feelin' croupy

As I was loading kids into the truck on Friday morning to head to the doctor, a huge blob of melty snow dropped out of the tree above me and landed mack dab on my head. It was not a good feeling. As I look back now, I'm pretty sure it was a sign of crappy things to come.

The doctor said Cate has croup. I've heard of croup. I always just thought it meant coughing. I've heard moms say, "Yeah, Little Lucy woke up all croupy this morning." I've heard of the stick-em-in-the-bathroom-with-the-hot-shower-running plan followed by the run-outside-in-the-freezing-cold routine. Repeat as necessary. Is that what you do for croup? I don't know these things. My children have been diagnosed with ear infections more times than I care to remember. Croup? Never. Until Friday, that is.

Cate was a good little patient for the exam. No problems with the cold stethoscope on her chest and back. (Her lungs apparently sounded good.) No problems with the little ear-examining instrument in her ears. (Her tubes also looked great.) Little problem with the huge popsicle stick in her mouth to check her throat. Big problem with the needle full of some kind of steroid concoction jabbed into her thigh.

The rest of Friday was spent with a cranky little girl (who barely took a nap) and a Star Wars obsessed little boy. Loads of fun.

Saturday morning started off way too early. Will my children ever learn to respect their parents enough to just sleep in on Saturdays and an occasional Sunday? I mean really. Is that too much to ask?

This little shot of some Happy Time with Daddy lasted about a minute. Maybe two. Cranky little girl remained. And the runny nose. And the barking cough.

I hate croup.

Cate decided she was ready for a nap around noon. That's a good hour before normal nap time. I told Dan to take Danny to McDonald's so Cate could have some peace and quiet and hopefully sleep a long, long time. It didn't happen. They left and she woke herself up from all the coughing shortly thereafter. Did I mention she was cranky? She was.

I did the only thing I could to help get her out of her funk. I put her to work. She "helped" me wash the dishes. She was happy. I was happy that she was happy. I wasn't so happy about all the water on the floor but whatever. Dan and Danny came home shortly after we finished the dishes. I advised Dan to give them baths to kill some time. Then I left for a few hours for some church stuff.

The rest of Saturday was filled with more coughing, more crankiness and more requests to play Star Wars. Fun times.

Today started way too early again. I really hate croup. Danny started coughing today too. Lovely. I've avoided telling him that he might need to go to the doctor since he witnessed the shot Cate got on Friday. He told me the nurse was mean because she hurt his sister.

I attempted to keep Cate occupied this morning. It wasn't easy. I failed miserably. Dan tried too. I'm just wishing she was old enough to be obsessed with a movie. That might have helped pass the time.

She took a way too early nap yet again, and woke up after less than an hour. We spent the rest of a very long Sunday afternoon going for a long walk, playing in the backyard, playing Star Wars (the boys, not me) and being cranky (Cate and me).

I really really hate croup.

I'm currently sitting in Danny's room while he snores. Star Wars is playing on the little DVD player. He woke up crying from all the coughing he was doing. A promise of Star Wars was the only thing I could do to get him to calm down.

I really really really hate croup.

But right now I'm lovin' Luke Skywalker.