Greetings from Columbus

I wanted to post a sick family update from my hotel room in Columbus (no I didn't run away from my sick house--I'm out here overnight for work). I don't want to jinx it but I think I may have made it through without catching the flu! Marlon is pretty much healthy again, and Alex is basically there, so I think I'm in the clear. I can't lie and say I'm not looking forward to a good night's sleep in a hotel, but I'm really looking forward to getting back home to my hopefully healthy family! I had a rough afternoon with Alex yesterday and a very rough morning with her today--I think we'd reached a point where being cooped up together in a house and off of our normal routine for 4 days had caught up to both of us. Alex went back to school today and I think she definitely needed to get back into the swing of things--hopefully this will help improve her mood--she had become extremely whiny and difficult and wasn't willing to cooperate with me--a battle of wills with my strong willed child! I had become lenient with her when she was sick since I knew she wasn't feeling well, and I think it was starting to backfire. By this morning I was starting to really doubt my parenting abilities, but I think this is just a rough patch brought on by her being sick that we will move past now that we've had a day apart.
Last night we had signed up for Sibling Class at the hospital where I'll be delivering, so we had a little family outing to go to a 1-hour class geared towards kids who are expecting a new baby in the family. There were only 3 families in the class-Alex, a 5 year old boy, and a boy who was about 3. Alex had a GREAT time and was full of energy--the kids got stickers, got to push buttons to open the doors on the floor, got to ride in the "magic" hospital bed, got to practice holding a pretend baby, and they even got some snacks!! I'm not sure how much she'll remember once the baby arrives, but it was also helpful for Marlon and I to see the hospital, get a little tour of the birthing floor, and figure out where we need to go when the big day arrives. Alex got a little certificate for participating in the class which I'll have to save for the baby's baby book. The birthing suites were newly redone and were very nice--much nicer than where we had Alex! It's hard to imagine I'm only about 6-7 weeks away!