I should probably tell this kid's mother

Sleep is not going to happen tonight. For me, for Elle, for anyone in this house, including her. Her being my daughter's sleepover guest.

Poor Little J. Her mother dropped her off at my house around dinnertime and reminded me of Little J's odd sleeping behaviors, such as talking, screaming, mumbling, giggling, and sometimes even hysterically laughing. I was told to just ignore it. It happens most nights (one of the above behaviors or a combination of some). Okay, I can deal with that.

That is, unfortunately, not what I'm dealing with tonight. Little J is fast asleep and coughing like mad. I noticed her coughing alot just a few minutes after her mother left and I had to ask her if she was sick. Little J said no. So I did a rundown of basic cold/flu symptoms:

headache - no
sneezing - no
runny nose - no
sensitive skin - no
itchy eyes - no
just the cough - check

What gives? She was fine when she got here. I remember asking Little J's mom if she was allergic to anything (I'm never in the mood to deal with anaphylactic shock) and the answer was no. But soon after another one of Little J's coughing spells, a little lightbulb flickered above my head and I asked her another very important question: Do you have any pets?

Yes. She does have pets. No. They don't make her cough like this. Holy crap, is this kid allergic to my house? I mean, she's still coughing. And sleeping through it (which is really weird because these are some hardcore coughing spasms, methinks). I'm even checking on her every 20 minutes or so to make sure she hasn't thrown up from coughing so hard. When I took Elle and Little J to the park earlier this evening, Little J was fine. She was running and laughing and playing chase and...oh my goodness, she was not coughing.

Until we came back home. To my three pets and all of their fur. Like I said, the girls are having a sleepover and, to keep them both together, I have them camped out on the living room floor with tons of blankets and pillows to make it all soft and cushiony (as soft and cushiony as a carpeted living room floor can be). Floor. FLOOR!! Where the fur is resting. Next to my girls' heads.

I vaguely remember she told me about her hamster (he's dead now), then she told me about her toy poodle.

Poodle! You mean, the hypoallergenic breed? I think our mystery is solved.