Monday, September 24, 2012

Around Here

Fall has definitely started around these parts.  It arrived right on schedule.  The temperatures have dropped low enough for us to have our first fire of the year on Friday night, though we have still refused to turn on the furnace.  

The leaves are starting their change.  A few trees are already splashed in reds and yellows and orange. Halloween items are heavily on display and the kids have been talking nonstop about trick or treating, what costume they will choose, and upcoming trips to the pumpkin farm.  

Our pumpkin spice candles have been working overtime in our house and bags of apples lie in wait for me to turn them into my famous chunky applesauce.

On Saturday Grace and I worked in the front and back gardens clearing out the dead plants and flowers and potting the new colorful mums to take their place.  I couldn't help but notice all the Christmas trees being set up at Walmart when I was picking out my mums, and though it made me pretty angry it didn't change my festive fall mood.  

The one unfortunate side affect of fall is the sickies that always seem to come with it (and the start of school).  We had planned on going up north this weekend to see the magnificent color, but it was supposed to be rainy and chilly and Ben was nursing a cold so we decided to stay home.  

On Saturday morning Ben's throat seemed much worse so we took him to the doctor.  A strep test was done and came back negative.   We figured it was just a nasty virus.  

As the day and night wore on Ben got worse.  His glands swelled so that you could see them sticking out of his neck.  The poor kid was miserable and could barely swallow.  On Sunday we hunkered down and tried to make Ben as comfortable as possible.  The majority of his day was spent in front of the fire (literally, right in front of the fire) trying to warm up and even falling asleep.  By Sunday night Todd and I decided that Ben needed to go back to the doctor in the morning.  

First thing this morning, after the other kids were off to school, the doctor saw Ben and decided to run some blood tests.  The tests revealed that Ben has mono.  A bit of a surprise in such a young kid, but not unheard of.  Poor little pickle.  

Ben is currently in a nice hot bath before we have to go and pick up Grace from school, and then I'm sure it will be more blankets, fires, cuddling, and hopefully we'll get some soup and ice cream and yogurts down.  


16 comments:

Cyndy Bush said...

YOu make me wish we had a 'real' fall here. Except not too much cold. lol
Poor Ben - hope he heals quickly.

Mom24 said...

Aww, poor little guy. I hope he's feeling much better soon and that no one else gets it.

(Is the duration shorter when you're young? Hope so!)

Tabor said...

Not warm enough for a fire here. That photo does make him look like he is recuperating with the cozy warmth. Make sure he doesn't catch on fire!

Kat said...

Mom24- Yes. The doc said that younger kids usually handle mono better than the teenagers. It can hang out for a month or so in teenagers but usually only a week or two in kids. He has had it almost a week already so hopefully he will be feeling better ASAP!

Tabor- I know! This pic makes it look like he is practically IN the fire, but the hearth area is really wide and he is away from it a ways.
;)

Unknown said...

That does NOT look comfortable, except for the warm part of course. Poor little guy. That is crazy that he has Mono. Huh.

Hope he is well VERY soon and that the sickies stay away!

Kat said...

Elaine- I know! It looks so hard! But he liked it. Kids are able to sleep almost anywhere, I think.
The doc said that more people (and kids) probably get mono than reported but they just aren't tested for it. A cold that hangs on and hangs on and you just feel run down, lots of people don't want a blood test for that. But because Ben's glands were SO swollen and his throat was SO sore we did the test. Let's hope Ben didn't share a glass or snack with his brothers or sister right before he got really sick. Yipes!

chrissy said...

Oh no, MONO! Poor guy. Poor you! After the summer you had you should get a free pass or something! My kids were exposed to someone with mono recently and I had not realized how much they eat after one another until I tried to put a stop to it! Hope he gets better and that no one else gets it.

Kat said...

Chrissy- Right? I thought maybe I would get a bit of a by from all the injuries and sicknesses around here for a while. Boo. :(

lime said...

mono? aw, poor lil pumpkin! he sure found a nice warm spot to recuperate though. hope he's on the mend soon.

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Yay for all things Fall and pumpkin.

Major boo for a sick kiddo. That's the worst. I hope he recovers super quick.

Rima said...

Poor little guy! I hope he's feeling better soon!

Tonya said...

awe poor Ben...I had mono in H.S. and it was horrible. I hope he starts to feel better soon.

Anonymous said...

Noooo--not mono!
But other than that things sound pretty well in your neck of the Wisconsin woods. Cozy fire there!

Jenn said...

Awww, poor guy! Hope he is better as quickly as possible!!

Mom24 said...

I'm so glad he's doing better! That is wonderful news. :) Hope you are too.

Karen Deborah said...

good grief mono? poor little guy hopefully by now he is over it.

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