Christmas at the Farm - WARNING - Not for Those with Weak Stomachs

You hope that some things will just fade from memory. Unfortunately, I don't know if "Christmas at Thanksgiving at the Farm" will ever be forgotten. It was not pleasant. Chase was already feeling bad so we knew what was coming. Just as we are starting to open presents, Chase makes his first bathroom run (a later bathroom run would not hit the target which would lead to a lot of carpet scrubbing). I am with Chase taking care of him - oblivious to the action going on in the other room. Dylan had eaten A LOT of one of his favorite foods, burritos! Dylan was feeling fine, or so he thought. While I was out of the room and everyone was starting to open presents, Dylan blew. I did mention that he had eaten a lot, didn't I? I come back in and there is a lot of carpet cleaning going on. My grandmother and uncle make a hasty exit. Dylan is feeling fine so we naively assume that he had just eaten too much. We were wrong, wrong, wrong. In the midst of all of this peacefulness, my dad gets very angry at me about the bug being around him. IT WAS NOT A PLEASANT TIME. Mark and I considered packing up and leaving right then but 7 hours in a car with puking kids did not sound appealing. Mark slept with the 2 older boys in the living room so that he could take care of them and I slept with the younger 2. In the middle of the night, Nate starts crying. I pick him up when I am the recipient of a foul-smelling shower. Mark comes and helps me scrub the carpet. We packed up first thing the next morning and got out of there. Am I glad that we went? Ask me in a few months. I don't think that my family was glad that we came! Not fun, not fun. Chase was finally able to open his presents the next morning.

I still remain stomach bug free! Keep your fingers crossed for me. Nate was able to go back to preschool for the first time today. He has not been since the Wednesday the week before Thanksgiving. I was so worried that he would cry, but he just hugged his teacher tight and did not want her to put him down. They said that he was clingy but happy. Please pray that this bug stays away!! I am really tired of it!

Nate pushing Hannah around

Niecey gave Dylan and Cade Webkinz! They were so thrilled!

Dylan was so excited to get an MP3 player. "Oh my goodness!" is his new favorite phrase. He says it ALL the time. My mom is in the background. She was still recovering from the nasty bug. Good times!