March 23, 2011

ChickenPox Boy

Last week Nathan came down with the Chickenpox. I know what you're thinking.
"Did he get the vaccine?"
Oh wait, maybe you were thinking, "Chickenpox, isn't that so 1982?"
And the answer is "Yes" to both questions. 
Just for your future reference apparently the vaccine isn't 100% effective. BUT...I can testify that it does truly limit the symptoms. Luckily he only got about 20 pox, vs. a typical 300+ for a non vaccinated child.
The Dr.'s office hadn't seen chickenpox in so long that the pediatrician needed to pull out her Dr. Manual when I asked what the incubation period was.
When she walked out of the treatment room, I heard her whisper to the nurses, "It's the chickenpox!"
My little chickenpox boy was having his 5 minutes of fame!
I wonder if it's like Sorority Rush where they show the picture of the "rushee" after the day is over and then the entire sorority has the chance to critique her with only three pathetic words.
In our case I had visions of the staff gathering around after hours with Nate's innocent face on the wall, and someone saying.
1. Leper
2. Parent's probably don't bathe him
3. Chickenpox boy

And then they proceeded to hose down the the treatment room with a big batch of bleach.

Luckily Nate was a trooper, albeit is has been the longest 6 days of our lives. To top it off, we've had torrential rain so we couldn't go outside. When the rain finally let up, I had to think of an outside activity. I asked the boys to clean the yard. They were more than happy to grab two sponges and spend hours cleaning the toys. I know it sounds like child labor, but I can safely say, "No true cleaning went on."

I knew we were running out of ideas when they decided to cut the backyard weeds each with a pair of child scissors. When they showed me their progress, I was truly amazed at the size of the pile. We may no longer need a Gardner. (Only kidding of course...we don't actually have a Gardner.)
Today is Wednesday....day six, and I've run out of crafty ideas and/or chores they can safely do.

Magically a new tent appeared on our doorstep. Long story, but we received a replacement Coleman tent after our last one ripped over the Summer. It couldn't have come at a better time. I wised up after our last camping trip, and picked a new tent that was marketed with the phrase, "Easy 1 minute set up".
Say no more...that's the tent we need!
The poles are already attached, it's beautiful, even a 9 month pregnant woman can set it up. Well almost. I got it out of the box, and then lost steam. The final 30 seconds was Doug making it upright.
But look at those happy faces. It was a great ending to long week.
The pox are gone, and Nate will be returning to school tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed that Jack won't be the next Chickenpox boy!



5 comments:

Anne said...

Love the guest house!

Anonymous said...

Sorority rush...ahhhhhhh....what memories.... :)

Sara Ancich said...

What a brilliant solution to cabin fever. looking forward to the "meet little miss..." so very soon! best of luck.

Lori said...

Thanks Sara. We're looking forward to meeting her too. Her quarters are getting a little cramped in there! ;)

Deb said...

wow, you're in true form on this post! Laughing hysterically. Didn't realize all the drama going on at your house this week. :)
boy, do I remember the chickenpox....that was way back in the olden days....!