The Quarantine Has Been Lifted

2 1/2 weeks of illness fell over our house.

This was literally the cloud over our house for weeks

 First Jackson, then Blake and then Jackson's cold came back for a repeat engagement, only this time it was much worse. And did I mention that when they were both the sickest I succumb to the germs. Some how Luke manages to escape the little disease laden inmates but not me. Oh no, these 2 little weapons of mass destruction wait until I am at my weakest, like when my wine glass is empty, then they use this opportunity to blind side me with a match box car on the floor and as I'm tripping, flailing my arms in an attempt to find something to keep me from hitting the ground; they cough right into my mouth.

Here they are plotting how to infect me

And after 2-3 nights of bed hoping trying to put the coughing babes back to sleep, I awake feeling like I have been hit by a mack truck. This is where motherhood stops being fun.
All I wanted to do was get in the bed and be left alone...hahahaha! NOT a CHANCE. Despite my West Nile Virus symptoms, Luke insists I put Blake to sleep when he's really sick, because "You're a nurse. You know how to deal with this stuff." I'm pretty sure it does not take a nurse of any sort to apply vicks to a chest and suction a nose. But thanks to my years of working in a trauma unit and with Neurosurgeons I'm better equipped to deal with this medical emergency far better than my husband.
I took both kids to the Pediatrician and they were both put on respiratory treatments, which meant I had to go to the pharmacy...If you do not live in South Florida you may not understand the perils that belie one when entering the pharmacy area of Walgreen's. The mean age of the pharmacy we went to was 110, and that was only because I had Jackson there. I gave the pharmacist my prescriptions and said we would wait. So I took Jackson up and down the aisles, searching for cheap toys treasures and avoiding the candy aisle. After sneezing and snotting all over everything we made our way back to get our drugs. There was one man there to get his prescription one month early, they would not dispense it to him and this confused him. Jackson was getting antsy. Then the next lady said she needed a flu shot...hey lady, just come over here, Jackson will sneeze on you; you give us $20 and you can check flu shot off your list. Then we were up, home free, outta here...oh wait she has to call the pediatrician because he is trying to overdose my child.
Then BAM...without warning, an 88 year old lady squeaked her way in front of us and began demanding to have her blood pressure checked, "It's an emergency!" We were about 1.5 blocks from a hospital so it was so obvious to me why she came to get the pharmacy tech to take her blood pressure with a manual cuff from 1978. They put her in a chair and told her they would be right with her after they settled my issue. This was not what she wanted to hear and I could tell her blood pressure was climbing. She was worse than Jackson, she kept asking for the blood pressure, the blood pressure. Now to be honest at any point I could have stepped in and taken her pressure, but I didn't like her attitude. She basically told the pharmacist my kids medications could wait until after her emergency was attended to. I really could not believe that I didn't yell at her. But as we left, I was able to eek out a little smile...Jackson sneezed right on her...she likely acquired the worse illness of her life...karma!

While we were in the quarantined home, I decided to start cleaning out the things we would no longer need. Blake, AKA Monster Baby, no longer fits into the swing, infant tub, many of his clothes and infant chair. He does fit into the jumper now though, this is huge because I can put him in it and get something done for about 15 minutes. I see more wine in my future.

She got rid of my comfy swing, apparently I'm too heavy...whatever!

I also had to come up with sick day activities for Jackson. This is where I discovered that he is turning into me. He wanted to sort M&M's into colors, this is an inherited compulsion that started before me...but they do taste better when you eat them one color at at time.

Sick day activities for a 2 year old are not always easy, and to be honest his labile temperament while ill meant that the usual means of entertainment was not going to cut it...

This took him more than 10 minutes...he loved sorting his cars into colors

Fortunately we are all well, just in time to take a plane trip...no germs there! I hope this virus skips your house, it was bad and I felt really bad for both kids. It's really hard to see your kids sick...but I knew they were both better when I saw Jackson running around and Blake jumping in his jumper...its the little things.

Jackson's back to running all over..."I'm super duper fast"      Blake loving his jumper...notice the I love Sake stickers...who knew?

Pit - taking a nap when you are sick is not advisable when you are the mother. I guess Jackson is not responsible for cleaning when he is sick...but Luke, really?

