Let's talk about germs

Why not follow a post about snot by a post about germs? I recently read an article about the germy word we live it. A fellow germaphobe swiped different things that her hands and her child's hands come into contact with on a daily basis - grocery store carts, ATM machines, door handles at a coffee shop. She took them in to be tested, and learned that half of them contained "fecal contaminants". Ick.
The samples from her kitchen were the dirtiest of the bunch that she had tested. I already knew that cutting boards and sponges can harbor lots of bad creebos, but I was grossed out by the fact that my fruits and vegetables "can be loaded with animal and human debris" (Rope, 2009). Jeff and I have started to wipe our counters down with hydrogen peroxide on a semi-regular basis. After reading the article, I also cleaned my computer keyboard, mouse, and both cell phone and land line with it. Last, but not least, I'm now counting to 25 when I wash my hands. It feels like forever to scrub for that long, but apparently I wasn't getting the job done with my former speed-washing. And I have to dry my hands because germs are "attracted to wet surfaces" (Rope, 2009).

Rope, Kate. Diary of a germophobe. Shape;Nov 2009:157-161. -- I had a nerdy amount of fun using APA style to include in-text and a full citation for my resource in this blog. My students at Kaplan would be proud!

Snot

What a title for a post, you might say. Well, I'm covered in it, so I thought: why not blog about it?

Bella has her first official cold. Or she's really teething this time. It's hard to tell the difference with a baby. What I know for sure is that little nose has been running like crazy. She's learned that when the tissue is heading her way she needs to jerk her head rapidly from side to side to avoid the offense of being swiped. She shrieks in dismay when the nose plunger descends toward her face. Hence her face and my shoulder are covered in snot. I've decided showering is a waste of time. I'm just going to live in my snot clothes until she's better. Or until our company arrives at 6 tonight. Unless the snot scares them away.

Last week

On Friday night I babysat for Samuel, Benjamin and Andrew. Even though I had prepared the basement with lots of child-friendly distractions, I discovered that taking care of an 8-month and 4-month at the same time is a bit of a challenge. Samuel and Benjamin did great. They watched a Baby Einstein video and played with play dough. The babies took turns in the exersaucer and sitting/laying on the floor. At one point I noticed Andrew had army crawled over to Bella, taken her pacifier out of her mouth, and put it in his.
Here's Bella in her recycling jammies. My sister's sister-in-law, Maureen, gave them to me. My reputation precedes me...

On Saturday morning, Jeff decided that Bella has enough hair for him to style it. Here she is with her first mowhawk.

Halloween Party

Every year my mother- and father-in law throw a family Halloween party. As usual, the costumes did not disappoint!
My mother-in-law, the tacky tourist, with her son, Elvis.

My nephew, Scoobie

My other nephew, Batman

A supposed "Fairy tale princess" with her daughter, Raggedy Ann

Jeff the Monk

My sister- and brother-in-law, aka Popeye and Olive Oil with their children, Obione and the Little Mermaid

Here comes Raggedy Ann!

Bella was a good sport when we stuffed her in her Halloween costume on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
Her grandma Rose spent many hours sewing this costume, so we wanted to get as much use as possible out of it. Maybe we'll dress her up again next weekend for good measure.

She looked a little like a colonial doll in the costume:
Like mother, like daughter. She's already snagging chocolate at the first opportunity:

When Nanny and Bop come to town

My parents, known as "Nanny" and "Bop" to their speaking grandchildren, came to town this week, and their presence was in high demand for the duration of their stay. On Monday, they spent the day with Sarah and the kids - attending a music class and making a trip to IKEA. On Tuesday, they took care of Bella while I worked. Today Bella stayed home from daycare and Sarah brought the kids over to play. In addition to all of the baby-sitting and child-entertaining that they did during their visit, Nanny and Bop vaccummed and dusted; they brushed and walked Casey; they folded my laundry, made dinner, and did dishes. They made my life easier for three days straight. Did I mention they are fun to play bridge with and talk to? I miss them already.

And I think I need a live-in nanny.

Peek!