TIME OUT!!!!

My BFF Nan gave me a wonderful Christmas gift: Time Out For Women getaway. How cool is she? I've been so looking forward to this weekend; I need to get my cup filled. We're supposed to leave when the kids get home from school--as it starts tonight @6:30pm in Denver. I imagine it's going to be similar to BYU's Women Conference without the 10 hour drive to Provo, without MaryEllen Edmunds' fun "conference etiquette" video, without the Instant Choir (which I always participate in), and without all the lines of 25,000 women flowing in different directions. This might even be civil.

em>civ-i-lized 
 /ˈsɪvəˌlaɪzd/ [siv-uh-lahyzd] –adjective
1.
having an advanced or humane culture, society, etc.
2.
polite; well-bred; refined.
3.
of or pertaining to civilized people: The civilized world must fight ignorance.
4.
easy to manage or control; well organized or ordered: The car is quiet and civilized, even in sharp turns.

Mr W did indeed get up with Boofus last night while I got some much-needed rest.

Isn't it amazing the difference you feel when you are rested?! But, the kids are still home from school with their awful coughing and puking up phlegm. That's all they've got...lots and lots of it though. Boofus tosses his cookies after every meal. I don't know that I've ever been so frustrated with an illness as this one that has ahold of my kids! It's been 4 weeks now. I've scoured, Lysol'ed, bleached their sheets, pillows, everything in their rooms; nearly force-fed them juice, water, gatorade, vitamin water, lemon water with honey...you name it. They've been on and finished up antibiotics, have taken /are taking: mucinex, congestion relief, cough syrup and extra vitamins. There's a humidifier in their rooms. I don't know what else to do.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to get mucous out, please share!

I am feeling uneasy about leaving them here overnight without me. Mr W assures me that they'll be fine--that I need to go. And he's right.

So I'm packing my bags so I can leave when Nan and Kelly are ready...it will be a long convoy of sisters travelling north to Denver, which I am so glad to be apart! Last night, I overheard Mr W explaining to Boofus where I'm going and what TOFW is...then I stepped in his room and said, "It's where I listen to other women tell me why I shouldn't run away from home."

Mr W laughed. He knows it's true. I have those days when running away looks like a tempting option. Nana says it wouldn't do me any good--that they would all hunt me down and bring me back tied to the front of the Suburban. "You know you love us, Mom." Yeah, which is exactly why I need a "Time Out".