A Day to Forget...Seriously.

Yesterday was MLK Day which meant the kids had the day off from school. I looked forward to it for several reasons: 75 degree-weather  ensured a trip to the playground; meeting Zac's "friend" for the first time; and celebrating Seth's 15th birthday a day early (since Matt has to work late on his actual birthday.).  As well, because I broke a bone in my foot on Sunday, I figured I'd be able to stay off of it while the kids took care of things around here. That was the plan.
Here's how the day actually played out:
Abby made breakfast for the kids after Matt left for work. Anticipating that Zac's friend Vanessa would be coming over after lunch, I assigned chores for the kids and myself. All went well for a while until, as they typically do, Zac and Seth started fighting. Someone shut off the other's video game and retaliation ensued. It ended with a broken window on our French door that leads to the sun porch. Just great.
After that chaos, Abby made lunch for everyone. Fast forward to the playground. Since I have a bum foot, I allowed Zac and Vanessa to take Ally, Madi, Katie and Luke to play. Nate fell asleep just before they left so he missed out. (I found it surprising that he went to sleep much earlier than I anticipated.  More on that in a moment.) Zac called me after awhile to say that Luke had fallen and hurt himself. It turned out he fell 8 feet off a structure!  He hurt his back but other than that he's okay. He's still complaining of back pain today but it's not bothering him too much and he runs around as usual. Hopefully he will feel fine in another day or so. I'm thankful that an 8-foot fall didn't produce more severe consequences.
When the gang returned from the playground, Zac somehow leaned up against his bedroom window and shattered it. Broken window # 2. In a home we rent, nonetheless.... oy vay!
I started to prepare Seth's birthday meal and realized I had forgotten to buy ricotta cheese for the lasagna. Phooey! I decided to start baking his cake while I tried to figure out how to get by without the cheese. I hadn't even gotten the cake mix opened when Nate woke up from his nap and immediately started throwing up.  EVERYWHERE! The vomit was an unusual color and just kept coming. Abby jumped in to help with clean up, Ally took care of the food that was cooking on the stove, and Madalyn ran outside to warn Zac and Vanessa that they might not want to come in the house.
 Nate continued to vomit repeatedly for the next three hours, sometimes acting as if he was convulsing. Matt came home and assessed him, and we decided he needed medical attention. No fever present, no one else feeling sick, and Nate's ashen, lethargic appearance led us to realize he had likely ingested something poisonous at some point during the day.
Abby took over dinner prep (lasagna became enchilada casserole), making it the third meal she prepared that day, while Matt, Nate and I headed to the ER. On the way we called Matt's folks to let them know what was happening and ask for prayer. We checked Nate in and the nurse advised us that it was a very busy night so be prepared for a long wait. We went to the crowded waiting room and plopped down on the few chairs that were empty.
After 30 minutes or so Nate started to perk up. He smiled and responded to us when we spoke to him; his cheeks began to gain some color; and he grabbed his sippy cup to guzzle his drink. I had a bowl in hand ready to catch the vomit that I assumed would come up, but surprisingly--- he didn't throw up. He eventually got up from his seat, wandered around and asked for another drink. Matt and I were surprised and relieved, but not yet ready to take him home without being seen by a doctor. We called Matt's parents again to update them and they continued to pray for him.
We waited another hour or so, by which time Nathan was pointing to the exit and asking to go home. We spoke to the triage nurse who agreed that he looked much better and gave us some advice to follow; then we headed home.
By the time we brought him in the house, Nathan was completely fine and even scarfed down a peanut butter sandwich.  He seemed insatiably thirsty, but otherwise acted like a typical 2 year old. He slept all night, woke up happy this morning, and except for a few putrid, unusual-looking messy diapers, has been 100% normal. We will never know what caused him to become so violently ill, but we know for sure that God healed him.We are truly grateful.
Just to remind me of what a truly wretched day it was, while the kids were getting ready for bed I dropped a glass jar of strawberry jelly on the freshly-mopped kitchen floor. What a mess! Happy to say that because Matt jumped in to clean it up for me, the thrice-mopped-in-one-day floor has never looked better.