Sickies and clutter... oh my!

We are all sick... its official as of today, we have all fallen. It started with Jacob and gastro, then it was Zach with his flu and coughing and fever, then DH got gastro and the flu (poor soul), then me who fought valiantly against the flu (had my flu shot!) but then the damn virus changed course and turned into a cold, then Kaitlynn with a runny nose ("sa fait mal Maman... quoi, cherrie?... mon nezzzzzzzzz!") and then today, poor Tristan got the fever. Now, I ask, how can this be... its still cold outside, there is still 4 feet of snow... where did these viruses come from? My nose is so raw, I cringe at the though of using a kleenex. I've been using a mix of Salinex and Hydrasense to "unplug", which works kind of well, cause I dislike the over the counter decongestants - they make me high or really low - anyhow, I believe that is why my nose is so raw too. Any home remedies out there to unplug some sinuses and get me back on my feet?




The flip side is I am so bored, not being able to get on my bike or lift weights (last time I was this sick, I didn't stop exercising... figured I could sweat it out... ended up with pneumonia and on asthma pumps for like a month... not going to do that again), that I have gotten another bug. Its all Oprah's fault really. I watched her two part show last week and it struck a cord in me, I can't tell you. It was about clutter, and this poor woman who has a serious, serious, serious obsession about accumulating stuff. It took them 8 weeks (that's 2 months!) to clean out there home with 100 people helping out. Now, I am not a hoarder by any means, but when we moved in here, I was just recovering from Jacob's birth and I basically just threw stuff wherever it would fit. Then you accumulate stuff, like magazines (my weakness) and you never get around to sifting through stuff. The office I think is the worse, with the accumulation of papers that you think are important (the Oprah hoarder's husband had kept 35 years of bills!), and I have been very slowly going through stuff. Its all organized into boxes and out of the overstuffed filing cabinet. Next step is to start shredding... but I got diverted and started attacking the main floor the other day. I have now cleaned out the main pantry, the liquor cabinet (hick!), the shelf above the microwave (which seemed to be the catch all place), the plastics shelf, and my magazines. I feel lighter all ready! I am also repeating to myself that I will have a garage sale this spring and sell all the baby stuff that is taking up room (except for the high chair, I think, since we still know of some babies that need it when they come over). Amazing what I can accomplish when I have three sick kids at home, I'm sick and can't do much else but sit on a stool and fill a garbage bag!

Stay tuned for my monthly update on my weight loss - the big weigh in is April 2nd!