In-flew-enza

When I was growing up, my dad would joke, "I opened my mouth, and in flew enza!" Since some awful, heavyduty virus hit our house (and apparently a whole bunch of others' houses too) this week, I was thinking about his little joke a lot. No, we didn't get flu shots, and, yes, I wish we had. But, when we took Mierae to the doctor this week, she tested negative for both strains of the influenza virus. So, even the flu shot probably wouldn't have saved us. But, we gave one to Jolie while we were there....just in case. Eric got the worst of it, and it's been a whole week and he's still not all recovered. It's been awful. Isn't it amazing how much you appreciate good health, when you don't have it? Well, here are the highlights of our week with Eric, and then Mierae, being sick.

First of all, I realized how much Eric does for our family. It's like when your mom got sick, and the house fell apart. Eric does so much for us, that it was an eye-opener for me to have to do everything without his help. The eczema on my hands has been really bad lately, so Eric said I'm wasn't allowed to do the dishes. But I needed to take over that job this week for the most part. Also, Eric cooks a lot of the time, and even though he did make dinner, and breakfast, once this week (and he really shouldn't have exerted himself like that), I made the other meals. (He did say it took less energy to cook than watch kids, so I guess it was a good thing at the time.) He also usually does the laundry while I'm teaching flute lessons, or on Saturdays. So, I did the laundry this week, and really appreciate that he does it almost all the time. He really helped out all he could with the kids, but when he was trying to nap, it was hard for me to try to keep both kids entertained and quiet, and I would usually end up frustrated within a half-hour. But, Eric did change a lot of diapers this week, despite how awful he was feeling. (Mierae for some reason decided she didn't hate diapers, and was willing to wear them this week. It's been better while she's sick anyway, so we don't have to hound her about going to the bathroom all the time when she's drinking so many fluids.) Eric told me every night how sorry he was that he couldn't help out more. I'm sure he wished he felt well and was helping out, rather than being so sick and helpless.

This week I had two opportunities to leave the house all by myself. No kids, no diaper bag to pack, no car seats to buckle. Just myself and my purse. And oh, can I tell you, it was so carefree and exhilirating! It reminded me of the days when I was single (nothing against Eric and my kids...), when I would go to school or work or wherever, and only have to worry about one person for most of that day. I love having my family and love knowing that I am needed, but it was sure nice to just feel a little freedom for an hour. I went to the library and the grocery store to get Eric some medicine one night, after both girls had gone to bed by 7:30! I thought it was going to be the greatest night ever. But, of course, my bubble burst when I came home and Jolie was awake, and poor Eric couldn't listen to her cry, so he got her up and was watching her half the time I was gone. Oh, well. Free evenings are highly overrated.

Early in the week, before Mierae got sick, I needed to run errands. So once Jolie was down for a nap, I took Mierae and hit the town. She was pretty good, until the very end. I had to go several places, and she was always good about getting back into her carseat after each stop. I told her what to expect at the next place we were going, so she kept looking forward to what was coming next. She did want to pick up and admire everything she saw at the dollar store, so I tried to be quick there. I let her choose some Valentines and put our stuff on the checkout belt to try to keep her entertained. Then we went to the gas station, and I told her we were going to go to the bank right after that and she could get a lollipop. She thought I meant after I got gas we'd go into the convenience store to get her lollipop. So, she was crying half the way to the bank about how I didn't get her one! But, thankfully she wasn't disappointed when we arrived at the bank, and she got to choose her very own DumDum. She even wanted to stay at the bank and play after the got her sucker! But, I decided if she had her treat, it might last long enough to pick up a few things at the grocery store. She sat in the cart for a little while eating her sucker, until she decided she didn't like it anymore and asked if she could "walk" and throw away her sucker. (She was calling her lollipop "popsy lopsy," probably because we've been reading "Chicken Little" the last few weeks, and she loves saying Foxy Loxy!) Anyway, I can't believe I actually let her out of the cart, because as soon as she hit the floor, she kicked off her boots and took off. I had to leave my cart and her boots in the middle of an aisle and go looking for her, and then pin her down in the cart while I hurried through the checkout. I should have reminded myself that I said I wouldn't take her to the grocery store anymore.... But, I need to give her a break, right? She's two and a half afterall.

I feel like I've been able to spend a lot of quality time with Jolie this week. Maybe it's because the sickies, Eric and Mierae, seemed to stay together. But, I really enjoyed all the love, slobbery kisses, pats, and smiles (but not the bites!) from my baby girl. Jolie is babbling so much lately. She says mama all the time now. I just love it! Mierae's first word was dada, so I feel special. :) (Jolie says dada too, but not very often!) She is also playing so much better and not being so clingy and fussy. Eric and Mierae would usually go to bed before Jolie, so Jolie would stay up with me while I watched my Matthew McConaughey movies :) and would just play and play on her own! It was probably heaven for her to be free of her big sister hitting her or taking away her toys. She also enjoyed watching shows with me. It's so fun to see her growing up!

Today Mierae and I had some fun while Eric went to a meeting before Church and part of Sacrament meeting. Jolie was taking her nap, so we were watching Curious George (yes, I know it's Sunday, but what else can you do with a sick child who's home all day long!?), and decided to draw pictures. While Mierae drew, I was combing her hair and decided to try a braid in her hair. It's getting long enough for a small ponytail, so I wanted to give it a try. Here's how it turned out.



She liked it, and probably also liked having her hair out of her face.



I can't believe Mierae's hair is actually long enough put in braids. Yes, it is so fun to see your children grow! (Oh, and by the way, Mierae wore her red dress EVERY day this week. She wore it running errands with me, along with her Winnie the Pooh boots, and danced in it to the "High School Musical" soundtrack every night. She did throw up on it one day, but as soon as we washed it a few hours later, it was back on, not to be taken off again!)



Our nights this week have been pathetic. You'd think sick people would sleep more, not less, when they're weak and feeling so yucky. But, last night gives you a good idea of how nights have been this week. Mierae went to bed around 8:00 pm, only to wake up at 10:30 and be awake until 1:00 a.m. Eric and I went to bed at 1:30, and as soon as we got comfortable and settled and started to fall asleep, Jolie woke up crying, and cried each time we put her back to bed after that until Eric put her in her carseat at 2:15. Then Mierae woke up again at 3:00, and Eric couldn't get back to sleep until 4:00. Then Jolie was up at 7:30, and Mierae not long after. The best sleep I had probably all week was one morning from 6:00-9:00 a.m. in a sleeping bag on the living room floor. :) Poor Eric doesn't get any sleep at night, and can't fall asleep during the day because he's too achy or the kids wake him up. Man, I'll be glad when the house gets back to normal. But, wait, this is normal for our house!

Well, to top our week off, this morning when I woke up I was coughing, had a sore throat, felt achy and had the chills. Just yesterday I was so surprised, but so grateful, that I hadn't gotten sick. I just had to open my mouth, and in flew enza.