Jellybean may be sick, but she looks fabulous. Suffering through the sniffles has done little to dampen a fashion sense that appears to have milked its inspiration more from the likes of Punky Brewster and Cindy Lauper than Miley Cyrus or California Barbie.

Dressed in a form-fitting, one-piece pink-shirt-and-matching-tutu combination, decorated with a precious pink poodle and glittery rendering of the famed Eiffel Tower, Jellybean is so adorable she would make those snobby French fashionistas weep in their crepes.

But this living room runway model's outfit is far from complete. She's also wearing a sparkly black tutu underneath the first in order to make it more “twirley” – a feat she proves by repeatedly spinning in front of the TV during the “Rugrats” theme song.

Because it's a tad chilly, she's also wearing a leather jacket that makes her look so tough (minus the barrage of pink) that even the mighty leather-clad goddess Joan Jett would likely bow down. Jellybean's cool from her head, which is crowned by a dazzlingly bejeweled tiara circled by a fluffy pink boa, to her toes, which are covered by mismatched green and orange socks cradled inside pink tennis shoes.
Oh, and she's also recently had her fingernails painted and is working on a thick coat of Snow White-themed lip gloss (it's actually Chapstick).

“I feel like a pretty princess,” Jellybean says, sliding on a half-dozen plastic bracelets and a ring of unknown age, origin or potential value. “Just 'cause I'm sick, doesn't mean I can't be pretty. Even princesses get colds.”

She may be so stuffy as to sound like Tony Soprano, and the stream of snot leaking from her pretty little nose isn't exactly appetizing, but Jellybean's attitude and outlook are unfazed. Thank God for Tylenol Cold ('course this means entertaining her will be a bit more of a chore).

When she's been struck with what's been a constant battle with strep throat, Jellybean's generally anchored to the couch gorging herself on the Shrek movies, leaving yours truly with the freedom to get some work done – long as I stay within her sight. Jellybean's going through that stage where she freaks out when she's left alone even for a few seconds – I call this constant clinginess, the “Velcro Phase”.

But when it's just the sniffles I'm going to be playing doctor with American Girl dolls and coloring Elmo's alphabet all day long. Sure, right now she's engrossed with watching “The Last Airbender”, but soon as I get in a writing groove there will be shouting of “D-A-A-A-A-D-E-E-E-E!” and I'll be transformed into a school teacher surrounded by dolls whose names I can't recall, even though one's named after me.

Ah, bonding. Any child this cute and in such good spirits deserves to go to school where she can play and learn.

Sure, she might be slightly contagious, but how are all those other tikes going to build up their immune systems if they aren't occasionally exposed to a few germs? We're working hard on the whole “cover your mouth when you sneeze” rule and she's gotten it down at least 20 percent of the time. The rest of the time, she apologizes afterward.

But for now, Jellybean's cold is keeping us both homebound. Too bad my medical degree's only good for dolls, or else she'd be back in school before nap time.