Sick House

We're just coming out from very possibly the worst two weeks of our parenting lives. Indeed I'd go as far as saying that it rivals my very worst week ever, and that's saying something. For we are all recuperating from the flu. 

I can't begin to say how much I was looking forward to spring break. Work is busy and stressful, I've been working every weekend, and I was excited for some days to catch up as well as to spend time with the boys. Well, on the first Monday of spring break, Charlie started vomiting. And then things went downhill from there. I woke up with a fever, chills, extreme body aches, and then we all dropped like flies. It was impossible to sleep with the body aches we were experiencing, but, anyway, who can sleep when your poor one year old is screaming - literally - all night. So there I was, with a 103 temperature, trying to console a sad and uncomfortable toddler night after night. '

Poor Charlie ended up having an ear infection, on top of everything, and he's lost so much weight. In fact he's down to the 5th percentile in weight, which is just tiny for him. We're honestly a little worries as he didn't have a lot to lose so now we'll have to work on slowly putting weight on him. 

Raf was also poorly, but he'd had the flu shot and so his symptoms weren't as severe as the rest of us. He wasn't able to go to school, though. So we were all home, as ill as we've ever been, with all of us sobbing at various time (well, me and the children). 

We're all over the worst of it, I'm madly trying to catch up with work, and the kids are seeming a lot better, though everyone is fatigued and full of cold. 

We did have a wonderful neighbour, Janet, offer to help, and my friend Tracey went on a pharmacy run for us for medicine and food - thank goodness. Yet Rich and I are both realising that we're really at a loss without family here. There was no one we could really call to come and watch sick children, or take care of us in what was, frankly, an awful, awful time. My mum and my sister, Melissa, were calling us to check on us, but of course couldn't do a thing to help in practical terms. It may be that we begin to think about relocating to the UK. We love it here, we have wonderful friends and neighbours, but not having any family in the country - let alone the area - is really challenging.