The Road to Healthy Living

The good news is that Sophie is finally on the mend. She still has a cough and a stuffy nose, but they're much better than they were. Phoebe also appears to be improving. She came home early on Wednesday because her sinuses were so angry and active, but today she was much less drippy. I'm exhausted and dragging with a dry cough, but I seem to have had the lightest case so far. Cooper only has a cough left. Bryan is dragging and may be getting sick, but has still been able to function. Peter is so busy I'm assuming he's not home enough to catch anything.

Unfortunately Topher missed school on Monday because of a fever. He came home early today because of a headache and a stomachache. I'm not even sure if he has the same thing the rest of us got or if a new strain of something has been introduced into the household.

That said, I'm cautiously optimistic that we may be heading toward better health.

Mr. Clean

"Mom! I'm mopping the ceiling! Take a picture and put it on the blog!"

The Essentials

Cooper is taking photography this semester and has already learned some fun things. Among the not-so-fun things I learned today: he needed to have taken 50 pictures on black and white film by tomorrow. Did we have black and white film for his camera? No, no we did not. Did his camera have a working battery? Also no.

Something else I learned: the nearest photography supply store store is about 30 minutes from my house and had everything we were missing. Now he just needs to take the pictures.

Down For the Count

You know how last week I wrote that everyone was sick?

I wasn't.

And now I am.

I guess it's good that they're all at least well enough to function now, because I certainly am not.

Maybe they'll all come take care of me while I'm sick...

Almost as Majestic as a Turkey

On Thursday after school Phoebe showed me what they worked on in Art Club that day. We live in a tiny school district. The three elementary schools each have their own mascot. However, the only intermediate school (grades 5-6), middle school (grades 7-8), and high school (grades 9-12) all share the same mascot: the blue eagle. It's really a bald eagle, but I guess they wanted to incorporate the shared school color into the name. Thus bald eagles are kind of a big deal here. I actually saw one flying over my car on Monday, so they're even native to the area.

I think Phoebe's pencil sketch of an eagle is stunning.

The Days of the Week

On Monday we had no school for the holiday.

On Tuesday everyone went to school.

On Wednesday Sophie stayed home from school because her throat hurt and she had a cough.

On Wednesday Cooper came home from school and fell asleep on the couch because he was running a fever.

On Wednesday afternoon Sophie was feeling well enough to chase Topher through the house and was told she would be attending school the next day.

On Thursday Cooper stayed home from school.

On Thursday Phoebe called home and asked to be picked up early from her rehearsal because her head hurt so much and she was coughing. She came home and slept until dinner, then fell asleep on the couch soon after dinner was over.

On Thursday Sophie had a doctor's appointment and tested negative for strep throat, COVID, and the flu. But she was diagnosed with acute bronchitis and the beginning of an ear infection and prescribed antibiotics.

On Friday Phoebe and Sophie will both be staying home from school. I have no idea what everyone else will be doing.

How's your week going?

Just Dance

Our ward had a family dance last Saturday night. Peter and Bryan both had to work, but the rest of us went and danced more than just about everyone else. On the way home I asked the kids these questions:

Me: Did I dance too much?

Cooper/Phoebe/Sophie: No.

Topher: Yes.

Me: Did I dance more than any other grownup?

All four kids: Yes.

I think it was clear which families have dance parties at home and which families do not.

Cooper did a lot of dancing, including this double-decker version. This is two priests versus two teachers. I'm not sure whose idea this was, but they all had fun. 

In My Own Little Corner

Last Friday evening was the elementary school talent school. Sophie was determined to participate. She signed herself up and picked her song. She was nervous when the performance arrived, but I think she pulled it off beautifully. As one of our neighbors texted me after the performance, "Sophie wins variety show." 

She really did.

Foxy

Sophie noticed that we had a visitor napping in our backyard today. We could kind of see him from the kitchen, but had a better view from upstairs. This little fox slept happily in our yard at least until the sun went down. We couldn't see him anymore after that, so who knows how long he stayed.

You've Got a Little Something On Your Face

Topher enjoyed the leftovers from Sophie's birthday party, especially the sprinkles.