"Mom, I just threw up..."

Nothing starts your morning quite like having your door open and hearing the phrase, "Mom I just threw up..." At 4AM, Maddie woke us up and Cathie got up to take care of Maddie and clean up the mess. I lay there in bed for a bit trying to figure out which kid it was and feeling pukey myself. I eventually got up (after the puke was cleaned up) to see what I could do to help. My contribution was clearing a bunch of laundry off of our futon so Maddie could be near the bathroom. I'm wide awake now. Yee-haw!

I remember back about ten years ago when Cathie was gone on a weekend retreat. Nate was almost two and Maddie was a newborn. The kids were in bed and Will had came over to watch a movie with me (the one where a giant meteor is going to destroy the planet). The next thing I hear is Nate throwing up and then crying. I run in and find him covered in puke. I grab him and throw him in the bath tub while Will takes his sheets and throws them in the wash downstairs. I got Nate cleaned up, Will got new sheets on the bed and the next thing you know he's doing it all over again - every 30 minutes for the rest of the weekend. That was my first trial-by-fire as a single Dad with two small kids. I was really ready for Cathie to come home and even more appreciative of her as a Mom afterward.