Congo Date Night: Ear Cleaning Edition

One of the perks of your kid getting their tonsils and adenoids removed over the summer, is you get to see a lot of your friendly ENT. (Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, for those without toddlers.) Seriously, the ENT is the toddler parent's best friend.

After telling us the size of Charlotte's tonsils ranked a 5 on a scale of 1-4, she then said our precious daughter had really dirty ear canals. We tried to pull the "We live in Congo" card, but she was too smart to give us sympathy. And she sent us on our merry way with a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy surgery date and a recipe for cleaning ears. Both equally life changing.

Just your average Ear Cleaning Recipe.

It's a sign we're back in Congo and our lives are boring again (thank goodness) that we have time to try an ear cleaning recipe. Adam went first and whined like a baby. I told him to stop being dramatic. Then he reminded me that less than a week ago I didn't believe him when he said he had a "bad blood draw." Then this bruise showed up.

Evidence he isn't always overly dramatic. I guess that's more bruising than normal. And it continued to look worse in the days after this photo.

But back to our ears. Last night I tried the recipe and it was kind of amazing, but also very weird.

Step 1: Mix up your solution.
Step 2: Put it in a medicine dropper.
Step 3: Drop it in your ear.
Step 4: Lie on your side and watch The Mindy Project.
Step 5: Tell your husband he's not a total baby. The popping is hard to handle.

So while I may not have had water this morning for a shower and I'm caked in dry season dust, our ENT would be very proud of my ear canals.


**Sorry new readers. Yes, this was a post about cleaning your ears. But sometimes Congo really is that boring. Oh and Charlotte still has very dirty ears, there's no way she would let us do this to her. But without her tonsils and adenoids, her airway is crystal clear.