Friday, October 30, 2009

Not the Swine Flu!

Our family has been hit hard this week by something...I have not dressed in 4 days. I dressed yesterday only to take both kids to doctor. The sign on the door "If you have any of the following symptoms, do not enter, please enter through sick door" Symptoms: Fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion. Well, we all had every symptom. After entering, we were all given surgical face masks to wear. We were given a room very quickly. The doctor entered wearing a face mask and blue gloves. I felt like we had some really bad contagious disease. The kids noses were swabbed for H1N1 and throats for strep throat. Both came back NEGATIVE! My 9 year old with #asthma has bronchitis and my 12 year old, a sore throat. After two prescriptions of antibiotics, we were on our way. Everyone I know who is sick is saying they have the #swine flu. Doctors are telling their patients that without testing. My children both have fevers and are lethargic, but do not have the flu. We haven't had time to get our seasonal flu shots yet, but will do it as soon as we are well. My 9 year old can't get the flu vaccine due to egg allergies, so we all get it to protect her. We will not be getting the #H1N1vaccine. I don't like to get vaccines that have been rushed into production. We will continue to use diligent hand washing as one protection against the flu. Their small private school of 350 students had 69 students absent on Monday. There have been 2 physician confirmed cases of #H1N1 How are you holding up this flu season?

Homework Boxes


Daily Tip:
Each of my children has a “homework box” It is a clear plastic document box and in it are all the supplies they need to do homework.  Lined paper, pencils, colored pencils, colored markers, scissors, ruler, protractor, calculator, etc.  When they sit down to do homework, there are no delays while having to go look for something they need.  We keep these boxes in a cabinet by the kitchen table.  Also in the cabinet are their “stay at home” school books, electric pencil sharpener, and reference books, such as a dictionary, thesaurus, etc.  Each child also has a “completed work file”.  All their graded work goes in here to be used to study for trimester exams.   This cabinet has made the homework time in our house a little less chaotic.