A Witch Cast a Spell on Us

If I have to wipe another runny nose, clean up more puke, get a wake-up call from a sick child in the middle of the night, or get glared at because my children aren't covering their deep coughs properly, I may scream. Apparently we made a witch angry this month and to get vengeance, she cast a terrible spell on us. My kids have never been so ill.

It's a fact that this sickness has taken up the bulk of the month of October. We have had to cancel so many plans it makes me depressed, and no I wasn't being abundantly cautious. Izzy missed 2 weeks of nursery, James missed multiple days of preschool including a field trip, and Isabelle missed back-to-back weeks of ballet. Andrew and I had to cancel a treasured game night with friends, an outing to the pumpkin patch, a dinner with our niece and nephew from BYU, the list goes on.

Here's the nitty gritty because I'm sure you're dying to hear all about bodily fluids. It all started back on Sunday, October 10. Izzy woke up and immediately threw-up. It was just a one-time thing, so we thought we were lucky and had kicked that stomach bug. Boy were we wrong. It became clear Monday morning that James had caught this stomach bug, but to a worse extent. I'll refrain from sharing all the details, but know that he didn't only puke once. The stomach bug seemed to be mostly gone, but then came the next phase of sickness-- horrific deep coughs, runny noses that could create rivers, and fevers. I took the kids to get tested for COVID seeing as how they had about every imaginable symptom. I was relieved when both of their tests were negative and kept hoping things would improve.

The kids hacking and coughing was terrible! We went through so many cough drops, gave the kids medicine around the clock, tried a humidifier, you name it. After the weekend, there still wasn't improvement. Finally, on Monday, October 18 I took the kids to the doctor. Both Isabelle and James had double ear infections. We started 10 days of antibiotics immediately. Isabelle was miserable and looked absolutely terrible with red circles around her eyes. James couldn't get a good night of sleep in due to his constant coughing. I had to hold poor Izzy nearly full-time for 2 days in a row. It was sad to watch my kids feel so miserable. Let's just say our TV got good use this month which meant I got to read even more. (2 of my favorite reads were "The Mother In Law" and "The Book of Lost Names." Both are clean.) One perk of this sickness was super early bedtimes-- like 6:30. Another silver lining is that a good chunk of our Christmas shopping is done thanks to online shopping!

Just when the kids were finally starting to be able to breathe without strain, I got their cold and cough, and then Andrew. The illness dragged on. I lost my voice for a couple of days. Even after 10 days of antibiotics, the kids still have their coughs! Things seemed to be looking up but then on Thursday, October 28, James was acting weird and took 2 naps. He woke up Friday, October 29 and threw up. Will the sickness ever end!? Thankfully, we're ok now. Although, there were some sniffles and sneezes even today. 

I think I can blame the daycare I had the kids try for all of these sick germs. They will not be returning. One day was enough. The children haven't really been sick in the last year and a half which plays into it as well. Their bodies aren't used to fighting. We all eagerly got our flu shots this week (James had to be pinned down while kicking and screaming) and are hoping for healthier days ahead.

Here wicked witch, you didn't manage to ruin our Halloween, so there!

I'm in Love

I'm in love I'm in love and I don't care who knows it! I will shout it from the rooftops! To Andrew, yes I'm in love with you and have been for nearly a decade. Sorry, but that's old news. To my new vinyl flooring, you hear me. You know I love you and I have been waiting for your installation since July 2.

We can now walk barefoot without being in pain. Our feet are relieved to be rid of the jagged tile edges. 

We can now get more barstools for our island and not have to worry about the fact that carpet falls up against it. Who puts carpet in a kitchen!?

We can now walk on clean floors. No matter how many times I tried, our old tile and spotted carpet never felt immaculate. Black, dirty feet were the norm around here.

We can now hear our children's echoes and the piano acoustics even more.

We can now use our washer and dryer again! I have never been more excited to do a load of laundry.

We now have a working oven! You better believe I made both muffins and cookies within hours of that puppy being plugged back in. I didn't get to making dinner, but priorities...

The process: 

The tile removal was incredibly dusty. I'm still finding dust as I open blinds, cupboards, and the pantry. 

We were told to expect this flooring project to take 2 weeks-- it was a big project. They removed carpet in the office, playroom, piano room, hallways, and family room. The workers also took out tile in the kitchen, entryway, laundry room, and bathroom. Lucky them. It's hard to explain the amount of joy I felt when I learned they worked so hard that they would finish the project in only 1 week! I felt like we were camping and everything was displaced. I'll let you in on a little secret... Okay, it's not so much of a secret. I'm vocal about the fact that I dislike camping. 

We ate many meals in our garage on camping chairs. Our trampoline box was a great makeshift table.

We ate cereal every morning on a blanket on the floor in the master bedroom. Dreamy.

The kids limited T.V time went out the window. We were locked in the master bedroom for hours on end. What else were we to do? Our master bedroom is humungous and we were able to store lots of the furniture from other rooms in there. (A couch, 2 end tables, a bookshelf, the piano, extra lamps, a filing cabinet, a chest, etc.)

I walked above my average amount of steps that week. Our walks grew longer because we were in no rush to get back home. 

Did I mention how loud it was? The first night, I had a headache and ringing ears. They sure did have to pound hard to remove that stubborn tile.

We still haven't gotten rid of all the flies that were let in while the doors were left open for days on end. Nothing like nature and the great outdoors... Love me some bugs.

Antonio and his teammate worked tirelessly! They were here for 12 plus hours a day, and bedtime got delayed which is rare around here. Antonio even enlisted the help of his wife and FIL one evening. They were enamored by Isabelle and said she has "princess eyes." Lack of sleep always adds to a good camping trip.

I taught piano lessons in the master bedroom. "Why hello, students! Do you fancy my bed?"

The toilet in our half bathroom was removed. The bathroom situation might be the WORST part of camping. Hmm, it's the middle of the night. Let me find a flashlight to make the trek through the wilderness to a smelly stall. (if there even is one)

We appreciate all the help we had during this time. Some friends had us over for dinner, my mom brought us dinner, and family helped us move our appliances not only once, but twice. I also enlisted Jessica and Lindsey's expertise to help me pick the color for the floors which was stressful for me. I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars and not love the end result.

This is where we started.

This is where we are now.

I've never been so eager to mop! Even before all the big footprints disappeared from our new floors, I knew we made the right choice. 

The end result is LOVE. Pictures don't truly capture love, so you'll have to come visit or use your imagination. Vinyl flooring, you were worth the wait!