Merry Sickmas

Ah, yes, the most wonderful time of the year has finally arrived, and along with it, the flu bug! This thing is running rampant around here. I swear everyone I have talked to has either had it or someone in the house has. I thought we might be lucky, but Leah came home from school Thursday and told me she has thrown up at school and didn't tell anyone. She stayed home from school Friday, and some tears were shed when she realized she wouldn't even be going into school at noon. By Friday night she was better, and we went from this on Saturday:

to this less than 48 hours later:

Brooke started in around 9 last night and didn't get settled until almost midnight. By that time we had changes her sheets 3 times and had gone through almost every blanket in the house because she just couldn't seem to make it on the towel, let alone to the toilet. So we thought it was over, until we heard Andrew crying at 2:45. I knew his first time wouldn't be his last, so I lay in bed watching the Food Network Challenge from 3 to 4 am, with a few trips to the bathroom thrown in there. (They were making Disney Villans cakes in case you're interested.) We ended up bringing Andrew's mattress into our room--closer to a toilet and easier for us to hear if he needs us.

So, here we are, Christmas Eve, and stuck in the house all day. Luckily for Emma and Leah, Grandma Franklin invited them down to make cookies or something. I felt bad for them. And I might take them over to the Chattertons this afternoon. At this moment Andrew seems fine. His appetite is back (although we are taking it easy) and he was really upset that he didn't get to go to Grandma's. Brooke, however, is still on the couch. She threw up the little applesauce she had this morning and it feels like she has a fever. What a drag to be sick on Christmas!

Well, I should probably do another load of laundry. There are mountains and mountains in the laundry room. I guess we'll never forget this Christmas!