The Second Wave of Cancellations . . . and We All Got the Flu

 We were in the middle of the frigid cold and snowstorms that descended upon the country this past week.

All of the local schools were closed for the whole week!

Which affects us because if the schools are closed then:

     *seminary is canceled.

     *church activities are canceled.

     *Civil Air Patrol is canceled.

     *library hours are modified . . . or the library is closed.

     *and sometimes our American Rhythms shows are postponed--in this case we had to postpone 

       because of illness throughout the entire group.

And we were part of that sickness.

Fevers/Chills

Fatigue

Dry, hacking coughs

Congestion

Body aches

Headaches

Loss of appetite

It was rough enough that most of the kids stopped eating (Beowulf skipped cake the first night and then didn't eat for over a day after that.  Lola survived for several days on nothing but water and 3 bites of chicken and rice.).  And the sleeping!  Kids who usually don't sleep unless they are medicated, couldn't get enough sleep!

No one is a baby anymore, so honestly, in many ways, it was an easy week for me.  

I only cooked 3 meals, and that food lasted all week.

They all slept so much that the house was quiet--all of the time.

No one made any messes.

No one needed to be organized.

No one needed to go anywhere.

Am I glad they're healthy again?

Yes!

But did I enjoy the quiet, low-energy days?

Also yes.

Her eyes opened weakly as I took the picture, but poor Lola was essentially inert all week long.

Ladybug hid under the blanket at first, and then I took her temperature--106.4!!!!  I gasped and pulled the blanket off her.  I retook her temperature, and it was down 3 degrees.  I relaxed enough to realize she'd created a hot box with the blanket.  I gave her strict instructions to keep her head out in the air!!  
And I gave her acetaminophen.

Oh!  Look, Lola's awake for a minute!  
But that's Brother now lying exhausted on the floor.

All 6 of the youngest kids went down.

That's Lola asleep against my shoulder. 
Every time I sat down, she curled up and fell asleep against me.

Oh, look!  That's Lola asleep against my hip!

I can't help but think Lola had it the worst because she took the least nourishment all week long.  Her convalescence has been the longest, too.  

Regular school went out the window, but as we'd just finished books, I picked up Little House on the Prairie and read aloud for a couple of hours each day to whoever was awake enough to listen.  Some kids heard some parts and some kids heard other parts, but I read and read and read, and we finished the whole book this week.

We also finished Tom Sawyer.

I'm not exactly sure who heard the end, but Baymax and Mister Man seemed to be the most alert listeners.

We did start Mary Poppins, but we're only on chapter 6 of that book right now.

It was so cold that we pulled the space heater out of the dining room into the living room to assist our wood-burning stove in taking the edge off the cold.  (Yes, our furnace works and was running, but we have drafty old windows, and the house got Cold!)  Kids were suffering from fevers and chills, so it was important to keep everyone as comfortable as possible.  Those who ate meals, just ate standing in the kitchen, and I did a modified Morning Meeting in the very late mornings.

The teens and I did our usual lessons out in the living room, and the younger kids either listened or dozed as we read and talked.

Just as the kids started convalescing, I started coughing.

I have not been quite as sick as most of the kids got, but I felt pretty bad for a few days.

Lola and I overlapped a little bit.

The weather is rapidly warming--very rapidly!

The kids are feeling much better.

I'm mostly ok.

But our poor van!

It died again in the cold!!!

There was a truly delightful moment in the week.  

Baymax is an Eagles fan--the only Eagles fan in this family full of Chiefs fans.

(The Superbowl was an interesting experience here!)

Well, the kids' Uncle S-- used to be a church youth leader to the current Eagles 3rd string quarterback.  He reached out to this young athlete letting him know about his even younger fan.

Look what arrived in the mail!!!

Poor Baymax!  He's on his feet, but how pale he is!  He was on his way down with the flu.
He was far happier than he looks in this picture, but he didn't feel well enough to show it.