One week before Memorial Day, the Manimal started feeling poorly. He was cranky and had a fever. I spied a blister on his tongue. On Tuesday night Hamish was exhausted and feverish. Hand, foot and mouth. They were both officially sick. The Manimal's virus came and went pretty painlessly. Hamish got a double helping of the mouth and throat blisters. Poor thing suffered. It was awful.
By the time I got off work on Friday for the extra long holiday weekend, we had figured out what survival mode looked like: pain meds and Chloraseptic before she tried to eat. She was so very ready to get out of the house, but still contagious. So we had to cancel most of our plans with little friends, but find something to do.
It ended up being a great, family weekend.
Friday: Friday night we went to the Zoovie (movie at the zoo) with a fried chicken and strawberry picnic. There were lots of kids there, of course, but we quarantined ourselves on our blanket and enjoyed a movie under they stars.
Saturday: Saturday morning we did some nesting at home and the kids took good naps. Saturday evening we went out to Arrington Vineyards. It was a celebration because Hamish's Breakfast Buddy was back in town and we were thrilled to see her and Laura. Jodi and family came too, because she was confident that her kids were past the age of HFM risk. (CDC says by the time kids are 5, they are pretty unlikely to get it again. Thankfully, Sophie and Sutton stayed uninfected.) I'm glad they came, because the kids entertained each other (and Keri) while we enjoyed nice wine, live music, and a gorgeous evening.
Sunday: The church nursery was off limits, so we stayed home for a Sister Schubert's breakfast and Leah got to come hang out all morning. We haven't seen her since the Manimal was a baby, and we enjoyed cinnamon rolls outside and letting the kids play. After Sunday afternoon naps, our precious neighbors invited us over for freshly-picked strawberries and Keri and Laura came back to enjoy their generosity with us.
Monday: Keri spent the night so that the Breakfast Buddies could catch up over cereal, then we all headed to the Harpeth River for a lazy morning float. It was our first attempt at canoeing with the kids, and it went so well. It was a lovely day, and we had a great time floating, then playing in the water for a bit, then floating some more. The Manimal passed out soundly in Keri's arms at the end of the trip, and slept all the way home. Monday night, Jennifer and Ben came over for Memorial Day cookout.
Tuesday: By Tuesday, we were feeling confident that our bug had passed. (We hadn't had any pain complaints since Friday). So we ventured out with little friends. L, C and M met us at Edwin Warner Park. We had planned to play in the Nature Playground (follow that link to see an adorable baby Manimal), but none of the water features were turned on, so it was just hot and dusty. So we took our four blondies into the woods and played in the stream, caught crawfish and minnows, looked for blackberries (far too early), croaked at frogs, and had a picnic.
