Tag Archives: sick

Germfest '08

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The decrease in activity at work, which I had hoped would correspond with an increase of activity here on my blog, instead corresponded with a dramatic rise in germs.

Last week there was a minor pink eye outbreak in the creative department, which resulted in an almost comical proliferation of anti-bacterial hand soap dispensers around the office, as everyone scrambled to avoid it.

Then on Thursday night, Zoe started throwing up. It turns out she had a stomach flu that she caught at one of her groups, after which several of her friends got sick, too. Naturally, it spread to Annie, and then to me. I was fine on Friday, when Annie first started getting an upset tummy, and the whole thing cumulated with me puking my guts up Sunday afternoon (for the first time since college). Annie got lucky and never got worse than nauseous, but it made the jump to Sean, who was up and down all Sunday night getting sick.

On Monday, I felt fine, so I went to work, after warning my coworkers to keep washing their hands, and I hoped that would be the end of it. Unfortunately, Zoe caught a cold while recovering from the flu, which means Annie has a cold, too.

I stayed home from work yesterday to take care of them, and now I have it, too. So I’m home sick again, and about to go take a nap. Hopefully, this weekend will let us all get healthy again, because A) I can’t afford to take any more time off from work, and B) Zoe’s birthday party is next weekend.

My Parent Hack got Published!

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In the aftermath of Zoe’s cold, I sent a tip into Parent Hacks, and it got posted today!

My ten-month-old daughter has a terrible cold right now, and she has developed a fear of the nose wipe. Anytime she sees me coming towards her with a rag or a kleenex, she turns her head away and hides – usually by rubbing her hands over her nose, spreading around everything I was about to wipe up.

The trick I’ve discovered is that if I throw the rag over her face, like we’re playing peek-a-boo, then I can quickly “pat” around her nose and mouth, and she still thinks it’s a game.

If I try to wipe, she figures it out, so the “pat” technique is important!

Zoe is Ten Months Old

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Dear Zoe,
Between getting sick and everything that happened around Christmas, this was one of your busiest months ever. So much so, that I’m only just now getting around to writing your December newsletter, even though it’s nearly time to start on the January one. Still, I hate it when people posts excuses instead of just posting, so let’s get down to business!

Zoe's Holiday Outfit

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Back on Deck

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The first day back in the office after a vacation is always a bit overwhelming. I’ve been in the office for over two hours now, and I’m just now getting all caught up so I can get some work done — and this was for a vacation when everyone else was out of the office, too.

While on break, I didn’t read email or check my feed reader. Upon returning I hardly had any email, but I had over a thousand unread items in google reader.

I wish I had been able to write more blog posts recently, but between the holidays, visiting friends and family, playing video games, and taking care of a sick baby, it just didn’t happen. I’ll be fixing that this week, and the December newsletter will be up by the end of the week.

Hatelife is Catching a Cold over Thanksgiving

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I must not have been taking good enough care of myself over the last few days in Portland, because I was starting to get a little sniffly before we left. I just blamed it on allergies, though. However, after the twentieth time that I blew my nose on the train, and the old man two rows in front of me shot me a dirty look again (he did this EVERY SINGLE TIME), I was forced to admit that I may have caught a cold. And sure enough, I woke up the next day with a sore throat. Luckily, on the way to their house, I got Annie’s parents to stop at the store and allow me to purchase some cold-fighting-materials. Laden down with Odwalla Vitamin-C-Monster, Orange Juice, Ny-Quil and 7-up, I triumphantly proceeded to engage my disease in chemical warfare. Commence saturation bombing with Vitamin C! Drink lots of 7-up! We’ll drown the buggers out! Oh no! The Ny-Quil has caused me to begin a lengthy and nonsensical war analogy!

I spent Thanksgiving day staring blankly into space, and took a nap. I remember eating dinner, but that was pretty much my only lucid moment of the day. The next day I felt much better, so I was able to have some fun with Eric and Jill (and Gavin) when they came to town.

Hopefully the two weeks I have until my DSL line is installed, during which I have to bike or walk to my parents’ house every day will not prolong my cold.

Oh, and final note before I’m off to more Ny-Quil induced sleep: Harry Potter was disappointing. Maybe it was because I had just read the books, but it seems to me that if the movie is 2.5 hours long, they could have done a better job. It seriously felt like they just went through the book and pulled out every other page. I think that as a visual accompaniment to the book, it’s fantastic… but it doesn’t stand on it’s own.