Books, Coffee, and Babies: seven quick takes friday

1. There's nothing like being woken up at 2am to the sound of your three-year-old wailing that she just threw up in her bed. And then to find the situation repeated twice more in the next two hours. Oh, and not just any old vomit either-- partially-digested tomato vomit, so it obligingly stains the sheets, the quilt, the pillow, the pillowcase, the toddler pajamas, the mommy pajamas, and the rug. Yeah, I did a lot of laundry scrubbing this morning.

Hopefully you weren't eating when you started reading this. Or at least not eating tomatoes.

2. When my niece Jane (now a mature 9-year-old) was 3-- and still went by "Janey"-- she was a happy thumb-sucker who loved the color yellow. I remember once she told me gleefully, "Do you know what my thumb tastes like?? Lemons! Because lemons are yellow!!"

Janey, way back when.

Faith is also an avowed thumb-sucker (nowadays mostly just when she's tired or stressed), and now that she's at an age where she can actually carry on conversations, I decided to ask her what her thumb tastes like.

Yesterday she told me it tasted like rice. Today it tastes like pizza. Not as logical as Janey's (well, as 3-year-old logic goes), but ya gotta admire the creativity.

3. I don't blog much about work, despite a pediatrician's office being fertile ground for good stories, because, y'know, HIPAA. But let me just say this. I do know that scabies, though contagious, isn't I'll-catch-it-if-you-breathe-on-me contagious. But even armed with this knowledge, after seeing enough cases of scabies in one 2-week period, you start to get paranoid about every little itch.

This is a scabies mite. Ew.

4. Speaking of the Woes Of The Medical Profession, I always feel awkward about describing my symptoms when I'm the patient. Do I use medical terminology or not? If I say "epigastric" or "vasovagal" does it sound like I'm trying to overstep my bounds as a patient and diagnose myself? Or would it be helpful, since those really are the most accurate descriptions?

I'm probably way overthinking this, right?

5. I realized recently that I almost never wear woven (as opposed to knit) tops. Even if they're in my closet, I don't wear them. This is something of an epiphany for me, because I really like them in theory. Tailored button-downs look so crisp and put-together! But I hate the way they look and feel on me. So! With this newfound awareness, a more effective wardrobe I shall have!