Stomach Bugs and Holidays
Warning: May contain graphic content-not for those with weak stomachs!

I don't know what it is, but there's just something about our family getting the stomach virus during holidays. I remember about 2 years ago, the stomach flu went around our family over the 4th of July weekend. And we've been plagued with the stomach flu over Christmas twice. Two years ago Dave's parents flew in from Texas and his poor mom came down with a stomach virus two days before Christmas, then it cycled through our family. I don't think anyone was throwing up Christmas morning, but all the days around Christmas someone was sick. Now we came down with the dreaded stomach bug the weekend of Jacob's 8th birthday. It all started with Michael. He threw up Thursday night in his bed, this just happened to be the same night as my bunco group were all gathered at my house to play. Dave tended to Michael and got him cleaned up. I didn't even know he'd thrown up until everyone left. Then later after the bunco game was over, my stomach really started to hurt. Then I started to throw up and it didn't stop all night until about 4 a.m. It was horrible. It was probably one of the worst nights of my life. Some of you know I have a weird tendency to pass out when I am sick and starting to vomit. So I sit there over the toilet, trying really hard to take deep breaths and not pass out, and sometimes it doesn't work and I feel myself starting to lose consciousness, I'll wake up on the ground, sometimes covered in my own puke. I know, not too pretty a picture. Takes me back to my most embarrassing moment in college when I was with some guy friends at a Jazz game and was sick and ran to the bathroom, barely making it to the stall where I ended up passing out and a bathroom attendant was standing over me asking me if I was okay. I come to and realize I've vomited all over myself and then I have to come out of the bathroom like this and face my good friend Jeremy and his two roommates. Nice. Not only am I covered in vomit, but the security people insist that they get me a wheelchair and wheel me out to the car. Just what I need, more attention drawn to myself.
Anyway, back to the story at hand. So I'm in the bathroom and I've realized that I've passed out and I start to clean up the vomit on the floor and myself. Then I go upstairs to my room to clean up and try to get some sleep. To no avail. I run to the bathroom to throw up again. This time I succeed in remaining consciuos. So I go back to the bed just to get up 10 minutes later and throw up again. It was bad. It's one of those kinds of stomach viruses where you don't really feel better after throwing up. I just felt bad the whole time. I went back 30 minutes later to throw up again and this continued a few times. Sometime around midnight it started coming out both ends, and this is when I really wanted to die. I didn't know if I should sit or lean over the toilet! Anyone been in this position before? Then I started to vomit again, and this time I do pass out again and "wake up" only to hurry onto the toilet. "How can this be happening" and "What have I done to deserve this?" are just some of the thoughts running through my head. I think I passed out one more time after this and I really hurt my foot somehow. After this, and while sitting on the toilet, I start to yell for Dave. I've been in the bathroom this whole time, and while I was in there Dave went down to the basement to sleep. Probably very fearful that he might catch this nasty illness. So I'm sitting there calling for him, then I start yelling help as loud as I can and am crying. I realize Dave isn't in the room and I am on my own, so I clean myself up and go downstairs to find him. I get to the basement and wake him up somewhat hysterical and delirious and start crying. I can't take the pain anymore. I asked him to give me a blessing. We go upstairs and he gave me one. He also found some nausea medicine that we had in the medicine cabinet. It expired in 2009, but I figured it couldn't hurt. So I took that, and I think that the medicine combined with the blessing he gave me really helped. I slept the rest of the night. The next morning Kera had her preschool graduation and I was supposed to bring treats to Jacob's class for his birthday. So Dave stepped in, took the mornig off, and went with Kera to her graduation and videotaped it. He then took Jacob's treats to his class and brought some things to tell about Jacob. He went in to work about 1 pm and by that time I was well rested and felt a little better. I kept Michael in my room with me. He hadn't thrown up again, but he had been having diarrea and you could tell he didn't feel good either. So we were quarintined in my bedroom with the laptop watching Disney movies and eating popsicles. Dave came home later and we started talking about what we'd do about Jacob's birthday the next day. He was having a birthday party at our house with 7 of his friends the next day. Jacob started to complain about his stomach hurting around 6 pm and he threw up once in his room and then again around 10 pm. The next morning Jacob woke up and said his stomach didn't hurt anymore and he felt much better. Kera wasn't sick and I was feeling a lot better after resting all day friday. Dave felt well and Michael seemed cheerful. So we debated about postponing the birthday party, but eventually decided to still have the party since everyone seemed on the mend. We kept it outside in the backyard and sprayed Lysol throughout the house and on all the doorknobs.
It's one of the calls you make as a parent where you hope you made the right decision. I think we did okay. Jacob was so excited to have his big party on his birthday. We were excited to get the friend party over with! We still have his baptism and family party next Saturday.
Jacob's big birthday present from us was a new trampoline. Dave spent the whole morning and after the party setting it up. We finally got it all put together tonight around 6 pm with the net enclosure on and everything. The kids have been having a blast jumping on it. Jacob was so excited to see his big birthday gift, and Kera was just as excited as he was. We finally have something fun to play on in our backyard!!
So that's been our crazy weekend. I will post pictures of the party and the new trampoline soon. I just wanted to get this whole crazy story told while it's still fresh in my brain. Hopefully this virus stops here and nobody else in our family gets sick...we shall see.

And hopefully none of the ladies from my bunco group or the kids from the party get sick. If you do I'm very, very sorry. :(