Happy Thanksgiving?

Well, today was officially Thanksgiving although not really. Our family celebration is not until tomorrow afternoon out at Gramma and Grandad's, which is something we are definitely looking forward to. The day started out okay. I was still feeling bad, so I slept in. Joe was up with Olivia just after 7:00 and then went out to get donuts for everyone. I woke up and realized Harry was still asleep too - a bit late for him. That should have been the first sign. I did my usual hacking and coughing until I could breathe normally, but now I had a new symptom: my ears were plugged. No matter what I did, I couldn't unplug them. We had breakfast and I started cleaning up while Joe and Lily went to the Rescue Mission to serve food during one of the many Thanksgiving shifts. I managed to get some laundry done, clean up the kitchen, and get the kids some lunch by the time Joe got back from dropping Lily off at her grandparents. I felt all right, just still completely plugged. Everything sounded strange - like I was inside a barrel - and I could hear myself chewing inside my head, which sounds particularly unpleasant. The kids went down for naps and Joe and I started cleaning the living room in preparation for Christmas decorating. We specifically tried to clean the rug - which is a color far too light for any sane person with children to choose for their home. It's supposed to be an off-white with brown flecks, but in places where it's walked on, it just looks dark and gray. It will have to be professionally cleaned to ever look decent again. Just about the time Joe brought in the tree, Olivia woke up. She was so excited to see the tree - "It's Christmas?" she asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up. "It's Christmas!" she cheered, jumping around the living room. Harry was a bit groggy when he woke up but seemed okay. My ears continued to stay plugged and my hearing was decreasing quite a bit. At one point, Joe told me the phone was ringing but I swear I could NOT hear it. I made dinner while Joe worked on a string of lights on the tree that was burned out, but my ears were bothering me more and more. We ate dinner and I began to feel lethargic. "I'm not feeling good," I told Joe. I looked over at Harry, who hadn't touched his food, and realized he was pulling at his ear. That was the second sign. Joe's brother Jeff called shortly after dinner and that's when Harry started crying. I went to get him out of the high chair and realized he was burning up. I took him into the cool shower with me and he just laid his head against me and whimpered. Joe took his temperature afterward and it was 104 degrees - sign number threel! There's no doubt he has an ear infection, which strangely enough, is probably my problem too. We gave him a dose of Ibuprofen and dressed him lightly. Olivia, sensing what was going on, told us: "I need to give Harry a hug," and she did, whether he wanted it or not. "Poor Harry," she lamented.

So now we have to decide whether to go to the ER or wait it out until morning and go to Urgent Care. I can only imagine how many people wind up in the ER on Thanksgiving. I don't think I can subject Harry, or myself, to a crowd right now. Harry seems to have calmed down since his Ibuprofen and is getting sleepy. We will be heading to Urgent Care as soon as it opens tomorrow morning and hopefully still make it for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow afternoon. To be continued...