I think I’ll call today “sickie Sunday”. See, somehow I came down with the flu on Thanksgiving and spent most of Thanksgiving and ALL of Friday in bed with a fever and terrible body aches. Since then, Owen, Baby Girl, Jesse, and Biggest Brother have all developed fevers and ailments of some kind.
In fact, Josh and I had decided that it would be best if I stayed home with the toddlers and Jesse while he took the other three boys to church. However, an hour into church, Biggest Brother was feeling pretty yucky, so Josh brought him home. He looks and sounds pretty puney, so he’s in bed now….unfortunately, one of the things I was doing while they were at church was stripping the beds and washing all the linens…oops. They aren’t quite done yet, so he’s laying on a mattress cover, a bare pillow, and is covered with a blanket from the living room. Poor guy. I do like taking care of sick kiddos though. They’re extra sweet when they’re not feeling well and just wanting their mommy.
I wonder how ‘mothering’ their real mom is/was. I wonder at times like this, would Biggest Brother have been left to fend for himself, of would she have been by his side, just like I have, checking for a fever, offering fluids and blankets, making sure he’s comfortable and all of his needs are met.
He now not only calls Josh, Dad, but he also calls me, Mom.
Yesterday was great. I was finally feeling better, my energy was back, it was a beautiful day and I was in full-force-attack-mode on my yucky germy house! I got lots of cleaning done and what didn’t get done is getting done this morning while three are still at church. Lots of laundry, toilet scrubbing, floor mopping…ahhhh, it’s been wonderful. I now have a Christmas candle burning and a second pot of coffee brewing. That’s right, this is a two pot kinda day. The first pot was normal, I shared it with Josh (only about a four cup pot). Now, it’s time for business, so I’ve got three or four more cups brewing, filling my house with the fragrance that makes me smile…which I guess is also mixing with the Christmas candle, dryer sheets, and lemon scented pinesol. Oh well, it all smells delicious to me!! haha! This morning’s cleaning is in preparation for Sunday lunch followed by decorating the tree, making Christmas cookies, and watching movies. …
I did a bunch of online research this weekend for Baby Girl’s eczema. She’s covered from head to toe. It’s terrible. Everytime I change her clothes or diaper, she scratches like crazy. When we stay at home, I keep her in footy jammies so she can’t scratch. Over the weekend, I bought All Free and Clear to wash her clothes and linens with, Eucerin for covering her skin three times a day, Aveeno Oatmeal bath to bathe her in every other day, and Cetaphil cleanser as well. I also read in several different places that adding a liberal amount of yogurt to her diet can also yield great benefits for the eczema. Only time will tell.
It looks like Biggest Brother will likely be staying home from school tomorrow and that also means I will probably have to take him to the doctor so I’ll have a note for his school.
Thanksgiving break has been a really great time for all of us to transition from ‘new kids’ to ‘part of the family’. Biggest Brother has improved in every area that once concernced me. He’s doing wonderfully and seems to thrive more and more with each additional day of structure and consistency.
God is so good.
I’m hoping I got some great pictures at the Christmas tree farm! More on that later.
~audrey
