"Winter in Chicago" or "How to be sick for three months straight"

Before I had children, I never minded the winters in Chicago. The bitter winds, occasional blizzards, neverending freezing temps. Now, it is different. Besides the whole being stuck inside a small-ish condo with nowhere to go if I did manage to get everyone coated up and down the stairs and in the stroller/car, I forgot to factor in the sickness thing. I didn't realize how often kids got sick in the winter and how quickly and tenaciously it spreads to the rest of us. Last year, Brice got one cold that lasted a week. No biggie. This year, we are on our third major illness. First, Brice got a nasty cold that went on and on and on. Went to the doctor who examined Brice and pronounced him "sick but basically healthy." (Brice was so out of sorts and so NOT into being examined that when the doctor tried to listen to him breathe, Brice donkey kicked him in a very sensitive area. Once the doctor recovered, he made a comment to the effect of "he's a strong one, isn't he?" Yes, he is.) I don't remember the date, but it was the day Rod Blagoevich got arrested.
Then, two weeks into January, Brice got another nasty cold, complete with phlegmy cough and drippy nose and goopy eyes and sour attitude. Harry then contracted the same thing with an added bonus: ear infection. This lasted two weeks. We had a week or so of relatively good health, then Brice, Harry, and Seth got some nasty GI bug. Seth was better in 36 hours, but the boys are still fighting something. They've stopped throwing up, but still have diarrhea. Bad. And they're not eating much. And while Harry remains pretty happy, Brice is back to his old ornery self. And I am still doing laundry, disinfecting everything they come in contact with and praying I don't get whatever they have. Because it's ugly.
But we've almost made it. It's almost Spring. Warm weather. No more big puffy coats. And hopefully no more sick, hacking, poopy, ornery children.