Sick Bay

It has been a rough past couple of weeks in our house. We have been invaded by every germ known to man, I feel. We made it through the first half of the winter very healthy and it seems like someone (mostly Ben) has been sick more often than not since January.

Our weekend began with a bang on Thursday. Ben had a class at the Children's Museum and we then picked up daddy for lunch and to say goodbye before Dean headed to the airport for a race in Miami. They boys and I went home for a couple of hours and then Ben had soccer at 4:30 and we met up with Dean's family for dinner at 6:30 to celebrate Oma's 70th Birthday! Happy Birthday Oma!

Oma, Cousin Kevin, and Joey

We were all exhausted and crashed on Thursday night. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. on Friday to work and heard Ben crying at 5:10 a.m. I went in (to my bed) to find him covered in vomit. He had thrown up all over himself, his stuffed animals, my sheets, everything. Poor little baby! In my efforts to transfer him to the bathroom to get him in the bathtub, he left a trail of vomit, and ended up throwing up again...in the bathtub. I was beginning to suspect it was going to be a long, long day.

The vomiting did not last too long, fortunately, but was replaced by diarrhea, which is almost, but not quite, as unpleasant of a symptom. I originally assumed that Ben just had a virus, but by about noon he was holding onto his lower abdomen and crying about how bad his tummy hurt. He would not let me touch his belly and kept crying so I called the doctor and we headed in for a professional opinion.

We arrived to the doctor's office 10 minutes late, thanks to an accident by Ben right as we were getting in the car. Ben cried almost the whole way to the doctor's office (Joe, by the way, was his typical easy going self and just smiled and amused himself all day while I was in gastrointestinal hell). Oma ended up meeting us at the doctors office to help with Joey in case the doctor needed to do any diagnostic tests. Miraculously upon entering the doctors office, Ben was a new boy. He was suddenly perfectly fine. Why is that always the case? Not that I am complaining (too much), I was thrilled he was feeling better, but couldn't he have felt better 20 minutes earlier and saved me $25, a rushed trip to the doctor, and a visit to the only place on earth that has more germs right now than my own home?

We were relieved that Ben was going to survive, and headed home with doctors orders to watch movies and relax the remainder of the day. My mom ended up coming over on Friday night and spending the night, which was a rare treat, and I was once again reminded that my mom is not only a saint, but a psychic. Somehow she knew that I would need her...when Joey got sick at 7:30 that night!!! Poor little baby suddenly started screaming and crying, coughed several times like he was trying to vomit and had a humungous blow out diaper. He was almost inconsolable, which is so rare for him, and it was such a blessing to have my mom there. She took care of getting Ben to bed and I was able to hold Joe for the next 3.5 hours while he squirmed in my arms, cried in his sleep, and I literally could feel his little stomach spasming. It was heartbreaking! Mom, Joe, and I made our way to bed a little after 11:00 p.m.

Saturday was a new day and we all awoke to Ben feeling much better. He and nana "cheferd" (i.e. cooked) waffles and bacon for breakfast. Joey clearly did not feel well, but he was no longer screaming, just kind of looking pitiful and no where near his normal joyful self. My mom left right after my sister, Michelle, arrived. I joked that they were babysitting me! Michelle ended up spending the whole day with us, which was such a treat. We had a great day, despite Joe not feeling well. Ben looked out the window at one point and said "it looks like a great day to fly a kite." We ended up making kites and Ben and I went outside to fly them...rather unsuccesfully, but fun nonetheless! Uncle Clint even stopped by for a visit and played basketball and Wii with Ben, much to his delight.

Ben's Kite!

"Not much wind today!"

Peek a Boo Joe Joe!

Michelle ended up leaving about 7:00 p.m. last night. Joey was in bed by about 7:30 p.m. and Ben was down by 8:30 p.m. I gleefully climbed into my bed at 8:45 p.m. and snuggled in with my laptop to get some work done. Lights out was 11:30 p.m. and I slept like a baby!





Everyone slept well last night and we started our day at about 7:00 a.m....which is definitely sleeping in for me! Ben was feeling great, Joey seemed much better, and we settled in to eagerly await Deans return. We decided to avoid church and keep our germs to ourselves one more day...besides, I suspect church is where we picked up the germs in the first place and I didn't want to pick up any others...I need one week reprieve from this virus! Ben and I made welcome home signs and ended up making a lifesize "Ben" for him to color. It was a great morning and I loved watching how happy my boys were when Dean walked in the door just after noon. I expected Ben to be thrilled, but Joey's reaction was awesome. He was asleep when Dean got home, but Dean went in to get him when he woke up. Joey just stared at him and smiled. He has not stopped staring at him all afternoon and you can tell he just wants to be with his daddy.





Despite the germ invasion, we actually had a really good weekend. I said more than a few prayers to God to give me strength, patience, and a sense of humor this weekend. He delivered as always and I am grateful. He even sent me some angels to take care of me and the boys in the form of Oma, Nana, and Aunt Sissy. I love you all so much.