Sickies

I'm here. I just have 7 sick kids with some sort of icky flu virus. Not the throwing up kind. Just the kind where you get a fever and feel really yucky. I have to admit I kind of enjoy the alone time. I've been hibernating in my bedroom trying to stay away from the sickies. They pretty much sleep, and sit around the family room all day. I throw some food on the table and they can go get if if they want. Most of them don't even feel good enough to eat that much. Here is the order of illness:

Friday - Emily
Sunday - Sarah (Notice the totally random alliteration.)
Tuesday - George and Rachel
Wednesday - Wendy (Notice the totally random alliteration.)

Now I'm really thankful my name is not Thelinda because it would surely guarantee I would get sick tomorrow.

Bradley? I can't tell if he is sick or not. He had a slight temperature (99.something) today and a headache, but it doesn't seem to have hit him as hard as the others. He said his head only hurt when he shook it or banged it on something. He's always been my child with the bionic immune systems. It's must be all those vegetables he doesn't eat that keeps him healthy.

I took Emily to the doctor last Friday. I thought she might have strep, but she didn't. That's good, I guess. I kind of wish it was something fixable with an antibiotic so we could be done with it. My husband and I are super paranoid and are constantly washing our hands and dousing ourselves with hand sanitizer. I'm starting to apply it up to my elbow. It's only a matter of time before I rub it over my whole body.

We eat meals in shifts (parents first) so we don't have to be around the sickos. I kind of feel like a horrible mother, but I just really don't want to get sick because I had this type of flu 2 years ago and it was quite miserable. I'm also just getting over a some nasty cold/bronchitis thingy that I've had for 3 weeks. Urghh to winter! I'm ready for Spring. Although Spring brings other ailments like mosquito and gnat bites. Those are terrible too because I have a very appetizing chemistry for those bugs! (Whic h reminds me of a story I'll tell at the end of this.)

I took this on Tuesday. I thought it was cute how George managed to find a little piece of blanket on the floor to snuggle up to. 

This is Wendy taking care of her sick little brother. It's no wonder that Wendy ended up getting sick too. George just looks pathetic.

This little guy probably took like 10 naps today. I'm glad he's able to sleep. There's no sinus congestion, so that's a good thing.

The sick crew watching Spongebob, except for Rachel and Emily who were sleeping.

Ok, so the story I was talking about.....  One of the first years we lived in this house we worked in the yard in the Springtime and I was attacked by gnats. I probably had about 40 bites or so, maybe more. Usually it takes about 12-24 hours for them to start itching on me. Well, I went to bed that night and was itching like CrAzY!  I couldn't handle it. So I got up in the middle of the night and went to my trusty computer and Googled "how to stop bug bites from itching" (or something like that) and I found a nifty little trick. Some website said to put Scotch tape over the bites. So that is exactly what I did. I ripped off about 40 pieces of Scotch tape and stuck them on each of my bug bites. I can't say it worked perfectly, but it definitely relieved most of the nuisance and prevented me from scratching them.  When my husband woke up in the morning he looked at me strangely and asked "Why do you have tape all over you?"

It makes me itchy just talking about it. The worst ones are the ones on the soles of the feet or the tops of the toes. I scratch until I bleed. What's totally not fair is that my husband hardly gets touched by them. They must know that I'm not a native. I really hope this flu bug passes over me or I've totally ignored my children all week for no good reason.