As we were getting ready for bed this evening both of my older children, at different times, stopped me to tell me how hungry they were. They weren’t just hungry, they were STARVING!! This is a pretty standard tactic in our house, a means to somehow prolong the bedtime routine. And, I confess, I used to fall for it. After all, I can’t let me dear, sweet children go to bed with a grumbling in their bellies. And tonight it crossed my mind, “perhaps I should get them something small.”

But wait? Didn’t we just have dinner? As in- less than an hour ago?!? Yes, I remember, I made dinner this evening. But did they eat it? Not really. After three bites Big E told me he was full (i.e. he lied, so he wouldn’t have to eat anymore.) And C nibbled on her meal, but scarfed down some bread. But now it’s bedtime and apparently they are starving… 

I may be a lot of things; a wife, a mom, a video editor, etc. But there is one thing that I am not… a short order cook. If it was up to them, Big E would eat his weight in PBJ, C would be packing away buttered bread and Baby E would eat sausage for every meal.

I’m sorry, kids. I don’t have the time, nor any particular desire, to bow to your picky palate preferences. It’s my job to make sure that your health needs are met, and that means feeding you (as often as possible) a well balanced meal. So I’m sorry you didn’t like the meal I cooked, but it’s twenty minutes past bedtime and you had your chance to eat. Before you complain I’m being harsh… I didn’t offer you liver and onions, it was actually a meal you have eaten countless times before and enjoyed, you just didn’t want it this evening. And sweet ones, sometimes having an empty belly isn’t such a bad thing. It reminds us of how blessed we are to live in a country and community where food is incredibly abundant, where we don’t have to worry about actual starvation. No, it’s important we graciously accept what is offered to us, no matter what it is. So if you wake up in the middle of the night and your tummy is rumbling and grumbling, get yourself a glass of water and remind yourself that maybe tomorrow you should just eat your dinner. 🙂 Love you!

PS- if my children look at you with “For only $1 a day you could save this child” kind of looks and try to convince you I don’t feed them, remind them that I feed them plenty. It’s just that they choose not to eat it!

I was running an errand this evening after I dropped the big kids off at church. Baby E was sitting in the back seat talking to himself and to me at regular intervals. After a little while I noticed that he had started singing two lines…

He died me. He died you. 

In a sing song fashion he repeated this phrase over and over again, becoming clearer and clearer each time.

“Did he die for you?” I asked him.

“Yes!! He died me. He died you!!!” He shouted.

“Did Jesus die for you?” I responded.

“Yes! Jesus died me. Jesus died you!”

It was cute to hear the words coming from his mouth, even though he doesn’t understand the full immensity of them.

We got the paperwork for the C’s first grade field trip weeks ago… a trip to the zoo. It has been a main topic of conversation ever since. There were not really space limitations, so each child was allowed to bring one person with them. After discussing it, we decided that Tim should go with her. I’ve been silently praying for weeks that she wouldn’t be sick, because I desperately wanted her and Tim to get this time together.

The weather was so beautiful today, I met Tim and the kids at the beach after work. It was the first time since last year that Baby E has walked barefoot in the sand and at first he was none to sure about it. Within a few minutes, though, he was splashing through the extremely cold water and having a blast. We ended the evening going out to a local pizza place before heading home and putting everyone to bed.

After what seemed like an interminable commute this morning, I got to work after an hour and a half in the car. I got out, went around the van and opened the passenger side door. I remembered that I didn’t have my set of keys (that’s an entirely different story!), but rather Tim’s. The automatic lock clicker stopped working on his a few months ago, so I have to lock the car manually, which normally is not a big deal. Thinking about this, I went ahead and locked the door so I wouldn’t forget when I walked away. I picked up my cup of iced coffee I had gotten from Dunkin Donuts on my way in and promptly noticed that it was dripping down my dress… a lot. Thankfully I had a roll of paper towels in the van and I grabbed a handful to sop up the mess. As I was patting down my dress, somehow the paper towels caught hold of the little brace I wear on my recovering finger and I felt it slip off and saw it fly through the air towards the parking lot. Then I couldn’t find it. I looked frantically on the ground, near the tire, under the car- everywhere! But no luck. The van door was blocking my view so I closed the door to see better.

And the moment it closed I realized my mistake. Oops. My keys were still in the car. So was my phone, my lunch, and my coffee. Thankfully I was at work when it happened because I was able to go inside and look up information on our department of transportation. They offer motorist assistance and I was able to call them to come over and unlock my car. Within a few minutes the guy showed up and used a few tools to get it opened. My day perked up after such a ridiculous morning!

The absolute highlight of my day was having Baby E back at home. They got back right before bedtime, but I got to enjoy some wonderful snuggles and giggles. He is spending his first night in a big boy bed, so here’s hoping he doesn’t fall out! We still have to disassemble the crib, so the toddler bed is just sitting in the middle of the room, but he was extremely excited to crawl into it this evening and he fell quickly to sleep!

