Four kids...Life is an adventure: January 2016

What a better way to share our Christmas events than by song. Feel free to sing along...

December 19 - On the first day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: Pink Eye

Okay, so this doesn't really count but it set the tone for our trip. The Saturday before Christmas (4 days before we are set to leave) Asher had pink eye. We took him to our urgent care so we can get him meds as soon as possible. We knew we would be meeting cousin Harrison and that pink eye is super contagious, so we wanted to get it under control quick. Asher is so funny when he gets his drops. I wish I would have taken video, but he doesn't just roll his eye. He rolls his whole head around. He took them like a champ though! We didn't want to infect others, so we just walked around Utica Square and looked at Christmas lights. The kids liked it.

December 20 - On the second day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: Fever

Asher couldn't go to church so I took the other two and Mike stayed home with Asher. When we got back, 4 hours later, Asher was in the same spot, shivering. He had spiked a fever. My first reaction was that it had to do with the eye drops. That didn't make sense though. Asher was hit hard with a fever today. He just wanted to lay in the lovesac.

December 21 - On the third day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: Fever

So many last minute errands and tasks that didn't get done because we were home sick. Asher didn't have as high of a fever, but still didn't want to play.

December 22 - On the fourth day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: Fever

To take him in or to wait it out...that is the question. My thoughts were that Asher had a virus, but we were getting ready to leave. I debated taking him in to the doctor to get checked out, but he had more energy and was bugging Ayla, so I knew he was feeling better. After consulting my super awesome medical expert friends, I decided to wait it out. Although many of you think that Iowa is the same as it was when Laura Ingells Wilder lived there, it isn't. They have modern medicine there and doctors. I knew I could always take him in. :)

She just wanted to play...and Asher did not.

And she didn't want to wear clothes.

Kelvin wore a Mickey Mouse sleeper. The kids called him Mickey all day and wanted me to be Mickey's voice for him.

Piggies with matching bows!!

Fever spiked again during our car ride. :(

December 23 - On the fifth day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: ear infection and strep

We had an okay day at Gam Gam's house on Wednesday. Cousin Harrison was there with a fever too, so two of the four kids were sick. It's always fun when we are all together. Asher kept telling me he couldn't hear me, "What Mama? I can't hear you!" I didn't know if he was just being stubborn or if something was wrong. Then I noticed his breath. YIKES! Terrible! So I looked at his throat. White spots. Once again I phone a friend for expert medical advice and she suggests taking him in. I agree. With Christmas Eve and Christmas the next two days, places won't be open. And we are supposed to be driving again tomorrow and that is never fun when you are even more sick. We go to urgent care just down the road from Gam Gam's house and Asher has an ear infection and strep. Glad we took him.

When we got back to Gam Gam's, we celebrated our Christmas Eve with her. The kids got their Christmas jammies and a new game to play. Once they were in bed, that adults played our new game too. I feel like we were able to enjoy ourselves a little bit more now that we had answers and antibiotics for Asher.

Hi Gam Gam!

Heyyyyy Harrison!!!!!

This little booger didn't feel well either.

I got to be in charge of all 4 at one point during that day. It was awesome.

Best we could do in our new jammies. Asher kept handing out his candy cane to everyone.

The plastic sticks were fought over and broken within 5 min.

December 24 - On the sixth day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: runny noses with Hand, Foot and Mouth left behind

Christmas morning (I know it is Christmas eve, but we acted like it was Christmas morning at Gam Gam's) went really well! Of course the one day kids can get up early, ours sleep til 8am. They all walked out of the room holding hands (adorable) and were excited to see what Santa brought. Asher actually seemed to kind of 'get it' this year. After that, I couldn't tell you what happened. Presents were opened and kids were everywhere. Then a Christmas Miracle happened...it started snowing! Although kids had been sick, we don't see snow often, so we made the decision to play in it. Without proper snow gear, we just layered them in what we had. Missy had the awesome idea to get a laundry basket, and the rest is history. Best morning ever.(Gam Gam has videos on her phone so make sure to check them out when you see her). We left around naptime and headed in Glen Ellyn to see MeMaw, Papa and Uncle Danimal. Asher was feeling better. Our car was fever free! We still had runny noses, but I will take that any day over that previous 3. Once we got to the Whites we found out that Harrison had what looked like (and eventually was) Hand Foot and Mouth. Poor kid. :( So we were on the look out for any spots on our kids.

Ayla was actually being carried, but wanted to hold hands with the boys.

Headlamp was the gift of the year. Asher wore it all the time and blinded us with it daily. Thanks Bergs!

We got the kids 'Lost my Name' books. I saw a thing on Facebook. Coolest books ever - especially for slightly uncommon named children.

Aunt Missy got her work out in for sure!

Playing in the snow wears ya out

December 25 - On the seventh day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: NOTHING!

Christmas Morning....again! I think this was the first full night of good sleep for Asher and we could tell. They slept until almost 8 again and then.....presents! Asher was beginning to think that this was an ongoing thing (you wake up and there are presents). We had to correct that. Auntie Em and Uncle Mike came over the present opening today. Once again, I saw the first gift opened and then craziness sank in. The kids loved it but even as I was packing up I was like, "Wait, who got this? Is this ours?" After our morning present session, the kids played with toys and took a nap.

A little cereal while we waited to go down stairs.

Hi little buddy!

Papa is all about his trains. Asher used his head lamp as a spotlight because he couldn't wear it over his engineer hat.

