When Mommy has the flu

 we can help out too!

It's a great blessing to have children who love to help out when they are needed!  (Now, when I'm just grumpy they are not full of enthusiasm, however.)

 I'd spent a lot of the morning laying down, and keeping my moaning thoughts to myself (I had lots of stomach cramps), and by the afternoon, having had an exceptionally good nap, I was feeling capable of avoiding "take out dinner", and with the help of the Nathan and Melanie, we managed to throw together a simple healthy comfort food dinner.

And by the next morning I was ready to help Matthew deal with the same flu bug. 

He was sleeping at nap time while Nathan and Melanie were busy helping--so I new something was up (he rarely ever doses these days) and it was an added bonus to have this heads up and be ready for a tough day. :)

Now the flu is gone from the house, and only half of us got hit!  :)

Sunday

Sick days are rare here, even rarer on Sundays.

Nathan and Daniel are getting over their illnesses slowly but surely.
Jennifer seems mostly over hers too.

We are thankful for the good health that we have!
For the recoveries we can make.
For the good we can still do to eachother.

Ephesians 4:29 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen".

"Thus we are to speak only what builds up and benefits others because our lives are not our own but are meant to show forth the One who indwells us.
(Brian Chapell on Ephesians 4:29)

How short we fall!

Colds

It seems that every one in this house has had a turn with a lingering cold. (Either that, or we've been getting one after the other--but I doubt that.)

Whenever we can get a bit of a break

we take it.

Big Sigh of Relief

I spent a whole week worrying about Jennifer's health. She's had green stools for more than two weeks, and at my last appointment it was suggested that I wasn't sitting and feeding her long enough the past week, and she was getting poor quality milk. So I sat with her. Plenty long. A whole week long. With no improvement. I imagined her shriveling up inside. Long term health problems, and many other woes.

Jennifer, for all this time of green, has been an ideal baby, with no complaints whatsoever, seemingly oblivious to the color changes.

I took her to the doctor today.

Jennifer thinks "Mommy, why do you do this to me?"

The doctor's conclusion--Jennifer is perfectly healthy. Far from starving, she has gained over 9 ounces in 8 days. The green, she concluded, must be a result from a change in my diet--most likely the vitamin/iron supplement pill I've started taking recently. I shall stop taking it to see what happens...

I feel vastly relieved now!

Life as it has been--it goes on even when I'm worrying for nothing!
Kids at play:

(Melanie was likely shadowing me closely. She's five now, so she doesn't associate with boys quite as much as before.)

I just love checking out me holding Jennifer when I pass the bathroom.

I am still amazed and thrilled at her smallness. And I marvel at her beauty, and show her off to herself.

Even with a receding hairline she is gorgeous!

Nathan and Melanie have taken up art projects of their own designs.

Nathan made an apple tree--he cut slits in the rectangular green paper to give it a tree look (quite effective in 3D actually) and he cut out the stems and apples separately and glued them on with care! Melanie made a paper snowflake. With lots of slits (they seem to have forgotten that you can see through it better if you actually cut some of the paper bits completely out) and lots of dashing color. It's very dear to her heart, and patched with tape after Daniel's destructive removal of it from their bedroom window.


Smiles and sleep.


Kids today before supper:

Sanitizing

As I'm hosting a belated birthday party for Nathan (6 already!!!), and I'm feeling energetic, I thought I'd spend my day going nuts and purging any last lingering flu germs that might be hiding in the house. Linens were attacked first. Then the floors.

(Some helpers have more fun than others.)


Then any toys that were played with recently--and any toys that I knew have been in mouths for the last month.

If the kids hadn't been so helpful, I probably wouldn't have been so ambitious. I even gave them wet cloths to wipe walls and doorknobs with, and they worked hard at that too! Nathan was definitely the hardest worker though. (Part of his motivation was to empty the bathtub before suppertime so that he'd be allowed a bath after we ate!)

Last of all was giving the kids baths. (That never happens often enough around here!)

I don't know what's wrong with me. I've never done this kind of frenzied cleaning before, for flus or otherwise. Maybe it's because the flu took so long to get over, and I just feel so ichy that I need to clean clean clean. Or maybe it's because of the party, and I'm (for a change) feeling conscientious about germ spreading. Maybe I'm growing up (NO!!!). Or maybe I'm just getting more paranoid with age.

Nobody had better get sick again for the next few days so that clean feeling can sink in for a while.

Sick Week

I got the flu Monday night and Tuesday.

Daniel got his turn on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

And last night and today is Matthew's turn.


Thankfully the last few days (except this afternoon) have been perfect outside weather days, so sprawling on the lawn on a blanket was a very pleasant thing to do. This morning wasn't sunny, but still, it was warm enough for me to be in bare feet. Yesterday was warmer and sunnier, but I was in a sweater and slippers! (It feels good to feel better!)

Daniel is tired today,

but otherwise, recovering well. He had amazingly good humour through the entire ordeal--something I hope his older siblings will imitate if they get a turn.

(Although they don't have to be as mischievous as him!)

Nathan and Melanie haven't been hit by the flu yet...but I'm not feeling too optimistic about tonight and tomorrow...

For now, they are chumming together. Doing almost everything together, including getting socks on for playing outside, so we ill ones can watch them while we veg in the grass.

