Weathering the storm

I'm not talking about a snowstorm right now.

I know that's what you were thinking... "Oh, are they finally getting a big storm up there in Newfoundland?" The answer to that is actually, "Yes." The weather forecast is calling for somewhere between 25 and 35 centimeters of snow between tonight and Monday morning, and I'm hoping this is actually it. Our first big snowstorm. I even went out this afternoon during naptime (that's right... naptime... sacred naptime) to buy some milk and bread. Not because I think we'll really need it but because with ferry being the only means of importing grocery items to Newfoundland you never know when the grocery store will run out of everything and not be able to restock the shelves. It happens. Ask Shaun when the last time he saw his favorite Wheat Thins was.

But today I'm talking about the snot storm that has blown into my house. The last time we were relatively snot-free around this house was Christmas day. I only know the exact date because I remember watching the kids open their presents and thinking to myself, 'Wow. No one's sick for Christmas. How great is that?' And then the day after Christmas my little Brandon woke up with a runny nose... a runny nose that hasn't stopped since then!! It's been 37 freaking days of snot around here. The snot has been accompanied by, in no particular order, coughing, sneezing, watery eyes, fever, a bacterial infection, a double ear infection, teething, and now some combination of some of the above. The antibiotics have come and gone, and the only things that seem to have disappeared with them are the ear and bacterial infections.

Kyle and Natalie have also had runny noses on and off in these 37 days. Today everyone has a runny nose, and they're all coughing.

They're my babies and I love them, so don't take this the wrong way, but they're disgusting. If there's not snot running down their faces then it's all crusty and dried up on their noses. I can't turn around without seeing snot on the couch, snot on the decorative pillows, snot on the blankets, and snot on their clothing. We've gone through more boxes of tissues than I care to mention.

I try to stay on top of the snot. I really do. Laundry's not even making it off of the dining room table right now. It gets worn, washed, folded, piled on the table, and then worn again. I'd like to thank the inventor of microfiber couches because the microfiber wipes clean with a wet cloth and then dries, and you'd never know that couch had been covered in snot minutes earlier. I try to keep the kids' little faces clean, but the snot never stops!!

Now it's to the point where I almost can't leave the house. The minute I get dressed in the morning and come down the stairs Brandon will put his sweet little arms in the air, I'll bend over and pick him up, and he'll snuggle right into my shoulder. And then I realize he isn't snuggling at all but wiping his snotty little nose on me. Snot on my shirt, snot on my pants, snot in my hair. It's everywhere. I have to change my clothes before I can leave the house, and once I'm ready to leave the house I'll carry Brandon around like I'm terrified of him--my hands in his armpits, my arms outstretched, him facing away from me--so that he can't wipe his nose on my face. Some days he still manages to snot me. I went over to a friend's house a couple of weeks ago for a morning playdate and instead of changing my shirt I just apologized to my friend when I arrived for being covered in snot. (She understood--she's got young kids of her own.)

I know I shouldn't really be complaining about the snot since, in the overall scheme of things, snot is tame compared to some of the other bodily substances my children have covered me in over the years. But the snot storm just will not end around here! Is this what I have to look forward to all winter, every winter, for the entire time we're in Newfoundland? Or will my poor Texan babies get used to all these cold-weather germs and be hearty Newfoundlanders by next winter? Who knows. All I know is that this snot storm better end soon--before I start forgetting to check myself for snot when leaving the house.

Ahh, motherhood. Glamourous, isn't it?