EVERYONE is at WORK and/or SCHOOL today!

However, Jocelyn clung on to me like a barnacle and cried when I finally pried her off and scooted out the door. That hasn’t happened in probably a year or more. Very sad 🙁

NOW I HAVE THE MOMMY GUILT!

Ethan tried to insist that he was sick, but he had no fever all day yesterday and methinks he was working it a bit.

NO MOMMY GUILT THERE!

Hopefully by the weekend, everyone will be back on the “healthy” side of the spectrum.

I’ve decided I’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do for Jocelyn’s birthday this weekend. Her birthday is March 10th, so we’re getting close. We originally thought we’d do a party at home, maybe rent an big inflatable bouncer, and eschew all the different party venues that our kids keep getting invited to (chuck e cheese, pump it up (warehouse full of inflatables), etc.) But now the thought of the party at our house is making me tired. The cost of these venue parties is what gets me, but then I started thinking about how much we would spend even if it was at home and then add on the stress of cleaning before and after… I don’t know, maybe I’m just stressed out in general but the thought not having to worry about all the party at home particulars is starting to sound good. I need to look into bowling alley parties, as I think they’d be a lot cheaper than the other alternatives.

Also, in the past, we’ve always specified “presents not required” on the invitations, as we wanted to keep the present expectation low. I’m starting to waffle on that too – if new stuff comes in, then that gives us a good reason to clear out some older unused things, right? Plus, they’ve now seen the presents that other kids get at their parties – Jocelyn probably won’t notice quite yet, but I know that Ethan will be grilling us on this point. My thought is maybe we should let them get presents from friends, but I don’t think James has changed his mind, so we’ll have to discuss.

What are your thoughts on parties and/or presents?

-amy

So, Monday, James and Jocelyn stayed home, both of them afflicted with what we supposed was the same virus Ethan brought home from Kindergarten.

Ethan’s nose has been running a mile a minute, very thin snot that is clear, but plentiful. He had a fever that never broke 101, and a cough that you could tell was just due to all that clear runny snot going down the back of his throat.

Jocelyn woke us all up crying at about 6am this morning, and felt pretty hot to the touch. It’s hard to tell though, as she had on warm jammies and a warm blankey, what exactly her temperature was. I gave her some tylenol and after sitting her on the potty brought her into my bed.

We both laid there, not really sleeping, Jocelyn trying to breath through her really gunked up stuffy nose so she could suck her thumb, and me reaching over her and patting her back. rubbing her sweet little bottom or moving her hair out of her face. Every now and then I offered her a kleenex and we attempted a nose blow, but it was fated to be futile.

I decided that her symptoms were different enough from Ethan’s to warrant a trip to the doctor, and called and made an appointment (for any doctors reading, I highly recommend the answering service that allows worried moms to make apointments for that day, even if it’s 6:45am.) As 7am is usually the wake up time in our house, I got up at 6:50, went and got Ethan, who was awake probably the entire time, and brought him into our bed as well (James was asleep in the guest room, so as not to infect me with the plague). I turned on a closet light and put on Handy Manny for the kids while I hopped in the shower.

So the day started much like Monday, James and Jocelyn staying home, me taking Ethan to school and heading off to work.

Right when Jocelyn and James were in the middle of her doctor’s appointment, the school called to inform me that Ethan had a temperature of 100.3 and he needed to be picked up.

I called James and didn’t get an answer (for an EXCRUTIATING) 15 minutes, where he told me that … drum roll! Jocelyn has strep throat.

My lord! Poor girl!!

James confirmed that his throat was really hurting and he wanted to go see the doctor as well.

So, while James and Jocelyn went and got Ethan from school, I immediately called and made an appointment for James, and then called and made an appointment for Ethan, thinking he must have had new and improved worsened symptoms, and then left work to head home so James could go to his appt w/out worrying about getting Ethan to his appointment.

Ethan’s symptoms weren’t really any worse. They were the same, so I felt a bit foolish having made the appointment so hastily, but figured it couldn’t hurt and took him in anyway. Sure enough, the quickie strep test was negative, but she took the second overnight strep test and gave me a prescription to hold on to in case his fever spikes above 103 or she gets a positive result back.

James didn’t have to do the strep test however, his doctor (who is the same as mine) listened to the tale of Jocelyn being positive, added it to the fact that his throat was in a lot of pain, and gave him the prescription without much fuss.

Now I’m on the couch at home, working busily away, while James, Jocelyn & Ethan are ALL asleep upstairs.

Please oh please oh please don’t let me get sick!

-amy

OK, not really a plague, but damn if this virus isn’t makin’ the rounds!

Ethan stayed home sick Friday, and was still running a low fever off and on until Saturday. James took him to the doctor, who pronounced it a virus.

By Saturday night, James professed to feeling a bit under the whether, and by Sunday night, Jocelyn also turned up with a fever.

