My Cousin Alex

As some of you may know, I have family in England. My dad lives there and so do my aunt and cousin. I haven't seen my cousin Alex in many years which sucks because we used to be really close before they moved to England. The last time I saw him he  was not an adult yet. He used to talk about wanting to drink beer, of course he wasn't allowed to. I wonder how he is doing? Some day I want to make the trip across the pond and see my family. It would be so cool to be in a new country and experience all the culture. I would probably call up my cousin Alex and meet up with him and go to some london bars and have a drink to catch up and talk about old times. I wonder how bars in London differ from American bars? I am sure there are some slight differences. I believe the drinking age is younger than in the United States. I think it would be odd to see younger adults in a bar drinking when I am so used to the drinking age being twenty one. It was kind of like when I first saw a child in a liquor store in Florida. In Indiana you have to be twenty one to even enter one. It's funny how you get used to things, it would be culture shock.

I would love to see Alex though. There is something about family that only family members can understand. We would probably laugh so hard together and remember all the crazy things we used to do. We used to play with his neighbors and make our own mad libs. We also would have tea parties with lots of yummy treats.  We had some great times together and I miss him a lot. I wonder if he has a British accent now. I am very curious to see how he's grown up. I know it won't be the same as when we were kids, we both have probably changed a lot as we have gotten older. I hope that we are still able to be close and not two strangers that happen to share the same grandparents.

Have you ever been to London? Do you have any bar recommendations?

Healthy Family

Thankfully we are a pretty healthy family. I don’t really get too sick, I did have the flu like 5 times last year, but I think that was stress related.  That was the first time I had the flu in a few years, and I have never had a flu shot.  Noah is healthy as well.  Just so you know I banged my foot on my wooden head board so we both don’t wake up with the Mongolian bird flu in the morning.  I feel really lucky that we hardly ever get sick compared to some of my friends families, who it seems like every other week another family member is sick with something. I am not sure if it is luck or if we are just not around a bunch of people all the time. I work from home and Noah has never been in daycare so, that might play a big role in it. We are also avid hand washers and seem to have very healthy immune systems.

As I am writing this I am reminded of my Grandma Diana, who was a very cautious woman who would say things like mind this and mind that. She was one of those people who was overbearing and the type of person who would freak out about germs. I remember if I was sick or had been sick with anything I wouldn’t be able to be around my cousin Alex. Alex wasn’t medically fragile by any means, where I could totally understand, she was just really overbearing.  I don’t see myself being like that because soon Noah will be going to school and being around other children.  I would like to get an IQ Air purifier to use when there are germs present or maybe just to have all the time to clear out any odors from the cats or any pollutants that might enter my home through an open window or door.

Do you have an air purifier? What are some other tips to keeping your family safe from pollutants and germs in your home?