Coughing and fevers and runny noses, oh my!

Our house is usually bustling with play. Abby and Ethan always seem to find something fun to do, and its generally noisy, messy or both. Yeehaw!

These last two days have been relatively silent, except for the occasional spacing out in front of TV. Ethan has bronchitis, as diagnosed by the urgent care center on Friday morning. He had been up MOST of Thursday night, coughing and feverish. By Friday morning, his cough was more of a bark and he was wheezing terribly. So, off to the med center we went. After 2 hours and a chest x-ray ruling out pneumonia, the doctor proclaimed it to be bronchitis. We were sent home with a steroid prescription and told to get plenty of rest and fluids and ride it out. Today, to add insult to injury, he developed a really runny nose in addition to his other ailments.

Abby has been sluggish herself. She's been coughing (though not as much as Ethan), and has also been feverish. Today she lost her voice (poor squeeky baby!), but her spirits were up and she played today much more than yesterday. Yesterday was one of our "Slug Days."

Usually, we use a Slug Day as a Mental Health Day. When I was working, my boss respected an occasional Mental Health Day - a day off where no one was sick, but you just needed a break from work. Some days my family just needs a break from our regular routine, and enjoy staying in our pajamas all day playing, getting messy, watching movies, eating on the floor if we want and not worrying too much about rules and responsibility. It's an amazing pick-me-up. Sometimes, though a Slug Day is required to care for one or more of us being ill.

Yesterday, no one showered. I admit, I had to get dressed (just to take Ethan to the med center), but no one else did (including Mark). We relaxed, napped, read books, sung songs, watched The Wiggles and vegged out. It's unfortunate that the kids didn't feel well, but a good side-benefit was that it really helped recharge me. I've been holding one or both of my kids a lot over the last two days, and relishing the cuddle time we've had. Mark has actually been enjoying taking care of Ethan in the night (despite a clear lack of sleep), seeing it as bonding time for the two of them. I will be glad when my kids feel better, but will *selfishly* miss the snuggle-time we have been having.

Sometimes, you just need that time.