I finally caught Caroline's virus.  Trying to continue to fulfill the minimum requirements of "super mom" status while squinting blearily through the haze.  I'm about ready for a pick-me-up.  So, today's post is going to be a few more pictures from our trip to Walt Disney World - the ones that never made it to the blog.  They bring a smile to my face (in between sneezes) and I hope they do the same for you.

Sometimes validation comes at a high price.  I have endured the smug, patronizing looks from other parents at the grocery store as I wipe down the cart with my travel Clorox wipes before letting Caroline sit in it.  I shrug and chuckle when well-intentioned people tease me about dispensing hand sanitizer before allowing Caroline to eat her snacks on the go or still using the baby table toppers at restaurants.  I nod and smile when people tell me that you can't keep kids in a bubble, that they're going to get sick at some point, there's no avoiding it or that I won't be this way with the next kid.  I think we all know that finding the balance between keeping Caroline safe and not keeping her in a bubble that prevents her from having a normal, happy childhood is one of my top priorities.  From the moment I knew Caroline had a virus last week, I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop.  It dropped.

I just wanted to do a quick update on Caroline.  Her fever peaked yesterday (assuming it doesn't go any higher) at 102.6 - which is really high for her.  I really think this might be the third or fourth fever of her whole life.  She's just not a fever kid.  So, we've been alternating Children's Motrin and Tylenol to keep the temperature down and trying to keep her comfy with extra time in a steamy bathroom (thinning the mucos, not bringing the temp down, of course) and lots of fluids.  I went out to Walgreen's yesterday and spent a fortune in the "I am desperate to feel like I'm doingsomething to help my sick kid" aisle.  I ended up with Vick's Vaporub (the jury's out on whether this helped or not, but I can tell you that she did not like the sensation of it on her skin) and a warm mist humidifier.  We used to run a cool mist humidifier in her room when she was a baby, but the doctor told us to stop when she was diagnosed with asthma as it can encourage the growth of molds that may exacerbate asthma and allergy symptoms.  I think the short term benefits of using it a couple of nights to help her breathe, though outweigh any risks of mold growth in such a short amount of time.