Hannah has the flu.

And went to the ER for the first time.

Today was not a good day.

I went to bed last night, knowing that today would be a snow day, and most likely, that tomorrow would be, too.  I slept well and was excited to stay in and play some new games with the littles.  I had ordered a few new board games to help keep us busy on snow days, and Jack and I had said that on our next snow day, we'd teach ourselves to make rainbow loom bracelets.  We had some activities planned, enough to get us through a couple of snow days after a winter with already plenty of time inside.

Early this morning, Hannah came in to snuggle.  This is pretty unusual for her, as now she and Jack are both old enough to go downstairs with each other and put on some cartoons.  I didn't second guess it, though - I love unexpected snuggles with either of my babies.  She fell back asleep, and I snuggled down.  About an hour later, she woke up coughing, and I could tell she was going to be sick based on the way her stomach was lurching.  I rushed her to the bathroom, and sure enough, she spit up.  Just a little, and Brad and I were pretty sure it was due to drainage from her head cold.  No big deal...we got up and went downstairs for breakfast.

We gave Hannah some mango juice and some grapes for breakfast (in hindsight, probably not the best choice), and Brad headed off for a doctor's appointment.  After breakfast, we went back upstairs, and Hannah and I were cuddling in bed, when - out of nowhere - she started to get sick again.  And it felt like she didn't stop for another five minutes.  I didn't even know what to do - she was covered, I was covered, and so was my bed.

I picked her up and carried her to the bathroom and explained that everything was going to be okay and that we were going to take really good care of her.  She looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, "Mommy, I think I need a bath."

Baby Girl was right.  She definitely needed a bath.  And so did I, but I also had to strip the bed and start washing the bedding because I knew it would take all day to wash and then dry all that needed to be cleaned.  I wiped her down, got her out of her clothes, and put her into the tub.  While the tub was filling, I stripped the bed and started the laundry.  I called Kimmee for reinforcements, and then went back upstairs to gather up everything that needed to go down to the laundry room.  I gave Hannah a bath, and while I was drying her off, Brad came home.  He'd gotten half-way to his appointment before they closed the doctor's office due to the snow.  He said the roads were really bad.  He was also completely overwhelmed by the mess in our bedroom/bathroom.  He took Hannah downstairs and gave her some ginger ale (her first soda!), while I continued to clean up and then took a shower.

In the amount of time that I was upstairs, Hannah had gotten sick again.  We waited another hour and then called the pediatrician when she got sick yet again.  The doctor said that there was a virus going around and to slowly try to get Hannah to keep fluids down.  We followed her directions for several hours, but nothing was improving.  Poor Hannah was listless and lethargic.  She couldn't keep anything down, and she was oh-so-pale.  She took two mini-naps, but she'd wake up and get sick all over again.  Lucky for us, during one of her naps on the couch, some neighbor boys came by and offered to shovel our driveway for a small fee.  We happily accepted their offer since it didn't seem like we'd be out shoveling anytime soon.

After her second nap and another attempt to get something to stay down for longer than 15 minutes, Hannah got sick again, and we decided then and there that we had to take her to the Emergency Room.  Because of the roads and the weather, we couldn't all go, so Brad planned to take Hannah while I would stay home with Jack.

I cleaned Hannah up, got her dressed in another pair of clean jammies, gathered blankies and loveys, and put her into the car seat.  And then I watched Daddy and Hannah drive away and felt horrible because I couldn't go with her.

To keep myself busy, I focused on cleaning up the house, continuing the laundry, and playing Monopoly with Jack (who, by the way, beats me every.single.time.  And I'm trying.).

Brad called often to update me, and I kept our family up-to-date.  They gave Hannah some anti-nausea meds which immediately kept her from throwing up.  They gave her an IV with saline because she was pretty dehydrated.  The nurse told Hannah she was going to give her a popsicle, and then she left to get something else.  Hannah looked up at Daddy with her sad, pale, little face, and said, "Daddy, I want a popsicle so badly..."

He said his heart broke because he knew how hungry/thirsty she must have been.  Brad said she was very brave at the hospital and that all of the nurses were very impressed with our strong, little girl.  They ended up testing Hannah for strep and the flu.  And despite having had the flu shot, she did, indeed, test positive for the flu.

They gave her Tamiflu and let her come home.  I was so grateful that they didn't keep her overnight, and that I could help put her to bed here where she belongs.  As I was tucking her in, I gave her kisses from everyone that had been so worried about her all day long.  She must have thought I skipped a few because she added some of her own - it was pretty cute.  Once her head hit the pillow, she went right to sleep.