When I heard the noise it pulled me from a deep sleep; a long, loud blast that I could feel resonate through my body. As I came to I wondered why the train passing was so loud. In my stupor I knew that didn’t seem right. We live by the sea, with no trains near twenty miles at least. I wondered if it had all been a dream, but it wasn’t the first night I had heard it. It had happened earlier in the week as well. Tim texted me from downstairs to ask me if I had heard it, so I knew I hadn’t made it up. When he came up a few minutes later he confirmed that it sounded like a train to him as well. It didn’t happen again, but I wonder what it was… A passing ship, perhaps? Strange to have never heard it before and then for it to happen twice in one week. It made falling asleep again very difficult.

Today, however, was splendid. Big E spent the day with his grandparents for a post-birthday celebration. They went to lunch with some of the cousins and went and picked out their birthday present. Big E chose a dress up knight armor kit.

Baby E is still with my parents, so Tim and I got a rare day with just our girl. We took her out to lunch and then spent some time on the beach. Despite the chill in the air and the frigid temperatures of the water, she took off her shoes and ran through the sand. She brought toys and played. She walked on the rocks. She jumped in the small waves as they lapped onto the beach. She smiled so very much.

Today was a good day… a peaceful day. This time tomorrow we will all be under the same roof. I can’t wait!

 

Today was clean up day for C’s American Heritage Girls troop. They spent the morning beautifying the grounds of the church where their meetings are held. While my kids are still a little young to be actually helpful, it was a good experience for them to work along side other kids and adults and give back to their local community. They washed windows, pulled weeds, and laid and spread mulch. There was a little grumbling when they decided they were bored and they begged to go somewhere special once we were done. I took them aside and explained to them that we would not be going anyplace special on account of them working this morning. I want them to understand the concept that helping others doesn’t equate getting something for ourselves in return. We were going to work, not because we would have a fun activity to look forward to, but rather the work was the activity. As they started to get comfortable around more of the kids, they definitely started to be more productive and helpful. We ended the clean up day with hot dogs and chips. The grounds looked lovely and the kids got the chance to think about others before themselves.

We came home for a much needed nap and then spent the afternoon going for a walk and then spent some time on the local beach. We are looking forward to the warmer weather and the chance to go and play on the beach more often. The kids enjoy it very much!

Baby E is still having fun at his grandparents’ house and will likely return Monday evening.

We get a ton of papers back from C’s school. There are a lot of projects she works on in class and plenty of artwork comes home. But my absolute favorite pieces are the spontaneous ones that C creates at home when boredom pushes her into creativity.

I picked Big E up from his grandparents’ house last night after work. When I had gotten there, he was running a pretty high temp despite having had ibuprofen an hour earlier. He was burning up and extremely tired. I brought him home but the fever was still intense. I decided to give him a little Tylenol and get him to bed. I set my alarm for 1 am, knowing that by then the fever reducers should have worn off and he would need a new dose. However when I made it in there at 1, he was sound asleep and his whole body was completely drenched in sweat. His hair was slicked to his head and his face was glistening. I reached out and touched his damp skin only to find that he felt almost cold to the touch. I decided to forgo the meds and see how he did in the morning.

This morning he came running into my room and jumped on my bed without a care in the world, begging for food and laughing. After a very long week, he was finally feeling better. He remained fever free the rest of the day.

I am beyond grateful that he is feeling better! Baby E is going to stay away for a few more days. That will give us the chance to finish disinfecting everything. I’m just so glad to see this smile!

Big E spent the day with Tim’s parents, and unfortunately he is still sporting a fever. I’m going to call the pediatrician in the morning and see if there are any further steps we should take. I hate that his fever might linger into the weekend. However, his throat no longer hurts so I do think the antibiotics are doing something. And his fever is still responding to meds, so its probably just a matter of keeping him comfortable until it breaks.

Praying he wakes up in the morning feeling better!

Day four of crazy high fevers has come to an end. Big E spiked to 104.5 this afternoon and I called the pediatrician just to make sure I didn’t need to take any additional steps. He said as long as he isn’t having problems breathing and is acting normal (you know, normal for being sick) then he should be fine. He said it might take an additional 24 hours for the antibiotic to kick in. I’m incredibly grateful to my mother in law who has agreed to take him tomorrow so that I can get back to work.

This evening, after the ibuprofen had kicked in and he had begged to eat Doritos and pizza, I took the kids for a long walk. Well, C and I walked, Big E rode in the stroller. I was hoping that the fresh air would do him some good. We spent about 45 minutes out and Big E kept begging to get out of the stroller so that he could run around. Much to his disappointment I only let him walk next to me. No running when you’ve been sporting a 104+ fever, kid.

