A Sick Day

It's 12:45 on a Sunday. This is right about the time I'd start running around yelling at everyone to get ready for church. But not today. Today I'm lying on the couch, Devan is playing his new Wii game we got him for Father's Day, and the kids are playing in a box.

And yes, Hannah is still a binkie thief. I don't know how to deal with it.

This has been a weird week. The kids have had sick-like symptoms all week, but haven't really been acting sick and I've been acting sick all week, but haven't really had any symptoms (except having my body hurt when I'm out of bed, but I've just been blaming that on being fat) but today I'm admitting that symptoms or not, we're all sick.

Yesterday was a fun, busy day. We slept in until 8 then jumped up and headed down to Provo for all-you-can-eat French toast at Magleby's Fresh. Before we'd even eaten, Hannah had a poop issue that I think will forever be my worst poop changing experience. I laid her down on the bathroom counter to be changed and didn't realize until too late how liquid her poop was. It ran all over the counter covering her back all the way up to her hair. We dealt with it. I took off all her clothes and used half a box of diaper wipes scrubbing her from head to toe, wiping down the bathroom counter, floor and even garbage can. It was fun. Then she had to go finish her breakfast wearing only a diaper and pair of purple flip flops.

We drove home just in time to get to our ward service project, which was cleaning up the Jordan River Parkway by our  house. Devan wanted me to let him go home and take care of the kids, but I was selfish and didn't want to go alone so we packed them up in the stroller and headed out. It was a super fun activity and Hannah had a blast picking up garbage with her friends. Toward the end I started feeling sick too and had to run into the woods to throw up a couple of times.

After the service project I went to a shower for my friend Lindsey who is having a little boy at the end of July. Hannah and her daughter Noelle love each other.

I made this little taggy blanket for baby Michael. I'd never made one before, but I like the way it turned out. I think I'll do one for our new baby too.

After the party I finished up the last of my visiting teaching for the month. It was seriously the first time in about a year and a half I've personally visited all of the four women I'm assigned to visit. If you don't know what visiting teaching is, each willing woman in a ward is assigned a companion and then given other women to check up on at least once in the month. Ideally, we should go into their homes and give a short message and spend some time just chatting about whatever it is women like to chat about and offer help where help is needed, but even a note or a phone call is sufficient. Just so that they know that someone is thinking of them. Visiting teaching is one of my very favorite parts about the church. I know it might sound weird having friends "assigned" to you, but I know that I need that extra push. I've made some wonderful friends over the years with people I've visited or who were my companions or who came and visited me. Like I said before, I've been so bad about doing my visiting teaching. I don't know why, I've had the same women on my list for about a year and they are all so wonderful. They all go to church every week so there is no fear that they won't want me to come over or anything. And I'm so lucky to have great visiting teachers who come visit me every month and it's one of my favorite parts of my whole month. For some reason, it's just so hard for me to pick up a phone and call someone and ask them to let me come over. And then I'm always afraid that once I get there we won't have anything to talk about and it will be awkward. But it never is and I always feel so much happier after I've just faced my fears and done it. We women need each other so much. I need to take advantages of my opportunities to reach out beyond myself and make some meaningful connections.

After I was done visiting teaching, I picked up Devan and the kids and we went to visit my dear friend Dawn on her birthday. She shared her birthday cake with us and Devan and I got to talk to she and Kevin while the kids played. Their boy and girl are just about the same ages as our boy and girl so we all have a blast together, even though things can get a little crazy when we get our 4 strong-willed children together.

After the birthday festivities we dropped the kids off at Nana and Papa's and went on our Father's Day date. We went to 3 sporting good shops looking at camping stuff. By this point I was feeling so sick and tired but I tried to be as enthusiastic as I could. Sweet Devan took me to the mall and helped me pick out a new dress the day before Mother's Day so I was trying to be as patient and loving as he was. I don't think I succeeded. We went to Red Robin for dinner and it was amazing and then got our kids and headed home.

We got home and I gave him the Wii games I'd gotten him for Father's Day. I tried so hard to play with him, but I fell asleep while we were playing and he stayed up and took care of the kids until they went to bed. He's done that for me every night for the last week. I seriously don't deserve him.

I woke up in the middle of the night violently ill. Devan got up with me and got me water and a wet washcloth to wipe my mouth. This morning he took care of every thing and I slept until 10:00. He cleaned the toilet for me so I wouldn't have to look at my old throw up and he nailed a heavy blanket over the window in our room so I would have a completely dark room to sleep in. It was just so perfect.

Every weekend for the last month I've gotten so frustrated. I've been trying to get the house completely cleaned by Friday afternoon so that I can take the weekend off. By Sunday night it's trashed again and I get so angry that I can't ever take a day off from the drudgery and that I have to clean everything all by myself. Then the week before last he was home sick from work for 4 days and I got so bitter that he could take days off and lay on the couch and I never, ever got that luxury. Today I did. Devan stayed home from church so I wouldn't have to be home taking care of sick kids while I was sick and I've gotten to lay down all day. I feel so crappy, but it feels so nice to not have to take care of anyone else while I feel crappy. I'm going to try my hardest to drag myself up and make him his Father's Day dinner tonight so that the day isn't completely ruined for him.

Devan is so kind to us. I give him far more grief about some things than he deserves and on days like this when he steps up and gives me everything I need, I'm humbled by him. Happy Father's Day, my sweet husband.