I hate cleaning up puke - especially not my own (very long vent)

My 11 year old niece was visiting us for a few days, and yesterday she said she didn't feel great most of the day. Not pukey, no fever, no headache - just "yucky" but still had a good appetite and ate fine all day. She felt fine around 5 PM, and I told her that if she does feel like getting sick she needed to let me know ASAP or run to the bathroom, etc. We were in the car going to my sister's house when I reminded her again that if she felt sick that she needed to let me know or just open the car door if the car is stopped. Well, of course, we were in the parking lot at the grocery store (stopped and all), and she just starts heaving and projectile vomits all over the inside of the car without any warning. All over the windshield and window, in the A/C vents, speakers, herself, window, me, seats, seatbelt, floormats, etc. I rolled down the window without thinking that the vomit would get inside the door panel too, and she puked again all over the side of the car. Gross. Yuck. And my own DD is crying hysterically in the backseat at the sight of all of this. Thank god we were in a parking lot. I pulled up to the gas station and took out at least 50 paper towels and started cleaning it up as best as I could. The kid just stood there - in the way - and looked at me, so I handed her a bunch of baby wipes and told her to clean herself up. Instead of cleaning herself off, she climbed into the backseat of the car with puke all over her clothes and sat down next to my DD and started giving DD crackers. WTF?? I had to tell my niece to get out of the car again and just stand there while I cleaned up. She just stared at me while I scraped it all off the seat and windshield enough so that I could see to drive home, all while trying to hold back my own vomit, which had collected in my throat the whole time. And still, my DD was screaming her head off so loudly that I thought that the gas station attendant would come over to check to see that I wasn't abusing her. We finally got home, and I told my niece to go take a shower and put her clothes in a plastic bag. I called her dad and agreed to drive her halfway back home (4-hour round-trip drive for me and for her dad), and I set out to clean up the car while trying to keep my DD occupied and not screaming. After an hour of using the steam cleaner and an entire bottle of lysol cleaner with two rolls of paper towels, I was finally done. Then I got my niece, who was crying because she didn't want to go home. I had had enough at that point and just told her - as calmly as I could muster - to get in the car because we had to leave. She still refused to get in the car, so I told her that if she had a virus that pregnant women and little kids get sicker than other people and that I didn?t want to get the virus myself (although we?re already exposed to it if she does have one). I?m keeping my fingers crossed that my DD?s increased appetite due to a growth spurt is not going to result in large amounts of projectile vomiting. However, I can handle cleaning up my own kid?s puke. Just not someone else?s.

I am not mad at my niece for getting sick in the car. Stuff like that does happen, and it could have happened to anyone. The things that get me is that this kid is 11 years old and A) didn't offer to help clean up (c'mon! that was enough puke for a freakin' adult!!), didn't think to open the unlocked car door in a stopped vehicle to puke, C) puked in our bathroom all over the wall and behind the toilet AND didn't tell me (I found out when I came home at midnight after driving 4 hours round-trip to drop her off at her dad's house ? found out by stepping and sliding in it), D) still had vomit on her hands and clothing and walked into our house, getting vomit all caked on doorknobs and the bathroom door (AND didn?t tell me ? I found out by grabbing the doorknob to close the door), and E) puked AGAIN in the car when we met her dad in the parking lot at the meeting place (she refused to get out of the car and didn?t use the trash can that I had provided for her just in case she puked again in the car). Even her dad didn?t tell her to get out of the car. Again, WTF?? Manners and common sense, anyone??

I?m off this morning to take the car to a service cleaning place to get an estimate to have it thoroughly cleaned and detailed since it still smells like vomit. I'm glad it's not that hot out right now, since that would be unbearable to me at this point, even driving 20 minutes to go to the detailing place.

Is my niece coming over to visit again soon? I don?t think so.