Why I've been absent...

My birthday present from Pat and the kids was a trip to the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. It was AWESOME. Especially the Hospitality Suite that Patrick reserved for us...

2 tv's, an eat-at kitchen bar and fancy murphy beds that gave us SO much extra space!
All that extra space was helpful, seeing as how we had 3 kids and a Daddy who decided to contract Strep throat days before we left. He was a trooper, despite being utterly exhausted and unable to swallow more than a few bites at a time...
Pat's strep didn't stop us from enjoying the water park,
Cold Stone Creamery...or the mini golf at the Indoor theme park that is available at Kalahari.
They even convinced me to ride the Ferris Wheel...

I am still not too happy about that decision.

My daughter, the circus acrobat. She convinced me to go through 3 stages of this high wire obstacle course before I bailed and turned back.
Over and over again, she just whipped through that course while I shivered and shook on the ground.
Evan did a few levels too!

When a resort randomly offers you a free poolside cabana? TAKE IT. It rocks.
Another death-defying feat by my 5 year old. In this picture, she is calling back to me, "It's ok, Mommy! You're not going to fall!" Yeah, it's not the FALLING I worried about, it was the smacking into the wall on the way down that had me concerned. Needless to say, she climbed that wall several times. I? Did Not.
4 days of water slides, go-karts, laser tag, rope climbing, rock climbing, mini golf, pizza, ice cream and family togetherness...

And now I need a vacation to recoup.

Coming out of the Fog...

Today is, what? Monday? Tuesday? It's running together. My brain is throbbing. Thankfully, everyone was healthy from Friday through Saturday night. Many gifts were opened. Much food was enjoyed. Hugs and kisses were doled out continuously while games were played and children ran amok. Quite a lovely Christmas.

And then it all went South.

Sometime on Saturday night at my parents' house, Evan began to whine. And Whine. And, since this is a common occurrence, I ignored him. Boy who cries wolf and all that. We finally left because I just couldn't stand to expose the rest of the family to his complaints. Sure as shit, that kid puked on my couch when we got home.

Gah! Gross. It was SO gross. He only had one episode and then felt better but everyone slept in our room that night which made for a restful evening of slumber. When I was startled awake at 6 am on Sunday morning, it was to the lovely sounds of Justin throwing up on my staircase. He did manage to grab a bowl to catch most of it. UNfortunately, there was quite a LOT of puke as he had been googling "what to do for an upset stomach" and Dr. Google told him to drink apple juice. Nice.

So. I cleaned the stairs, helped Justin settle down (he felt better IMMEDIATELY) and then realized that I didn't feel too great myself. I headed back to bed and spent the rest of the day

~~ Oops. Little break in the blogging there. My headache and body aches took over and I crawled back to bed. NOW it is DEFINITELY Tuesday. Of this, I am sure. I am freshly washed and medicated so that my headache is only at 70% of what it was the past few days. The nausea is gone and Pat and Evan no longer feel yucky at all. Hopefully I can work through the medicine's reign and clean this disgusting mess of a house. Just picture your house after Christmas morning. Now add 2 days of kids having free run of the joint, including meals. Got the vision? You are probably cringing right about now, right? Yeah. So am I.

Wish me luck.