Playing piano with Auntie Em

It was a nice, slow day of playing with toys and visiting. Emily and Mike hadn't met Kelvin yet so they got some snuggles in. Ayla did fall down the stairs this day. It sounded like a bowling ball hitting every single step on the way down. She was fine. I find it funny that people tell me, "She'll only do it once and she will learn her lesson." But not Ayla. When she knew we were looking, she tried again. This time we had a gate up.

December 26 - On the eighth day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: NOTHING!

Part of my gift from Mike was a surprise. All I knew was to be ready at 10:30am Saturday. I love surprises. He got our friends and family together and we rode the train down to Lagunitas Brewery in Chicago. We took a brew tour and hung out. It took some planning because I had to have two bottles for Kelvin. The kids stayed with MeMaw and Papa and loved every minute of it. They were healthy now so they were happy. Our day was fun and when I went to bed that night I was cold. I figured it was from being outside in the cold quite a bit that day....oh was I wrong.

Mark, Emily, Mike, Me, Colleen, Dorrie
Mike, Rob

While we were gone.....

December 27 - On the ninth day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: fever

I have never been so cold in my sleep. I had a fever all night and woke up feeling worse than ever. I slept 14 hours and unless I had to feed Kelvin that day, I was laying in bed or on the couch. Mike took over and had the help of his parents for the kids. When you are a mom and you get sick, somehow you find a way to get through your day and get your kids what they need. I literally couldn't do that today. I would not have been able to get through this with out help. Aunt Dorrie and Uncle Rob came over to finish out the presents that night. It was more confusion for Asher because now he thinks we open gifts every day! HA! They were able to meet Kelvin for the first time as well. I don't have pictures of this because I was sick. By the end of the night I had the worst sore throat of my life.

December 28 - On the tenth day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: strep

Head to Urgent Care (third time in 10 days) by 10am. I have strep. I don't remember it being this bad when I was younger, but it is terrible! Once again, I spend the day in bed or on the couch unless I have to feed Kelvin. He is starting to get rosy cheeks and is pretty flemmy with a cough. Something seems off. The kids haven't left the house since we got in 4 days ago, so Mike and his parents take them to the mall for lunch. I stay and snuggle/nap with Kelvin. Being this sick was tough because Mike and I didn't get our frequent date nights, but he was able to spend a lot of video game time with the Danimal. We were supposed to be driving back to Iowa today but due to my sickness, freezing rain, and 5 inches of snow, we decided to stay another night.

Making it through the day

MeMaw was so excited to use bubble wrap as a cushion in the sink for Kelvin's bath.

Lunch date at the mall

December 29 - On the eleventh day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: fever, sore throats, coughs

We pack up and head to Iowa to start our journey home. Kelvin seems off. He feels warm. Ayla is coughing, I still have a fever and sore throat. Let's just say it wasn't the greatest or easiest drive to Iowa. But Kelvin slept almost the entire time. I guess he needed it. By the end of the drive, Mike was feverish and not feeling well. When we got to Gam Gam's house, we find out that Gam Gam has bronchitis and Aunt Missy has a sore throat. Here we go again! We took it nice and easy that night. We tried to get some good rest so we could get back to Oklahoma the next day.

December 30 - On the twelfth day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: fevers, chills, aches and pains

We are feeling well enough to hit the road, but we aren't great. Aunt Missy has confirmed she also has strep (after making a lovely trip to urgent care). Mike said his throat didn't hurt too bad, but he was feverish. Kelvin didn't sleep well and both he and Ayla were up coughing all night. At this point, I just want to get home and get these kids well. Asher was feeling much better so he was full of energy while the rest of us were just trying to get through the day. Kelvin slept almost the entire 7 hours we were in the car. He woke up to eat a little when we stopped, but then was right back asleep. His eyes are looking pink and he is coughing. He also kept spiking a fever. Ayla coughed terribly the entire time. The good thing was that both Asher and Ayla played on the tablet quietly for the last leg of the trip. Mike and I both thought that this was the longest drive ever. It felt great to be home and sleep in our own beds.

December 31 - On the thirteenth day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: fevers, pink eye and ear (I know there aren't 13 days in the song, but I had to keep the theme going).

Something wasn't right with Kelvin and Ayla. We made the decision to call the doctor. They had been exposed to so many different things while we were gone. The way I saw it, we were home and able to see our doctor so let's do it. We got the last appointment of the day. Ayla had an ear infection and Kelvin had pink eye with a virus. More meds to get and more rest needed for these kids. Kelvin had to get drops for his eyes, but for the virus we just have to wait it out. We spent the day resting and hydrating. Kids were in bed by 7:30 and Mike and I were in bed by 10:30. Happy New Year to us....we definitely went out with a bang.

Playing with new toys.

I could only get him to sleep while upright.

Asher was feeling great while everyone else was feeling crummy. We had to keep him busy to keep him off our nerves. This is a train he got for Christmas that he could paint.

New Year's Day: On the fourteenth day of sickmas, my true love gave to me: Fevers and viruses

Mike finally gave in and went to Urgent care. He was still feeling terrible. Turns out he didn't have strep but had a virus and a sinus thing. Thankfully by this point, I was finally feeling well enough to give him the break he needed to rest and get better.

That was our Christmas vacation. I was thankful we were with family to help us out with the kids during all the sickness, but I was also happy to be home. It took quite a few days to get laundry done, things unpacked, and settled once we got home. This is probably our last year of whirlwind travels for holidays. Mike is interviewing for jobs in Chicago and it is looking like we could be moving there in the next few months. It will be nice being closer to family and will make holidays much easier. I feel like we try to squeeze in so much in such a small amount of time right now. We will keep you posted!