A Team Weeks 179 & 180: Round Two

As I wrote back in January this winter has been terrible for our family health.  Between December and that dreadful week we had already dealt with strep throat, a sinus infection, an ear infection and the chest flu.  Then while Eric and I were on our week away, Avery got pink eye.  It has been a rough winter.  We had hoped that that would be the end of it, but our weakened immune systems had other plans.  And so, it is quite ironic that this picture is the first image of the A Team Weeks 179 & 180 as it illustrates my Tuesday evening on week one paying off the insanely high medical bills we received after our family week with the chest flu...

Paying my bills from our family flu plague and feeling that a villainous stamp is the most appropriate @froedtertsouth #cruelladeville #robbingusblind #howdotheysleepatnight

At that point in the week things still seemed quite normal but shortly after things would take a turn for the worst.  On Wednesday I picked up Asher from school and for a moment everything seemed fine but as soon as we walked out of the building he became very upset about something and then cried basically the entire way home.  The alarm bells sounded in my head that something wasn't right and when he said he'd had to go to the bathroom a lot that day I realized he wasn't feeling well.  We sent him to bed early that night and on Thursday he seemed better.  After already missing an insane amount of work during the first 6 weeks of the year Eric and I agreed to send him to school and see how the days go.  It didn't last long.  A moment before I arrived at my office that morning, roughly half an hour after Eric had dropped Asher off at school, I got a call telling me I needed to come pick him up.  So I drove the rest of the way to work, told my boss that I needed to take the day off and headed to the school to get Asher and bring him home.  It was the start of Round Two...  :(

Thursday's Facebook Post: In the past 2 months our family has dealt with strep throat, a sinus infection, an ear infection, the chest flu, pink eye and now Asher is home with a stomach virus. We seriously cannot catch a break. Having two working parents in a family had its advantages but juggling sickness into the chaos of our life with no family nearby to help is no easy task 😥#workingmomneedingtovent

We spent the day home together and on Friday it was Eric's day to stay home with him.  By then, Eric thought Asher was on the mend as things seemed to be improving (I'll spare you the gory details), and  since he is too antsy to ever simply stay home with the boys he and Asher had a late morning outing together to a local school that Eric does work at.  I can't say I was surprised when I found out that they were not spending the sick day at home, but I was surprised when I received a video of Asher running the school's track...on a cool day...in the winter...with the flu.

Video: Running the Track

When they were done at the school, Asher felt bad that they were having a fun day together without Avery and convinced Eric that they should pick him up from daycare...so they did.  They got Avery from daycare and then headed to Meijer for some groceries...and donuts.  Everyone gets donuts when their kid has the flu, right?  ;) 

...And after the donuts and grocery shopping at Meijer they grabbed a pizza from Little Caesars.  I gotta say, I love my husband but sometimes we aren't quite on the same page...

Up until this point it was just Asher that wasn't feeling well but we knew it was only a matter of time before Avery got it...nothing gets past Avery.  :(  On Saturday morning he woke up with the *gory details* and let's just say the rest of our weekend wasn't the prettiest.  We basically spent the rest of the weekend cooped up in the house but I did get out for a few hours on Sunday to get in some time at work knowing I would have to take off on Monday.

Asher & Avery working on painting his rocket.

Ironically my entire family had some version of the stomach flu this weekend even though we were all apart from each other and haven't been together since Christmas.  A friend of my sister-in-law's suggested Activated Charcoal to her to help her get over her illness faster and help my brother avoid it.  I decided it was worth a shot too and had Eric pick some up for me to try.

Saturday's Facebook Post: Eric rented a movie called "Thunderpants" for the boys to watch and our quote of the day (by Avery) is, "Momma! My butt sounds like a car!" Can you tell how our day is going?   

On Saturday night both kids were on a very strict BRAT diet but Eric and I were both wanting something other than soup and crackers to eat.  As soon as the kids were in bed Eric headed out to pick us up the pizza he'd ordered right before reading to Asher.  I felt a little guilty...but only a little...

While I was at work on Sunday the boys built a massive fort in the basement to play in...

On Monday (day 1 of Week 180) I stayed home with both of the boys.  Both of them were feeling quite a bit better but still needing to be close to the bathroom.  We had a lazy day home together.  My daycare provider also suggested calling the doctor to see if there was anything that we should be doing differently for them or that we could do to help speed things along.  The answer: You can try some probiotics but you really just have to wait it out and it could take up to TWO WEEKS!!  At that point, knowing that Eric and I could not afford to miss much more work, I called in reinforcements.  By that evening, my dad had come to our home to help out and we are eternally grateful! <3

Video: Wait for it...

