Home Sweet Home = FLU

All my boys love the beach, even Tony.  They had a great time playing in the sand, making sand castles, and getting wet.  It wasn't a very warm day, but they didn't seem to care.  The boys started out just playing in the sand but slowly started playing more in the water.  A big wave came and knocked Tyler down, so that helped him get started in the water.  Tyler and Grandma were able to find a bunch of different sand shells on the beach and they are his treasure.  I am so glad that they were able to go and have a good time playing in the sand and sun.  Megan stayed back at the hotel with me.  It worked out pretty good because she would have just wanted to eat the sand and she was able to play in the hotel and then had a good nap.  Margie was super awesome and took some pictures of the boys at the beach for me.  It was so fun to see them having such a good time.  I love them boys.

We made it home last Sunday with little to no drama, which was very nice.  We drove to St. George on Saturday and made it there without any problems.  The weather was nice and so was the traffic.  The kids did really good in the car and I was feeling okay.  My fever wasn't as bad and I no longer had the body aches and hot/cold chills.  We first went to Nana and Papa's house and hung out for a little while before going over to the hotel.  Then we went and got into the hotel and took the kids swimming.  They all LOVE to go swimming and are like little fish in the pool.  Megan was not feeling good and spent the whole time with her head on our shoulders.  Which was fine with me since I was still sick.  Megan and I just laid low.  Josh is a mad man in the water.  No fear at all.  Tony was throwing him up so high and having him do flips, he was loving it.  Tyler also enjoyed floating around and doing cannon balls into the pool.
After dragging the boys out of the pool we got changed and headed back to Nana and Papa's to have some yummy dinner.  We really enjoyed eating a home cooked meal.  After dinner Tony and his mom started fixing their coffee table and they needed some extra screws, so we all headed out.  Tony took the kids and me back to the hotel to get ready for bed.  When we got to the hotel all the power was out in that neighborhood, so we all went to the hard ware store.  They had a back-up power source, so they were still open.  By the time we finished at the store, the power was back on at the hotel.  Tony helped me get he kids ready for bed and then went with his mom to go fix the table.  Then he got back and we all crashed.
Sunday we decided not to go to church.  I was still sick, Megan was fussy and we just wanted to get home.  A storm had come through that morning so we didn't want to leave too early or too late.  We checked out after breakfast and went back to Nana and Papa's to pick up Margie.  It was another good day of driving.  We had some snow at times, but for the most part the roads were clear.  I felt a little better, but still had a lot of coughing.  Megan started showing more signs of being sick, so that really sucked.  We got to Tony's parents house in good time and packed up our car and headed home.  It was nice to be back.  It is always a lot of work unpacking and getting things back to normal, even harder when you are sick.
Later that evening we decided that Megan should be looked at and so Tony took her to the InstaCare.  The doctor said he didn't think she had the flu, but they tested her anyway.  For some dumb reason they couldn't test it there so they had to send it out for the results.  They didn't call us back until 5:00 pm the next day to say she did test positive for Influenza A and gave us a prescription for Tamaflu.  I was so mad that it took them so long to call back, she could have been on the medicine a whole day sooner...and with the flu the earlier you take the meds the better.  Then the kicker was that our insurance only covered like $25 of the prescription so it cost us over $100.
Tony, Tyler, and Josh still hadn't shown any symptoms of the flu so I was hoping it would stay like that...that is until Tyler came home from school on Monday with a fever and runny nose.  So we decided to watch it to see if it got worse.  Tuesday he still had the fever so after dinner Tony took Tyler into the pediatricians office and got him tested.  They, of course, could get the results immediately and Tyler tested positive fore Influenza B.  So then he needed Tamaflu.  Awesome, $100 more dollars gone (good thing we have a flex spending account).
Wednesday and Thursday come around and Josh still doesn't show any symptoms, so I was really happy about that.  I decided to just keep Tyler home for the whole week from school just to be safe that he wouldn't give it to any other kids.
I took the kids over to Tony's parents on Thursday afternoon so that I could go and help my sister with the state DECA competition.  Tony met up with them after work and then they all spent the night there.  Then the kids stayed there while Tony was at work on Friday and he picked them up afterwords.  After we had some dinner that night, I noticed that Josh was sniffing and he felt warm.  So we decided we had better take him in too.  So Tony to him to the Urgent Care and the doctor just decided to treat him for the flu, he didn't even test him.  He said that since the rest of us had it, that he was sure that what was wrong with him and gave us yet another prescription for Tamaflu.  He did let us know that one of Josh's ear tubs is out and the other is almost out.  Good to know.  Josh really doesn't act sick at all and didn't feel too warm today.  He has gotten the medicine the quickest out of everyone, so maybe he will only have a mild case (like Tyler).  I think Tony said that the flu has costed us about $500 all together.  That is just nuts. 
I am feeling tons better but I still have a cough and I get light headed really easily.  Megan seems to be doing better.  She wasn't as fussy today.  She almost never coughs, but still has a very active runny nose.  Tyler has had it the easiest so far.  He has a little cough, but that seems to be the only symptom he still has.  Josh seems to have just a low grade fever and really not much more.  He'll sneeze every now and then, but doesn't really have a cough (at least not yet).  I am still hoping and praying that Tony doesn't get it.  He seems to be good so far, but I thought Josh had dodged the bullet.  It is funny how long it can take for an illness to manifest its self.  I will be so glad when we are all healthy again and the weather is warmer.  Bring on spring time, we are ready.