On top of the maladies of pink eye and common cold which have been plaguing our clan the past few weeks, last night as I was easing my weary body into a scalding bath, I noticed some odd bumps dotting my calves. No, not my baby cows. My LEGS!

Upon closer examination, I identified the bumps as a rash. Well, hop on board! Let there be no end to the problems we're having! Throw in a pox while we're at it!

There was also a rashy patch on my inner right wrist. How weird. Now, I am prone to rashes. I have extremely sensitive skin and have always had to exercise extreme caution when applying new lotions, creams, makeup, etc. I have broken out in hives many, many times. So cautious am I that I rarely DO try new stuff. I've never had a facial for fear of walking out looking like the elephant man, instead of rejuvanated, fresh and dewy.

I racked my brain trying to think of an instance where I could have exposed just my lower legs and inner wrist to something that I could be allergic to. Nada. Complete blank. Then, it occurred to me. Right before Bible study on Wednesday night, Kyle and I had gone to the gym (Week 3 of P90X) to do shoulders and arms and I had noticed my pasty, white legs looking awfully flaky. Winter dry skin has reared its scaly head. I made a mental note to borrow some lotion from my mom prior to starting the lesson. I had about 2 minutes to do this as I dashed in the house, handed off my bebe's to her, scrounged for about half a second in her bathroom cabinets for some lotion, slathered it on my lower legs and scrambled down the stairs to co-lead the night's study. (Topic: Islam).

Since I knew I'd be doing a long, sweaty yoga workout on Thursday, I decided to forego a shower after Bible study Wed night. I was also just tired. So, my first real look at my legs was as they were lowering themselves into the steaming bath I'd just prepared. And the rash.

Adding that to my red, running nose, my dry skin, my chapped lips and my pinkish eyes, I look just about gorgeous right now. Truly beautiful.

After our workout tonite (legs and back), Kyle and I ran by my mom and dad's to borrow a movie. Dinner was all worked out - I'd thrown veggies and some stew meat into my crockpot at about 10 am and it should all be just about ready to dig into by the time we got home. Perfect for a cold fall night.

As I lounged against the door frame to the "toy room" at my mom's, watching my dad and brother Michael play monster with Brooklyn, I was lamenting to my mom my new ailment. That, and telling her about August's NEW bout of pink eye. Oh yes. 24/7 fun on Goshen. My mom expressed surprise that I had had an allergic reaction to her lotion, but then she knows my sensitive skin. She just asked, oh, which one did you use?

I opened the cabinet in her bathroom, glanced around, spotted the one I'd used Wednesday night, held it up in my hand....and as I did, noticed what it was. Cucumber Melon Body Wash.

I had slathered body wash on my legs and left it there for about 24 hours. No wonder I had a rash. As my voice trailed off and the lightbulb went off in my head, the entire room erupted in laughter. Ah, well, I guess I deserved that, I thought, as my hand trailed to scratch my itchy calf. At least the mystery is solved.