halloween day was a MEMORABLE day!
i didn't get a chance to sleep in. Kiara woke me up at 7am when she had a bad dream. those kinds of a start to the day are never good. we had decided the night before that we needed to make a good effort to getting our H1N1 flu shots. the clinics opend at 9am. after Kiara woke me up, i figured i may as well get dressed and get out the door. by the time i drove through the Starbucks drive through and bought my venti non-fat latte and oatmeal, it was 7:30. and the line up was longer than i could have guessed. fortunately there were several nice people nearby to wait with. honestly, it is amazing how much you learn about a stranger in those kinds of situations.
an hour later, the line-up had doubled. it completely disrupted service at the local gas station. almost everyone had picked up a coffee. Tim Hortons, Second Cup and Starbucks cups overflowed the garbage cans. i guess the pandemic and local immunization clinic has been profitable for some businesses. by the time we reached the doors at 9:30 the local bank set up some tables for donated coffee from Starbucks.
the scene inside the clinic is one i doubtfully will forget. it seriously seemed so outdated from the kind of environment we have grown accustomed to. a lineup that snaked around one corner of the room. a view of every single immunization station. adults who hate needles, laying down as they recover from their shot. children screaming in terror and crying after the poke.
by 11am i had called my husband to come with the kids and join me in the final line. altogether they had to wait for 45 minutes. the kids were stressed by the environment and also filled with some nervous anticipation. that last 45 minutes felt the longest!
but we managed to be healthy on the same day and get the shot over with. i was very proud of my kids and their bravery. after the shot was over, our nurse gave them some licorice and that brought their smiles back. as promised we stopped in at the bakery below for another well deserved treat.
by mid-afternoon all of our arms were tender and we felt tired. Kiara announced that she was not going to be getting another needle. she knows that there are plans to go back in three weeks for a booster shot. i may need to promise a pony for that one!
then we had to make it through the rituals of Halloween night! for the kids the last 2 hours before trick-or-treating felt like days!
Kristian made a special meal for the kids.
the three of them joined up with another neighbor and they treated around the neighborhood together for about an hour.
i stayed home, wore my witchs' hat and passed out candies. there are some really cute little kids in this community that had the best costumes. it was a pretty relaxed hour for me. i even managed to clean up the kitchen and sweep the floor in between trick-or-treaters! the irony of wearing a witch hat and using a broom on halloween night gave me a private laugh during that time. some things you just can't plan!
in all the rushing before they left to go treating, i forgot to take photos with some daylight. so here is the post-walking photo. Aidan told me later that they saw lots of Transformers and Princesses out that night. Star Wars was a popular costume plan.
they did have their lighter winter coats squished under their costumes. and mittens kept their hands from forming icicles. fortunately they are quite lean, so after all the stuffing they actually looked like average weight children!
by the time photos were done, they were anxious to take off their costumes. they both had glitter in their hair, so we hustled them off to warm baths. it probably felt good after been out in the chilly evening. then the evening drama really began. Kiara started coughing and Aidan was loudly complaining of his stomach hurting. i had mentioned earlier that both myself and Kiara had a strange flu with fever, chills and nausea. i guess it was now his turn. except we also now had the H1N1 vaccine to complicate things! for sanity, we treated Aidan's grumbles with gravol and ibuprofen. daddy hung out in his room while he listened to the tales of winnie the pooh, and eventually he fell asleep. he slept very well, probably the drugs and drama of the day contributing to that. Kiara kept coughing and also ran another fever. these days, those symptoms tend to spark fear in mothers. she got some decongestant and Tylenol. however, she woke me up nearly every 2 hours. once was for asking me to cover up her teddy bear.
this morning, both kids woke up rather happy and hungry. however we've had ups and downs with their health. Aidan definitely has the flu that took me down. Kiara, it is hard to know. she is pretty content and just keeping a low profile. the TV has been working as a great distraction. normally they average 30 minutes a day, so this is quite out of the ordinary. i know they are not feeling well because neither of them has any interest in looking through their treasures of candy from last night.
i'm dealing with it all rather well. i am glad the initial immunization is done. i know they won't be fully immunized until they get their booster in 21 days. however they will soon have 87% immunity and their bodies are already at work making antibodies. it's hard to know what Kiara has, but she seems to be doing well at fighting it. looks like we'll have another quiet day at home tomorrow. after this weekend, i think we all deserve a relaxing day!
last winter we seriously had 4 months of illness. we did have a few days' break in between.....but it went on forever! none of us are wanting to repeat that. so far, we are not off to a great start.
other things are keeping us smiling and encouraged. we'll keep our focus on that.
