More Illness in the House

My baby is sick again. Sofia woke up with a high fever and is a clingy droopy little girl. Luckily, we were able to drop her off at my parents for the day since she could not go to day-care. But I still feel bad having to work all day instead of take care of her. On a more positive note, she waited to vomit until she was in Carlos’s car and later at my mom’s house! Pretty horrible for them, but for once no bodily fluids to clean up!

Argh...It Continues...

So what do other parents do with no back-up day-care? So Sofia still have a fever yesterday and was barred from day-care today. Not a strange occurrence for most parents. But, my husband left for New York very early this morning on a business trip for the next 3 days. My parents, who are my usual back-up, were still in Laughlin. I could not even call in sick to work for family leave because the attendance witch hunt is still in force and any and all absences are scrutinized at present and we have been told notes from physicians are no longer accepted as a means of excusing an absence. So how could I call in sick for my daughter who today actually was in good spirits with hardly any fever at all, but is just not allowed at day-care?

All I could come up with on short notice was a call to my boss as I left work yesterday to ask if possible at all to approve last minute vacation day for today, or if not, could I come in late with my kid in tow. Of course, no response from my boss until late this morning. Luckily my parents called this morning and said they would drive home today and would not mind coming straight to my house and watching Sofia so i could go in to work. So that is what happened. I did have to wait until almost 2 for my parents to make the drive from Laughlin. I must say I owe them big time. My boss came through for me as well allowing me to come in so late, but I still resent the fact that I am afraid to call in sick even for a legitimate illness!

So here is my sick little pumpkin...

One Step Forward...Two Steps Back

I was thinking today on how easy it is for me to feel overwhelmed with everything! I can go weeks feeling like I have things under control, but than one variable will change and I spend several weeks feeling behind and a bit chaotic. I wonder if this is normal for other women?

Last week, I think I was doing pretty good. Work was going fine. The girls were happy. I was feeling motivated to put in more effort on my relationships. Then some of those variables changed....

I kind of knew going away for the weekend was a bad idea logistically. But I frequently sacrifice such activities to maintain my sanity and although it helps my stress levels in some ways, it also adds to more isolation and makes our lives more about work than fun. The other variable was Sofia, who came down with the flu on Thursday. I think the third variable was not driving to Big bear because that resulted in a big change in when we had to leave necessitating a scramble to pack to be ready 4 hours earlier which also led to me forgetting many things on my list for the weekend. Also, I had no control over our return time and we came home hours after I had anticipated.

Anyway, that leads me to this week where I am exhausted and feeling so behind in everything. I have piles of laundry not just from the weekend, but also from a sick barely potty-trained child. (How does she manage to pee only on our bed on the bedspread, down comforter, blanket, and sheets? Thank God it did not make it to the mattress. Now I also have to find time to make it to a laundromat because the stupid comforter is huge and won't fit in the washer!

Well, there are more minor annoyances but I am trying to remember i can only do what I can do and if I do a little each day, it will eventually catch up. I think exhaustion adds another layer of stress on top (sleeping in a cabin with 6 kids does not allow for much sleep). Having Sofia still be fighting the flu and feeling so cranky and pitiful does not help, especially with my parents out of town and no back-up day-care. I also can not help thinking ahead to Wednesday when my husband leaves to New York on a business trip for several days.

Okay, enough of the whining and contemplation and back to work!