So as is the new trend, we set our alarms to actually get to church, only to have our plans foiled. Brady and I were watching a show on the laptop in bed while the house was still quiet, and out of nowhere, Dekker was wailing. Now Dekker doesn’t do too much of that unless he’s sick or he’s been provoked/bugged/whatevered by a sibling, or something of that sort. So of course, when we heard him, Brady went running, and I threw on a few more clothes, ready to follow. Brady carried him up to our room where he shuddered on our bed and cried, speaking about sore ears and a tummy ache. “I might frow up,” he said shakily. We sat quietly with him and he calmed down slowly. We asked him if he thought he could eat some cereal, and he said he’d try.
We got the kids to the table and poured some cereal. I gave Dekker about a quarter of what he usually eats, and he finished it and wanted to be done. I wanted to try to coax him to eat a bit more, but in observing him, his hands were shaking and he was red in his eyes and cheeks. So I excused him from the table. He got down from the table, and a minute later, he started to cough. That scary, throaty cough with the gag at the end. I looked over at him, and he looked at me with nervous eyes. He and I rushed to the bathroom where we sat and waited for him to throw up, but he didn’t.
So. New plan. I gave Dekker a tub and sent him to the couch. I snuggled him up with the blanket that has sort of become the sickie blanket, his bucket, and his water bottle. I threw a Thomas the Train Christmas special on the tv. And there Dekker sat, unmoving, for a solid 2.5 hours. If you know my kids, you know they don’t just sit and watch tv. They play Lego, or links, or whatever else. But Dekker specifically has to be doing something while he watches tv. Not today, though. So we broke our afternoon plans, and spent the morning watching some Christmas tv and getting our tree up and lit.
The kids had toast and bananas for lunch, and Dekker perked up. He told us “My whole self feels good again!” Unfortunately, I felt awkward trying to go back on our afternoon plans again, potentially bringing our sick kid into another group of kids, so rather, we took our time getting ready, and headed into the city for a couple of errands before we met my parents for supper. We had also broken that plan, but were able to rebuild them when Dekker started to feel better.
We got a handful of things done, and had a really nice supper with my parents at Wendys. One location is so much nicer, but the tables can’t be moved, and thats a pain in the butt for a group of our size. So we went to the older location and had a really fun time. A family or two who sat nearby seemed very enamoured with our kids. I don’t blame them.
Now, we’re home, and our house is all bright and twinkly with Christmas lights 🙂 I’m lucky enough to have Brady home for the next couple of days, so hopefully we’ll get a few more of the bigger things done. I tried so hard to be on the ball this Christmas season and I really don’t feel like I am at all :/ Ah well, can’t do everything, right? What has been done is good, and what needs to still be done can be done. Wish me luck in buying the last of the gifts and decor, mailing out Christmas cards, and finishing up the tree!! Maybe I’ll even get some baking in.