Anderson Household Gets Their Comeuppance

WE'RE GOING CRAZY!!!!!!!! If anyone of you have seen the Parks and Rec episode where Chris gets sick (and if you haven't, DO! It's hilarious), you'll understand why I feel a little like him. He's standing in the hospital looking at himself in the mirror. A machine of athleticism and extremely good health, not permitted to get ill, looks at himself and says rather convincingly, "Stop. Pooping." 

Not that this is our problem or even a symptom, but I have found myself staring at myself in the mirror wanting to scream, "PLEASE END!" I was almost proud about the fact that I hadn't gotten sick from this horrible bout of germs. I eat rather healthy (and yes, my daily ice cream counts has a mental health snack) and I exercise every day. The Chris Machine, if you will. He doesn't get sick. I don't get sick! Heck, MOM'S aren't allowed to get sick. But they do. 

Husbands on the other hand, who eat entire bags of chips by themselves are more prone to getting sick. And sick they get. Very sick. They receive their daily does of all living viral organisms in the house and put on display an adult response to whatever illness their child has been carrying for the week. Don't even get me started on the Hailey illness, sleepless nights, coughing fits, and screaming.... 

Back to our story here, unfortunately mom's DO get the most resilient strain of Hand Foot and Mouth for who knows how long. The good news is, I know that food doesn't taste gross because it morphed into edible crap, and I can manage my hygiene so much better than my 2 year old who turned into the worst drool monster the world has ever known. (Not kidding. His ENTIRE bed was soaked in drool in the morning). 

If you're wondering why things like this get spread around the schools so easily, I will enlighten you. We've had this before and know how contagious it is. Basically, if you call me on the phone, little HFM viruses will transfer through the phone lines, causing blisters along the way, and jump into your immune system on the other end. You will then plague your house with it's horribleness for the longest 7-10 days of your life. Your children will morph into carnivorous dinosaurs on a diet (since they don't eat) and your house will turn into an episode from hoarders. Your sanity will be on the brink of disaster and the only cure for the mental state is a trip to Sam Moon (or comparable cheap jewelry store) to people watch and buy cheap accessories. 

AAAaaaanyway, I called Claire's school to see how long they stay out of school with HFM, asked the desk attendant and was transferred to the school nurse. 

She said, and I quote, "As long as they don't have a fever they're fine to come back." 

Me: "Serious? Even if they still have blisters and are contagious?"

Nurse, "Well, if she's feeling really sick and unwell with the blisters, you can keep her home, but mostly we're concerned about the fever."

Okay? She will be back to school tomorrow then to hopefully not infect her entire class and ultimately allow them to develop their own fevers. (Luckily she's not a drool monster either, so she should be able to keep it to herself).

Before illness, there was silliness and happiness in our house. Thanks for the silly face photo-bombing, Claire! 

She looks so proud of herself in that tub of 12 month clothes doesn't she. 12 MONTH CLOTHES!!!! She's SEVEN months old. SEVEN! Stop it, Hailey! You're too big already!