I washed my hands

while singing "Happy Birthday" twice before I sat down to write this germ-inspired post.

If you follow along on the 4th Frog Facebook page, you probably know that last week the nasty V&D bug hit our house. Everyone -- except me -- fell victim. Some got the V part more than the D part. Others got the D part worse than the V part. I just got to clean up after it all. But I was feeling quite victorious and of superior immune system capabilities because I escaped the week unscathed.

A little piece of advice: Never underestimate the V&D bug and never issue a challenge such as "knock on wood, I was the only one in the house who didn't get sick."

Yep. Today, it was my turn. It started last night, I think. I got home from the gym (where all I did was walk the track for about 50 minutes because I didn't want to hurt myself after having been away for so long) and my stomach felt queasy. I thought maybe my blood sugar was low from the exercise, so I had a little something to eat. It didn't really help much, but there was nothing more significant than a little seasick feeling. Overnight, I woke every hour on the hour, not really sick, but not feeling well either.

When it was time to wake the kids for school, it was clear that I would not be going anywhere other than the, um...ladies room. I moaned a little, whined as I climbed back into bed and fell back to sleep. And that's pretty much how I spent the next two hours -- shuffling back and forth between the bathroom and the bed.

Mike, bless his heart, went to store and got me some medicine and 7-Up and I thought that I'm not sure I was that nice when he was sick last week. I couldn't really linger on the thought because I was struck again by what can only be described as a Harry Potter-esque spell that turned my insides into liquid.

When I first figured I'd be staying home, I thought perhaps I'd get caught up on the laundry a bit and maybe take down some Christmas decorations. Who was I kidding?! Seriously, my day went bathroom, sleep, watch a little TV, rinse and repeat.

About an hour after the kids got home from school, I emerged from the bedroom to help with homework. Forty-five minutes of first grade reading and fifth grade math was enough to sap any energy I might have thought I had. So it was back to bed until about 30 minutes ago. I still feel like I've been run over by the garbage truck, but I can be further than three feet from the bathroom, so that's progress.

If you stuck with me this long, I'm impressed.  Thanks. And just in case, go wash YOUR hands.