Triage 101...

It's a rare occasion that we all get sick all at once. Usually, it's a one at a time thing where by the time one is feeling better, the next one or two gets it. I've learned quite a bit from this past month, along with other illnesses in the past, that I thought I'd share a few pointers when your home becomes a hospital sickward.

1. Don't procrastinate. If someone throws up all over the bed , put the sick one in the tub and throw the bedding into the washer immediately while the sick one soaks. The name of the game is keeping up.

2. Bowls, namely tupperware bowls make great sick catchers. The smaller the child, the bigger the bowl.

3. Keep everyone and everything together. It's far easier to assist everyone if they are all in the same room. Also, if they need nebulizers or humidifiers, you won't need more than one. It's also good to have all things needed in the same room, except meds. I keep those all together in a cabinet in the kitchen. Tissues, trashcan, nose sprays, drinks, crackers, etc... can all be left in the room so that you can get to them in a hurry.

4. For keeping up with all the medicines, I like those refridgerator magnet Magnet Weekly Calendars. You can find them at Walgreens. When one child gets meds, I record it under the correct day with their initials, the meds initials, and the time given.

5. Invest in an snow cone maker. (Ice shaver or whatever you call it) For those truly too sick to keep anything down or with sore throats, it's a life saver. I bought mine at Target for about $20 and I only allow someone to have some if they are sick, so it's a treat.

6. If one needs to go to the Dr's, take them all. It'll save you some time. Also, you can ask the Dr for one medicine that can be given at different dosages for each of your children. That will save you money. Right now, I have two on Mucinex and two on Xopenex.

7. Buy something that will entertain everyone. We've found Amazon to have really fast shipping if you have Prime, so we usually buy a video set. Something with at least 3 DVD's to keep them all mesmerized.lol

8. Once someone starts getting better, move them from the triage area into a well area. Clean all bedding/blankets and make sure to clean any cups, bowls, and toothbrushes from that child. This is why I usually buy more than one DVD. I can divide them up and the well kid doesn't feel like he/she is missing out.

9. For keeping the mess under control, I've found double folding a comforter for under the sick child to keep the sheets from getting messed. If they get sick, I just replace the comforter and wash the yucky one immediately.

Well, those are some things that have helped me this past month of illness. If you have any tips, feel free to share them.

Blessings,

Plan B...

Today is the warmest day we've had in weeks. It was supposed to be a day at the park, but some of the kids aren't well enough for that. So instead, I took Jon to Wally World and we picked up some fun outdoor stuff that we could enjoy in our own backyard.

Cute, unrelated photo...


We got 8 bags of playsand, way not enough to fill our box but it was all the cart could hold.


Some new sandtoys...


and I also picked up a few puzzles for the sick one who couldn't come out to play, some playdough, and a cheap bowling set that has been the bane of my existence since I brought it home. No photos of those though, just of the glorious outside...

And all the fun the somewhat well kids had...

This one is acting as though he may be thinking about coming down with yet another illness but no fever so I allowed him outdoors even though he had five hundred temper tantrums...



So, not the day I envisioned, but still a good day in a sea of yucky ones. I'll relish this day and now that it's on my blog, I'll even be able to remember it in a week.lol

Blessings,

Where am I?

Busy, that's where.LOL

I can't believe that the new baby will be here in 6 weeks or so. I have to admit that I've been nesting, cleaning, and preparing for this one way more than any of the others. I guess the more kids you have, the more organized you have to be. :) The baby and I are doing well. I'm gaining nice and steady, even on my very limited diet and now that I'm AMA (advanced maternal aged) the Dr has been treating me to weekly ultrasounds. I think I've decided on the name, but won't be announcing it until he arrives, you know, in case he turns out to be a she. :)

On the home front, I've been slowly getting the clutter under control. It's hard to go against the grain in this house, so it's more of a two steps forward, one step back kind of thing but I am making progress, so I'm happy. LOL My dh put a new shelving unit in my garage this weekend and I put all my extra kitchen appliances on it. It has made the kitchen look a lot less cluttered. I'm going to use some old queen sized sheets for covers over the shelves so that the appliances won't get dusty out there. I'll resize them and serge the edges so that they'll hold up. We got rid of our old queen sized bed, so these sheets were destined for Goodwill anyway, so it's nice to be able to repurpose them.

