Three Blogs in Three Days? Wow, What's Wrong with Me?!

I know, I know, I have been writing a lot this week, which has never happened before! But I guess this time around, I am writing for my own benefit because I use this blog not only as a way to communicate with family, but to also keep an electronic journal of our family for my own use (since I am terrible at writing in my real journal). So if you'd rather not read it, that's fine with me! But if you do read it, my apologies firsthand if it's cheesy! :)

Last night was one of those nights when you simultaneously love and loathe being a mom. Greg and I went to bed around 11:45 and were woken up at 12:30 by Gavin screaming for us. I nudged Greg out of bed, telling him it was his turn (Gavin still wakes up every so often, so this was nothing out of the ordinary for us). Well, Greg came back in moments later to tell me Gavin had thrown up all over his bed. Now, we've dealt with the stomach flu before, but the last time was 18 months ago, so it's been a while! (And honestly, since it has been such a long time, I have been expecting it to come any day... I just figured that regardless of my obsessive hand washing, Gavin was going to get it somehow.) So, I took over my normal duties (cleaning up because Greg can't handle it), and Greg got Gavin into the bathtub. Now don't worry! I'm not telling you this just to gross you out... It was just the next few things Gavin did that really left an impression on me and made me realize how much I love being the mom of this little boy!

I had just come back upstairs from the laundry room, and Gavin said he wanted me to get him out of the tub. So I started draining his water and went to get him out when he stopped me and said, "No, I need to clean up my toys!" (We have a ton of bath toys that Gavin loves to play with everyday. I'm fine with him getting all of them out, but my only stipulation is that he has to clean them up when he's done.) I told him it was okay, that he was sick, and that I would do it. But he demanded on doing it, saying, "No, I want to clean up my toys!" So he did, with me helping of course, but that whole situation made me realize just what a sweet boy Gavin is. I know he didn't feel good, but I think he understands that he has responsibilities as a member of our family (cleaning up his bath boys is one of the few extremely minor chores I have him do each day), and he willingly does them. This just really impressed me.

Then, once he was dressed in new pajamas and had new sheets on his bed, we went to go tuck him in and as part of his normal bedtime routine, one parent always tells him a story while the other one goes and gets him a drink. Well, when Greg finished telling him a story, Gavin automatically looked at me standing there without a drink and asked if I would go get him one. Of course I couldn't, because I knew it would only make him start throwing up again, so I explained to him that a drink would make his tummy sick and that he would have to wait until morning. Obviously, I was waiting for a complete meltdown because doesn't everybody want a drink after they've been throwing up? But Gavin didn't at all, he just said, "I have to wait until morning?" When I said "yes," he just said, "Okay, good night." Obviously, I was shocked, but told him goodnight and closed his door. Seconds later, I heard, "Mommy?" So I went back in and he said, "I just need a kiss." At this point, I was almost in tears. I know, it must just be a mom thing. But the whole night, he was just being so sweet about having the stomach flu (which I never am!), and it really proved to me just how lucky I am to have such a sweet little boy in my life. Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without him.

Anyway, the rest of the night was fine - no more throwing up! And he is back to his normal self today, happy as can be. It's hard to believe that even last night, before I went to bed, I was struggling so much with being a stay-at-home mom. And today I just feel lucky to have such great kids that mean the world to me. Until next time! -Ash