I Heart Affrin...and Finn.

Today I have a horrible cold. Finn started the trend last week with a short lived two day head cold. Then Maya's nose started running Friday night, and has escalated to a full-on cold. It's her first illness, poor thing. And now it feels like I have a brick wall in my head. Normally a cold wouldn't be such a set back. But the catch is Wes is in Iceland. He left yesterday (follow along HERE). Just in time for me to get sick along with Maya. Hmmm. No fun. Currently I am exhausted. I am longing for sleep to take me away. Desperate for it, even. I was chugging along at a decent pace, but somewhere around 5 this evening it was as if my body said, "STOP! You're done. Go to bed right now." Only, that was an impossibility, of course. I managed to get Maya to bed at 7, thinking I could be in bed by 8. I am not sure WHAT the heck was going on with Finn tonight, but he decided his little body couldn't fall asleep until 10:30. And by not go to sleep I mean throw an hour long "episode" about wanting to watch some specific scene in "Disaur moobie, Mamaaaaaaaaaaaa." I couldn't find the blessed scene to save my life. Here is how the rest of our night went once I tried to get Finn down for the night:

(Sound of Finn's hollow footsteps on wood floor. He appears by my bedside.)
"Mama, go sleep Dada's bed."
"OK, get in and lie down."
(He gets in, burrowing under the pillows. He flops around a bit, then settles on the edge of my pillow. He plays with my ear, pulling on it. Normally it would be sweet and endearing, but tonight it kind of hurts.)
"Finn, please don't pull on Mama's ear."
"Mama, waffle."
"No. Lie down."
"Mama, EAT."
"It's late, Finn. You've already had enough food tonight. Lie down."
"Meemo fruit nacks, Mama."
"DOWN."
(White noise machine turned on by Finn whirs loudly. My head pounds. It's too much sound, conflicting with the baby monitor transmitting Maya's white noise machine.)
"Finn, turn the sound off."
"No, Mama."
"OFF, or Mama will be sad. Mama is sick and her head hurts."
"Mama hurt head?"
(Finn hits me on the top of my head.)
"Yes, Mama's head especially hurts. Now lie down."
(I turn off the noise machine. Finn turns it back on. It's hot. Finn wants me to put 3 pillows on my body so that he can lie on the pillows on me. The brick wall in my head feels like someone's hitting it with a hammer. I throw the pillows off and turn off the sound machine again. Finn starts tunelessly humming.)
"Shhhhh. Put your head on Dada's pillow."
(I can't take it any more. I get up, rummage through the medicine box until I find some Affrin. Spray spray. I head back to bed, prop up my head and wait for it to work. Finn reaches over and painfully yanks out the clip in my hair. I'm edging on hysteria.)
"FINN!!"
"No, Mama! Finn's!"
(I start to cry. Because I am tired. Because I am sick. And because my husband is in Iceland and I miss him.)
"Oh no, Mama, hurt head?"
(Finn starts kissing my eyebrows, head, ear, chin. It's very sweet. He hugs my head. Pats my cheek.)
"Finn, can you say a prayer for Mama?"
(He folds his hands and says, "Mama, Dada, Finn, Baby Maya." We haven't been able to get him to fold his hands for a prayer in weeks. He must have known I needed him.)
"Can you say, 'Please bless Mama to feel better?'"
"Peeze bess Mama better."
(I start crying again because he's so sweet and I feel bad for yelling at him.)
"Oh, Mama."
"Oh, Finn."
(We lie very still. The Affrin kicks in. Finn falls asleep while tugging on my ear. I lie awake unable to sleep because I know Maya could wake up any second needing me. It's going to be a long night...but I feel very blessed.)