So we have been stranded at home all week because my kids both came down with the dreaded hand, foot, and mouth disease. I remember having it as a teenager and I can't think of many more illnesses that made me feel more miserable. Sure the flu is more intense, but it doesn't last as long. I remember having a hard time eating anything and walking was painful, and that is not even to mention the painful sores on the hands too that mad everything else painful to do as well. When I saw a canker sore in Kent's mouth I felt sad for him (he would cry after every bite but he still wanted to eat it) but when I also saw the spots on his feet and then his hands, I felt just awful and seriously wanted to cry. I felt so sad for my little kiddo. I immediately checked Rachel and she also had the sores. It made me want to bawl to a) think of them having to deal with the pain that I remember from it and b) thinking of having to deal with sick and in pain kiddos for the next week or so with out even being able to get out of the house. And to top it off, Jacob has never had it and it would be really bad if he had to miss a whole week of class because of it, so we are keeping him from the kids as much as possible.
The kids actually haven't been as bad as I feared. I'm going a little stir crazy, but they seem to be doing all right. They haven't complained about the sores on their hands and feet much at all, even though I can see them (and they actually have hen all up their legs and on their bottoms too). They have complained about their mouths hurting though. We've been trying to feed them easy to eat things and we bought popcicles and pudding and watermelon and juice for them as well. Kent wants to eat even though it hurts and has been asking me to feed it to him (which is really weird for Mr. Independent) (seriously this is the kid that if I help him get off the potty, he will climb back on just so he can get off in his own). Rachel on the other hand would rather not eat, an she usually takes about an hour at every meal, but has been taking two, because she is hungry but doesn't want to eat it.
Because we were going to be stranded at home all week, I thought we needed to open a can of pumpkin to help us get through it (why yes, I am a comfort eater, and to me pumpkin=comfort). I have made pumpkin yeast bread (which is excellent for sandwhiches or toast), pumpkin cream cheese, and baked pumpkin oatmeal. Mmm...and my Rachel girl loves pumpkin things almost as much as her mama, which mean she has had something that she will actually eat without a fuss.
She has been requesting bread or toast at almost every meal. I love it. Anytime I tell her I'm making something with pumpkin in it she gets super excited. It's a good thing my kids like pumpkin or they would go hungry from the month of September til January and then intermittently through out the year. Anyway, I'm glad that my kids don't seem to be as sick with this as I was as a teenager, and I'm glad that my kids like pumpkin. That is all.
