The Worst Week Ever

Well, it has been a rough week for our family. I should have known it was gonna be a zinger when I looked out our back window on Sunday and saw this:
When I initially looked out, there were at least twice this many birds, but by the time I got the camera & sneaked back up to the window, half of them had flown off. I mean, seriously.. I'm not usually superstitious, but having this Alfred Hitchcock moment had to have been some kind of sign, right?
I managed to snap this photo when the neighbor's dog came running out and scared the whole flock away:
So, why was the week a rough one? Let me just tell you... it seemed to be one thing after another.

Monday: It was Tyson's first day back to school; Matt's first day back to work; and Riley's first day back to day care. We all took a nice, long Christmas vacation together, and the first morning back to real life was insane. The only saving grace to that morning was that my district didn't start back until Tuesday, so I only needed to focus on getting everyone else dressed, fed & out the door.

Also on Monday, Riley gave himself his first shiner. He is now pulling up on furniture, people, walls, etc., and often trying to do so while holding toys in his hands. Well, he attempted to pull up on one of the rocking chairs at day care and slipped, catching the chair with his face.
They said he cried & cried, but ultimately he was okay... except for the very dark bruise on his eyelid and brow bone.

Tuesday: The day was mostly okay, except that our evening shcedule was thrown off a bit because Tyson's piano lesson was cancelled. I changed dinner plans to include macaroni and cheese. I thought that Riley might like some pureed macaroni & cheese. What kid doesn't like macaroni & cheese, right? Well, despite being watered down quite a bit, the texture was a little more substantial than what Riley is used to and he choked on the second bite. Thank goodness I didn't have to intervene. He ended up throwing up & clearing his airway on his own. He then refused to eat any more, which was maybe a good thing, because Wednesday was even worse.

Wednesday: Riley started the morning by spitting up half of his bottle. We thought he'd done this because a little had gone down the wrong way, so we cleaned him up and then gave him the rest of the bottle. He seemed fine, until his day care called me at work to tell me that he had projectile-vomited his lunch and needed to be picked up. When I got there they informed me that they had already sent home three other babies because of stomach issues. Once home, he continued to vomit... and then it started shooting out the other end. Fun.

Thursday: Matt stayed home with Riley while I went to work. I was so tired all day, I couldn't believe it. My tummy started to gurgle right around dinner time, so I skipped dinner altogether. As it turned out, this was an excellent choice on my part, because I spent the entire night in the bathroom. Seriously. I ended up putting a sheet and old pillow on the floor in there; I'm pretty sure I have never been so sick in my life. I may have actually thrown up something I ate in the third grade.

Friday: By Friday morning I was able to go to bed, but still felt awful. Matt again stayed home to take care of Riley (who was stille xperiencing ECS - Exploding Colon Syndrome) and me (I was pretty sure I might actually be dying). Then Tyson's school called. He said he'd thrown up. When Matt got there to pick him up, they determined that he probably had actually not thrown up, but Matt brought him home anyway. Wouldn't you know it, two hours later, Tyson threw up. Friday night Matt's tummy started to gurgle. He spent the better part of last night visiting the bathroom as well. This thing swept through our family like the ocean at high tide. We were powerless to stop it, despite hauling out all the bleach, CLorox wipes and Germ-X we own.

Saturday: So far today we are all doing a little better. I think I had it the absolute worst. I still haven't eaten anything solid, and I'm still wondering if Matt might have beaten me with a stick when I wasn't looking. Riley still has an exploding colon (fun to try to contain in a baby who never sits still. Tyson hasn't had any other symptoms since yesterday. Matt seems to be feeling better so far today. Let's hope this trend continues. I'm planning on eating a little soup and a couple of crackers and then (hopefully) I'll spend the rest of the day disinfecting and sterilizing my home and everything/everyone in it.

.. And praying that next week goes better than this one.