Spring Break OR Break Down?

It's official, Spring Break started on Friday the 13th! That should have been my first sign, don't you think? Oh, let me back up a little bit and tell you what has been going on in our household since last Tuesday. Grab a cup of tea :-)
It's 2:00 a.m., Tuesday morning and Luke wakes up with a 102.7 fever and a cough...Why, oh why do these things always happen in the middle of the night? Why not at 2 in the afternoon? Ranting done...thanks. He's really not feeling well and convinces me that sleeping the guest room together is really the way to go...All I can think is...SLEEP. So, how well do you think I slept? Ha.Ha. Wake up Tuesday morning (did I ever go to sleep?) to the first snow on the ground in a long, long time. Bruce has a 9 a.m. meeting which means I need to take Nathan to school with a very sick Luke. NO GO! We all stay home and take morning naps. Take NOTE: Luke has only 4 days of school (yes, they scheduled a Teacher Work Day on the Friday before a week long Spring Break..ugh) and Nathan has only 4 days of school also. So, now we are down to 3 each.
Wednesday, there is no way Luke can go to school, still coughing too much. Nathan goes to school. Yea! Nathan comes home and is not looking good, the eyes are beginning to glaze.
Thursday, I MAKE (Yea, make, that's what I said...Luke's teacher couldn't believe I did either) Luke and Nathan both go to school. There is no way that Luke can only go to school for 1 day...no, let me speak the truth. There is no way that I can be home with Luke and Nathan for almost 2 whole weeks. I need a break, so I send them to school. Nathan comes home from school with a definite cold. Starting to feel guilty... Luke comes home from school, gives me a dirty look, goes straight to bed and sleeps for over two hours. Guilt is settling in fast.
Friday, another very wise choice on my part as "Mom." Keep Nathan home from school, that was good. But refuse to cancel our piano lessons for the afternoon because it is way too difficult to reschedule all of us which means 6 piano lessons next week. So, I am thinking a strawberry/blueberry smoothie will go a long way to all of us feeling better. Of course, my smoothie is just a reward for being so thoughtful :-) Off to the Piano Institute. The boys both finish their lessons at 4:30, Luke is looking good, Nathan not so much. Bruce is on his way to pick the boys up...should be here any minute, so I head into my lesson leaving the boys in the front lobby waiting for Dad. Minutes into my lesson there is a loud bang on the door, Nathan's teacher looks in and practically yells at me "Nathan just got sick!" I look at her in disbelief..."You mean throwing up?" "Yes!" Remember what kind of smoothie I fed him only a little while ago? Yep, all over the lobby and twice in the hallway on the way back to where my lesson is being taught. Now let me tell you, when Nathan first got sick, he was only 2 small steps from the outside door with a big parking lot right there...does he walk that way? No, he must see Mom and walk all the way through the place and continue to throw up. Now, this is my VERY FIRST PUBLIC throw up and I am not sure what to do? As I settle Nathan in the one and only bathroom so I can go out and help the Director and two of the piano teachers clean the carpeted floor (without getting sick myself) I see all the families quickly exiting the lobby to their cars so they too don't throw up. With this, I really think I have definitely locked in the BEST MOM Of THE WEEK AWARD, don't you?
Saturday: I am so very happy, I get to go to the grocery store by myself and really shop for the first time in a week. You betcha, I stop at Starbucks inside of King Soopers, get a iced coffee frapachino, and shop the aisles of our grocery story like I am shopping at Nordstroms. Leisurely looking, picking up boxes of rice I've never looked at before, sipping on my frap, and smiling at all the other harried Moms as they walk by with their whining children. Oh, I am in heaven. Standing in the checkout lane, my phone rings, its Bruce: "Luke is crying really hard because his ear is hurting him, you gotta call the Drs. office and get him some medicine." Hey, this is good, I'm already here where I get our meds. Call the Dcts. answering service, while our groceries are being scanned (Oh my gosh, how can it be more than $160...I haven't really bought anything?) Leave a message for the Doctor on call to call me and tell them the reason. Checker and Bagger then decide they will tell me all about their childhood earaches and how much their ears still hurt when they travel. Where's my frap...oh, darn it is already gone. Beth, we're not in Nordstroms any longer. Go out to the car, wait for our Doctor to call. Thankfully, it is my friend from across the street, we chitchat about how we really need to get together and stop "meeting" this way, then she prescribes meds. Go back to the pharmacy, know the technician, Kelly, really well (not a good sign) and she pushes the prescription request up to the front of the line. I get all caught up with her family, how's school going, and how much sleep she will get on Spring Break. Sounds lovely...O.K. prescription in hand, off the car. Thoughtful Wife and Mom that I am, I call home to tell them I am coming to the rescue...Yea Beth! Bruce answers, not so happy, Luke has shot Nathan with the Nerf Gun at point blank range right into the eye. We may need to go to the Urgent Care...hurry home Honey!! Drive home as fast as I can (although I tell you the highway north to Wyoming was looking pretty good at this point), got home, Nerf Guns in the trash can (apologies to the Gaskins and Hallmark families for their Christmas gifts landing there), take a look at Nathan's eye, assess he is O.K. (dodged another bullet, pun not intended) and move on. Get Luke his medicine, he sleeps for another two hours, and Bruce and Nathan actually go to evening church service. I slide into my favorite chair in the Reading Room like a coffeed up worn out rag doll. I can't move...catatonic. Oh, tomorrow just has to be a better day!!
Today: Luke and Nathan are still coughing, but both are in good spirits and actually have some color to their cheeks. I make a pot of coffee...maybe I should stop drinking coffee. Again, sit in my favorite chair in the Reading Room, reading my Bible, feeling pretty hopeful that we are going to have a normal day. Yea...Bruce is up, Nathan runs upstairs to see him, and then comes and runs downstairs to tell me "Daddy has the flu!" (Long pause intended) O.K., so Bruce does not have the flu, but he has one heck of a good, or is it bad, cold and it has only continued to get worse since he got up this morning. His nose is as read as Rudolph's, his eyes are glazed over and he is sneezing and coughing and wheezing and losing his voice. Where is he right now at 10:35 p.m...working! He has a huge report due this week for his second CSU job...finished two big projects in his first job at CSU on Thursday evening of last week.
So, here we are and it's Spring Break! I hope you are all well and having fun on a sun filled beach or skiing in the powdered mountains. No, No, don't feel bad! I really enjoy emptying out three trashcans strategically placed throughout the house FULL of used tissues and wearing ear plugs because I think all the constant coughing is going to make me go nuts. I'm making nice snacks and meals for my loved ones for them to only eat a bite or two and say they are full or it doesn't taste good...no use arguing with a 5 year old that cold's can make things taste bad because I am using all of my restraint not to pour the 2nd half eaten bowl of cereal for the day over his head :-). No, No, don't feel bad...I love what I do and I feel so much better sharing all of it with you, every single detail. I am sure you can all understand why photos are not included in this post, I think it might have been too much, don't you? Thanks! Happy Spring Break or is it Break Down? I'll keep you posted ;-O! I am off to bed, humming the song "Tomorrow" from the play Annie...Good Night! Much love!