Christmas Preparations and Poor Parenting

I am quite sure that I made some serious promises (to myself) that I was going to be super blogging lady through December; I was going to host giveaways, sing carols, and generally ooze holiday spirit.

Honestly, I have no idea what I was thinking.  December is the busiest time of year for a gal who loves Christmas so much! I have had cookies to bake, presents to wrap, presents to buy, then more presents to wrap, buy, and repeat.  I have only updated the movie lists once (although I did FINALLY add an Amazon Prime Christmas movie page, and a page with just movies that I like - so that's something, right?). 

I've definitely done some baking (although the big day is looming and I have a LOT more to do), but my tree didn't even get decorated until the second week of December (VERY unlike me - I'm a Sunday after Thanksgiving buyer and decorator), it actually stood in the living room naked for almost a week before we put the lights and decorations on!  

You might be thinking I've lost my Christmas spirit - that after 33 amazing December 25ths, I'm worn out.  Maybe you are under the impression that I went all loopy, bought into the whole world ending on 12/21/12 dealio, and believed Christmas wouldn't come.  Perhaps you've been worried that I, like many fantastic soap opera characters, have amnesia, and speak with an accent.  

None of these scenarios is remotely correct. The mundane reason I've been so lacking in the publishing department is due to an invisible, and evil, force: INFLUENZA.

Thankfully, my immune system is like an armored car with the instincts of a great white shark, and other than a brief paranoia-induced headache, I've been perfectly fine.  My poor girl, on the other hand, has been MISERABLE.  Two weeks ago, on Saturday, she wasn't feeling well.  By Sunday, she was running a decent fever, and by Monday morning, she was running a high (101 - 102) fever, so I called the doctor, explained the symptoms (classic flu stuff - nose, head, body aches, high fever, coughing, sneezing, exhaustion - I could go on, but you're literate, so are probably familiar with the list), and the prescribed her Tamiflu (which is crazy expensive).  

She finally was able to go to school on that Friday, and has caught up on all her work.

Fast forward to tonight: I come home from picking up prescriptions at Walgreens, and the last baking items I needed from Hannaford, and she is asleep in her room. When I check on her, she says she has a sore throat, and I believe my response was that she had chores to do (fyi - I'm not a slave driver, I'm more of a super messy slacker, but it's almost CHRISTMAS, and standards are different).  

For the next few hours, she complains about her sore throat, and after I borrow her chapstick, she mentions that might have been a bad idea, and I, of course, laugh it off.  Fast forward to a few minutes ago; I check to see what she's doing (shocker of all shocks, she's on Skype); she's bundled in her down comforter, plus a couple of fleece blankets, and her cheeks are bright as Rudolph's nose.  She complains of her throat again, so I huff, and get the thermometer.  Lo and behold, the kid has a 101 temperature.  

Have I mentioned that we both got flu shots at the exact same time, same batch of shots, etc.???  I'm pretty sure it's not the flu again; or I should say, I'm refusing to even consider that the flu might be back for take two.  

Hopefully my Iron-Man-like immune system will keep up the good work; I am SOOOO not okay with being sick on Christmas.  

Oh - and hopefully Santa can overlook a dirty litterbox.

MOST of the presents!