and you thought you weren’t going to have to worry about what is coming out of 75 per cent of my child population for three months.

so did i, actually.

carys vomitted in the playground today. for no good reason. but you know, she had been running alot, eating a lot…vomit happens. we KNOW that.

but the spidy senses weren’t violently banging against my tired brain…surely we weren’t going back into vomit land were we? WERE WE?

apparently i wasn’t, but good old carys yakked all over herself and my mother today in the taxi.

we were on our way to watch sebastian play football. the babies were with us, we were giving them a chance to play on the pitch. just as we were pulling up, little lulu opened her mouth and spewed. once. OH MY GOODNESS. twice…OH WAIT! third time…she’s crying, sebbie is bawling, (she had vomitted all over his leg) and the taxi driver is cursing. (do’nt blame her).

i give mum money and tell her to take carys home. i yank sebastian out of the taxi and he is still whinging about his pukey leg and shorts. wah wah wah, cry me a nauseas river. i take jasper and pass him to a mother i sort of know. bark to take him with her but to be careful, he has some vomit on his sleeve. she starts clearing him up and does a bit of a job on sebbie.

i take sela and the taxi driver’s phone. call lita and say, "im sorry, i know i wanted to give you a break but ….. mum returning…and could you please help the taxi driver clear up the vomit." remind me to give her an extra bonus.

have i told you that the chinese word for smelly is pronounced "chow chow" ? every morning while we wait for the school bus the bin lorry comes to collect the garbage. and i taught the kids to say smelly, and so now every morning they wave their hands in front of their noses and say, "CHOW CHOW!!!" when the lorry comes.

the taxi was chow chow. the driver was mad mad.

i am dragging sebbie along and he has vomit on his shorts and leg. i am carrying sela and where is jasper? oh right, with the other mother. good. everyone is accounted for.

sebbie decides he can’t play footie with chow chow beginning to crust on his leg and the chunky bits still clinging to his shorts. in despair, i stop a man walking in the same direction as me. his son is about the same size and age as sebbie, a bit older i think.

"excuse me, do you have another pair of shorts in that bag?" i ask.

and he does. and i explain (not that i need to explain much, it is all there to witness), and he asks his son if sebastian can wear the shorts, the son agrees, and i have sebastian stripped down in seconds.

people are so kind. really kind. the son needs the shorts tomorrow for pe and i will get them to him no matter what.

so, i am glad the toilet training was put on hold, because if this stomach flu is as rampant as it is meant to be, the competition for the toilets in the house is going to be intense. oy.