ugh, the flu...

I am not feeling very well today. Not totally awful, just not good. Dizzy, headach-y, sore throat, achy.....and just plain blah. Margaret and Kathryn have been like this for a few days. So, this morning, I was bound and determined that I would be okay. I got up, got dressed, and felt like I was going to fall over....I somehow got the girls ready for school, then I went back to bed....Margaret and Kathryn were out here on the couches, and Evelyn stayed home....she is only nine, but hey, she feels fine....so she got to change and feed Charlotte Claire and Camille this morning. Then I find out that Joseph skipped for Senior skip day, and that Sam is home, supposedly not feeling well. He was playing video games with Joseph. No way, please. If you are okay, okay enough for video games, then you can take Camille for a while....please! I had an appointment today I had to cancel, too. Oh well.

That is the thing about being a mom. You can't just call in sick and stay in bed and get better. You can try to spread the responsibility around, so you can rest up minimally, but you know darn well you will pay for it later.....meaning: The kitchen will be a mess. I mean, a nine year old might be able to feed a two year old, a four year old, and a 15month old, but she cannot clean up the mess, too......The laundry room will start slipping, as the loads pile up, and the kids miss the correct hampers with careless aim. I cannot just be blissfully sick.....

And if the kids were at school where they are supposed to be, I wouldn't have any help at all. I considered having Paul come home, but he doesn't even stay home if he is sick, unless it is really bad....and he took a day off for Aaron's surgery. So here I sit. Jonathan and Charlotte Claire are playing waffletown and watching, "Little Brown Bear".....

I need to eat something so I am not so shaky....I hate being sick. But I hope that out of this, I find many opportunities to put my beliefs in practice, namely that God causes all things to work together for the good for those who love Him. And that he who overcomes will recieve the crown of life. And he who endures to the end will be saved.

I haven't made the reservations for our hotel night yet. It is just hard to spend that money. A few people made the suggestion that I go with Priceline or Hotwire, but with those, there are some unknowns. The biggest being there is an indication that the hotel has a pool, but not whether it is an outdoor pool or an indoor pool. That would break the vacation night, no indoor pool....so I am hesitant to take the gamble. And the other thing that is difficult: there are so many of us going.....I am resigned to getting two rooms, but most hotels won't even take that many in two rooms. There has to be an adult in each room, and Abigail is my other adult. Plus, if I went to three room, it would just cost too much. I don't want to cheat and claim only some of the kids if we go somewhere that has breakfast.......in addition to Abigail and I, we will have either 9 or 11 kids going with us. Most hotels simply say, Max. amount children exceeded. What a way to put it......

Well, I need to lie down....