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It all started over a week ago, when one of Cordy's classmates at preschool was sick. He passed the stomach bug onto the entire class, and last weekend Cordy was suffering from it. I tried everything to disinfect and prevent the bug from going any further, but I failed. Very early Wednesday morning I woke up with a horrific nausea, and it only got worse from there.

My mom was already scheduled to come visit that day, originally to give me time to take an exam. Instead, she took over watching the girls for me so I could crawl back into bed and spend the day drifting in and out of consciousness in a feverish state. By late evening, when my mom was long gone and my husband was back from work, I dragged myself out of bed for a couple of hours, only to quickly tire and return to bed again. While awake, though, I found out that my husband was starting to feel sick, too. I simply hoped he could fight it off better than me.

The next day, I was on my own with the kids while my husband went to work. Trying to parent two children while you're still weak and sick may just be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. When we only had Cordy, it was somehow more manageable when I was sick. I was never very sick when she was a young baby, thank goodness. If I wasn't feeling well, I could spread some toys on the floor of our baby proofed living room, set up the baby gates, put the TV on Playhouse Disney, and lay on the couch in misery. Cordy would play, watch TV, and nudge me out of my semi-conscious state if she needed anything.

With two, though, one of which is an infant, its constant work. Mira also started to get sick on Thursday, making her fussy all day long. Through blurry eyes, I fed her, rocked her, and comforted her while I filled Cordy's juice cup, made her lunch, and put another program on TV for her to watch. During Mira's all-too-short naps, I collapsed on the couch in exhaustion, trying to keep up a conversation with Cordy.

I thought things would be easier when my husband got home, but he walked in the door looking as pale as me. Two sick parents, trying to parent two somewhat-sick children: we were a pathetic sight. I'll admit we relied on the TV far more than we probably should have, but when you get lightheaded standing up, it's hard to do anything else.

I'm curious if anyone else out there has had to parent on your own (or with a sick partner) while completely down-and-out sick? What were your tricks for keeping the kids safe and happy while trying to get better? Yes, I'm taking notes for the next time this happens, because now that Cordy is in preschool, I imagine the stomach bugs and other viruses will keep rolling in.