Earwax is Yucky.

 I have some problems with a bit of OCD.  Not in everything and not enough to validate medication or anything but I HATE long nails.  And I HATE ear wax.  Now my kids have just learned that a part of their life is getting their nails trimmed every Saturday night (And now Chloe trims her own nails since I gave her and her friend a little nail class as part of their birthday presents!  Woo-hoo!) and they also know that every so often, I have to do an ear check and if I see ear wax, I will be grabbing a Q-tip and taking care of it.

Now let's be clear, I understand that there is a lot of contraversy surrounding the removal of ear wax.  In fact, my childrens' pediatrician likes to tell the kids that nothing smaller than an elbow is ever allowed to be stuck in their ears.  And while I know he's trying to be funny and is trying to teach me to be safe,  I also know that I completely am going to disregard him.

• I've been cleaning ears for years.  Mostly my own and I know how to stay shallow and be safe.
• Nobody wants yellow wax dripping out of their ears.
• I never do it unless they have just showered or bathed and have the wax be all soft.
• I only do it if it is visible from the side.

So recently Gavin's turn was up.  He's a bit more squirrely so I do need to be more careful and more shallow.  I had Greg help hold his head this time a bit.  I went in with the q-tip and took a quick and shallow swipe and just as I was about to move onto the next ear, he started gagging and coughing.  I was so confused.  Greg then says to me,

"That is what happens to me when something goes in my ear too far too."

I just sat there both feeling super confused and on the verge of hysterical laughter.  I said, "What?!"  That is THE weirdest thing I've ever heard before.  Have you ever heard of something so bizarre?

So I guess Gavin inherited a weird gagging function from Greg.  Also, that picture is from one of my kids' favorite books:  Yummy Yucky, by Leslie Petricelli