This Month Has Been Brought to You by the Following:

Can you believe that February begins this week?  Can you believe that January is just about over?

Thank you, Baby Jesus!  This has been The. Longest. Month. EVER!

Remember when I started out the month by detailing by firstforty-eight hours?  And then I wrote a post for Macomb Patch that talked more about this month?

Well, for those you are keeping tabs, my Babes have been sick for over thirty days!  THIRTY DAYS!!  It’s hard not to take this personal when I try to disinfect everything.  (Save your breath if you are going to tell me that’s the problem.  Because I have already thought of that and am reconsidering my strategy for my war against germs).

Marie has had an ear infection since January 1^st.  The fluid won’t drain, and because she keeps on getting cold after cold, the fluid becomes reinfected.  Thomas has the nastiest cold I have seen in a long time, and if the fluid that is remaining in his ear does not get infected, then it will be a miracle.

In other news, my Dad’s COPD landed him in the hospital.  This is not good on many levels, but the level I feel the most is that we have to be careful about what germs we bring around him since he is still recovering from bronchitis.  And to add to that, my uncle is very sick.  I am going to be traveling out West soon to help my aunt take care of him.

Did I mention that I had an ear infection as well?  Or that Harrington has a man cold and a broken wrist from playing hockey?

I feel that I should put a sticker on the minivan indicating it is a shuttle to any and all local healthcare facilities.

*sigh*

So I can safely say that January has been brought to you by the following products*:

Up and Up Dye-Free Children’s Allergy Relief (code for Benadryl): I don’t even want to guess how many fluid ounces of this stuff The Babes have ingested.

Antibiotics: Three rounds for Marie.  One round for Thomas and me.  Thanks, Marie Curie, for your wonderful invention. Having said that, I hope that we are done for a while.

Yogurt: I bought a case of organic yogurt to counteract all the antibiotics. (I saved a whole $1.65 by buying it in bulk).  Another plus – the dairy guy at the grocery store is totally cute.  I, however, look the opposite in my yoga pants and two-day old dirty hair under a cap.

 Humidifiers:  I am surprised that the paint is not peeling off the walls yet.  I think we are turning the bedrooms into steam saunas.  And because I spare no comfort to my Babes, they have been enjoying eucalyptus-scented steam.

Ice Cream: Because sometimes a glass of wine just doesn’t measure up to the comfort that a big bowl of ice cream offers.

Coffee: None of this would be possible without coffee.  I am back to my afternoon cup(s) because I am tired.  Not just a bit tired.  Ex.Hausted. After thirty-one days of managing illnesses, I am losing my mind. 

February, please, please be good to me and my family. 

Please.

How has your first month of 2012 been?

*I was not paid to mention any of this stuff.  Obviously.  I think we know each other well enough to know I would totally say I got paid.