Yuck-Zone

I'm not a germ-a-phobe.  Others might disagree, but I call myself a "pre-germ-a-phobe" because it really could be worse.  Sometimes I can skate through the day, week or month and not really think too much about what the kids are putting in their mouths and whether they ate some stale piece of cereal that they found underneath the couch cushion in the playroom.  Other days, I'm sort of a freak about things - like dog pee/poop in the back yard, flies in the bay window where they spend lots of time, dirty shoes arriving on their playroom floor and separate sponges for their dishes (that are STILL hand washed) and our stuff.  You get the picture.  And then there are days like TODAY.

We had a great breakfast as a family with Poo Pa this morning and Daddy made pancakes.  We all sat around the table and enjoyed the opportunity to take our time, enjoyed the funnies made by the kids and definitely enjoyed the pancakes (I actually ate leftover oatmeal from Daddy's trip to Cracker Barrel yesterday, but did get to one of the pancakes). 

Once we were finished, we got things cleaned up and the kids dressed (while they enjoyed their library DVD "Baby Dance"...a big hit!) and decided that a trip to Sam's Club was in order.  After unloading our goods at home, we thought that it would be a good chance for playtime at the mall play zone.  It was later than usual, so we realized we would not be the only ones there, but decided to gamble.  We were a little more hesitant once we got there because of the people who WERE there.  I don't want to "judge a book by it's cover", but when you walk up to a kid's area that very clearly states "No Food or Drinks" and there are moms and children walking around with huge wads of cotton candy on sticks, you know it has the potential to be a bad trip to the play zone.  We decided to get past our reservations and let the kids have some fun.  The other children weren't bad once that stupid cotton candy was gone.  But, of course, my kids then wanted to get the sticks out of the trash cans...gross!  But yes, it got worse.

A dad showed up with his little girl.  She was too cute with long hair and big giant curls.  She was older than our kids, but probably not more than five or so.  She was very sweet and played quietly until Troy noticed what he thought was...ummm....vomit on one of the climbing things.  Her leg was precariously close to it and he tried to warn her and pick her up, but...too late.  It got on her leg and we told her dad about it.  He started to get a little grossed-out, so I handed him some baby wipes.  In the meantime, the other moms just ignored what I was doing while I did my best to clean up the mess.  It was then that I realized it was NOT throw-up, but POOP!  Ugh!  I was mortified and even more ticked because I knew which kid had been the problem and the mom changed said child's diaper but didn't bother to offer to help me clean up HER child's gross poop.  And it also appeared that the child either had a digestive issue or a stomach bug.  I used wipes, sanitizer wipes and more wipes. 
At this point, Troy had the kids almost showering under the sanitizer thing that normally just squirts it in your hands.  The other dad is outside the play zone scrubbing his poor daughter's leg raw trying to get any last germ off of her.  I got more of the sanitizer wipes and handed them to him to try to help.  And I should mention that those other moms were still DOING NOTHING.  They just sat there chatting and being annoying while ignoring the BIOHAZARD WASTE that one of their own had created! 
Troy and I took the kids for a walk around the mall just before heading home to wipe them down with more soap, water and sanitizer  After a change of clothes, they went down for naps.  Both of us changed clothes too just for good measure.  Yuck! 
I don't know that I will be able to drag myself back to the play zone again.  I guess if I do, we will try to get there earlier in the morning and hope that we avoid some of these hazards. 
I think I'm just a tad closer to being a full-fledged germ-a-phobe.  Ewwwwwww!
(I should also note that today was a point-and-shoot day, so the pictures left something to be desired and we just didn't try very hard.)