Fever-Induced Flu Season Frustrations

I am sick for the second time in two weeks.  Now I know how Smooch has been feeling as week after week she comes home from the church nursery* with yet another fresh ailment.  Normally the rest of us, armed with a regiment of EmergenC and baking soda (gross I know) and prayer, escape these illnesses.  But I have not been so lucky these past couple of rounds. 

Of course the simple solution would be to keep her out of nursery until flu season is behind us.  However, between the h.s. Sunday School class that I teach (My Stud has his own class as well), and a montage of other ways in which we are involved both Sunday and Wednesday nights, this is easier said than done.  Have I ever told you how much Smooch is not like her sister?  At Smooch's age, Princess was a pretty quietly content child with a long attention span.  We used to easily take her into services when my husband was a youth pastor.  Smooch may be quiet by the standards of some, but this calm family?  We happen to think she is quite noisy and distracting.  She talks.  A lot.   In her own language mostly, but she does talk constantly.
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We can't decide what to do.  We have taken her to our various classes and such, and it is okay.  However, keeping her semi-quiet and entertained during those times takes my attention to the extent that I am rendered almost useless in those areas of service.   I have wondered, should she and I just stay home from church until Spring?  Should we simply continue putting her in the nursery and hope for the best?  Should we bring her to our classes and such?  I really don't know what the best solution is and I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall.    And now I am sitting here with a fever, chills, body aches, and a hacking cough, and I have come to the realization that Natalie's most recent cold (which made her uncharacteristically-even-for-being-sick fussy)  was in fact the flu.  Poor baby!  Add that to the stomach flu she last month and I'd say she's easily had two bouts of the flu (one, a stomach flu) and at least ten colds since November.

And did I mention that even the slightest of colds will keep Smooch from sleeping through the night?   Mommy is very very tired.

I think the solution we have reached is to bring her to our classes, and for the ones that require me to teach, we will have My Stud do the majority of the teaching while I do the mothering.  It will not be easy.  The quality of learning will likely suffer, but I know that God can work in spite of even a distracting, cute one-year-old in the lives of youth.  We just need to stick to our guns after she has been healthy for awhile.

Now excuse my fevered brow and me.  We have some resting/mothering to do.

Oh and one more thing.  I just have to say that I have been crazy blessed with a sweet, sweet friend who brought us dinner tonight (My Stud is traveling for work).  God bless that woman ten times over!  I'm not exaggerating to say that I think that is one of the nicest things a friend has ever done for me in all my life.

*I think church nurseries are wonderful things, and I think the one at our current church is by far the best I have seen.  However, that doesn't mean that parents do not knowingly and unknowingly bring sick children to nursery, especially during cold & flu season when illnesses seem relentless.  All that to say, I do not have a vendetta against church nurseries.  It is just so hard when your child in is the the "stick everything in your mouth and chew on it"  phase of life along with every other baby in their company.