The Sickness Preparedness Kit

A friend on Facebook is sick and it made me think to share my thoughts with the rest of you.  I know that lately we've been fighting off some really strange little bugs and I'm on the verge of feeling like we should be in quarantine if it doesn't let up. 

That said, stressing and being upset won't help.  In fact, it will make matters worse.  The more we stress the sicker our bodies get.  Think about it in percentages.  If your body is close to 100% when you're nice and healthy then it maybe flutters closer to 60% when you're sick, depending on how sick you are at the time.  Let's say that stress takes off 15%.  When you're healthy and you stress you drop to only 85%, but when you're sick and you stress you drop to 45% -- which gives you a much longer road to recovery.  Don't forget, stress adds up, the more you stress the higher that percentage number gets and the longer that road to wellness becomes.  So ... main thing is .. don't stress.

Now of course, that is easier said than done.  And, of course, everyone has their own way of doing things that make them feel better.  My kids and I have our own way, my husband has his.  I'm going to share with you the things that work for me, and in general my household.

ONE - Go To Bed!!  Clean pillowcases, sheets, and blankets are the best.  If you have someone else who can help you out by prepping the bed with fresh linens, please let them do it.  If not, who cares, you're sick!  Just make sure you have a couple various blankets nearby, even perhaps a small fan, to help you navigate easily through the chills & hot flashes of being sick.  (PS - When you're feeling better, change your sheets and let your pillows sit out in the sun for a few hours.  This will kill germs and keep you nice and healthy!)

TWO - Beverage!!  My first thought here was to actually write 'tea' but different ailments call for different beverages.  Tea is always wonderful though because it can truly help heal you.  Got an upset tummy?  Try some ginger tea.  Fighting a migraine?  Peppermint tea to the rescue.  Don't know what tea you need, fear not, they come in sets labeled for various ailments.  Serve warm and with honey (a healer in itself). 
Now, as natural as I like to try and be, I'll admit that there are times when I'm sick and all I want is Dr. Pepper.  That is a personal preference.  I grew up with my mother giving me Ginger Ale when I was sick so I never cared much for the taste of it later on in life.  I don't drink Coke unless it has booze in it, it is just gross to me.  My soda of choice is Dr. Pepper.  When my body demands it, I'll give in.  After all, it is about comfort and .. see above .. no stress!

THREE - Combat Cabin Fever ~ Get "Junk Food" For Your Brain!! Ok, this sounds odd, I know.  Who the heck recommends junk food when you're sick, right??  ME, that's who!!  But, I am not recommending it in a food way.  No, I'm talking about something for your brain that allows you to actually rest but lets your brain think it is doing something.  Let me explain.
Movies are great here, but you have to be careful what type of movie you watch.  You don't want something that will tear you up and wrack your already unhinged body with emotions that will take a toll.  No, no, no.  Nor do you want a laugh out loud comedy that will give your ribs a workout - after all, depending on how sick you are squeezing your abdominal muscles like that might end up in a not so pleasant way.  Yuck, right?  There are those wonderful standby movies that don't require thought, that please you enough to watch but that you won't feel too horrible if you doze off through.  For me, depending on my mood, they are 'Godzilla' (extra points if it is a gray and rainy day out), 'xXx' - the Vin Diesel one not porn, 'Underworld', 'Van Helsing', 'Lake Placid', 'The Mummy' and so on.  Just some of my personal preferences, you'll know yours. 
Also, this is the time I will send my husband out to get me magazines.  I'm a chick, so I don't know how this applies to guys, but this is the time that I like to read my "junk food magazines."  Cosmo, Seventeen, umm.. Vogue?  Actually, I don't know the names of the magazines.  They're the ones with must have fashion tips, nail colors for the season, and the general rotating magazine list of "secrets exposed" (you know, "What guys REALLY mean by..." and blah blah blah).  Again, this isn't something I would ever bother with when in my usual life, but this isn't my usual life is it?  The silly promise of the perfect updo for Summer, nail polishes and lip balms that scream Spring, must have boots and purses for Fall ... BRING 'EM ON!!  If I was healthy I would would instantly know how ridiculous it all is.  Since I'm sick though these quick-fix, life is all better, problem solving tips are perfect.  My brain will numbly sift through them, happy for something to munch on, without having to strain itself at all. 
Really I suppose the main thing here is to trick your brain.  You want it to think it is doing something so that you don't get all ancy and stressed realizing that you're still sick, you're stuck in bed, all that vomiting hasn't caused you to lose any weight (or conversely it has caused you to lose too much), the house is dirty, the kids are misbehaving, and if you don't get well your husband is going to attempt to do laundry!!  EEEKK!!  Now you're stressing.  Shut that mind up and give it something to happily munch on while you get some rest!! Whew!

