Circling The Wagons

Well I should have known better than to type the words "things are easy!"  I totally jinxed myself with that last lovey-dovey post.  Oops.

I spent all day Wednesday soaking up every last ounce of baby I could get my hands on!  I stared at Margot all morning long.  We swapped smiles and coos, she grabbed my fingers and my hair and batted at my nose.  It was glorious.  I didn't let her leave my side all day.  I was too afraid I might miss something important.  I took her to see my Nana and we were sitting outside, enjoying the beautiful fall sunshine when.....I got THE CALL.

Sylvia had a fever. 

She wasn't allowed to go to school on Thursday.

You have got to be kidding me.

I left Nan sitting outside on the patio and raced to the daycare to pick up my poor, sick baby.  I made a flurry of phone calls to secure my sub for ONE MORE DAY and to let my principal know how sorry I was that I wouldn't be at school on my first day back from maternity leave!  I repeated over and over, "I promise, I'm not making this up!"  Because, truth be told, I was so relieved to have an excuse to stay home for one more day.  I was awarded one more day!!

Well, sweet Sylvia made me work hard for that one extra day.  The poor little thing was an absolute mess!  Wednesday night, her fever was so high that she was getting loopy.  She couldn't talk to us and her eyes were all glazed over.  I was scared.  I called the doctor who told me to keep trying to get her to eat and drink, keep an eye on her through the night, and to bring her in for an appointment in the morning.  Sylvain finally got her to talk and to smile and to start acting a little more normal.  Then, there was a beautiful thunderstorm outside and that really helped lift her spirits! 

The doctor assured us that she didn't have anything serious (thank goodness!) but her fever was still high on Thursday evening, so I was starting to panic about school.  I couldn't miss another day.  Sylvain decided to stay home with the girls (I didn't want to send Margot to day care because Sylvia wasn't going and Sylvain wouldn't be down the hall.  I know, it's crazy, but I just couldn't do it).  Friday would have turned out fine, except Margot is so darn FUSSY about taking a bottle!  She has never taken one from Sylvain, so I decided to go in to school for the morning and come home at lunch time. 

My students were great.  They are such a wonderful group and I can't wait to really get into the swing of things with them this year.  But I won't lie - I was glad to be home by noon, nursing my little Muffin and snuggling with my Nugget.  Both of those girls needed me - they needed US.  Sylvia's fever was gone, but everything hurt on Friday afternoon.  She'd say, "I hurt, Mommy!" and I'd say, "What hurts, honey?" and she'd scream, "IIIII hurt!"  Poor little thing.  She didn't want to get off the couch, she wanted Mommy or Daddy at her side constantly, and she watched "Tarzan" all the way through, from beginning to end!  It took both of us to take care of both of them, and that's when I realized that we made the right choice.  We had to circle the wagons.  We had to lock the doors, ignore the phone calls, and cancel all of our plans.  We had to focus on the demands and needs of two tiny girls who needed us and we had to constantly support each other when we were about to LOSE IT.  Thanks to that poor, sick toddler, and that silly, stubborn baby, I think I can confidently say that yesterday was the hardest day of my parenting life.  It was no fun. 

Today, everyone is better.  Margot is eating from a bottle.  Sylvia is playing and running and sleeping and negotiating like normal.  I went in to my classroom this morning and got ready for Monday.  Sylvain worked on some house projects and now he's at the UK game.  I put both girls to bed without any fuss from anybody, so I can tell we're back on track!  Phew!

So, Monday morning this wagon train will haul out.  Everyone will go where they're supposed to go and it will be a welcome change of routine!  We'll all be exhausted and confused, and The Girls will be needy, but that's okay.  We can always circle the wagons again in a couple months and get ourselves straightened out!