Ringing in The New Year with a *cough*cough*sniffle*sniffle*puke.....

This little Muffin started it all by waking up at 3:30am bright and early the morning of the 30th with a terrible earache and sore throat. I had gone to bed late that night and had only been asleep for about an hour when she came to get me. I drug myself out of bed to get her something warm to drink, put eardrops in her ear, help her swallow some tylenol and get a *hotpack for her ear.

*That's what we call those fabric bags filled with field corn that look like big bean bags. We use them to keep our feet warm in bed, snuggle up with under a blanket on a cold night and to comfort sore muscles and ears.

I recommend to all mothers out there to ask your doctor for a Rx for "Auroto otic solution". I can't remember if that's the generic or brand name. I have it in my cupboard and it is such a blessing for children suffering from middle of the night earaches. It's usually better the next day. The medicine has a topical analgesic as well as a decongestant to take away the pressure which is causing the pain. I'm not sure if there is an OTC product that is similar. I've always gotten mine with a Rx from my Dr.

Anyhoo... I put Sleeping Beauty on for her as she needed something to take her attention away from her discomfort. I covered her up with blankets and put another hotpack at her feet and asked her if she'd mind very much if I went back to bed. I was so tired I was feeling a little sick. I told her if she had any trouble at all to come wake me up again. I felt a little guilty not staying up with her but she had the long couch and I needed to sleep!

She didn't come get me again til morning. yea!!! I felt a little sick myself all that day. I'm sure it was just from being overtired. Mark ran lots of errands and was in and out. I mostly sat in his recliner with the remote control. I watched several old movies from the Turner Classic Movie Channel. I watched "Bundle of Joy" with Eddie Fischer and Debbie Reynolds and then "Bachelor Mother" with Ginger Rogers which was a nonmusical black and white version of the same story and although I enjoyed them both I think I liked the Ginger Rogers one the best. I watched "The shop around the Corner" which I'd always kind of wanted to see after seeing "you've got mail". I loved it and Jimmy Stewart was adorable as the Romantic Lead. He was younger than other movies I've seen him in.

The next morning it was Rachel feeling sick. Samantha was still all that she was the night before but not as severe. Rachel had completely different symptoms. She was achy, queasy, very uncomfortable. She can now add New Year's Eve & New Year's Day to her "I was sick on this holiday" list.

Rachel is very closely acquainted with nausea. She gets carsick driving around town, even in the front seat. She gets sick to the point of throwing up so much more than any of the other kids. I wonder what it is about her body that makes her so susceptible to it. When everyone else in the family gets a 24 hour flu, it tends to last 48 with her. She gets very weak and dizzy and it takes her longer to recover. When she got Pneumonia a few years ago it didn't manifest itself in obvious breathing difficulty. I took her to the doctor because she had such severe nausea and vomiting for several days and she was becoming so weak and listless I began to worry it was more than the flu. Our Doctor examined her and said "it's the flu" and gave me instructions on when to worry about dehydration, etc and sent us out the door. As she walked out of the exam room she leaned to the side and grimaced. Bless that Doctor, he noticed and said "hey, bring her back in the exam room, let's check a couple more things." He checked her lungs and determined that she had Pneumonia and gave her an injection of Penicillin. She began to improve that day.

For the last several years we have gotten together with our neighbors for New Year's Eve. We eat too much, play games and try to dance like nobody's watching at midnight. Some of us pull it off. Some of us (me) don't. I'm so much better at dancing like Nobody's watching when nobody is watching. There are usually sparklers and a couple fireworks to shoot off outside. Good Times. Rachel and Samantha were extremely disappointed as the appointed hour drew nearer and the realization that they weren't going sunk in.

I took my cell phone and we walked 83 steps (I counted) from my back door to my neighbors house leaving my 2 sick girls home alone in their misery. Just like the night before... I felt a little guilty..... but there was going to be Creme Brule!

Jacob had been playing at another neighbors house and had come to the party with them. He was sitting on the couch and looked tired. He was shivering. This was my first clue more misery was coming. Two things Jacob never is: Cold and tired. He runs around with out a coat and short sleeves when the rest of us are freezing and says "it's not cold!" and he goes to bed late and gets up early with more energy than the rest of us put together.

I sat next to him and asked him how he was doing. He said, "I'm fine, I just can't get warm." I put my coat back on and took him home. He was so listless he just laid down on the floor in his room when I asked him to put his PJ's on. I had to help him get his clothes off and his PJ's on. He would have stayed there on his floor but I wanted him to be with the other kids so I grabbed his pillow and quilt and helped him down to the family room.

I checked them all to see if they needed anything and went back over to the party.

Samantha called me 1 1/2 hours later to come home. Her ear hurt again. I walked my 83 steps back home and put some ear drops in, warmed up her hot packs, checked the other kids who were sleeping soundly. Samantha exclaimed "I'm the only one who's like alive over here!!!!" She was okay with me going back to the party. Besides her sleeping siblings, she had Kung Fu panda, Prince Caspian and my cell phone number. We all know Samantha isn't afraid to call me if she thinks she needs me!

She did call again, right before Midnight and I told her we'd be home soon. The party was a lot of fun. We felt bad for the ones who missed the Creme Brule, fireworks, games & laughter. We were home shortly after midnight and found them all sleeping soundly.

Happy New Year!