Tis the season, right? We’ve had a few hellacious weeks in this house for the twins. It started on Jan. 23rd with Avery getting a fever that quickly went to 103-104 even with alternating Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours. Her first visit to the dr. that Saturday morning revealed nothing, and by Monday it finally broke and seemed both kids just had colds. Alex never got the fever, though. But by Weds., Avery’s fever was back and I had her back at the pediatrician’s, where she was diagnosed with a double ear infection and given a strong antibiotic. We thought we were on the road to recovery and happy kids again. Ha! A week later on Thursday, Alex woke up at 8 pm puking all over his crib, the walls, the carpet… Don was such a trooper and cleaned it all while Avery and I supervised helping Alex to aim for the toilet or trash can each time he got sick. Avery learned a new sentence that night: “Agus pook,” (her version of Alex puke.) 4 hours, 5 changes of pajamas, and many vomiting and dry heaving episodes later, we got him to sleep in our bed. He was fine Friday and then puked once Saturday morning in the hall – too early to have given him milk, I guess. I’m still trying to hunt down a lingering smell somewhere int he hall or bathroom – so gross. Not one to be outdone, Avery did the stomach bug thing Saturday night, only she went from 11 pm to 3 am and wasn’t nearly as cooperative about sleeping once the throwing up was done. She’s been a super cranky girl – crying and having tantrums all the time, saying NO even to her favorite things like holding Beary Bear and watching Mickey Mouse. She was clearly exhausted for days on end, as were we all. All I heard for days was “Mommy, hold” over and over, which I don’t mind doing but she wanted me to stand and hold her non-stop, which kills my back these days. Finally, today, almost 3 weeks later, I had my happy babies back with good appetites and smiles and giggles. I’m praying it continues because I think we were all at the end of our ropes with exhaustion and frustration.