Happy New Year

Well, it has been a very busy new year for us so far. Unfortunately, we have barely left the house. And most of the busy work has entailed cleaning up and caring for two sick lil boys. ugh. I have been doing laundry non-stop since the day we got back from Illinois and not because I came home with a ton of dirty laundry either.

Samuel has a cold but his runny nose seems to be easing up a bit lately. But on top of that he came down with a stomach bug on Tuesday, I think (all my days are running together). He has been a lil miserable but mostly just exhausted and sleeping a ton. He's been sleeping 13 hour nights then waking up for an hour or two and going back down for a morning nap.

On New Year's Eve, our sick baby, Benjamin and I all stayed in. The boys were in bed at 8 p.m. and I decided it was a good a time as any to assemble Benjamin's new tool bench. That took a good hour and then I decided to relax a bit. About 11:30 p.m. I headed up stairs to bed to cozy up and spend the new year with none other than Dick Clark. But Samuel had other plans for me. He started stirring and so we snuggled up together until he settled back down. Apparently, he didn't want to miss out on Dick Clark's festivities either.

Benjamin started back at pre-school on Wednesday and was happy to be going back. It was pretty cold here that day and I dreaded taking Samuel out anywhere with his cold and flu but off to school we went. After that we didn't go anywhere else for the day. We ate lunch and the boys went down for their nap. But before long (just as I was snuggling up for a much needed nap for myself) Benjamin woke up miserable and covered in his lunch. ugh. The joy of parenting! Poor guy. I cleaned him up as well as his bed and started another vicious laundry cycle! ugh.

We snuggled up in our bed for a good part of the afternoon yesterday. And Benjamin was sick all day until about 11:30 p.m.

Our great neighbor, Katie saved the day once again! She ran to the grocery store to pick up some things for us (including Popsicles for the boys) and then to Panara to grab me a soup bowl. God was really watching over us when he gave us Katie as a neighbor. She has been an angel to us in so many ways.

Today was supposed to be my first day back to work but after Benjamin came down with the stomach bug yesterday I called in. We actually all slept in until around 8 a.m. today (even though we were all up throughout the night). Phew. We needed that.

Benjamin slept in bed with me last night so I could keep my eye on him. And he kept telling me throughout the night that he was thirsty. I felt so bad for him but I knew if he drank something it would just upset his stomach more. At one point I told him that he could have something to drink when it was daylight. So, he was quiet momentarily then piped up and said "Mommy, turn the light on." I was like "No, why?" and he said "So, I can have a drink. I'm thirsty." Apparently, he thought the term "daylight" included turning the lights on. He also tricked me once by saying he had to go potty and insisted on using his bathroom. I couldn't figure out why he insisted on using his bathroom until he tried to sneak a drink of water from his cup at his bathroom sink while washing his hands.

In the morning Benjamin drank a bit and kept it down. Then when I had him take a bite of toast it all came back up. ugh. Besides that incident, he seems to be on the mend today. Although besides some fluids the only thing he's eaten is a Popsicle and some goldfish snacks. Samuel had his first taste of a Popsicle and took a keen liking to them (of course!).

Samuel's appetite is lacking too. He's barely taking a bottle compared to his normal intake. I'm sure he won't turn petite over night but this bug may take some weight off of our "chunker munker".

Well, I think I still have a pillow and some bedding in the dryer. So I better go get some rest.

Happy New Year!