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Peak - Blake has started eating real food...sweet potatoes, apples, etc,

Home made baby food, is there any other way

Have a great week.
Sharron

Family Car Trip = Tired Mom

First I want to explain that this blog will contain no photos...apparently the iPhone 4 was not equipped with a waterproofed operating system. Therefore, any photos that I took are sitting in a bag of rice with Siri hoping for of some resuscitation. Do you think the organic brown rice is superior and that Steve Jobs would find the humor and good sense in this? I'm sure hoping Apple hears me begging for this necessary water/wineproof feature on the iPhone 5. But let's face it, I will buy the next Apple iPhone and Jackson will need to know "sink like a stone or float; let's try it and see."...I don't think AT&T finds me insurable.
This brings me to the subject at hand...Family Car Trips...just say no! We decided to take a 5 day trip to Tampa to visit some family. We will be staying at their new house, where there are no children but they do have a large puppy dog, a pool with no child fence, many doors out, sparkling clean wood stairs without a gate and most importantly a LARGE wine refrigerator. Sounds like a great time because they are super fun...Enter toddler and baby...
We must pack for any and all events and emergencies...and when I say "we" must pack, I clearly mean "me". For 2 days I pack for the boys:  play clothes, pajamas, swimming clothes, oops I pooped my pants clothes, snacks (gummy spidermen and goldfish, this goes without say), books, cars ("lots of cars, momma") puzzles, highchair, baby gym; the list is endless. Then I throw together some things for myself. Mind you while I am packing Jackson's clothes, he keeps pulling them out to look at each item. Like all of a sudden I might pack the wrong outfit for him to throw a tantrum in.
Then comes our day of departure; I quickly get up, shower and dress. Jackson was refusing to eat breakfast because he can just eat snacks in the car - super! So Luke packs the car and wants to know why I'm not ready...GRRRRR! So I say let's leave when Blake is ready for a nap, hoping for some quiet in the car.
So we are off...Blake goes right to sleep, Yes! Jackson is watching movie Cars, another Yes! And I am sitting contemplating reading 50 Shades of Gray, which I have had for 2 months but not cracked open yet. After 30 minutes, Jackson decided he no longer wants to watch the movie, he wants me to sit in the back with him to read books. I get in the back to read books, this is where our trip heads south...
"Not that book!" "Put the movie back on! But only the racing parts." "Momma, look at this booger." "I'm peeing." Blake also decides that 45 minutes is long enough for napping because he was clearly missing a good time. Really though who could sleep through the constant yelling of "Mom, Momma, Mommy, Mom, Momma, Mommy...." I counted 2 million times in 4 hours, that was how many times Jackson yelled out my name. I look to Luke for some emotional support, he just shakes his head and explains, "Sharron, I'm driving" pointing straight ahead at the road as if I didn't know we were in the car. This is where  I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or throw myself out of the moving car...I just sat laughing so hard tears poured down my face...Moral of the story, install a keg instead of a dvd player, it will get more use and you will not care how many times your child yells out about his random bodily functions.
During this trip Jackson was to watch his movie, then we would stop for lunch and he would nap the rest of the way...HAHAHAHAHAHA! Novice Car Trip Mom - that's me! At one point I told Jackson that when we arrived I was going to have to poop for a long time. He thought that was the funniest thing he ever heard. I was preparing to be out of his sight for 30 minutes, no I don't think taking a glass/bottle of wine into the bathroom is sanitary but I'm just going to sit on the floor and savor the quiet. Maybe he will leave me alone if he thinks I'm pooping and why not, dads worldwide have mastered this skill of lengthy, alone bathroom time. So dad takes a magazine/New York Times; momma takes Pinot Grigio, I'll read the label.
During our stay I realized that in one afternoon we had turned their beautiful home upside down. Jackson took it upon himself to throw all sort of clothing items, pacifiers, pillows and toys off their stairs. I walked into their great room to find it littered with cars, puzzle pieces and books; Jackson was no where to be found. I guess this was room sufficiently destroyed he could move on...I would instruct our gracious hosts to keep their voices down our kids were sleeping and I was drinking. "You wake 'em, you take 'em." Then everyone in the house would wake up to Jackson announcing that he would like his juice, a candy bar and a show...this happens around 6:30. If you don't have kids, I'm guessing you don't awaken that early. Mealtime was always eventful, Blake watches a Baby Einstein while we eat, so you have 24 minutes to get the food down. And Jackson will pick and choose what items he will and won't eat today.
We had a lovely visit, many good times and memories made. Jackson was up late every night, naps were sporadic and meals consisted of cake and some taco. He had the time of his life! Blake decided that he would nap, oh yes, if someone would hold him...again when I say someone, I generally mean me. When we left, our hosts told us they would be getting another dog. I'm pretty sure this will be in lieu of any children that they had thought about having. After our visit, they are probably stocking up on birth control and eating in silence.
The car trip home was quiet, both kids napped for about 2 hours. Of course this was because my connection to the outside world had been suffocated out by water...I forgot about Siri's drowning incident. Which is not that big of a deal except I will have to engage in conversation on the way home when I could be on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest where I am supposed to be!

Peak - a great time with family.
Pit - both boys catching a cold the minute our car pulled into our driveway...too much weekend for them.
Have a wonderful week...but don't agree to any car trips!