Always sick...trying something new

We've been constantly sick since the New Year - I think my husband has been sick nearly every weekend. So starting tomorrow we are trying something new. We are going to the store and stocking up on healthy foods and drinks and we are going to rid our diet of sugars and junk food / fatty food / fast food. We did some online research today and will be buying salmon, flaxseed, green tea (LOTS of green tea), blueberries and yogurt. I am trying to talk the husband into spinach and broccoli too - his only experience with spinach seems to be the slimy canned kind so I think he might be pleasantly surprised by fresh spinach in a salad. Broccoli will be a harder sell though.

We're giving it 3 months and we'll see if we feel better - more energy, less illness. I'd like to add some exercise too - I can't WAIT until it is warm and dry enough to actually go on nice long walks again.

Well it was a nice day at work....

I was having a very nice day at work - talking to my co-workers, drinking cappuccino, I had just the right amount of work to do - enough to stay pleasantly busy but not enough to feel stressed - and my husband and I had just eaten a good lunch. Then I got the call - PJ was throwing up at the sitter's. Noooooooooooooooo!

So I cleared off my desk, sent my boss an email (he was in meetings all week), tried to talk my husband into leaving instead (but he did have a stressful level of work so it was a no go) and left. When I got to the sitters I learned that poor PJ had thrown up once during the 20 minutes it took from her call until my arrival. And then he threw up AGAIN while I was getting his jacket on! She gave us a plastic bag for the ride home - but fortunately we didn't need it.

Once we got home he threw up 3 more times - once all over his room ... once he did make it to the bathroom (yay!). I had to run a load of laundry because unfortunately when I was dealing with the first bout of vomit at home Lorene quietly got into PJ's Easter basket. She had the wonderful idea to unwrap the chocolates, rub them between her hands to get them melty, then wipe her hands on her face and hair. AAAaGGGGHHHSSS!!!

Oh how I wished I was still at work... sipping my cappuccino and talking about American Idol.

Blizzard!

We had record snowfall this weekend! It was a blizzard - usually the local weather over-exaggerates impending bad weather but this time they possibly underestimated it. Thursday night we heard that a snow storm was on its way - bringing with it up to a foot of snow. We guessed we'd REALLY only get 4-6". I did stock up at the grocery store though - I hate driving in snow at all - and got the last loaf of bread on the shelves. They had already sold out of Vault! Anyhow, with plenty of food and diapers and drinks, we felt confident we could get through the weekend.

Friday - it started snowing at 9:18 AM. And it didn't stop. My husband was sent home from work at 2 PM. I was anxious waiting for his return - but he pulled in safely at 2:30. He said the freeways weren't bad but the residential streets were already awful. By 4:30 all of the parking spots in the complex were filled and I relaxed knowing all the residents were in safely. And still it snowed. At 5 PM I measured - we were at 5". We had sloppy joes for dinner, lamenting the fact I did not stock up on potato chips.

It stopped snowing around 7 pm and it was still quiet by the time I went to bed at 11. The next morning it was snowing again - I measured at 9 AM and we were just over 11". Maintenance was shoveling the sidewalks but gave up. I kept checking the news - they told everyone to stay home! My mom called - her work was closed and I was glad that I didn't have to worry about her on the roads. Malls closed, banks closed, libraries closed, churches announced they would be closed Sunday. We watched the snowfall and drank hot cocoa.

At 6 pm I realized I could no longer open the back door! I went out a few hours later and measured again - 20". The news reported a total accumulation of 20.4" which set a new record.

Today the snow has ceased and it is cold and sunny. Some of our neighbors are emerging to begin shovelling. The neighbor's dog - who looked thrilled to bound through the snow yesterday morning - is slogging through it now, looking a bit tired. We took some pictures of the drifts - it's wild to have so much snow in March! And we are supposed to have temps back in the 60's within the week. We shall see!

Sick...again

It seems like we've been continuously sick since the start of the year! This time it's a new virus - sore throats and coughs and feeling so incredibly tired. Only the adults are sick this time so the children can run around like little chimpanzees getting into everything and wreaking havoc while we feebly protest from the couch "no...don't climb on that...put that down..."

Happy Valentine's Day!!

What a perfect time for a fun holiday - right in the middle of a dreary, slushy, gray winter week. I don't work today so I'm happily cleaning the house (okay, maybe not so happily...) and getting ready to make dinner. Tonight's menu - heart shaped cookies (yum!), roasted Cornish game hens, baked potatoes, salad, and dinner rolls. I'm even thinking about making it a candlelight dinner - that might amuse the kids.

Third worst commute...

Ever! And that includes three long winters with lake effect snow in NE Ohio.

So Tuesday morning we wake up to about 3 maybe 4 inches of snow and it is still snowing heavily. My husband agrees to drive since he is much calmer in treacherous road conditions and far, far less prone to panicking. The roads are horrible! Per the news, the city of Columbus, in its infinite wisdom, decided it was "too dangerous" to send out the snow plows and ice tracks. Therefore, NO roads - not even the highway - have been touched. The entire city looks like the parking lot behind our apartment. I mostly kept my eyes closed for the ride and he later told me he nearly spun out three times (I only felt one). But due to the horrid conditions, the other drivers actually are driving sensibly and slowly. We only arrive 7 minutes late to work which is amazing. More importantly, we arrive safely.

The conditions continued to worsen throughout the morning with the snow changing to freezing rain and sleet. And at 11:30 we get the shocking news - work is closing! Immediately! The managers walk through the departments telling us to finish what we are doing and GET OUT. And - even better - they are paying us for the entire 8 hours! Woo-hoo!

My husband drives us to pick up the little ones early - even better news because this only counts as a half day and we save $40!!!! I feel giddy - I don't think our work has ever sent us home early with pay. The roads are still very poor and becoming icy so my husband doesn't drive on the highways, instead we creep through downtown Columbus which is strangely quiet and abandoned for a weekday afternoon. We arrive home about an hour after our dismissal and I heat us up a frozen pizza for lunch. We spend the rest of our snow day just relaxing (and occasionally laughing that the big kids had school ALL DAY.)

Long weekend

Sadly, my husband's grandfather passed away on Feb. 2nd. We drove up to his hometown last Friday morning at 6 AM. We had planned to go up the night before but I lost my debit card and after spending about 45 frenzied minutes looking for it we decided to just leave the next day as it was 10 pm by then. (I cancelled the debit card - never did find it)

The funeral service was very touching and the little kids behaved quite well. Little PJ was introducing himself to far-flung relatives and family friends - not shy at all. At the grave site there were full military honors including a 21 gun salute and a bugle. The guns terrified poor Lorene, she didn't stop crying until she was safely back in the minivan.

On Saturday, Aunt Kathy and Aunt Anna took PJ shopping and stocked up on clearance winter clothes, underwear, socks, and Easter clothes for both little kids - including a hat and gloves for Lorene. Unfortunately on Saturday afternoon, nearly everyone became sick - my husband, his sisters, both aunts... and they were all bedridden through Monday. We couldn't leave when we planned so I spent the next two days in the big house with no internet and no books - with weather too cold and icy to kick the kids out to play. We all had a bit of cabin fever, that's for sure!

Monday afternoon my husband felt well enough to handle the nearly 3 hour ride home. Aunt Kathy loaded us down with food leftover from the luncheon after the funeral - including a half ham. She also gave us food that Grandpa had bought for himself that she knew she wouldn't eat - such as 4 12 packs of diet Coke and a dozen corn dogs.

We got home Monday afternoon - it was an uneventful ride home. The weather drama would happen Tuesday!