Feeling better and a girly girl

The Looney household has had a bit of a rough patch the last two weeks or so with the gift that keeps on giving: germs. It made blogging the last thing on my mind, so it's nice to have some time to do it again!

It started off with a stomach bug that Anna brought home and then kindly passed off to Bob and Jack. I think I got a watered down version of it, but still felt a bit crummy myself. And then the congestion set in...immediately after she was done with stomach issues, Anna sported a runny nose and wet cough. The congestion was clear, so I didn't think much about it and figured it would clear up on it's own. After a week and a half of it, plus a really cranky afternoon with Anna, I called her pediatrician and made an appointment the next day. Turns out she had a double ear infection with a burst ear drum in her right ear. Yikes....talk about a HUGE dose of mommy guilt that I hadn't taken her in sooner. Her doctor mentioned that in 99 out of 100 other kids, they would have been screaming bloody murder at that point. In other words, it's usually much more obvious (which only slightly relieved my guilt). I guess Anna has a happy disposition and high tolerance for pain! Lesson learned!! Jack also had an ear infection, so both of them have been on antibiotics plus a nebulizer for Anna to help clear up the wheezing/cough. I think we're just about all back to normal now, but it made for a really tough 14 day stretch leading up to Christmas.

Now, on a more positive note:

So obviously we've known we have a girl for oh, about 14 months now...but it REALLY hit us Christmas day. My sister found this fabulous blue tutu with zebra print lining for Anna and she absolutely loved it!! I'll have to get a better picture without the clashing green onesie on, but you get the picture :) She also got a My First Purse which contained a pink bracelet that she wears all over the place now. Dress-up here we come!! It was so fun to see her so excited about all of it. I remember being a little apprehensive about having a girl when I was pregnant just because I don't deal well with drama, but it has been such a blessing to have one of each!

My 2 second metamorphosis into a germaphobe

In the grand scheme of cleanliness, I consider myself to have a reasonable tolerance for dirt, grime, and clutter, falling somewhere just right of about average but no where close to a neatnik. I can handle a certain amount of messiness without stressing over it, especially now after having a young child, but it's rare that I let my house get to a state where I couldn't at least find a closet to toss everything into on my floor in about 5 minutes should an unexpected guest decide to come over. I also don't tend to mop my floors or vacuum everyday except in the case of a spill/mess that needs immediate attention. So based on this confession , you could reasonably assume that Jack is not necessarily walking/crawling around on freshly sanitized floors everyday, and I'm reasonably comfortable with that. Of course in a perfect world (like if someone else cleaned my house), those floors would be spotless at all times, but since that's not the case, I've given up a certain level of germ paranoia in exchange for maintaining sanity at the end of the day when the last thing I want to do is pull out my Swiffer.

I'm noticing though that my "reasonable tolerance" for cleanliness quickly gets chucked out the window now when I take Jack to his doctor's appointments. There is just something about walking into a room full of other children sniffling and coughing and then getting down to play with the books and toys in the waiting room that morphs me into a germaphobe in about 2 seconds. I don't think the "well/sick patients" signs help matters in my mind either, as I somehow envision this invisible barrier that keeps all the germs in higher concentration in the sick patients room. You'd think that working in the church nursery would bother me just as much since sneezing and coughing abound there as well, but at least I know the toys get wiped down regularly...I'm not so sure about the doctor's office!

The biggest reason for this sudden, acute germaphobia probably stems most from Jack's desire to be down exploring his world and my lack of ability to contain him now without some serious resistance on his part. Luckily, while we were sitting on the sick side the other afternoon, he was quite content to sit and have a snack in my lap without any wiggling. That all changed though as we waited back in a private room to see the doctor. He wanted to be down exploring everything in the room, and finally settled on this swivel chair he could push round and round. Of course to further make me squirm he then zeroed in on the old gum smooshed down on the chair leg, followed by a few trips to check out the trash can, followed by a close-up inspection of the floor. Uggg....

After we left, I promptly wiped him down with one of those antibacterial wipes I keep in the car, but who knows how much good that really does, right? Oh well, the best way to keep my germophobia at bay is just to remind myself he has to build up immunity somehow. Then again, I thought that's what our dog was for :)