The winter BLAHS and being rundown

*Warning, giant whiny post ahead, read at your own risk!*

So with the holidays being over and school/work back on the agenda, I guess it's only normal that my entire family should come down with a nasty winter cold. Aidan and Avery started whooping and coughing early last week and after a verrrrrrrry long and miserable day at the nearly empty RI Mall (waiting to renew my driver's license at the Registry "Express" - ha ha) last Friday, I came home feeling achy like I had run a marathon. I whimpered and crawled into bed with two heating pads and a couple of Tylenol PM hoping it was just the laps I had walked around the mall while I waited that were making my joints ache.

Saturday morning- head throbbing, eyes watery, body aching, can't breathe out of nose. Yuck, the cold has hit me! Hubby got up with the boys and let me sleep until noon. I took a shower, loaded up on assorted meds, put on my sweats and curled up on the couch. Around dinner time Ed tells me he is feeling achy. Uh oh... run to the pharmacy, go get some Zicam! Maybe if we both get on it now we can kick this cold in the butt before it gets any worse!

I don't know how we ever thought after a solid month of working round the clock, entertaining, baking, shopping, running errands, cleaning and house hunting (oh yea, did I mention we're trying to buy a house?) we would manage to escape the kids' cold when they spend at least some portion of every night in our bed coughing all over our pillows when they wake up unable to sleep due to various yucky maladies.

Sunday comes- Ed and I have synched our Zicam and Sudafed schedules with each other and pack up an afternoon's worth in our pockets as we head out to tour seven houses with my mom the realtor and the various selling agents. We toured seven uninhabited and thus FREEZING COLD houses in a 4 hour time span with nothing but coffee and cold meds in our systems. Yet another brilliant move on our parts. The last agent we meet tells us she has been feeling dizzy and nauseous. Oh great, thanks for just shaking my hand, lady!

Back at home we greet Ed's mom and dad (thank you for coming over to sit with the kids and risking your own health so we could go out today!), shoe them out of the house as fast as we can and bundle everyone into jammies at around 5pm. Austin (who until this point has remained unscathed) says his head hurts, can he take a hot bath... okay so now we're all officially under the weather.

Monday rolls around and everyone seems to be sniffly but stable, so off to school and work, I even manage to do a little eBaying and get some shipping done. 3:45, I get a call while I'm at the post office- "Mom, it's Aus... Aidan puked all over the school bus, should I put him into the bath?" UGH! I head home and call Ed- he's already on his way home from work, "I made a mistake coming in today, I am soooooo sick!" Will this damn cold never end? Will the Zicam not do it's job?!

Tuesday- Mom declares a family sick day and everyone stays home. We load up on soup, hot baths and snuggle time on the couch. Early to bed, lots of fluids and rest, we're gonna kick this thing! (Or so I think until the killer migraine shows up at around 11:30pm) I can't move a millimeter without feeling like my brain will burst out from behind my right eye, I can't see, every sound is like a razor blade on my ear drums, AAAAACK, this sucks!

Wednesday- Aidan is up with the roosters, a good sign he's feeling better. Avery is up within minutes of Aidan, another good sign. Austin is up but has an hour delay due to an ice storm, so he gets to lounge and watch a little TV before heading out to school. I brew a pot of coffee and Ed is feeling well enough for work. My headache is gone, congestion is minimal, and my body is not so sore. Ed emails me from work, he's still sniffly but all in all feeling pretty decent. Avery's cough is all but non existant, just waiting to see what the school buses bring home this afternoon before I can give a full report but it seems that we are on the mend!

Winter colds are the worst, but when both parents get it at the same time as all the kids, it's so tough not to be a miserable whiny complainer pants! I really hope we are at the tail end of this so life can get back to normal, I'm beginning to feel like a bit of a loser, my Christmas tree is still up and fully decorated, I've had no energy to start taking it down!

Okay I guess that is enough of a rant for now, time to start a to do list for the rest of the week! Stay well, wash your hands often and get lots of rest! :)