A Tiring Week

Our house was a den of sickness last week. We started off the week with Zach sick as a little pup and ended with him being ok but Abby developing one of her lovely, long-lasting and night-waking coughs. We knew she really didn't feel well when she chose to skip her favorite cooking class AND take an hour nap IN HER BED (which hasn't happened in over a year)!

Needless to say, not much sleep was had by Jason and I last week and I am still trying to recover. The area underneath my eyes is looking a bit like tea bags at the moment. Luckily everyone seemed ok for the 2 birthday parties we had yesterday, though by the end of the day, I had two very tired kids. One was lucky enough to take a 3.5-hour nap (remind me why adults can't nap again??) and the other was too tired to even eat a bite of dinner. Which left the 3.5-hour napper wide awake and ready to go at 5:15 am today. And that left mommy and daddy feeling like walking zombies the rest of the day!

We are lucky that the kids have remained pretty healthy during this mild winter, but here's to hoping everyone gets back on track and back to sleeping soon!

The House of Sickness

I was just about to pat myself on my back and think how lucky we were that the whole first "semester" of school was nearing an end with Abby not having had to miss a single day of school due to being sick, with only a day or two of sniffles for the kids. And then, BAM! It hit our house like a ton of bricks. We got back from a lovely weekend trip to visit friends in Maryland on Sunday night, and by Monday at 9:30 am, Zach had a nice 103/104 fever.

And when we were starting to think that maybe, just maybe, it was teething-related, Abby came home from school and gymnastics that day with a fever. Monday night was a rough one in our house, with both kids up off and on throughout the night. And when Zach woke us up at 5:30 am Tuesday and would only sleep ON me, I thought the end was not in sight. Luckily I was only half wrong. Zach's fever broke on Tuesday and he got back to being himself. Not quite the same story for Abby, who got worse throughout the day. All activities, therapies and playdates were cancelled and the kids were in lockdown mode.

As of today, Abby still has a pretty high fever but after a quick trip to the dr, it was confirmed that it's just a virus that we need to let run its course. It would have been fabulous if she had something easy and treatable, like an ear infection or strep, but noooooo...we just have to wait it out. And hope she drinks Gatorade, which the dr recommended. Tomorrow will be day 3 of no school, and we'll have to see if she'll miss the rest of the week.

Here's to hoping that Jason and I don't catch whatever virus it is, and that the rest of the winter season is easier, but I am not overly optimistic about that!

The First Days of School

Pre-school started off with a bang on Monday - the class (9 returning students, 3 new ones) seemed to hit it off and the teachers are (hopefully) getting into a groove. Abby had a nice time, other than apparently she was not so happy about putting away toys to go read a story and she threw a minor fit and hit her head when she threw it back in protest. Par for the course these days, but she was fine and the rest of the time was ok.

Yesterday was only Day 3 of Abby's second year and she came home from school with a fever! Last year she must have been sick at least 4-5 times so I was hoping that this year it wouldn't be so bad, now that her immune system adjusted to a bunch of runny-nosed kids all playing with the same toys and putting their hands in their mouths. But alas, that hope only lasted about 48 hours. Luckily she is fine - her fever is gone and other than a lingering cough and swollen glands, she should bounce back by the time school resumes on Monday after Yom Kippur.

In other news at home, I must have been in a fog for the first few months of Abby's life because I don't really remember how her demeanor was. I know she was a pretty easy baby but Zach seems to be a little saint (so far)! He is so smiley & happy, and will just hang out no matter where he is or what he's doing. He eats, sleeps and gives us the best smiles. So maybe he's a little short but his big personality will make up for his little height. I just adore the kid and can't believe I was so nervous to have a boy! I am sure I'll change this once he's mobile and active, but if what everyone has told me about boys being so loveable with their moms holds true, his future wife better watch out!!!

Good news/Bad news

Which do you want first?

I'll start with the good news: We have a new member of the family - Jason's sister Julie gave birth to Morgan Rose on President's Day (2/16) at 12:36 pm. She weighed in at 6 lbs, 7 ozs and was 19.5 inches long. She looks EXACTLY like big brother Matthew and is cute as a button.

Bad news: Unfortunately our side of the family has had a very rough start to the new year. It seems as though Abby has been sick since her MMR reaction in late December. Perhaps because she is now enrolled in two new classes - gym and music - with other toddlers, or maybe because it's winter and everyone is sick, or perhaps I'm a bad mommy and only breastfed for 2 months - but whatever the case, we've had a rough few weeks.

Now it seems Abby caught a stomach virus from her friend Max. Day one included a lot of vomiting and no eating/drinking and day two has been a little better but now she has a fever. I'm so sick of calling the doctor and I'm sure she's sick of me, too!!

All in all, I am hopeful that after this bought with a bad virus, she is back to her normal, healthy, happy self!