Midterm break, day 1

After roughly 45 days of school, the Ministry of Education has offered the annually scheduled midterm break for all students in Barbados's primary and secondary schools.  While this may not mean much to many, for me, it means a week at home with the ladies where I, and I alone am responsible for their entertainment, education, recreation, meals, and all other scheduled programming.  It is both an honor and a thrill.  Seriously, I love being with my two cherubs, but it is exhausting and as they are both talkers, better than most, I will have lots of conversation and opinions to deal with all week long.


In all the excitement considering a full week at home with both Lily and Virginie, we all prepared to take Virginie to her early morning 18-month check up in Speightstown.  As we prepared to leave, Lily began complaining of an pain in her ear.  What began as a little moaning about a small pain in her ear, quickly escalated into tears, a red face, and tugging at her lobe.  By the time we were in the car on the way to the doctor's office, Lily had a fever.  We sat in the waiting room while the doctor finished with another patient and Lily, who usually played with every single toy in the toy box curled up next to her father and occasionally asked to sit on my lap.  Virginie handled her job as second string mess maker with aplomb.  The room was a disaster in seconds. 

Excited to say that both girls are healthy, Virginie a mere 7 lbs. behind Lily though she is almost three years younger and that Virginie took her shot in stride.  She cried only because the toy used to distract her was taken away.  Lily got a quick dose of pain relief to help her with the earache and lots of prescriptions and then we were on our way.  Because of the water in her inner ear, Lily got nauseated immediately as we pulled off and before she could even tell me what was wrong, there was vomit.  Everywhere.  All over her body and it seemed to keep coming.  I frantically called back the doctor who told me that this was quite normal and that once she got out of the car she would improve. 

That's a little difficult to explain to a 4 year old who is covered in vomit crying in the backseat of the car.  I told Didier to pull over so that I could change her and he had the nerve to tell me that the damage was done, that we should just drive home.  What?  I will cut you.  You'd better pull over so I can assess the needs of my child and get her clothes off.  I am not going to have my child soaked in throw up, screaming, driving home.  Pauvre epoux francais.  He just doesn't know how the black American mommy is going to come out.  Lily made it home wrapped in a towel, exhausted, a little scared.  Didier, with the evil eye on his back.

While Didier washed out carseats and picked up prescriptions, I got the ladies settled in for an afternoon nap.  All three of us slept in the double beds in the girls' room, Lily on her own with toys and animals wrapped around her, Virginie and I together after a quick naptime nursing session.  Waking up at 1:45 pm was glorious.  A break in the day, a dream.  The rest of the evening was uneventful.  Two viewings in a row of Hi-5, some drawing, a little dinner, and a story.  Lily missed her French class at l'Alliance Francaise, but all in all we made it through.  I think Lily will take one more healing day and then be back up and running, save a visit to the pool.  The doctor has advised a few days off to let her ear heal.  Not bad for the first day.


(c)  Copyright 2010.  City Mom in the Jungle.