Trick, Treat, or Sinus Infection?

Boo.

This Halloween is especially happy because Elizabeth finally woke fever free and held down half of a carnation instant breakfast milkshake. She has been battling a nasty sinus infection and spent the past few days with fever and a look on her face that says "I will barf on you." It's also ribbon week so she came home from school on Monday with a drug-free message bracelet. For the rest of the week she was supposed to do wacky things like wear her clothes inside out to show school solidarity on saying no to drugs. Instead, she spent the rest of the week on a sofa being force fed Cefprozil, C-Phen DM, Tylenol and Motrin. I think the magic bracelet (she was asked to wear it all week) increased Elizabeth's gag reflex which made medicine taking an all day duck and cover kind of event. The "good" medicine (try telling that to a 5 year old in fetal position hugging a pillow) finally seems to be working and Elizabeth is more Elizabeth-like today.

Jay is waiting for us at the beach, and I must admit that I used this fact constantly to force the kids to cooperate. I sent the Halloween costumes down with him so I would have less to pack, so it's a good thing Elizabeth's fever is gone. I'm not sure how I would have explained to the kids that we had to stay home and they had no costumes.

Amanda and Jack provided some much needed comic relief this week. Like when Jack hid the car keys (dropped them over the baby gate in the playroom) and then watched me search frantically so that we could get Amanda to school. Okay, that one wasn't funny. Jack clapping when I finally found the keys was a little bit funny. Also funny: when the dryer broke and Amanda told me it just needed new batteries; when the phone rang last night and Amanda came downstairs to tell me that someone was calling my bed; how Amanda still doesn't understand why we won't have Gaga's pumpkin pie when we get to the hotel, because Gaga told her that she would make pumpkin pie the next time we go to the beach.

So tonight, at the "family-friendly" Halloween banquet, if the question is trick or treat, my official answer is: treat, on the rocks, make it strong and keep it coming. Oh, and do I get a bracelet with that?

(Spider is by Katie Pertiet for Designer Digitals)