This past week has been a week of sickness.  Monday afternoon, Michael threw up under the kitchen table after we finished up the cookies we got from the grocery store.  I put him down for a nap and he woke up when Jon got home from work.  Luckily Jon got up there fast enough and rushed Michael to the bathroom for his first time throwing up in the toilet.  He did get some in his room before heading to bathroom.  Jon took him downstairs to watch some tv, but it sounded more like play and that he was feeling much better.  I cleaned up the mess and got things all cleaned for him.

Tuesday was a snow day and Jon decided to call out.  Since he took Tuesday off he was going to work on his normal Friday off.

Fast forward to Thursday.  I started not feeling so well a little before Jon got home.  Ate some of the pizza he got for supper and then headed to bed.  An hour or so later I woke up and began getting sick.  This happened for the next seven hours - throw up, "sleep" for about an hour, and throw up again.

My wonderful husband called off from work so he could take care of Michael and I.  Little did he know what awaited him.  They went and got me stuff from the grocery store that we didn't have and even got themselves breakfast.  After Jon got Michael to take a nap, he himself got taken down by whatever I had, but nothing as bad.

So, what do you do when both parents are sick and have no energy to take care of an extremely active toddler?  Well, in my husband's case you act stubborn and say you'll feel better before Michael gets up from his nap.  I, on the other hand, was ready to throw in the white flag and call the Gramie Calvary and have her take him for the weekend.

We are not fortunate enough to live close by to family and we don't like the idea of our son being close to three hours away from us.  Call us being over protective, but that's how we feel.  I know that Michael would be in great hands with my mother-in-law, she's a nurse practitioner, but it's the distance he would be from us if anything should happen that bothers us.

So, with that being said, Jon waited too long with making the call.  She was on standby.  The next morning, Jon was feeling better so he called the Calvary to stand down.

In the past two and a half years both of us have not been this sick at the same time.  What do you do when this happens in your household?  Would love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

I've lived in Leesburg, VA for five years now and have never really done much searching for Christmas light displays.  Growing up, I remember traveling to Wheeling, WV to see the lights at Olgelbay Park and wanted to be able to give that same experience to Michael.

I always used to tape our Christmas cards up on the wall in our dining room at our apartment, but when we moved in our house I wanted something a little nicer looking.  So, with the help of Pinterest, I found something that works really well to display our beautiful Christmas cards that we receive from our friends and family.

I have never made gingerbread houses for Christmas growing up and was really wanting to do one this year with Michael.  After I thought about it, I realized that Michael might still be a little too young to make a gingerbread house with.  So, I found something a little more Michael or toddler friendly - an edible Christmas tree.

December 24th's, Christmas Eve, book was The Christmas Sweater.  A wonderful story that says that homemade presents are the best because they are filled with so much love.  A lesson that all children should be taught not just during Christmas, but all year round.
Since it was Christmas Eve and the final book, we just handed it to Michael to unwrap.  Hope you all enjoyed following our Christmas countdown as much as we loved doing.  Hopefully this gives you some ideas on how to do your own Christmas stories countdown with your own children.  This year went over a lot better than last, so we will definitely be doing this next year with some new books that Michael got this Christmas as well as some of the ones used this year.

December 23rd's book was Woody's White Christmas.  Great story for any kid who loves Toy Story.  Woody wants a white Christmas and at the end he gets it.

December 22nd's book was Biscuit's Pet & Play Christmas.  A book more for a younger toddler.  That day was a rather long day for us since we were at Jon's parents' house and then traveled back to our house.  Michael was just ready to pick his book, read it, and go to bed - and so was Mommy and Daddy.

December 21st's book was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  We were actually at Jon's parents' house for that night for their Christmas celebration so, we had Michael pick out the book before we left our house that morning.  An all-time classic Christmas story and a must in any Christmas book countdown or collection.