The Swine That Flew

We’re home and I think I should have seen the torrential rains that followed us from Fort Stockton all the way home as a bad omen. We were slip sliding our way across Texas with a few very scary hydroplaning incidents and times where we could only see a few feet in front of our vehicle. The rain didn’t even clear up once we arrived. It rained enough for severe flooding and school closures.

Now that the rain has subsided, the big issue in Texas is swine flu. Quite honestly, I’d heard the reports throughout our road trip, but figured that it wouldn’t come to our area in the suburbs. WRONG!

Yesterday afternoon, I took the kids for a walk right about the time school was letting out. There is a junior high about a block from our house. We have to pass by it to get out of our neighborhood. As we were rounding the corner, I saw news helicopters flying over the school. I thought that there must have been a car accident. We kept walking, but I didn’t see anything except kids excitedly leaving the school. I overheard one kid talking on the phone saying that the school was being closed because of Swine flu.

When we came home, I turned on the news to see if it was true & it was. I couldn’t believe it. Lexi decided that she wanted to break the news to her dad. She said, “Dad, the school is being closed because the swine flew.” She even added arm motions for effects. It is always nice to have a little laugh.

Unfortunately, my kids seem to be coming down with something. I don’t think it is the flu. I am guessing that Lexi has an ear infection and Jordan is getting a cold. Never the less, I’ll be keeping them away from everyone for a while until their immune systems are back to normal.

Bad Start on a Monday Morning

Yesterday morning, I woke up with a migraine. As I lay in bed, I wondered whether I should stay home with a wild and crazy baby or drop her off at daycare and go to work. I figured the work option would be the calmest, but with a headache that bad driving is out of the question. A few hours later, I tried to call my work. I couldn't even think of the phone number (after 5 years of working there). I actually had to look it up on the internet. Can you believe it?

I spent the morning trying to get Lexi hooked on television. She doesn't watch very much of it, so my little plan did not work. I suffered through the morning and felt better around 1pm. I actually enjoyed spending time with Lexi and felt sad that we only get to do this when we don't feel well.

Down for the Count

Over the weekend, we spiraled into a black hole of darkness (bronchitis) and I am trying to imagine the light again. When it comes to being sick, Steve is a bit of a hypochondriac who runs right to the doctor at the first sign of illness. I, on the other hand, tend to hold off until I am too weak to drag myself there.

Unfortunately, Lexi and I are suffering from bronchitis, while Steve started antibiotics right away. I know that isn't fair to Lexi. This is something I definitely need to change that about myself. This time though, I blame a lot of it on the weekend. She seemed to be getting better on Thursday and Friday. Saturday was a whole different story. Why does it always happen on the weekend? I don't think Lexi stopped coughing Saturday night, which means that I was up the whole night. Sunday, she was fussier than ever and had chest congestion so we took her to Urgent Care. On Monday, I made a doctor appointment and found out I had it too.

Now, we have a kitchen full of antibiotics. I get the fun task of fighting Lexi every 6 hours to force the elixirs down (three different kinds).

Tags: illness, Urgent Care, bronchitis, elixirs