sickos

It's a commonly held view that one major benefit of childcare is that it "activates" your child's immune system. This occurs because, during the first winter of childcare, one's child is constantly sick. Every morning when Ella gets up I have to wipe the dried boogas off her face. Once an hour we have to wipe her nose -- she doesn't like this, because her nose is so red and sore that wiping it hurts -- but my motto in this regard is that if I start a battle with her on this front, the battle must be won. Wiping her nose usually ends in tears (on btoh sides;-).

Anyway, what they don't tell you is that the parent's immune system is also "activated" as part of this process. Translation: you will be sick for an entire winter. Actually, the way we work is to take in shifts -- much like looking after Ella. I was sick last week. Took all week to recover. Nat got sick today and was so bad that decided to ring up and ask for an extra day's childcare for Ella so Nat could stay at home and sleep it off. Anyway, she seems to be recovering.

Finally, Ella has discovered then notion of freedom. Seen here in an escape attempt, ably assisted by Allison the Elephant, she tried route # 1 -- straight through the gate. No doubt she'll become more elaborate in her attempts.