I also paid the older kids to organize and "bin" all the toys in the garage this past weekend. My dh also bought another shelf so that we can get them all put away before we get to warmer weather. Living in the south, we get SPIDERS in the summer and I don't want the toys to hold that kind of surprise for the littles. LOL I'd say that they are about 90% complete and will finish the rest this weekend.

On the Church front, we think we've finally found a church home. What a blessing this new church is! They've really taken us under their wing and we really feel a part of this new family. Not only do they have Sunday school and service, but they also have a wonderful small group that meets twice a month. It's so nice to talk and pray with these wonderful people throughout the week. I am so thankful that God has blessed us in this way.

On the school front, we're plowing along. lol Allison is taking three classes on Tues and Thurs at the college and is also taking two classes at home. She's also working as much as possible. So far, she's doing really good and we're proud of her hard work.

Jon just began his second semester last week. He's taking Notgrass World History(with bible and literature), Teaching the Classics, and Latin. He's really liking the Latin so far and I'm watching TTC with Jon and we're both learning so much from it. I can't wait to use it in Evie's reading also. Oh, and just to be honest, Jon is still working on some of his subjects from last semester too. He got behind due to illness, some areas of difficulty, and just cause. :)

Evie is coming along in her studies. Her reading level has really grown over this year. She's mostly fond of her Art program, Learning Language Arts Through Literature, and her nightly reading with Daddy. She's NOT fond of Math U See or Handwriting (although she's really getting good at writing) I'm considering dropping the formal program and going with Living Math for a while. It would appeal to her literature-bent personality and give her a break from just learning the facts.

Isaac and Sophia are not doing formal school yet. We do projects and some workbook type sheets but mostly just follow their interests. Sophia LOVES painting. Isaac LOVES pen/ink. They both show a love of glue and scissors and the occasional use of markers or crayons. Mostly though, they love building with blocks and making various different kinds of homes for their animals and cars.

Isaac really seems to have a gift for math and really tickled his Daddy's heart by showing some promise in strategy. He's already envisioning a chess partner. LOL We bought some new games over Christmas/Advent and one of them was Gobblet Gobblers. Well, after playing it once by the rules, Isaac made his own game up that looked very much like Chess. Of course, he won each time, but Eric was happy to see this blooming interest in strategy at such an early age.

I'd be remiss to not mention the weather. I'm really tired of it. We spent the whole summer trapped indoors and now we've spent most of the winter trapped indoors. Not sure that I can stand it much longer. And due to the yo-yo nasty cold, wet weather we've been sick for the past three weeks. The poor little ones haven't left the house in so long that I'm not sure they'll remember what to do once they can again.lol It has made me much more aware of the "warmer" days though. I watch the weather like a hawk for a semi-warm up and then load them all into the car and get them to a park whenever I can. I'm on the lookout right now for a day like that sometime in the future, these kids could really use a nice day out in some sunshine.

On the whole College front, no news. She's now considering another major that has made most of my work, worthless. No biggie, though. It's her life and I want her to be happy with whatever she decides. Unless she gets a full scholarship, she'll probably stay here and go next door. This will allow her to accept a job promotion and work through her first two years of college. It would also allow her to matriculate into her favorite college, University of Florida without all those silly homeschool rules. (Our college has an agreement with them that would allow her to go there once she has her AA.) We'll see though. We have a few more months before she'll need to decide.

In sewing/crochet news, I'll be helping Allison sew a period costume over the next few weeks. The local homeschool group is having a Contra dance instead of a prom for the area teens and she's been invited to attend. It looks like a really fun idea and each month they've been having practices so that they'll all know how to dance. I'm also crocheting my very first baby blanket. It's pretty hard (to me) but I take it each week to my Dr's appt and work on it there. I also work on it a little each night before bed. My hope is that it'll be done before the baby arrives but if not, that's o.k. too. Really, it's just something for me to do during these REALLY long dr appts. I sure wish they valued my time, but having something to focus on makes time go by pretty quickly.

Well, now that I've written a novel, you are all caught up. :) Hopefully, once the littles are no longer sporting runny noses, I'll even post some photos. I'll definitely post a photo of the new little one, once he makes his appearance.

Blessings,