infected

Well, it was only a matter of time.

Phil came down with a nasty cold last weekend (for which he is now on an antibiotic and had to go to the hospital for a neupogen shot last night. Good times.) and now all three kids have succumbed to the snot and hacking cough. I'm the only one still holding my own but me thinks it won't be long since Ocean hands me a used tissue every 53 seconds and Ruby keeps sneezing directly in my mouth. There isn't enough Purell in the world, people.

I'm hyper-sensitive to bringing contagious kids out in public places given our own susceptibility to infection, which means I generally don't go anywhere with them when they're drippy and hacking, so we're pretty much house-bound which makes the world feel like it's stopped for a few days.

We did get outside for some playtime after that crazy snow happened since I had to dig us out of a foot or so over the last couple of days-- and also spent a fair amount of time digging out unwitting motorists who attempted to drive down our treacherous street. (Stay off Fifth Street after a snowfall, Ann Arbor! Try Seventh or Main if you must head downtown.) I brought the two big kids outside with me to play in the yard while I shoveled which allowed Ruby and Phil to sleep while we got a little fresh air, but it's generally way too cold and snowy to have sick kids outside for too long, even with the scores of layers I impose on them. Plus frozen snot is just sick.

I'm kind of running out of ideas to keep these kids occupied. We've baked, crafted, sewed, planted, bathed, cleaned and danced. Any other suggestions?