VBS: Take Two

Caroline had VBS this week at our home church.  She was excited to go and spend the week with her friend Savannah.  They had special afternoons for the 5th graders since this is their last year to participate in VBS.  On Tuesday, they got pizza and then played games up in the KSM (where the boys go on Sundays).  On Thursday, they got Chick-fil-a.  After eating it, several kids ran to the waterslides, which was their fun activity that afternoon.  As quickly as they ran to the waterslides, then ran from them screaming.  Tropical Storm Alberto had brought a lot of rain the day before.  All that water brought the fire ants to the surface, so the kids who were running back from the slides had their feet covered in fire ants.  It was horrible.  That afternoon was a bust.  The last day of VBS, Caroline was given a rock to paint.  She drew a face and named it, Fred.  

While Caroline had VBS in the mornings, Josiah went to Bobby's church in the evenings and helped out with their VBS.  It was the same theme as our church's, so Josiah liked to ask Caroline what she learned each day (since he did the same lessons with his kids).  He worked with Kinder/1st graders and did their lessons, crafts, and games.  He had a lot of fun with them.  

Tuesday morning, I woke up and it felt like a Mack Truck hit me.  It was instant sickness - high fever (103.4), bad headache, inability to stay upright.  The kids knew it was more than just a cold and let me stay in bed.  They did not ask for anything, but did check on me often.  Because they knew no meals were headed their way, Henry thought it was the best time to make his homemade pasta for the first time.  He had been watching Italian Nonnas on YouTube and wanted to make pasta just like them.  I encouraged him to watch the full videos from start to finish to see what making homemade pasta really entailed.  He was all-in.  He got his flour volcano and cracked the eggs inside.

He incorporated the dough.  He had no idea what it was going to be like to knead pasta dough.  Needless to say, his palms got quite the workout.  After getting it to a consistency that satisfied him, he let it rest.  

I had to go back to bed, but for the next step, he had me on speaker phone.  I could hear him rolling out the dough with the speed of a Nascar driver.  Slow down, push the dough.  He rolled until fatigue set in and then said he was more than happy to eat thick dough.  He'd just boil it a little longer.  

He got it cooked and finished it off in a sauce.  No photos of the finished product, but he and Caroline enjoyed the pasta dinner.  Next we want to to try the semolina flour because that dough is easier to make into shapes - no rolling pin required.  

Wednesday was another rough day for me.  The temperature rose to 103.8.  There was an added cough which made my throat on fire.  I was barely getting out of bed.  Henry took over dish duty and general kitchen maintenance.  I have no idea what the kids ate for any of their meals.  Henry remarked that he now understood why I tell the kids it is not necessary to use so many dishes all the time.  Yep.  Do the dishes and you understand that one cup a day is good.  Not five cups a day.  All the kids helped out.  They were always checking on me.  Josiah would have felt a pulse if I let him get closer.  When I still woke up with a high fever on Thursday, I headed to the Urgent Care that afternoon and discovered I had Flu A.  It was good to have a name for death warmed over.  By Friday I had turned a corner and things are (slowly) getting better every day.  The kids could tell I was feeling better because on Friday I was asked What's for dinner?  Now I'm left with a cough that sounds like I've been smoking for 30 years.  

It's been a weekend of playing catch-up at a snail's pace.