I've got a sick one.  Ben came down with a little cold last week, which was no big deal. But then this weekend he started coughing and Saturday morning he started complaning that he was sooooo cold.  I knew that was a sure sign he had a fever. We were out running errands (spending hours at the DMV, ugh) and stopped to get some Motrin. He fell asleep before we could give him any and by the time we got home and he woke up his fever was up to 103. The Motrin took it right away and he was back to his cheerful self for the next five hours, until it wore off.

This went on all weekend long.  Motrin = happy normal kid, then six hours later=  tired, coughing, whiny kid who is just "sooooo cold".  I was hoping that it would just last a day or two, but last night he was still spiking fevers and suddenly said his ear hurt so we whisked him off to the MedExpress where they looked in his ears (but couldn't see because there was too much wax in the way) and his throat (which looked horrible). The rapid strep test came back negative but the doctor said it sure looks a lot like strep. So he sent us packing with a prescription for antibiotics.  You all remember how much fun it is to give this kid medicine, right?

I'm surprised it took until October, quite frankly.  Usually one or both of the kids end up sick within the first week of school.  And I'm thankful that it's Ben, who is just in preschool, and not Matthew missing Kindergarten. 

So last night after we knew that it "could be strep" and he was still pretty miserable and feverish, we knew we had to keep him home today.  Then began the wheeling and dealing.  Who would stay home?

I had two classses and a meeting. Mike has no vacation/sick days left at the moment.  I could give my students a project/cancel calss, he could try to work from home.  We finally agreed that I'd stay home today, because tomorrow is a busier day for me and I can't miss it, so if for some reason he needs to stay home tomorrow, Mike will take that shift.  (also, don't tell my husband, but I'm not sure I trusted him to take Ben's temperature, check his throat, give him his meds on time, make sure he slept and rested, etc). 

Of course, we've been sitting here playing Monopoly all morning and Ben is absolutely delightful and fever-free.  Isn't that how it always works?

So, for those of you that work outside the home, how do you decide who will stay home when the kids are sick?