We are alive!

A few pounds lighter, but we really are!  Thanks to everyone for checking in on us via email, Faceb00k and the blog.  For those not on faceb00k (and for blog history), let me recap the past few days.  On Wednesday night, I posted that Keith was not feeling well.  Shortly after that, I started to not feel well.  Long story short, we both wound up all night, sick as dogs.  I think I threw up just about every hour.  Miserable.  Absolutely miserable.

The next day (Thursday) we had to take Nathan to his medical appointment.  Keith was feeling worse than I was (I had nothing left to throw up, I think) so he stayed back with Andrew while Nathan and I headed to the appointment.  We had to see an ENT, the nurse for weight and then the physician for a check up.  It was amusing.  After all of that fun, Nathan needed a TB test.  I was dreading this as I assumed he would ball his eyes out.  He surprised me and didn’t even whimper.  I’m not sure if I was happy or sad about that.  He seems to have a VERY high tolerance for pain which could possibly mean he has some sensory issues.

We got back to the hotel and Keith was feeling a bit better.  I, on the other hand, was starting to feel horrible.  Chills, aches, etc… In the meantime, Andrew had an allergic reaction to some lotion we had put on him to keep him from getting the same skin condition Nathan has going on.  His face broke out in hives, was swollen and hot to the touch.  I kept thinking “Is this really, truly happening??”.  And yes, it was.  We are SO grateful for the people in our travel group.  One had Benadryl which we started feeding Andrew right away.  In a panic, I also called the Children’s Healthcare hotline to find out what to do.  They recommended going to the hospital, but I caught a glimpse of that at the Consulate medical appointment and decided that since we had no breathing issues we would try the Benadryl first.

Two days later (Saturday - today) and the hives are gone.  The Benadryl worked well and all we are left with is some very dry skin.  My stomach is healed, Nathan has a horrible cough, but it doesn’t stop him and Keith is left as the only sicky.  He has a sinus/chest thing going on and appears to still have a fever.  He hates taking medication, but I’m trying to shove as much as a I can down his throat.  Thanks, again, to our travel group for having Dayquil!  What’s ironic is that Keith is NEVER sick and yet he has run the gamut here.  Poor guy!

So, now that all of the icky stuff is out of the way, I’ll tell you some of the things we did do when we could get out and about.  First off, we ate next to nothing.  Keith and I are once bit, twice shy so we’ve had nothing but bread and pasta.  Andrew and Nathan, on the other hand, have eaten quite well. :-)  We decided to skip the tour yesterday and instead went to the park for a bit in order to burn some energy.  There is only so much one can do in a hotel room.

The LiuHuahu Park was HUGE!  We walked forever and ever to get to the kiddy park.  It was very pretty there, though.  Tons and tons of greenery and a lot of activity.  In the pictures below you can see people taking dance lessons, a man in his boat and a bunch of people playing ping pong.

Once we got to the kiddy park we paid 12 yuan to get in which is about 2 US dollars.  There was a ton of playground equipment that both kids were happy to see.  Nathan has zero fear.  I thought Andrew was a daredevil, but Nathan takes the cake.  I told Keith that while I’m not a fan of the child backpacks with the leashes on them, I can now see why parents use them!!

Those that followed our adoption of Andrew should get a giggle out of the above picture.  Anyone remember a little boy face down in the dirt throwing a tantrum???  I’ll have to dig up that picture and put them side by side.  Nathan prefers to be face up and kick off his shoes when he is mad about something.  I can’t remember why he was mad, but I do remember laughing! :-)

After the park we came back to the hotel, took naps (even Andrew, thanks to the Benadryl!) and then we grabbed McD’s for dinner.  French fries for Keith and I, chicken nugget meals for the kids.  Nathan loves ketchup and took a good 30 minutes just to eat his fries because he had to dip each little piece in the ketchup.

And then this happened:

 Step 1:  Andrew attacks Daddy

Step 2:  Nathan joins in the fun.

Step 3:  Daddy lets the boys attack until…

… he turns the table and the tickle fest begins!  All of this coming from a guy who feels miserable.  I’d say he’s one heck of a dad!

I have more pics to post from today’s visit to the food and herb market (snake skin, anyone?), but that will have to wait until later since I have to head down and do paperwork for our consulate appointment.

Hugs!
Becky