Too late for just one?

I have a virus. J has a virus. Toby has a virus. I'm assuming we all have the same virus but it's affecting us in different ways. I have a sore throat, earache and fever. J has a very sore throat and Toby has unbelievable snot production, a constant cough and extreme naughtiness. I don't know why it is but when Tobes is ill he pulls out all the stops when it comes to bad behaviour. Are all children like this?

I had to give him a time-out while Brenda was here because he refused to get ready for school. Not just obstinance but throwing things at me and being really awful. Then tonight he was having some milk before bed and he picked up his cup and waved it through the air spraying milk droplets all over the living room. I thought I would give him the benefit of the doubt and explained that the cup was not a sippy cup and he had to be more careful. He then held the cup as if to pour it out on his table. I told him if he poured any milk on his table I would take the milk away and he would go straight to bed. He looked me straight in the eye and proceeded to pour milk on his table.

As if that wasn't enough, before I could jump up and get to the cup of milk he then took a big swig of it then opened his mouth and let the milk spill out over himself, the chair and the floor. I was so frustrated I thought I would throw him out the window. It wouldn't have done me much good though because when he's ill he has no fear of punishment either. The bad behaviour just continues until he finally falls asleep.

Tonight after cleaning him up, getting him into his PJs (which was another trial, let me tell you) and getting him into bed without even brushing his teeth (I was just too exhausted) I sat in the chair beside his bed as we do every night. As I sat there waiting for him to fall asleep I started thinking about what I would do as soon as he passed out. Downstairs was a pile of laundry and dirty dishes waiting for me but I would be able to do them in peace. I could make myself a cold drink and maybe drink it before all the ice melted, or maybe a cup of tea and drink it before it went cold. I could even watch something other than cartoons on TV.

Parallel to this line of thinking was a much more terrifying thought - what will I do when there's another child waiting for me? How will I cope when walking out of Toby's room doesn't mean a little peace it means dealing with the insistent needs of another baby? I was seriously close to tears just thinking about it. It's not as if J has the kind of job where he's home by a certain time every night. Hell, he's not even home every night. He spent the last three days in Zurich. But I can't complain about J's work. It's what makes our lives possible. It's why I can stay home with Tobes, why we can buy a place in Blackheath, why we can spend an exhorbitant amount of money going to Starbucks. J's job pays for our life. I'm going to have to find a way to cope. How on earth am I going to do that?