The Sickness

I wish I had documented this plague that has attacked our house.

Let's see.... I got sick..... a general kind of throat thing.... in September. But it held on for SIX WEEKS in various forms. I rallied (everything except my voice) for the wedding in October and then relapsed.

And both kids got a feverish flu thing around then..... Sweet hallucinating.... in the middle of the night... mad at me because I won't let him go outside and play transformers. And Tuff puked.

Then this other stomach thing started in, um, early December? I don't know. I know Sweet had it. I know Tuff had it. I know I had it for 5 days. Hot got a mild version of it. Bugsy held strong. Then last week Sweet got sick again... the throw up in the night version. The one that almost makes you think food poisoning. Then Sunday night Tuff got it. She was retching every 30 minutes or so and couldn't hold down a sip of water... but she really wanted a drink.

My basic puking theory is.... nothing for 20 or so minutes after you yak. Then a sip of water or some ice chips. If you can go an hour and your tummy feels settled you can have water and maybe a cracker. But I believe (is there any scientific evidence?) putting things in an upset tummy can make it react violently and create a bad cycle.

So this morning I wake up alone.... which isn't totally unusual.... Hot tends towards insomnia. I wander to the bathroom and see the garbage can upside down, rinsed, in the sink. And I wander to the kitchen and see one of the two big white bowls on the counter.... this means either someone made popcorn or someone is losing their cookies. I don't smell popcorn.

Hot is in a bad way. (Can I also add... unfortunately he went out for a guys night last night and had prime rib and beer..... really awful on replay.... also pricey puke.)

You know what this means, right? Who is going to get it in two days? Me.

Hoarding

Do you watch Hoarders???

You can actually watch episodes online.

Yikes.

Here's the thing.

We've been having sickness in our house the last few weeks. The puking and "my bottom threw up" kind.

And it has me thinking about messiness.

1. Several years ago Sweet was mad one night when I made him put his transformer tub away. It was sitting on the floor by his bed. In the night he threw up right where the tub had been. He still refers to it... "remember that time I threw up right where my toys had been" and how we have to pick up things so that doesn't happen.

2. I'm just now getting all the carpets and bed skirts and bedding cleaned up from the latest round of yakking. (Tuff managed to mess up THREE beds in one night. Sweet missed the bucket and nailed the carpet. And Bugsy had a separate spit up incident that required removing the slipcover from the couch and, oh what the hell, while we are doing that lets take all the coverings off the couch cushions and wash them all.... the couch looks great but it took 2 days to get it all apart and back together again. Oh and side note: The cat likes to "nurse" the tan fuzzy blanket on the couch so I'm washing it several times a week...ew.) And I have had the washer going pretty steady.... now image that scenario in a hoarder home. Ew. (And then be thankful for not living 100 years ago... when I would be down at the creek banging the bedding on a rock to clean it....)

3. Also.... I'm so thankful for my frontloading washer and the foresight to buy more laundry detergent at Costco last week.

4. And (much as I complain about how cluttered it is) thank goodness our house is clean and picked up so no one tripped on a toy in the dark and crashed down the stairs or broke a toe rushing to get a kid over the sink or to a bucket.

5. Can you imagine what our bathroom would look (and smell) like if we weren't cleaning the toilets multiple times per week right now? Nothing says "I love you" like a clean bowl and someone to hold your hair. I've actually been using Dr. Bronner's peppermint to clean it.... a nice minty bowl and safe for the dog to drink from..... But I can sympathize with some of those compulsive hoarder homes..... it doesn't take long for a toilet to get really nasty with illness, right?

6. I think I have some hoarding tendencies. Seriously. Sometimes things can sit in a pile for so long I just start seeing them as part of the landscape. Or I clean every room and just pile it all in the laundry room.

7. I love how our beds look when they are all clean and fluffed. So things are looking really great in spite of the illness. And no one has thrown up on any Christmas presents. Who-hoo.

Sledding with Alvin, Simon & Theodore.

Sledding with Alvin, Simon & Theodore. As you can see in the last photo.... Theodore is pissed and wants to go in for hot chocolate and marshmallows....

Christmas by the Week WEEK 12

Week #12 - Dec 21-27 "Celebrate!"

