Fevers

A little over a week ago, I had 4 kids with a fever in one day. Yes, it was "fun". No, I don't want to do it again. After two weeks of sick kids, I was worn out!

Here is what things looked like around here.

Joseph woke up from his nap with a fever and pretty much stayed in one place until bedtime.


Directly across the room from Joseph was Leah. Notice the thermometer right by her head. We used that thing SO MANY TIMES in two weeks, I'm sure we'll be getting a low battery warning soon. (I don't know how much I trust that thing. It often said there was no fever, when clearly there was! I don't think it was all operator error.)


Two steps from Leah was a chair full of Nathan. By now, he knew I was taking pictures, so he'd hidden. It doesn't seem like a very comfortable place to sleep, but he was sick enough that he didn't care.


Lastly, sweet Sarah occupied the little couch. She knew I was taking pictures, too. :) She doesn't look too bad in this picture.


But it had caught up to her by the time I took this one. Her right eye was quite swollen and both eyes were red. Poor thing.


I think this is my favorite one. Two sick sisters, finding comfort in each other.

You don't see any pictures of Daniel and Rebekah. I keep crossing my fingers for them. They've had coughing, but no fevers. Dare I hope that the time for the infection is gone?

Mini Versions

We had some sick kids lately. On Thursday, Daniel and Leah crawled into Chad's and my bed and went back to sleep.

I thought it looked like someone shrunk us! (That big bump in the middle is my body pillow that is left over from pregnancy. I haven't been able to give it up yet.)

One heck of a day

We survived the day. Barely. A HUGE thank you to Chad's parents who saw a need and did something to fill it.

They drove 5 hours round trip to watch the sick kids so I could take Daniel to the TMJ doctor and have him fixed up. Things got a little tricky when I noticed that Daniel was also becoming sick, but the appointment was already scheduled and grandma and grandpa were on the road.

It took a lot of coaxing to get Daniel into the van and he waited somewhat patiently for them to be ready for them. I went into the office by myself when we got there and explained that Daniel was sick, but we really hoped they would still see him and help him out. We waited by an outside door so we didn't spread whatever he had all over the waiting room.

He spent about 10 minutes in the chair and we were on our way back home. Luckily, there was road construction on the interstate (did I say luckily?), so I took the highway. It made it a lot easier to pull over when Daniel started throwing up. YUCK.

I spent all morning cleaning...wiping down door handles and light switches, sweeping and mopping, doing tons of laundry, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom vanity with a bleach cleaner...blah, blah, blah. I hope I got some of those nasty germs!

Chad and I are the only ones who haven't gotten sick. Since Chad got Rebekah's throw up on his face this morning, he'll be very lucky to avoid it. Nathan spent most of the day in one little chair, and Leah in another. Daniel was a little more nomadic. Rebekah tried to feel better throughout the day but would often crash when she overdid it.

Let's hope tomorrow brings a happier day for everyone. And no more fevers!

Someone HELP!

We had a busy weekend. Apparently, it also involved harboring a very nasty germ. Now it's Rebekah's turn to throw up and she's taken it very seriously. Leah is complaining of a headache, but so far seems to be holding off.

Joseph and Sarah don't seem very bad anymore. That sounds like it would be a good thing, but I'm not sure. They sleep more when they're sick. Now they're more likely to seeking me out.

Daniel has been having jaw pain for almost 24 hours. If I'm going to get him to the doctor, it has to be today; I don't think their office is open on Fridays. It would have to be an emergency for me to agree to put Rebekah in the van.

It's not even 8 AM and I have a 2nd load of laundry running...more to come. Several rooms in the house are disaster zones. I can't avoid them any longer. And Sarah just woke up.

Chad just took 4 days off of work. I hate to have him come home today, but I may not have a choice if I am going to take Daniel to the TMJ doctor.

These are the days that I could use two of me...and maybe a 3rd Me to get the sleep the other 2 me's aren't going to get.

