We Had a Good Run

It has been a while since all three of us were sick at the same time, but unfortunately it has hit again.

Lee has had cold and flu symptoms for two weeks and has had no voice for the duration of that time.  Jackson had a mixture of conjunctivitis, a bad diaper rash, and a chesty cough for about a week-and-a-half (and after four trips to the doctor's office, we finally got him fixed).  I have a really sore eye due to conjunctivitis, but hopefully the new drops I got from the pharmacist today will work.  She said she's 'never seen an eye that bad' which wasn't comforting.  The over-the-counter drops I was using were making it worse since Wednesday, but I thought that I would wake up each day and it would miraculously be fixed.  That didn't happen.  Other than that, I was really dizzy and feverish towards the end of the week.  Lee and I both have the feeling that our throats are swollen, too.  So whatever that means?

Because of all of our illnesses, Jackson missed three-and-a-half days this week and two days last week, Lee missed eight out of the last ten days of work, and I missed the last two-and-a-half days of this week.  It is hard to take care of each other when we're all sick!  It's like the blind leading the blind (almost literally now with this conjunctivitis).

So to combat the various maladies, I filled our fridge with the 'best foods to eat when you are sick' as recommended by https://authoritynutrition.com/15-best-foods-when-sick/.  Most of the foods are ones that I absolutely hate such as tea, blueberries, and porridge and some of them were just additives such as honey, ginger, and garlic.  But, since we were at such a low-point, I was ready to try anything.  I must say that along with some ibuprofen for the swollen throats and paracetamol for the fevers, we have stuck to the list of healthy foods and have seen a big improvement in the past couple of days with energy and building appetite levels.

It took this second bout of being unwell to fully understand why rich people hire nannies.  Yes, I can even understand why multiple nannies are required for one child.  There was one time this week that we almost went to the childcare.co.uk website to look for someone who could help us for the day, but who would want to catch all of our diseases no matter what we paid?  So we were left to our own devices and we made it through to the other side.  But, if this were to happen again, and we had won the lottery in the meantime, then we would hire a nanny.

My little baby on Mother's Day--This year he got me a card, flowers, a handmade card with his footprints, and a painting!  Plus, we had a sunny day and got to get outside and play together.

Delivering his nightly speech

Explaining his ideas in his own language

Pretty impassioned at this point

And now, giving his closing statement

My friend's daughter is taking part in the National Swimathon to raise money for the Marie Curie charity next week.  If you get a chance, then please visit her Just Giving page:  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/swimathon-2017-AnnaCogan She's close to her goal of only £100 and it would be nice if she could receive enough donations to reach her goal.

Developmental updates:  Jackson knows how to make chicken noises and train noises now.  He also can point to his mouth and his belly when asked to do so.  Often, he will clap after completing these requests which confirms that he knows what he did was correct.  Another new skill Jackson has developed is speech-making.  He uses the fireplace as his stage and he gets on there with a purpose:  sometimes to deliver a speech, and sometimes to dance.  I was trying to clip Jackson's nails today and he said repeatedly what sounded like, "Go away."  Jackson can now reach the tops of counters and the top drawers so we have to be careful about what we set near the edge.  This week, he came into the living room with a bowl of fruit and tipped a small bowl of water on his head.  We are all on a learning curve.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.