Sickness

The awful, yucky, stomach bug has been thru our house and Andrew and Nikki's house. Mark is the only one spared, and I am thankful he hasn't gotten it. Ryan got it first. He texted me one afternoon during his last period, saying he was sick. He toughed it out until school was over, but was getting sick on the way home. (He can't throw up because he has had fundoplacation surgery).  When we got home he went straight to bed. I gave him some advil (I can't remember why), and he started feeling a lot better. I thought maybe he had the flu because his nausea was gone. So, I gave him chicken strips for supper. It was the worst thing in the world because it wasn't the flu. It really was a stomach bug, and it upset his tummy terribly. Even tho' he has had that surgery and has not been able to throw up for years, he actually threw up. That is how sick he was. It was awful. He was in bed all the next day, but the following day, was able to be up and down on the couch. I knew he was getting better when he was able to play his guitar.

He was blessed that it snowed the day he went back to school so he only had to spend a few hours there. Then it was the weekend.

The following week Nikki texted me during the night that Haley had just thrown up and wanted to talk to me. It broke my heart. Before I got off the phone with her, she was starting to get sick again. I lay there praying and praying for them. Little did I know that later Mason started crying and had thrown up in his bed. And, before the night was over, Nikki would be throwing up as well.  

The next day Andrew had to leave and go to work because his boss was coming in from Nashville to give him a review. Nikki did not know how she was going to make it. It turned out that his boss didn't show up so he was able to come back home. By the afternoon, the babies were better, but by that night, Andrew was sick. 

That night as I told Mark about Andrew now being sick, he said, "are you going down?"  I asked if he thought I should and he did.  I was really worried about getting sick, but not only that, it had just snowed and that area had been in the news for people parking on the interstate overnight because they couldn't make it in the snow. I talked to Nikki and she thought the interstate was clear. 

The next day I headed down to Andrew and Nikki's. It really worked out well because Ryan's school had been called off because of the snow. I didn't have to worry about how he was going to get home from school. I also fixed supper for him and Mark before I left, in addition to fixing potato soup to take to Andrew and Nikki.

I didn't have any problems getting there, but the back roads to Andrew and Nikki's were snow packed.

I spent the day with them, and by the time I left, Nikki and the kids were better.They were able to eat the potato soup and do fine. Yay!!  Andrew had to go to work, bless his heart, because since his boss hadn't come the day before, he was supposed to come back. He was able to get off early, but he went straight to bed when he got home. I barely got to see him at all.  It took Andrew several days to get over his, and I think it was because he kept having to go to work and couldn't just stay in bed and recover. 

They finally all got better, and the following Saturday, Nikki came up for the weekend.  I met Nikki at the hair salon where Haley got her first haircut. She looked like a beautiful little darling sitting there getting her first haircut. :) The hair stylist talked about how well she did. 

When I left the salon, I took Mason and Haley with me.  I dropped by Nikki's Mom and Dad's to pick up a diaper. Mason was needing one and I didn't have one. Mason cried for his Nana when we left. I really love the bond he has with her. Haley told me Mason only loves Nana and nobody else. lol Kids say the cutest things.

We then went to Martha and Kevin's for awhile. They gave Haley and Mason their Christmas gifts. With so much sickness (Martha has had the flu), this was the first chance we had had to get together. They got Haley a Hungry Hippos game and Mason a big school bus that played music and had little people to take in and out. The babies loved being at Martha's. 

After we left their house, I took Mason to his Nana's to spend the night. He loves his Nana, and I just don't have a good place for him to sleep when I have Haley. I can only keep one of them at a time, and since Mason loves his Nana so much, we usually do it this way. 

Haley and I went home to relax for a while. She loved seeing Papaw and teasing with him.

I also gave her a bath and fed her. Then we went to get Ryan who had spent the afternoon with Nana and Papaw. I had actually taken Haley and Mason to see them earlier in the day. We had had a very busy day.

I decided to go thru the car wash on our way home from picking up Ryan. My car was covered in salt grime from the snow. I didn't want to drive the chruch the next day with it so dirty. Ryan unlatched Haley's carseat and she crawled in the front with us while we went thru the car wash. I loved all the expressions on her face. I took pictures on my phone to try and capture some of them.

