Poop, puke and so many other completely unnecessary things to discuss on a blog

If there is one sure fire way to kick start your weight loss plan, it's picking up a virus from one of your kids. Unfortunately, it's bound to end sooner or later and then willpower may have to take over.

It all started last Wednesday when the babysitter called to tell me that Robert had been unable to keep his breakfast down and that 3 very messy diapers later, he had diarhea on top of that. So I left work early to bring he and Matt home to begin what is so far 4+ days of sickness.

Because I've used up all but 4 days (actually 3 now) of my vacation time for the year (which is to last me until July!!) on the kids' sick days, Bill stayed home with Robert on Thursday. 3pm rolled around and I was beginning to feel a bit under the weather myself. Long story short, my 30 minute drive home felt like the longest drive ever with me barely make it home before losing it....literally.

My evening was spent sharing a "sick bed" with Robert, trying to hold down little sips of gingerale while trying to keep Robert hydrated with Pedialyte. By 1:30am my stomach had calmed down enough that I was only dealing with the southern end of the sickness...if you catch my drift. However, Bill, who was sleeping on the couch downstairs, was just beginning his bout around that time. Fortunately for him, there was no vomitting involved, and after a round of Imodium, he was off to work. Granted, a long drawn out day at work, but he was just slightly above the functioning mark.

Friday was spent home with the boys, waiting for what seemed like an inevitable moment that Matt would start up, and hoping to see the end for Robert. So far, both have not come. In fact, both Megan and Matt have seemed to avoid disaster. (Although with my luck, it will hit them on Monday and we'll be dealing with more missed time off from work.) Although, I guess with as much puke and poop that Bill and I dealt with there was no way that the two of us were coming away healthy.

And poor Robert is still having a tough time. Although "things" have slowed down, it's still very messy and definitely not something that you can wait too long to change. In fact, as soon as it is heard, we very carefully pick him up to move him to the changing area, hoping to avoid ruining another set of clothes.

We had also tried numerous times but he wanted nothing to do with solid foods until today. He's also picked up a slight gag reflex everytime he smells the Apple flavored Pedialyte and I can only attribute it to the fact that he was still getting sick when we were constantly pushing it down his throat to keep him hydrated. So after a slow start with some rice cereal and applesauce, I think we're finally on the mend. At the very least, I'm hoping that things become a little more bound up!

And in the mean time, the house has been sanatized and the Lysol hasn't left my hand. If we can keep the sick count down to 3 out of 5, we'll be in good shape. Keep your fingers crossed...

Everything AND the kitchen sink

It's been a long couple of weeks, making the most boring part of winter feel even longer, darker and colder than usual. And although February is right around the corner, with the corner being this Friday, I sometimes feel like the months of January, February and March will go on and on forever.

We began the year with an emergency trip to the hospital which turned into an overnight stay. Along with an ear infection and bronchiolitis, Robert managed to pick up RSV and the next 10 days were filled with steroids, antibiotics and breathing treatments. Although I began to honestly believe that I would never see him as a healthy, happy, smiling child again, we actually reached the light at the end of the tunnel and this is what we ended up with:


Of course, that lasted for all of a week and half and we are now back to snot encrusted noses, difficulty sleeping at night due to some major stuffiness and a lot of whine. (Not the good kind of wine...) Oh my, the whine that comes out of this child. I don't know if non-stop crying would be
easier to listen to but when you're stuck with this noise - well it's just far too difficult to describe.

See the shine above that paci? The return of the SNOT!!

On Friday, I walked into the school extension program and found Megan with a bright pink cheek and nice little ding under her left eye. One of the boys was throwing something in the trash and evidently Megan's face happened to get in the way. She says he was throwing out some pasta but I've never known rotini's to be quite so dangerous before. So who knows what the real story is...none-the-less, she ended up with her first black eye.

Kind of difficult to see in this picture but honest, Ronzoni left his mark

And then there's Matt...always Matt. The kid who is forever entertaining us with his crazy and sometimes questionable antics. Here he is sitting in Robert's Bumbo chair and looking like he'll prove us right after all about riding on the short bus someday!

Lounge lizards