Wow, look at the calendar! It's 2009!!

Hi there, normal people! How are you this fine evening? Yeah...

SO! I will catch you up on the last few weeks. The Sunday before Christmas, I started feeling More-Than-Average queasiness in the evening. And I thought, Oh no! Is my so-far-very-manageable "morning" sickness taking a turn for the worse? I went to bed and woke up within an hour knowing I had to vomit, which I preceded to do repeatedly and miserably for the next few hours. [Regretfully, the last thing I had eaten was some crackers and extra sharp cheddar cheese. And can I tell you? Vomiting extra sharp cheddar through your NOSE repeatedly is really, um... Not So Great.] And with the vomiting came The Other Symptom of Stomach Viruses Which Shall Not Be Named, in full force. And I realized, with great horror, that I was the leading star in an unfolding drama known as [drum roll]:

"REVENGE OF THE NOROVIRUS: THE NOROVIRUS STRIKES BACK!"

It was January 2005 all over again... the misery, the weakness, the inability to keep down even the smallest sip of water. Taking into consideration the fact that my gestational/lactational status required such a high consumption of fluids, I decided not to take any chances and hied myself (or, technically, Nate drove me) to our local ER, where I was given IV fluids and Happy Tummy Medicine and warm, snuggly blankets. And lo, just like Jan. 2005, the vomiting stopped after the Happy Medicine! But alas, UNlike Jan. 2005, The Other Symptom That Shall Not Be Named did not desist quite so quickly, so that right after they discharged me around 4:30, and I had to dress myself and go to the lobby to await transportation home... er, there were Problems. Embarrassing problems.

Let us never speak of this again...

Can I just say that hospital people are Really Cool? They were so very kind to me and let me lie down again after I was discharged to wait for Nate to come. And they brought me a drink and the warm blankets and let me rest. So the GOOD thing about this whole episode was that I got to see that the staff at the hospital where Baby #2 will most certainly be born are really all nice, kind, compassionate people [who can deal with The Liquid Sickness without batting an eyelash!]

So anyway, Tuesday night, the Chicken nursed to sleep as usual, and then right when I was about to leave her, she sat up in bed and threw up all her dinner (which happened to be ham and rice.) And you can probably fill in the details of what the next few days were like. (Christmas morning, she seemed fine. Christmas afternoon around 3 pm, she lost it all again!) And Nate got sick too, but thankfully for him, no vomiting. So needless to say, it was a rough week, what with all the laundry (!!!!) and the Listless, Miserable Toddler (who just wanted to nurse ALL DAY LONG) and the canceled Christmas traveling plans. But can I tell you how fantastically wonderful my husband is? He cleaned both bathrooms and watched the child so I could nap and ran to Walmart for stuff and generally took care of us all quite splendidly. Thanks, baby. ;-)

And then as soon as I got over The Virus, I caught a cold, which is currently on Day 21 or so of its l-o-n-g, ridiculously long duration. Although now I am no longer coughing and sniffling up buckets of green mucous- it's clear now, so that shows improvement, right?

[Can I just interrupt myself here to say I totally sound like an octagenarian telling you about my Maladies and Complaints? I am so very, very sorry about that. It's just My Life right now, you know? Next up: my gall bladder surgery!! With pictures and everything! (Kidding! Kidding. Ha.)]

And Madelaine and Nate both got the cold.

*THE END [of Maladies and Complaints]*

So we did get to visit both my family and our Lehigh Valley family and friends AFTER Christmas, which was lovely of course, and were showered with presents as always, including The Baby Carrier Of My Dreams!!

Thanks mom and dad!! You are too kind.

So now The Chicken and I are rather just in the winter doldrums, with HIGH temperatures in the single digits some days (yes, Farenheit!) Today at least it's sunny which is nice, and the snow is pretty, but still, I miss playground time and long walks in the stroller. Where are you, spring?!? Of course my husband loves the freezy-cold, and he got a chance to go skiing, which is great, so I'm happy for him. I just keep running out of indoor activities to do with my child...

Speaking of which, here are a couple of awesome pictures Nate's dad took at Thanksgiving:

Time to read more stories again...

Love,
Neb