Sick As a Dog and Party Favors!

This past week has been a rough week at our house! A week ago tonight I started a little cough that seemed more like an asthma cough than a cold cough. I did it all night long and decided I better call my doctor to see if they would call in a Z-Pack just in case it turned into a cold/sinus infection. My OB's nurse called back and said she would call one in, but suggested I give it a day to see if it was just allergies. I picked it up at noon and by 2:00 I was miserable. My chest hurt so bad and I could tell I was getting some kind of really bad cold. I started the Z-Pack then and crossed my fingers that I would feel some relief soon! That night I ran a fever all night, had the chills, and my body was aching so bad Gonzo was having to help get me to the shower to keep my fever down. Gonzo told me Tuesday morning that He didn't think it was a cold or a sinus infection. I was starting to think he was right because I just don't run a fever. The last time I had a fever was 5 years ago when I had pneumonia.
So...have you diagnosed me yet? I got the dang FLU! Stupid flu!!!! I had a flu shot and got the flu! I was miserable and pretty much felt like death warmed over! They called me in a prescription for Tamiflu and I gladly started it on Tuesday afternoon. I had a fever through the day and night and chills through Wednesday night. By Thursday my body was sore, sore, sore and I was starting to cough up all the junk! Through all of this Gonzo was Super Mom/Dad/Husband! He got more done each evening than I could get done in a day-laundry, dishes, dinner, sanitizing, and bathing children. We had some very nice friends bring us dinner one night which was sooooo nice and it was delicious. (I am making the meal she brought us in a few weeks and I will blog it!) Gonzo and I turned on our teacher button and started sanitizing and fighting germs like crazy people from the beginning. We were using sanitizer on our hand or washing them constantly, putting toys up that the girls normally liked putting in their mouths-play kitchen stuff/food, bathing the girls separately each night, washing cups each night, sanitizing toothbrushes in the dishwasher each night, and on and on and on! You name it we were doing it to try and keep this from spreading. On Thursday during Adda's nap I heard her start coughing. AHHHHHH! I wanted to cry and cry hard! I called the pediatrician and made her an appointment for the next morning thinking for sure she was getting the flu too! She ran a fever that night and the next day but her flu test came back negative. We started her on benedryl to dry up her congestion and got even crazier about our sanitizing.
I am feeling like a new woman and Adda is hopefully on the mend. She still has a pretty yucky cough but hasn't had a fever in a few days. Ella is good and has managed to stay well! Thank you Jesus and thank you breast milk! Gonzo hasn't had a symptom one! He likes to say it's because he "works out"! Honestly, he just usually doesn't get sick! Thank you Jesus! We are still being super crazy about germs just trying to make sure nobody else in the house gets sick! I've decided that we are going to be shut ins for a while to get better and stay well. Ella's birthday is coming up in a few weeks and my parents will be here and I don't want sick kiddos while they are here. Hopefully all the kiddos that come to the birthday party will be well too! I really despise this time of year with sickness. We try sooo hard to keep our girls well and when they aren't we try hard to keep them from getting others sick! Nobody likes sick kids including us!
Today, Gonzo and I had a little tag team cleaning/sanitizing routine. I prepped the room by dusting straightening up and getting things moved around for vacuuming. While I was prepping Gonzo was watching the girls. Then he came in and vacuumed and mopped and I watched the girls! We made a great team and have a clean and sanitized house! I still have some laundry to finish up because we washed everything that could be washed, but the rest is done. I'm soooo glad Gonzo helped me get it all done! Such a great hubby!
So, now it's time to start marking things off my list for Ella's birthday party! I'm a little behind what I normally am and it's starting to make me hyperventilate! Not really, but I don't like doing things last minute. I like to have things done and marked off my list early! I did manage to get one thing done over the weekend. I made the party favors!
Usually I give the kids something sweet that I've made for the party and then something I've bought to go along with the theme. This year I decided to do something a little different! I have a friend who made shaped birdseed favors for her daughters wedding this summer! They were so cute and such a fun idea for people to take home! She gave me the recipe (and some extra seed she had leftover) and I whipped up some cupcake shaped birdseed bird feeders for everyone at the party to take home and hang on their tree for the birds in the Spring! It was super easy and very quick to make!

Bird Feeder Recipe
3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup water

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 tbsp. corn syrup

4 cups birdseed

Here is what worked best for me: Mix the gelatin and water in a bowl with a whisk. Add the corn syrup and mix again. Add the flour and mix well. Pour in the birdseed and mix with a wooden spoon. Use cooking spray to grease your cookie cutter and spoon in the mixture on parchment paper or wax paper. Press the birdseed mixture into the cookie cutter and use a chop stick (or something similar) to make a whole in the shape for your string. Gently lift the cookie cutter up off of the wax paper leaving the birdseed shape behind. Let dry for 6 to 8 hours. Mine are actually still drying because the back side was still a little soft this morning. I turned them over and will bag them tomorrow. Try this with your kids! It's fun and different!