(Melanie is much too accommodating to her brothers whims! Nathan said his hand was full so he couldn't put his socks on. Personally, I'd rather hold his banana, or better yet, wait for him to eat it, then put his socks on for him--even if they're clean ones!)

Even though the "fort" is rather unfinished still, that doesn't mean it can't be used yet!

Melanie and Nathan decided to play a type of "anti i over" game. Then when the ball didn't come off and needed to be nudged off with a hockey stick, that became a new game. I guess you'd call it "see if you can get the ball stuck on top, then get it unstuck".
Both games were highly entertaining.

Crappy Birthday

For his birthday Daniel gets

to cut two of his first molars
a fever
and a flu.

Recover mode (we hope)

After having four sick kids yesterday, it is a nice change to see the boys pestering each other and fighting again. It is better than four sacks of potatoes strewn all over the living room.

Today it seems they are doing the finishing touches of the construction done last year. That is keeping the big boys out of trouble.

Daniel seems to be over the worst of his first flu. I've never had to deal with such a little sick guy before. I think he did, so far, remarkably well. It was pretty much 24 hours for him. I skipped church, because, after all, what kind of a mom would I be if I left my sick baby behind? I am still shocked that Phil suggested (multiple times) that I leave him for a few hours! (I know, I'm a little paranoid about leaving my kids.)

Melanie went through half of Sunday running around and eating in front of overly jealous Matthew. Then she got struck down too, and she is still looking pretty lifeless, and has no appetite yet. But 24 hours for her will be later today, so I'll be looking forward to noticing some vivacity returning to her.

As an aside, I just noticed today how skinny Melanie's legs are. When did that happen?? Now I've got two scrawny kids running around, and two chunky ones. (Sorry, no details on the adult sizes.)

Melanie is waiting for her next ration of water, so I should get on it.

young help

poor matthew is sick today. maybe it's from being out in the heat all yesterday, or maybe it's the bug going around in our church. pooor guy always seems to get the worst of it. he's a pretty good sport though. daniel is helping babysit while i check on the bigger kids.

Today life is

short on sleep.

This morning Nathan managed to have breakfast in his pjs.

He was mostly flopped down.
After this he crawled back in bed 'til 11.
But now he seems energetic enough.

Melanie has been entertaining herself all day.
It's rare that both her biggish brothers leave her alone.

She has just recovered from a good cry and has promised
to be a good girl 'til nap time.
(No promises for after that.)

Matthew, despite being hit the hardest,
is still his goofball self

most of the time.
The rest of the time he wants to be up.
And when I just can't hold him anymore,
he is not pleased.

The cheeriest one of us is the healthiest.

Go figure.
I really do hope he stays that way!!
Our atmosphere can use all the cheer it can get!

As for Mommy Roze;
I now have 7 full nights of poor sleep. Poor, this time, is defined as: up more than six times and less than 15. Yup. That many. Last night was a treat, in the sense that only two beds and bodies needed to be cleaned.

So how is super mom coping?
She is:

Very tired.
"Lost it" once last night.
(Very angry bordering on abusive)
Obsessed about sleep.
My head is all fuzzy (from lack of sleep.)
Thinks nothing of a dirty bed or child anymore:
Bring it on-if only I can SLEEP!
Still virus free.

Speaking of sleep, we should have lunch.
After which, I shall nap. :)

The fresh bread looks fab.
But we shall be toasting it 'til it's very dry
and unpalatable.
Then the kids won't ingest too much.

By next week I'll be dying to attack something
heavy, full of fat, and very bad for you.

Soon I shall
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSleeep.

still alive

Daddy's turn.

Better?

So Melanie got it too.
But not Mommy or Daddy yet.
Or Daniel, thankfully.

But we may still get our turn. :)

Time to clean a bit.

Sick

Poor boys are sick.

We got the nasty bug that I was warned by a friend to avoid.
And it's highly contagious too, apparently.
Hopefully Melanie doesn't get it...but so far I haven't heard of anyone skipping it...I'm sure to get a turn too. :)

Ah well.

I will have lots and lots of laundry to fold when I get to that. Now I'm only concerned that there are clean sheets available when I need replacements. And yeah, I am resting as much as I can to make up for last night, and to try keep Daniel's food supply from diminishing.

That's the washer...time to do the laundry switcheroo.

I cannot imagine how mommy's ever managed to deal with this sort of thing when laundry was all done by hand!!!

Sunny in the Rain

These past few days have been rainy. These past few days we've all had colds. So we stayed home. Usually these means I get really frustrated, but this time it's been really great! Both today and yesterday up until the last 10 minutes before Daddy came home, the kids were all playing quietly, even sharing with each other!




I've been watching the way the kids have been playing, and I've been thinking. This is how I always imagined being a stay at home mom would be like. This is just fabulous! The kids are taking turns with each other. They're laying on the floor doing puzzles, they're coming to me to help tie something or dress a doll, read a book, or answer a question. And we're all happy.
(I'm sure it won't last!)




Hopefully these are the kinds of days I'll remember when I'm old. I don't think I even got angry once today. I don't have much of a voice, so if I had wanted to yell at them, I couldn't anyways, but it's been lovely that I haven't even wanted to.



Yes, I am very grateful. For all these children. For the hope of another very soon. For so many many many things.

I should start counting.