The Saturday 7

Good news, everyone: we made it halfway through February! Whew! But this week was a doozy . . .

1. Contrary to my assertions last week, the weekend wasn't long enough for Levi to get over his sickness. He came down with a fever Saturday afternoon, and it didn't break until Tuesday night! He literally did not get off the couch for 4 days. He hardly ate, puked anytime he did eat, and had a wet, phlegmy cough all week. We decided to skip our Superbowl party on Sunday, which ended up being a good choice since I had some major stomach distress that evening. I woke up Monday morning with intense stomach cramps and ended up calling in sick to work, even though I despise inconveniencing people. I'm not sure if I had exactly what Levi had. I never had a fever, and I never puked. But I had terrible stomach cramps for three days - especially after eating. I ended up losing three pounds because I was eating so little. I spent most of those three days on the couch as well. 

Actual footage of me this week.

2. Levi ended up missing three days of school, including his Valentine's Day party on Tuesday . . . which I was in charge of. 🤦 I still felt like crap at that point, too, so I wrote up detailed instructions on Monday night, then packed up all the stuff and hauled it into his classroom on Tuesday morning when I dropped the girls off. Fortunately a bunch of other parents showed up to help, so they soldiered on without me. 

3. I managed to run to Dollar General by myself for 15 minutes on Tuesday so I could grab some last minute "gifts" for my kids. They were pretty lame, but that's what happens when Mom is sick. We had our traditional meal of Velveeta shells n' cheese and sparkling grape juice - at least Justin and the girls did. Levi didn't eat, and I just nibbled at it. 

4. By Thursday Levi had finally been fever-free for more than 24 hours, and I was feeling remarkably better, so we all went to school for the first time that week. I got a little bit dizzy and sweaty while reading to my 4th graders, but I powered through. And then I got called on to sub for recess. I've only had to do outdoor recess once this year, and I've really enjoyed staying inside where it's warm. Haha. Of course on Thursday afternoon it was snowing and 20 degrees. Fortunately, I come prepared for the possibility that I'll be recruited to help and I keep boots, leggings, gloves, a hat, and a scarf in my van. I had just gone out to my van to get everything when Levi's teacher showed up at my office door to tell me that he had just puked and needed to go home. 🤦🤦🤦 I had to be out to recess in 15 minutes, plus I had two more library classes to get through. And of course, my two closest babysitters who live within 5 miles of the school were in Traverse City and Orlando respectively. Plus Justin was half an hour away at his job site. Thankfully, I am beyond blessed to have a plethora of options. Niki was home with Nova (who had a half day), and she graciously agreed to drop everything and come get him right then. She made it before I even headed out to recess. How do working parents without family close by deal with kids and sickness??

We ended up having a snow day on Friday, so Levi went to school for half of a day all week. 

5.  I've had this weird urge lately to try on a new way of life. I've done the stay at home mom thing and the part-time working mom thing. Recently I've had the inexplicable desire to experience working full time at a real job, making real money. Justin and I have never both worked full time at the same time. I worked full time for a couple years while he finished college, and then he took over once we started having kids. What would it be like to be a true dual-income family? We survive on his income now, so theoretically, adding another full-time income would be all fun money. I want to work full time so we can go out to eat for every meal, so we can go on vacations, so I can have a vehicle with a fancy remote starter . . . or even just a vehicle that isn't missing the door handles because the doors freeze and the handles snap off. I want to look at the new tuition rates every year without devolving into tears and despair (they came out last week - which is probably contributing to this sudden desire). 

We made more in 2022 than we ever have before, but we still live paycheck to paycheck because our expenses are outpacing our incomes. The groceries alone are going to send us to the poorhouse! 

I keep telling myself that this phase is temporary. We only have five more years of paying Lucy's tuition. I should be taking on more hours as librarian in the next few years. And while it doesn't always seem like it, I'm trying to remind myself that living this way is worth it to be home with my kids over the summer, and to be with them every day after school. I do love my job and I know I'd be miserable working full time. But man is it tempting sometimes. 

6. I've got nothing else since I spent most of the week on the couch. I don't even have any pictures to share. Just these couple of memes . . .

I'm sure Justin feels this. Lol. I get so mad when he suggests that I exercise. Even though I'm very vocal about wanting to lose weight. 😂

And this one isn't funny, but it's so true . . .

The Bible warns us about our hearts. Check out Jeremiah 17:9. (It's especially effective in KJV)