The Thanksgiving That Wasn't

Yesterday, as planned, I prepared the turkey. It looks good. Probably the best turkey that I've ever made. I put it in the fridge to await the moment that I could put it in the oven. I was really looking forward to the food and the company that we expected to have on Thanksgiving day. We did our night-time ritual. The boys brushed their teeth. I read them a portion of "Kingdom Keepers III". Then off to bed they went. Joi had an upset stomach most of the evening. We just figured that it was the McDonald's that they had for lunch. We drifted off to sleep. At 11:30pm, I was awoken with the sound of Gavin crying. I went it to see what was up and he was sitting up...rocking back and forth. I picked him up and held him for a moment asking what was wrong. He didn't answer. I set him down and he made a beeline for the bathroom where he peed like there was no tomorrow. Oh..that was what was wrong. He had to pee. He went back to bed. A few minutes later Garrison was at my door. He mumbled some gibberish about having a bad dream, being scared, and something about throw-up. I asked him if he needed to throw up and he said no. I held him for a little bit and then sent him back to bed. A few minutes later, he was back. He was literally shaking, he was so scared. He mumbled some more about nightmares and throw-up. I prayed with him and sent him back to bed. A few minutes later, he was back. This time he was crying. By now, Joi was awake and she held him. Then, he said that he needed to throw up. She corralled him to the bathroom where he did just that. Joi, bless her heart, does as she always does in situations like this. She decided to sleep down stairs with Garrison so that she could be with him if he needed to be sick again. She knows that I don't care for throw up all that much and she is very kind to me. Garrison continued to get sick several times throughout the night. At 4am, Joi heard Gavin cough and then cry up in his room. She knew what was coming. She ran upstairs and found Gavin who told her that he threw up. I woke up in the commotion. I cleaned the carpet while she took Gavin to the bathroom where he continued to throw up. She decided to take Gavin downstairs to join the sick-sleeping crew. Also, she decided to have Gage join them, since she needed to strip their bed anyway to wash their sheets. They were sleeping together previously. So, they all went downstairs. I put on Lion King 1 1/2, as Joi juggled the kids as they took turns throwing up. The dust settled and the boys started to drift off. So, I went back upstairs to get a little more sleep so that I was functional the next day. Joi continued to take care of the throw-up brothers off and on throughout the night. It's now 8am. Gage never did get sick, but we expect it at any moment. Garrison hasn't thrown up in 4 hours. Gavin's been throw-up free for about 2 hours. Joi never did get anything else besides an upset stomach. Gage and I are both still fine. However, Thanksgiving is toast. Literally and figuratively. Today for Thanksgiving, the boys will be on the post throw-up B.R.A.T. diet (Banana's, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast). Also, we need to call Uncle Dale and the Ferris' and tell them that we need to cancel Thanksgiving. We don't want to get everyone sick. I still need to make the turkey, but chances are that we won't bother with "all the trimmings" since half of my family can't eat it anyway. So, Thanksgiving is pretty much ruined. No food, no good company. Just sick kids and Lysol. Bummer.