Five days until Christmas? Really?

I've lost all track of time ever since the plague - or maybe just an ear infection and a nasty case of sinusitis - descended upon me. It hit me hard Friday night, which also just happened to be my birthday. So instead of whooping it up in celebration of turning 38, I piled under the covers with a sweatshirt on over my pajamas wishing my fever would break.

I've haven't been feeling well since the weekend after Thanksgiving. Random fevers and lethargy have periodically visited since then and my ears have been so stuffed up that my family has resorted to talking to me in a low shout because they know I cannot hear them otherwise.

However, being a stay-at-home mom with limited resources when it comes to having extra help when mom is down, I've just plugged along hoping this beast would stop burdening me of its own free will. No such luck, though.

I finally broke down Saturday and went to the doctor. I got two shots, three prescriptions and orders to rest and take in lots of fluids for the next few days. I promptly left the doctor's office, dropped off my prescriptions off at Walgreens and went to Walmart to pick up some necessities. I knew I'd made a mistake when I got to the dairy cooler and realized I'd just rather lie down on the cool tile than take another step.

I managed to get to the front of the store - without the majority of the things on my list, mind you - get checked out, load the car, stop at the drugstore drive-thru to retrieve my meds, and begin the drive home. As if my day wasn't going bad enough, about a mile from home I received an alert from my husband's car to immediately stop the engine because the car was overheating.

I did what any wife would do: I kept going and called my husband. I shared with him my predicament and said, "What should I do?" He shouted back at me: "Stop the car!" Obviously, he has no problem taking orders from a machine.

I told Jeff that I was just a few yards from our home - since I'd continued to drive the car throughout our conversation albeit at the staggering pace of 20 mph because the car refused to go any faster. He begrudgingly told me to get home and he'd be there in a few minutes.

After pulling the car into the driveway and opening the hood I guess in hopes the fresh air would help it cool down, I unloaded the groceries, took them inside and put most of the up. Jeff and the girls arrived home shortly thereafter. He quickly discovered the belt to the water pump and something called the serpentine belt had broken.

They were old and worn. He knew they'd need to be replaced, but he'd been putting it off. On the upside, at least they decided to break one mile from our home rather than more than 100 miles from home on one of his daily commutes to work.

After getting him settled down and hugging my babies, I announced I was retiring to bed where I intended to stay for the next 36 hours or so in order to beat this infection into submission. Jeff and the girls did a good job tending to me. Lola liked making sure I had plenty of cough drops, and Amelia made sure to keep my water glass filled. Jeff brought me some of the birthday cake I bought for myself on my ill-fated trip to Walmart and kept the girls occupied while I rested.

One of the few times I roused from the bed to make sure the world was still turning, I discovered the girls had apparently decided the one thing our home was lacking was lots of glitter. They emptied three canisters of the sparkly stuff in record time and made sure few spots in this house are free of glitter. In fact, as I type this my keyboard is gleaming and shining like a lighted Christmas display, and while brushing Lola's hair this morning, I found several specks on the stuff on her scalp.

Feeling too sick to complain, but simultaneously thrilled at Amelia's willingness to get out the vacuum cleaner and attempt to suck up some of the glitter, I got whatever it was I needed and returned to bed where I proceeded to watch lots of episodes of "The Big Bang Theory," "Teen Mom 2," "Sell This House," and a couple of movies that didn't require me to think too hard.

I can't say I am feeling a whole lot better today, but I am on the mend, thank goodness, because there's lots to do between now and Christmas, which - despite my disbelief - is just five days away.

My goal is to accomplish all the tasks on my calender without becoming sicker and keep my family from coming down with what I've got so they won't be a bunch of snot-nosed, coughing, feverish ragamuffins on Sunday morning. Fingers crossed I can manage all that's before me!