An unlikely souvenir

There's plenty to do and see in our nation's capital, a lot of which we have done and seen in the past few days. There are dinosaurs to look at at the Natural History Museum, hot dogs to buy from street vendors, Peta activists to spar with, and plenty of walking to be done between monuments on a sunny day.

But there's also lots not to do when you're out and about in D.C. Most prohibited activities are pretty well advertised so that you know better than to walk through the Air and Space Museum with a fountain drink or stroll through the National Archives snapping pictures with the flash on. But there are some things they expect you to figure out on your own. And so, to spare you the diaper drama we've dealt with over the last two days, I'll give you a heads up.

If your kid is parched, do not, under any circumstances, allow her to dip her hand in the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial and lick her fingers. That's how kids get parasites and bacteria. Unless you like collecting stool samples and riding around in a van with a bloated, tooting toddler, I suggest making sure your child is satiated before you let her lean over and look at her reflection in the dirty District water.

I like to think I'm doing my part to keep our pediatrician's life interesting. We don't visit the doctor often, but when we do, it seems there's always a pretty good story to go along with whatever the current crisis is. Whoever said being a stay-at-home mom is easy never met a toddler.