Say What, Doc?

Daniel, my beloved son, picks his nose. Quit reading now if you can't take this level of grossness. Many times I've wondered if it's a form of nervous tic for Daniel. Anyhow, what have I been telling him will happen one of these days if he keeps it up? A bacterial infection! His left nostril and lip were swollen when he awoke this morning, and yesterday he had a mild fever and chills, along with muscle weakness and fatigue. What I thought was dried secretion on his nostril turned out to be impetigo! Just what we germ-phobic moms love to hear! A form of skin staph infection, no less. I had no clue, as we've never encountered this level of grossness in our parenting adventures.

Needless to say, I've been busy lysoling and using disinfectant wipes around my entire house. Can you just hear my primal scream? The doctor suggested we keep Daniel away from the other kids for 48 hours, while the antibacterial cream works its wonders. Sure, Doc. We'll get right on that impossible task.

While highly contagious, one has to have an open sore to pick up impetigo. I'm running humidifiers to keep every one's nostrils moist, and I'm working on moisturizing chapped lips, just in case.

Life goes on. And what a blast it is. Time to count blessings, to remind me that these are the best years of my life.

Blessings:

1. Anna is sleeping longer on her own. I'm getting more of the necessary things done. Her colicky nighttime crying has lessened.

2. There is no longer poop in every one of Anna's diaper changes. Now, when there is poop, it's a major load, requiring a new onesie and outfit. Okay, maybe that isn't really a blessing.

3. Emily Rose is adding sounds and words to her vocabulary. I'll still get her evaluated, but I'm beginning to feel that maybe she is just a late talker.

4. Daniel loves his new math curriculum (Bob Jones University Press) and so do we.

5. My dad has been helping us even more lately. He will bring soup later tonight.

6. We are in the minuses, as far as temperatures go. The furnace is doing a decent job of keeping up. We have it set on 70, and its reaching 68.

7. Everyone is behaving pretty well, despite the lack of physical activity.

8. George Bush is finally getting some credit from the media. At least from the moderates and conservatives, that is. I will miss him.

9. I love my life! Really.