A sample of the morning: I was finishing up in the bathroom (brushed my teeth) and Rebekah showed up in the doorway wearing a pale yellow complexion. Within seconds, she was standing over the toilet throwing up for at least the 3rd time in as many hours. I thought it was probably time to wash her hair. I got her kneeling at the tub and was about to start the water when I hear Joseph start screaming and crying in the dining room. He had just started his breakfast when the cat jumped up in the window and scared him half to death! It was so funny, I couldn't help chuckling. I opened the curtains wider so the cat wouldn't be so sneaky next time, but Joseph was spooked enough that I had to go to the back door and dump out cat food to get the cat away from the window. Rebekah did eventually get clean hair. :)

And last, but certainly not least, Nathan just came down the stairs - limping. He says his leg hurts. Let's hope he just slept on it funny.

Stir Crazy

I am feeling a little pent up. Rebekah has been sick for over a week. And that means she's cranky.

I'm having a hard time leaving the house with a sick four-year-old. We did take her to church on Wednesday night and afterward I thought that probably wasn't a very good idea.

We went out to feed the ducks yesterday and she was complaining before we got back in the car. (Pictures of the duck-feeding to come.)

I have some places I'd like to go and things I'd like to do, but I can't take her in the store (what if she throws up?) and I can't leave her in the car (what if someone reports it?).

So I stay home. And I can't get anything done here, either. Only I blame that on Sarah. I can't get into anything too involved for fear I won't be able to finish it. Some things aren't done well in tiny fragments, so there is a lot that needs to be done around here. But things are getting worse...Sarah is starting to have the same cough that Rebekah does.

WORK

This was the Daily Gem for today. I usually like the messages from Daily Gems. Today...not so much. I feel too tired to think of working. And just getting ready to work is work! I have to have the "perfect storm" of content kids to get anything done.

*sigh* One more thing to give me guilt (along with the dirty bathroom, unmopped floor, baskets of yet-to-be-folded laundry, lonely vacuum, smudged windows - no, that's not frost, etc.).

Work Is an Opportunity

"Work is an antidote for anxiety, an ointment for sorrow, and a doorway to possibility. Whatever our circumstances in life, my dear brethren, let us do the best we can and cultivate a reputation for excellence in all that we do. Let us set our minds and bodies to the glorious opportunity for work that each new day presents."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Two Principles for Any Economy," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 56

On a more positive note: Sarah is doing much better...a comment you may not fully understand since I never blogged about the night of endless crying/screaming followed by a second visit to the doctor's office (one Sat. morn, one Mon. morn), only to be seen by the PA who checked her ears but had to be reminded to check her throat and sent me home with a "good luck" and "hang in there", but took my money.

Anyway, she's back to sleeping in her crib and not coughing like her last breath is being forced from her throat. I'm very grateful for the nebulizer our insurance company paid for when the boys were little. It keeps coming in handy!

Still Sick

Here is Joseph this morning. He doesn't want any breakfast. He doesn't even cry (a big change from yesterday). In fact, just after I took this picture, he fell asleep. So he still looks exactly like this, but now his eyes are closed.



Poor kid. I have to put them all in the van and run to the next town 20 minutes away to make the van payment. Maybe everyone will just sleep.

Here is my beautiful Rebekah. She's sick, too, but in a MUCH better mood.

Sarah coughed all night. She's going to be fun today.

I decided last night that in about 6 years (when everyone is in school full-time), I'll be crawling back into my bed right after the bus drives away. I think it's the only way I'm going to be able to catch up on all the sleep I've been missing since the first baby was born (OK...it started during pregnancy). I may not make it all up physically, but maybe it will help me emotional state.

Poor Joseph

This little boy is SICK! Look at those cheeks. Poor guy. We're hoping (and praying) that he gets better SOON.

Here he was this afternoon. I caught him just as he was beginning to cough. He was just hanging out on the floor. Very atypical two-year-old behavior.

Here's our cute Sarah. I think I blind-sided her with the flash. Sorry, Sister!

Her face looks a little blotchy. Maybe she'd just been crying. Still cute, though.

