On a scale from one to ten...

...with one being the least "ugh" and ten being the most "ugh" ever, how would your rate your "ugh"?

About an 8. At this point, I'm pretty sure I have the swine flu. If it's not that, it must be a close relative of that or the plague. Either way, I feel like poo.

I'm sure it could be worse. Like I've been optimistically telling people, I don't have a headache!

These are my symptoms, in random order:

-Fever

-Chills

-Streaming/stuffy nose - starting to turn shades of pink

-Occasional productive cough

-Throat so sore it literally hurts like the dickens to even whisper

-Over-salivation leading to nausea and increased throat pain

-Double ear ache

-Threats of intestinal issues, though only minor so far

And as far as I can tell, Ibuprofen, which works like a miracle drug for my kiddos, does absolutely nothing for me. I finally gave up and tried Tylenol, 2 nights ago, and my fever finally broke...until the tylenol wore off, but at least I had some momentary relief from chills.

Now I'm on a Tylenol/Ibuprofen rotation, only because I'm nearly out of Tylenol and I'm trying to make it last longer. ...I know, I could just ask Mark to buy some more, but that never occurs to me when he calls to ask if he can pick up anything. No, no, I only think of the practicals like throat-numbing spray, popsicles and diet 7-up.

So, here I am, day 3 of feeling like my body is dissolving and I can't decide whether or not to be seen.

I know there's very little/nothing a doctor can do for a virus and I'm assuming that's what I have. However, I'm concerned that I'm also developing a sinus infection and 1 or 2 ear infections. These obviously are a little beyond my home-remedies. Yes, I already used my neti pot - my sinuses are so congested that it all ran down my throat and I'm not exactly a neti pot amateur. I also tried ginger juice in my ears for the ear ache which was supposed to bring immediate relief and be an anti-inflammatory as well. This turned out to be a practice I DON'T recommend. The "soothing heat" that they talked about felt more a burning coal in my ear canals. Reason #10000 why home remedies should never be practiced on children before you try them out yourself! Maybe if I had a killer ear ache the burning heat feeling would be a nice distraction from the ear ache - kind of like the idea that if you have a headache you should pinch your hand between your thumb and first finger. Apparently it hurts enough prompt your body to release some natural pain killer. Nice, eh? I'll try OTC meds, thank you very much.

So, time, gas, bills, is it all worth it if I'm going to be better tomorrow? But what if I'm not? And do I go to my Doctor who is farther away and more expensive for us, or do I go to urgent care which is local, wouldn't cost us a dime and has a pharmacy on site.

Ok, now that you all now how absolutely horrid I feel, I should get going and attend to my poor children. Well, Iain's having a blast with us all hanging out in his room while he plays with his toys, but Lydia has clearly reached her limit.

Oh, I'm also supposed to be asking A/C companies to come by to give us estimates. We have one, but would like a couple more to compare. The sale for the first company ends tomorrow, so it's a bit of an issue here. I can only imagine how those phone calls might go:

Betsy: calls A/C company

A/C: Hello?

Betsy: silence

A/C: Hellllo?

Betsy: (trying to whisper into the phone at an audible level)

...is able to communicate request for estimate

A/C: I'm sorry, we have a policy against sending our personnel into viral bomb zones. Thanks for thinking of us!

So, what to do? I do feel somewhat responsible for the health and safety of those entering our home, but at the same time, I want to save $600. Oh money and viruses, how I dislike you both!