Deck the halls with lots of illness

Boy, have we had a tough time lately. First, I came down with a cold, then Violet caught it and it mutated into croup. We hardly ever leave the house- how come we're the sick ones? Then, Charlotte came down with it during Jason's party for his show choir on Friday night. She pretty much refused to eat and drink and waited for everyone to leave before she threw up. Of course, then she was perfectly fine for the rest of the night. (This party is bad juju for us- last year, Indy the Diabetic Cat went into an insulin coma and almost died- I had to start the party while Jason whisked him to the vet. He's fine now- Violet is routinely horrifying him.)

Since she seemed okay, we decided on Saturday to head to Sea World as planned, and got a chance to see the stingrays and dolphins before Charlotte got diarrhea from the cold medicine we had given her to clear up ungodly stuffiness and drip. So, double whammy. We left Sea World and went to Emily's for the night, where at around midnight she developed a 103.9 fever, complete with shakes, chills, goosebumps, and possibly some delirium- she did some serious talking in her sleep. We're hoping to return to Sea World before the New Year so we can see Kayla sing in the O Wondrous Night show there.

We left Emily's this morning at 6:30 am so Jason could get to church, and he's now at Disney's Candlelight with his chorus (poor Jason had to drive home from Orlando this morning, then back to Orlando, and back from Orlando tonight). Everyone seems a little better- Violet is very snotty and Charlotte takes more breaks in her play, but (I hope) the worst is behind us. Time to clean up for the family arriving tomorrow and shop for our annual Christmas Eve appetizer spread. This year's menu:

Veggie Bars
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Crostini with Goat Cheese, Figs and Prosciutto
My dad's Eggrolls
Cheese Wraps
Sausage Wontons

You know, all the things that are bad for you.

Enjoy some pictures of our goings-on today, almost all inspired by Pinterest:

Our Elf on the Shelf, Apple, reading The Very Busy Spider to the Little People.

Post-church cuddles- if you ask Vi for a hug, she flings her arms around your neck.

We cut out construction paper and wrapping paper to make a snowman on our front door.

Cutting flour tortillas into snowflakes. We baked them with cinnamon sugar for snack.

Trying out a new hairstyle.