Hi! I'm Lindsay Ferrier. You might remember me from a blog called Suburban Turmoil. Well, a lot has changed since I started that blog in 2005. My kids grew up, I got a divorce, and I finally left the suburbs for the heart of Nashville, where I feel like I truly belong. I have no idea what the future will hold and you know what? I'm okay with that. Thrilled, actually. It was time for something totally different.
December 29, 2008
>I had to laugh yesterday at some of your ideas on how to deal with The Woman Who Asked Me To Watch Her Daughter Three Days Before Christmas, Knowing the Girl Was Very Sick. I mean, just look at what one of you came up with…
I hope that next time you see Ella’s mom, you’re conveniently carrying a vial of some devastating lab created virus (open, of course) and you accidentally trip over a minuscule pebble, sending said devastating virus hurtling into her face.
And I hope that virus comes with diarrhea. 🙂
That cracked me up. Yesterday. Today? Not so much.
Bruiser woke up this morning and promptly vomited on himself. He has a 102-degree fever, his congestion is worse, and his breathing is shallow and fast.
I think he might have pneumonia. We have an appointment scheduled at the doctor’s office this afternoon.
And? If he does in fact have pneumonia?
Well, I just might be in need of a vial of some devastating lab created virus.
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>Oh no. Poor Bruiser. I hope he feels better quick!
>We have a the exact same thing going on in our house although we don’t have a particular parent or child to blame. Just some germs. Hope Bruiser gets better soon!
>Oh, crap.Next time Ella’s mom even looks in your direction, be prepared with my standard phrase:”Oh, I’m so sorry, but it’s simply impossible!”Something about “impossible” forestalls even the most dedicated annoying person.Heck, that phrase has fended off AMWAY folks. I tell you…it works. You don’t have to offer any other explanations, just repeat “It’s impossible!” with either an airy, dismissive wave or a tone of real, sincere regret.Then plot revenge.
>just tell her mom, you know, we just spent xmas miserable- I hope Emma is over her cold, she sure likes to share!Does her mom read your blog?
>While I would have been done with Typhoid Ella and her mother the first time around, I hope that you can draw the line this time.Bruiser is still a baby (more or less) and the same crud that made Ella into Ill-la can make bruiser sick to the point of a hospital admission. I really think you should explain to Ella’s mom that what she has done has been irresponsible and dangerous and that she and Ella (through HER actions) are no longer welcome at your home.
>This isn’t the first time you’ve agreed to take care of this sick child. Its your responsibility to say “no” when someone asks you to do something you’re not comfortable with (you know, like unnecessarily exposing your young children to illness). Be an adult and take care of YOUR children first.
>I would totally call out Ella’s mother on this. It is so rude and simply unacceptable. I would never dream of dropping my sick child off to someone else, especially if he was sick.She really deserves to be confronted on this, PARTICULARLY if Bruiser is very ill.
>Oh no poor little guy. I hope that he feels better soon and it is nothing too serious. Once he feels better I would take a trip to Ella’s house and break open a can of whoop as on her mother. A viral plague can only last so long but the remembrance of an ass kicking can last forever.
>When DH had pneumonia, we were told that the tell-tale pneumonia symptom was brown sputum. So, if he’s coughing up and it’s brown, think seriously about going to Urgent Care.Friends of ours were supposed to come over on Saturday, but decided not to because he was sick – he’d caught something from her parents, who had caught it from their other child, and all of them were together on Christmas and got our friend sick. She said, “I don’t think he’s contagious – I’ve been with him for the past 3 days and am fine,” so when HE was feeling up to it last night, they came over…Shortly after they went home, she was puking. At least they called and apologized. I expect to be sick, with two sick kids and a sick husband, for New Years Eve. Lucky, lucky me.I can’t wait for those two to have kids so I can unleash a little rotavirus on their asses. :)Hope you’re all much better real soon.Amy @ http://prettybabies.blogspot.com
>You need to quit having Ella over or tell her mom to stop bringing her over sick…this is getting ridiculous!! Enough is enough!
>You really need to start telling this woman no. I hope your kids don’t have pneumonia because of this.
>Poor little guy. I hope he’s feeling better soon and that it isn’t pneumonia.
>WOW, Anonymous–way to stand behind your over-the-top comment that Lindsay needs to take care of her children first. Very brave, aren’t you?You think she, and every other mother who ever agreed to look after someone else’s child who turned out to be sick, doesn’t get that? You know what, you’re not worth the typewriter lashing I was working myself up to create just for you.
