Life....

"You no take picture of me Mummy..."

It started with a runny nose that I attributed to the 2 molars and 2 incisors breaking through Jordan's little gums. Then on the way home from the sitter's home Jude threw up... Jude's nose started to run... Jordan started to cough... Jude started to cough... Jordan had a fever... Abby threw up in the middle of the night (she's on the top bunk and only narrowly missed hitting her brother who did not wake up even after I had to stand on his bunk to change Abby's) ... Abby's nose started to run...

Children waking... at all hours of the night for all reasons... sore noses, sore gums, sore throats, sore tummies...

Although Jon and I are fighting it off (somewhat), we're overtired from getting up repeatedly through the night... which likely means that it's a matter of time before we get sick.

Jude's even been asking to go to bed, which is VERY unusual. Every time he coughs, he tears up and says, "I no feeling very good". The day I took this picture Jude wanted to go to bed even before Jon got home from work.

This weekend we tried to get the kids out of the house to get some fresh air in their lungs. We went sliding with some friends on Saturday. Jordan cried... Jude didn't even want to go up the hill. Jon took the boys to get hot chocolate and donuts while I slid with Abby & our friends.

Today was "Family Day", a holiday here in Ontario. We thought that the Voyageur Winter Carnival at Fort William Historical Park would be a fun way to spend part of the day. It did not go as well as we'd planned. We fed the kids "lunch" at 10:30, packed up snacks, drinks and diapers, dressed everyone in winter garb, and headed out (stopping only for a caffeine fix). Jude and Jordan both fell asleep on the way out to the park. They woke shortly after we arrived and seemed to be happy enough. Jude decided that he didn't want to walk... at least not more than a slow shuffle. Jordan who is generally quite content in the backpack started crying (loudly) for no apparent reason (believe me... we tried to figure out why he was so upset). Abby and I continued to wait for the sleigh to return to take us and a whack of other people to the fort and Jon took the boys to the van. I thought of several other alternatives as we watched Jon and the boys trek back to the parking lot, but it's really difficult to have a conversation or THINK, in public, with a screaming toddler and a preschooler that wants to be held/carried. I was sad that Jon and the boys missed out on most of the winter carnival, but Abby did great even though her nose was runny and sore.

The highlight for us was watching a Native woman make bannock over an open fire in a tee pee as they would have in 1815 at the fort. Abby enjoyed trying the bread (I gave Abby my piece... it was fried in pork fat... which as a vegetarian I generally try to avoid!)

Abby tried walking in snow shoes. They were similar to ones that we had when I was growing up. Watching Abby took me back to my childhood... walking through the woods behind the barn and through the fields around the homestead.