We had another sick day at our house today and are planning on having another one tomorrow. Rachel's cough has gotten progressively worse over the last few days instead of getting better. She also developed a rash today...on her face and arms and legs and back and stomach...but not like fifth's disease...and not like scarlet fever...and not like chicken pox... I don't know what it is.
Miriam's still coughing as well.
And they're both getting fevers off and on.
They were both incredibly grumpy today. Miriam's sad and she doesn't know why but I think it's because she's sick but keeps trying to act like she's not because she's been sick for so long and just wants to be better. The other night she was up crying and I said, "Why are you crying, baby?"
"'Cuz I'm really, really sad," she sniffed.
"And why are you really, really sad?" I asked.
"'Cuz I'm crying," she told me.
Both of them had multiple fits today and although Miriam took a nap Rachel refused to even though she, too, really could have used one.
For lunch we had soup. Rachel wanted tomato soup (as always) and Miriam didn't (as always) so I brought up tomato soup and what my girls like to call "Tangled Hair Soup." Ordinary people might call it Ramen or Oriental Noodles or Ichiban, but those people are boring and unimaginative because clearly it isn't noodles at all but Rapunzel's hair turned into soup. Miriam didn't see the package of Tangled Hair Soup, though, and only noticed the can of tomato soup.
"What?!" she said angrily. "Not do I like tomato soup!"
"I know," I said, flashing the package of noodles, "I also brought some Tangled Hair Soup for you. I'll make them separately."
Miriam looked at me suspiciously.
"What's separate?" she asked.
"It means not together," I told her.
"Oh! Hey, Rachie—Mommy's making separate soup! We're going to have separate soup! She's making it separately!"
She was so excited she even did a "separate soup" dance, right on the spot. We enjoyed our soup (which I laced heavily with garlic) but wanted a little more for lunch. We've been eating a lot of grapefruit recently and the last one was sitting on the counter and, as Grandpa would say, it was lonely, so I suggested to the girls that we share it because grapefruit is full of good vitamins that help people get better when they're sick.
"Not is a grapefruit a vitamin," said Miriam.
"No, but they have vitamins in them!"
"How do they make vitamins then?" Rachel asked. She sat and thought about that for a moment and then said, "You know, I think they probably must take the grapefruit and squish it down really well and then carve a dinosaur out of it and that's how we get vitamins."
"I don't think it works quite like that," I said. "But I do know that there are vitamins in grapefruit that will help you get better so let's eat it!"
The girls were totally on board. They're actually usually on board for eating grapefruit, but only in moderation. Miriam's limit is about three pieces (when you cut the grapefruit in half and then spoon out the segments—so three half segments) and Rachel's limit, while higher than three, is still a limit.
"It's too spicy," they say after a while.
I'm just impressed they'll eat it at all because when I was little I remember thinking grapefruit was basically poison and couldn't imagine how anyone could eat it—it's too spicy! I love grapefruit now though.
"Maybe we could have an apple," Rachel suggested. "Do apples have vitamins in them?"
"They do," I said. "In fact, there's a saying that goes: An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
Rachel washed the apple and then I sliced it. Every time Rachel took a piece she'd say, "May I have another vitamin?"
Miriam, on the other hand, was rather intrigued by the idea of apples keeping doctors away.
"Do apples keep nurses away, too?" she asked. "'Cuz nurses give shots. Not do I like nurses."
I told her that apples keep both doctors and nurses away. She helped herself to another piece of apple.
After lunch came nap time for me and Miriam. Rachel watched television. That child refuses to nap...but at least she was resting, right? Grandma kept her busy with The Berenstain Bears and who knows what all until Miriam and I woke up and then because Rachel was looking like death and Miriam was groggy and feverish we sat and watched a few short shows.
Eventually we had to start making dinner and continuing laundry and doing normal household things like that. We had some BYU kids coming over for dinner—but just a few—so we added a leaf to the table and brought up the girls' princess table set that Auntie Sarah gave them for Christmas. I'm not even sure quite what brought it on (well, Grandpa had just been chasing the girls around the house but he claims that's irrelevant) but Rachel was about to sit down on her chair when she was struck with a tremendous coughing fit.
