Today is the first day we’ve been anywhere near functional this week, and I’d say we’re all still around 80 percent. We’ve all been sick at the same time before, but this is the first time we’ve all been sick with different things. Poppy has a double ear infection and a cold; Pete had a stomach bug that totally wiped him out, and he seems to be coming down with a cold now; and I just have a measly old cold. So I guess we do have the same thing. The kids just have extra special bonus illnesses.

We haven’t gotten much done this week, and I’d imagine that trend is going to continue. We missed Pete’s basketball practice, the kids’ art class, Poppy’s ballet class and their swim lessons. We’ve all been wearing pajamas since Sunday night. The kids have been taking 2-hour naps twice a day and watching “Pink Panther and Pals” and “Rocky and Bullwinkle” between naps. I’ve watched half of the first season of “The West Wing.”

Pete finally wanted to eat something today, and he hasn’t had a fever in 24 hours. He managed to keep a bowl of Jello, some applesauce and a quarter of a slice of toast down.

Poppy’s ears hurt a little less than they did, but she’s still running a low fever. How long should we let that go on before we go back to the doctor?