Not My Proudest Moment

Warning: all matter of disgusting and disturbing stuff is discussed here. Today might be a good day to keep surfing.

I should have known that today was going to hell in a handbasket when the cat threw up while the kids and I were eating breakfast. It's never a good day when the cat throws up. Although, on the plus side, I didn't discover the cat puke by stepping in it.

Today was supposed to be a good day. Jenn and I planned to pack picnic lunches and troop out to the park (with the kids, of course) for a few hours. We planned this because I always assume the weather will be the same as it was the day before, which, in this case, was 70 degrees. But amazingly it was cold and rainy today. So no park. As a backup plan, we hung out at Jenn's for a while and then headed to the Horrible Place (McDonald's) for lunch and playtime.

Unexpectedly, about halfway through lunch, Olivia threw up. Granted, she wasn't inhaling her french fries as she normally would, but she did chomp a bit on an apple slice and I didn't notice that anything was wrong until it was much much too late.

What could I do but pack everybody up and go home? But Liam had not had any time to explore those McDonald's tunnels, so upon hearing this he promptly burst into tears. Trust me, my heart was not exactly bleeding for him at this point, but Jenn kindly offered to bring him home, so I dumped his booster in her car and took Olivia (sad, stinky, and soaked) home. She immediately fell asleep in the car, stayed asleep (for the most part) as I changed her clothes, and napped for the next three hours.

Fast forward three hours.

Liam had been delivered and had been wanting to play in his room for a while, but I wouldn't let him because he isn't exactly quiet and Olivia needed her rest. So the second she woke up, he bolted upstairs. Olivia was clingy, so I got her a sippy cup with a little water in it and we cuddled on the sofa. She immediately chugged the water. (There's a touch of foreshadowing there; see it?)

Now, Liam has been having some toilet training issues ever since my mom entered the hospital and the stress level in our house has skyrocketed (actually, it may have started before that - maybe when I went back to the Scotia in January). Specifically, he won't use the damn potty for poo. Since he still wears a pull-up at night, usually he just takes advantage of that first thing each morning. But not today.

So you know where this is going, don't you? Olivia threw up the water all over herself, me, and the sofa. She of course started to cry, which caused Liam, now naked from the waist down, to appear at the top of the stairs and declare that Olivia should, "stop being noisy."

Liam is half-naked because Liam is a mess. Not because of the accident he obviously had, but because he attempted to clean it all up by himself. There is poo entirely everywhere in the bathroom, including the floor, cabinets, garbage pail (oh, that's where the undies went), and a spot on the wall where he must have leaned over.

Unfortunately, my patience is a bit lacking right now. Normally I believe that yelling should be reserved for running-into-traffic-type emergencies, and I especially know that yelling is counter-productive when a small boy is suffering from stressed-induced potty regression. But I yelled anyway. Stuff like, "What are you doing?" and "You need to tell me!" and "Never put poo in the garbage!" Not good.

And you know what that sweet little guy said back (through his tears), "Mommy, you're hurting my feelings!"

Truly there is a special place in hell with my name on it.

Comments

[Cathi]

I definitely feel your pain- those poop moments are the worst.

Hope today is better- at least it's warming up!

[Holly Jo]

I am SOOOOOO sorry! There is nothing worse in my mind than being thrown up on BUT THEN to have to go and clean up poo. OMG. Liam sounds very sweet about the whole thing, which makes the yelling that much worse, huh? I hate it when I lose my cool like that, which I do entirely too often. See you in hell. :)

[Amy]

Those are just the WORST days, aren't they? I like telling my younger acquaintances stories like that--they're incredibly effective forms of birth control. haha :)

I hope you and the kiddos are doing better today!

Don't beat yourself up too much about yelling. We all succumb one time or another. (Hell's going to be a crowded place!)Indulge yourself and Liam in some much needed snuggle-time.

(hugs)

[Judy Brown]

If the weather had been sunny - everything may have turned out differently. How is Olivia now? I hope she is keeping fluids down and feeling better.
You might know my story but anyway, it was a trip to Disney in the spring of '99 that cured Alec of his mental block about toilet training #2. Something about being big enough to get on the ride...would the diaper set him back? On the basis that it might (he connected the dots on that one all by himself), he became fully trained and never looked back.
For about 6 months in the previous yr one of our new kittens (to remain nameless) either threw up or dumped #2 in the same corner of our carpeted bedroom. That and Alec's lack of willingness to be trained just about drove me insane.
Changing a child's soiled diaper is an intimate experience that is entrusted to the chosen few. No wonder it is so hard for little Liam to give it up. He probably thinks he is doing you a favor - giving you a gift by hanging on to the intimacy.
A nice way to look at it, anyway.
Loving you!
Judy

[stefaneener]

Just save me a spot on the bench, for much much less reason.

Actually, I'll be under the bench.

You have nothing to worry about. You're all under exploding-head stress, and he won't even remember it. Really. Just the cuddles after and that you're not a yeller in general.