I love you this much

Okay, Riley and Noelle, this one is for you.

For my readers, I'm going to reveal something of a secret of mine, unless you know me particularly well. I have some OCD tendencies, and these are growing more and more each day. I don't like numbers that end in 0 or 5; therefore, I always set my alarm and the microwave to numbers like 6:23 or 48 seconds. I get the chills from touching the cheap outdoor chalk that Mike bought for Riley (thanks, babe). When walking on a sidewalk, I start to feel slightly off-kilter if I'm stepping on the cracks more often with one foot than the other (thank goodness we don't have sidewalks on our street!). And I think that's just about enough revealing info about me for now.

Well, okay, I'll have to reveal one or two more things, for the clarity of the story. First, I hate hate hate walking on damp floors. Really, it nearly makes me hurl. One of my most recent traumatic memories is accompanying the high school youth group to an indoor water park. I mean, seriously, like it's not bad enough that the whole place is slimey and nasty, but all that gooey grossness is trapped in this moist, tepid area. I have to stop writing about it now. Sick. Second, I abhor the feeling of having dirty feet. After going for a walk on the prairie path or the dog park, I pretty much have to sprint to the bathroom.

(Sidenote: I'm sounding like an absolutely LOONEY in this post. Maybe I'll say that I'm exaggerating for a more effective story...)

If you've been tracking, it's not going to be tough for you to guess that a pool deck is not the ideal place for me to hang out. Now imagine that that pool deck is cozying up to a little sand area with water running through it, so kids can form little rivers and tributaries. For you locals, imagine Northside Park.

Last week, I decided to take the girls out to Northside. Riley loves water (as long as you don't splash her in the face, which is a whole other story), and Noelle seems to be a fan, too. Plus, OCD or no OCD, the sand and water idea is a pretty darn good one for the kiddos. So I got them lubed up with sunscreen, into their swimsuits and into the car.

Riley wanted to go into the sand straight away, so I pulled up a chair and tried not to look too closely at the bubbly, sewage-looking water flowing through the tiny kid-made streams. Soon, Riley wanted to hit the pool, so we made our way there. Now, once I get in the pool, I'm good to go. I can be in water, apparently; I just don't like walking on watered surfaces. I know... what?! Noelle loved it when I "swam" her around between my legs, and Riley stuck close, as she's in a timid phase. After some time splashing around, Riley requested a return to the sand, and I obliged. I pulled up another chair and set Noelle down in my lap. As I laughed with Riley and encouraged her to play with other toddlers, I glanced down and noticed that the water dripping off of Noelle and down my legs was not clear but yellow. The girl had unloaded in her swim diaper, and I was not only sitting just inches from sewage, but I was also now covered with poop juice.

I stifled my gag reflex and waited for as long as I could (which, I think, was at least five mintues. Pat on the back for me...) before telling Riley it was almost time to pack things up.

I'm not even going to go into the whole locker room debacle. I'm looking crazy enough. So I'll just conclude with this:

I love you, little ladies.