Snow, Sickness, and Selfies

 

This week we got what will hopefully be our last snow storm of the season.  It was delightful, actually, because it wasn't too cold and it was great packing snow.  Peter was dying to get out in it and make a snowman.  This time he actually rolled and put on the head himself!  Then he promptly knocked it off and kicked the snowman to bits.  Boys.

 He also wanted to pour water all over to melt the snow and throw snowballs at me.  Really all the best fun of snow, minus sledding.  I really wish we lived by our sledding hill, but it was too far away to be worth the drive for so little snow.

He also wanted to take a walk to a nearby bridge to play "Billy Goats Gruff."  It's his favorite thing to do lately.  We take turns being the billy goats or being the troll and acting out the story.  There's nothing cuter than little Peter stomping over the bridge saying "Trip trap trip trap" like goats' hooves and then his little "No wait, I have another brother coming!  He's much bigger and tastier than I am!" When I, as the troll, allow him safe passage, he always says, "Thank you!" So adorable.

Anyway, on the way to the bridge, we found a drainage ditch with melting snow and flowing water which was absolutely fascinating.  He examined those pipes and studied the system for a long, long time on the way to, and on the way home from, the bridge.

This week was opening week of Greenfield Village, Henry Ford's historical village and my favorite place to spend the day.  When the snow melted, we ventured on over.  Peter was thrilled to ride the train again.  He's been talking about "when the village opens, we go ride the big black train" for months.  It was the first thing we had to do.

Then, of course, the carousel, to ride the frog and the rooster,

 

and the playground to drive the model T,

and the pottery shop to watch them make cookie jars

and, for me, the glassblower shop.  That's glass they're pulling like taffy!  They just kept stretching it longer and longer and longer.  You can see the previous sticks they've made lying on the floor in the right corner of the picture.  They lay all those rods next to each other, with other colored sticks of glass which they've twisted into fancy patterns and then melt them all together and then with a bunch of other steps, they make things like these beautiful bowls and Christmas ornaments.  Peter wasn't willing to stay for the whole thing, but these guys are wizards.  I love watching them.

Then the next day, life sort of fell apart.  My day was supposed to be so full that I couldn't fit all the obligations into the day's space on my calendar, but then the vomiting began.  First it was Peter.  He threw up over and over all night long, each time arriving at the side of my bed saying, "I vomit."  Bedding change after bedding change, all night long.  Funny thing was, I already had a doctor's appointment for him the next morning to figure out why his coughing won't stop.  So I prayed he wouldn't throw up in the doctor's office, but he never vomited again after that night. 

However, then Christian came home from school complaining of nausea and he began vomiting.  Then I got a text from Bella who was at an after school activity, "Can you come get me? I just threw up."  Pretty soon I had sickies everywhere.  Benjamin seemed to have escaped it since he'd been at a track meet all day (5th fastest high school hurdler in the city! yay!) but this morning he woke up and said he wasn't feeling well.  Then I heard, "Mom! Can you bring me a bucket?" followed by loud vomiting. 

Poor little Peter didn't know what to make of all his older siblings laying around with buckets and pained expressions.  Of course, no one wanted to sleep in their own beds.  Everyone wanted to spread their germs all over the couches and recliners.  Teenagers.  

Peter was so sweet.  He wanted so badly to help everyone and so he offered to bring waters and clean buckets, etc.  I tried to encourage service while discourage him getting in too much contact with infected items.  He happily sat and read his books out loud to everyone.  They were good sports and thanked him kindly, even though Christian was so miserably sick that his repeated request for me was, "Can you get the gun and shoot me so this can end?" 

Peter also had to play and entertain himself a lot while I spent countless hours washing laundry, water cups, buckets, and kitchen and bathroom surfaces.  Thus, I found about 50 pictures like these on my phone.  (I didn't even know he'd taken my phone!)

The weather was so gorgeous today but no one felt up to going anywhere, so I decided to clean the van.  Peter helped me wash the floor mats.  That was so cute to watch.  He washed himself more than the mat and audibly gasped as the cold water doused him, but he loved it.

I really hope everyone feels better by tomorrow.  Everyone went to bed having not vomited in several hours, but everyone still felt nauseas, achy, and exhausted.  I just pray that Kelly and I don't get whatever this mess is.