What To Do When Everyone Has The Sniffles

Being sick sucks. That's no surprise or revelation.

But do you know what's worse?

A sick toddler.

Do you know what's worse than that?

Being sick at the same time that your toddler is sick.

It.

Is.

Miserable.

Addison isn't quite old enough, yet, to be able to blow his nose properly, so I have to use one of those stupid suction bulbs to clear his nostrils out so he can breathe (and doesn't snot all over himself - and me, by extension).

Seriously? These things suck. If your child is an infant who can't really move or defend himself, fine. Try using one of these on a two-year-old who doesn't want it to happen. It's super fun.

Then you've got to get him to take his medicine, deal with his fussy attitude, and meet his every whim - which changes by the minute considering he's so sickly he doesn't know what he wants. And heaven forbid if you have to chastise him for something he KNOWS he's not supposed to do. Oh, god. It's horrible.

All of this while you feel like you've been run over by a garbage truck, half-drowned in sewage and left out to dry.

So! I've comprised a list of things to help you (and mostly me) get through these horrible, awful times:

1. Take a nap when your kid naps.

Sure, that sounds self-explanatory, but I'm serious. Don't worry about the pile of dishes in the sink, or the laundry that's growing a mind of its own as it climbs out of the dirty hamper. All of that crap will still be there to take care of when you're feeling better. A tired, sick, and distraught mommy is not what your kids need to have. And, Mommas out there who have newborns, you should be doing this anyway!

2. Junk out a little bit.

Eating healthy is awesome and something every family should try to do, but don't beat yourself up over a bowl of ice cream (or two, or three...) when you're feeling blah. It'll help your sore throat and make you feel better. Trust me. Unless you're super against sugar for tots, give your kid some, too. Chocolate does WONDERS for temperament. At least, it works on mine. Ha.

3. Enlist the aid of your S.O. (or family member - whichever)

Unless they're sick, too, in which case, I am terribly sorry. The Hubs has the sniffles right now, too, but he still lends a hand when I need it and sometimes that's all I need. Just a few minutes to yourself to take a bath, to read a chapter in a book, to veg out on facebook, whatever you do, can be priceless when you're sick.

4. Indulge in a guilty pleasure.

Alright, maybe watching "How I Met Your Mother" isn't so much a 'guilty' pleasure since that show is freakin' awesome, but you catch my drift. Do something, read something, watch something, you don't normally let yourself do, read, watch, eat, whatever. Spoiling yourself when you're sick is a-okay, so don't feel guilty about it!

5. Bribe your children.

Does that sound bad? I don't care, and you shouldn't either. Who doesn't like getting fun things to do when they're sick? Trust me. My mom got my son a couple new cars yesterday and he has played with those things for a long time today...and left me to my own devices! He's not neglected, of course, he's just playing. New things will catch toddlers attention (at least for a little while) and let you get some stuff done (or not) while you're down.

These are just a few things to help you get by.

Now go, drink some tea, eat some chocolate, play some video games, watch your soaps, do whatever it is you lovely people do. I'm going to go give my snotty, fussy son a bubble bath.

-Mommy Michelle

You Just Gotta Laugh

In and around Knoxville, today is known as Booms Day, the day around Labor Day when this HUGE fireworks show is put on down by the river. It's amazing, breathtaking and so great!

This is from 2008.

The Hubs actually proposed to me in 2009 during the finale "waterfall." They used to shoot them all off the Henley Street bridge, but since that's being worked on for the next couple years, they've had to move it around.

Kinda hard to shoot fireworks off a not-bridge.

Anyways, our apartment is at a pretty awesome locale. We can walk to a couple different spots and have a clear view of the sky. So, we got our stuff together, got the boy's Radio Flyer wagon out of his closet, and headed up our hilly parking lot...right as it started to rain. No big deal, we figured. We've got an umbrella and it's not raining too hard. Ha! Before we even got out of the apartment complex it started doing something like this:

Then, there we were. My husband being pulled by our dog (who isn't such a big fan of getting wet) and pulling the wagon, me trying to keep pace and keep the umbrella over the boy, and the boy sitting in his wagon talking about going to see the fireworks. Haha!

Needless to say, we decided to opt out. A bit disappointing, but it's certainly not the first fireworks show I've missed and it won't be the last, I'm sure. More than anything, it asserted something I've been figuring out for a while now:

Sometimes, you just gotta laugh.

Things don't always go the way you want them to. Plans fall through, weather changes, and things just don't happen the way you expected. That's life. It happens. You know what makes it worse? Getting mad and upset over it. You know what saves your night/day? Laughing.

Yes, I wanted to see the fireworks. I wanted to watch Addison's face light up as he watched the giant colorful explosions in the sky. And that didn't work out. But I just laughed as I ran through the rain with my family and I'm having a great night at home with my loving husband and my happy son and I couldn't ask for anything more. :)

Sometimes, you just have to laugh.

- Mommy Michelle