Poor thing had a really rough day.  I hope she sleeps well tonight and that tomorrow is so much easier.

Treasure Hunt

If you've ever seen Jake and the Neverland Pirates, then you know exactly how to pronounce treasure like Captain Hook.  He says it exactly like this: treas-ah!  And Hannah, Jack, and I know it well.

This morning, after we'd had our breakfast, Hannah and Jack went off with construction paper and markers while I checked my email.  Before I know it, Hannah came by and asked me if I wanted to use her map to go on a treasure hunt.  It sounded like a fun snow day idea, so off we went.

First Hannah described her map to me.  As she pointed to each colorful dot, she said, "First we go 'dere, to 'dere, to 'dere.  We go to Tumble Mountain, and Florida, and the beach to find the treas-ah!  Let's go, Mommy!"

"Treas-ah!"

"See those stinky skunks, Mama?  Hold your nose!"

"Tumbling Mountain with the tumbling tree falling, hmm, that's a weird place, Mommy," she said as she read the map.  "Only step on the yellow ones, Mommy!  Don't fall in the stinky swamp!"

"Treas-ah!"

Jack joined in the fun and starting cutting down the vines ahead of us with his sword.

Consulting the map together and deciding where to go next...

"Jump over the muddy puddles, Mommy!"

"Ssshhh, be very quiet, Mommy - so you don't wake up the ogre!"

I love watching their imaginations and listening to them as they play.  They never cease to amaze me with the things they make, and how they pull from things they've seen...makes me smile.

*****

Later in the afternoon, here's what my little lovelies looked like:

They decided to do a little indoor sledding and put on their safety gear before getting started :)

Gotta love the safety gear!

Just Another Snow Day

We've had our share of snow days and delays this month.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I've only worked five full days since before Winter Break, so that's been extremely nice.  We're a little stir-crazy, and the kids are getting tired of only playing with each other and us on most days, but we try to stay happy and have fun.  Today was no different!

I was feeling very proud of myself this morning because last night, I made myself write all 23 comments for my report cards.  The comments are what I dread the most, so I decided to start there.  I usually procrastinate and do everything else under the sun before I'll sit down to tackle report card comments, but this time I tried a different approach, and I must say, it made me happy.  And then, when my alarm went off early this morning, I saw the text that schools were closed, and I happily rolled over and drifted back to sleep.  It's always a good way to start the day...

We had a lazy morning.  I made sausage for breakfast, or rather, I heated up some sausage, and then the kids and I were just laying around after Brad left for work.  Hannah came up to me with a little shy smile and a marker and announced she was making a picture.  Awhile later I got to send this adorable picture to Brad:

Clearly, I shouldn't have assumed it was for me :)  

After that, Hannah was anxious to get outside in the snow.  She can't get enough, and she loves to help us shovel.  Jack was feeling better after a low-grade fever this weekend, so we bundled up and headed outside.

They love to show off all of their hard work!

Making snow angels

I love just watching them fall back into the snow, and they're oh-so-happy about it.

Jack's masterpiece

I took them sledding down the mini-hill on the side of our house, and when I turn to miss the fence, they spill out and laugh and laugh.

We went inside and had lunch, and then a couple of hours later, Hannah comes into my room wearing a swimsuit and announcing she's going to make a pool to go swimming!

Ready for a swim

Her pool.  Side-note: as soon as I fold these blankets and put them away, they are pulled back out to make a fort, a pool, a tent, or something of that nature.  Maybe I should just leave them out?

A happy swimmer

Tomorrow I'm sure we'll have school.  Not too bad, considering I'll only have a three-day work week.  And my report cards are pretty much finished, so there's always that :)

St. Patty's Day

Today was another snow day.  Have I told you how much I love snow days?  Because I do.

*****

This morning began when I heard a little sniffle coming from my side of the bed.  I rolled over, opened my right eye (Remember?  I have to open my eyes at different times to allow my left eye to adjust to light after a full night's sleep.), and listened to Hannah as she told me, "I pee pee'd in my bed."

"No, you didn't, Hannah.  You have on a pull-up.  Remember?"  (Yes, we're back in pull-ups at night time for awhile.  Mama can only change the sheets so many times before her back starts to really hurt.)

"My bed is wet."

