God Made Dirt...

When my children were newborns, we were so careful with EVERYTHING that came into contact with them. I know that most parents probably react the same way...boiling bottles, washing pacifiers every time they fell on the ground, getting a clean burp rag if the one you were using touched the floor in any way...it's a completely natural reaction for first-time parents. After a while, we learned that the world wouldn't stop turning if the binky got dropped. The 10-second rule got implemented after the first couple of months. I'm very glad we got over the OCD attitude early, because as the kids grew and gained the lovely gift of curiousity, it seemed like EVERYTHING went into their mouths. Toys, check. Shoes, check. Feet, check. And not always their feet, either. :)

My mom still freaks out a little if Megan or Jeremy drops Cheerios or something else snack-y on the floor and picks them up to eat them. I don't want them doing that while we're out and about (i.e. public restrooms, etc.), but I don't worry anymore if it happens in our own home. We vacuum regularly, and if I scrambled to pick up every last Cheerio I'd never get anything else done (there's a nice collection trapped in the couch cushions I'll get around to cleaning up when the twins are in college). I've always heard that famous phrase, "God made dirt, and dirt won't hurt." What a relief to get validation on that quote from this article: click here

Silly that I get this excited about an online news article, but it just gives me one more confirmation that I'm not totally messing my kids up!