in the pink

pink eye has reared its ugly head in the mann household. liam came down with it for the first time ever a few weeks ago, and then, in typical sibling fashion, he passed it on to his sister. (we have been encouraging them to share -- but this isn't quite what we had in mind.) our kids love them some medicine. amoxicyllin, tylenol, motrin ... these drug manufacturers know what they're doing when they make it all neon-colored and gooey and delicious. but i guess no one at the eye drop labs has gotten the memo, because their product is vile. one glimpse of that bottle with its burning, stinging contents sends my kids running in the opposite direction. literally. although i dreaded having to inflict pain, i knew it was unavoidable. i lured my unsuspecting daughter to the bathroom by calling, "susanna! medicine time!", and immediately heard the patter of little feet, eager for a dose of whatever sticky sweet stuff she thought i was selling. but as soon as she saw me wielding the little bottle of vigamox, she froze in her tracks. with her hands on her hips, she glared at me from behind red, crusty, oozy eyelids and declared, "no! i do NOT want this medicine. my eyes are FINE!" poor little girl. she'll learn, soon enough, what we adults already know: the eyes never lie.