Weekly Happenings: Illness and Manic Homekeeping

It had to be the caffeine.

This week of damp and now chilly weather is perfect for tea-drinking (frankly, the weather matters not in this household -- we drink tea all the time), and I brewed pots and pots of Yorkshire tea for myself. I needed the extra oomph of caffeine to handle the extra work of sick children.

We hardly touched our scheduled schoolwork. We managed a couple of readings one a couple of days, and Tiny Girl completed two math assignments. That's all anyone felt up to doing, except for naps on the couch and watching movies.

But there I was, all caffeinated up. I had to do something. So I did.

A good friend of mine recently let me borrow, for as long as I want, her KitchenAid mixer. I know! It's like when the Victoria and Albert museum permanently loaned the Marian hanging to Oxburgh House! I'd mentioned during dinner conversation that I'd like to have one, but even on sale they are pricey. She said she never uses hers; but since it was a gift from her beloved husband she can't sell it to me or even actually give it to me; but it now resides at my house for as long as I desire. Ah, how I've benefitted from her largesse.

This week, I've burned some electricity with this baby. I've made forgotten cookies, pumpkin muffins, chocolate chip cookies, and tried my hand at Our Daily Bread in a Crock. (More on the latter later.)

I was on fire. I made homemade yogurt in my crock pot. I started using homemade dryer sheets: I cut squares of fabric from worn-in and worn-out jeans and left them to soak in a small bucket of water-diluted fabric softener. To use, I wring one or two out and toss in the dryer with a load of clothes to dry. I cleaned the kitchen with a baking soda/hydrogen peroxide mixture. I mopped the kitchen floor. I made soup. I baked maple corn muffins.

But it's not all about me. Between doctor visits and when the girls felt able, they entertained themselves with a few easy projects. They worked on friendship bracelets. They played Wheel of Fortune on the Wii. Tiny Girl constructed this foam manor she received for Christmas. Note the penguins on the ski lift.

They also drank a lot of tea. Tiny Girl switched between peppermint sweetened with honey and (decaf) chai with sweet cream. Miss Priss stuck with decaf chai (sugar only).

The doctor's visit today yielded good news. Miss Priss has really improved, AND we can discontinue the oral steroid -- which resulted in behavior somewhat akin to Linda Blair in The Exorcist (a movie I ill-advisedly watched when I was sixteen. What a dumb idea.). She's still on the antibiotic, of course, and breathing treatments will continue for the next few days. Tiny Girl shows no signs of pneumonia, so her ailment is just of the virus type. She's now on the oral steroid (fingers crossed for her reaction to be better!) and will continue breathing treatments all next week. But after one day of steroid use, her cough is already MUCH improved. We are very thankful.

I'm linking up with Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, so pop over for some fun blog-reading!