So .. those are my main rules for when you're sick.  If it is your kid who is sick I add on these extra ones:

ONE - Portable dvd player for their bed.  My mother will try to tell me to put them in my bed, but ewww ... they're sick, I don't want their sick germs in my bed!  Call me a bad mom if you want, but you're thinking it too.  Make their bed as comfy for them as possible and put a portable dvd player in there for them so they can relax in their bed.

TWO - Vomit buckets.  Sounds gross but cleaning up vomit that has been spewed from the top bunk down to the floor is grosser.  Little ones, try as they might, simply can't always make it to the bathroom in time.  Spare yourselves (and them!) the stress.  Line a bucket with a plastic bag and keep it bedside.

THREE - Fuss & Reassure.  This means fuss over them, because who doesn't want to be fussed over when they're sick?  We all do.  We all want to know that someone is out there doing everything they can to try and make us better.  Reassure them.  When we're sick we're sure that our doom is immanent.  Our bowels are going to surely come spilling out with the next heave and we'll never to get to do all those things we wanted to do.  Kids, obviously, feel the exact same way but they have less ability to reason that things will be ok.  So, cool & damp rag to the forehead, smooth their hair, rub their backs, and so on.  Reassure them that by tomorrow you're sure they'll be feeling back to normal.  This can be repeated daily until it actually happens, as long as you say it with full confidence. 

There you go, that is my sickness preparedness kit.  That and a good bowl of chicken noodle soup (homemade chicken stock and homemade soup gets extra points here!) will do you a world of good.  Until it does though, relax.  Take a deep breathe.  You will feel better before you know it. 

Quarantined & Scaring Contractors

There is a very nasty little bug going 'round here. A 12-hour head-in-toilet-every-15-minutes, leaves ya weak for several days afterwards kinda bug . This didn't help:

Thursday night, when the bug hit me, we were watching Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen. Really, I think the movie is called Transformers 2: Revenge of Megan Fox's T&A! This did NOT help my nausea. C'mon, have some kids and start to sag already dammit!!
After a night spent watching that movie and her bad acting, throwing up every 15 minutes (PLEASE tell me why I didn't just go to bed!!), this is what I felt like the next morning. Or at least what I likely looked like.

There is a plus side to walking around in your pj's, hair half pulled up & half wild from staying in bed, nice & funky from lack of shower, really there is. I am almost 100% certain I scared the guys working on the house. LOTS of work got done on Friday!

Think about it, we always tend to want to look nice when people are over, even if they're doing work for you. We want to be nice & understanding about other things they may have going on that keeps them from always being here or keeps delays happening. Maybe we've got it all backwards!!

Since I am not quite over the bug yet, I am running a test today to test this theory. Hair is still wild and they know we're still funky and not well. I've told them we'll do them a favor and try to stay near the front of the house, but .... hahaha.
I will sneak out there every now and then, under the pretense of walking the pup or something like that. I will not take a shower today. I will not fix my hair. I will wear something comfortable and stained --- not hard to find in my wardrobe, I have an amazing innate ability to stain clothing - seriously, it is a talent, stand in awe bitches!!

I will let you know how my experiment goes. I might not be fuzzy butterfly kitty farts, but I do find a silver-lining in odd situations.

**~ FOLLOW UP NOTE ~** -- I have met my match and will be unable to scare the contractors today. The contractor's newly ex-wife just showed up. And we all know ... there ain't anything scarier than an ex-wife!!!

In all my funked out sickness, in my bleach-spotted tank top, in my wild hair, the EX-WIFE has managed to do what only an ex-wife can do for other women. Make me look like this:

Newly-EX-wives make ANY other woman look like this!! Who needs make-up, dieting, exercises, or anything else when you have ex-wives around?

One of those days

A photo can't quite capture it properly. But it was one of those days. One of those 'no matter how hard you try, you still self-destruct' days.

