Working Mothers of the World - Unite!

What a week. And it looks like the next one won't be much better. Cassidy was sick last week. Remember when I had to pick her up from her friend's because she had a temp? Well, she went to school Monday - no problem. She woke up Tuesday with a temperature, and seemed a little out of it. Like every good working mom, I told her to eat her breakfast and see how she felt later. Kaylee kept telling me it was the swine flu. I kept telling her Cassidy just had the sniffles and mind her own business. She finally threatened to call Children's Services on me if I sent Cass to school. So, Cass stayed home.

I got her in to the dr. in the afternoon. Once there, they registered her temp at 104 (I'm surprised they didn't call Children's Services). The dr. pretty much told me it was, indeed H1N1, without coming right out and telling me. He was trying to be very politically correct about the whole thing, since they aren't officially testing for the virus, so he can't actually call it H1N1. But, he basically looked at me like "you know what I'm really saying here." He came in the room with a face mask on for the exam. That'll get your attention pretty quick. After her exam he proceeded to get out a canister of disinfectant wipes and wipe down everything from his stethoscope to the pen he used to document her file. All the while discussing this "unknown" source of flu with me. It was very surreal. Kaylee gloated. Yes, she gloated when told that her sister really had swine flu. Siblings are great.

So, Wednesday I stayed home 1/2 day with her. Jeff was supposed to get off a little early, so I figured he'd be home not too long after I went to work at 12:30. No - he got off at his regular time. (Again, I'm just waiting for Children's Services to show up.) These are the days that a working mother loathes. My gosh, your child is home sick, but you have obligations and commitments at work....people counting on you and duites to fulfill. I HATE these days. I'm sure my mother is looking down from Heaven shaking her head.....she never was thrilled with the idea of me working after I had kids.

I was feeling a little punky myself. Not horrible, mind you - just headache and scratchy throat. But, I woke up Thursday with a very sore throat and throbbing head. Temperature only about 99.7. MAJOR lineup of activities I had to take care of at work that day, including an evening banquet to attend. What to do? Cassidy was actually feeling a little better. But, I took the advice of every public service commercial urging me to stay home if not feeling well, and called in sick to work. I very rarely call in sick to work and the guilt on this particular day would have been very painful if my condition hadn't allowed me to sleep through 3/4 of it. That was really as bad as it got for me - sleep. I'd wake up just long enough to think "wow, I've been asleep a long time, I should get up." Then, I'd roll over and go back to sleep. Cassidy even brought me drinks and took my temp!

Friday I just was a little tired and dizzy. I stayed home 1/2 day again. Cassidy had been without fever for over 24 hours, so could have possibly gone to school, but she had a bad headache, and I figured why push it on a Friday?

We were supposed to have about 10 or so girls over on Saturday for Cassidy's 10th birthday party. We had to postpone to give me an opportunity to disinfect the house. And that is what I did for the majority of the weekend - cleaning and laundry. Oh, and help Cass catch up on loads of homework.

Why do I give you this much detail? Why not just say we were a little under the weather last week and continue? Well, you have to appreciate it when I tell you that Whitney woke up today and just wasn't herself. I kept asking what was wrong, and she would just say, "I don't know, I'm just tired." I finally took her temp and got 100.5. That is when I knew it wasn't over yet. I urged her to take some Motrin. She said her stomach felt funny. I told her - oh, it's not the stomach flu, you will be fine. She then puked all over my kitchen floor. (After I had cleaned.) I don't know if it is the same flu or a different one. All I know is that I have to go to work tomorrow. This sucks.

Sending Hugs

Please say a prayer for this family. I found their blog through another blog I follow. I don't know either family. Someone suggested it to me one day, and from there I link to other blogs, etc., etc. Jeff thinks it is weird that I read about people I don't even know. For some reason though, I love learning about other people's lives. We really have more similarities than differences, and it is comforting to see that. However, this family has just suffered a major loss, and my heart aches for them. How do you reach out to someone you have never spoken to "in real life?" I'm sending hugs to them through prayers, though. Please do the same.

Fall is definitely here to stay. I am resisting the urge to run out and buy pumpkins and mums for our front porch. There is always something "more important" for our money to go toward. I know - that is no fun. I am pressuring Jeff to get some drywall and painting done in the basement, so we can move our old TV down there, so we can buy a new one for the family room upstairs. To him, these things take time - time to research televisions, read consumer reports, and visit every TV showroom in the tri-state area to find the best deal. To me, running to Wal-Mart and throwing one in the cart is sufficient. So, we have a difference of opinion here. Men really are from Mars sometimes.

Cassidy attended a mini cheer camp last week, and got to cheer pre-game at the home game on Friday night. It was pouring down rain. Not fun.

After she was done, we left the game and I took her to a friend's where she was spending the night. I got a call on Saturday morning that she was shivering and had a temperature. Hmmmm, maybe cheering in the freezing rain was not such a great idea? Mother-of-the-year award, here I come! She slept a lot yesterday, but her fever has broken and she seems to have perked up. She does have a nasty cough still. She has this week to get better because we are having her birthday party next weekend.

What can I say?

I think my blog is getting boring. This is why I stopped scrapbooking - every year started to look the same....back to school; Halloween; Christmas; sledding; last day of school; zoo trips; dance recital; birthdays. I don't feel like my life is that boring, but it is definitely challenging trying to make it sound interesting to anyone else! That is why I've been absent a lot - nothing new to say. So, here goes some more repetitive stuff.


Homecoming was last month. We had a parade/pep rally the Thursday before, which was the first time Van Wert has done it for years. It was a lot of fun, and I hope the tradition continues. Each class got to make a float. Here is the sophomore class float, which won! It would look more meaningful with kids on it, but Jeff took the pictures. He helped with some of the construction so to him, the actual float was more important.

Kaylee with her date (they are "just friends").

All of the girls and their gorgeous dresses.

Whitney has also had a couple of games.

Other than that, not much to blog about. It has definitely gotten cold too fast. We continue to do some home improvement projects. Jeff is building a shed (read: guest house). He has until the first snow to get it done because I insist on parking in the attached garage by then. I have NEVER gotten to park in an attached garage before...how sad is that? I'm trying my hand at dry wall patching - just because I want to get some stuff hung on the walls and don't want to wait until Jeff has time to do it. I figure it's just dry wall - I can't hurt it too bad. He may have a different opinion :).

Kids are doing well in school. We have had some of the typical high school drama to deal with, but I guess it comes with the territory.

Well, I have to get some housework done because Jeff and I are going bowling tonight. Have I ever mentioned that I hate bowling? How do I get talked in to these things?