Monday's Facebook Post: Needing to add a little color to my life today as we are on day 6 of the stomach flu.  #whenwillitend #playdoh #springfever

Video: "Grandma Come"

When I told Avery that Papa was coming to stay with us he asked, "and Grandma too?," and when I said no he responded, "but I miss her!".  This is the conversation that followed...

Papa reading to the boys at bedtime on Monday night.

On Tuesday my dad stayed home with both of the boys while Eric went to work and I worked from the home office (because I also got the virus but couldn't afford to miss more work).  Then on Wednesday Asher was finally ready to go back to school.  He wasn't impressed that Avery got to stay home alone with Papa the rest of the week but he survived.  On Friday my dad picked Asher up from school giving him a little extra time to play before Papa went home.  Then I skipped out of work early that day to allow my dad to head back up North.

Video: Wrestle Mania!

Sick or not, the boys are always up for a wrestle and now that they are getting older they are starting to have their own wrestling matches without Eric.

My dad also enjoyed playing some play-doh with the boys this week.  Here are a few of his creations...

That afternoon Asher was quite a disaster.  He was exhausted from the week and was basically a total mess.  I tried to get everyone to take a rest that afternoon but it didn't work out like I'd hoped.  Then that evening it was time for the Sweetheart Dance at Asher's school.  I had been looking forward to the special time with my oldest but now with him being super tired and a bit crazy I wasn't sure how the evening would go.  Late that afternoon we both got ready for our 'date night'.  Asher was quite impressed that I put on a dress and heels for the occasion (something he doesn't see me in often) and he was quite distraught that we could not find his tie.  Eric made up for it though.  When he got home from work, just before we had to leave for the night, he surprised Asher and I with some white rose corsages to pin onto our attire.

Once we got our corsages pinned on and had Eric snap a few pictures before we headed out for a fun night of dinner and dancing...

For dinner, we kept it pretty simple and headed over to McDonalds.  It was fast and cheap and he was probably happier than he would have been at anywhere else. :)

When dinner was done we headed over to the school for the dance.  Asher really wasn't up for much dancing but he did enjoy the dessert table as I let him splurge on a huge cookie, one other dessert and three cups of lemonade!  He also had fun playing with some friends but never left my side for more than a minute or two.  He was a great little date and we had fun just hanging out together.  We danced together, took silly pictures together and laughed together.  Despite my earlier worries that he was too over-tired for the evening we had a great time and made some great memories!  

Asher showing me his moves ;)

Video: Asher Gets Down
Dancing with Asher includes a lot of shoulder shrugs and sliding on the floor...

You would think an elementary school would provide smaller desserts?

He obviously didn't mind!

I was very full from dinner, but I did enjoy this little cheesecake!

Asher and a friend playing tag.

One of many cups of lemonade.

<3

Asher really enjoyed the Photo Booth props so we had fun making lots of silly faces and taking silly pictures together.

When the last song played, Asher wasn't ready to head home yet and was disappointed that the night was over and I couldn't help but smile as I thought that 10 years from now he'll likely be trying to get rid of me as quickly as possible.  We headed back home where we filled Eric and Avery in on the events of the evening and then headed off to bed for some much-needed rest.

On Saturday and Sunday we finished out our week with lazy days at home combined with a little bit of errands to run, a baby shower for my coworker Jen and a family trip to Sam's for free samples...

With February over I had to get some shots of the boys' heart-covered doors.  This is Avery's door...

...and this is Asher's.

Saturday was a chilly day, but it was sunny so the boys couldn't help but go outside and play after being cooped up in the house for so long!

My coworker Jen & her daughter at the baby shower for her soon-to-arrive baby boy!

Saturday Night's Facebook Post: In February I had a week long date with Eric. Last night I had a date with Asher. Tonight I have a date planned with this slice of heaven 😍 #nomnom#havingmycakeandeatingittoo

   

Checking out the Spring furniture at Sam's!

How could I not take pictures of this?

Hot dogs as big as they are!  ...probably not the best post-flu food but they were desperate for something other than soup and crackers now too!

Video: Bana

Avery is still at the age of saying cute little kid things, but they are gradually going away as he gets older.  In addition to leaving the first letter off several words (such as anything starting with 'y' like "ellow" and words like "piderman" and "peed metal") he also still says Bana instead of Banana.  Here, Eric is trying to teach him the right way to say it and while I cheer fro him as he makes progress in his words and speech a piece of me can't help but cry as I watch him grow up too quickly.

Eric and I finished out the week with a game of Life (we've been trying to take the time for a Sunday board games while the boys play).  We couldn't help but wonder what a more realistic game of Life would look like....  "Your child goes to the Walk-in-Clinic, empty your savings account."  "Your child gets the flu and passes it on to everyone in the family...miss 2 weeks of work and 2 Pay Days!"  "Go to college...spend the rest of your life paying off your loans."  ...something like this?