We Get Knocked Down, But We Get Up Again...

In what may be the worst winter for us in five years for illnesses, I find myself utterly exhausted from caring for sick children and a sick spouse, all while trying to do my own recovering.

In the last few weeks, we've hosted a stomach bug, a nasty cold, and then the flu.  Every time we all appeared to be recovering nicely, we'd get hit with the next illness.  Cleaning the house has fallen by the desperate wayside, I may have forgotten how to cook (we've been between reheated soups and total lack of appetites), and the bathrooms...  Sweet merciful Lord, my bathrooms...

My laundry managed to continue to be washed and dried!  Folding, however, is another story.

Today, for the first time in nearly a month, I have felt well enough to make things happen.  The living room is looking picked up and vacuumed.  I swept the kitchen floor and did the dishes.  I may even put away our Christmas decorations later tonight or tomorrow.

Since my husband managed to miss the stomach bug, he went on a rather shocking book purge.  If you know my husband, you know he's a total bibliophile.  His books have been the one thing that have been non-negotiable in all aspects of cleaning, moving, redecorating, etc.  But he told me late last week that he was going to box up about half of them in preparation of doing our built-in bookshelves project (which has been moved to sometime this fall or even next year, depending on when we can get our fencing installed and new floors to replace this awful, awful carpet).  He then followed through!  Half of his books are in boxes, waiting for the pallet in the basement to dry out before being moved down there!  It has streamlined and simplified the living room in such a way that looks absolutely wonderful!

My sewing/craft desk, in contrast, looks like a few shelves peeking out from underneath a gigantic pile of yarn/fabric/notions/paper vomit.  Since I have moved my sewing machine to the laundry closet (it's easier for me to spread out and work on projects at the dining table), I'm thinking of converting that desk into a place for the kids to work on school stuff or their own little crafting and building projects.  We'll see.

Like I said, I just got back into the basics of keeping a a home post-illness marathon, so my project list is strictly a list.  Nothing more.

Yet. :-)

I Found Pepper In My Pocket Today

As I was finishing up putting together my husband's lunch, I reached in my pocket to make sure my phone was secure from the hurricane of little hands that were already knee-deep in mischief this morning.

What I found was a handful of pepper.

I suppose this means it's time to blog.

Well, I promised pictures, and I will deliver.

After all, we've had our breakfast!  

It's time to put on a silly hat and get this day rolling!

(Pardon my floors.  They will be addressed... eventually...)

And since we are hosting 8-10 inches of snow, it seems to be a 

good day to do any of the following:

Cuddle up with a good book...

Take turns giving one another rides around the kitchen

in a plastic milk crate...

Color adorable little creatures to glue to craft sticks

and make puppet shows about megalomaniac birds

and how they influence bad politicians...

(I can't make this stuff up.)

Dissect chicken hearts...

(Ooooooo, involuntary striated muscles!)

(Also, the donor of the heart was delicious!)

Decorate Mommy's to-do list with a myriad of hearts...

Get Lego men into character for ice cream delivery 

with a notable measure of heroic flare...

Enjoy the emptiness of a purged toy box before it is 

taken to the basement to await maintenance...

Or it's the perfect time to warm one's feet on the

kitchen register while watching the snow being blown 

around outside the back door.

Be sure to check out Maria's blog for a well overdue post on holiday style and sewing machine happenings.   

Coming Soon...

An actual post is in the works.  Several posts, if we're going to be totally honest.  Between various minor illnesses, getting schooling back underway, weather, pregnancy-related absentmindedness, and some sewing and crafting projects, things have been busy.

Today, school is finally back in full swing.  Kids are consuming a newly discovered cache of science and math videos and games, handwriting for each of them is back in intensive practice, cursive is being introduced ("This is the messiest thing I've ever seen," says Kid #1), and we're beginning a project to build the house to scale using Lego bricks!

The mister is home because of the horrendous weather we're facing (12" of snow before the day is done!) and there is going to be an extensive clean up of the girl's room so that he can lead a webinar in there without dried shards of Play-doh imbedding themselves in his feet.

There is a whole chicken thawing for roasting tonight while a load of laundry hums away in the dryer.

The next post will likely be choked with pictures. :-)