Wednesday, August 15, 2007

All childcare and no sleep make Lisa a mean mama

Yesterday afternoon I'd gone 2 straight nights without sleep of any meaningful kind. I have a twitch in my left upper eyelid (I used it as an excuse to get a larger monitor at work) that I suspect is the result of exhaustion. Monday night Kate played the night away as loudly as she could and during this party of hers she managed to squeeze out the contents of her prescription steroid cream for eczema all over her bed. Jeremiah mentioned that when he took her to daycare her hair was full of the stuff but "it was so much easier to brush!". He's a glass-half-full kind of guy.

Anyway, it was nearly bedtime last night and Kate, now fully the product of a lost night of sleep, was an impossible monster. She'd refused dinner in any form and was sitting in the TV room watching "About the Bugs" (when you tell her it's called "A Bug's Life" she thinks you're saying "Buzz Lightyear" and gets very testy about your mistake) when I came in and announced "it's time for a bath you stinky hippie". She immediately began to wail and, although I'd made no mention of bed, went on and on about how she wasn't tired while she melted off the couch and into a puddle on the floor with her head down. I turned off the movie, picked her up and carried her into the bathroom where the bath awaited her. I plopped her in and began soaking her down and sudzing her hair while she continued to weep uncontrollably. She began calling for her daddy and I just said "Daddy isn't going to help you now" while rinsing her off. Then, because she refused to use the potty, I sent her to bed without a story.

This morning when I went upstairs to rush her out the door to daycare, I found her in the bathroom, having already used the potty. She was flushed pink and looked as though she still hadn't slept. "Come on!" I said, trying to sound cheery despite the fact that I was now on day 3 without sleep because Sarah, running a fever of 103.5, screamed most of the night. "I'm so proud of you for using the potty on your own! Did you wash your hands?" She was crumpled on her stepstool in front of the sink and mumbled a "no" into her arms. "Come on, you need to wash your hands after you use the potty!" I chirped. She looked up to face me, her eyes all glazed-doughnut looking, and said defiantly "we don't have time for this!" Out of curiosity I took her temperature. 101.4. Now who's the jackass? I carried her downstairs, promising to fetch her a cup of water. I got her some Tylenol, and gathered all my work-related items so I could rush out the door (late) and leave both sick kids with Jeremiah. Half way to work I realized I'd forgotten to get her that cup of water.

7 comments:

Ginger Johnson said...

Ok, you get a point for forgetting the water, but it's immediately taken away because you ACTUALLY bathed her the night before. I would have just sprayed some Lysol around her or something. Tee hee. Net: zero points. Better luck next time. Gee, I'm sounding cocky now that I'm in first place.

Anonymous said...

if forgetting the cup of water earns you worst mama points, i'm a hands down winner in worst nurse ever points. why does it always happen that you remember waaay after the fact?! at least kate's hair won't have inflamation? i hope she feels better poor thing. but since your WMP blog left me feeling sorry for you as well as kate, (no sleep is a biggie), i'm afraid your wmps are taken away :)

Anonymous said...

for the record i meant to type inflammation

LMP said...

I feel so robbed! Surely I score for the "Daddy can't help you now" comment? Come on! That's WME GOLD!

FlapScrap said...

When you said, "Daddy can't help you now," were you holding her head under the water? Because that would help your score out.

Anonymous said...

did you laugh with power after the daddy can't help you now comment? if yes, you get can get a pt. back...lol

karen said...

I think you deserve a WME point for calling your kid a "stinky hippie" out loud. It might not make you the WME, but I'd like to reward you for the best laugh I've had all day!