Monday, September 28, 2009

God, thank you for...

...the invention of the Neti Pot.

I am one of those people that tries (and surely fails more than not) to not take good health for granted. For example, having a near-hatred for the nose-so-stuffy-that-I-can't-breathe-and-therefore-can't-sleep side effect of colds, I find myself thanking the Lord for clear nasal passages on nights when I'm perfectly healthy. I tend to do the same with headaches, nausea, etc. It's not that I have any of these conditions frequently, but for me they tend to be debilatating when they do occur and the experience of good health is such a gift that it shouldn't be taken for granted.

Try it. Take a moment and just sit and think about everything that could be wrong with you (within reason, of course) and then compare how you could be feeling to how you are currently feeling. It makes you feel pretty great, doesn't it? Then thank God for your good health! :)

As you might suspect, I am not in a state of good health at the moment, rather I am in the clutches of a raging cold. Last night, having lost a couple hours of needed sleep due to the aforementioned stuffy state the previous night, I couldn't bear the thought of another bad night. Fortunately, having mentioned my bad night to a friend, she reminded me of the wonders of the Neti Pot. I happen to own one of these little contraptions but had forgotten about it until she mentioned her love of the thing. So just before bed, being unable to breathe even while upright, I pulled out my pot and set about cleansing my sinuses...or, as Mark put it, engaging in Chinese water torture (he had a bad experience; I blame poor technique). Well, when I was done my head felt 10 pounds lighter and I could breathe perfectly. I nearly cried, I was so happy.

I had a much better night thanks to my clear nasal passages!

If you're unfamilar with the Neti Pot, I HIGHLY recommend educating (and supplying) yourself before your next cold strikes. Unless you're Mark, you will be VERY glad you did! (Note: when using the Neti Pot, be sure to breathe continuously through your open mouth; I'm guessing that's where Mark went wrong, but I doubt he's up for giving it another chance.)

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Iain stories

First of all, I'm too tired to post pictures here right now, but if you're my friend on Facebook, or have access to my winkflash account, check out the ones that I just posted.

Now, for your amusement, here are some Iain stories:

(Washable) nursing pads apparently have multiple uses, esp. in the eyes of a darling 20 month old who hasn't a clue what they're really for.
- A tissue. He blows his nose with it and drops it in the kitchen garbage. I don't know how many I have rescued from there.
- A coaster. He put it on the end table and placed his sippy cup on top of it. Hey, a mom can't complain, right?
- A hat. Apparently we're rediscovering our Jewish roots - it's been placed on Lydia's head, Iain's head and my head.

Other things I have rescued from the kitchen garbage:
- toys
- sippy cups
- $20 that I cleverly put on the table so I could quickly grab it for the boy mowing our lawn.

Things that we suspect have not been rescued from the kitchen garbage:
- an entire package of new socks for Mark. We found the package...empty, hours after Mark had taken out the trash. Praise the Lord for Wal-Mart, we're only out $4.

Iain's favorite word: "Happy." We don't think he knows what it means, but he loves to repeat it whenever it's said.

We went to a birthday party for a 3 year old girl, last week. Us parental types were all chatting in the living room when the 3 year old and Iain decided it was time to get to know each other a little better. They started hugging and kissing...over and over and over. We weren't sure who started it; from the looks of it, it really could have been either of them. Needless to say, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Hey, I have to laugh about things like this while I still can.