I had minor mouth surgery last Tuesday. I had woken up not feeling quite well, noticing the lymph node on the left side of my neck to be swollen and my stomach was upset. To be honest, I haven't been well since Jomo's death. Anyway, the surgery was slightly better than having a cavity filled, if only because there was no sound of a drill to dry and drone out. Still not fun, but "better than getting a cavity" filled has to count for something, right? Plus, I since I was having a graft done, the doc used cadaver jokes. FRANKENSTEIN jokes will forever be funny. A mouth full of ... well, whatever they put on top of the graft and I was still making Dr. Frankenstein cracks to the doc!

It's gone downhill from there.

Within a day or so I lost my voice. Normally, people who have to live with me would count my silence as a blessing, but Justin knows better. Tuesday evening when I didn't think I could talk and remarked how happy he would be about that, he noted that it would STILL fail to shut me up. And he was right. Mouth surgery .. still talking. Lost my voice .. still talking.

I know, I know .. but it's Saturday now. Almost Sunday. Why the hell am I talking about earlier this week & complaining about one of those days?? It's called setting the mood .. so go away if you don't like it.
I didn't mean that. Just shut yer trap and read, ok?

All week I've been a little down. Lack of voice, neck hurting from swollen lymph node, gnarly hacking cough. Oh yea .. I'm bringing sexy back muthafucka!!

Southwest VA has also been hotter than usual. And the hole in the ceiling of our kitchen is keeping the kitchen about 20 degrees hotter by mid-day, than the rest of the house. Today was no exception.

I decided to try and doll it up (a sure sign of doom I'm learning) today. My favorite long skirt, a cute green tee. Left my hair down for a while because it was looking cute. Sacrificing comfort for looking cute is a sure sign of femininity, right??? (Another sure sign of impending doom when I'm trying that avenue).

We ran by the Co-op, I didn't over spend. So far so good, and I'm still looking relatively cute. Or at least as cute as I can tell from the pollen-covered reflection of my car window.
Off to a friend's Plant Sale/Yard Sale. It was insanely cool and hip, just like she is. I'm envious. I spent more money than I ever had at a yard sale, but walked away with a good amount of goodies.
Then to Wine Gourmet so Justin could spend the gift card he got for his birthday. Got a call while I was there from Mom. My 91 year old grandfather had been in the hospital and was trying to reach me & her. Hung up near tears, wanting to run. Got snappy with Justin for taking to long to browse over beers when I thought Dandaddy needed me. Got snappy with the kids for being kids around LOTS of glass bottles. Wanted to leave NOW. --- Turns out one of Dandaddy's friends had to go to the ER. Dandaddy followed him in the guy's car & needed a ride home, hence all the phone calls. Here's his idea of a message (to my mom): Marje, I'm in the hospital with Harry. I'll try to call Carrie. *CLICK* --- Thanks Dandaddy for the heart-attack. Glad you're ok. Gonna shoot you as soon as I recover from this nervous breakdown.

We get home, I try laying down, feeling awful on many different levels. All ideas of cuteness are lost and I am not feeling so cute anymore. Quite the opposite.
Kids have haircuts this afternoon. Whole family arrives for it -- it's a shocking event when my kids get haircuts. Grandma and Grandpa take the kids out for icees (or something like that) after the photos and Justin & I run by Lowe's for a looksy for laundry room storage.
Get home, still just wanting to lay down.

Mom & Barry arrive. I get up and show her all the work that's been going on. We're looking at the "new" laundry room and I manage to run my arm into the handle of the ice maker in the back hallway. Lots of cussing. I tell Mom what a bad day I'm having, how I just don't feel good. She reaches her arm out to hug me and says "I know, I can tell you're feeling ugly." -- UGLY!! She immediately retracted it. She meant to say bad. I'm laughing -- there is just nothing to make a gal feel better like saying THAT. ----- PERFECT.

They leave, I go back to bed. Justin feeds the kids, I get up before they go to bed. He gets drive-thru for us. I feel like crud, but eat it anyway. I end up accidentally biting the hell out of my tongue .. it's bleeding. Go figure. My fish sandwich oozes a big glob of tartar sauce onto my skirt. Oh well ... any ideas of cuteness have long since vanished.

Now I'm drinking. And the stupid rum has turned to slush. At least I didn't spill it all over myself. It DID drip condensation all over me. Need to get a proper Tervis Tumbler for Summer. But I didn't spill it on me. Perhaps there is SOME hope.

