Sick kids, Layoffs, & Storms...Oh My!

Well, yesterday was certainly an eventful day. First of all, our day started at 4 a.m., when Clay woke up and came out of his bedroom, crying, with his hands over his mouth. I could tell he was going to be sick, so I ran him into the bathroom, just in time for him to throw up into the toilet. Poor little guy didn't even have much left in his stomach. After he finished, I took him back to bed, and he slept until 6:00, when he usually wakes up. I made breakfast for the other kids, but he still wasn't feeling too great, so he laid down on the couch to rest. He ended up throwing up again before we left to take the kids to school, and then again, as soon as I got back home. He managed to drink some water and eat a couple crackers, and then fell asleep around 11:00 or so. So, I ran around the house, trying to get a few things done while he was sleeping. When he woke up, a few hours later, he seemed to be doing much better. We went to pick up Tessa & Jonah from school, came home & did homework, and then I had to run and pick up PJ from his after school Art Club that's every Tuesday (which he LOVES). Well, Clay was happy and playing as usual, but at dinner time, he wouldn't eat anything, and just snuggled with me and wasn't feeling well again.

Well, anyway, at about 6:45, I had to leave to take PJ to Scouts & Tessa to Activity Days, at the church (and I'm one of the leaders, and was in charge of the activity). I was a little concerned, because there were severe thunderstorm with large hail & tornado warnings, and I was just hoping that I wouldn't get stuck in it, while I was driving! I was hoping that it wouldn't get really bad until after I was home, around 9:00 or so. And I was hoping that Clay would be okay, because usually when he doesn't feel good, he wants Mommy. Well, he was fine, and read a few stories with Daddy & Jonah before bed, but it didn't last too long.

The severe thunderstorm hit, pouring rain, some hail, and lots of wind. I always worry a little about our big trees during those storms (branches breaking or falling on our house), as well as the hail when it hits the windows, I'm afraid it might break the windows! The first year we were here, there was a tornado that tore through Bentonville, and the hail was the size of softballs! I've never seen anything like it!! (I wish I would have taken pictures). Anyway, the thunder always scares Clay, so that woke him up several times, as well as getting up to throw up a few more times too. And the fact that he slept so much during the day didn't help! The poor little guy woke up around 2 a.m. (and about every half hour after that), asking if it was time to get up yet. And he was so hungry and thirsty, but couldn't keep anything down. :(

So at about 5:45 a.m. this morning, I finally got up and let Clay & Jonah get up too. Clay had a bite of a cracker, and some milk, and then went to lay down on the couch and fell asleep. Well, about a half hour later, he threw up again! This time he didn't make it to the bathroom or in the bowl that was by him. He was so exhausted, that he was still asleep when he started throwing up, so it was all over the couch, his pillow, and his clothes. He was pretty upset. Luckily, Neil hadn't left for work yet, so he cleaned up the couch and threw everything in the laundry, while I gave Clay a quick bath. I ran the kids to school (with Clay holding a plastic bag the whole time), and then came home for some more rest & relaxation. I keep hoping that he'll get over this little flu bug quickly and nobody else will get it!

Well, the other big (and not so good) news is that yesterday, while I was online, I noticed someone had posted a comment on facebook about Wal-Mart Layoffs. I hadn't heard anything about it, but worried if it would impact anyone we knew. Come to find out, Wal-Mart laid off 700-800 employees from the Home Office, here in Bentonville, yesterday. I figured that we wouldn't have to worry, because Neil is the Senior Director over Food Safety (and the compliance dept. is fairly small and very specialized), and there is only one Vice President above him, and a Sr. V.P. above that. I figured they wouldn't cut people up that high. Well, when Neil got home, he confirmed that Wal-Mart had laid off a lot of people that we know and are friends with. I was just sick with worry for them! And it wasn't just hourly employees or the lower-end positions, it included people who were hourly workers, Directors, and Vice Presidents, as well as people who had worked with Wal-Mart anywhere from a few months to many years! This area has a very high percentage of people who work for the Wal-Mart Home Office, and vendors that work with Wal-Mart, so when something like this happens, it affects a lot of people that we know. Neil's Sr. V.P. said that this layoff wouldn't impact their department, but that doesn't necessarily make me feel safe. What about next month, or a few months down the road? Will we have to worry then? We talked about what we would do if that happened. We've scrimped by on very little before, and we could manage again if we had to, but hopefully that won't happen!