Nathan's Busy Two Weeks

Whew! Nathan has had a lot of activities that put him smack dab in the middle of the spot light. Nathan is a little guy in a big family...it's good for him to get all the attention for a change.

Nathan's birthday was on Groundhog's Day. Not many people know when Groundhog's Day is, but Nathan does!! Nathan is the second child, the second son, and he was born on 02/02/02. Even more fun, he is part of the 2020 graduating class!

This year Nathan turned 8. We had a family party with presents and frosted brownies. (Nathan didn't want a cake and I was glad to be freed from the task of creating something fabulous.) Our family tradition is to go out to eat at the birthday person's restaurant of choice. Nathan picked a place called "The Hard Hat Grill."

Pictures of the party are below.

The brownie cake. I haven't put this little effort into making a "cake" in a long time! It was nice.

Presenting the "cake" while everyone sang "Happy Birthday." No, I'm not pregnant...too bad my gut doesn't know it.
We get to cut our own cake on our birthday. No one was going to rob Nathan of that privilege!

Daniel was the official videographer. It's nice when the kids start to be HELPFUL. But why do they always have to sit on the table?

There were some characters there, too.

Leah: Nathan thinks he's in charge, but I'm really the one running the show. Why does he think I sit by him, anyway?

Rebekah: Put some brownie right here!

Sarah: I'm telling you, I KNOW I'm ready for chocolate!

There were presents.
Some were easy to open.

Some were near impossible.

Joseph took advantage of his small size to sneak away the best presents!

Nathan also had his first birthday party ever. He's a deprived child, I know. I had to talk him into this one as it was, then I had to convince him to invite more than one friend. He invited 5, 4 came. You'll notice Joseph at the side of the picture...plotting the right time to sneak away more presents.

Since I narrowly avoided making a birthday cake, I was more than willing to buy one for the party. It was handy that the Super Bowl was the next day. I found a cake/cupcake combo with football rings and a goal post design. When we were picking it out, Nathan didn't recognize the design and said, "But I'm not 4." We are not a big sports oriented family. :)

And of course, turning 8 means getting BAPTIZED! Nathan has been looking forward to this. Yesterday was his big day. Our stake doesn't host baptisms; it's up to the individual families. We started at 11 AM and were done in 30 minutes. It was a nice, quiet, unhurried event.

This was our best picture from the morning. It's getting harder and harder to get a good shot with these crazy kids! Pay attention to what Sarah's doing and you'll know what part of our problem was.

Or you could just look at these snapshots.

Four of Nathan's five grandparents were able to be to his baptism. We got some shots with them and now he has their pictures in the back of his BRAND NEW SCRIPTURES!

Some shots as we waited to begin.

Joseph woke up with a fever (102.6) that morning and wasn't feeling too social. It climbed to 103 before the day was out. Rebekah was sick, too. Her fever was a lot lower; it hovered just under 100.

I stayed home with Leah, Rebekah, Joseph and Sarah today while Chad took Daniel and Nathan to church. Rebekah and Leah sound sick, but Joseph really is not feeling well. He hasn't eaten and just lies around, crying. Poor guy. He can't keep anything down (and all he's really had is water) - Chad and I have both been thrown up on.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day for him. I'm hoping it is better because there is no school tomorrow and these kids CANNOT be in the same room without something going wrong. (Like just this second. Anyone need a 9-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl?)

Q: What's worse than a sick baby?

A: That would be when it's your own baby that's sick. Sarah is our sick baby. :(

Here is our sick girl Saturday night. Doesn't she look like she's miserable?

Her little head is so full of mucus, she's learned to breathe through her mouth. I'm quite expert with a bulb syringe, but even that is doing little to help her. I stayed home from church with her yesterday and only slipped over to church for choir practice (Chad and Joseph came home early for that).

We got little to no sleep last night as Sarah was miserable and unable to sleep well. It was a BAD night that ended way too soon. I need a nap. At least I have a chance to get one. I don't know what Chad's going to do. He says it's too cold to sleep under his desk (a running joke between us).