It’s almost time for me to sneak in and give him a little more medicine before I head to bed. I’m praying that the fever breaks soon and his little body has a chance to heal. Poor little guy!

Meanwhile, Baby E is having a blast visiting his grandparents. We spoke briefly on the phone, but he’s two, and his tooth brush was more interesting, but that’s alright. I’m looking forward to having him home in a few days. The kids miss him as well.

Meanwhile this morning after I got C on the bus I was standing outside our house talking to a mother of a child that rides the bus with C. We were in mid conversation when I looked over and noticed that someone had lopped off all of the daffodils from my garden. Granted there weren’t many, perhaps three, but daffodils are my favorites and I was disappointed that they were gone. (oh, and I’m using the term garden very loosely. Ha!) This evening I couldn’t make it to church because of Big E’s fever, but a friend sent these wonderful daffodils home to me and I think they are just perfect… in fact, probably more beautiful than the ones in my yard! Thank you for that. I feel so blessed that so many people have reached out to us over the past two weeks while we’ve been dealing with all these illnesses. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you aren’t alone. Thank you!

 

I was preemptive this evening and got to walk in hours at the pediatrician 45 minutes early! Which meant we were one of the first to be seen. I was happy because our absolute favorite doctor was the one handling walk ins. Even though C has been fever free all day, I had them check both kids out. They did a strep test on Big E and we waited for the doctor. When he came in we described the symptoms… Big E has had a massive fever since Sunday. Today it hit 104.2, which had me a little worried. He’s thrown up, complained of nausea, headaches, a slightly sore throat (when swallowing tylenol), and pain in his neck when he bends it. He’s been on Tamiflu since Sunday morning but the fever is still running high. The fever responds to meds, but for the most part he has been pretty miserable. He has no energy and has eaten, but not a whole lot. He’s drinking fine and begging for water most of the day.

The doctor said the fast strep test they took came back negative but they will send it out to have the culture done. He then took a look at Big E’s ears and chest. The ears look great. The lungs sound good. No runny nose. No signs of lingering flu symptoms. He said the Tamiflu should have knocked out the fever and since it hadn’t he suspected a secondary infection. That’s when he checked Big E’s throat. He said it look very, very strep-like and his lymph nodes were huge. He was convinced that even though the strep test had come back negative, that what we are dealing with is a case of strep on top of the flu. (The fast strep test has a 10% chance of being wrong and he thinks it is in this case.) He said that they have seen that going around a lot for the past few days so he started Big E on an antibiotic and said the fever should be down by tomorrow. He thinks the flu is pretty much over and we now just need to fight the strep.

C was a little more complicated. She’s not running a fever anymore. Her temp is pretty much normal. But her throat looked a little red. He prescribed her an antibiotic just in case, but said it was fine to send her to school if she still doesn’t have a fever in the morning.

So there we have it… probably strep. He likely thought I was a nutcase when I got really excited. Strep?!?! Really??? There’s a medication for that!! There’s a light at the end of the tunnel!!!! Yay!!! He said it would be safe to bring Baby E home in a few days after the antibiotics for Big E kick in!

I filled the prescription and gleefully handed it to the kids. Compared to the Tamiflu this stuff is a breeze to take and I heard no complaints. I’ll be home again tomorrow, but I am praying that will be the last day. I’m cruising through my leave time and Tim’s work isn’t in a place for him to be able to take off. I’m missing Baby E but I know he’ll be back soon! 🙂

Thank you for all the continued prayers. And thank you to the dear friend that brought me Starbucks and lunch this afternoon. You were/are a godsend!

 

So, if you’ve been keeping track this year… 

Baby E- cold, 2 ear infections, RSV, hacking cough, pink eye, 2 stomach bugs, and the flu with a seizure.

Big E- cold, injured foot, 2 stomach bugs, 2 rounds of the flu, and strep

C- cold, 2 stomach bugs, 1 flu, 48+ hours of not being able to walk, and possibly strep.

I know this has been a rough winter for so many families. Every time I turn around there is something new and horrible going around. We’ve gotten a lot of it, but I know we aren’t the only family dealing with this. With that in mind, I’ve decided to make a little game… a sickness bingo, if you will. Feel free to choose any or all of the cards below and see if you can get bingo! (Five in a row- across, up and down, or diagonal) If so, leave me a comment letting me know which card and I’ll choose a winner to get a prize (tbd). Try to limit the sicknesses to September 2016 – March 2017. It can be you, your kids, or your whole family 🙂 If we are going to be miserable, at least we can laugh about it, right?!? 🙂

*Note* I know that “Random Inability to Walk” is pretty specific to C and her reaction to the flu, so you can replace that one with any “Random” illness you guys have faced that might have baffled the doctors.