So, yesterday was an interesting day. And by interesting, I mean DISGUSTING.
Andrew had ANOTHER birthday party to go to...this is the 3rd in as many weeks...(next weekend is #4). This one was at Chuck E Cheese. Andrew, Michael, and I headed over at 10 am while Jeff and Lily went to the mall for a daddy-daughter day. There were tons of kids from Andrew's class present and they all had a blast running around playing shot-em-up games and scaring people with their Skeeball throwing rather than rolling. There were 2 other parties going on at the same time, so it was CRAZY. Then it was pizza time and singing time and cupcake time. Andrew had two pieces of pizza and a cupcake. The parents had bought way too much pizza and were begging the parents there to take some. So I had a piece.
On the way home, I thought my stomach felt a little queasy. But I'm due for my...ahem...monthly visit, and nausea has come as a PMS symptom these last few times, so I didn't think anything of it. After lunch at home and the babies in bed, I went to take a nap because my stomach just wasn't feeling right. Apparently, Andrew felt the same, and requested to go lie down just after I did. Lily woke up, and while Jeff was getting her, Andrew came out looking for him. He was about to head downstairs in his search, when...
Jeff starts yelling for me. I wander bleary eyed out of the bedroom to find Lily just woken, Michael screaming to be fed, and Andrew standing at the top of the steps heaving.
Oh. Dear. God. There must be a God because this happened on a Saturday afternoon and not during the week when I would have had to deal with it alone.
The pizza-cake-?? vomit hit the top two steps the hardest, but managed to cascade down the stairwell and hit every. single. step. Carpeted steps. 15 carpeted steps to be exact. It bounced up onto the vertical surfaces of the (carpeted) steps as well...on about 6 of the steps. It flew high in the air and covered both walls from step level to about a foot over the rail. The rail was covered.
Now. Michael needed to be fed. Lily was begging for post-nap milk. Poor Andrew was still in shock from throwing up his entire stomach contents. Andrew went in a hot shower...just in case he would get sick again and we figured it would be soothing. Lily got locked in Michael's room with me while Michael got fed. Jeff...poor, poor Jeff, got 2 rolls of paper towels and started trying to get the solids off the steps and walls.
I won't give you more details. It was horrible...trying to figure out what to do with the 3 kids...the stink made my already queasy tummy feel like doing an encore to Andrew's presentation...it was dusk when it happened, so even though we THOUGHT we did a good job cleaning up, this morning I keep finding new red spots on the walls and the carpet. It stinks, too. Ugh. And there just couldn't be a less convenient place to clean. I suppose we'll have to get a special carpet cleaner to do the job?
I'm really thinking that it may just be easier to burn the house down and start all over again.
(Although Andrew threw up a few more times last night, he made it to the bathroom every time. He has been fine so far today. Lily shows no signs of being sick. Michael is eating like a champ. I feel fine except when I pass through the stairwell...then I feel sick...)
8 comments:
I'm so sorry. That's terrible! Do you think it was food poisoning?
Oh, no! How horrible, all around! I hope you ended up feeling better! Having to deal with that while you were sick, too, is the worst part! I vote to just burn the house down, or at the very least, pull the carpet up and burn it. I do NOT deal well with vomit!
So, so gross...and poor Andrew...poor everybody! It is a small but significant mercy that you weren't flying solo. How does vomit manage to get EVERYWHERE even when you didn't think it was projectile? I'm glad it was a "one and done" deal. Last time we had this (um, Christmas), I used diluted laundry detergent to clean but I had a more confined area to deal with. I had to scrub it 4 times before that horrible smell went away. Oh and if you lived about an hour or so closer to where I do, there would be a distinct possibility that someone else (arsonist) might help you burn your house down- sad but true. See, you should live in Chester County! Maybe just get a pro to give the stairs a good cleaning?
I recommend using white vinegar diluted in some water. It really helps to kill the smell and can also help to get soap out of the carpet(which will cause it to collect dirt) if you have already used some sort of detergent. Good luck.
Totally off topic: I remember you posted a week or so ago about giving breathing treatments to Michael. Was he wheezing? Do you have a history of asthma? How long until he got better? Did you notice and side effects to the medicine (insomnia, irritation)? I'm asking because David started wheezing yesterday and we took him to the doc today and they sent us home with a nebulizer and this is totally new territory for me. Right now David is asleep and I can hear him whistling through the monitor. Is that enough to be concerned? If you want to email me: em630ruth at aol dot come
obviously it's dot com, not dot come. Minds out of the gutter, people! :)
Oh, NO! Thank heavens you weren't alone! Stairs are So Hard to clean. I would want to burn the whole thing down, too! Ugh, that carpet will never be the same.
That is terrible. I'm so sorry you all got sick.
Honestly, the best thing to do is call professional carpet cleaners. If you are just doing the stairs, it won't cost too much. Plus, it will be worth every penny.
My daughter once ran through the house in the buff and got diarrhea at the same time! There was a 5 foot trail of it across her bedroom floor that I couldn't get out. The next day I called carpet cleaners and they came out right away. The did the whole room for me and it was about $100. So worth it!
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