Flu, Parties and Cocoa

Well, the week is going remarkably okay... despite having one child with the flu. Reagan is sick. She's had an on-again, off-again time with this bug. We went to the doctor to rule out Strept. He thought it could be a cold virus or the flu. We didn't do a flu test since there was no need. She couldn't take any medications for it since it was already day 5. However since it all started with 2 days of shivering (chills) and headaches and fever, I figure it's the flu. Today, she's just wiped out. I knew she was really feeling ill when she didn't even care that she missed the big Brownie Christmas party today. Poor girl. She did get a lot of goodies that I collected for her at the Brownie party, including a yummy hot chocolate mixture made by Ms. Traci, her secret Santa exchange ornament, and much more.

Tonight however she is doing well. So far today, we distributed gifts to 2 teachers and 2 coleaders, exchanged Secret Santa gifts at Brownies (and had our party), delivered cookies to Ben's party (or so I thought... I accidentally put the cookies in Reagan's bag... ugh!), and exchanged neighborhood Secret Santa gifts with the kids. By the 7pm exchange at the local pizza place, Reagan was feeling much better... even dancing in the aisle. Good thing... HER Christmas party at school is tomorrow.

At our dinner exchange this evening (which by the way, was so nice despite only having 3 families come) I was talking with Donna. She owns 3 terriers, one of which is a Westie... just like our Aspen. We were talking about the dogs and their personalities, etc. Funny... and quite ironic. You see....

We came home after the pizza dinner and exchange and light-sightseeing with Daddy around 8:30... which is past bedtime for the kids. We came in to a MESS on the sofa. It looks reddish-brown. I assumed she had thrown up. Nope... it was "dry"... and was just the beginning of the disaster. The sofa was the place where she dragged Reagan's cocoa mix (which she must have found inside her bag on the kitchen table) and ate all of the marshmallows and cocoa. I moved the cushions aside to clean after our bedtime routine. We then congregated on the loveseat with our bedtime Christmas book. Just after reading the book and saying prayers, I happened to reach down under a pillow I was sitting on. Yuck! That's where Aspen's stomach apparently began to object to the cup of cocoa mix. None of us sat on the exact location (somehow!)... but there are two more cushions to add to the cleaning. We commented on how she does not tolerate chocolate, and how we'll need to watch for her getting sick tonight. Ha... if only we knew at that time....

So I sent the kids upstairs while I pulled out the SpotBot. Shortly later, I hear "Mom! Aspen threw up on my bed!" Yes, Ben's bed was where Aspen's stomach FULLY objected to the cocoa mix. It soaked through a comforter, thick blanket, 2 sheets and a mattress cover. Thank goodness we have a plastic cover on his mattress!

So, at this point, as Aspen is following us around the house, I am realizing... ah! our dog's mouth is brownish-gray! She got a bath, to say the least.

Funny... at the first location, I had to use the steam cleaner to scrub out the powder from the creases in our chenille fabric sofa. Doesn't sound bad till you realize that water is just ITCHING to mix with cocoa mix. I basically created "hot" cocoa in my cleaning machine. At least that spot smelled chocolatey (it was only the hot chocolate powder).

As we were rolling our eyes and almost laughing at the situation, we joked. Aspen never seems to pick the middle of a big ol' cushion to throw up. Nope! She finds the crevice between cushions and the back of the sofa. So, one "spot" requires cleaning of 3 sides of each of 2 cushions, the back of the sofa, and the area under the cushions. Not to mention trying to clean around the cording along the edges of each cushion. Now, multiply that by 2.... for 2 sofas.

At least with bedding, everything gets thrown in a washing machine! Let "All Clear" do the cleaning instead.

Well, one good thing came out of this. I still had almost a full tank of water after refilling and finishing cleaning the sofas. So, I cleaned our basement staircase. Wow! It looks amazing now! :-)

Hmmm.... shall I even hazard to attempt doing anything tomorrow?