So we are having fun at our house. I will be really glad when all the kids are old enough to suffer through their colds without so much work and worry for the parents. Medicine always helps, too.

On to other topics:

It's been cold around here. It warms up, the snow melts a little and then it drops below zero. The kids recently discovered their own version of a slip 'n' slide: winter style. They entertained themselves a little while on Saturday. I got pictures and video and secretly hoped that their clothing was up for the challenge.




I braided the girls' hair Saturday night and this is what we ended up with for church. Poor Rebekah...her hair does not like to play nice. I hope she gets better results as she gets older. Leah's hair has always been the over-achiever type. I really like how it turned out. She brushed through it this morning, though so she's looking a little poufy.



I recently repaired a doll originally made by my grandmother over 20 years ago. My kids had loved it to the point that an arm came off. When I sat down to fix it, I just placed the arm in without checking the other side first. After I finished I noticed my idea of correct was different than the one my grandma had when she made the doll. Do you notice the difference?


Now I just look at this toy as a bridge between two different women. There is some touching symbolism in that doll somehow. I also think it looks like a windmill or a little fella getting ready to do a cartwheel. :) This your doll, Amber.

Remember that stocking board I mentioned a bit ago? We finally got it finished last night. I can check off my first thing on my Christmas list! What do you think?


Here is Sarah helping to show it off. She's not asleep even though it looks like she is (as was the trend last night).

And now I come to the end of this post. Sarah has made me a considerably slower typist this morning and she's come to the end of her willingness to sit at the computer. I am her personal slave until I can get her to sleep. (There is already one failed attempt about 20 minutes ago.) Ooh! It looks as though she may be succumbing to raw fatigue. Sadly enough, I know how she feels.

Keep us in your thoughts today. I wouldn't mind if you mentioned Sarah in a prayer. She's really not feeling well at all - poor girl.

The beginning of the end

Nathan informed me yesterday that he DOES believe in Santa Claus, but NOT in the reindeer. After all, reindeer can't really fly.

So, he's started thinking about it. We'll see what next year brings. For now, there's still magic in his heart (and mischief in his eyes)!

Update on Joseph:
Chad didn't get back from the ER until after midnight. It was decided that Joseph had a stomach bug (that was some bug!). They had to give him medicine to stop his vomiting. And then they had to give it to him again when he threw it up.

He did get a popsicle that he still likes to "talk" about. It must have really been melting like crazy because he has red streak marks on his belly that disappear into the diaper. I wasn't prepared with wipes at the time, so we'll have to get those next time. :) For now, he seems 85% better. He and Sarah apparently share the sick room. Her coughing is MUCH improved, but still kills me to hear it. At least she is able to fall asleep on her back; that's a sure sign of healing!

Down in the dumps

There are few things in the world of mothering that are more tiring than have sick kids. Having YOUNG sick kids is worse.

Joseph is not feeling well and his nose is constantly oozing. The only thing I can't do while wiping his nose is take a shower. I think I've done everything else. He comes up to me, pointing to his nose, saying, "uh, uh." And the coughing is getting Sarah sick. I can hear her nose start to fill up. Great. I just started getting her to sleep in the bassinet again. I expect we'll be back in the swing before the new week begins.

Normally, this would be challenging enough. But I'm running on reduced sleep rations and really only want to get a nice, uninterrupted nap. The night before last, I didn't see the clock during the 11 pm, 3 am and 5 am hours (Joseph came in crying at 6:00). I saw it every other time. Last night wasn't quite as bad...I only woke 3 times before I really had to get out of bed.

Such sporadic sleep opens the door for really interesting dreams. Two nights ago, I dreamt the entire plot for a mystery novel. I was sure I could remember it, and was recalling it during one feeding time. But once the sun came up, it was gone. A literary wonder the world will never know.

So now that I'm so tired (physically and emotionally), I have no desire to clean the house. This is unfortunate, because things are piling up around here. No one else seems to care, so things get worse and my guilt meter rises.