>This is just a suggestion, and I cannot remember my login, so I’ll just sign it. When kids come to my park and I find out partway through the day that their parents know they are ill…I call everyone on the list and all their friends until I find someone to pick them up. Do you have a number for Ella’s dad or grandparents? Before you consider letting her come over, I would demand a backup contact since this woman drops her kid off sick and then “turns off her phone”. Who does that when their kid is at someone else’s house? This is a woman in need of public embarrassment! :)Poor little Bruiser! I hope he’s OK! Sincerely,Sherri
>Oh no. I hope it’s not Pneumonia. At the risk of stating the obvious, that would suck. It’s no fun being a cute baby who’s sick. Good luck at the doctor’s.And if it IS pneumonia…I’ll send over some lab stuff.
>It IS pneumonia!!AAARGGGHHH!But it’s in the early stages, we now have an antibiotic and I’m hoping he’ll be on the mend soon.Anonymous, I don’t think you read the posts very carefully- I had no idea she was sick until she was already here- My stepdaughters had agreed to babysit her, along with my two smallest, until we got home from Christmas shopping. By the time I realized she was sick, her mom was long gone- and she hadn’t left any contact numbers.I guess that by reading the posts, you’d think that her bringing her daughter over sick is the only contact I have with her. It’s not. I see this woman and her daughter on a regular basis. I have no way of avoiding them. That’s what makes this situation so awkward- and that’s why it keeps happening. I’m not some bad mother who can’t say no, but you have to take it in the context of the big picture. And I wouldn’t have even remembered that every single time she’s asked me to watch her daughter, her daughter’s been sick, if I hadn’t blogged about it. So, uh, thanks blog! You helped me to uncover a pattern.Oh, and I’m sick now, too. But it’s just a cold for me, so I feel bad even mentioning it here. Bruiser has been like a zombie child today- sicker than I’ve ever seen him. I feel really bad for him.
>send her the bill , tell her since she is so christain to dump her sick kid at your house so she could go to a church meeting, you know she will do the christian thing and pay your poor babies medical bill THAT SHE CA– USED! BAH HUMBUG
>Punixx is right. Send her a copy of all the Doctors bills & meds. "We would be happy to have your sweet daughter visit when she's NOT SICK, but helping you out cost my family a healthy & happy Christmas so here is the bill for babysitting Ella " its still not enough but maybe wake up call her. Hope all ya'll feel better really soon. Mary in ATL
>Why don’t you call up Ella’s mom tomorrow and invite Ella over for an immediate playdate? Then put her in a small room with Bruiser?Okay, it’s fun to think about revenge and ass-kicking, but if you travel in the same circle of friends and acquaintances that can come back to bite you. Particularly if she’s not always honest with other people, and they haven’t caught on yet, if you know what I mean.I think Mayday’s phrase might come in handy, or you might mention that your kids seem to be coming down with something and you couldn’t possible risk them making Ella sick because you would feel just TERRIBLE if your child made another child sick.
>If so, it’s Kick Some Ass Time.I’ve had Other Moms bring their children to my house hacking and oozing snot, and told them I was suddenly feeling very poorly. Hell, I once left from a friend’s home during a playdate, before the ordered pizza arrived, because a little dude sneezed a pint of snot into his own hand.My first daughter didn’t have so much as a case of the minor sniffles before she was 2 1/2 because I would snatch her up and run like hell from Other People’s infected children. My second daughter only got her first case of the sniffles because daughter #1 sneezed in her face.Ame I. in West TN
>Poor little guy. I hope he gets better quickly!!
>o fuck lindsay, i am sorry you are going thought this.i would encourage you to meet her for a up of coffee and just let her know how you feel. it is not easy to confront in fact i really suck at it. so i am not one to talk…i really hope bruiser feels better soon, and you too!
>Oh boy! Just keep him quarantined, you don’t need any cross contamination! I hope he gets better really soon.And that one Anonymous comment I totally thought was from your mom! Cause that’s EXACTLY what a mom/grandma would say! Judging by the response, I guess not, though.
>I had bronchial pneumonia at 12. Took 3 weeks to get completely over. Nasty, miserable stuff.I’d loan you a culture from my ‘frigerator — there are probably some very gnarly lab monsters therein — but frankly, I’m afraid to touch the container, let alone try to ship it… 😉
>Just offer to babysit ella this afternoon and let bruiser puke on her. that would even things up. Just kidding. Or not.
>Sounds like RSV to me. Hope he’s better soon!
>Poor kid. The youngest had pneumonia last year, and it was scary how fast it came on. She bounced back after a couple of days of antibiotics and breathing treatments… literally.
>Did you call that woman and ask her to watch your kid?
>This is similar to what my dumbass sister in law did to us- on our VACATION! Thanks to all you stupid, selfish bitches out there!