the most wonderful time of the year (sort of)

december was a packed month for us moynihans.  fresh off a post-thanksgiving brush with the flu, 

we entered the season of advent with hopeful hearts.  

first, grammy and poppy moynihan came to visit on will's birthday weekend, along with uncle andy, aunt erin, and cousins danny (five) and patrick (almost three).  there were lots of presents that weekend, lots of games of hide and seek, lots of mouse trap, lots of pizza and chocolate and most importantly lots of love.  will had a bit of a cough and a low fever but it seemed to dissipate. 

the following weekend we threw will a race car themed birthday party at home for his friends. more presents, more chocolate, more joyful chaos tearing through the house.  at this point will's cough had taken it up a notch, and he needed to be reminded to slow down to avoid a spasm.  

still, he was all excitement and energy, and his party meant the world to him.  

i held him home from school for two days before his holiday party, because of the cough, but by wednesday morning it seemed under control, so we did attend the class holiday party.  nana even joined us and it was a delight. will sang and danced and presented me with the most beautiful christmas gift i've ever received.  i was so proud to see my boy with his classmates,
confident and joyful as he's ever been. 

he posed with his best buddy, ava, before the party.

and i tried to get a couple of shots with quinn before we left.

this last shot belies a truth that i was not yet aware of at the time i took the photo: 

the plague was coming.

quinn spiked a fever shortly after we arrived home from the school holiday party, began complaining that her "eye hut," and developed the saddest, croupiest cough i've ever heard.  in the meantime, will's cough went into overdrive, and we had many emergency sessions in the steamy bathroom to calm his chest and help him breathe.  his nose began to fill up and he'd wake up in the morning with one eye stuck shut.  after two days of this i dragged my poor sick children to the doctor, where they were collectively diagnosed with pink eye, double ear infections, croup (quinn), and bronchitis/sinusitis (will).  after filling seven prescriptions at walgreens and spending near three hundred dollars, i thought we might finally be on our way towards wellness. but the antibiotic and inhaler prescribed for will seemed to do nothing for his cough, and the spasms were getting worse and worse, more and more frightening.  a second trip to the doctor on monday morning yielded a stronger antibiotic,
 a nebulizer, and an inhaler with a steroid in it.  

this is my brave boy having his first round of "magic mist."

fortunately, after several days of quarantine, the miracle of modern medicine happened: 

my children got better, just in time for christmas. 

and so, they were able to experience the magic of it all 

with not just full hearts but also healthy bodies.

i snuck into the living early christmas morning, before the sun began to rise, 

and snapped a photo of santa's work.

he ate all the cookies, and his reindeer enjoyed their carrots, too.  

he even left will and quinn this special note.

quinn melted hearts with the adorable outfit she wore to christmas eve mass,

and i'm not sure whether she has her papa or daddy in a bigger puddle.  

either way, she's got them both in the palm of her hand.

so, overall, antibiotics saved christmas, magic was in the air, and the kids were happy.  

but, because i parent like this:

i, too, now have the plague.  got it just in time for christmas.