Sickos

I think we can remove the hazmat tape from around the house now. This cold that has had a grip on my little family for the past 12 or so days is finally easing up. We all still have a cough and a sniffle or two, but we're starting to perk back up.

I spent the evening with some girlfriends at book club, and Seth was riveted to know that the biggest topic of discussion was the swine flu. What can I say, it's on everyone's minds these days. I am worried that if the cold and flu season is off to such a big start so early that it can only mean lots of snotty noses and coughs in our future. Ugh. I am stilling having a bit of PTSD from last winter, but maybe that's because of the newborn fog I was in.

So as not to disappoint, I'm just going to assume that when we all get well is when the next bug will strike. To ready myself, I'm building a war chest. Contents to include:

• Cold medicine
• Thermometer
• Cough medicine
• Tea
• Honey
• Humidifier
• At least two back-up meals in the pantry or freezer at all times
• Get-out-of-jail-free card

This last one is a long-shot, I know, but heaven help me if I, too, get the ick the same time as the rest of the family again. Moms should get immunity. Period.

My friend Kim said that she was mentioning to her husband that she hoped her kiddos didn't get the flu, and his response was that he hoped she didn't get the flu. So true, so true.

So ladies, let's get ready for a doozie of a season. And don't forget to call for reinforcements if it gets too tough in the trenches. I think it's the only way we're going to survive this one.

Strapped

I have this bad habit of once I begin to ignore something it seems to grow like the elephant in the room. It seems the longer I leave it alone, the harder it gets to tackle. That's how I've been feeling about this blog lately.

It's neglected. But I'm too tired to post something. And it seems my life is moving so fast that I seldom have time to stop and think about whether or not you might be interested in what's going on. I've been working more, and Jasper and I just returned from a week home with the family. Whew. And before we know it, we'll officially be headed into the holiday season.

We had a great time visiting family, and Jasper, it seems, had a fantastic time playing with telephones. At my grandparents' and my parents' homes there was a telephone within his little arm's reach. We tried to keep him away but eventually gave in. He even carried around a remote control at my parents' pretending it was a phone.

Once we came home, he seemed to take even more interest in our cordless phone, which is in our dining room. He pops open the baby gate and blazes a path with his short strides directly to that phone. Moving it is not really an option because in our antiquated house you can't find a phone jack and an electrical outlet in just every room. Of course, I could just let him play with the phone, but it is starting to break thanks to a few too many drops. And he now proceeds to throw a fit any time we take something away from him. So, it seems easier to circumvent the tantrum by just not letting him have it in the first place.

After two straight hours of fighting this yesterday afternoon, I just wanted to break down this morning when that was the first thing he did. Seth suggested I use a few bungee cords to lock the gate even more securely. My reaction? Yeah, let's do something that draws even more attention to this damn gate.

I suggested that Seth stay home with Jasper today, and I'd go to work. He laughed. He left. And I got out the bungee cords.

It's worked so far. I better go for now, while things are looking up!