The Sickies have struck

Grant was scheduled to leave for DC for several days on Tuesday night. That afternoon, he came home very ill with a stomach bug. He postponed leaving until early Wednesday morning. I was so hopeful that the kids and I would escape the misery, but it was not so.
Thursday afternoon, out of the blue, my stomach started feeling weird. My heart filled with dread. How could I take care of the kids while being sick? Grant wasn't due back until Friday night. Maybe it would pass. Oh, it didn't. I started throwing up around 6:00. I felt so miserable. I managed to get the kids through dinner and put them to bed early, around 7:30. Then I went down to lie on the couch and try to get ice chips down while I watched my shows, "So You Think You Can Dance" and the season finale of "Lost".
I went a couple of hours without vomiting but had chills, body aches, and general yuckiness, and I heard a sound I was praying not to hear. A child crying upstairs. That could only mean one thing. It was 10:00, and Corban had vomited in his bed/on the floor. He was feeling horrible and I wasn't much better, but I had to clean up his room. Bleh. I called Grant and told him he was never allowed to leave home again.
I set up a little bed for Corban on the floor beside my bed with a couple of trash cans there. They got good use throughout the night. Corban threw up 6 more times. Around 2:30 a.m., a most wondrous sound reached my ears. Grant was walking through the front door. He skipped out on his meetings today and drove through the night to help me. My Hero! And just in the nick of time, because soon after that, Annika started throwing up. Poor thing has vomited at least 5 times now, and she's such a good sport. She comes out of it with a watery eyed smile and snuggles for whomever is holding her. She's so precious.
Grant spent the rest of the evening holding her and taking care of her while I continued to help Corban. It was a truly wretched night.
This morning is much better. I'm feeling significantly better, just achy still and very tired. Corban is napping on the couch and Annika and Grant are asleep in her room. Marissa, who remained blissfully oblivious to the struggles of the night, is watching a video. Being sick is definitely something you do NOT want to do as a family.