Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

So, the reason I am so behind on blogging is that the kiddos got sick last week. It took me a while to figure out that they are sick because, on the surface, they seemed perfectly fine! No fever, no runny nose, sleeping well, nothing of the usual signs of illness! However, there was a BIG uptick in crankiness and a BIG down swing in appetite. After four days of fighting them to eat and the appearance of Colin's 9457th rash, off to the pediatrician we went. Didn't take her long to diagnose hand, foot, and mouth disease; apparently it's rampant around here at the moment. Anyway, it's a common, relatively harmless childhood virus. It causes blisters on the hands and feet, and ulcers in the throat. Fortunately, we had a very mild case with only a few mouth ulcers. We dosed them up with Tylenol for a few days and they seem much happier now. I am hoping that their appetites are on the rebound, and they do seem a little hungrier today. The joys of childhood.