Day 141

I'm working hard to get us settled back in at home. Many thanks to our family for rearranging their lives and taking us in for the last 10 weeks!
I know they enjoy the chance to be with the kids, but let's face it, nobody really wants company for that long.
Especially company that leaves town after passing along a stomach bug.
Yuck.

Alex spent all day Sunday on a recliner with a bucket, and apparently passed the illness along to Aunt Jessie and Uncle John.
So sorry, guys.
We all know that I have vomit-phobia, so I certainly feel terrible inflicting that on anyone.

Really, Michigan is not the place to be right now for the weak of stomach. My sister's kids are also down with a flu bug, along with many of their school chums.

This has been a Public Health Service Announcement: Stay away from Michigan. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch-style home in North Carolina, we had quite the productive day. But as I look around at the house you would never know it. There remains much to be done.

Baby steps, people.
Baby steps.

I had a lovely deep sleep in my own bed last night. Almost perfect, if only it had my marido in it.

(That's Spanish for husband. You didn't know this would be a learning experience, did you?)

My friend Amy had kindly brought over some milk and bagels yesterday, so we had breakfast and the kids reacquainted themselves with the playroom while I got to work.
I tackled their rooms today, clearing out outgrown clothes before unloading the suitcases.
I'm definitely feeling the need to pare down our belongings before the next couple of moves.

Then we headed out for grocery shopping and a car wash, which is pretty much the highlight of my children's existence.
The car wash, that is, not the grocery shopping.

According to Derek, grocery shopping is the "baddest thing in the whole world."
Yet, he never complains when there is food to eat. Odd.

Grocery shopping is the event during which I most regret homeschooling. They sit all smashed together in the "rocketship cart" and poke and prod and sing the silliest things you've ever heard over and over and over again, until I give apologetic looks to the passing shoppers and say "Oh, sometimes I regret taking this babysitting job."

The times when I most appreciate homeschooling are every weekday at 6:45am when I'm not getting out of bed.

Were you expecting something sappy about watching my daughter learn?
Yeah. Wrong blog.

And oh, the glorious weather. The kids were outside this afternoon playing, and requested popsicles because they were "sweaty."
Crazy! I can't believe it's February. But I'm glad it's February, because now I can say that my hubby should be back next month.
We're finally close enough to let the kids make the traditional paper chain.

Though that does look a wee bit depressingly long, does it not?
Toward the end, I usually sneak a few more links on the chain so they're not disappointed if he gets delayed.

 In keeping with my plan to return home and acquire the body of a supermodel, I bought a healthy array of foods. A friend posted the recipe for this little gem on facebook:

It's kale soup.
Don't I sound all crunchy and healthy?
The truth is that I've never bought kale before, but the soup wasn't half bad.

Of course, my stomach revolts an hour later thinking that it has eaten nothing at all, but then I serve up another helping of kale soup and tell my stomach to shut up, already, I'm trying to not be so soft and mushy.

Repeat every hour.

When I was making the soup I was talking to myself, which is not unusual.
(For me.)
I added the required spices, set down an empty dispenser and said: "Looks like I'm out of thyme."

And then I realized that was kind of funny. So I laughed.

This moment of humor has been brought to you in part by, Erin needs a life, and our special sponsor, the author of Diet Soups Can Fill You Up, Mr. I.M. Lying.

Beepbeepbeepbeep: This just in-- Man down, Man down. Pat the Bunny has also been infected.
I'm starting to wonder if Alex went around licking the doorknobs or something.

We will never be invited anywhere ever again.

Lo siento, mi familia.
Lo siento.

I will leave you with some parting photographs:

Da boys-

Alex wanted a picture of Daddy to have at night in bed. So I printed one off the computer, on regular paper and not photo paper, and she mounted it on cardboard and colored him in.
And she sleeps with it every night.

PtB reading to the kids while breathing air that was probably already transmitting illness, thought none of us was the wiser at that time.

Getting ready for our night of culture at the theater.

Good news! Elmo did indeed help Grover get his superpowers back!

Now for another dose of kale soup...