Monday, January 21, 2008

Quarantined

Germs are feasting on Margot this winter. Yesterday she awoke with raging conjunctivitis in one eye, that has now spread to the other eye. The doc called in some antibiotic drops. Two weeks ago she had strep throat. More antibiotics. Three weeks before that it was a cold, and two weeks before that it was another sore throat (no strep, though). Throw in there a few eczema breakouts on her chest and back, and she's been a fairly uncomfortable camper for most of this winter.

She's snoozing on the couch right now with 45 of her closest stuffed animals.

Tomorrow she can go to school, but she's missing music class this afternoon (luckily she doesn't realize it's Monday, so she doesn't even know there IS music class this afternoon).

Just under two months until spring starts! 59 days to be exact.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Pre-K, Day 2

Margot's second day in the Shining Star classroom went even better than the first (if you can imagine). When I took her to class this morning, she momentarily looked at me in desperation as she hung her coat, but two girls in the class came right over to greet her. One was Bella (not "Vella" as Margot told me the night before).

I missed the other girl's name, but she promptly informed me, "I'm Margot's new friend, and I am a princess. I am going to show Margot all about how to be to princess." No hello, no my-name-is, just straight up. Margot, pleased to have the attention of these two older girls, said "Bye Mommy" and dove into the pile of dress-up clothes with the girls.

And so it goes.

Monday, January 14, 2008

ISO: Reliable Factchecker

Today marked Margot's first day as a bona fide pre-schooler. She left the Sea Turtle classroom behind (ages 18 months - 3 years) and moved into the Pre-K class (ages 3 - 5). Her new teachers are Mr. Scott and Mr. Brian and, overnight, she went from being the coolest kid in the little pond to being the littlest fish in a bigger pond. She clung to me this morning when I dropped her off, something she's never done before at school.

But by the time I picked her up this afternoon, she was all happy smiles and was busy constructing a castle with a new friend (Margot calls her "Vella" - I'm not sure if that's her real name, a nickname, or a misnomer). Mr. Scott told me she had a fantastic day and it was as if she had been in the Shining Stars classroom from Day One.

As if to fulfill a cliche, however, after school Margot demonstrated that these older kids really are bad influences and are full of misinformation.

I was checking email and Margot was practicing ballet when she looked at me and said, "Mom, milk comes out of a cow's pee pee."

"What!?" I responded, astounded. "Who told you that?"

"Vella told me," Margot said. Oh, Vella. This kid is going to be trouble.

"Margot, that's not correct," I said. "Milk comes out of a cow's udder. You tell Vella that tomorrow. And the next time you have questions about something, you should ask me first. I'll always tell you the correct answer."

Brodie later joked that maybe Margot read that on the wall of the pre-K bathroom. All I know is that it's going to be a long road to getting this kid off to college.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Sweet Dreams

I just checked on Margot to cover her up (she always kicks the covers off). Amidst her usual bedtime friends (Babi, Clover, Bun, Panda, Puffy, Kitty Cat), her head was nestled upon her ballet shoes.

I think she's having the sweetest of dreams tonight. I'll check in the morning.

Did you note the bags under her eyes in today's pictures? Margot has been evading sleep for the past two months. If she naps in the afternoon - even for 15 minutes - then we can't get her to fall asleep before 9:30 or 10:00 pm. However, if she doesn't nap, she appears perpetually exhausted (although she does easily pass out at 7:30 pm, which is what Brodie and I prefer). So she gets to nap 3-4 days a week (since she sleeps during naptime at preschool [I have no control over that], and maybe one other day if we are out driving in the afternoon and the hum of the car lulls her to sleep). The remaining days I try to keep her up so that she will sleep at night.

This, too, shall pass, I am sure. In the meantime, she may need cold teabags or cucumbers on her eyes in the morning.

A Taste of Spring

This week has been unusually warm and pleasant for January. Earlier in the week, Margot and I were at the park in long sleeves and no jackets; today wasn't quite that warm but it was still pleasant. Brodie, Margot, Portia and I took a nice walk at the park today, and ate a picnic lunch.