Helluva Day...

***WARNING: This post mentions bodily fluids, so you may not like it. Don't say I didn't warn ya!***

This morning, we were awoken by a coughing sound on the baby monitor. It was then followed by a slight wail, then a louder scream, into a crescendo of very unhappy cries. My baby was in pain. Don was already in her room, I was stumbling to get out of bed, slipping on a shirt, stubbing my toe on the corner, tripping over the rug, and running into the door (call me Grace). I make it to her and her tiny arms reach out to me, she whimpers, "Mama." I scoop her in my arms and I squeeze tightly. She smells of fresh vomit. Don tells me she needs to take off her shirt and I somehow peel it off her shaking body.

We go to the bathroom and Don draws the perfect bath, perfect in temperature and depth. I throw off my clothes and we climb in. She doesn't want to be in the water. She just wants for me to cradle her in my arms. I'm instantly reminded of the first time she had a fever and I held her in a warm bath to bring it down. I remember being in a bath, relaxing, rubbing my belly to calm her on those days she would flip-flop inside of me. I'm praying and rocking, and sleep escapes me. I just want my baby to feel better.

Don has finished putting her bedding in the wash and he takes her to dress her. I get dressed and send a note in to the office since I'll be home with her. We all crawl into bed together and it seems like a lifetime ago since we'd done that. While she isn't feeling well at all, I'm happy to have her sleeping so near. I missed this.

I get two more hours of sleep, solid and sound sleep, while she snored next to me. Don got up and went to school, I was dressed for work at home and my dentist appointment. I've just barely logged in and Mari wakes. She's giggly and happy and dancing. I show her Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video and she's on fire. She quickly asks for food and I happily comply. Banana and an egg. She has two bites of banana and a bite of egg and she vomits phlegm all over the place. She's screaming and crying, so I grab the tray and do my very best to clean her up. I pick her up and she gets sick on me. And she starts crying again. I try to make a game out of cleaning her up. We get cleaned up and she asks for food. I give her half an egg and a third of a banana. Primo calls and makes plans to meet me at the dentist.

Just over an hour later and I'm in the parking lot meeting up with Primo after my appointment. He recounts to me his own adventure with Mari. How she is spewing phlegm all over the backseat of the car like a scene straight out of The Exorcist and all he has is a tiny napkin from our emergency plasticware in the car. By the time he gets to our house, he gets covered when trying to take her out of the carseat. When I get home, I see the remaining bits of the explosion on the street. Folks, he's a rockstar for this because to him, ANY type of vomit is his Kryptonite. he FALLS apart, usually breaking out into convulsions himself. I don't know how me managed to hold it together that long. And he had to deal with all of this on his first day off after working 17 (is that right?!?) days straight. It made me forget about the crown I have to get or the two fillings. (stupid deep fissures on my molars)

Anyway, I went home to clean any place that Mari may have touched. I scoured so much of the kitchen and her bedroom. Our house had a nice bleach stink. I put on The Wizard of Oz and Mari snuggled in the corner of the sofa. I was able to crank out lots of work before she asked for a meal. I gave her a cup of plain fusilli pasta and water. Just after 1, she signed me sleep and when I asked her if she wanted to nap, she nodded yes, and ran to her room to crawl into her clean bed. She slept for 4 solid hours!

I called the doctor to cancel the appointment that I had made a few hours before only to be told that I would be charged $45 cancellation since it was less than 24 hour notice. I debated the statement and finally gave up. I just couldn't wrap my head around the whole thing. How could I cancel an appointment with 24 hour notice if the appointment was made on that day? Ugh...eye roll!

Don made it home just after a very, very happy Mari got up from her nap. We went outside to chase bubbles for a bit, before coming back in to get ready for the doctor appointment. We stopped by Central Market for some tamales and fun drinks to pass the time. We get to the doctor at 6:23 for a 6:40 appointment. At 6:40, we are escorted to the back where her vitals are taken. At 7:30, the doctor FINALLY shows. By this point we have a cranky baby on our hands, that she's beyond the fit and has just retreated into a zombie-like phase. She doesn't find anything wrong with her. No ear infection. No fever. No stomach. No congestion. Just a couple of blemishes on her face that we'll apply some antibiotic cream. Fast acting miracle for sure, but I am a little upset with the whole ordeal on what we would have been charged versus the time we spent waiting to see the doc. I'm still marinating on it. I'm just grateful that we're blessed with good insurance that the quick visit will not affect our financial situation.

Anyway, we are bad and stop by Taco Bueno on the way home for a quick meal. Not exactly what we had in mind for dinner, but we made do. And then they forgot to include the salsa and I was on the verge of crying over it (hey, it was an emotional day!), when I remembered the free bean burrito because of the Cowboy game I went to with my parents. I stared into the rearview mirror and she shot me a Mari smile.

I'm thankful for good health, terrific family, good insurance, a wonderful job, a supportive husband, amazing friends, superb weather, and small lessons in life. The Lord reminded me that I needed to work on patience and appreciate the time that I had with my baby. Sometimes you have to be locked in a confined space with your child to have dedicated play time. Sad to admit it, but because we didn't have the typical distractions, we had a solid 45 minutes of all things Mari.

It was a wonderful day and tomorrow will be even better. How are your blessings disguised?