Chris left this morning for another short jaunt, him and the boys are doing a swing through Virginia and North Carolina. There are more concerts later in the month but the road trips will be broken up by our trip west for the MusiCares benefit and the Grammys.

The kids were sound asleep when he left and while I got up to see him off at the ungodly hour of 4 am, I didn't get the chance to go back to bed. No doubt he's on the bus sound asleep already but it seems as though the door slammed behind him and Connor was calling from his room, saying he had a tummy ache.

He's been known to fake one just for some attention but trust me, this time he wasn't faking anything. Three loads of laundry and I think we're clean for the time being. But just in case I have another pair of pajamas and another set of sheets sitting out on his dresser. When he just missed throwing up on me, I started wishing I was the one on the bus travelling east and Chris was the one here dealing with the yucky mess.

But ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? And I should be used to pretending I'm a single mother by now. Both Chris and Joe have spent their fair share of time on the road and I'm the one looking after the homefront.

Conn seemed a little better by the time Lily was ready for school so he was bundled into the car along with his sisters. But he came back home with me and Bella and spent most of the day looking pitiful on the couch.

By mid afternoon it looked like the bug had decided to take a hike elsewhere. He was readily eating toast and some soup and perking right up at the thought of going outside to play in the middle of the afternoon, instead of sitting at his desk listening to his teacher. But mean mom that I am, I put an end to those dreams. Instead of heading outside, he went right back to the couch until it was time to pick Lily up.

We'll see how he feels tomorrow before we loosen the reins again.