sit down with Claire at my desk to nurse. I take advantage of the calm moment and call my mom to update her on how Bree is since she had called earlier and I couldn’t talk. While talking, I’m oblivious to the fact that Claire has picked up a pen from my desk and is playing with it. I finally notice, but not until she has drawn across her face.
Fast forward to later in the day and once again, I’m sitting down to nurse Claire. Only this time, when I lift my shirt, I happen to notice the pen marks scribbled all over my boob.   DH asked how could I possibly not realize when she was doing it. Yes, I was that oblivious. It was really one of those days.