Illness at the Holidays

 The holiday season: the time for getting together and junk food and potlucks. Lots of get togethers, lots of sugary treats and lots of potlucks. And germs. So so many germs. Our family does our our best to avoid and combat them: Limit treats, extra sleep, wash ends often, pump up on acidophilus.

This year something overcame our efforts and we awoke to a teen vomiting all over the bathroom and then
IN an under the bed box full of legos that hadnt been put away:(



Few days in bed and then our 5 and 3 year olds were up all night vomiting, one after the other.

We'd comfort and clean, change the bedding and towels and do a load of laundry and then the other would wake up. All night long.

Then my husband. Then my other son. Then we thought we were in the clear and then a few days later my daughter was up ALL night.
Someone asked me why large families get sick so often.

 Maybe some do but in OUR case it's not that we get sick often it's that we get sick one by one. Did you count how many days it took a 24 hour bug to go through our home? I don't want to. I still have a headache.

No matter how you look at it, you just don't want to be sick on Christmas. I wish there were a raincheck. Its not just the day. I obviously don't want to miss gatheirng with family and worshiping on Sunday morning. But there were also cookies to be made and delivered and cards to be delivered and we never did make a gingerbread house or hand stamp ornaments. It's not the same after the 26th.

We had this all happen a few years back. I was the first to get sick. I ended up not eating because there were no meals planned and nothing in the house. I eventaully ate the 12 dozen coookies that we had made for but couldn't deliver to our friends. I made a list of things to have on hand (or ask someone to go get) just in czase we get sick in the future:
-crackers
-apple juice
-organic chicken broth
-Oscillococcinum (great great stuff)
-Herbal teas Peppermint, Echanachea, or Chamomile
-GrabGreen Room and Fabric Freshener (I spray this stuff EVERYWHERE. It isn't a fragrant cover up it is made from essential oils and actually helps)

I also got vinyl tablecloths to have on hand so you can lay one on the floor and top with towels and make a bed. Much much better than stripping the entire bed when midnight calamity strikes. Right now is probably a good time to get some at after Christmas clearance prices.

Not that this will ever ever happen to us again. But can you think of anything else that we should prepare with? Have you ever had to cancel or postpone Christmas festivities?

Our family usually gathers without us. Or if they are sick they don't tell us and we spend the NEXT few weeks sick.

I think I may still take cookies to neighbors, They will just be late. Maybe I'll even buy premade Christmas cookie dough on clearance. Right now I need to focus on resting and nurturing these six in my nest. Then we celebrate.