Tuesday, November 3, 2009

RTT- Vote Today!

Well it must be Tuesday again. I see Random Tuesday Thoughts posts starting to fill my Google reader. Stop by the UnMom to catch up on all of the randomness.

randomtuesday

As for me... we made it through Halloween but now we have 2 giant bags of candy sitting on the kitchen counter. I'm hoping to do something about that very soon. Freckle posted on Facebook that the Candy Fairy stopped by their house the night of Halloween, took her kids' candy and left them each a small toy. And her kids loved the idea! So, I'm thinking that after 3 days of my kids stuffing their faces with various forms of high fructose corn syrup, the Candy Fairy may stop by today while the kids are at school and drop off a small, inedible treat and sneak off with what's left of their candy.And let's face it, after wax lips, the rest is just plain old candy.

Mae had an appointment with her pediatrician yesterday. It was just her annual physical that was due in September but I wanted to wait until all of the tests came back and we had a chance to talk with the Immunologist again. Mae's pediatrician checked her out from head to toe and said that she looked very healthy. The minor ear infection she was treated for 2 weeks ago had cleared up, blood pressure was normal, and she passed the informal doctor office eye test. Doc sounded very pleased with the findings of Mae's immune work-up and went over all of the specifics with me again. Her big concern right now is the nasty H1N1 virus. There were no H1N1 vaccines at the clinic but she did say that the schools would be vaccinating kids as soon as more vaccine becomes available and of course encouraged me to have both girls vaccinated if they don't catch it first. She said that she'd be very surprised if one or both of the girls didn't come down with it in the next week or two.

The waiting room was full of masked children coughing and wheezing waiting to see a doctor. We had to use a separate "well visit" entrance to the office itself and around every turn was a hand sanitizing station. Pretty much, I'm almost certain that we were exposed to many cases of the nasty flu yesterday but so far no signs of illness yet. *crossing my fingers* Mae's doc did say though that if Mae does come down with H1N1, she should come back to the office in request of tamilflu because of her immune defect. She also asked if I wanted Mae to have the seasonal flu shot while we were there. Of course I agreed and Mae was vaccinated for the seasonal flu (just like every other year). I called last week about the shots and was told that they didn't have any and while waiting to check in at the reception desk I heard one of the receptionists tell another parent that there were no H1N1 or seasonal flu vaccines available. I guess they must be trying to keep some around for the more at-risk kids. After all Binny isn't eligible for either tamiflu or the short supply seasonal flu shot.

In more illness related news, the school is handing out small bottles of hand sanitizer to each student and encouraging them to use it. As much as I think hand washing is important to staying healthy, I think that the hype over hand sanitizer is a little extreme. Even at the doctor's office (we've been in several lately), I see health care workers use a squirt of that stuff instead of actually washing their hands. Yeah it may kill some of the germs but it doesn't actually clean your hands the way good old soap and water does. So around here with each mention from the girls that they need a squirt, I have been gently steering them to the sink instead.


I plan to vote today. There aren't any big races around here on the ballot today but there is a school referendum that has caused some commotion in our school district. The district wants to build a new middle school and a new swimming pool to replace the old pool that is in need of some major TLC. There are always people who refuse to vote for anything that could raise their property taxes (by $164 annually for a house worth $100,000) but I did see many yard signs supporting the referendum while we were out trick or treating. I also read some wimpy opposing arguments in the Squeak saying that during a recession is not a good time to be spending money on our schools. I couldn't disagree more. With all of the federal incentives and the ability to negotiate low prices with contractors that are just hoping for new projects to come up in order to keep themselves in business, this sounds like a great time. I also happen to have 2 children that will be going to middle school in the next few years and use the swimming pool for swimming lessons... and a husband who is trying to stay employed as a construction electrician. Call me selfish but I think that this project is worth the 164 bucks.

That's it for me today. Have a good one!

11 comments:

rachel... said...

So glad to hear that Mae is healthy! The H1N1 is going around our school and while I don't usually freak out about sickness and I've never done flu shots before, it makes me nervous for the baby, since she's already had pneumonia this year. I agree about the hand sanitizer. It's kind of gross just smearing all the grime around on your hands, even if it's killing the bugs, I'd rather see it all do down the drain.

We have tons of candy and I'm rationing it. I'm hoping that I can repurpose much of it for Easter baskets this year.

I am Harriet said...

Wax lips...ahhh the memories :)

Have a great RTT!
http://iamharriet.blogspot.com/2009/11/tuesdays-are-for-randomness.html

Unknown said...

I am redirecting halloween candy into my pagan Christmas advent calendar. One treat every day in December. The rest is for me to eat!

Riot Kitty said...

The one person I know who has contracted swine flu doesn't fall into any of the recommended categories of people who should supposedly get shots...so who knows? I'm hoping people take this as a big cue to wash their hands more often!

BTW that pic with the lips is hilarious!

monica said...

Yay for healthy children! I like the candy fairy taking the candy away - great idea and just might have to use that!

Secret Mom Thoughts said...

Glad Mae is doing well. I love wax lips. The candy fairy is genius.

The Crazy Coxes said...

The wax lips are the best!

I hope everyone stays healthy at your house. I passed out antibacterial soap to my kids to keep in their backpacks and use at school. So far, no one has opened their bottle. Grrrr.......

Good luck!

LL Cool Joe said...

The lips are more scary than the Halloween outfits! :D

Good news about Mae.

Any spare candy that you don't want will not be wasted in this household!

Juli said...

I'm afraid that the hand sanitizer will lead to the creation of tougher bugs that are harder to kill. Just call me paranoid.

sheila said...

glad for the healthy-ness, lol. I'm on the fence for the H1N1. I have 2 w/asthma and the whole thing is really bothering me. I put our names on a list if it ever becomes available, but seriously haven't made my mind up if we'll take it or not.

Love the lips. I remember those days.

Out in Them Sticks said...

Nick stood in line at a local clinic for our shots. It makes me crazy that people like Mae don't have it available to them yet. My niece with asthma doesn't have it yet either.

Everyone I voted for this year didn't win. But I just love how Republicans are spinning the fact that they won the governor's spot here that it is a reflection on Obama. Are you frickin' kidding me? I understand congressman being a reflection on Washington, but governors are different. They more of a reflection of local politics and you have got to be one dumb ass to vote republican in a governor's race simply because you hate how Obama is doing. Yes, there are a lot of dumb people out there, but get real people!