Enjoy the Holidays with Family and Friends! Take time to drive the neighborhoods to enjoy holiday lighting displays. Enjoy family traditions and special meals.

Because all I can talk about is snow....

Geez-o-Pete.... it's back down to what we are just referring to as "butt-ass" cold here.

And it snowed. A lot. And I know I should complain about the cold and the snow and streaking out to the shop in my slippers to get more butter from the freezer but, damn, it is so beautiful.

And this weekend I will curse the plow and the fireball (fuel poured directly in the carburetor) in the garage and the exhaust fumes... but for right now.... gorgeous.

The kids think they are dying because I told them it had to be 15 above to take Bugsy sledding. They think she is a wimp. With her rice bag heater and double snowsuits and vaseline on the cheeks..... well.... she kinda is a wimp. She sits so solomn in her little sled and waits.... then giggles like a tiny demented maniac when we start racing around.... it is a fun workout.

Hot had an, um, experience yesterday morning. On the way to town this car was following him really close. Now, um, it is very icy and all the laws of physics still apply.... even if you have 4-wheel drive. This particular driver (who shall remain nameless...) has been observed driving rather, ahem, rapidly on our road before. Hot starts down the hill.... this car starts to PASS him. Seriously. Curvy hill. Fairly steep. Very icy. No visibility. Double yellow line. Lots of knocked over fence posts on either side from cars hitting them. Dead carion deer at the bottom of the hill and a pack of white-tails on the side of the road just to make it more interesting. And the fate of this driver? The ditch.

It would be wrong for me to laugh right now.

Because Karma is a bitch.

Christmas by the Week WEEK 11

Week #11 - "Final Shopping/Wrapping Week" Dec 14-20

Complete last minute details and enjoy holiday parties, concerts, and family activities.

Things I know about Cold

It is a balmy 15 degrees out now. Practically tropical.

I wish I had a block heater in the van.

The school kids do outside recess down to zero degrees. The parents just get a vaguely ominous "dress your children appropriately" message.

Sweet has managed to lose and find his hat about 14 times..... he's worse than his father.

The cats can't figure out the cat door into the shop.

Bugsy is cute in her fleecy snowsuit.

I calculate the actual temperature by triangulating the average on three separate thermometers.... this is a sure sign I am a farmer at heart.

Tuff has her coat unzipped.... that girl does her nordic ancestors proud.

I pink puffy heart Land's End winter gear. My mom found a clearance coat for Tuff last spring and I dropped $45 for a clearance coat for Sweet this fall. Totally worth it. We also got some really nice "squall" gloves for Sweet and fleecy mittens for Tuff and fleece hats for both.... all from clearance of course..... Sweet is wearing some really nice sorel snowboots that I raised my eyebrows over when Hot came home with them.... I don't wanna know the price.... but they are super nice. Tuff is wearing some several sizes too big boots but she loves them because they are warm and purple. Bugsy is wearing the same fleecy snowsuits the other two wore.... and using the rice-bag heater to stay toasty in the sled.

Vaseline on the cheeks is brilliant for insulation.

Hot chocolate is really a good thing..... so is the bottle of Irish Creme from Costco.

-24 This Morning

It is fraggin' cold here.

The End.

Christmas by the Week WEEK 10

Week #10 - "Meal Making and Decorating Week" Dec 7-13

Prepare some favorite meals and other baked goods for the hectic days ahead. Decorate. Involve children in memory making!

Bah-humbug Already

I have decided to give up on Christmas for a few days. I'm just not into it so I'm taking a break.

A break from... what? I haven't really done anything anyway. And I haven't been very gung-ho to shop.... shopping means spending money and I just can't do it right now. It hurts me.... physically and deeply.

I'm done shopping for some and have ideas for others and my motivation is GONE. So I'll sit back and have a cup of tea and wait for inspiration.

I got my lot of holiday books from ebay ($17 shipped for 10 books) and they are lovely. I am going to wrap them (maybe tonight) and put them in a wicker basket along with wrapping a bunch of winter-themed ones we already have around and the kids can open 2 per night for the 12 days of Christmas and we will read them. I can't wait to read "Stranger in the Woods" and "Tacky the Penguin" again.