Christmas is Over and Surviving the Flu

We went couch shopping on Saturday, January 5, 2013.  This was Cleo's Saturday couch shopping outfit:

Sidney's love of Angry Birds came on fast and furious over Christmas. He has two shirts and we got him a third to wear to his Feb. 2 birthday party.

That same weekend, we took down our Christmas decorations, including the window gels and Christmas tree (it's fake). Next year we will likely get a real one.

Sidney playing with his Angry Birds bean bag toss game.

To his left is his race track which he and Cleo love to play.

We gave Cleo and Sidney Hello Kitty and Spiderman bathing sets, respectively.  Sidney's came with shaving cream and a fake razor. Below, he's using a toy dolphin tail as a razor.

Cleo's bath foam, which is just like Sidney's shaving cream, doesn't smell as good as Sidney's shaving cream. Below, Cleo is using Sidney's razor to "shave" her chest.

Sidney showing me his dolphin.

Cleo and Sidney playing Elefun. It's a little elephant shaped contraption that blows air up the tube.  Little fake butterflies that blow up the tube and the kids have to catch them with their nets. It's fun.

Cleo showing me her little pack of markers that came with a little art set.

 

I caught the flu on January 8.  It hit me hard around 4:15pm, right when I was gathering my stuff up to head out of the office.  I attended a luncheon that day and felt 100% fine.  My friend got sick this week and she attended the same lunch. She said that people at her job also had the flu this week so she may have caught it at her job.

I stayed home from work on Jan. 9 but by the end of the day, I realized that it was not just a cold. My neighbor convinced me that it was the flu so I went to Walgreen's to confirm it. I had a flu test performed - the RN rubbed a Qtip in my nose and then put it in a little vial and then stuck a litmus type paper in the vial and the bars appeared on the paper and Type A was lit up pink, much like a pregnancy test.  So, she prescribed me Tamiflu and recommended Mucinex Cold & Flu & Sore Throat. It was much more effective at combating my symptoms than Nyquil and Dayquil.  My neighbor also recommended Sambucol. It's a homeopathic cold/flu remedy and prevention pill. I got it from Walgreen's when I picked up the Tamiflu. I felt much better by Thursday, Jan. 10 but I was contagious for 7 days from when the symptoms began which was Tues., Jan. 9.  My neighbor took Sambucol when her two daughters got the flu at the same time and my neighbor did not get sick.  We are still taking the meltaway tabs as a prevention method.

Effective the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 9, I quarantined myself in our bedroom. Roger handled dinner, baths, bedtime, everything.  I felt bad but he handled it like a champ. I didn't hug or kiss the kids or Roger.  At Walgreen's, I got face masks to cover my mouth and nose and wore those whenever I left the bedroom. We didn't want the kids to get sick so we did everything we could to prevent that.  My quarantined ended on Monday, Jan. 14, which is when I returned to work.  I felt a little out of it Monday and Tuesday but by Wednesday I felt like 100% normal.  It was so great to hug the kids and Roger.  I missed them so much while I was sick.

I watched lots of movies (none that were too good) and some television shows on On Demand. I watched a lot of Parks and Recreation, which is hilarious.  I love Aziz Ansari.

Cleo's acting class started up again on January 12. She is liking it a lot. Although, she announced to me today that she wants to take an art class next. We will look into the art classes at the same arts center she's currently attending.  She would get more out of the one that's the next level up from the one she took when she was Sidney's age. We did not enroll Sidney in it this session because it was filled to capacity.  When it's warmer, we are enrolling both kids in swimming lessons. It's very important that they learn to swim at a young age.

Roger and I postponed our commencement of P90X until tomorrow.  We were going to start it on January 9. I am really looking forward to doing it.  I can't wait to firm up the jiggly bits that have gotten super jiggly since I haven't really worked out seriously since May 2012.  I have been monitoring my food intake and attended a Weight Watchers meeting on January 4. I still love my new leader, Scott. He's the best, so motivating.  One thing that makes him so awesome is how real he is. He makes you feel like he's in the trenches and struggling with weight loss/maintenance along with us.

On January 15, we refinanced our mortgage.  Our new mortgage give us a slightly reduced mortgage payment.  The major benefit is that now we have a 30 year fixed mortgage with a fixed payment and fixed interest rate.  Our prior mortgage was a 7 year adjustable rate mortgage so in 2014 (7 years after we bought our house) our interest rate and monthly payment could have increased significantly.

Sidney, Cleo and I went to the library today after Cleo's acting class and Sidney selected The Grinch that Stole Christmas. He is very fascinated by the Grinch.  Sidney and I waited at the arts center for Cleo's class to end. I let Sidney play Angry Birds on my cell phone. When it's my turn to take them in 2 weeks, I will bring my Kindle so he can play on that or I can read on it and he can play with my phone. I had brought his Innotab (like a todder's iPad) but he preferred to play Angry Birds, which he cannot play on his Innotab.

Roger kept not hiding the Rudolph toy well in the past few weeks and Cleo and Sidney found it twice - when they weren't even looking for it. Roger cleaned out the hall closet and Rudolph tumbled out at Sidney's feet because he was hovering watching Roger's cleaning efforts. Then, this past week, Cleo spotted Rudolph under a box near my desk.  We explained that Rudolph was just paying us brief visits before he headed back to the North Pole to stay with Santa until Christmas time next year.  When Rudolph resurfaced both times, they were overjoyed and placed him on the end of the divider between our family room and kitchen.  We use Rudolph as the reporter for Santa who informs Santa whether Cleo and Sidney have been good or bad.

Sidney still hums Christmas songs. He really loved Christmas this year. It's cute.

Sidney's writing has vastly improved since he returned to school on December 31. As of January 7, 2013, he's in a new class. His teacher, Ms. Zora, taught Cleo and attends our church.  He struggled with his S and now it looks like a real S. For some reason, his "n" in his first name is good. But when he writes the "nn" in his last name, the "nn" look crazy.  I keep explaining to him that they're the same letter. I know he will get it.

Cleo's reading ability is phenomenal. She is so smart. She can read signs too. She sounded out "pharmacy" on the CVS sign we pass by on our way home from daycare.  I asked her how she figured it out, especially the "ph" and she said she knew how to pronounce "phone" so she applied the same pronunciation.  Her deductive reasoning is better than mine!  :-)

Have a great week.