Scary Moments & Thanks for Sharing

~Here are my boys: Tristan (3 1/2) and Shannon (6). They're licking the remaining batter for Shannon's Chocolate Zucchini cake out of the bowl, before Shannon's birthday party in January~

Kids aren't always known for their willingness to share, especially little ones who are still kinda in the toddler mode of "everything is MINE!" Hence the photo above, a captured moment of happiness, sharing, chocolate, and cake batter. Life is good.
However, kids ARE known for sharing something quite well: colds, the flu, and any sort of bug going around at the moment. This "Thank You" goes out to Tristan, who so kindly shared his nasty little cold with me. I am up and about today but still manage to feel like I've been hit by a bus? By the way, since when is "feeling like I've been hit by a bus" the definition of feeling better??

We had a feeling Tristan had caught a little bit of a cold after his playing outside weekend before last without any gloves on. He had the sniffles all week, so I tried to make sure to feed us lots of healing foods. By Friday though, I knew it was a cold. Lots of warm tea from Traditional Medicine's 'Just For Kids' teas (they'll drink the adults' version too). By bed time all the symptoms were in full-swing, so Justin gave him some night-time kid's cold medicine.
About 9:30 or so, while Justin and I were watching a movie, we heard him crying. It was the "I'm sick" cry. If you're a parent, you know the one I'm talking about. I was worried he may have thrown up in bed, but luckily he didn't. We got him up and took him into the bathroom to see what was wrong. He cried, but wouldn't tell us. He was really gassy. And it didn't make him giggle - a true sign that he's not feeling good.
His nose was stopped up but we couldn't get him to blow it. Although we thought he knew how to blow his nose, he seems to have forgotten that, or at least he had at that moment. I got some Eucalyptus essential oil, put it on a cloth tissue, and we held it under his nose to try and help open him up some. Finally, we took him out into the living room, on the couch with us.

Again, any of you with kids know this scene is nothing new. It's a heart-wrenching scene because you hate for your kids to feel so miserable and there isn't really too much you can do about it except be there for them. But still, it is not an uncommon scene.
Where is began to freak us out a little was how he would calm down some, letting me gently rock him, and begin to fall back asleep. Suddenly his eyes would fly open in a look of terror and he would jerk and kind of spasm about, for lack of a better word. It was like he was going into convulsions, which is REALLY scary! Then he would close his eyes again and rest, snuggling into me and the cool washcloth I was holding against his head. This repeated a couple times.
It repeated enough that both Justin & I were getting scared and were about ready to head to the ER with him.
At one point he said he wanted to go back to his bed, so we let him. Justin had put a bowl of water, with Eucalyptus oil in it, on top of the radiator to help add some moisture to the air of their room. I ended up on the phone with my mother, sharing my fears with her. ~She is also the person who watches the kids during ER visits, so I wanted to give her a heads up~

One of the things that had us worried was that Tristan has a neat little "trick." You know how kids say that they'll hold their breath till they get whatever they want?? Well, when Tristan gets upset enough, and so far this has only happened twice, he'll hold his breath/stop breathing until he passes out. Not fun. He's ok, and always comes to quickly, but still, not fun.
When we had gotten him up the first time he was making those quick & sudden gasps for air. Like when you've been sobbing for a really long time and then try to talk. We were both worried about his nose being blocked up, about him not being able to blow it, and how he seemed VERY terrified when he had woken up. But we were really, really worried about his breathing .. or the ability to quit if he's too upset.

He ended up waking back up again, maybe within a half an hour of having gone back to bed. We asked him if he would like to sleep with us that night, he said yes. Justin went and got his bears and blankets (all the must-haves for sleeping) and set them between our pillows on the bed.
He was pretty happy about getting to sleep with us. We were happy knowing we could keep an eye on him, he wouldn't wake Shannon up, and that he was more comforted by being with us.
The comfort of being snugly tucked between Mommy & Daddy seemed to do the trick, and he went soundly asleep.
Note, I say that he slept soundly. Not quietly. And not that we slept.
He snored. He managed to snore in through his nose AND out through his mouth - at the same time!!! It was a one-person snoring symphony!

The next day Justin and I took turns "arguing" over who had gotten the most sleep. We each accused the other of snoring just as loudly alongside Tristan, though I have a sneaking suspicion Tristan was able to "throw" the sound of his snoring symphony and make it sound like other people were snoring as well.
By Sunday I knew I was getting Tristan's cold. I had known I would get it Friday night when I looked him in the eyes, my face in front of his, trying to decipher what was wrong & he breathed that heavy, familiar, "I have a cold & I am sick" breathe on me.
Still, as miserable as this damn cold is, I'd gladly be the one with it and spare my kids the misery any day of the week.

Now where are my cloth tissues?