A Week of Icky Sickies and More ...

Monday
I had big plans of surprising the kids on their day off school by taking them snowtubing in the Poconos, but the weather was quite nasty. Not cooperating at all. So I had to scrap those plans and take the kids to one of those indoor kid-habitrail places where they climbed, tunneled and slid to their hearts' content for a few hours.

Came home where Fred quickly pronounced his hatred for me. Seems I gave him my cold and he was apparently dying a slow, miserable death. I said, "You mean the same cold I've had for a week?" He looked a pathetic site sitting there with his tissues and arsenal of cold remedies.

Tuesday
Got all the kids to school, but got a call from the nurse an hour or so later that Patrick was sick. Picked him up and took him home where he vegged and recuperated on the couch the rest of the day.

Wednesday
Patrick still sick, so he stayed home.
At one point I asked him to help me get the Christmas tree tossed over the deck for the goats' afternoon snack. Of course he came out in barefeet and stepped on a rusty piece of metal. The thing was about 6" long and about the diameter of a fireplace match. It had gone in through the bottom of his toe and out through the top, on an angle, coming out just next to his toenail. There was about an inch sticking out the bottom and about 4 - 5" sticking out the top. He looked like a distant, mutated relation to Wolverine. Decided I was not gonna touch that thing, so I took him into the hospital where Fred took it out. Patrick was a big boy throughout the whole process and never cried once. Unless you count begging for a milkshake afterwards as crying.
Rosie came home at the end of the day and slept the entire afternoon. We finally woke her up around dinner, but she had a fever and couldn't eat.

Thursday
Patrick back to school (with the metal splinter in an envelope as a souvenir to show off to his friends), but Rosie home sick.
Fred still managing to stumble off to work each day with his cold.
Patrick sick again at night with fever and dizziness.


Friday
Rosie and Patrick home sick.
Rosie has fever, sore throat and swollen glands. Off to docs to check for strep.