Yesterday was a “start again” day. It was very basic but we are back on our routine.
After nearly two weeks of non-stop sickness, our family has finally emerged victorious from battling the germs, bacteria, and viruses that waged war on our bodies. Well, actually on everyone else’s since I never got sick and still don’t feel any hint of sickness creeping in. {{keeping my fingers crossed}}
While it is not unusual to catch a bug, what is unusual at our house is for everyone to get it at once. Here are a few things I learned from this experience that will hopefully help me to be better prepared for future occurrences.
1. Keep things simple. Since everyone else was sick it fell upon me to do all the chores/housework. I tried to just do the basics and not worry about the heavy duty. Still, I lost some weight (not ideal in my condition but probably due to stress) and found there were things that could have been done even more simply because not only was I being maid, I was playing nurse too.
2. Stock the medicine cabinet. I had to make a trip to town to buy more ibuprofen, Tylenol, cough drops, and Gatorade. While searching through our stash looking for that bottle of medicine I thought I had I found some children’s oscillococcinum from Boiron. I decided to give it to the two that got sick that day. Their sicknesses were three days shorter than everyone elses! Though expensive, I think it is worth it to keep some on hand. One reason I think I have not gotten sick is the preventative herbs I am taking that no one else in the family took. Echinachea, goldenseal, and garlic being the main ones. This is an area I need to study more.
3. Otter Pops are essential. Thank goodness I decided several months ago to keep several boxes in the freezer. They provide fast relief for sore throats and they seriously kept the baby from getting dehydrated. For several days I couldn’t get her to eat or drink anything but she loved the Otter Pops.
4. Paper products would have been helpful! You would think after having the dishwasher broken I would have learned this lesson. This would have greatly reduced the amount of work I had to do each day.
5. Keep at least 7 frozen meals/dinners in the freezer. This would have reduced a lot of work too! And, come to think of it, would be helpful if mama got sick along with everyone else. Considering where we live (we were snowed in for a bit) this would be good for ANY emergency situation!
6. Stock up on sanitizing agents. Whether you prefer the strong Clorox wipes, Germ X hand sanitizer, and Lysol sprays or homemade disinfectant cleaners or natural herbal disinfectant sprays, be sure to keep more than you think you’ll need on hand.
A few more things I would add to create a back up plan for when/if mom gets sick.
* Make sure everyone knows what their basic chores are. It will help to keep the biggest messes at bay so you won’t have as much to catch up with when you are better.
* List of activities, games, and craft supplies available. This will be handy just in case someone has to come in (or the Mr. is able to stay home) to help watch the children or for the children to keep themselves occupied. This might even be a “special” box set aside just for this specific purpose so the games and activities are new to keep the children’s interest. Things like audio books, stickers, playdough, and photo albums can be big hits.
* Earplugs. Because sometime you’ll just need to lock that door and block out the noise in order to get some rest!
What suggestions would you add to help make your home run a little smoother when sickness hits your house?
© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved
It makes things so much easier when you are prepared. My son got sick last week and had a high fever that ibuprofen wasn’t touching and I was going to give him some Tylenol…only I didn’t have any! It was 9:30 at night and my husband was at work…Luckily we have good friends that came to the rescue! I have since stocked up on all things needed for different sicknesses and it is all in one place in the linen closet.
I agree that having meals frozen helps so much. I have also found having snacks in individual bags are helpful too. Gogurts yogurt in the freezer are great for sore throats too.
I make a tincture that wipes out germs right now. If it is taken at the very first sign of sickness like that little tickle in your nose or throat, that little cough of runny nose, it stops germs dead in their tracks. If you don’t catch it in time, my tincture eases sore throat and shortens the whole cold/flue thing by several days. Write to me if you want the recipe.
I want to know Ginger’s recipe! Please share it with us all. 🙂
When the church brought out the new 3 month supply, many were so confused, now only 3 months??! This is exactly what it is for. Having that supply of easily prepared meals on hand is really amazing. In my family that mostly means soup, but hey, if Mom gets sick, then everyone at least eats. 🙂
As I was preparing in the pandemic area, there are many of the same tips. Having medicine on hand is such and important thing. And current, not expired medicine. 😉
I love how you have broken it all down and detailed each part you found important. I am sure many will benifit from this.
