Our Weekend

For the first time in a long time we had no real plans for this weekend.  That ended up being a good thing because by 11 am on Saturday it was apparent that Spencer had a mild cold. A mild cold in his body = major asthma.

Anyway, on Friday night we broke all dinner eating protocols and got McDonald's and ate on the couch while watching a movie.  #1, we're not really a McDonald's eating family.  Every once in a while we'll stop in for an ice cream or an iced coffee, but not to actually eat. #1a, I do a pretty good job of making sure we have a fruit and a vegetable for dinner every night.  Sometimes this is just raw carrot sticks or a tossed salad, but I don't consider fries to be a veggie.  #2, we eat dinner as a family at the table every night.   #3, the TV is off during mealtimes.

So here is Spencer, for the first time in his life, eating chicken nuggets and fries while sitting on the couch and watching Kung Fu Panda.  This should have been the first sign that he was getting sick.  He ate about 8 fries and 1 nugget.  The boy has NO appetite when he gets sick.

He was also not very taken with the movie.  After 20 minutes he just wanted to play with legos.

Saturday morning we broke down and went to Target to buy some new games.  I just can not do one more round of Memory.  We got Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders.  We also got some new puzzles.

(Full Disclosure: These pictures were actually taken on Sunday.)

By Saturday afternoon it was apparent that Spencer was sick.  These were his symptoms: a mild runny nose.  That's it.  That's all it takes to turn him into a kid who needs a full time respiratory therapist.  No fever, no body aches, no headache, no tummy ache, no chills.  But a cold, even if it is just a drippy nose, puts his asthma out of wack.  We spent the rest of Saturday resting, doing the neti pot, playing the new games, watching cartoons and giving albuterol every 4 hours.

Sunday was more of the same stuff we did on Saturday.  After Spencer's nap though, when he started sounding like a 4 pack a day smoker, we ran to Walgreens and bought a personal steam inhaler.  It doesn't do anything for his asthma or to ease his breathing, but it does soothe his throat and make him feel a little better.

I think I might borrow it and do an at home facial this week.