If you can't guess what happened next then I'm afraid you don't know Rachel very well—she's like the Old Faithful of upchucking.
Yes, she vomited.
All over her princess table, all over the floor.
I was doing the dishes.
"ANDREW!" I yelled.
I rarely yell or use his name so when I yell and use his name he knows to come quickly. He steered Rachel, dripping with vomit, into the bathroom, stripped her down and plopped her in the tub (where she threw up twice more in rapid succession).
Meanwhile, Karen corralled Miriam (I think) and Reid grabbed some towels, disinfectant wipes, and the mop. I wiped up the majority of the throw up and quickly ran down to the washer before I lost my stomach contents myself, Reid mopped and helped clean off the table, Andrew bathed the girls and deposited Rachel's clothes in the washing machine, Karen kept Miriam from having fits and still managed to keep dinner on schedule. Can I just say how wonderful it is to live in a house with four adults? If I had had to do all those things at once I think I would have pulled out my hair.
I'm just glad it happened on a Monday (when both Andrew and Reid were home) instead of a Wednesday (when they'd both not be home)!
The dinner ended up going smoothly in spite of all the chaos that went on minutes (okay, like a half hour) before the "big kids" were due to arrive.
What's funny is that the girls were determined to have a pyjama day today but I told them they had to get dressed because we had company coming over, so reluctantly they got dressed. But after Andrew gave them their bath he put them in pyjamas so when the "big kids" got here the girls were back in the exact thing I asked them not to be in! Not that it's that big of a deal. I just thought it was funny.
Rachel will not be going to school tomorrow but we made her promise that she'd have rest time while lying down with her eyes closed without talking or moving... We told her that she didn't have to sleep if she didn't want to, but that if she did sleep that it would be okay because our bodies heal themselves when we're asleep which is why it's perfectly alright to take a nap when you're sick when ordinarily you'd be much too mature and grown up for such a babyish thing as napping.
Here's hoping tomorrow involves lots of resting and very little vomiting...
Miriam's still coughing as well.
And they're both getting fevers off and on.
They were both incredibly grumpy today. Miriam's sad and she doesn't know why but I think it's because she's sick but keeps trying to act like she's not because she's been sick for so long and just wants to be better. The other night she was up crying and I said, "Why are you crying, baby?"
"'Cuz I'm really, really sad," she sniffed.
"And why are you really, really sad?" I asked.
"'Cuz I'm crying," she told me.
Both of them had multiple fits today and although Miriam took a nap Rachel refused to even though she, too, really could have used one.
For lunch we had soup. Rachel wanted tomato soup (as always) and Miriam didn't (as always) so I brought up tomato soup and what my girls like to call "Tangled Hair Soup." Ordinary people might call it Ramen or Oriental Noodles or Ichiban, but those people are boring and unimaginative because clearly it isn't noodles at all but Rapunzel's hair turned into soup. Miriam didn't see the package of Tangled Hair Soup, though, and only noticed the can of tomato soup.
"What?!" she said angrily. "Not do I like tomato soup!"
"I know," I said, flashing the package of noodles, "I also brought some Tangled Hair Soup for you. I'll make them separately."
Miriam looked at me suspiciously.
"What's separate?" she asked.
"It means not together," I told her.
"Oh! Hey, Rachie—Mommy's making separate soup! We're going to have separate soup! She's making it separately!"
She was so excited she even did a "separate soup" dance, right on the spot. We enjoyed our soup (which I laced heavily with garlic) but wanted a little more for lunch. We've been eating a lot of grapefruit recently and the last one was sitting on the counter and, as Grandpa would say, it was lonely, so I suggested to the girls that we share it because grapefruit is full of good vitamins that help people get better when they're sick.
"Not is a grapefruit a vitamin," said Miriam.
"No, but they have vitamins in them!"
