Use the Internet to read up and print out the signs for dehydration. Keep this in your Control Journal. The one sign I know is about the skin on top of your hand. If you pinch it, it will stay pinched up. Keep your doctor's phone number in your Control Journal, too. As children's little throats get raw, try to get them to drink some water that is cool; maybe one ice cube in it, just before they throw up. The cool water actually feels good to the back of the throat, especially if they have nothing else in their tummy but hot stomach acid. This works for morning sickness too. I am not a doctor or a nurse, but we all have to play these roles when this hits our family. Talk to your doctor about medications, set up an emergency sheet for your Control Journal that tells anyone what to do and then just stay calm and watch for signs of dehydration. Don't forget your doctor's phone numbers on this sheet, and wash your hand often.

When the stomach flu rages in your home, those old towels become valuable. As you upgrade your regular towels, keep a few of the old ones for times like this. An old beach towel makes a great cover for that air mattress and another one will make a blanket to cover up with. It is never fun when you are dealing with the whole family in sick mode, but you can get through it. The sand bucket can catch those accidents when your baby can't make it to the bathroom. Then you can use the little sand shovel to scoop up the misfires. What a day at the beach!

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Marla Cilley, a k a FlyLady, is the author of Sink Reflections (Bantam Books Trade Paperback). For more help, please go to her Web site: www.FlyLady.net. © 2005