(and sorry, but what are otter pops? is it a brand name?)
Great post.
I no longer have small children, but, have suffered these last several months with a sick husband (which can be worse, sometimes, I think)! Anyway, I found it handy, for stomach ailments, to have plenty of soft foods available. He ate Mac & Cheese, a lot, and applesauce. Also, keep plenty of juices on hand, as well, then you can make your own “Otter Pops”.
When my children were young, if they were bed-ridden, we made it fun for them to eat a little something served in muffin tins. I also kept our sickie stuff all together–the bucket, wipes, thermometors, tissues, plenty of soft cloths and small towels, the muffin tin, books and sticker/coloring books that they didn’t normally read, small toys, vitamins, flavored waters, tylenol, baby aspirin…etc. This made it especially easy when for whatever reason, Heavenly Father thought I needed some humbling, and my kids got sick in the middle of the night!
Great ideas! So glad you haven’t been sick. We all know how it is when Mom is sick, but I have to say that in the few times that I’ve been down with something awful, my family can really rise to the occasion and keep things together in the home!
We’ve had a yucky cold that we’ve all come down with during these past few weeks. Three of the kids have missed a day of school, and we’ve postponed a trip to visit family because of it.
I always keep a couple of ice cream buckets just in case someone’s tummy is feeling yucky. I line the bucket with a few layers of plastic grocery bags, too, which makes for easy cleanup – especially in the middle of the night. The bucket is easily disinfected, then tossed in the recycle when that round of sickness is over.
Sorry you have been sick, but you posted some great ideas for the rest of us. We don’t do TV dinners, but I do bottle many things and so have bottle of speghetti sauce and Teriyaki chicken for these occasions. Also, my kids love raman and will eat it 24/7, so that is always a standby. Also, eggs. You can do a lot with eggs for meals that are fast, easy and healthy. And sometimes, they even taste good to me when I feel awful. Oh yeah, one of the old standbys–don’t forget that you have a crock pot and you know how to use it! I can whip up a soup in minutes, It can cook all day without a single stir from me, and than I just have to ladle it out and go back to bed.
We don’t watch a lot of TV so really that is my back up for when I’m sick. I will usually sleep on the couch so I am still within view of the kids and I’ll turn on a movie usually an educational one and then I’ll sleep while they are right around me.
Thank you for the other good tips!!
I would add soft tissues and lots of garbage cans to the list. We are in the midst of the sicknesses and have used all of your great ideas…and three boxes of tissues and countless runs to the garbage can.
Also, warm baths for the congested and achey, but remember to wash the tub toys in the dishwasher.
So glad everyone in your home is feeling better. Hope you stay healthy so you don’t have to use your great list. 🙂
I blogged a while back about making an epidemic flu kit. I think the church has a list/site to show you what you need. I also made a modified one for all those things you need.
suggestions to go in a container are painrelief, box of gloves, bleach, facemasks, hydration powdered drink, medicines for diareahha, cleaning products etc.
I’ve used quiet a few things out of mine and I recommend makine one and keeping it stocked!
Ooh-an excuse to stock otter pops-love it! 🙂
I finally realized it’s a good thing to have an otoscope. There’s one by DR. Mom sold on Amazon for about 25 dollars. If one of my little ones wakes up in the middle of the night screaming (and if they’ve had either a cold or flu,) I check their ears. It includes instructions of how/what to look for, you just need to practice when the kids or your husband are healthy so you can familiarize yourself with what a healthy ear looks like. I do all the things you mentioned, also a humidifier is a must, in my opinion, and I like those lemon flavored ricola cough drops to have on hand. Don’t forget saltines! 🙂
Great post. It really can bring the whole family to a halt when mom ends up sick…or when the majority of the family is ill. No fun at all!
Thanks for linking to my homemade disinfectant spray post 🙂