"How do they make vitamins then?" Rachel asked. She sat and thought about that for a moment and then said, "You know, I think they probably must take the grapefruit and squish it down really well and then carve a dinosaur out of it and that's how we get vitamins."
"I don't think it works quite like that," I said. "But I do know that there are vitamins in grapefruit that will help you get better so let's eat it!"
The girls were totally on board. They're actually usually on board for eating grapefruit, but only in moderation. Miriam's limit is about three pieces (when you cut the grapefruit in half and then spoon out the segments—so three half segments) and Rachel's limit, while higher than three, is still a limit.
"It's too spicy," they say after a while.
I'm just impressed they'll eat it at all because when I was little I remember thinking grapefruit was basically poison and couldn't imagine how anyone could eat it—it's too spicy! I love grapefruit now though.
"Maybe we could have an apple," Rachel suggested. "Do apples have vitamins in them?"
"They do," I said. "In fact, there's a saying that goes: An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
Rachel washed the apple and then I sliced it. Every time Rachel took a piece she'd say, "May I have another vitamin?"
Miriam, on the other hand, was rather intrigued by the idea of apples keeping doctors away.
"Do apples keep nurses away, too?" she asked. "'Cuz nurses give shots. Not do I like nurses."
I told her that apples keep both doctors and nurses away. She helped herself to another piece of apple.
After lunch came nap time for me and Miriam. Rachel watched television. That child refuses to nap...but at least she was resting, right? Grandma kept her busy with The Berenstain Bears and who knows what all until Miriam and I woke up and then because Rachel was looking like death and Miriam was groggy and feverish we sat and watched a few short shows.
Eventually we had to start making dinner and continuing laundry and doing normal household things like that. We had some BYU kids coming over for dinner—but just a few—so we added a leaf to the table and brought up the girls' princess table set that Auntie Sarah gave them for Christmas. I'm not even sure quite what brought it on (well, Grandpa had just been chasing the girls around the house but he claims that's irrelevant) but Rachel was about to sit down on her chair when she was struck with a tremendous coughing fit.
If you can't guess what happened next then I'm afraid you don't know Rachel very well—she's like the Old Faithful of upchucking.
Yes, she vomited.
All over her princess table, all over the floor.
I was doing the dishes.
"ANDREW!" I yelled.
I rarely yell or use his name so when I yell and use his name he knows to come quickly. He steered Rachel, dripping with vomit, into the bathroom, stripped her down and plopped her in the tub (where she threw up twice more in rapid succession).
Meanwhile, Karen corralled Miriam (I think) and Reid grabbed some towels, disinfectant wipes, and the mop. I wiped up the majority of the throw up and quickly ran down to the washer before I lost my stomach contents myself, Reid mopped and helped clean off the table, Andrew bathed the girls and deposited Rachel's clothes in the washing machine, Karen kept Miriam from having fits and still managed to keep dinner on schedule. Can I just say how wonderful it is to live in a house with four adults? If I had had to do all those things at once I think I would have pulled out my hair.
I'm just glad it happened on a Monday (when both Andrew and Reid were home) instead of a Wednesday (when they'd both not be home)!
The dinner ended up going smoothly in spite of all the chaos that went on minutes (okay, like a half hour) before the "big kids" were due to arrive.
What's funny is that the girls were determined to have a pyjama day today but I told them they had to get dressed because we had company coming over, so reluctantly they got dressed. But after Andrew gave them their bath he put them in pyjamas so when the "big kids" got here the girls were back in the exact thing I asked them not to be in! Not that it's that big of a deal. I just thought it was funny.
Rachel will not be going to school tomorrow but we made her promise that she'd have rest time while lying down with her eyes closed without talking or moving... We told her that she didn't have to sleep if she didn't want to, but that if she did sleep that it would be okay because our bodies heal themselves when we're asleep which is why it's perfectly alright to take a nap when you're sick when ordinarily you'd be much too mature and grown up for such a babyish thing as napping.
Here's hoping tomorrow involves lots of resting and very little vomiting...
Does she have the rash in her mouth and on her hands and feet? Hand, foot and mouth is going around.
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