Third Wk of School Curse

Our third week of school is cursed:

2014: 3rd wk of school Carli threw up on the school steps and missed 2 days of school before we finally figured out she had anxiety about tattling on the little girl she sat by, teacher moved seats and all was well.

2015: 3rd wk of school Ava passes out and vomits for no apparent reason. Best we could figure she just got to hot at recess. She'd never passed out before, she missed 1.5 days of school.

2016: 3rd wk of school both girls get the most evil virus we have ever experienced and Ava topped that off with a well of an ear infection. Both girls between fever, vomiting and refusing to eat have missed a whole wk of school.

This trend was suppose to have stopped at kindergarten and we were suppose to have had 5 yrs to prepare for how Drew would top his sisters antics. Apparently not.

And what a well of a week to have sick kiddos.  I have a pretty flexible job when it comes to when I do my work but it just so happened that this 3rd week of school was the week of all our annual meetings with work.  Meetings I really could not miss.  We are so blessed that Naggy and Pappy were planning to come help us that week anyway, and they did not shy away from the task of taking care of our sick kiddos.  Seriously, blessed.  They helped make a very long week, one that was very manageable and as stress free as it could have been given the circumstances. 

Drew did great with Naggy and Pappy!  But man, I sure did get some great cuddles when I came home at night!

To add insult to injury, Ava woke up Wednesday morning with a horrible ear ache.  She had a nasty ear infection.  Keith handled that doctors visit.  We soon discovered how hard it is to take the antibiotic for the ear infection when the stomach virus has your stomach all in knots.  :/

Thursday evening things were looking up and we were all breathing a sigh of relief but then Drew threw up all over me early Friday morning.  He was not spared.  :(  Naggy and Pappy were awesome nurses but it was not fair to expect them to take care of a sick baby.  So I stayed home and missed my last meeting and they hit the road with fingers crossed they would be spared!  Meanwhile, I washed an awful lot of clothes and my children turned my pantry into their personal play space when I told them the TV needed a rest!

We were hoping that Drew was much better Saturday b/c he had gone over 24 hrs without vomiting but on our way to Ava's first fall ball game he threw up all over himself and the carseat, multiple times.  :/  Keith and Carli were in Carthage at a ball tournament so we persevered and got him cleaned up.  He and I sat far away from anyone and cheered on Ava.  He was fine during the two games but one the way home he threw up again.  So we spent the rest of the day cuddling...

Unfortunately the younger the person, the more vicious the virus.  Drew would go 36 hrs with no vomiting and then when it hit him, it hit hard.  He literally did not eat more than a cracker or two for 8 days.  He nursed but that was it.  I never nursed my girls past 12 mths, but am thankful that Drew was still nursing b/c it gave him comfort and hydration...otherwise I'm not sure we wouldn't have ended up in the ER with a dehydrated boy.

Finally by day 8, Drew was feeling better.  He actually wanted to eat a cracker and kept it down!  Whoop!  Grammy came and cuddled with him so I could get some work done.  And we finally could see the end in sight...

But then Carli started running fever on Sunday night...

We took her in first thing Monday morning and she definitely had strep.  :/  Thankfully, with antibiotics she has bounced back quickly and only missed a day of school.  Carli is not my one that is prone to strep, Ava is.  So it was no surprise that Wednesday Ava was not feeling well.  The doctor simply called in some meds for her and maybe now...knock on wood...we can be done with all this sickness!