Breaking Point

We all have a different breaking point, and I'd humbly like to think that mine is pretty high when it comes to losing my patience. I work with kids-they do things that annoy adults all day long. It's part of their DNA or something-they can't help it.  Different ages just do different things to annoy teachers, but they all still accomplish the same goal. If I got annoyed with everything a student did, I'd be miserable all day long and none of the kids would like me because I'd always be mad.  I have a pretty high threshold when it comes to my kids usually too.

This week was a new test for me in the parenting realm:The stomach bug hit our house for the first time in our 34 months as parents.  I am beyond thankful that Max was not traveling this week. If that were the case, I would have snapped on Tuesday instead of Friday:) I've always felt that there are certain things that are rites of passage when it comes to parenting. Kind of like you enter a new phase or beat the level of the current phase once you encounter these different rites/events.  For example, having a mobile child is completely different than having a child that just sits there and cries quietly and coos, etc.  When your child says something embarrassing about a special needs person in public-rite of passage (got that one!). When you child announces that a larger woman has a baby in her belly (happened today, thank you Tucker)-rite of passage.  STOMACH BUG-RITE OF PASSAGE! So I finally got that one-another patch on my sash! Woo-freakin-hoo!  Let me recap our week, but first I would like to acknowledge that my ranting and complaining are mostly in jest. I do realize that my problems PALE in comparison to most of the worlds'.

Week in Review:
Sunday: Tucker complaining that his belly hurt. Nothing came of it...supposedly:)
Monday: 1:30am-Brayden making weird noises in bed. Max: Is he throwing up? Erin: No. We proceed to go back to sleep.
5:00am-Brayden coughing and making more hacking weird noises in bed. Now I'm thinking I should probably get up and make sure he didn't puke, well he did. We change the sheets, clean him up, and like quality parents do, got back in bad and tried to go back to bed.
20 minutes later, Brayden puked for the second of 8 times that morning.  We changed his sheets 4 or 5 times, I lost count. Poor little guy. First kid with the stomach bug. Boo. Lysol, wipe down everything, attempt to keep the kids separated. Lots of snow-no school for Tucker. Thankfully Max worked from home.
Tuesday: Brayden stopped throwing up on Tuesday morning at 10 so he was feeling much better. I went to work. This was a potentially normal day. I had a missions conference meeting soon after dinner and didn't get home until late. I made the executive decision not to plan for work Wednesday since every school district but mine had already cancelled for Wednesday.
Wednesday: This was a relatively lame day, thankfully! We played in the snow and did some other stuff that I can't remember:)
Thursday: 2:30 am. Tucker wakes up making strange noises, crying, "Mama I spit up". Yup. Puke all over his comforter. Poor kid was a little freaked out. He's never had the stomach bug before.  I clean him up, still somewhat hoping (in denial) that he just coughed a bunch and yaked, not that he has the bug. I try to go back to bed, I can't I'm wide awake. A bit later, he pukes again. Thankfully he managed to get it in the bowl that we left in his bed. Again, quality parenting. Well Tucker proceeded to throw up another 4 or 5 times, begged me to sleep in his bed, which I did for all of 5 minutes, wanted me to go back downstairs to my bed, I slept in the guest room...and by slept I mean I laid in bed and every time I just about fell asleep he needed something or threw up again.  I was exhausted. I got about 45 minutes in at 7 when Max woke up (I did tell him to sleep during the night, because I knew he'd not be so useful otherwise-love you!). This was supposed to be the busiest day of the week-6 different things to do-all but 2 got cancelled. Brayden had a 15 month well visit and I had to go to PT to get my orthopedics:) Good times. I did manage another hour nap after my appt.
Friday: This is the day. I Lost It. Max woke up feeling crappy. He hasn't thrown up thankfully, but feels really achey and tired, and has been confined to our room. Boys feel fine. I'm tired. My patience is done. Kids are sick of being in the house. I'm sick of being in the house. Kids are fighting, I can't even get a bowl of cereal, forget about the coffee. Kids are not listening. We managed a trip to Target and Panera with my mom. Although relatively good, Brayden managed to spill a puddle of milk in his seat in the stroller, and then dump a strawberry smoothie all over himself at lunch. Thankfully I travel with a change of clothes for Tucker (never know if he'll have an accident) that he could put on.
When we got home, he had his second of third huge blow out of the week. And I failed to mention the two times he puked all over his high chair tray at dinner, Tuesday and Thursday. Today was the day I lost it. I yelled at my kids. I yelled at my husband. I was done.
I just wanted a break. And I couldn't get one. I kept asking God, Why! Then nap time came. Ahh a few hours of freedom. I had to finish working on some scheduling things for the Missions Conference at Church and make some dessert for a women's retreat I was supposed to go to tonight and tomorrow.  Yeah. about that. Brayden decided screaming for 30 minutes would be a good way to start a nap. And tucker, well he decided never to start one. I. WAS. DONE.

I sit here now, writing my rant, drinking my wine, and THANKFULLY, watching the delayed feed of the IF:Gathering going on.  I had a crappy week. Yet, as always, I am so encouraged that I am loved by God. That the God of the Universe, loves me, and actually cares that my week sucks. He understands that I lost my patience. He wanted me to give grace the way that he gives it to us when we so don't deserve it, but he gets when I am not strong enough. Then he reminds me that I AM strong enough, when He has my back. I am encouraged. And I'm praying that I can avoid this sickness and go to this event with my friends tomorrow to continue to be encouraged and to fellowship with other women who want to learn more about, and be encouraged and filled with joy about how great our God is. And to talk about, What IF? What IF we lived with joy, grace, and shared the love of God? What IF? What IF I had to undergo this week of torture so that I could see just where my breaking point is, and work to push it that much further. My kids deserve more patience:) Oh I pray that I don't get sick...too much to do this weekend! But if it comes, Saturday would be better than Sunday.