We thought that James would be home today with both Ethan and Jocelyn, but when I snuck into the kids’ room this morning at 7am, he was awake, wrapped up with his blankies and hugging his pookie bear:

me: How’re you feeling Ethan?
ethan grinned and flashed me a thumbs up sign.
me: What do you think about school? Do you want to go?
Ethan grinned and nodded his head vigoriously.

So I took Ethan in to school and aside from some coughing and a running nose, he seemed pretty good. The previous day, James and I could tell he was getting pretty bored, having not left the house aside from the doctor, since Thursday.

I guess there is such a thing as too much tv and video games!

Hopefully James and Jocelyn will be feeling better by tomorrow.

On the way up to bed:

Jocelyn: Mommy, how long is it at bedtime?

Mommy: It’s bedtime now! We’re going to go get you in bed! Right now! No waiting, fast service, zip zap zoom!

Jocelyn: Is it a short one?

Mommy: It’s not naptime, honey. It’s nighttime. It’ll be nighttime until morning.

Jocelyn: How long is that?

Mommy: Well, it’s–

Ethan: I know. It’s ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY THREE POUNDS.

This is Jocelyn’s “Party Dress” that I got her before her birthday last year. She is wearing it for Ethan’s birthday in this picture.

She has shot up so much in the last year that this dress no longer is decent on her. I kept thinking what a shame it was, because, my baby! so cute in this dress! What a waste! Or was it?

So I cut it straight off right under the armpits, folded over the excess, sewed down the buttoned opening and snipped off the buttons, left the front of the waist flat and put a length of elastic in the back to make it into this skirt (oh, and I did this in 45 minutes, how proud am i!):

It’s definitely decent now and should last at least another year. Behold the Party Skirt! I have 2 other dresses I am considering treating the same way. We’ll see.

Pictures of the party where the party skirt made it’s debut coming soon!

Another photo I took today, and posted today.

Poor guy. Look at those flushed cheeks and tired droopy eyes.

He’s told me, “I love you mommy,” and “You’re the best.” about 20 times today. He’s also commented on the fact that skipping school, playing with legos, watching gobs of TV, playing on his Leapster and on the Wii is “the best, mommy.”

Don’t get used to it, kid.

(Too bad the focus is wonky. And this was the best of the bunch.)
(But look! I’m posting a photo today, and I took it today! That counts for something!)

Isn’t that a lovely phrase?

There’s a brick of snotty gooey green snotty gook in my sinuses. Since sinuses aren’t brick-shaped, I can confess that this is quite painful.

What really sucks is that the brick will NOT loosen up at all. It stays brick-like, in it’s essence, and only leaks a tiny bit of snotty goo all the time. So that you sit on the couch with a tissue box and managed to blow and blow and blow until your nose is totally red and the pile on the table next to you becomes alarming, and you would THINK that with all that blowing, you could have blown 15 million snot bricks out of your nasal cavity, but NO, YOU HAVEN’T, and no matter how much you blow, YOU WILL STILL NOT BE ABLE TO BREATHE THROUGH YOUR NOSE.

You know what I hate? Mouth breathing.

I also hate mouth breathers. If you’re mouth breathing right now, close your mouth, for crying out loud, you look like an idiot.

So Jocelyn woke up at 6am crying and saying her ear hurt, and so since I stayed home sick on Wednesday (day one of this illness), took the snow yesterday as an excellent reason to work at home thursday, I wasn’t too disappointed to stay home with her today. And it’s a good thing, because I decided since I wasn’t at work anyway, I might as well get myself to the doctor as well, which I wouldn’t have done if it weren’t for Jocelyn and her hurting ear.

We are both infected.

Me = sinuses

Jocelyn = ear.

Owies and antibiotics all around.

Send soup. (without leeks, because james has turned his nose up at my leek potato soup, the snobby man – IT’S FROM ALTON BROWN, SHEESH)(screw him, this soup is for ME)

Send vick’s vapo rub. The vat I have is almost gone.*

Send your sure-fire overnight cure for red, raw noses, because mine aren’t working (lanolin, vick’s, aquaphor).

I’ll take cure’s for cold sores too, because the corner in my mouth is starting to get that tingly cold sore feeling. I know. SEXY. Between the red nose and the mouth breathing and the developing coldsore, I am just beating them off with a stick.

And send the plus doux KLEENEX, because I beleive we’re out of the PLUS DOUX and only have the IT FEELS LIKE SANDPAPER ON YOUR RED, RAW FACE variety.

– amy just wants her nose back.

* I’m just kidding. I have never bought a jar of vick’s vapo rub. I believe my grandmother left hers to my mother, and my mother gave it to me when I left home to make my fortune in the world, and someday I will have to choose the between my offspring who to leave it to because VICK’S VAPORUB NEVER RUNS OUT. IT JUST GETS LOST.

** this post is in the category “amy’s head” and when I clicked it, I laughed a sardonic laugh and said “AMY’S HEAD. LITERALLY. I’M WRITING ABOUT MY HEAD.”

*** There’s no double star in this post, or triple star. it’s just my way of doing a post script and post post script. just thought i’d let you know.

**** *waaaaaaahhhhh i hurt*