The Horrible No-Good Very Bad Night

10:07 pm - Mike turns off Zelda and announces that he's going to bed.

10:12 pm - coughing from one of the girls rooms. It's ... Lucy.

10:34 pm - coughing from the other girl joins Lucy's chorus of one.

10:37 pm - Emily starts crying that she's going to throw up. Get out of bed, take her to the bathroom, hold her hair back as she spits into the toilet. No barf.

10:39 pm - Put Emily back to bed, get back into my bed.

11:21 pm - coughing from the girls' rooms. It's ... both of them.

11:23 pm - both girls crying. Get up, settle both children down, return to bed. Mike is snoring. Nudge him so he'll roll over.

11:24 pm - remember scene from The West Wing (Season 4). try not to laugh. (the one, if you saw it, where the president stashed his notes for his commencement address in his suit pocket and then put on his robe, so he lifted his robe in the middle of the invocation and got them out, giving the impression that he was groping himself. Hm, maybe you had to be there.)

11:51 pm - both girls still coughing and crying. Get up and administer cough medicines and inhalers.

11:53 pm - return to bed.

11:54 pm - realize that I am very tired but I cannot sleep. also realize that Mike is encroaching on my side of the bed AND has stolen all the covers in my absence.

12:13 am - Emily coughing and crying again. She gets up and goes to the bathroom. pray that she does it quietly so as not to disturb her sister.

12:16 am - No such luck. Lucy now coughing again.

1:21 am - Lucy crying again. Get out of bed, give her a hug and put her back to bed.

3:45 am - Emily coughing and crying. Get out of bed, give her a hug and put her back to bed.

4:45 am - Mike's alarm goes off.

4:54 am - Mike's alarm goes off again. Mike gets up. Oddly enough, he asked me if I was getting up with him.

4:56 am - Realize that Mike coming in to get his clothes will render me totally awake (he has no night vision). Get up and gather his clothes, put them on the couch.

4:59 am - Mike comes in to get his clothes. Before he turns the light on, tell him that his clothes are waiting for him in the living room. Hand him his glasses, which I forgot. Go back to sleep.

5:30 am - Listen to Mike's car leave the driveway. Roll over and go back to sleep.

6:40 am - Emily comes in to snuggle and falls asleep on my chest.

The girls are sick, though so far, Mike and I have avoided it. This particular brand of pestilence seems to be making it's way through the preschool. As of right now, I don't think Emily will be going to preschool tomorrow. She didn't go Tuesday either. We are knee-deep in nebulizer solution, inhalers and used tissues. Run away while you still can.