The Making of a Sick Day

Secretly I've been patting myself on the back for the last 3 years.  My girls have been super healthy.  Very few fevers, colds, or flus.  Clearly it's some amazing thing I'm doing.  How clean I keep my house (oh please), how healthy we eat (um, if butter's healthy, sure!) how active we are (1 hour walks around the block count right?).  Alas, it's caught up to us.  BIG time.

Over the course of this winter we've each had the stomach flu TWICE, fevers and colds galore, and WAY too many sick days as a result.  Cue tiniest violin squeaking ever.

It stinks.  We miss out on activities while sick (oh musikgarten :o(, parties (we so missed you today Adam and friends!), the outdoors! sun! CIVILIZATION!  I never mind our close quarters in this house, until a sick streak finds us scratching up the walls.  Oh goodness.

The flip side?  We've gotten pretty good at this sick day business.

Oh Louise and I.  We get things done.  Fully in the I'm the biggest helper stage of life we take full advantage.  We spent ALL of yesterday morning organizing toys and books, switching out worn favorites for old favorites, all the while testing out each and every discovery.  Oooh how we like a good clean out us 2.

we stumbled upon HISS, her new favorite game

you know you're a parent when...

one of your beautiful built ins is dedicated entirely to childrens books and toys

 ooh! and when the sunroom in your 1300 square foot house becomes a playroom

Then this morning we did it again!  While Ainsley watched Robin Hood (because it's daddy's favorite mommy!) and Louise happily drew (more on that later), I finally organized our downstairs storage room.

ok, maybe not so impressive, but you should have SEEN the before

um, maybe I'll get to that fabric pile later...

And of course there's LOTS of this...

try 5 episodes in 3 days.  

My girls are absolutely enthralled.  "Founders Day", the episode with the town festival and lots of friendly competition is their new favorite.  It's so good, I'm only sick of it as of 8am this morning.

Of course there's lots of baking.  It fills the house with good smells, occupies my well abled child and keeps me close to my down and out one.  I actually really like the excuse to be inside and bake all day.

cutting in the crust for my grandma's legendary lemon bars, on the floor, naturally, so as to be as close as possible to my sick girl

french bread loaves, cooling in the spring breeze

I'm totally jealous of the vitamin D this bread is getting

Gram's Lemon Squares, they even converted Ian, the no lemon dessert guy

Then of course there's all that snuggle time.  So good for a little of this...

 I did it.  

I pulled out the whoops-I-made-this-child-sized edging and am charging ahead.  

Can't WAIT to wrap this around my shoulders soon.

And those long naps?  they're pretty good for this...

sicky naps and loads and loads of pre-weekend laundry (diapers too!)

and if those naps are extra long?  maybe even a little bit of this...

I finally cut out that beautiful birthday money bought fabric 

and am one good sewing surge away from a new spring blouse.

And of course because life is never perfect and productive and without total setbacks there's this...

pink. permanent. marker.  all over our basement carpet.  

I knew that little rascal was too quiet for her own good.

Oh Ainsley girl.  We all hope you feel better soon.  But it's good to know we can all survive, thrive, even have a little fun on these long sick indoor days.