Life, visitor and sickness

I feel like I am a stranger here on Gather. Somehow I have still managed to accumulate enough Gather points to redeem another B&N gift card (maybe I will get it by Christmas!) but I haven't done much publishing, commenting and even very little reading over the past 2 weeks. Why? you ask....

 Well, we had a family staying with us for about a week. They came in on a late Wednesday night and left out Saturday afternoon only to return Monday evening and stayed until this past Wednesday. Oh, don't get me wrong! we thoroughly enjoyed the company. They are a wonderful family of 4 girls and a 3 month old baby boy. This family is headed to Portugal as missionaries. They are just starting on their journey through deputation to raise the support they will need. So, having a few churches in our area to present their ministry to, we offered our home for them to stay. Late nights of games and laughter and reminiscing took its toll on me. I was also working during this time, as was my husband. Of course, he always works, while mine is temporary. In fact, tomorrow is my last day of helping administer the flu mist/shot in our local schools. Which brings me to the sickness.

The evening our company took their departure, I began to sniffle. Not just the sadness of seeing them leave. But the cough, SNIFFLE, sneeze thing. And it grew worse throughout the night and into the next day. It would be bearable during the day, but as the nighttime drew nigh, my head would inflate to three times its normal size and my nose would end up red as Rudolph's. I have suffered with this cold for 5 days and am now just beginning to feel somewhat "okay." Being pregnant doesn't help matters, as I am limited to the medications I can take. My "mommy" role also has a bearing on medicinal decisions. I am so tempted to take NyQuil and sleep away my woes. But then a voice calls me out of the fog: "Mommy, what's for breakfast?" or "Mommy, I gotta go potty!" Not to mention the wailing of my 9 month old who is ready for a diaper change himself. Evenings are okay; hubby comes home and offers to prepare supper, but he certainly cannot afford to take off work to tend to a sick wife and fussy children.

I will be glad when this is over with and I can mother and gather and be happy!