6 Steps to a Successful Sick Day

Step 1: Gather some soft hankies to get you through your long day of coughing and sneezing (okay, let's be honest: crying, too).

Step 2: Drink tea. No worries if you forget and accidentally steep it all day; you can't taste it, anyway!

Step 3: Drink lots of water. If you're not peeing hourly (more often if you're pregnant), you're not drinking enough. Peeing should interrupt your rest times to an annoying degree. Don't worry—it's good for you!

Step 4: An apple a day... will at least boost your blood sugar enough to get you to the next hour. Bonus points if you eat it with nut butter. (Double bonus if it's homemade.)

Step 5: Plan ahead and make a huge pot of sprouted black bean soup the morning before you start feeling sick. Exercise your innate telepathy for the benefit of Future You.

Sparing you the (not-so-appetizing) photo of black bean soup
in favor of this one of freshly-soaked "black" beans.

Step 6: Keep a cute kid around to remind you of how exhausted you are. Subconsciously will him to wake from his nap just as you have finally dozed off for yours. Feel a flush of anger, but then notice your own eyes staring back at you from that little kid face; melt a little inside.

Give in immediately when he demands that you take photographs of him.

Keep snapping photos until he says, "Okay, I'm done."