Sick Again

Well, it doesn't seem possible, but we Rowes are all sick AGAIN. 

We have come down with new head colds and fevers, and the congestion is great enough to have inspired several colorful descriptions of our snotty breathing and nose-blowing.

JULIA: (coming out of her bedroom at night) Mommy?  Can you put some Vick's on my chest, because I sound like a DINOSAUR.

Or:

ME: (blowing my nose)
JULIA: Wow!  Your nose sounded like a TRUMPET!


Julia is finally back at school today after being home sick yesterday.  Between the snow days and sick days, it turns out Julia has only been in school for two full and two half days over the past two weeks.  Because she had missed so much school, when she finally went back in (before the current sickness hit), she had piles of finished classwork to bring home.

Among these class projects was an acrostic poem using the word "Snowflake":

Snowflakes falling
North Pole is cold.
Outstanding igloo.
Wet from outside.
Flying snowballs.
Lake is frozen.
Achking from snowballs hitting you.
Kicking snowballs.
Everyone is sleding.


Hmm.  "Achking from snowballs hitting you?"  That's what she came up with for "A?"  Personally, I would have gone with something like "Arctic air," or "Angels in the snow."  But maybe she and Madeleine play a really hardcore version of snowball fight so the idea of achking from snowballs hitting her was a valid description of her winter experience.


Julia also came home with two "how-to" direction sets, using her own expertise in certain areas.  The first was about diving:

I know how to... Do dives

1. You climb onto a diving bord and bend over.
2. You put your hands into streamline position (apparently you also contort your body into an unnatural and humanly impossible side-back-bendy position)
3. You bend forward until your in the water.
4. You come up and sprint to the end of the pool.


I think she's ready to be a swim coach, don't you?


The second set of instructions was on doing cartwheels:

I know how to... Do a cartwheel

1. First, you put one foot in front of you and one arm up.
2. You bend over until your on your hands.
3. Put the other arm down.
4. Then when your done you stand back up.


Okay, readers, it's time to test Julia's direction-giving!  Follow the above instructions and tell me: did you do a successful cartwheel?  I have to say that I'm pretty sure if I just put one foot in front of me and one arm up, bend over until I'm on my hands, put my other arm down, and stand back up, I will have executed a perfect cartwheel.

Now, if someone could just write an instruction set for how to stop getting the whole family sick with winter viruses, I'd be set.