Ok, now I'm sure there are pediatricians out there that have already caught on to what I am about to offer as a revolutionary (ha!) idea for their practices, but for the most part pediatric offices are nothing short of a danger zone.

Hmmmm.....now wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if all pediatricians' offices came with TWO waiting areas? Yes, two. One for the sick and contagious kids and one for the healthy ones who just need a vaccine, a cut looked at, or an annual check-up. I swear to you, that if I found a pediatrics office that fit that bill I would drive three hours each way to take my kids there.

My son had his 3 year check-up last Monday where he inevitably ended up playing with a pestilent little girl no matter how much my husband & I tried to cajole him away from her. Tuesday went by, Wednesday, then Thursday....BAM....sniffles and a cough. Great. So this now meant he was gonna miss his first day of preschool (yeah, oddly enough it was on a Friday), and even better, his 5 month old sister fell under the influence of all the boogers and sneeze spray that her brother was infusing the house with.

While my son has had a really amazing health record thus far, with literally only 5 colds in 3 years, he is a trooper and handles the snot and coughing like a champ. But since this is my daughter's first cold and she still hasn't figured out why she can't breathe through her nose, sleeping has been out of the question and she is refusing to take her bottles. This, of course, freaks me out since I am a nutrition freak when it comes to my kids and I worry about dehydration too because we have no AC & it is literally 102 degrees today. Misery incarnate.

I've tried everything to get her decongested, but nothing seems to work and when the bottle or that awful sbot sucker bulb syringe comes anywhere near her face she screams bloody murder. I am about ready to be taken away by the men in the white coats. Serious. And all this because my son went to get a check-up as healthy as a horse but had to be forced into a germ buffet at his doctor's office. Thanks a lot doc......I guess this is just another way to ensure that there will always be sick kids lining up to fill the pedis' bank accounts. Love it.