Ah yes, Monday morning

Good Morning all!

I definitely have been MIA recently, but I promise not with out good reason. First, I was slightly gun shy after the responses from my last rant, second, I have four kids!?!, and of course, third, my house has been on quarantine for the last week, and I feared getting you sick even through the computer.

We are not a family that gets sick. And, even if one of us does, the rest of us usually don't get to join in on that party! I read a statistic once (okay, this weekend, in American Baby magazine) that the average child gets a cold 8-12 times a year until they turn 5. I can count on one hand the number all of my kids combined have been sick, and that includes the chicken pox outbreak of 2007! We just don't get sick! That is, until Mason started going to school. Yet another reason for considering home schooling, I suppose.

First, Charlotte started with the runny nose watery eye thing. We took her to the chiro, one adjustment, and Poof! no more runny nose. Nipped that one in the bud, we are in the clear. HAHA right!

The next morning she woke up and said her throat REALLY hurt. She tends to be a little bit of a drama queen, but I let her hang out in my bed and watch TV and have juice and yogurt and anything else smooth she asked for. Then, Mason came home from school and said his throat hurt. Being as considerate as I am, I told him just because his sister was getting to sit in my bed was no reason to pretend he was sick.

Oh, then my throat started to hurt and I went and apologized to my children for saying that they would be fine. I thought I was going to die! Remember that commercial from the 80's where the little kid grabs her neck and says "I've got a porky-pine in my froat"? That was what it felt like.

Then Levi's eye started watering, and the baby started sneezing. Oh No! I sat pitifully surrounded by sick kids until Daddy came home to take over so I could get some sleep. Or that was what I thought would happen any way. Lucky for us, Daddy got sick too. He came home, curled up on the couch and pretty much stayed in that position all weekend. By Saturday morning we had polished off 2 boxes of tissue, the kids had absolutely destroyed the house due to lack of competent adult supervision (apparently even being sick doesn't really slow down 4 kids ability to take out everything in the play room), we had run out of clear liquids to drink, and my small stash of cold meds was depleted.

I reluctantly got dressed and took a couple kids to WalMart to replenish our supplies. I came home and resumed my sick position on the couch and pretty much fell asleep. At about 10:30 PM, our new tenants called and said they were about to reach town and would like us to meet us at the house with the keys and the lease. I had expected them earlier, but they also were not have such a great day (blew up a tire on their trailer, couldn't find the jack, etc) so I agreed to meet them out there. I probably looked like I had been hit by a truck, but at that point, I didn't really care.

I got all of that taken care of, came home desperately wanting to go to sleep, but instead I was greeted by a screaming baby, who by my assumption, had gotten to the sore throat portion of the looming virus. Garrett and I hung out in the living room until he finally passed out (probably from exhaustion) and we slept curled up together, coughing and sneezing for a few hours.

Sunday morning, the bigger boys seemed to be ALL BETTER because they were up at about 6:30 rearing to go! So, mommy got up and played referee for awhile. Daddy remained sick (men are soooo pitiful) for the rest of the day.

We spent a little time last night picking up the disaster formerly known as my house, but there is oh so much more to do today. Today, although that porky-pine still calls my throat home, and now the inside of my ears have begun to itch (crazy and awful symptom!) I must UNSICK my house. I don't care if it is 50 and raining I am going to open all of my windows, wash all the sheets (and probably hand them on the line outside for extra freshness protection!), scrub the yuckness out of the kitchen and bathrooms, and then take a nap! Anyone want to come and help? I'll pass out paper masks at the door!

Have a great day and take that vitamin C!!