Germs and Power Tools

I tried. I tried to get Robb to sit down and blog. I told him that we were disappointing avid readers everywhere. I told him everyone has been waiting with baited breath for our next post, and that we may be losing our readership by the day. He attempted to accuse me of not blogging either, but I reminded him that at blog's origin, I had given fair warning that neither was I in favor of, nor did I plan to participate much in blogging. So, when you read this, place your comment below to show Robb how long you have been waiting for a new post.

For now, I will update on his likely excuses for not having given any recent material. First, we have been smote by God. The plague has descended upon our house. I kid you not. We have facial sores, more vomit than I'd have predicted from all 3 boys in any given years' time, snot both in and projected out of noses, all 3 kids with fevers, the least of which was 102.4 (last night), coughing, hacking, laying around watching ungodly amounts of TV, no recent memories of our own full nights' sleep, skipping school, swimming lessons, 2 Urgent Care visits in as many Sundays, and many, many other unhappy parents wondering whose children have infected theirs with such heinous germs (sorry, it was ours). It all started with a little tummy ache a little over 3 weeks ago. Jacob was not feeling great. So, I picked him up from school early, with which he rewarded me by vomiting out the van door on the way home. We nursed him back to what we assumed was health. Little did we know... We have had the influenza virus. The doctor at Urgent Care unsympathetically told me that his 103.7 fever was due to a virus, so no meds would be dispensed. Then, he got the cold, which has lasted what I think could be accurately described as 'forever.'

Then, it was Jonah's turn. He went to bed one night just dog tired, but this is not terribly unusual for him. After sleeping through the whole night, he came into my room in the morning, got in my bed to snuggle, but got out a minute later saying his tummy hurt. I'm wise to this one. So, I sympathetically scream, "Run! To the bathroom! RUN!" When he finally figures out what I'm shrieking about, it's too late, he unleashes onto the floor of our room, and the hall. Not to get too graphic (I'm pretty sure I've passed that point anyway), but the smell was unearthly. He did run, but still didn't make it to the toilet before some sort of inhuman explosion took place because I was practically hanging from the ceiling trying to clean up the vomit that was in the weirdest places in the bathroom. His was the shortest-lived, not much more after that.

Then, came the vomit from Noah. He was such a trooper. On the way home from school one day (please don't tell the other preschool moms it was on the way home from school, lest I be shunned from all mom-coffees, play dates, and other inclusive activities for the remainder of the year), he barfed right into the bag I had thrust at him from the front seat. I mean, perfect aim. He looked AWFUL. I jumped out of the car once I stopped in the nearest parking lot. He was still barfing. I was telling him what a good job he had done getting it all in the bag, just as the bottom of the PAPER bag fell out. Yes, vomit all down his legs, through each and every crevice in the car seat. Much vomit followed for the rest of the day. It's terribly pathetic when your 4 year-old cries while squatting in front of the toilet, "Mommy, I don't want to throw up!"

Just to give perspective on how long all of this has been lasting, the most recent barf was 2 weeks ago this Monday--16 days ago. And, we are still sick. The fevers followed the barf, which were followed by colds. It's all part of the worst, most relentless virus we've ever had. And, of course, I got it, too. I had almost no voice for the majority of this past weekend, and felt even worse than I sounded. I have giant sinuses, and tend to harbor all kinds of beautiful things in them, whenever possible.

Robb's second likely excuse for blog-slacking is our master bathroom. When we moved into this house, we remodeled without stopping for months. The master bathroom was going to be something we did later, within a few months, but needed a breather. The breather lasted a year. So, we tore the bathroom apart in October, thinking it would be a quick project. It has become the bain of our existence. In the past few months, we replaced the shower pan, then tiled the walls of the shower (with help from my mom one weekend). Then, I tiled the floor, which I like now, but knowing what I know now, would have done it totally differently. That took eons. We also replaced the vanity. More recently (here's where the excuse comes in), we have been trying to hit it hard to finish it. So, Robb and his Dad replaced the toilet about 2 weeks ago (we have a brand new, very clean, but more importantly working toilet!). Then, they installed beadboard and trim, which looks great! I tiled the countertop and bought a new sink. Then this past weekend, we painted, caulked, installed joint compound, sanded, texturized, and painted some more. I also replaced the light fixture. It is almost done. The only things we have left to do are to hook up the sink and install the faucet in the shower. Then, it's fully usable! Of course, it could end up being the most expensive part of the remodel, since we're pretty sure we have to hire a plumber, but if it means it's done, Hallelujah!

So, that's it. Beyond that, I'm not sure there's even anything else to say. Jonah stayed home sick from school today, which was to have been my FINALLY day, when all the kids were back in school at last. I mean, of course it was.

We wish all of you less need for home improvement, and more health that we have had recently.