The kids had a short week of school. We ended the school week on Wednesday and had a Christmas party. It was the first legit party I've done and I think for the most part it went well. I learned that kids don't like green food and sometimes all they want to do is play with toys. I planned a Grinch them with some Grinch fruit cabobs, green candied popcorn and green hot chocolate. My kids were the only ones that actually tried any of the food. The rest wanted either the normal hot chocolate and popcorn or things separated out. I also had a couple of activities planned, but we only made it through the craft and then they just wanted to play. Overall it went well having nine kids ranging from 2-7 year old. They ate what they wanted and they spread out all over the house playing with a variety of toys and everyone was content.
The kids spent the rest of the week hoping between houses having playdates and enjoying the last days of warmer weather before the cold hit.
Christmas Eve we had our tradition Bethlehem dinner that was not kosher at all. There was yeast bread and pig, but the kids loved it. There is something about sitting on the floor that sparks a lot of excitement. They were excited for Santa to come and went right to bed.
Tim and I were able to get everything ready for the next morning, as it was sure to be busy. Tim also did his dad duty and ate the Santa cookies and milk that Hyrum insisted we set out. This was the first year I think he wanted to.
Christmas morning came early. Tim and I woke up before the kids and went downstairs to watch them come down. There was plenty of excitement as the kids opened stockings and their Santa gift. Santa leaves one unwrapped gift at our house for the kids to play with until we are ready to officially begin. We also got breakfast ready, because church was at 10 for us. We managed to enjoy opening stockings, presents, breakfast, and a little bit of cleanup and still getting to church on time.
During church I noticed Lila start to cough...not a good sign for the future. After church the kids enjoyed playing with toys and we had Christmas dinner. Monday was going to be a busy day, because we needed to pack and get everything ready for our Arkansas trip.
Unfortunately, Lila woke up with a fever which made up wonder if we should cancel. Tim went through the process of finding out options and ultimately we decided to wait until the morning to see how she was doing. She seemed a little warm in the morning, but she was the first kid up and ready to fly. All of the the kids were excited and we did well getting out the door to make it on our 7 am flight. Everything was an adventure and they loved Fruit Loops in a bag for breakfast.
Over all the kids did well on the two flights. We almost missed our connecting flight due to a delay in landing, a short layover, and needing to switch terminals. We were running through the airport as fast as we could and made it just as they were ready to close the doors. Liam struggled a bit when the plan moved in the air. He didn't seem to like the feeling...more on that later. Lila was running a fever still, but she seemed to be fine other than not wanting to eat.
We got off the plan, got our van and went to find lunch. Lila's fever really kicked into high gear and she was clearly not doing well. She just laid on the couch or bed when we got to the hotel and proceeded to not moved besides coughing, talk, or eat for the next few days. That night she ended up having an upset stomach and we noticed Hyrum was starting to get warm. That's two kids down with less than 24 hours in Arkansas. Liam was down for the count by the next morning as well and I was starting to get sick as well. We decided to modify plans and we did two drives in between rest periods where the kids either fell asleep or watched cartoons. None of them really ate anything and we spent most of the day wondering if we should delay our flight, but with all the coughing, fevers, and fatigue we really just wanted to get home so we could get to the doctor if we needed to. We did blessings for all the kids and decided to go for it in the morning.
Lila was perking up by morning, but she and Hyrum still spent most of the day just sitting and following along, clearly not their energetic selves. Poor Liam struggled...a lot. Our first flight was our long one and I was so glad. He ended up throwing up all over himself and Tim and then had some coughing fits. He was just miserable. We aren't 100%, but Tim thinks he might have been air sick along with normal sick. He noticed that every time the play would sway or get a little turbulence he would sit up with sick looking face. We made use of those little white bags on the airplane. Liam was much happier once the plane landed.
We made it home Thursday night and while it may seem like the trip was a bust, we accomplished what we needed despite all the sickness. Literally as we walked out of the airport, I could feel myself starting to drag. I was able to make through the day which was a huge blessing, because the next day I was drained and not feeling well at all. We have survived since then. Liam spent a couple of nights in bed with us, because his coughing would wake him up. All of the kids have been in meltdown mode due to not feeling well and lacking a lot of sleep.
By Sunday, I think I can officially say we are on the mend. We still sound awful with our coughing and stuffy noses and the kids are struggling still emotionally trying to get sleep back. We have had some periods of fun, like when Lila and Hyrum secreted themselves away and 30 minutes came down the stairs all grins. Hyrum had helped Lila get all bejeweled and carried her cape for her down the stairs. It was pretty cute. Liam has also taken a shine to Lila's princess shoes and does surprisingly well walking in them.
We celebrated New Year's Eve by going to bed. We all needed it! Tim has a few more days off that he will hopefully be able to finish a couple of presentations. He was supposed to be working on them, but had to take over for me during the day with the kids and at night with Liam, because I just couldn't do it. We head back to school next week. I'm debating on the sanity of it, but with a baby coming in just a couple of months we need to be staying on track with school.
The new year is already shaping up to be a busy one! Until next week!
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