the boys, on realizing what they were giving up

Halloween was more spooky this year than it has been in the past. Spooky because George came home Thursday afternoon from school with a fever and sore throat. He went straight to bed. He also had a little cough. Being the doctor that I am, I quickly diagnosed him with Swine Flu. He was so upset because he would miss his Halloween party at school the next day. 

Friday, George spent his time lying on the couch. He didn't even move. Steve had to carry him to bed that night. He woke up in the middle of the night coughing so much he threw up. While I was with him in the bathroom, his only sentence in the middle of the night was, "Now I can't go trick-or-treating." He was clearly devastated. He went back to bed.

On Saturday, he woke up feeling pretty well. By mid-morning, he declared himself fit and ready to trick-or-treat. Max woke up Saturday with pure excitement. He came running down the stairs, "It's Halloween! It's Halloween!" He kept asking when he could go trick-or-treating. Even though George looked and felt great, I told him that he would have to stay home. He was not excited. About 15 minutes before it was time to go trick-or-treating, Max coughed and said something about not wanting to cough. I felt his head, fever. I informed him he couldn't go trick-or-treating. He was so sad.

But Max insisted on wearing his costume. I told him he could watch from the family room. He couldn't always help himself and came closer to the door every time someone rang the doorbell. At one point, it all became too much for him, as you can see from the photo above. Poor little guy. 

Cara and Maddie took out extra bags for George and Max. And plenty of the neighbor kids had extra bags for sick siblings. It was a crazy year this year. 

Max ran all over the place on Sunday and I said to Steve, "What if we kept him home for just a cold?" Max has gotten over the flu very quickly. George has had a harder time. But they both seem to be doing well today. Max informed me this morning that next time Halloween came around, he would go trick-or-treating. 

Hopefully, the swine flu will just move on now. The rest of us have been fine. I've been hiding spinach and squash, vegetables, blueberries and other fruits in their foods. Trying to build up immunities! I'm nothing if not tricky!