Illness, winter blues, and hsing. How do you deal w/it?

[iamme]

Am I the only one who feels trapped inside my home? Or whose dc feel trapped inside?
We are going on being sick or snowed in for almost two straight months here, and I am about to lose my mind. I love hsing, but this time of year under these circumstances are getting to be too much. If we are healthy, and able to travel to a friends house-then the friend's dc are sick. It is getting so old. One would think that being inside the house would allow for lots of reading, playing games, studying, etc.. but with one of us sick, not a whole lot has been accom plished. I admit I don't do illness well! Neither do my dc. The tv has become our way of survival, and that is oh so bad.
I would love to hear how other families deal with this.

emma

[CariOfOz]

Well, it's not WINTER illness.. but yeah I feel your pain right now! I had two long bouts of pneumonia last year... the first was about 2mos long and the 2nd about six weeks. I literally couldn't get out of bed except to sit in a chair. In that extreme, the tv was our friend. DH ordered some fun dvds and some documentaries on things the boys like from our dvd que, my 7yo read to his brother and they built with a lot of lego etc. I am very lucky, in that my dh is usually home by 130.. and the boys get up around 730am. So he could come home & take over by doing a bit of their math with them, or reading one of their science or history books and talking about it with them.

Honestly though, the fact that the sky WON"T fall when one (or ALL) of us are sick, is one of the best things about homeschooling I can't IMAGINE having to have gotten the kids up and taken them to school every morning when I was just struggling to breathe!

It's not *always* that extreme... right now my 6yo has a heinous cough that kept him up half the night and a mild fever, and I have a sinus cold that won't give up. So we declared today a day off.

[dubatatamama]

I could've written your post, except add in a WHOLE lot of fighting between my 2 DC. We have had lots of popcorn & movie days around here, and they get old really fast! Just trust that your DC are still learning, even if you haven't been "officially" schooling everyday. Spring will be here soon! Hang in there!!

[Therese's Mommy]

Yep, that is where we were for a month. Sickness, sickness, sickness The tv was all we could do. My dds had really high fevers for about a week. I really needed them to take it easy. I was able to do some work with my oldest dd when the middle one was sick, but when my oldest was sick we just took time off and I let them watch tv. Eventually I had had enough of the tv (ENOUGH!!) and oldest dd was still a little sick, but I put them at the kitchen table for most of the day with tons of craft stuff and let them have at it.

Not a lot of ideas here. We missed so many activities because of sickness. And if it wasn't our sickness it was others' sickness and now it is the weather keeping us home and missing things. Yes, it stinks, not sure if there is a solution, though.

[DaughterOfKali]

This winter has been rough. I'm tired of being stuck inside. It seems that other local hs'ers are hibernating, too. No one is around and ds is getting lonely.

[Callimom]

We are "out of the house" homeschoolers and it feels like we have been inside for a month straight with chicken pox, stomach flu, weird rashes, my husband threw his back out - it has never been this bad before.

We actually have managed some outings with some kids while others stayed at home w DH or went to Gran's, a couple of playdates with poxy friends etc but we are all feeling the effects of not being able to go out like we usually do.

The weather has been okay so when the weather has been okay and the illness has been minimal, we have gone on a couple of short hikes. I can't wait to get out and going again.


How do we deal?
I send the kids outside to play whenever i can, beg friends to take well ones on field trips etc for me, get lots of videos and book tapes and hope the lego/playmobil obessions hold.....

And I consume too much chocolate - lol

[kathymuggle]

lets see:

I indulge in venting online and IRL. It makes me feel better.

I have told my younger 2 kids they are going outside today. I do not care if they simply stand in the snow and spin around and then come in...they are going outside.

On a day when no one is sick, go to the movies or museum. Make it spontaneous (do not plan as you will feel sad if you miss it - a real possibility in the N hemisphere at this time of year with illness and snow)

If you need to food shop or something bring one child - they will get a break from the house, and the alone time/time away from siblings may cut down on squabbles.

[karemore]

I make the beds even if we're sick and I know we're going to be crawling back in.

I shower and get dressed even when I know we aren't going anywhere possibly for days.....it's just better for our mental health if we are dressed and not in sweats for days on end.

I bring snow inside when we can't get out. DD will play in the sink for an hour or more with a bucket of snow and some food coloring.

This is day 9 since DD and I have been out of the house or have had anyone over. And it's snowing like crazy again.....

[Geerbabe]

As an alternative to TV, you might want to try snuggling up on the couch with blankets and listening to a story on CD. The kids can work on coloring or craft projects if they want something to keep their hands busy.

[iamme]

Aww-misery loves company!!
No, seriously, I'm sorry we're all dealing with this! I know it's been a very hard winter for most, I just wondered if I am on the extreme wimpy side of dealing with all of it. It sounds like we're pretty normal-for once!
Our computers broke down last month, and we are finally getting just one of them back from the shop next Wednesday. That computer is the only one we will have working except for dh's(which I am on now) and we will finally be able to play games, blog, listen to cds,etc..

Okay-hanging in there with the rest of you.....

Thanks for sharing, btw!!

[babycarrier]

It has been a challenging month. Along with the wonderful advice from above, I make sure we're taking supplements and I've started exercising more. Really improved my mood even though weather and resources are still the same. Here's to sunshine coming soon!

[Dakota's Mom]

Our time of being stuck in the house actually started in May when I was diagnosed with cancer. We had the surgery and the recovery from the surgery. Then the chemo that left me flat on the couch for the next few months. Just when I started to feel like going out and doing all the things we usually do, the winter from hell set in. A week ago we had 10 inches of snow. Now it has snowed since Wednesday evening. We got 20 inches before it finally stopped. And they are forecasting more snow on Tuesday. I am so ready for a busy active spring and summer. I really need to get out of this house. It is only 21 more days until spring. I can't wait.

We have watched tv during the daytime which is an absolute no no in our house. But we need something to distract us from the winter. We have gone to indoor play spaces when we can get out. We went earlier this week to an indoor play space. One of the boys said, "I just got to run." And run they did. From one side of the building to the other. Around the climbing towers and then across the building again. We are going to try another play space this week if we can get out. That's the only way to keep my sanity. He gets to play and I get to see something other than these four walls.

21 more days ladies. May it pass quickly.

Kathi

[iamme]

Originally Posted by farmlife

It has been a challenging month. Along with the wonderful advice from above, I make sure we're taking supplements and I've started exercising more. Really improved my mood even though weather and resources are still the same. Here's to sunshine coming soon!

I hear ya! I think a big reason I'm in such a funk is because of the decreased exercise.

Yes! 21 days to spring and more sunshine-yay!