By the time we got home, it was after 9PM. It was past time for Haley to be in bed. Even though it was later than her regular bedtime (I think), it still took her a while to go to sleep. I read a few books to her on my Kindle before I tried to settle her down. She finally decided she wanted to be rocked (Yay!), and that is how she went to sleep. I love rocking babies. 

I think it was around 3AM she woke. I tried rubbing her back to help her go back to sleep. Finally she told me she was hungry. I fixed her a piece of toast with peanut butter. She took one bite and didn't want any more. I ended up rocking her back to sleep again after being awake over an hour. She slept the rest of the night. I was worried that maybe I had woke her somehow, so I didn't sleep with her after that. 

The next morning I got up early so I could be ready when it was time for me to wake Haley. I knew she would be sleeping late since she had gotten to sleep later and was awake in the night. She woke up earlier than I expected. I thought I was going to have to wake her. And, although she wasn't in a bad mood or anything, she wasn't like her cheerful self. I found out why in just a little bit. She came to the bathroom as I was finishing gettting ready. I thought she was going to use the potty, so I started to help her unzip her footed pj's. She said, "no," and turn around and threw up in the potty. Oh my goodness, it surprised and worried me. I didn't know if it was the tail end of her sickness or if she had somehow gotten sick here from where Ryan had been sick before?? 

She said she was better after she threw up, but I knew I couldn't take her to church. She sat on Papaw's lap while Ryan got up and got ready and I finished. She wouldn't let Papaw touch her tummy because it made it upset. By the time we left, she was feeling better and wanting to go to church. I hated that I couldn't take her, but I was glad she was feeling better. I stopped at the store and ran in to get soup, crackers, etc. in case she had anymore problems. Then I took her to Nikki's mom where Mason was. It was sad to leave both of the babies. Ryan and I didn't make it to Sunday School, but we made it to the church service.

That afternoon I took a long nap. I was so tired from being awake the night before. I texted with Andrew and Haley was fine the rest of the day. Thank God. She said some brownies she had eaten had bothered her tummy. That night Ryan and I went to church. Later, around bedtime I started feeling bad and my stomach didn't feel right. I thought, oh no! I am getting sick! I hurried and cleaned the kitchen, fixed Mark's lunch and anything else I needed to do in case I got sick. 

I couldn't get to sleep. The more I lay there the more upset my stomach was. Sure enough, I ended up with the virus. It was awful!!!! I was so very sick!!! I was in bed all the next day and the next night. I was sick of being in bed. Everytime I went to the bathroom I would try to sterilize it after I finished. By the time I got back in bed, I was usually feeling bad again. Monday night Mark gave me some ibuprophen and I was able to keep it down. It was the turn around that made me start feeling better.

Oh, and Monday Ryan had stomach problems again too. He didn't have it as bad as the first time, but it made him very weak. He was out of school Monday and Tuesday.

Tuesday morning I decided I was going to get up and get ready. I was so determined not to spend another day in bed. After washing my hair and taking a bath, I felt better. I was up the rest of the day working on changing the bed and washing clothes. I was even able to fix supper Tuesday night. 

Wednesday I was better but still not back to normal. After I took Ryan to school, I colored my hair. I also gave myself a haircut. It took for.ev.er!!! I am so thankful for how it turned out. Martha says she really loves it, and she is always honest with me. Anyway, when I finished and took a shower, it was after 12PM. Mark called before I had even dried my hair saying his car would not start. I had to finish getting ready and drive to the next town to jump start his car. He drove straight to the repair shop and had to get a new battery. I went straight to pick up Ryan after school.

The rest of the week we were all fine. Thank God!! I had to get groceries Thursday and Friday, so I still am not caught up on my washing. I am so thankful to feel better. I think the last time I was sick with a stomach bug, I was pregnant with Ryan. That is a looong time ago. I had forgotten how bad it felt. I hope we never have the stomach bug again. It is no fun!

In other news, Haley started ballet Monday. She looked like a precious little angel in her little tutu.

Oh my goodness! She looks like such a "big girl". (sigh) Life passes quickly. I was too sick to talk to her Monday when she had her first class, but Tuesday she told me all about it over the phone. I love talking to her. It is just wonderful being a gigi!!

Ok, I gotta get to bed! I pray you guys have a wonderful week. Hopefully things will be quieter and I can post more this week. I need to do several catch up posts too.  So, maybe I will be here tomorrow. :) See ya next time.