home all day

I have been at my new job for 2.5 weeks, and had to call in today. I hate that so bad. Here I am, loving this job and hopeing those around me see my skills and gifts in this field, and then I have to call in. Such is life.
Yesterday afternoon I took my boys to the pediatrician. Mark Anthony has had tubes in his ears almost 2 yrs, and for the past several months, they have been trying to come out. For the past several days they have really bothered him. He says his ears burn, and our normal water loving fish-boy let out a bloodcurdling scream that woke half of the group when the water hit his ear while in the shower this past weekend at Lake Lajoie.
The tubes are still in, but slowly working their way out. They flushed his ears out with the irrigation gun, which took me, the nurse, and Mark to hold him down. The tubes are really close to falling out they said. I am to place warm water in them for the next couple days and the tubes should fall out. I have done this already today, he cried for a minute, then turned to me and said, "it doesnt burn mommy". :)
Tommy has had this constant rattle sound, which we, our friends, and many others have heard and felt when holding tommy. The doc and nurses have said it isnt pnuemonia, his lungs sound clear, etc every time I have taken him in for it. This time, we get a diagnosis of asthma. Daily meds and breathing treatments.
But neither of these are the reason we had to stay home today.
While giving Mark Anthony the look-over, the doc noticed his throat looked really bad. Ran a strep test, and it came back positive. I was shocked, his appetite and thirst are normal, he isnt complaining of his throat or anything. Today he has ran fever though.
Poor kids, how, just how, are we as parents supposed to keep them healthy??