And getting my kids to care requires serious bribing/threatening. That's tiring, too! We didn't get to have prayer this morning because the boys couldn't move their incredibly lazy rear ends fast enough. Daniel ran onto the bus with his coat, backpack and scout shirt in his hands. Grr.. Sometimes I just want to squeeze that boy! More guilt.

Daniel has a TMJ check-up today. I'm taking everyone but Nathan with me (since he'll still be in school) for a 35 min drive on the freeway, each way, because I didn't know who to call to come sit in my house for two hours and didn't want to burden anyone with a sick and cranky Joseph. I guess we'll sit in the van and watch a movie or something while I send Daniel in. Maybe I can get the doctor to talk to me at the back door so I can stay in the parking lot with the kids? Are things supposed to get this tricky?

I got the bill for taking Rebekah to the Dr. to pull the cactus needles...$183. Wow. He's thinking he's a little more skilled with those tweezers than I observed! We'd better make sure to use the free ice cream coupons he gave us. I want to get my money's worth!

And so when the FOP called this morning (Fraternal Order of Police) I hung up on them. That was free.

Now, between feeling sorry for myself and just being in a sorry state, it's a regular fun-fest around here! Woo hoo!

New Header

I thought I'd create a festive blog header since my sick baby is having trouble sleeping.

Not my first choice for something to do at 12:45 AM, but it was a little fun.

Did it surprise you when you first saw the page? I'll probably be surprised myself until at least the middle of the month.

Sick Six

All six kids are sick, as of the middle of the night. We are not throwing up, but have some sore throats and some REALLY runny noses. (My apologies to anyone we have infected. I did not know we were so generous with our germs.)

I feel bad for sick kids, but my heart really breaks for sick babies. Sarah sounds like she's trying to breathe under water. I've sucked out quite a bit of mucus. Her coughs seem to choke her. But once in a while, she smiles in spite of it all.

Even Chad is sick. It was my turn last week, but now I'm the only one who isn't sick. I hope this isn't one of those germs that mutates and makes a second pass.

Noisy Sleeper

Here is video of Sarah last night, before we went to bed. She was a pretty sleepy little girl last night!

I told you she was a noisy sleeper. Here's two minutes of proof.

Joseph just got up from his nap and came into me where I was having a nap of my own. He cried and threw up on the floor by my bed. What is it with my kids? Is that the only way they think they can get me out of bed? Sheesh. I'm going to have to get the carpet cleaner out later. At least Leah had the decency to run all the way to the kitchen!

Here is a picture of the poor little guy just after lunch. Don't get too close; those are some nasty germs!

Nasty Germs...Help!

We are being invaded. Leah has been sick. I let her go to school yesterday because she said she felt "good". During my nap, she got into a coughing fit and threw up all over the kitchen floor. My stomach did a little flip-flop at that one. When I saw her eyes were still a little red and dull last night, I told her she would be staying home today. We have a very upset little girl today. She's really in love with Kindergarten.

Last night, Joseph was sick. Chad spent some time with him. Eventually, he ended up in bed with us and I noticed he had a fever. Currently, he is crying for attention and still hasn't been dressed or had his diaper changed.

But I've got to take care of Sarah right now. How do I handle all of this? I'm trying to keep the germs from Sarah. Joseph really needs to be held. Leah doesn't get the staying home sick thing and is asking to invite friends over. Thankfully, Rebekah is not ill. Yet.

I may break down in tears before the day is out. Chad gets home in 9 hours! We can do it! ?

We're in a sorry state

No, I don't mean Idaho...so you Utahns quit thinking it!

I have slept in an upright position for the past 2 nights. Well, "slept" is subjective since I can actually recall most of the hours each night. I dozed a couple of times. It was more fun last night since Joseph has fallen ill right along with the rest of us. He slept upright next to me at one point. Between my coughing and his, we didn't sleep much at all.