I opened my other eye and pulled myself out of bed.  We went to check out the bed situation.  Sure enough, it was wet.  Not sure how she pulled that off, but we stripped her bed (again!) and got her changed.  We got some juice and turned on some cartoons.

Our day had begun.

Within an hour, Miss Hannah had pretty green toenails with gold glitter specks.  And I only had to paint her big toe four times before she let it fully dry :)

*****

While I cleaned up the office (note: scanned, filed, organized, shredded the millions of pieces of paper my littles produce within a week), the kids did some artwork at their little work station.  It makes me happy.  Posting soon, I promise.

Then, somehow, they got inspired to throw a pretend birthday party for Jack.  They went to work decorating the family room while I attempted to plan parts of our upcoming Disney vacation.  (I know, more on that coming soon!)

I didn't plan for long.  It's overwhelming, so I wrapped that up and decided to make lunch.  Lunch - I can do :)

*****

After lunch (only two spills!), we watched a cartoon together in our bed, and then I napped with the littles.  I love these times so much - I can't even tell you.

Don't they look so cozy?

*****

After nap, we decided to go outside and play in the snow for a bit.  We shoveled the driveway and did some sledding on the side of the house.  This time, both of them enjoyed the sled!

When I finished shoveling, I sent Brad a text:

*****

I decided to be a bit adventurous and do a painting project with the kiddos before Daddy got home.  We don't do a ton of painting around here, but I found this cute idea on Pinterest, and I thought the kids would enjoy it.  I was impressed with their work, and they couldn't wait to show Daddy when he got home!

It was a good, full day.  And tomorrow we have a two-hour delay.  It's always nice to have such a slow start back to our work week.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I love snow days.

Snow Days and Chilly Temps

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted.  Last week was the first, full week I worked since Winter Break, and it reminded me how exhausting it is to be a full-time teacher and a full-time mommy at the same time.  At the end of the day, as much as I want to keep up with the blog and tell our funny stories, my mind needs a break.  I enjoy writing, but it's work to bring it all together.  To get an idea, pull together photos, and write - it requires attention and focus.  Most nights I can barely get on my pajamas and climb into bed, let alone pull together a decent blog post.

Some of this revolves around the fact that Hannah is definitely two, and by this, I mean she has been testing us in the worst way since Christmas.  Dinner time is a nightly unpleasant experience - between picky-eater Jack and stubborn Hannah, it never goes well, and it's difficult to prepare a family dinner that you know is going to end in tears.  And some nights I'm worried it'll be our tears from sheer exhaustion and frustration.  Maybe it's okay to eat macaroni and cheese every night to avoid such antics?  We tend not to think so, but is the opposite worth it?

Anyway, when dinner is over and we clean up, it's time to get the kids ready for bed.  They're usually tired and we're usually rushed to get them to bed on time, and by the time we leave Jack's room with them all brushed, washed, read to, and tucked in, we have nothing left.  Maybe a few minutes on Pinterest or some mindless TV-watching before we fall asleep to do it all over again the next day.

I'm just saying it isn't easy...  We wouldn't give it up for anything in the world, don't get me wrong.  But it's the hardest kind of work.  To be on and kind and patient when inside your inner monologue is going crazy and wishing for just two minutes alone that don't involve going to the bathroom.

And then there's this week, where I haven't had to work a single day.  Which is nice.  In fact, I'm almost entirely caught up with my school work - just in time to start report cards:)  But it also means we've had a winter with lots of time together and inside.  I've worked a total of 8 days this month, so that means all the other days have been days when we're home together, and for the most part, inside because of the uncharacteristically cold weather.  And this comes directly after Winter Break, when we were home for two weeks together as well.  I've seen The Grinch approximately 243 times.  Poured numerous glasses of juice and opened millions of packets of fruit snacks.  We've existed solely on showering with the little lovelies (minus last week) to keep them clean and avoid bath night.  I've read the same stories over and over and over again.  And I'm going a little stir-crazy.  I'm just being honest.

So I've been AWOL on the blog because at the end of these crazy days, it seems like a little too much.  But I'm trying to get back into it - I have many things to share.  Funny stories and pictures and new year's resolutions.  I know, new year's resolutions the last week of January seems a little silly, but still.  I have them and I'm sharing.

Now excuse me while I go put on another cartoon and pour more glasses of juice.

I saw this post the other day - it's a good reminder.  Maybe it will bring you a new perspective as well.  I definitely needed it:)

Wordless Wednesday - Winter Wonderland Edition

{thank you, snow day}