Sneezin' Season

"Achoo!" Henry sneezes. As I reach to grab him a tissue I realize that we're suddenly and completely out. The only paper product in sight is a scratchy paper towel, which is received with an, "Ouch, Mom!"

For about a week now, all five of us have had runny noses. But with all the bustling around for the holiday season, I've forgotten to stock our cold-season supply cabinet that helps us survive the winters in the Northeast. Feeling a lot like Old Mother Hubbard, I stock up on our must-haves to get us through the months of sniffles and sneezes.

With all the warnings about cough syrups, we steer clear of them, but to help us sleep peacefully with a cold, we use vapor rub, honey to soothe sore throats and humidifiers placed near our beds.

Earlier this week, a notice about the importance of hand-washing came home from school, suggesting that kids sing "Happy Birthday to You" as a way of making sure they wash long enough to effectively kill all the germs. As lame as this sounds, I have a low threshold for repetitive ditties (and a winter of "Happy Birthday" ten times a day sounds worse than a bout of the flu), so instead I buy a soap dispenser by Airborne called Squid Ink. When you press the dispenser, a little red dot of "squid ink" appears on your hand, which takes about 20 seconds to come off while you wash your hands.

I also stock up on plenty of facial tissue — some with added moisture and aloe for raw and sensitive noses. I make a few special online purchases because I've learned that tissue packets playfully printed with soccer balls or as hundred dollar bills (www.thetissuestore.com) and lip balm flavored like sugar cookies or hot cocoa (www.philosophy.com), are more likely to be pulled out of a backpack at school.

Also on my shopping list are a few items that help my husband Dave and I keep our immune systems strong and fight off the daily deluge of germs — Airborne's effervescent tablet drink and chamomile tea.

Now that I've got my family ready for sneeze season, I can take a deep breath — and rest up for the next round of colds.