He started the night (midnight) with a temp of 104. That was after he threw up all over himself and me. He had already thrown up earlier in the evening, so this time it was mostly stomach bile. Such a pretty yellow color it is...almost like dandelions! I gave him some Tylenol and put him in the swing. (Thank you to Chad for bringing it into the bedroom.) He slept for bit amid coughing fits. I was having my own fits so I went to the living room to curl up in a chair by an open window, hoping the cooler air would calm the coughing. I had to keep getting up and walking back to the bedroom when Joseph would cry. Eventually, I gave in and climbed into bed with him. Around 5 am or so, his fever was down to 101.

He hasn't really eaten much since yesterday afternoon. I had to pump this morning. Chad forced some applesauce into him. I've got a call into the doctor to ask about medicine, but I don't have much hope since he's only 6 months old. I'll appreciate the day when all the kids are old enough to care for themselves when they're sick!

I'm glad I postponed the birthday party. It would have been a disaster to try to celebrate with a bunch of little boys! I wasn't able to contact one of them (he didn't RSVP and we mailed it to a PO box) so I'm watching the clock right now...hoping, hoping, hoping that he doesn't show up. (Another little boy JUST showed up. I guess they don't check their messages!)

Post-poned due to illness

We have post-poned Daniel's birthday party due to the fact that ALL 7 of us are sick. Yes. The timing is great. My throat is raw from coughing, but my stomach is getting a good workout. Even little Joseph started coughing during the night. I slept sitting up. The girls were coughing so badly in their sleep that it sounded like someone was really choking them. (It was the worst sound.) Rebekah has had diarrhea for 6 days. If she still has it today, we're up to 7.

We were at a family reunion last weekend when Rebekah became the first victim to these germs. I wonder if anyone else ended up sick?

I haven't been really sick (if you exclude morning sickness which is a form of torture in it's own category) in years. I hope this one will do me for a long time.

We're taking a "sick day" from church today.

4 AM

That's about what time I was putting the carpet cleaner vacuum away. Shortly before that, Leah emptied the contents of her stomach on our bedroom floor. I knew she was up to something!

Since the spot on the floor wasn't big enough to spend the whole tank of water on it, I moved to the living room where I went over a spot where some "washable" glue had been dumped a week or so ago and then cleaned the spots in front of the couches and the front door.

Anyone passing by might have thought I was a bit obsessed. I am, but it doesn't cover cleaning the carpets that early in the morning!

I finally downloaded some brushes and new fonts for scrapbooking yesterday. I've only been scrapbooking digitally for 6 months now...you'd think I would have done it already. Anyway, I used some of my new downloads to create this page this afternoon. The pictures are 4 years old...so there is no Rebekah or Joseph.

Miniature High Priests

Daniel and Nathan looked like miniature High Priests today as they dozed in Sacrament Meeting.

First Daniel started agreeing with everything the speaker was saying. I thought that was so awesome that he was paying attention with such reverence! Then I noticed that his eyes were opening and shutting in slow motion. Uh oh...that looks like sleepy. I teased him about it and he perked up for a bit.

Next, I noticed Nathan was sitting up, but with his head resting on his shoulder and his eyes not even trying to stay open. What skill! He's got the High Priests beat with that maneuver! Of course, all the H.P.s I know are taller than the back of the bench, so their heads roll around much easier.

The next time I glanced at Daniel, he'd made a buttress with his leg and had his elbow propped up on his knee with his hand holding up his head. You can tell his Daddy is a structural engineer! Yes, he was sleeping.

I'd given all 4 kids prescription cough medicine so the people at church wouldn't cringe every time one them hacked. Who knows if they cringed or not. At least the boys were reverent/comatose. It was actually kind of amusing until Daniel just plain gave up the fight and put his head right down on the bench. A High Priest would never do that, short of a medical emergency. So I made him sit next to me and I held him up. I hope they got enough sleep to make it through Primary!

No one has had a fever since Thursday. Leah and Joseph never had one. The coughing is still bad, but the runny noses are better. Joseph no longer sounds like he's choking to death during the night...just gagging occasionally. He's very good at blowing bubbles out of his nose. (We're trying to break him of that habit.)

Mommy and Daddy avoided this one. We look forward to the next challenge.