And a plague will come amongst you...

The germs continue to sweep through our house. Henry has an unpleasant cough that is keeping him (and us) up at night. And coughs *linger*. How I hate them. Let me count the ways.

Anne, thankfully, is not coughing (much). But she's very sneezy and clingy. Half the time, junk comes out of her nose, so that's good. See what happens to a person when they have children? All decorum goes out the window with regard to talking about bodily functions. Nothing is sacred anymore.

Anyway, back on topic. Snot. So, when junk comes out of Anne's nose, we need to wipe her nose, yes? What is it that is #1 on the list of Things Babies Hate Most?

(1) Someone Is About To Wipe My Nose!!! 

It's not as if I'm approaching her with a piece of sandpaper. I have a tissue, and I *could* be gentle, if only she wouldn't wrench her head away from me and turn in the opposite direction lickety split.

Sigh. So she's been sneezing. And she's been VERY clingy, but honestly, I don't mind that. I secretly love it. Because then I get to snuggle her as much as I want. You can't put her down. After a time, if you make a serious effort to cheer her up, she MAY consent to being put down to play with an approved toy for a short period. She's been especially fond of her toys that play music. She'll push the button and dance. She'll play for a few more minutes. Then she'll come back to be held.

She's precious.

Last night I really thought the bedtime routine was going to be a big debacle since both children were feeling so poorly. Mike and I decided to divide and conquer: he took Hank, I took Anne. Hank, thankfully, didn't cough much and fell asleep in a reasonable amount of time, with a little cup of water by his side. I nursed Anne for what seemed like forever (she wasn't so into her solids yesterday and just wanted to nurse) and got her *really* sleepy, rather than putting her down awake, since I knew the going-to-sleep process is tougher when sick. I got her practically sleeping and laying with her ducky lovie before sneaking out of the room. Naturally, she popped awake, but she did settle pretty quickly after that.

Thus, I seized the opportunity to belly dance in the kitchen. I really can't practice when Anne is awake, unless she's contentedly in her high chair. She either wants me to hold her or goes off to get into trouble. So when both kids are asleep, I pounce. I've taken to creating a messy corner on our counter with my ipod dock, sword, veil, and notebook for jotting down new combinations. I normally don't like messes, but I'm desperate. I cant take the time to ferret all that stuff out each night, time is a precious commodity these days.

Anyway, I have a new veil wrap planned for my solo entrance, and I did finally select a song. It's just a fun Arabic pop song, because, well, they're FUN. And if it's fun, it's easier for me to improvise to. Anything that oils that process along is a good thing. I'm also finally using a veil in a solo performance, although granted I'm shedding it about 30 seconds into the piece. Veils make me very nervous. They're beautiful, but they don't always do what they're told. I don't need a piece of fabric upstaging me. Maybe next time I can use a veil for an entire number, but for the time being, this is an improvement. I've been having a lot of fun with it.

Tomorrow is my sword class again, so we're keeping things interesting. The hafla is just over a month away, yikes. I'm having Mike come to play photographer. This makes me even more nervous, but what can a dancer do?